Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

“Devil in Winter” by Lisa Kleypas

Just one? You mean just one author right? Not one book! Oh heavens, I guess it would have to be Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. I just absolutely adore that book, the series, Jamie and Claire. Oh gosh I have it in hardback, paperback, and if it comes out as an ebook I would buy that too just so I could read it whenever and wherever I want!

Spam Word: And that is the truth86 me if you want!

Okay, it’s *really* hard to pick just one…but if I had to, it would be Loretta Chase’s LORD OF SCOUNDRELS.  For me, it was the perfect historical romance.  It had every element that I love—a tortured hero, wonderful, snappy dialogue/repartee, and breathless sexual tension.  But what really pushes it over the top into ‘best ever’ territory was the surprise of a very likable, wonderfully engaging heroine.  Often, I find romances with a to-die-for hero, or a lot of elements that I love, but rarely do I find a romance where I *equally* enjoy the hero and heroine.  So for me, it’s LORD OF SCOUNDRELS.

The Tiger’s Woman by Celeste de Blasis.

So, any bets on whether your spam filter rejects me again? :D Hmm, the magic word to enter is come89. Now wouldn’t that be exhausting? :D

My best romance ever is The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. I stayed up reading that book for 6 hours straight with no breaks. The passion and love Alexander and Tatiana is all consuming. This book hits you in the gut and it is set in Russia during WWII.

The only book that reduced me to an emotional mess where I couldn’t read any book for almost a month afterwards.

Ohhh hard choice but if I had to pick my fave book it would have to be Shiloh Walkers Hunters Edge.  I don’t know why but that one has always stood out for me.

Er, did you mean, choose one book from your list? In that case, “The Shadow and the Star” by Laura Kinsale.

I would hate you for asking for the one (I never know how to narrow these things to ten, forget ONE!) but my instinctive answer is always: Morning Glory, by LaVyrle Spencer.

So, there you have it, ONE!

hah!

I am a sucker for Joanna Bourne’s My Lord and Spymaster.  Fictional character crush ahoy!

Just one…? But… but…

Okay.. *sigh*

I am going to choose Georgette Heyer’s The Black Sheep.  I have enjoyed many witty, funny romances, but this one took the cake for me. :)  One of the things I love the most about this novel is that the characters are outwardly so different, and yet they click so well.  I could go on and on.. man, now I want to re-read it!

That is a horrible question. :P It’s like asking “which kid would you save if there was a fire?” - you know, if I had kids.
Although I’m not as fond of her newer books… I have to go with one of SEPs. She’s one of the first romance authors I read. (I checked them out at the library - and didn’t want to be seen with the kitschy covers - or the giant garish heart sticker on the spine, really.) I have a top four ... ok, so five in my head right now - Breathing Room; Heaven, Texas; Kiss an Angel, Lady Be Good; This Heart of Mine/Nobody’s Baby But Mine. (Ok so I cheated and listed 6.)
If I had to pick my favorite of that bunch… (and it was already hard enough to narrow it down to one author, mind you) - I’d have to go with Heaven, Texas.

Although it’s hard to pick just one, I’d have to say ‘The Promise of Jenny Jones’ by Maggie Osborne. I absolutely love that book!

Since Aztec Lady already picked Morning Glory!  Awesome, awesome, awesome book.

I’m going to go with:

Daniel’s Bride by Linda Lael Miller

Morning Glory and Naked in Death are all neck and neck.

Wow!  A random commenter?  That is a contest even I can figure out.  Favorite romance novel is a little more difficult…
I used to read every Danielle Steel book available, so ten years ago one of hers would have been a favorite.  Now I tend to prefer Nora Roberts or Erin McCarthy (love Nascar Romance!).  However, my current favorite is Victoria Dahls, “Talk Me Down”.  I think it is a great combination of a fun and flirty romance with a dash of serious issues and intrigue.

Just one fav….
I would have to say Lover Awakened by JR Ward.

