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.
Just one? You do suck. Okay, here goes…
Too Much Temptation by Lori Foster
From the twisted, sweaty sheets sex to the sweet way the romance unfolds this is a keeper.
I usually recommend Julia Quinn’s The Duke and I, always with great results 🙂
I would have to say Julia Quinn’s ROMANCING MR. BRIDGERTON. I love the entire series, but ROMANCING MR. BRIDGERTON is by far my favorite.
I’d recommend…Pride and Prejudice, just to piss off the Janeites and blow away the snobs.
Yay! I’ll recommend “Lord of Scoundrels.” Although it would totally depend on the person, of course, but that one is so good that lots of people would like it. Thanks so much for the faaaabulous giveaway!
I would say Sleepless in Scotland by Karen Hawkins. It was the first romance novel that I read that I didn’t feel had all those cliches that one fears when they haven’t yet read a romance novel. It was really romantic, actually. Not what I was expecting at all.
SIgh…Gotta be Crusie’s Anyone But You. Because it’s funny and adorable, but the characters aren’t dingbats.
I would totally recommend Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. I love old skool without old skool alpha male nonsense.
First: Congrats on your book!
I was going to recommend Bet Me (which I just re-read for the hundredth time), but I’m going to go with Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. The Scottish highlands, kilted warriors, a strong female lead, and a very moving climax (*sigh*)—you can’t ask for much more.
Congrats on the new book! Very exciting.
If I could recommend just one book… Georgette Heyer’s Devil’s Cub. I think it would appeal to almost everyone I know.
Spamword: Basis95. 95 was the year I read my first romance novel, A Victoria Holt, off the shelf of my great grandmother and was the basis for still reading them now. Crazy.
Heyer is my favorite. Cotillion and The Grand Sophy, both frequently represented here make my short list, but I have found a lot of people have issues with the cousins thing in The Grand Sophy and Freddie is better appreciated when you know how exceptional he is, so I now usually recommend A Convenient Marriage. I know most people prefer a contemporary style, but I force Heyer on them anyway.
For what it’s worth, I have found that women like Bet Me and men do not (Minnie really does spend a lot of time taking her anger out on Cal) and I don’t know why but JAK is an easier transition than Roberts for non-romance readers. SEP is weirdly divisive, I have no way of predicting who’ll love her and who’ll hate her but I don’t recommend her as much as a result. Recommending Chase is tough because when they don’t love her as I do I find myself secretly respecting them less. Everyone mocks Ward and goes on and reads the rest of the series.
My sample size is not really large enough for this info to be meaningful, but it’s getting there, because I am a serious romance novel pusher. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve quit but it’s stronger than I am.
Absolutely positively, I would recommend Crusie’s Bet Me. I got 2 people to read contemporaries because of it, and 1 to start on romance novels in general. (If my friend were only interested in historicals, I would recommend Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. I used to say Jude Deveraux’s Remembrance, as it was MY first romance novel, but I lately have felt that it is sooooo overwrought, which has its time and place, but not the first impression I want to give.)
I love seeing all the various books listed here.
Only one is so hard! I guess I’d go with Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me, because it’s an incredible love story, but also contains some realism, which I think gives it more of an impact. Plus it’s damn hilarious!
Funny! I just recommended some of the above books (Welcome to Temptation, Faking It, Lord of the Scoundrels and the Spy Master’s Lady, The Iron Duke and the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole) to a friend who’s hostile to reading romances. I also included Mr. Impossible by Chase too. And I’ve previously directed him to Heyer.
Interestingly, this guy liked the Parasol Protectorate series and also the Sookie Stackhouse books and loves Austen, but doesn’t think they are romance because they aren’t “purple and pink”. I told him he needs to get over his prejudice and stereotypes. Yes, he’s an English professor and an ex-bookseller.
If I had to choose one I’d probably choose Heyer’s, Frederica. It’s on my husband’s reading list for this summer, As is Spy Master’s Lady.
Congratulations on the new book, Sarah!
Just one? Oh the pressure. I will have to say Trust Me by Jayne Ann Krentz because that’s the one einey, meeney, miney, moe stopped on.
Congrats on the new book.
top35. Yes,I could easily list 35 fave books to recommend.
Congrats on the new book!!!!
Just one romance…thinking, thinking…well, I like romance and humor and friendship, and Jennifer Crusie pretty much sums that up, so Agnes and the Hitman! 🙂
Tough question. Jude Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor was the gateway for me and at least one other friend in college. Nora Roberts (I think Blue Dahlia) was the gateway for my SIL – after I gave her permission to enjoy it.
For a generic first reader, I’d recommend Miss Perfect by Loretta Chase. (or anything by Crusie, but she’s been mentioned a lot).
glass67 – no the glass is not empty, it is 67% full
After having started with old school romance that my mother and grandmother read, I took a long break. The first romance I picked up after probably a 10 year break was Fast Women by Crusie and I haven’t looked back.
My recommendation would be a recent read of mine,Heyer’s The Grand Sophy. It’s smart,funny and has one of the best feisty heroines that I’ve seen in any genre novel in a long time.
This book is so good that I can easily see it being turned into a movie that would make a fortune and then some(even if it was updated to modern times)-hey,Nora Ephron, need a new project?
