Archive for Best Romance Books
In the Spotlight: The Fifty Shades of Grey Series by E.L. James
Posted by: | CommentsIn our earlier article, Seeing Twilight in Fifty Shades of Grey, I wrote about allegations that the Fifty Shades of Grey series may be facing copying infringement issues because it began life as Twilight fan fiction. It remains to be seen if Little, Brown (which publishes Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series) will follow up on these claims. (As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am hard pressed to see the similarities between the two!)
In the meantime, the final book of the Fifty Shades of Grey series was released on January 19, and has stormed up Amazon’s romance and erotica charts. Fifty Shades Freed peaked at the top spot in the erotica category, and is currently number 11 in romance. Not at all a bad showing for a series that has gained popularity mostly by word-of-mouth, on the back of rave reviews on romance blogs and sites such as Goodreads!
Most romance book fans will have heard about Fifty Shades, but don’t fret if you’re not familiar with the books – you can find out more from our article spotlighting the series. Written entirely from the heroine Anastasia Steele’s perspective, this series is wonderfully romantic… and yes, extremely erotic and sensual. (Deep down inside, I’m sure every girl wants to be Ana, and longs to have her own Christian!) This is one series that I’ll be re-reading for years to come and I heartily recommend all three books!
Book 1: Fifty Shades of Grey
The first book in the series introduces the reader to Christian Grey, a self-made millionaire in his late twenties, and young English major Anastasia Steele. Christian (also affectionately referred to as “Fifty Shades” by Ana throughout the trilogy) is a successful entrepreneur whose calm facade hides a painful past, and his secret Dominant tendencies. He first meets the innocent Ana when she’s bamboozled into interviewing Christian for her university’s newspaper. Ana is completely unprepared for the charismatic and gorgeous Christian, while Christian is attracted by Ana’s intelligence, submissive demeanor, and complete lack of artifice. Sparks fly between the two, and Christian decides to woo Ana, and the two struggle to establish a relationship even though Ana can’t quite wrap her head around Christian’s dark past, and interest in BDSM.
Book 2: Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades Darker picks up immediately where Fifty Shades of Grey left off. Ana simply can’t deal with Christian’s need to control her or his sexual preferences, and decides to break the relationship off. Ana starts afresh with a new job at a boutique publishing house, and tries to forget Christian. But the separation is too painful for both Christian and Ana, and the two rekindle their romance and try to come to a middle ground that will work for them both. We get to learn more about Christian’s tortured past. A number of secondary characters, most notably a past lover/stalker, are introduced, further complicating the dynamics between Christian and Ana.
Book 3: Fifty Shades Freed
The final book in the trilogy ties up all the loose ends beautifully, although I was sorry to see the series end. Christian and Ana have are now in a committed relationship. Ana both enjoys and feels uncomfortable with the luxuries that Christian’s wealth can afford her, and she continues to struggle with Christian’s need to protect her by controlling her actions. There are some wonderfully touching moments involving Christian and Ana’s families. There’s also an exciting sub-plot involving an attempt to kidnap Ana, and a dicey scene where she places her life at risk to face down Christian’s dark past. Needless to say, Christian and Ana get their happy ever after, as do most of the other popular characters in the book. Includes a great bonus chapter showing Christian’s perspective of his first meeting with Ana.
Top 5 Romance Book Heroes
Posted by: | CommentsWhat is it about romance novels that make them so appealing? For some, it’s the feisty heroine, for others, it’s the certainty that there will always be a Happy Ever After for the couple. Then there are those (like me) who love romances because of the heroes! Heroes in romance novels combine amazing physical prowess with an overwhelming need to protect and care for their partner. The package is often topped with an intriguing emotional vulnerability. Romance book heroes combine all the best traits, and are truly the best men we can imagine; I’m sure that many of us dream of finding a partner like their favorite hero!
Here are my own Top 5 Romance Book Heroes:
#5
Alec Kincaid in The Bride by Julie Garwood
Ah, Alec! This powerful Scottish laird is forced by the King’s decree to marry an English wife. He’s a brutal warrior with a fierce reputation. He’s also good looking, arrogant, and rumored to have killed his first wife. But it’s really all bluster! Alec is gentle and surprisingly patient with his feisty new wife. Despite being frequently exasperated, he’s fiercely protective, and wants to pamper her and give her a comfortable life, to make up for her family’s exploitation of her good nature. Alec’s the magic ingredient in The Bride that makes this charming Cinderella story work!