If I had to pick one (& you’re evil to make me do it) it would have to be Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. I loved that book!
For a series it would definitly go to JD Robb’s In Death series… Roarke *sigh*  Need I say more?

Ahhh! I can’t do it.

But if someone wanted to read a contemporary romance, I’d definitely recommend a Jennifer Crusie novel (one of her earlier single-titles).

That’s as close as I can come to playing fair!

You’ve already mentioned Bet Me (which got me hooked on romances), so I’ll suggest Mary Balogh’s “The Secret Pearl” - my fave historical of all time.

My overall choice would be a toss up between Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ “It Had To Be You,” and LaVyrle Spencer’s “Small Town Girl.”  I’d just flip a coin between these to titles as I left for my desert isle.

Julia Quinn’s “Romancing Mr. Bridgerton”. 

And you are mean ... only one choice ... bleh

Just one? No fair! But forced to choose I will have to go with The Grand Sophy by Heyer merely because it is, to this date, the only romance novel I have completely reread cover to cover. This is the mark of a truly awesome book because as much as I, too, love Bet Me I’ve only skimmed it a few times since I first read it 5 years ago.

ai ai ai! One!? Okay, I’ll pick a favorite that is fairly recent. The Mane Attraction by Shelly Laurenston. When I’m having a crappy day, I tend to open that book. Reading any random page brings a smile to my face. It’s magically, really :D

Reading someone’s favorites list always gets me excited! Now, I have to go book hunting!

There is no question about my answer. For me, it’s hands down Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase!

I’m gonna go for Julie Garwood’s The Bride.  Maybe not the best ever, but it’s one of my very favorites!

Oh, tonight it would It Happened One Autumn by Kleypas. Always love reading Westcliff becoming entranced with a thoroughly inappropriate (or so he thinks) woman.

Mary Stewart’s Nine Coaches Waiting. I stole my mom’s copy when I moved out on my own. I’m not sorry, and she found herself a replacement.

Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh or Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night by Kresley Cole (the one with Bowen the sexy mother of a Lykae and Mariketa the witch, and yes, I had to look up the title).

Do I really have to choose?? Come on!

Okay, so Angel’s Blood is I think, the better book overall, but Bowen and Mari just did it for me. They argue, they scream at each other but when they are together the closeness is too, too sweet. She didn’t want him, he didn’t want her but they just can’t seem to pull away.

Okay, I absolutely can’t pick, so just because she’s Australian like me, and was the first Australian to crack the Silhoutte market (go girl!), I’m going to pick Bronwyn Jameson.  Besides, the title sounds indecently cliched it deserves an eye-roll.  If it’s *that* bad and still lands on this list, it deserves to be read. 

I have many of these books, but not all of them…I have some gaps to fill, clearly.  I’m scrambling now.  Dammit.

Thanks for the post.  And congrats on landing in PEOPLE.  Very cool.

Tracy

If I’m limited to one, it would have to be Nora Robert’s “Born In Shame”.  I’ve read it a countless number of times.  Murphy Muldoon is my kind of hero.

One book… I love so many, but Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me changed my life for the better, so gets my vote.

Just one? One author is easier…Laura Kinsale…but 1 book?  I guess it would have to be Prince of Midnight…one of the first romance novels I ever read, and I was hooked for life.

I change my mind all the time but right now I have to pick By Arrangement by Madeline Hunter.

So if you had asked me this question a few months ago, I would have gone one of Julie Garwood’s historicals — probably The Bride or The Wedding because I still laugh every time I read them, or The Gift, because the story still sucks me in, even though I’ve read it countless times. But after reading Lord of Scoundrels (yes, yes, I know, it’s been picked already — twice), I’m going to have to say it’s my new favorite. I love it for the same reasons already cited: the battle of wits, the chemistry, the sultry tension between Dain and Jessica, a fabulously tortured hero and a delightful heroine. Shutting up now. Basically, it’s another one of those books I’ll be reading again in the future and have recommended to others.

Wait - what? Do you mean to pick one from your list?

decision22 - it’s a catch 22 of a decision.

