As I’ve been working on The Book, I’ve realized that there are woefully large holes in my romance reading education. Never mind that every day is “Help a Bitch Out” day in my brain as I try to remember which plot goes with which title and author name. I am one of those people who remembers the cover image and color scheme more than the names. It’s truly a flaw, but it’s not as bad as my inability to remember numbers. I am a complete mess when trying to remember an address in Manhattan, where there’s building numbers, street numbers, floor numbers, and suite numbers. Forget it. Everyone needs to live on a named avenue.
Anyway, as I’ve confronted these giant gaping embarrassing holes in my romance knowledge, I have decided to do what I usually do when I realize I don’t know about something. I fire up the OCD and start reading and learning as much as I can as fast as I can until my brain says, “ENOUGH. GO WATCH QVC while I percolate!”
So! Here’s my plan: January 2008: I’m going to read category novels. HQ: Presents, SilDesire, Blaze – as many as I can. I’m skipping the Steeple Hill as inspirational romance is another gaping hole to be leaped over at a later date.
(February 2008: Black Romance. Any and all romance featuring African-American protagonists. But I’m not ready to plan that one yet.)
My plan is to read and review as many category novels as I can, though the reviews may be smaller than my normal nattering of many, many words, so that I can not only familiarize myself with as many of these books as possible, but understand how they work and why they comprise such a popular and enduring niche in the romance publishing world. Fortunately for me, my wallet, and my bag (and my back!) I am starting to build an eBook library bit by bit so if I can find some titles online, that makes me a happy Sarah.
If you have any recommendations – series romance past, present, or way, way back in the day – please pass it along. I’m a-hunting a wide sample.
House Rule: You may, of course, recommend your own book, BUT for every one of your own books you mention, you must recommend one by another author.
I’m going to recommend Jessica Bird and Annie West, neither of whom are me, both of whom are really good.
I recommend Cindy Dees and her Medusa series. They started out as Sil. Bombshell books, but then the line collapsed and they are through Sil. Romantic Suspense now.
The series is about a kick-ass group of military Special Forces chicks. Think GI Jane, but actually more realistic as Cindy is ex-military and her hubby is stil in.
Well there’s the eHarlequin freebie ebooks between now and Jan 1. You can pick up one a day.
Otherwise, I’m not much help.
Vivi Anna’s Nocturnes are a good option for that line. They’re both excellent.
Judith Duncan – The Renegade and the Heiress. I like her writing, and I think that’s the most categorish title possible. Wouldn’t have read it if I hadn’t known the author was good.
Nora Roberts – because you have to. Lots of choice. I like Convincing Alex – it has a good heroine – she’s very individual.
Suzanne Brockmann – Harvard’s Education. Haven’t read this recently, so I don’t know if it’s stood the test of time, but I read it until it disintegrated when it first came out.
Kathleen Korbel – I’d choose Simple Gifts – very positive heroine, very troubled hero – and I also liked practically all of Justine Davis’ earlier books. If you read her ‘Leader of the Pack’ together with Korbel’s ‘Simple Gifts’, and Nora’s ‘Convincing Alex’, you could then write a treatise of the policeman as hero in romance.
And I remember thinking Linda Howard’s MacKenzie books were something special when they came out. ‘MacKenzie’s Pleasure’ was my favourite.
Are you doing Regency categories as well, or is that for another month?
I’m going to recommend anything by Karen Templeton. She used to write for the Silhouette Intimate Moments line, but now writes for Silhouette Special Edition. Her books are feel-good wonderful, and she can be pretty funny, too. One of my favorites of hers was EVERYBODY’S HERO.
I don’t write category but I love reading it. I highly recommend One Pefect Man by Lynda Sandoval (Special Edition) and now I’m completely blanking on an SE that I read recently that blew me away. Ay yi yi!
Holy crap, I’m getting so frickin’ old.
Now and Forever by Nora Roberts is a classic. LOVE that book!
