There are two things that you need to know about me at the moment.
- I’ve never done a reading challenge in my life.
- I’m in a comfortable, if stuck, reading rut. I read the same sort of things set in the same world, over and over again.
Solution? Sailing the seven seas of love!
It’s my international reading challenge.
Here’s the outline so far…
Duration: August to December 2023
Goal: Collecting as many countries as possible, read a romance novel by an author from or based in a particular country and whose story is set in that same country
Genre: All romance subgenres are welcome!
Output: Monthly summary shared on SBTB including some reviews!
So far the Smart Bitches have helped me collect quite a few authors to investigate. I would love to know your suggestions, and if there are particular titles you recommend most! And who do you think I should choose for each country?
- Aotearoa/New Zealand: Nalini Singh
- Australia: Lee Winter, EJ Noyes, Mia Vincy
- Belgium: Harper Bliss
- Canada: Vivian Arend, Uzma Jallaluddin, Jackie Lau, Farah Heron
- Germany: Jae
- India: Sheryn Munir
- Japan: Sakaomi Yuzaki
- Netherlands: Hazel Yeats
- Scotland: Lola Keeley, Jenny Frame
- South Africa: Therese Beharrie
- Sweden: Simona Ahrnstedt
- United States: … how to even begin choosing!
As I’m a total newbie, I’m hoping to learn from the Bitchery! So please, chip in in the comments. You can also find this challenge on The StoryGraph here.
More Canadians: Zoe York /Ainsley Booth and Jenny Holiday.
If you’re open to older romances, my MiL has collected and saved every single one of Margaret Way’s category romances (Australia) and it’s a rare author who she doesn’t consider to have had some misses.
On a similar note, KJ Charles (England) can do no wrong by me.
I suppose, technically, Lore Olympus is not set in New Zealand but if one were to stretch a point, the underworld is kind of everywhere?
Additional Australians: Amy Andrews and Sarah Mayberry
A few recs if you like mm romance:
Australia – NR Walker (especially recommend Red Dirt Heart, but I love all her books), Lisa Henry (Two Man Station)
New Zealand – Jay Hogan (lots of good books, I liked Foxed for the older MCs)
Canada – Rachel Reid
For the US, Beverly Jenkins would be at the top of my list! Also Mia Hopkins for contemporary US romance. Her Eastside Brewery series is fantastic.
I’d second Zoe York too!
This is a lovely idea, and it has already had the positive effect of making me (successfully!) google romance novels by authors from my home country. However, I do believe language will prove a barrier to this endeavor. Few romance novels by local authors, writing in their local language, will be translated to English, much less other languages. Nevertheless, I look forward to reading about everyone’s reading adventures around the world!
More Canadians:
‘Nathan Burgoine
Jen and Éric Desmarais
Cait Gordon
Sweden: Roe Horvat’s Those Other Books series
Caribbean: Rilzy Adams
Philippines – Mina V. Esguerra (I haven’t read anything of hers yet but she’s on my TBR!)
A couple of somewhat problematic recommendations: Charmaine Pauls (who, be warned, can get very dark) is originally from South Africa. Some of her earlier books—like BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN—are set there; later books seem to be set in France (Pauls’s husband is French). Natasha Anders is also South African. I loved her book THE UNWANTED WIFE, but many of her other books are too melodramatic. Also, she writes about characters from the wealthy predominantly-white areas of South Africa, and there’s no acknowledgment of privilege in her books.
Seconding Mina V. Esguerra – I came here to recommend her! What Kind of Day was a wonderful book.
Ghana: Peace Adzo Medie
Nigeria: Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Lara T. Kareem, Rosemary Okafor
Germany – Melanie Metzenthin “A Fight in Silence”
I’d add Anuja Chauhan for India
It doesn’t quite follow the rules but Whiteout by Adriana Anders is set in Antarctica, if you really want to hit all seven continents! I think it would be hard to find an author “from or based in” Antarctica. 🙂
I was going to suggest Kris Tualla, she has a romance series set in Norway, early 1700’s. The first book is called A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery. But a little research told me she’s actually based in the U.S., so I guess that doesn’t qualify?