#4
Zsadist in Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood series)
The quintessential tortured hero, Zsadist is the vampire that even the other Brothers in the Black Dagger Brotherhood are wary of. Physically scarred and, in the words of his twin brother, emotionally ruined, Zsadist has suffered untold torments as a blood slave. He’s so damaged that he can’t bear to be touched, and doesn’t believe himself worthy of true love. Yet Zsadist hasn’t lost his capacity to love despite his dark past, and finds salvation in caring for Bella. Zsadist’s fierce protectiveness and selfless sacrifices for his mate make him one of the most compelling romance book heroes.
#3
Acheron in Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Hunter series)
It took us twelve books to get to Acheron’s story, but it was definitely worth the wait! Another tortured hero, Ash has suffered untold pain over his 11,000 year existence. Although he’s a god, Ash isn’t callous like the others gods. He’s had first hand experience of being persecuted and violated, and has never forgotten what it’s like to be weak and helpless. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and treats others with compassion and kindness, despite his vast power. He may look like a bad boy, but Ash is vulnerable and insecure, and doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love. If anyone deserves a Happy Ever After, Ash does!
#2
Gabe Bonner in Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Two years have passed, and Gabe is still mourning the death of his wife and son in a terrible car accident. He’s a shell of his former self, and just wants to be left alone. There’s nothing like a grieving widower to bring out the tea and sympathy, but it’s Gabe’ eventual fierce defense of Rachel that really endeared him to me. Rachel is persecuted by Gabe’s own brothers and others in the town, and Gabe never once believes the worst of her. Gabe’s interactions with Rachel’s son – so obviously painful for a man who’s lost his own son – will also bring tears to your eyes. I’m certainly dreaming a little dream of having a man like Gabe in my life!
#1
Zack Benedict in Perfect by Judith McNaught
How can anyone not love Zack Benedict? Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he is disowned by his family, and depends on sheer grit and determination to become an award-winning actor and director. But his world crumbles when he’s wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. Zack’s stoicism, both in prison, and after he escapes, makes him the quintessential strong, silent hero. But he reveals a softer side through his love for Julie. It’s a love that’s so strong that he willingly allows himself to be re-captured to save her from further pain. Zack’s a perfect hero in anyone’s book!
I have so many favorite romance novels and love so many romance book heroes that this was an incredibly difficult list to write. Now that I’ve shared my favorites, maybe you can share yours? Let us know who your favorite romance heroes are!
Best Romance Books of 2011 as per The NY Times, Amazon and Others
Posted by: | CommentsWell, it took 3 days and quite a few hours of work but I’ve finally put together my list of the Best Romance Books of 2011.
To make sure you know this list is legit, check out the sources I used:
- NY Times: “100 Notable Books of 2011″
- Amazon’s Best Books of 2011: “The Top 20″
- Amazon’s Best Books of 2011: “The Top 100″
- Amazon’s Best Books of 2011: Romance
- Barnes and Noble: The Top 100 Bestsellers of 2011
- Barnes and Noble: “Books We Recommend”
- Barnes and Noble Best of 2011: Adult Fiction
So, let’s get started with the Contemporary Romance category!
Best 2011 Contemporary Romance Books
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
 The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides |
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 Breaking Point by Pamela Clare |
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 The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan |
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 The Next Always by Nora Roberts |
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 The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks |
Now, on to the next category:
Best 2011 Historical Romance Books
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
 Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase |
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 Seduction of a Highland Lass by Maya Banks |
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 What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long |
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 Unveiled by Courtney Milan |
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 Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook |
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 The Paris Wife by Paula McLain |
And now, let’s look at one of my favorite categories:
Best 2011 Paranormal Romance Books
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
 Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole |
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 Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison |
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 Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh |
And last, I have to include “Say Her Name” because it’s an awesome love story. Based on the true account of the drowning of Francisco Goldman’s young wife, this book poignantly tells about a true everlasting love:
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
 Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman |
Have you read any of the books from the Best Romance Books of 2011 list? If so, what did you think?
