Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

“Devil in Winter” by Lisa Kleypas

Just one? You mean just one author right? Not one book! Oh heavens, I guess it would have to be Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. I just absolutely adore that book, the series, Jamie and Claire. Oh gosh I have it in hardback, paperback, and if it comes out as an ebook I would buy that too just so I could read it whenever and wherever I want!

Spam Word: And that is the truth86 me if you want!

Okay, it’s *really* hard to pick just one…but if I had to, it would be Loretta Chase’s LORD OF SCOUNDRELS.  For me, it was the perfect historical romance.  It had every element that I love—a tortured hero, wonderful, snappy dialogue/repartee, and breathless sexual tension.  But what really pushes it over the top into ‘best ever’ territory was the surprise of a very likable, wonderfully engaging heroine.  Often, I find romances with a to-die-for hero, or a lot of elements that I love, but rarely do I find a romance where I *equally* enjoy the hero and heroine.  So for me, it’s LORD OF SCOUNDRELS.

The Tiger’s Woman by Celeste de Blasis.

So, any bets on whether your spam filter rejects me again? :D Hmm, the magic word to enter is come89. Now wouldn’t that be exhausting? :D

My best romance ever is The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. I stayed up reading that book for 6 hours straight with no breaks. The passion and love Alexander and Tatiana is all consuming. This book hits you in the gut and it is set in Russia during WWII.

The only book that reduced me to an emotional mess where I couldn’t read any book for almost a month afterwards.

Ohhh hard choice but if I had to pick my fave book it would have to be Shiloh Walkers Hunters Edge.  I don’t know why but that one has always stood out for me.

Er, did you mean, choose one book from your list? In that case, “The Shadow and the Star” by Laura Kinsale.

I would hate you for asking for the one (I never know how to narrow these things to ten, forget ONE!) but my instinctive answer is always: Morning Glory, by LaVyrle Spencer.

So, there you have it, ONE!

hah!

I am a sucker for Joanna Bourne’s My Lord and Spymaster.  Fictional character crush ahoy!

Just one…? But… but…

Okay.. *sigh*

I am going to choose Georgette Heyer’s The Black Sheep.  I have enjoyed many witty, funny romances, but this one took the cake for me. :)  One of the things I love the most about this novel is that the characters are outwardly so different, and yet they click so well.  I could go on and on.. man, now I want to re-read it!

That is a horrible question. :P It’s like asking “which kid would you save if there was a fire?” - you know, if I had kids.
Although I’m not as fond of her newer books… I have to go with one of SEPs. She’s one of the first romance authors I read. (I checked them out at the library - and didn’t want to be seen with the kitschy covers - or the giant garish heart sticker on the spine, really.) I have a top four ... ok, so five in my head right now - Breathing Room; Heaven, Texas; Kiss an Angel, Lady Be Good; This Heart of Mine/Nobody’s Baby But Mine. (Ok so I cheated and listed 6.)
If I had to pick my favorite of that bunch… (and it was already hard enough to narrow it down to one author, mind you) - I’d have to go with Heaven, Texas.

Although it’s hard to pick just one, I’d have to say ‘The Promise of Jenny Jones’ by Maggie Osborne. I absolutely love that book!

Since Aztec Lady already picked Morning Glory!  Awesome, awesome, awesome book.

I’m going to go with:

Daniel’s Bride by Linda Lael Miller

Morning Glory and Naked in Death are all neck and neck.

Wow!  A random commenter?  That is a contest even I can figure out.  Favorite romance novel is a little more difficult…
I used to read every Danielle Steel book available, so ten years ago one of hers would have been a favorite.  Now I tend to prefer Nora Roberts or Erin McCarthy (love Nascar Romance!).  However, my current favorite is Victoria Dahls, “Talk Me Down”.  I think it is a great combination of a fun and flirty romance with a dash of serious issues and intrigue.

Just one fav….
I would have to say Lover Awakened by JR Ward.