Oh wait now I remember. The Night Shadows series by Linda Conrad was really good.
Good luck!
By the way, you are such a wench for hooking me on Loretta Chase! I was going to finish my book but oh no, you had to recommend an author who rocks. Damn you, SmartBitches! (In a good way, of course!)
Mary C.
Lorelie,
where do I find the free ebook on Harlequin? I don’t see anything on their website that mentions that offer.
Thanks!
-Randi
Randi:
Go to http://ebooks.eharlequin.com and in the middle of the main page is a red and orange scrolling ad for “free eBook every day until Jan 1.”
Today’s offer is “Her Rebel Lord.”
Went outside to put the chickens in, and remembered another policeman hero I loved. Book’s Rachel Lee’s ‘Cherokee Thunder’.
Again, I haven’t read it in ages, and it may have dated. I think category books do date more quickly than other books somehow. Perhaps it’s because, by their nature, you read a lot of them, so a plot that is new and interesting when you read it first, seems old hat when you reread the book at a later juncture.
And Keeper by Patricia Gardner Evans – can’t remember anything about the book, except that I thought it particularly good when I read it. And there’s fishing in it.
“Went outside to put the chickens in?” That could be a fantastic euphemism for some naughty business!
I love “old” category. 80s/90s.
Linda Howard – Sarah’s Child. Anything with Mckenzies or Kell Sabin.
Jayne Ann Krentz – Joy (Temptation) was always my favorite – but any of her Temptations are awesome.
Nora – The MacGregors. Period. The end.
If you can find them – Sandra Brown, Janet Evanovich and Tami Hoag in Loveswept.
Barbara Delinski – Temptation.
Rachel Lee – Intimate Moments – Miss Evangaline…. somethign something – was my favorite.
What’s cool about reading the bestsellers back when they were young – is you can still see the voice and what makes them great, but because the stories are more focused you can enjoy the central romance without all the other stuff that comes with single title.
I recommend Jamie Sobrato. She writes for Blaze. I also just read Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Talking About Sex (Blaze 2005) and OMG was it hot.
SB Sarah and Lorelie – I went to the http://ebooks.eharlequin.com/ link Sarah listed and saw that ad for free ebooks, but I couldn’t figure out where where the ad linked – no matter how much I clicked inside it, nothing happened. Are we supposed to click outside the ad itself? Or is my Safari browser just not working well with Harlequin today?
(Or even more possibly, am I just missing something obvious? It’s been that kind of day…sigh!)
Thank you!
You can try this page and see if that works.
Sarah – I recently finished two LoveSwepts by Tom and Sharon Curtis: A Golden Touch and Lightening Lingers. Both are wonderful, in that awesomely retro 80s romance way. A Golden Touch features a rock star hero and a preacher’s daughter.
Also, I agree with whomever recommended Linda Howard’s MacKenzie’s. In particular, try to spend some time with Zane MacKenzie (McKenzie’s Pleasure). He’s just delicious.
I also love Night Watch by Suzanne Brockmann. I own most of her Tall Dark and Dangerous series, but Wes is my favorite.
My favorite Nora is Dance of Dreams, which can be found in Silhouette’s rerelease anthology called Reflections and Dreams. It’s wonderful too.
Don’t know if you plan to include Special Editions in your reading, but Judy Duarte and Crystal Green both have lots of great books in that line.
I also love Mary Buckham’s Invisible Recruit and Sharron McClellan’s Midas Trap in the Bombshell line (I think they both now write under the Sil Romantic Suspense now).
Jane Porter is one under the Harl. Presents line that’s good to read. Always has very yummy heroes.
RT just announced their 2007 Reviewer’s Choice awards…here are the Blazes:
BEYOND BREATHLESS
Kathleen O’Reilly
(January 2007)
ALL OVER YOU
Sarah Mayberry
(April 2007)
STRIPPED
Julie Leto
(August 2007)
SWEPT AWAY
Dawn Atkins
(September 2007)
SEX BOMB
Jamie Sobrato
(November 2007)
I also love Jamie Sobrato’s books, and Vicki Lewis Thompson and Leslie Kelly and Tori Carrington and well, too many to name.