After All These Years, Kathleen Gilles Seidel

“Saving Grace” by Julie Garwood

Not The Gift, Ransom, Ransom! (I used to have a brain, once, I think ...)

Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas without a doubt.

It was one of the first romances I read in English (had been written Dutch translations before that) and it’s still the best I’ve read!

The first one that comes to mind is Shanna by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss.  A classic romance and one of the first I ever read.

Congrats on making to People mag. 

Since the question is unfair, just one?!?  I’ll cheat just a bit it’s a tie between Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost and The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffeneger

Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey (I hope that counts as a romance!)

From the list or best ever? It always depends on what I’m in the mood for. Right now, I could reread Butterfly Tatoo. I do love Morning Glory  beyond all reason.

I love Loretta Chase, but I have to go with Mr. Impossible over Lord of Scoundrels. It has just as much yummy banter, and the heroine is bookish! And sharp-tongued! And not a virgin! And independent! I love Daphne, and I SUPER-love Rupert “I’m going to play dumb because it’s easier to let others have low expectations” Carsington. AND they have sex in a Egyptian pyramid. C’mon! /GOB

This is a nail-biter of a contest—such a yummy prize and only 1 winner!

Since it came out, I have hooked at least five new romance readers with Duran’s Duke of Shadows.  Hands down it’s my favorite and the one I go to to recruit newbies.  I’ve waxed poetic about the book before in an unfortunate email to SB Sarah so I won’t dive back into it here except to say that it is my #1, go-to, will-always-have-on-my-shelf book.

Since Devil in Winter and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton have already been picked, and you have already listed Bet Me, I will have to go with Julia Quinn’s Minx. I have read that book to pieces.

I’d have to go with The Shadow and The Star, list or no list.

So, what did you have to do to get an article in People Magazine?!?  ;)

Gah not sure if i can just pick one. Guess i’ll just name one of my top three, Lisa Kleypas’ The Devil In Winter.

SO hard to pick just one! Augh. If I had to pick just one, though, it would be Georgette Heyer’s The Talisman Ring - hilarious, full of adventure, AND wonderfully romantic, with so many laugh-out-loud lines throughout.

I can’t believe they didn’t show A Hunger Like No Other! That’s like the best romance book right there!

Oh I have been waiting for the print edition of Butterfly Tattoo to come out. That’s my choice!

My current favorite is The Duke’s Wager by Edith Layton.

It was recommended either on this site or in Bosoms as one of Ms. Layton’s best, so I searched out and finally located through Interlibrary Loan.

And WOW, was that recommendation spot on.  It did change the way I feel about heroes and villains (and what constitutes either) and gave me disturbing insight into how difficult and risky it was to be a woman of no means in Regency times.  And how difficult it was to maintain one’s integrity, male or female.

The pay off at the end?  Incredible.  Absolutely perfect.

Like everyone else, I have more than one favorite. As I was reading everyone else’s lists (and taking mental notes of course), the one that came to me as standing out is Sea Swept by Nora Roberts. There’s just something about Anna and Cam…

One?! Sadness. I feel like I should apologize to all my other favorites. Dreaming of You, Lisa Kleypas, is my angsty go-to.

(With a close second to Texas Glory, Lorraine Heath. Out of print and hard-to-find, but Dallas Leigh is my favorite hero.)

Just one?  Jeez, talk about tough decisions!

If I had to pick just one, I’d have to say Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

No Rest for the Wicked, by Kresley Cole.

Wow.

Gonna have to go with Lucky’s Lady by Tami Hoag. That’s one of the few books I have that’s survived every shelf purge.

I don’t think I can pick one-but if I did, I think it would be These Old Shades By Georgette Heyer, simply because I think all my heroes are based on the sneering, cynical awesome Duke of Avon :)

p.s. will see you in Concord tomorrow!!

Time and again, I come back to The Villa by Ms. Roberts.

The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne. Everything about it just fit me to a T. It’s like she wrote the book especially for me. And following that closely is The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. So many good ones that I wish I could list!