If I had to pick one (& you’re evil to make me do it) it would have to be Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. I loved that book!
For a series it would definitly go to JD Robb’s In Death series… Roarke *sigh*  Need I say more?

Ahhh! I can’t do it.

But if someone wanted to read a contemporary romance, I’d definitely recommend a Jennifer Crusie novel (one of her earlier single-titles).

That’s as close as I can come to playing fair!

You’ve already mentioned Bet Me (which got me hooked on romances), so I’ll suggest Mary Balogh’s “The Secret Pearl” - my fave historical of all time.

My overall choice would be a toss up between Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ “It Had To Be You,” and LaVyrle Spencer’s “Small Town Girl.”  I’d just flip a coin between these to titles as I left for my desert isle.

Julia Quinn’s “Romancing Mr. Bridgerton”. 

And you are mean ... only one choice ... bleh

Just one? No fair! But forced to choose I will have to go with The Grand Sophy by Heyer merely because it is, to this date, the only romance novel I have completely reread cover to cover. This is the mark of a truly awesome book because as much as I, too, love Bet Me I’ve only skimmed it a few times since I first read it 5 years ago.

ai ai ai! One!? Okay, I’ll pick a favorite that is fairly recent. The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston. When I’m having a crappy day, I tend to open that book. Reading any random page brings a smile to my face. It’s magically, really :D

Reading someone’s favorites list always gets me excited! Now, I have to go book hunting!

There is no question about my answer. For me, it’s hands down Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase!

I’m gonna go for Julie Garwood’s The Bride.  Maybe not the best ever, but it’s one of my very favorites!

Oh, tonight it would It Happened One Autumn by Kleypas. Always love reading Westcliff becoming entranced with a thoroughly inappropriate (or so he thinks) woman.

Mary Stewart’s Nine Coaches Waiting. I stole my mom’s copy when I moved out on my own. I’m not sorry, and she found herself a replacement.

Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh or Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night by Kresley Cole (the one with Bowen the sexy mother of a Lykae and Mariketa the witch, and yes, I had to look up the title).

Do I really have to choose?? Come on!

Okay, so Angel’s Blood is I think, the better book overall, but Bowen and Mari just did it for me. They argue, they scream at each other but when they are together the closeness is too, too sweet. She didn’t want him, he didn’t want her but they just can’t seem to pull away.

Okay, I absolutely can’t pick, so just because she’s Australian like me, and was the first Australian to crack the Silhoutte market (go girl!), I’m going to pick Bronwyn Jameson.  Besides, the title sounds indecently cliched it deserves an eye-roll.  If it’s *that* bad and still lands on this list, it deserves to be read. 

I have many of these books, but not all of them…I have some gaps to fill, clearly.  I’m scrambling now.  Dammit.

Thanks for the post.  And congrats on landing in PEOPLE.  Very cool.

Tracy

If I’m limited to one, it would have to be Nora Robert’s “Born In Shame”.  I’ve read it a countless number of times.  Murphy Muldoon is my kind of hero.

One book… I love so many, but Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me changed my life for the better, so gets my vote.

Just one? One author is easier…Laura Kinsale…but 1 book?  I guess it would have to be Prince of Midnight…one of the first romance novels I ever read, and I was hooked for life.

I change my mind all the time but right now I have to pick By Arrangement by Madeline Hunter.

So if you had asked me this question a few months ago, I would have gone one of Julie Garwood’s historicals — probably The Bride or The Wedding because I still laugh every time I read them, or The Gift, because the story still sucks me in, even though I’ve read it countless times. But after reading Lord of Scoundrels (yes, yes, I know, it’s been picked already — twice), I’m going to have to say it’s my new favorite. I love it for the same reasons already cited: the battle of wits, the chemistry, the sultry tension between Dain and Jessica, a fabulously tortured hero and a delightful heroine. Shutting up now. Basically, it’s another one of those books I’ll be reading again in the future and have recommended to others.

