Behold, the excitement! I am containing myself to one exclamation point (not including the title) and that was it. Please appreciate my restraint, here.
I have A Pile Of ARCs to give away of my October book, Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels, which so very, very many of you helped create.
From the depths of the box on my dining room table currently being fought over by my cats, I have 10 shiny copies to giveaway.
But that is Not All.
This book is all about the lessons we’ve learned from reading romance novels, and it includes stories from romance readers and authors. My goal with this book was to show that the romance community is filled with incredibly smart and thoughtful readers and writers, and to put to rest the tired idea that romances create unrealistic expectations of love, relationships and sex. Romances, as many of us know, are more often a road map of What To Do and What Not To Do in real life relationships.
So many people contributed, and so very many people went above and beyond to make suggestions and provide stories and lessons learned that this book really isn’t about the genre so much as it is about the women who read and write romance, and how much we have learned from our favorite books. Therefore just giving away the ARC isn’t really enough.
Here’s my plan. Leave a comment and please tell me the one romance novel you want to recommend above all others to someone who hasn’t tried the genre (yes, just one) (yes, I suck) and you are entered to win.
What can you win? Awesome stuff!
Ten winners will be picked at random and each winner will receive an ARC of Everything I Know About Love, I Learned From Romance Novels (Which I refer to as “EIKAL” because there is nothing I love like a REALLY LONG TITLE, BABY, YEAH!).
The winner will also receive one of the following titles from these authors who also appear in the book:
But wait, there is still more. I have 10 copies of a special Jennifer Crusie omnibus edition that contains both Bet Me and Welcome to Temptation in one book – and each winner will receive a copy of that book, too. Each of these authors, plus many many more, appear in the book, providing stories and advice or landing a spot on one of the recommended reading lists in the book.
There will be more chances to win, do not worry. I’m giving away 10 here, and a few on Goodreads and on Twitter. (Any possible giveaways on Facebook will have to be random like a semi-drunk fairy landing on the keyboard and highlighting someone’s comment by chance while I’m half-looking at the screen to stay in line with the Facebook Terms of Service. Then I have to contact the winners by semaphore with hot pink flags while facing the eastern skyline.)
Standard disclaimers apply: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Do not wear a pelisse in the rain. Stirrups are required, but boots are optional. We’ll sell you the whole seat but you’ll only need the edge. Stripes and plaid are rarely a positive fashion statement.
Comments will be open until noon on Friday, 20 May, and I will announce the winners then. Contest is open to international readers, and since my stats indicate no readers in Greenland, if someone enters from Greenland and wins I’ll send them extra stuff. Come on, Greenland!
Honesty time: I am enormously proud of this book, and humbled by the number of people who shared how much their romances mean to them, and how valuable romances have been in their lives. This book wouldn’t be what it is without the authors and readers who contributed, so I can’t send out the ARC by itself. It has to have company.
My gateway book was Jennifer Crusie’s Fast Women, so I may be biased, but it seems a great way to pass on the romance goodness. (Wow, it looks like a lot of us are recommending our own gateways! Which makes sense, I mean if they worked once…)
Congrats on the new book!
It may not be what everyone thinks of as a romance novel but I am about to recommend it to my friends who just graduated and don’t have required reading anymore. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson. Originally written in 1938, it’s politically incorrect and charming. And it is all about the HEA.
Well, I feel like I’ve read enough books, authors, and subgeneras by now (and spent enough time on blogs), to try to tailor my recommendations to the interests of the person asking for a book. However, I’ve found that most people wanting to read their first romance, or are still new to the genera, don’t get specific and tend towards “Just pick one for me.” That being the case, I generally hand them an old Julie Garwood Scottish Historical. Typically The Secret or Ransom. The Secret was my first ever romance, and I still love it, but I actually like Ransom a bit more. I feel like Garwood is the best of what most people are expecting.
If they want a contemporary, I’ll recommend Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, but I don’t actually own it, so I can’t hand it to them – just tell them to hit the library. Or I check it out from the library for them – I REALLY like being able to hand someone a book. I’ve also recommended Something About You by Julie James.
If they’re outdoorsy, I recommend The Wilders series by Jill Shalvis.
If they really liked the Garwood historical, I’ll follow up with Lord of Scoundrels. Again, I don’t own LoS, so I can’t hand it to them, so it’s not generally my first recommendation.
If they want paranormal I have to cross-reference with The Bitchery since I don’t typically read that subgenera.