Well, Outlander is probably my favorite book of all time, but I don’t consider it a romance.  When I think of Jamie and Claire, I think of the whole series, which is not a romance.  I can’t really separate Outlander from the others.

One of my very favorite romances is The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn.  I just about love everything she writes.

Pamela Morsi’s Simple Jess.

While I like Bet Me, I’d have to go with Jennifer Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation or Manhunting.  My copies are falling apart…

If we’re talking historicals, toss me a Garwood / Laurens / Quinn and I’ll be a happy camper - doesn’t matter which book!

Congrats on making it into People!

Jennifer Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation because it’s fantastic and sexy and hilarious; and Catherine Coulter’s The Nightengale Legacy because who doesn’t love a dark, brooding hero who isn’t all that dark or brooding at all.

And… it just occurred to me that in both of those books, the guy puts out before the girls does.  hmm.

Just one?  Okay, talk about obscure—The Broad Highway by Jeffery (yes, that’s spelled correctly) Farnol.  Even after 100 years, the love story between femme fatale Charmian and shy bookworm Peter is fresh, witty, and charming.  And unlike many historical novels, this one actually feels as though it was written in the period in which it’s set (the Regency.)

spamword;  standard92—yes, I do have a pretty high standard, thank you very much.

So hard to pick one favorite… especially since my answer will be different depending on my mood! At the moment, though, the one that comes to mind first is Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts…

It is so, so hard to pick just one. I’m going to have to go with one of my favorites of the moment: Wild At Heart by Patricia Gaffney.

Only one? Oh..mmm…ahhhh….okay I pick Her Bodyguard by Michelle Jerott.  It has love, humor, danger, mystery… a bit of it all really.

Spam word of about53 is more realistic on the number of books I could list.

The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery.  I’ve loved that book since I was a preteen.  I finally broke down and bought a second copy a few years ago because my original copy fell apart.

I’m another Heyer fan.  The Grand Sophy?  Devil’s Cub? No, The Grand Sophy. 

Stopping now, before I change my mind again.

Since I can only pick one, I’m going old school favorite.

Caroline by Willo Davis Roberts (part of the Sunfire series from Scholastic? I think.)

Man, did I love that book in jr. high. Feisty main character cuts off her hair (thus disguising her as a boy!) and follows her brothers on the trail for gold in California, meanwhile becoming attracted to the man who she ends up traveling with while in disguise! What’s not to love?
*sigh*

I should have added, this was the first romance novel I ever read that was written entirely from the hero’s POV (which makes sense, as the writer was a man) but in the 1970’s was really a revelation, since nearly all romances of that period were entirely from the viewpoint of the female protagonist.

Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain.

Discovered in a paper bag full of yard sale books when I was 12. I found a copy on e-bay about 3 years ago and now it lives on my keeper shelf.

Georgette Heyer’s Devil’s Cub. Just thinking about it makes me feel warm and happy. (Although now I’m planning on rereading Bet Me this weekend, because that’s another warm and happy read…)

One?

ONE?????

I can’t. Not one…. okay, I can. No, I can’t…...

THE WOLF AND THE DOVE by Kathleen Woodiwiss

No. No, that’s not it.
Wait.
ummmm

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer.

I like the earlier These Old Shades, but that heroine is a tad too young and perky for me.

Impossible to pick one, so I’ll go with the book that got me hooked on romances, The Duke and I by miss Julia Quinn.

If I had to pick JUST ONE…*sigh*  OK, I can do this…  Umm.  Night Play, by Sherrilyn Kenyon.  It’s not perfect, but there’s something about it that gets me rereading it over and over.

Georgette Heyer. But which one?  Devil’s Cub!  A Civil Contract!  Frederica!  Oh, I’ll just close my eyes and point to…  I can’t do it.  Devil’s Cub - probably gets re-read the most.

Ooh, and Bet Me is another favorite, which snuck in when I hadn’t noticed yet that I read a lot of romance.