Wait - what? Do you mean to pick one from your list?

decision22 - it’s a catch 22 of a decision.

After All These Years, Kathleen Gilles Seidel

“Saving Grace” by Julie Garwood

Not The Gift, Ransom, Ransom! (I used to have a brain, once, I think ...)

Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas without a doubt.

It was one of the first romances I read in English (had been written Dutch translations before that) and it’s still the best I’ve read!

The first one that comes to mind is Shanna by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss.  A classic romance and one of the first I ever read.

Congrats on making to People mag. 

Since the question is unfair, just one?!?  I’ll cheat just a bit it’s a tie between Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost and The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger

Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey (I hope that counts as a romance!)

From the list or best ever? It always depends on what I’m in the mood for. Right now, I could reread Butterfly Tatoo. I do love Morning Glory  beyond all reason.

I love Loretta Chase, but I have to go with Mr. Impossible over Lord of Scoundrels. It has just as much yummy banter, and the heroine is bookish! And sharp-tongued! And not a virgin! And independent! I love Daphne, and I SUPER-love Rupert “I’m going to play dumb because it’s easier to let others have low expectations” Carsington. AND they have sex in a Egyptian pyramid. C’mon! /GOB

This is a nail-biter of a contest—such a yummy prize and only 1 winner!

Since it came out, I have hooked at least five new romance readers with Duran’s Duke of Shadows.  Hands down it’s my favorite and the one I go to to recruit newbies.  I’ve waxed poetic about the book before in an unfortunate email to SB Sarah so I won’t dive back into it here except to say that it is my #1, go-to, will-always-have-on-my-shelf book.

Since Devil in Winter and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton have already been picked, and you have already listed Bet Me, I will have to go with Julia Quinn’s Minx. I have read that book to pieces.

I’d have to go with The Shadow and The Star, list or no list.

So, what did you have to do to get an article in People Magazine?!?  ;)

Gah not sure if i can just pick one. Guess i’ll just name one of my top three, Lisa Kleypas’ The Devil In Winter.

SO hard to pick just one! Augh. If I had to pick just one, though, it would be Georgette Heyer’s The Talisman Ring - hilarious, full of adventure, AND wonderfully romantic, with so many laugh-out-loud lines throughout.

I can’t believe they didn’t show A Hunger Like No Other! That’s like the best romance book right there!

Oh I have been waiting for the print edition of Butterfly Tattoo to come out. That’s my choice!

My current favorite is The Duke’s Wager by Edith Layton.

It was recommended either on this site or in Bosoms as one of Ms. Layton’s best, so I searched out and finally located through Interlibrary Loan.

And WOW, was that recommendation spot on.  It did change the way I feel about heroes and villains (and what constitutes either) and gave me disturbing insight into how difficult and risky it was to be a woman of no means in Regency times.  And how difficult it was to maintain one’s integrity, male or female.

The pay off at the end?  Incredible.  Absolutely perfect.

Like everyone else, I have more than one favorite. As I was reading everyone else’s lists (and taking mental notes of course), the one that came to me as standing out is Sea Swept by Nora Roberts. There’s just something about Anna and Cam…

One?! Sadness. I feel like I should apologize to all my other favorites. Dreaming of You, Lisa Kleypas, is my angsty go-to.

(With a close second to Texas Glory, Lorraine Heath. Out of print and hard-to-find, but Dallas Leigh is my favorite hero.)

Just one?  Jeez, talk about tough decisions!

If I had to pick just one, I’d have to say Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

No Rest for the Wicked, by Kresley Cole.

Wow.

Gonna have to go with Lucky’s Lady by Tami Hoag. That’s one of the few books I have that’s survived every shelf purge.

I don’t think I can pick one-but if I did, I think it would be These Old Shades By Georgette Heyer, simply because I think all my heroes are based on the sneering, cynical awesome Duke of Avon :)

p.s. will see you in Concord tomorrow!!