If they want a romance suspense, then I bring them home with me because that’s my favorite genera and they can go to town in my collection. I’d probably recommend Kiss & Tell by Cherry Adair, a Garwood contemporary starting with Heartbreaker or Mercy, or The Naked Edge by Pamela Clare.
I’d have to say The Rainbow Season by Lisa Gregory. It was one of my first romances and an automatic comfort read for me.
Definitely “Montana Sky” by Nora Roberts. I had just moved to Greifswald, Germany from the US and I wanted to work on my fluency, so a friend recommended I start reading novels. I’d never heard of Nora Roberts (and I love her, though I don’t think she’s the most romantic writer ever), so I picked up “Die Weite Himmel” (in English – Montana Sky…way to translate directly…). I learned so much about good lovin’ from that book! I learned extremely important German words and phrases like “Er triebt sie zum Gipfel” (he pushed her towards the climax/peak) and “Sie zittert mit Sehnsucht” (she shivered with longing). All phrases I use in daily life now.
Without a doubt, “A Rose In Winter”
This is so hard! Arrgh! 🙂
Okay, I would recommend “Beauty Like the Night,” by Liz Carlyle. That’s some powerful storytelling.
Woot! Congratulations, Sarah 🙂
One book? Well, I already recommended LOS to my friend’s reading group last year, but there are SO MANY others. I’m going to close my eyes, scroll through my database and point at titles until one yells at me. Here goes…
Connie Brockway’s My Dearest Enemy. It’s hilarious, witty, sweet and a great book to use as an introduction.
Whew – that just saved me from choosing from the likes of Not Quite a Husband, Bound by Your Touch, Mr. Impossible, My False Heart, The Perfect Rake, Like No Other Lover…
europe73: yep, I’ll probably be seventy-three before I ever make it to Europe.
Now that the backs of my eyeballs are hurting from all the possibilities bouncing around in my head, I’ll go with The Duke’s Wager by Edith Layton. Like SRS and PamG said, it does depend on the person you’re trying to convert; but I don’t want just any old riffraff in the club, so I’m going with the Layton.
study56: Yep, there are at least 56 choices to study in making a decision.
I can’t wait to read this book. Really, I can’t. This is going to rock.
For an intro to historical, I would recommend Lord of Scoundrels or Last Night’s Scandal , depending on the personality of who’s getting the reco, or any Julia Quinn. For contemporary, I’d pick Lisa Kleypas’ Smooth Talking Stranger.
theres52 – there’s 52 more books I could recommend (ungrammatically)! Narrowing down is hell.
Its so hard to choose just one…I’d go with Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, so many of my friends have loved that series
The one that hooked me was Chase’s Mr. Impossible, so that’d be my recommendation.
(give92: If I had 92 copies to give away, I certainly would.)
Okay, this is just an EVIL contest. there is no way…
but the first thing that popped into my mind was Welcome to Temptation by J. Crusie. Probably because BET ME is up there…power of suggestion, JC? Whatever.
I hate having to choose just one, but if I had to I think it would have to be a Heyer. And of all the Heyers I think I’d have to choose Venetia—the one with my favorite reformed rake, Damerel.
Another vote for Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale. Absolutely fantabulous characters and writing.
Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick is one of my favorite historical reads.
For contemporary, I would recommend Virgin River by Robyn Carr. The relationships, the town, the humor, the sex are all pitch-perfect for me. It’s the best of all her books. For paranormal, I would pick Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh and Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilks. I had the Wilks in my TBR pile for several years and when I finally pulled it out and read it, I wondered why I had waited so long. I quickly went out and purchased all of the Lupi series that was out at that time. Both Singh and Wilks have terrific world-building skills and also know how to write about relationships. I make sure I know when their next books are coming out.
The one book I rave, rave, RAVE above all others is Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. To me, that book holds all things sacred and addictive about romance.
Lord of Scoundrels hands down. 🙂
Another vote for “Montana Sky” by Nora Roberts. It’s classic Roberts: three romances in one story, a bare-knuckled exploration of friendship and family, wrapped up in a mystery.
I know I risk sounding vain, but obviously the book I most want other people to read is my own, the romantic suspense Rattled. But I do also think this would be a good one for many first-time readers, as it has lots of action and outdoor adventure, plus a strong female friendship and a hero whom men should like too. That means it might appeal to people who don’t want “just” a relationship story. Plus, the cover—a desert scene with a rattlesnake and a helicopter flying over a mountain—is something that even a man could carry in public without embarrassment!
