If Oprah can come up with a list of must-read romances, so can I. And I even give you a bonus rec for authors I particularly dig. The genre is pretty massive so there is always something for someone. If you like historical settings, we’ve got you covered. If you prefer contemporary stories, no sweat. Want a combo? There are time travel romances aplenty. Mystery, thriller, comedy, spy, sci-fi, paranormal, hospital (it’s true!), shape-shifters, space operas, military, multicultural, multipartneral, or a mix-and-match of all and then some. These are just a few of my favorites. The common thread is that they all have happy endings which, in the dumpster fire of today’s reality, is a nice escape.
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon [and then just keep going] – “sweeping” doesn’t do this time traveling war nurse and Highland laird series justice.
- Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai [also, The Right Swipe] – shades of Montagues and Capulets in this secret, steamy romance
- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – the “enemies” to lovers trope is a favorite and this one had me in stitches
- Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase [also, Mr. Impossible] – so much delicious angst from a hero who can’t resist our intrepid heroine
- Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – flirty emails, sarcasm, and a very vulnerable hero
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – gender-swapped and very explicit version of Pretty Woman with an interesting pair of multicultural partners
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone – epistolary works are my jam and this seductive, lyrical, twisty tale is a keeper
- His at Night by Sherry Thomas – spies and thighs [also Not Quite a Husband]
- Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas – I do enjoy a good mistaken identity trope
- Love Song for a Raven by Elizabeth Lowell – just keep in mind that this was written in and read by me in the late 1900s
- Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts [and, you know, most of her backlog] – a competent, kickass heroine tangles with a fellow smoke jumper
- Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal – a lively, spritely Pakistani reboot of Pride & Prejudice
- The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary – I already told you epistolary novels are my jam whether they are via formal post-war letters (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society), email exchanges (Red, White, and Royal Blue), or text messages combined with scrawled upon Post-it Notes (this gem).
- Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall – one lead is a hot mess of self-doubt, body-negativity, and quirkiness while the other lead is a straight-laced, buttoned-up, freshly-laundered barrister with hidden depths of emotions
- A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole – With references to Doctor Who, immigration reform, and a #metoo savvy hero, this interracial romance certainly puts the “contemporary” in “contemporary romance”
- Sweet Ruin by Kresley Cole – the most angst-ridden demon you’ll ever meet
- Cover of Night by Linda Howard [for nostalgia’s sake] – a hero with hidden talents stars in this small town thriller that I enjoyed last century and remember fondly even if it might not hold up today.
- The Raider by Jude Deveraux [again, nostalgia] – a hero with hidden talents stars in this small town thriller that I enjoyed last century and remember fondly even if it might not hold up today.
- The Proposition by Judith Ivory [last one, promise] – a fresh twist on the classical Pygmalion trope.
- Romancing the Stone by Catherine Lanigan [I lied] – the actual first romance that hooked me into the genre for decades to follow.
Bajira! 