Is The Windflower available anywhere as an ebook?

I haven’t read everyone else’s choices, and choosing is not easy. But the one that comes to mind immediately is “The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie”. That story just really drew me in and packed a wallop because he wasn’t a perfect hero. I loved how it really showed him in a positive light even with his mental problems.

I am waiting, not very patiently, for the next book in the series. The fact that I would choose a regency book, for me, is surprising since they are not my first choice in genre.

But this one was goood.

Jennifer Crusie’s,  Taking Care of Bradley   still makes me howl with laughter after all these years….And I still want a sequel to it.  I don’t CARE if she doesn’t work for H,M&B anymore

I shouldn’t have read all the comments, because I kept changing my mind! THAT one. No, THAT one. I’ll go with Dream a Little Dream by SEP.

An oldy but goody from my keeper shelf: “Taming The Night” by Paula Detmar Riggs. ‘cause most of the obvious ones have already been mentioned!

— Bonz

Grats!  But I am so not feeling the enthusiasm in those recommendations.  Ugh.  Anything with the word “magnate” or “scoundrels” in the title is NOT going to speak to younger readers.  I would only read them if they were by known authors or parts of series that I *really* like.

How to choose?? I’m going to go with Judith Ivory’s The Proposition. I love a good Pygmalion story, and Mick is an utterly dreamy hero.

Gut reaction is Ain’t She Sweet by SEP.  I keep going back to it over and over.  (If I think about the question too long, I’ll never answer!)

Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion

If I stop and think about it, I get indecisive and dither between about seventeen.  But Cotillion was my first, instinctive answer so I’m going with that.  Freddy is adorable, and so dependable.

My favorite is also BET ME. I just loved that book. How can one resist a man who loves a woman with curves?

Congrats on getting into People’s. It couldn’t have happen to more deserving ladies!

Easy. Oh, yes. Easy as cutting a finger off with a bread knife, with one hand tied behind my back. Soooo easy. :-)

Um…

A recent read that blew me away was Gena Showalter’s The Darkest Night, first in the Lords of the Underworld trilogy. Oh, so much angst and darky-dark happenings and yummy men. Plus angst. Did I mention angst? I do loves me some angst. Especially torturous and bloody angst with screaming men.

Verification is present57. Can’t I present 57 favorites?

For me, hands down, it’s Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning. She weaves this OMGIwantthismanNOW! hero through all of her Highlander books until you get to read his story. It’s hot, sexy, heartbreaking, sexy, full of Fae and humans and intrigue and sexy and no matter how many times I’ve read it, I still cry at the end of it.

Did I mention it’s really, really sexy?

Because it is.

Word: not22, and boy am I glad I’m not anymore…

My favorite is Public Secrets by Nora Roberts. I have read that book every year since I was 17. It was one of the first “real” romances that I ever read.

The Spymaster’s Lady.  I’m rereading it now, as a matter of fact.

Oh, and kpsr? I adore Caroline! The Sunfire books were the best, and Caroline was one of the best of the best!

Oh gosh, decisions, decisions…...I’m going to say TENDER IS THE STORM by Johanna Lindsey. It’s my comfort read and always makes
me sigh with pleasure at the end.

The Windflower, by Laura London aka Sharon & Tom Curtis.

One?  Oh hell.  Really?  I think I have to go with Saving Grace by Julie Garwood.

Terisa Wilcox

Well, seeing I can only choose one, it would have to be The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning.  I love Adam Black :D

Gotta be The Compase Rose by Gail Dayton.

Picking one is impossible, but I’ll go with the first romance novel I read: “Paradise” by Judith McNaught.

Call it sappy, but it’ll always be “The Notebook” (Nicholas Sparks) for me :)

Since you mentioned Lord of Scoundrels in People, I’ll have to say my co-fave, Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas.  I could read it 1000 times!

Congrats on hitting the Big Time!  Awesome!

My spamword is next54.  Can’t wait to see the next 54 magazine articles featuring the Bitchery.