Hey Julie – congrats on the nomination!
I have to agree with Marianne who recommended Kathleen Korbel (aka Eileen Dryer);
Elda Minger used to write for Temptation and I love her;
Fiona Brand, Justine Davis, for SIM;
Christine Rimmer likes cowboys for SSE.
Lori Foster wrote for Temptation for a while. I like her earlier categories MUCH better than her current stuff. I loved her book “Fantasy” which was for Temptation. I think it’s been rereleased. There was a spin-off of that book that became one of her singles for St. Martin. Didn’t like the spin-off NEARLY as much as the original.
If you want the “classics” there’s always Kay Hooper, Jenny Crusie, Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, etc.
I’ll have to surf through my collection and see if I can find anything else. I love category books because they’re such quick and easy reads.
Thanks, Sarah.
A lot of my favorites have been mentioned, but I have to second or third the following:
Nora’s MacGregors
Linda Howard’s MacKenzies (especially MacKenzie’s Pleasure as I own *three* original copies…it is one of my top 10 romances, evah)
Fiona Brand’s Down Under SAS books (I liked Blade’s Lady and Gabriel West: Still the One)
Kay Hooper’s Hagen series from Loveswept
I’d also like to pipe up for Donna Kauffman’s early Blazes, Her Secret Thrill and His Private Pleasure. I think those may have been the last categories I made a point of reading. Oh, wait, I did read Julie Miller’s In the Blink of an Eye from Harlequin Intrigue and liked it. I’ve been meaning to catch up and read the other stories in that series for years.
Julie Leto, Jo Leigh, Alison Kent, Jill Monroe, Stephanie Tyler, Leslie Kelly…all great Blazes. (And I know I’m forgetting some. I really love the Blaze line!)
Karen Templeton writes wonderful books. Smart, funny, heartwarming and romantic.
Nalini Singh writes awesome Desires.
None of these people are me. (I wish! Heh)
Here are some of the authors I consider “classics” among the Harlequin Presents & Romance lines:
Violet Winspear (her books were published 1960s-80s, and apparently she is still very popular among category readers, particularly in Australia)
Anne Mather (HP)
Kate Walker (HP; I enjoyed all of her books)
Penny Jordan (HP; loved, loved, loved Lover by Deception—amnesia story *g*)
Miranda Lee (HP; many of her older books, e.g. The Playboy’s Proposition, are more playful than the usual HPs)
Sarah Craven (HP)
Lynne Graham (HP)
Charlotte Lamb (HP)
Lucy Gordon (HR; her books tend to be somewhat melancholic, but also rather unusual: The Pregnancy Bond is great, and The Italian’s Wife by Sunset is one of the most unusual romances I’ve ever read: it contains very detailed descriptions of the setting, several passages consist of dialogue only (no speech tags!), the heroine is seven years older than the boyish-looking hero, and the happy ending isn’t quite as happy as one might expect from a category romance)
Susan Fox (HR; her Prodigal Wife is my most favourite romance ever!)
Liz Fielding (HR; A Wife on Paper is just great!)
Leigh Michaels (HR)
Margaret Way (HR)
Jessica Steele (HR)
~*~
I hope this helps. 🙂 Do you also need titles of Harlequin Historicals?
Mr. Family by Margot Early, Harlequin SuperRomance #711, from Oct 1996.
Agree w/rec of Karen Templeton, particularly her earlier SIMs.
Rachel Lee’s SIM Conard County series was outstanding.
Kathleen Korbel SIMs, particularly A Rose for Maggie and The Ice Cream Man.
