Romance Recommendations?

petuh112

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I only recently started reading romance but I'm really, really enjoying it! Only problem is I've mostly read only sci-fi and fantasy so I don't really know where to look for more Romance books to read, and I feel googling 'Good Romance Books' is only going to get me so far. Do you guys have any suggestions for any books or where to start?
 

LJD

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Hey! A little more detail on what you like to read or what sounds most interesting to you will help us get you the best recs! First of all: subgenre. There's science fiction and fantasy romance, if those interest you. Also, paranormal, historical, and contemporary. And what about heat level? eg. would you prefer no on-page sex vs the hotter the better (for example).

Which romances have you enjoyed so far?
 

Roxxsmom

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What kind of setting and heat level do you like for starters? Sweet, spicy or steaming hot? If you like hot romances, do you enjoy sex scenes with a bit of kink or more vanilla? And do you prefer M/F, M/M, or F/F, or any or some of these? Also, do you like stories with hyper masculine, arrogant, or pushy male protags (some call these alpha males, but as a biologist I'll admit to hating that term) or romances with a more insecure, subtle or earnest MMC? Do you like romances where the characters are unusually gorgeous or more in the ordinary range?
 

petuh112

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Whoa, I've never really thought about this before. I've been reading mostly historical, but that might be just because thats what I tend to find on the shelves, I'm definitely interested in other kinds of genres. I think I like heat, it can be really exciting when its there, but I'm also fine if it doesn't show up as some of my favorite stories have been pretty tame in that respect.
So far I've read the first Outlander book, The Duchess War, Sense and Sensibility, and Eleanor and Park, though I still haven't finished that last one. I also remember really liking The Host by Stephanie Meyer when I was thirteen, but I have no idea if I would like it if I read it now.
 

LJD

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Most of what I read has open-door sex scenes but isn't considered erotic romance. Here are some ideas. I only read historical and contemporary. Most of these are m/f, but not all.

Some historical romance authors I like:
Tessa Dare (either Spindle Cove or Castles Ever After series...Regency rom-coms)
Lisa Kleypas (Wallflowers series is my favorite. Victoria England)
Jeannie Lin (Chinese historicals)
Cat Sebastian

Here's a random selection of contemporary romances I've enjoyed in the past few years:
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (Talia Hibbert)
The Kiss Quotient (Helen Hoang)
You Had Me at Hola (Alexis Daria)
Love Lettering (Kate Clayborn)
One and Only (Jenny Holiday)
Boyfriend Material (Alexis Hall)
Pretty Face (Lucy Parker)
Wrong to Need You (Alisha Rai)

When I first started reading romance, I spent a lot more time on review sites to figure out to read. You might check out Smart Bitches Trashy Books, for example, but there are lots of others. If you can find a reviewer who has a similar taste as you (on a blog, Goodreads, etc), that could be really helpful.
 

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I think I like heat, it can be really exciting when its there.
 

Marian Perera

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Whoa, I've never really thought about this before. I've been reading mostly historical, but that might be just because thats what I tend to find on the shelves, I'm definitely interested in other kinds of genres.

You might want to try All About Romance. Click on the Reviews tab, and select Power Search. From there, input whatever you like in terms of genre, heat level, grade and so on.

My recommendation, for readers new to romance, is that you read the A and F reviews, because the A reviews will help you find some stellar books, and a lot of the F reviews are hilarious. I should know, I wrote two of them. :)
 

Brightdreamer

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Not a major romance reader, but I got a kick out of Dakota Cassidy's An American Werewolf in Hoboken.

And I've read a couple of Rachel Grant's Evidence series (Concrete Evidence and Evidence of Trust) and enjoyed them.
 

petuh112

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Thanks for the recommendations everyone! I'm looking forward to checking them all out.
 

Roxxsmom

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Some historical writers I've enjoyed include

Mary Balough
Beverly Jenkins
Eva Leigh
Susanne Lord
Courtney Milan
Scarlett Peckham

If you like M/M stuff at all, KJ Charles has some good ones. If you like F/F, Olivia Waite might be a good match.

If you like fantasy romance, Swordheart by T Kingfisher is good. She's written some other fantasy novels with a good bit of romance in them too.
 

Roxxsmom

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You might want to try All About Romance. Click on the Reviews tab, and select Power Search. From there, input whatever you like in terms of genre, heat level, grade and so on.

My recommendation, for readers new to romance, is that you read the A and F reviews, because the A reviews will help you find some stellar books, and a lot of the F reviews are hilarious. I should know, I wrote two of them. :)

I'm reading one of them now :ROFL:
 

ULTRAGOTHA

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Courtney Milan. She's got a new one called The Duke Who Didn't. Varied historical and contemporary. Heat level varies. Perhaps start with The Brothers Sinister series.

KJ Charles mostly writes m/m Romance. Her dialogue and characters are fantastic and she is all about consent. If you're in to Fantasy, start with The Charm of Magpies series or Spectred Isle. The rest of her books are historicals of one time period or another. Most are m/m. (I think there's one f/f and one f/m). All are hot.

Heather Rose Jones's Alpennia series is f/f. Ruritarian romance with magic. Daughter of Mystery has a lady with a sword, lovely politics, and fantastic worldbuilding. Very not hot at all.

.

I recently discovered Joyce Harmon. She has a series of Regency Romances. No heat. Very gentle. Low intensity reads which is just what I needed right now. Pretty good research, though there were a few mistakes. She has another series that's Mary Bennet, Magician.

ETA: Swordheart and Paladin's Grace by T Kingfisher are awesome.
 
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Ari Meermans

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If you're looking for something a little different:

If you haven't tried Nora Roberts' older novels, you might like her three-novel series "The Gallaghers of Ardmore". A fairy prince who totally fried his romance with a mortal and the ghost of his beloved try to bring three recalcitrant couples together so they can have their own HEA.

hmm, there's also Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald, which is a poignant time travel romance (think "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour) inspired by the legend of a woman who vanished from Grand Central Terminal. (It's on sale today on Amazon.)
 

RedHunters

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I love romance novels, so I've enjoyed reading what everyone else has posted. Here are some of my favourite authors:

Historical
Eloisa James (recommendation: A Kiss at Midnight)
Lisa Kleypas (recommendation: Mine Till Midnight)

Contemporary
Sarah Morgan (recommendation: New York, Actually)
Trisha Ashley (recommendation: Twelve Days of Christmas)
Julie James (recommendation: A Lot Like Love)
 
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maidenpersephone

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Hi! I'm a huge fan of romance, so I'm just going to suggest the ones that I have loved and enjoyed!

The Undying King, by Grace Draven (high fantasy romance, novella, quite erotic)
Midnight Hunter, by Brianna Hale (historical romance, very erotic, one of my absolute favorites!)
His Dark Kiss, by Eve Silver (historical romance, erotic but very beautiful and tasteful, Gothic)
Credence, by Penelope Douglas (contemporary romance, lots of erotic scenes, another favorite - but please keep in mind it deals with a LOT of triggering topics and definitely isn't to everyone's taste)
Dark Torment, by Karen Robards (historical romance, pretty erotic, published in 1985 so it's more of a Bodice Ripper, but lots of fun if you don't mind that!)
Any book of Charlotte Stein's. She's an all-time favorite author for me. Her stories are mostly contemporary erotica, but she has a way of making it so fun and yet also dealing with heavy issues. Highly recommended. There is usually a lot of BDSM or BDSM-type elements, though, so keep that in mind!

Hope this helps a little! :)