My very very favorite romance depicted anywhere, in any book, anywhere is that between Liadan and Bran in Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier, which is technically a historical fantasy. I just love everything about it, but the main thing that captures me heart and soul in it is that she never tries to tame him or change him into anything he’s not, and he never decieves or betrays her. The obstacles they have to fight are not contrived but darkly realistic. It’s a relationship between two very strong, very vulnerable people who are attracted to each other not by appearance or because of a misunderstanding and who manage to finally make a life together against tremendous odds. ‘

Pick me, pick me! I’ve been trying to get my hands on a copy of Lord of Scoundrels for ages!

Ain’t She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This is an homage to the romance novel. If I have to pick one, this is it.

My fave SEP book is Hot Shot, but that isn’t as much of a romance novel. I just had to mention it. :-)

Wow, that was really abominably incoherent. I suppose that just goes to show how enthusiastic I am about that book.

Congratulations in getting the People Magazine mention!

Favorite book, ever? It’s a super hard choice, but today it’s Mr. Impossible

It is crazy hard to pick just one, but I’ll say my favorite is Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon. It’s certainly one that resonated for me because when I picked up that red cover on a whim, I was going through a very difficult time and it was a much needed escape. To me, Fantasy Lover has a positive message of the multi-faceted power of love and redemption. It helped me keep hope for a brighter day during some very sad times. Plus it is funny, smart, kick ass, and at the time was very different than what I’d been reading. I became a fan of Sherri’s writing and love her Dark Hunter series. But among all the exceptional heroines/heroes my favorite will always be Julian.

Great question! I’m getting a great new list of books to try! Thanks for the opportunity to win.
Patrice

Best Romance Novel EVER?!?!  OK, just make it easy for us, why don’t you?  Yeah, that was indeed sarcasm.  Well, if I had to pick one book, it would be Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander but if I have to pick one that hasn’t been mentioned yet, I’ll take Linda Howard’s Cry No More.  I guess that was two books.

Congratulations! How fun!!!!!!

Oh, you wanted not impossible to find?  Hum.  Then it has to be Kinsale’s The Shadow and the Star.  Again, you’ve already mentioned it.  I have nothing new to add.  So many favourite books, so little time to read them.  So little room to keep them…

Several years ago I narrowed my list of favorite romance reads down to a top 100.  That’s as short as I’m willing to go.  Having said that, if I don’t read Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation at least once a year my funny bone gets all out of whack.

The Grand Sophy, Georgette Heyer

I feel like I’m jumping off a bridge by making a commitment to this, but ... Bet Me by Crusie is my winner. Because I checked it out of the library, read it, and then re-read the good parts at least five times before I could let it go back to the library. There isn’t a weak moment in it.

Now I will go apologize to my copy of Pride and Prejudice.

Also, I was just looking at that People in the grocery store. Based on the cover, I had no idea there was so much awesomeness inside!

Hmm, hard to choose but I would have to go with J.D. Robb’s Naked in Death.  I mean Eve is such a cranky kick ass, and Roarke.  I mean can you imagine that scene where he first sees her, and the BUTTON, and Summerset.  Also I love Feeney.  Sigh so many good scenes packed into one book.

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. It is so hard to pick just one!

Best romance story evah? Has to be “Dreaming of You” by Lisa Kleypas. So good! And much too long since my last re-read.

Beauty by Robin McKinley might be the one that I have loved the most for the longest time. (Although I really think that she did a great job improving the ending when she wrote Rose Daughter.)

I seem to remember searching used bookstores for a hard cover for years, even though it was in most libraries.

But it features a bookworm who gets to enjoy a magic library with books that haven’t been written yet. Every book that will be written. Nirvana.

My top all-time favorite Romance novel is ‘Carnal Innocence’ by Nora Roberts. It was the first one I ever read by her and I was hooked.

You Bitches are mean, making us pick just one! It’s like choosing between children or candy bars or something.