Time and again, I come back to The Villa by Ms. Roberts.

The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne. Everything about it just fit me to a T. It’s like she wrote the book especially for me. And following that closely is The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. So many good ones that I wish I could list!

Well, Outlander is probably my favorite book of all time, but I don’t consider it a romance.  When I think of Jamie and Claire, I think of the whole series, which is not a romance.  I can’t really separate Outlander from the others.

One of my very favorite romances is The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn.  I just about love everything she writes.

Pamela Morsi’s Simple Jess.

While I like Bet Me, I’d have to go with Jennifer Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation or Manhunting.  My copies are falling apart…

If we’re talking historicals, toss me a Garwood / Laurens / Quinn and I’ll be a happy camper - doesn’t matter which book!

Congrats on making it into People!

Jennifer Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation because it’s fantastic and sexy and hilarious; and Catherine Coulter’s The Nightengale Legacy because who doesn’t love a dark, brooding hero who isn’t all that dark or brooding at all.

And… it just occurred to me that in both of those books, the guy puts out before the girls does.  hmm.

Just one?  Okay, talk about obscure—The Broad Highway by Jeffery (yes, that’s spelled correctly) Farnol.  Even after 100 years, the love story between femme fatale Charmian and shy bookworm Peter is fresh, witty, and charming.  And unlike many historical novels, this one actually feels as though it was written in the period in which it’s set (the Regency.)

spamword;  standard92—yes, I do have a pretty high standard, thank you very much.

So hard to pick one favorite… especially since my answer will be different depending on my mood! At the moment, though, the one that comes to mind first is Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts…

It is so, so hard to pick just one. I’m going to have to go with one of my favorites of the moment: Wild At Heart by Patricia Gaffney.

Only one? Oh..mmm…ahhhh….okay I pick Her Bodyguard by Michelle Jerott.  It has love, humor, danger, mystery… a bit of it all really.

Spam word of about53 is more realistic on the number of books I could list.

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery.  I’ve loved that book since I was a preteen.  I finally broke down and bought a second copy a few years ago because my original copy fell apart.

I’m another Heyer fan.  The Grand Sophy?  Devil’s Cub? No, The Grand Sophy. 

Stopping now, before I change my mind again.

Since I can only pick one, I’m going old school favorite.

Caroline by Willo Davis Roberts (part of the Sunfire series from Scholastic? I think.)

Man, did I love that book in jr. high. Feisty main character cuts off her hair (thus disguising her as a boy!) and follows her brothers on the trail for gold in California, meanwhile becoming attracted to the man who she ends up traveling with while in disguise! What’s not to love?
*sigh*

I should have added, this was the first romance novel I ever read that was written entirely from the hero’s POV (which makes sense, as the writer was a man) but in the 1970’s was really a revelation, since nearly all romances of that period were entirely from the viewpoint of the female protagonist.

Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain.

Discovered in a paper bag full of yard sale books when I was 12. I found a copy on e-bay about 3 years ago and now it lives on my keeper shelf.

Georgette Heyer’s Devil’s Cub. Just thinking about it makes me feel warm and happy. (Although now I’m planning on rereading Bet Me this weekend, because that’s another warm and happy read…)

One?

ONE?????

I can’t. Not one…. okay, I can. No, I can’t…...

THE WOLF AND THE DOVE by Kathleen Woodiwiss

No. No, that’s not it.
Wait.
ummmm

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer.

I like the earlier These Old Shades, but that heroine is a tad too young and perky for me.

Impossible to pick one, so I’ll go with the book that got me hooked on romances, The Duke and I by miss Julia Quinn.

If I had to pick JUST ONE…*sigh*  OK, I can do this…  Umm.  Night Play, by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  It’s not perfect, but there’s something about it that gets me rereading it over and over.

Georgette Heyer. But which one?  Devil’s Cub!  A Civil Contract!  Frederica!  Oh, I’ll just close my eyes and point to…  I can’t do it.  Devil’s Cub - probably gets re-read the most.