Roxanne St. Claire. Hands down one of the best category writers out there. Her McGrath brothers series for Silhouette Desire is fabulous (Like a Hurricane, The Fire Still Burns, When the Earth Moves). Another terrific one is Sins of His Past. But the absolute best is His Style of Seduction, which is a December 07 Desire. The hero is unconventional yet utterly alpha and sexy. The scene where the hero and heroine meets will leave you hot and bothered, and the resolution will have you in tears. Gotta read HSOS.
Another fave category writer is Kristi Gold. My favorites of her books are House of Midnight Fantasies (Desire May 06 and don’t let the crappy cover turn you off). HOMF was a Rita nominee this year and combines a touch of paranormal with a lot of sexy. Another good book by Gold is Fall from Grace, one of the launch books for the Harlequin Everlasting Love line. It reads like a single title book.
Both St. Claire and Gold have a great way of intermingling sensuality with humor.
Geez, I hadn’t read a category romance since 1988 (that’s the year my step-mom unsubscribed from Harlequin’s book club) until I read Louise Allen’s “Virgin Slave, Barbarian King” this weekend. Based on the recs on this list, I requested a couple from my library. My last foray into category romancelandia proved that they are uneven in terms of talent and storytelling ability. I appreciate having a list from the discerning SBTB readers.
SB Sarah—good luck in your quest to round out your romance knowledge. I might follow along . . .
If you want to get an idea of current tastes in category, it’s best to read what’s on the shelves now. The classics are great but a lot of them wouldn’t be published now because they don’t fit into the requirements of the lines (which is a real problem for HMB I think, they’ve become less adventurous). That said, my favs are Bronwyn Jamison, Nalini Singh, Annie West and of course new Desire author and past crit partner Paula Roe 🙂 Also anything by Ruth Wind and Virginia Kantra. I tend to go for categories with moving stories. It’s a personal preference thing, but stories where the hero and heroine are trapped or in someway only interacting with each other, I find boring. They have to be doing something and letting the world in. That’s why I like Nora Roberts old categories.
Linda Howard and Elizabeth lowell’s old categories are fantastic for from old school bitch slappery from the heroes – there’s one linda howard where the hero throws the heroine down a cliff I think.
As for more recent – I read a great Silhouette Desire by Rocki St. Claire recently – I think it’s called the CEO’s Scandalous Affair, or something like that, but I really liked it.
I always liked the Silhouette Shadows line.
Candlelight Ecstasy and Loveswept, if you can find them
Jayne Krentz did a mystery series, but I don’t remember what line it was under.
Trying not to repeat some of the fabulous suggestions, I would Catherine Mann – she has the Wingman warriors series, i think there’s a Blaze in there, and some others too.
And Amy J. Fetzer and Merlin Lovelace – I am blanking on the titles of theirs I really enjoyed right now.
jeez Sarah—-i can’t help you…because i have the same request. actually a blanket request(didn’t i put my foot in there?) in that i need a Romance Guide…to the books,gals….how do i post this request,or did i just do…hey, i’m an Engish Lit major…i can write. seriously….where do i start that’s not a Stupid Place….anyone out there help meee,pleeeease
“Jayne Krentz did a mystery series, but I don’t remember what line it was under.”
It was for Dell, the Guinevere Jones series of four books, set in Seattle and environs. She wrote under her Jayne Castle name. I own one and would love to read the others. When will they be reissued?
Kay
I agree with the recommendation that you try to find some Bombshell books. I’m not versed enough to recommend specific writers at Harlequin or Sillohuette, but I do know I was pretty impressed with the premise behind that line and was sorry they ditched it.
I also thought it was interesting to see a themed line and look at how different authors contributed to the ongoing series.
Maybe you can post the titles you find and we can have a read-along! 🙂
Uh, Sarah, I hesitate to do this, because I’m thrilled to death that you’re doing African American books, but could you NOT do them in February? I know it’s AA History Month and all that jazz, and the link seems obvious, but a LOT of black people find it really annoying. Of course, it’s just a suggestion. If it’s a choice of doing them in February or not at all I’ll be delighted to have them done in February.