Some more suggestions for New Zealand:
– Danielle Hawkins (as an expat-New Zealander, hers are the books that make me the most homesick in terms of how much they feel NZ-ish). She’s trad pubbed in Aus/NZ but I don’t know how widely elsewhere – looks like they are at least available on Kindle though
– Tracey Alvarez
– Persephone in Bloom by Kate Healey. Technically it never mentions a physical location but contains enough NZ-centric references to make me believe it’s set there.
Will look forward to seeing your progress and reviews!
Nina George is a German living in France who writes in German but most of her books are set in France (as far as I know anyway). So how strict are you with your definitions?
Would Nicolas Barreau count as romance? I haven’t actually read any of his books.
More Canadians: K.A. Tucker, Elsie Silver, Becka Mack, Jaine Diamond, Kelly Siskind, Helena Hunting, C. L. Polk, Elle Kennedy, Piper Lawson, Susanna Kearsley
Nigeria: Akwaeke Emezi
Australian: Alison Goodman, Cath Crowley (great YA), Kelly Hunter, Nina Levine
Ireland: L. H Cosway, Sarah Rees Brennan (great YA)
Scotland: Samantha Young
New Zealand: Lucy Parker
Representing the UK: Talia Hibbert. I listened to Act Your Age, Eve Brown earlier this year. I am currently listening to Get a Life, Chloe Brown and loving it!
This one is stretching the defintion of romance, but maybe MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite? Nigerian author and this book is set in Nigeria.
These are amazing suggestions! Thank you! I’m working my way through them. Your suggestions have also opened up a whole new avenue of publishers that I can contact asking for book suggestions. I’m travelling this weekend, but hope to have the challenge on The StoryGraph updated properly early next week. You are always welcome to drop more suggestions though!
Egypt: The Earl’s Egyptian Heiress – Heba Helmy (haven’t read it yet)
China: Butterfly Swords – Jeannie Lin (tang dynasty china series)
I adore Mina Esguerra as well, but if you want a second choice for Philippina author, Carla de Guzman’s If the Dress Fits was also great. Jay E. Tria for a third, who writes YA romances.
For Malaysia: Yangze Choo The Ghost Bride (The Night Tiger is also awesome, but is much more historical fiction, less romance)
I’m sure there’s anime/manga romances that have light novel versions, so Japan could be covered by so many choices, depending on whether you wanted to stick to novel format or allow yourself to include manga.
I have more written from/set in suggestions, but i’ll have to qualify all the rest with being either generalized fiction with romantic elements, or else what US Publishing would call “women’s fiction”. But even if it’s outside your qualifiers, one person’s challenge often gets more people doing their own version, so hopefully they’ll be useful for someone!
Chile: Marcela Serrano, I read Ten Women but she’s written a lot.
Indonesia: Laksmi Pamuntjak, The Question of Red, very definitely historical fiction rather than romance, but good. She also has poetry collections.
India: Farhad J. Dadyburjor, The Other Man, is a coming-out/navigating a romantic relationship novel that’s closer to a romance than some of these others, but crucially i can’t remember the ending!
Another Australian: Karina Bliss
Markus Zusak is also Australian so would count for your challenge as both he and the settings of his books are non-American. I adored THE BOOK THIEF (most definitely not a romance) which takes place in Germany during WWII. IIRC, THE MESSENGER, while also not a romance novel, takes place in Australia and does end with a couple getting together.
I think Joss Wood is a South African writer, and I believe some of her Presents and Desires are set in South Africa.
From Norway Margit Sandemo wrote romance, the most famous ones are the saga of the Ice people, they are actually translated to English. The series has a lot of books but most of the books can be read as stand alones if i remember correctlythe first in the series: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0853531C7/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1691435570&sr=8-1
A few years back Ankara Press published several romance novels written by African authors and set in their own countries. I read Love’s Persuasion, by Ola Awonubi, set in Lagos, and although I had some issues with the romance itself, the setting was a really great part of it.
There’s also Olivia Gates, who writes (wrote?) for Mills & Boon. Despite her name, she’s Egyptian, and I think she’s got at least one book set there.
I love this idea, and I am quickly adding books to my list so that I can catch up!
Sarah L , which Danielle Hawkins books do you like best? Amazon has A LOT of them. Thanks in advance!
+5
Some more suggestions for New Zealand:
– Danielle Hawkins