Ooh, and Bet Me is another favorite, which snuck in when I hadn’t noticed yet that I read a lot of romance.

Is The Windflower available anywhere as an ebook?

I haven’t read everyone else’s choices, and choosing is not easy. But the one that comes to mind immediately is “The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie”. That story just really drew me in and packed a wallop because he wasn’t a perfect hero. I loved how it really showed him in a positive light even with his mental problems.

I am waiting, not very patiently, for the next book in the series. The fact that I would choose a regency book, for me, is surprising since they are not my first choice in genre.

But this one was goood.

Jennifer Crusie’s,  Taking Care of Bradley   still makes me howl with laughter after all these years….And I still want a sequel to it.  I don’t CARE if she doesn’t work for H,M&B anymore

I shouldn’t have read all the comments, because I kept changing my mind! THAT one. No, THAT one. I’ll go with Dream a Little Dream by SEP.

An oldy but goody from my keeper shelf: “Taming The Night” by Paula Detmar Riggs. ‘cause most of the obvious ones have already been mentioned!

— Bonz

Grats!  But I am so not feeling the enthusiasm in those recommendations.  Ugh.  Anything with the word “magnate” or “scoundrels” in the title is NOT going to speak to younger readers.  I would only read them if they were by known authors or parts of series that I *really* like.

How to choose?? I’m going to go with Judith Ivory’s The Proposition. I love a good Pygmalion story, and Mick is an utterly dreamy hero.

Gut reaction is Ain’t She Sweet by SEP.  I keep going back to it over and over.  (If I think about the question too long, I’ll never answer!)

Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion

If I stop and think about it, I get indecisive and dither between about seventeen.  But Cotillion was my first, instinctive answer so I’m going with that.  Freddy is adorable, and so dependable.

My favorite is also BET ME. I just loved that book. How can one resist a man who loves a woman with curves?

Congrats on getting into People’s. It couldn’t have happen to more deserving ladies!

Easy. Oh, yes. Easy as cutting a finger off with a bread knife, with one hand tied behind my back. Soooo easy. :-)

Um…

A recent read that blew me away was Gena Showalter’s The Darkest Night, first in the Lords of the Underworld trilogy. Oh, so much angst and darky-dark happenings and yummy men. Plus angst. Did I mention angst? I do loves me some angst. Especially torturous and bloody angst with screaming men.

Verification is present57. Can’t I present 57 favorites?

For me, hands down, it’s Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning. She weaves this OMGIwantthismanNOW! hero through all of her Highlander books until you get to read his story. It’s hot, sexy, heartbreaking, sexy, full of Fae and humans and intrigue and sexy and no matter how many times I’ve read it, I still cry at the end of it.

Did I mention it’s really, really sexy?

Because it is.

Word: not22, and boy am I glad I’m not anymore…

My favorite is Public Secrets by Nora Roberts. I have read that book every year since I was 17. It was one of the first “real” romances that I ever read.

The Spymaster’s Lady.  I’m rereading it now, as a matter of fact.

Oh, and kpsr? I adore Caroline! The Sunfire books were the best, and Caroline was one of the best of the best!

Oh gosh, decisions, decisions…...I’m going to say TENDER IS THE STORM by Johanna Lindsey. It’s my comfort read and always makes
me sigh with pleasure at the end.

The Windflower, by Laura London aka Sharon & Tom Curtis.

One?  Oh hell.  Really?  I think I have to go with Saving Grace by Julie Garwood.

Terisa Wilcox

Well, seeing I can only choose one, it would have to be The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning.  I love Adam Black :D

Gotta be The Compase Rose by Gail Dayton.

Picking one is impossible, but I’ll go with the first romance novel I read: “Paradise” by Judith McNaught.

Call it sappy, but it’ll always be “The Notebook” (Nicholas Sparks) for me :)