Rattled: romantic suspense in the dramatic and deadly southwestern desert
Read the first three chapters: http://www.krisbock.com
paperback $7.99, e-book $2.99: http://tinyurl.com/3hvdxyy
For a science fiction/fantasy fan, I’d recommend The Sharing Knife series by Lois McMaster Bujold, especially the first book, Beguilement. The characters of 18-year-old farmer girl Fawn Bluefield and 55-year-old Lakewalker Dag Redwing couldn’t be more different, but they grow to love and trust one another in the first book, and their love deepens in the following volumes. There’s magic of a kind, a steamy relationship, a well-drawn world, and lots of interesting characters learning to live with one another.
I have a friend who’s been doing Straight Guy Reviews of Romance Novels, and all the (okay, 2) books other people have picked for him have been TERRIBLE. I keep trying to throw The Spymaster’s Lady at him so he can see what a GOOD romance is like.
Just one? If I must… The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton
The Bridal Season by Connie Brockway. It’s funny, sexy and with a heroine who doesn’t have to compromise her passions to get her man.
Since you’re limiting me to only one, the romance I recommend (and lend out most) would be Stephanie Laurens’ Devil’s Bride. A friend gifted me this book close to eight years ago now and I still remember that birthday because I got this book as well as Naked in Death by J. D. Robb. Two amazing books that lead to so many hours spent reading.
Tough question, I would recommend reading Once an Angel by Teresa Medeiros. Its just one of my favs. It is sweet, sexy, witty, fun and adventurous, There is a brooding hero and a sassy heroione! What more can you want! Thanks for sharing with us!
I would recommend anything by Lisa Kleypas to be honest. But if I could only choose one? I think I’d recommend “Dreaming of You.” It has great, detailed characters, a wonderfully sweet but edgy romance and an element of mystery. The dialogue is fantastic, the scenes are detailed enough to where you feel you’re in the room. Every element that makes up a wonderful romance is in this book!
Thanks for the giveaway! I can’t wait to read this! 🙂
As practically everyone has said, the recommendation would depend a lot on the person and the general kinds of novel that they like, whether contemporary or historical, dramatic, full of suspense, witty — there are so many possibilities. And even with the incomparable Heyer, Crusie, Mary Stewart and others to choose from, I’d probably go for Jayne Ann Krentz. I think I would suggest Absolutely Positively, but it would again depend on the potential reader: others might respond better to Deep Waters, or Trust Me, or Sharp Edges…
🙂
I’ll have to say These Old Shades for sheer brilliance of characterization, plot and wit. I give it to every anti-romance book snob I come across.
While I love Crusie (although Bet Me is not my favorite), I think I would go with Georgette Heyer.
the Grand Sophy
Actually, it has a lot of discussion of what you really want in a life-partner – fbeauty and mediocre poetry is not as valuable as thoughtfulness and competence (who can hail a cab in the rain? what does he give to you and your deathly ill little sister?).
Congratulations! Can’t wait to read the book!
My recommendation would have to be Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. I may have come to La Chase late, but that was my failure, not hers. Complex characters, deep plots, heartbreaking, adult relationships, this book has got it going on and is always my first recommend to people who have yet to experience the glory that is romance.
safeword: say96 – I could say 96 fabulous things about the great Loretta Chase and still have more to say.
Congrats on the book Sarah!
Just one romance recommendation!?!
I’d have to go with a Gena Showalter title, Heart of the Dragon (Atlantis, #1), because I love that series and it’s a great way to get introduced to Gena’s amazing writing.
ok if it has to be just one I will pick Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I recommend the Dark Hunter Series to lots of people. Kenyon has a great imagination and I always look forward to what Semi is up to (although I can not remember if she was in the first book).
I would recommend a book by my favorite contemporary romance author, Susan Elizabeth Phillips: What I Did for Love. That’s the one that started my love for her books!
Master of Desire by Kinley MacGregor.
You know my first love is Dorothy Dunnett, but there are those who say her books are historical fiction rather than romance. So, for a first-time romance reader, you can’t really go wrong with Loretta Chase. My favorite of hers is Lord Perfect, but really anything by her is pretty much a sure thing.
I will have to go with Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn. I love the humor and characters. I have read it over and over.
I enjoyed Beyond Heaving Bosoms very much (I even used it in my ‘real life’ academic work), so I am really looking forward to the new one!!
The Spymaster’s Lady. Definitely.