I’ll go with Crusie’s “Anyone But You”. It introduced me to her writing AND it was like reading about myself. And who doesn’t like finding out about their own HEA possibilities?

Spamword main56 - Listing my main 56 favorite romances would be much more palatable!

Ransom by Julie Garwood.

I’m a recent convert to romance*, so I’m working from limited data.  But I will say Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.

So many of the books I LOVE have already been mentioned I am going to go with one that hasn’t been mentioned.

Warprize  Elizabeth Vaughn

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.  It’s just wonderful.  : )

Oh goodness.  I’ll just pick one at random from my list of favorites… Almost Heaven (Judith McNaught).

It would be so much easier to pick a favorite author, because then I could just say Mary Balogh. But forced to choose one novel, I’m going to have to go with Simply Love.

SEP’s Natural Born Charmer. Oh, wait ...

I’m going to have to go with Outlander.  In my class tho (for librarians on adult popular reading), one of my most successful recommendations has been Broken by Megan Hart.  Lord of Scoundrels is definitely making next years list.

I’m with Megs- picking a favorite author is easy (Jayne Ann Krentz in all her forms).

However, if I have to pick just one book, it would have to be Absolutely, Positively.

side29- I can come up with this side of 29 favorite books easier than picking just one!

Harsh… Hmmm, Jennifer Crusie’s Faking It. It’s a desert island book for me.

I haven’t even read the comments yet because holy crap 148? I’d never finish in time to enter the contest because I’d be stopping every other post to check if my library or Chapters store had each book in stock lol.

Anyway I have to thank the Bitchery for turning me on to Heyer because my current favourite romance has to be These Old Shades.

Why is it as soon as someone mentions fav novel, I can not think of one?
I don’t really have complete and utter favourites, but I guess I would have to go with Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dance With the Devil, as while call it a beyond brilliant book, it does appeal to me, and is one of the very few books that I can re-read and because I can not choose a single SEP title. *grin*

okay it might be a nap time before going to the second job, the above was meant to read, “as while I can’t call it a brilliant..”

Gah!  This was a tough one!

I suppose I’ll have to say the Phantom of the Opera in the original French.  I read it for the first time when I was thirteen and fell in love with the characters.  I’ve been a sucker for love triangles ever since.

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. It remains my golden standard for any and all romance novels. It’s the book that swayed me to the Dark Side of genre reading (where previously I’d only read in SciFi/Fantasy and Horror). I keep trying to persuade my dad into reading it (he calls it “bullying”, but it’s more of a forced persuasion, really…), so he can become as much a Chase fangirl as I am, and he won’t make quite so many snarky comments about the disintegrating dress the lady on the cover is wearing (I make about as many observations about cover art as he does, though, so it’s pretty unlikely he’ll tone it down much, but still.).

Anyways, Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, best romance novel I have read (so far).

Natural Law by Joey Hill

Really tough to choose only one favorite novel. I’d have to say Lord of Scoundrels by the great Loretta Chase.  Crusie’s Bet Me would be a very close second.

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Yes, the book _says_ it is science fiction. However! The love story between Captain Naismith and Captain Vorkosigan is the reason I continually go back and reread Shards of Honor time and time again.

It would have to be ... Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

I find it impossible to chose just one. That’s why I have so many bookshelves so I can read all my favorites over and over :-)

Hmmm. A few years back it could have been a three way tie between “A knight in shining armour” by Jude Deveraux, “Flowers from the storm” by Kinsale and “Walking after midnight” by Robards. I have reread all of these more than once.

These days I think the book I reread the most is “Dance with the devil” by Kenyon. It just resonates. When I’m in a certain mood I love to reread this one. It’s nice and angsty.

Devil’s Cub, Georgette Heyer.

For me It’s Linda Howard’s “White Lies”>
This is one of the first suspenseful romances that I read and it hooked me!!

First, It was uniquely written in a diary format. Secondly the husband/hero was injured and comatose. Eventually he could communicate with his eyes. Everyone good and bad guys are anxious for this guy to talk, when he does literally all hell breaks out! You’re not sure who is actually good or bad.