My first ever romance book was Welcome to Temptation! By Crusie. I haven’t looked back since. I love that book that had to buy my own copy. All Crusie books are good but that one, manhunting, and Bet Me Are still my favorites.
Okay I guess I am going against the grain as usual and I am gonna put down something old school. Lionhearted by Diana Palmer. I know, I know it’s soooooo cheesey, but her books got me into the genre years ago and that one is probably my favorite of them all (and I reluctantly admit I have read them all) I guess I consider her my gateway drug. It all started with a harmless little paperback 20 years ago…
So many great recommendations. I would have to go with a very old one from Laurie McBain called “When The Splendour Falls”.
Several reasons – 1) it is set in the Civil War period, 2) it involves a heroine who has to choose between her loyalty to her family and the man she loves, 3) it moves from the war-torn South to the West, 4) despite all odds (and a blue-eyed Indian) it has a happy ever after. Fantastic book, that for me stands the test of time.
Congratulations! I would recommend any book by Kristen Higgins and/or Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Oh, how I adore that cover! Congrats, Sarah!
Add me to the list of who recommend anything by Jennifer Crusie as the gateway drug to romancedom. Just one book? Welcome to Temptation.
This is a tough question. I read most types of romance novels, and to choose one? If I have to name one, I would say MONTANA SKY by Nora Roberts. I actually read another Nora book in 1996 first, but MONTANA SKY was the follow-up book for me, and I’ve been reading Nora (and JD Robb) ever since.
Good luck with the book, and it’s always great to have the chance to win books.
Congrats on the book and would LOVE to get my mitts on it…
I would recommend an old classic: Brockway’s ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT. It’s probably the perfect romance yet has (very few) of the usual romance tropes.
If I had to recommend a romance to someone who has never read one, I would recommend would be Lisa Kleypas’ “Devil in Winter”—hands down, this is the best “starting” point for a new convert…uh, I mean reader.
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. No hesitating, no second-guessing, all-in.
Wow. I feel so out of touch. I haven’t read 3/4 of the recommended books. Either I’m very sheltered or I fail as a romance reader. Sarah, congrats on the book! I’m sure it’ll be just as awesome as BHB!
Ok…recommendations. *sigh* I’m trying to think of the books that brought me back to the genre—Karen Marie Moning’s Highlanders and JD Robb. I’m not sure the Eve Dallas books can truly be considered romances. And truthfully, one of the most romantic books I can think of is Louis L’Amour’s CONAGHER. Yeah. I know. But read it sometime. Those notes tied to the tumble weeds are almost as touching as Roarke carrying Eve’s button in his pocket.
Just one? Oy vey. Alrighty, then. Ann Aguirre’s Grimspace. I heart it so much. 🙂
I choose The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. My ABSOLUTE favorite.
Ooh, tough call!
My newest favorite, A Duke’s Temptation, by Jillian Hunter, I’ll be foisting on unsuspecting friends for a couple of reasons. A) the Heroine is not only genuinely likable, she’s not stupid. Yay! B) the Hero is really nice, like really really nice – as well as a vegetarian and a gothic novelist – *swoon*. C) It’s a historical, which are number one in my book, but while it touches on things like the British class system and the Napoleonic Wars, it doesn’t go so deep that a newbie might be overwhelmed.
Oh, and then they immediately have to read Bosom’s!
Congratulations on the book! I LOVE the cover!!!
Well this was a hard decision. I literally had to call a friend and talk it out. I decided on Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Match Me if You Can. I love the characters, it’s sweet and funny, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy at the end!
I would recommend the one that was recommended to me, (and got me hooked on romance novels), More than a Mistress by Mary Balogh. I became such a fan that it took me almost three years to collect all of her books including the back list. Then of course I branched out to other writers. Congratulations on your book.
I’d have to recommend Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase. Super funny, well written, smart heroine, a hero that I want for myself, and Egypt! What more can one ask for?
Definitely Lord of Scoundrels. It may not be the most original idea in the world, but it just works.
Congratulations Sarah! I really hope I win because that would be truly wonderful, but I’ll definitely be ordering myself a copy or two if I don’t win.
I think my recommendation would always have to be based on the person I was recommending it to – I’d try and ease a non-romance reader into things with something that tied in with their existing tastes. Anyway, I have so many favourites that I can’t pick one that covers all situations. I’m a bit out of love with historicals at the moment (Georgette Heyer excepted) and some of my all-time favourites are part of series and so wouldn’t quite work as stand-alones. Hmmm, perhaps it’d be Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas. I love how she tackles such big subjects so bravely and honestly, and I just fall in love with her characters.
Now I’m off to read the hundreds of other comments and no doubt add tons of new books to my wish list.
There are SO MANY books already mentioned, that I’ve read and loved. I said MONTANA SKY, since it was the second NR
book I have ever read (and it sealed my fate as a Nora reader).
I would also say the OUTLANDER SERIES by Diana Gabaldon. It has so many different elements that most people would find SOMETHING to attract their attention.
ONE book is SO HARD to choose.
Well, clearly, the book I would recommend would be Bet Me!!!! And since I already own a copy of that AND Welcome to Temptation, I would spread the love and give away the Omnibus edition to someone who I wanted to introduce the joy that is a good HEA!