My only category romance suggestion would be just about any of Brenda Jackson’s, but especially Delaney’s Desert Sheikh.
Classic series books that have stood the test of time, simply because publishers have re-printed or recorded the books.
CJ’s Fate by Kay Hooper at Audible.com
There are 15 of Nora Roberts’ series books at Audible.com, unabridged.
Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie at Audible.com and Fictionwise.com
MacKenzie’s Pleasure and MacKenzie’s Mission by Linda Howard at Audible.com
The Complete MacKenzie Collection at Fictionwise.com is on sale right now for almost 50% off. 4 books and a novella for $11.63 is a steal. I paid full price for these, just to have in my e-book reader for whenever I want to re-read.
Also at Fictionwise, Anne Stuart’s Out-Of-Print Gems, including Cinderman (worth the cost just for the exploding cars), Night of the Phantom, One More Valentine, Wild Thing, and The Soldier and the Baby.
At Fictionwise. The Grail Keepers Duo by Evelyn Vaughn. consisting of AKA Goddess and Her Kind of Trouble, these 2 books start a multi-author series that is pretty good.
The Tall, Dark, and Dangerous Series by Sizanne Brockmann is for sale at Fictionwise in sets of 3 books each.
The Pack Collection by Karen Whiddon at Fictionwise, including One Eye Open, One Eye Close, and Secrets of the Wolf. I picked these up, even though I haven’t been reading series books for the last 3-4 years.
The Wings in the Night series by Maggie Shayne is also really good. At Fictionwise.
All of that to say, check out Fictionwise and Audible. Harlequin is publishing all of their series books in e-format, and Fictionwise carries them every month. Lots of reading for no storage space.
Other solid series authors include Susan Mallery, Karen Templeton, Catherine Mann, and Marie Ferrarella.
Wow, lots of good recs. Almost all my faves are already recommended. Not much I can add Jessica Hart writes great fun Harlequin Romances.
I also love Suzanne Brockmann’s series under the old Silhouette Intimate Moments line, Tall, Dark, and Dangerous. “Get Lucky” is my favorite of that series, the first category romance I read and probably still one of my top ten books of all time. Perfect if you love the “plain girl gets the playboy” type of story. Except, this plain girl has a great sense of humor and instantly sees through all his b.s. She calls him a Ken Doll when she first sees him.
I was pleasantly surprised by Kristin Hardy. I tried a few of her Blaze titles, and wasn’t wowed, but I really did enjoy “Under His Spell,” one of her Silhouette Special Editions. Strong writing and excellent characterization. I’m not a category reader, but she really did impress me.
Also, I have to plug my friend Diane Pershing’s books for Silhouette Intimate Moments.
If I may kick it old skool, and if it counts, might I also proffer the ass-kickingly incredible Carla Kelly, who wrote Signet Regencies for years, and her latest was a Harlequin Historical.
Here are some of the authors I consider “classics” among the Harlequin Presents & Romance lines:
Ooops, I should have perhaps mentioned that most of the people I’ve listed for the Harlequin Presents and Harlequin Romance lines are still writing for the same lines. So, they are, sort of, modern classics of category romance. 🙂
When it comes to series romance I only enjoy the ‘vintage’ ones. Anything having words such as ‘virgin’, ‘secret baby’, ‘billionnaire’, ‘pregnant’, ‘cowboy’, ‘sheik’ etc…in the title won’t do it for me. What happened to normal titles anyway?
That said, I’d rec Susan Napier, especially Secret Admirer (I think the hero will surprise you). Napier hasn’t met a widow(er) or amnesia plot she didn’t like but the writing is top notch. I discovered her thanks to blogger Rosario.
I’m also very fond of Charlotte Lamb and Sara Craven. Lamb wrote very un-pc books back in the 70s/80s and she’s aguilty pleasure of mine.