It kept me intrigued from begining to the end. I liked the chemistry between the hero &  wife as they run for their lives!  Explosive! Exciting!

As another who has been reading romance since the pre-teen years, I don’t think it’s possible to choose a favorite, so I will just pick one from my overflowing bookcase/bedside table - Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh.

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn. It was one of the first I read (seems to be a common theme here). Still waiting to read Lord of Scoundrels however (not available in ebook!). Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas is a close second.

Probably Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. I go back and read it again and again and it never gets old. Plus I love that her heroine gets over her food neuroses and how the hero goes from thinking she’s frumpy and unappealing to finding her overwhelmingly sexy. Gorgeous, sexy, beautiful, touching, sweet…I could go on for hours - I love this book. Of course, I could also list several more but this would be my desert island book.

Luckily, many of my favorite have been listed & I’ve recently thought about this one, so it’s easier to answer than I would’ve thought.  One of my favorites, not already listed, is Bitten by Kelley Armstrong.

Not my favorite ever - who could pick just one, but….

Bet Me is not my favorite Crusie. That honor goes to Welcome to Temptation.

I think Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran could go on that list. I don’t know of a better PNR writer than Nalini Singh. She’s amazing and someone who will be a highlight of our genre for a long time.  Kresley Cole’s books are brilliant and pro female.  Dark Desires After Dusk is probably my favorite of hers.

Also, you guys look great in People.

Just one, eh? Sadists. How ‘bout top 5? 

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie (he gives her a dog!)
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Born in Fire by Nora Roberts

As a reader relatively new to the genre as such, I’m at something of a disadvantage when it comes to picking a “best romance novel EVER”.  I more or less have to reframe the question in the direction of “What romance novel do you reread most often just because the evolving relationship is so much fun to watch?”

And at that, I end up with two (plus an honorable mention).

Honorable mention goes to Kasey Michaels’ Maggie By the Book, in which our series heroine accidentally imagines the hero of her own romance series into real life in the living room of her Manhattan apartment.  This is a gimmick that could go very, very wrong very quickly, but I found it charming and funny.

In a very narrow second is Elizabeth Peters’ Crocodile on the Sandbank, first of the Amelia Peabody novels.  (Remember that for all that the Peabody series is marketed as mystery nowadays, Peters’ roots are in romantic suspense.)  For sheer longevity, the Peabody/Emerson relationship is—so far as I know—the only one in the genre that even comes close to matching what Roberts/Robb has done with Eve Dallas and Roarke.

But top honors in my reread-most-fondly category go to The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope.  Nominally a ghost story/fantasy published for younger readers (long enough ago that the market label “young adult” doesn’t really apply), the book’s focus is a developing romance involving one Peaceable Drummond Sherwood in the early days of the American Revolution, who is dashing, charming, and exasperating in roughly equal measure.

Sunshine, by RObin McKinley.  Is that because I’m re-reading it right now?  You bet your ass it is!

MORNING GLORY by LaVyrle Spencer

and

PETALS ON THE RIVER by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

These are my ultimate favorite and I just can’t choose between the two of them.

Hah!  Every one that came to mind got the “Well, that’s not really a romance!” reaction from me, but so many others have gone ahead and posted those titles that I feel brave enough to say:

MADENSKY SQUARE by Eva Ibbotsen.

No HEA—actually, hardly a Hero to speak of—but beautifully written and lushly romantic and absolutely perfect in every way.

(Oh, and if that doesn’t count, I’ll substitute her COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS for the sheer lulz)

Nora’s Northern Lights is my go-to reread.  Nate is my most favorite heros.

wtf they didn’t put the IAD series in People??? stupid People.

Julia Quinn’s series, and if I had to pick a specific one, it would be An Offer from a Gentleman (Benedict’s book).

Although I would much rather pick Dark Desires After Dusk[b/] by Kresley Cole ( that’s Cade’s book for those of us who can’t tell the titles apart) that’s a hard one to recommend.