The Look of Love by Bella Andre
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Title: The Look of Love
Author: Bella Andre
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Best-selling author Bella Andre’s The Look of Love is the first in a series featuring the Sullivan family. Globe-trotting photographer Chase Sullivan is driving to his brother Marcus’ vineyard in the Napa Valley when he comes across Chloe Peterson. Chloe’s had a pretty bad day – she’s had an alternation with her ex-husband resulting in a badly-bruised cheek, and she’s also driven her car in a ditch in her escape attempt. Chase gives Chloe a ride, and offers her a place to stay. Thus begins a whirlwind four-day romance between our hero and heroine. Chloe’s bad experience with her abusive ex makes her wary of men, and she fights her strong attraction to Chase. Chase too is extremely attracted to Chloe, but doesn’t have the emotional baggage that she has. He is willing to go to the ends of the earth to win Chloe’s heart. The Look of Love is a fun read. It’s a sensual and sweet romance with a satisfying happy-ever-after ending. There are eight Sullivan siblings in total, and The Look of Love is followed by From This Moment On (Marcus’ story) and Can’t Help Falling in Love (Gabe’s story).
Those Revealing Romance Book Trailers
Posted by: | CommentsThe Los Angeles Times did a story recently about how many book publishers are doing trailers for their books, just like movies do. I am not really surprised to hear this. In some ways one of the effects of the publishing industry changes with major chains going down like flies is that we need new channels for promotion.
It used to be that if you loved books, you spent some time each Saturday at the local book store, cruising the aisles and picking up a couple of books to bring home. It is one business where impulse buying is more the norm, and over 60% of all purchases in bookstores are generally impulse buys.
But with more and more people buying their books online and the emergence of e-books there had to be another way to get the word out about the latest books. True, most of the people I know that have e-readers cruise online the way I used to cruise the stores. But publishers do need a way to show off the latest and greatest, and that includes romances.
I got curious and so I went looking on Youtube to see what kind of trailers they might have, and lo and behold, there were trailers for some of my favorite romances! I started checking them out and some of them are really cool, so I just had to share them with all of you.
Here is the very sophisticated trailer for Victoria Alexander’s latest historical romance, The Perfect Mistress. It’s the tale of a book, a woman who might use it to reveal all, and the man who must win her to win the book and her heart. But the trailer just makes it all the more interesting…
Bloodlines is the latest from the author that brought us Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead. The setting is very much like in her Vampire Academy series, but this time the romance element is much stronger. Check this one out…
And finally- I ran across this one, The Year She Fell, just cruising through the videos and it looks really interesting. It isn’t as slick as some of the others; looks like a fan of the book did it. I looked up the book on Amazon, lots of great reviews and even though this isn’t one I know anything about, I think you guys should check it out and get back to us here to let me know if it lives up to its fun little video…
Romance Book Legend Nicholas Sparks Turns to TV
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The word is out that Nicholas Sparks, the man who has through millions of women enriched the tissue industry with books like The Notebook and The Guardian, will be writing a television show for ABC. The word is that the book will center on the life and loves of a earth-bound fallen angel. If the previous efforts are any indication, including two films that had scores of theatre-goers leaving the film red-eyed and sniffing, this will be another emotion-filled romantic story. The real question is: how do you do a story with that kind of impact on a weekly basis?
The basics of the story according to a recent interview on Dateline, is that a fallen angel comes to earth in search of his lost love, a mortal. Sparks will be co-writing the weekly show with veteran television writer Kristen Hahn and the production will be handled by the same company that produced Dear John and Safe Haven for the big screen. So that does mean there is some past history to help the development along. It doesn’t hurt that Temple Hill, the production company handling the new Sparks venture, just completed its latest venture, Twilight. So perhaps it is no surprise that the genre-driven romance element can be expected as the central driving element of the story concept.
“I’ve always wanted to create a smart, unconventional show about angels on Earth, and ABC is the perfect home for this kind of imaginative, character-driven drama,” said Sparks and it does indeed sound like an unconventional show. But then since Angels are supposed to be the new vampires, perhaps it is simply a vanguard of a new trend. No word yet on when it is supposed to premier or even when principal casting is expected to take place. Let’s hope this doesn’t mean Sparks is walking away from continuing to write for the more traditional book trade.
In the meantime, since it is a cold rainy night, perhaps I will crack open my old copy of The Notebook and take another walk down that emotional and yet uplifting path. Care to join me?
Love Collections
Posted by: | CommentsThe idea of an anthology is to give you little tastes of story that you can savor in one delicious bite. It is still one of my favorite ways of enjoying various genre stories, and I have long had science fiction collections sitting by my bed for just that reason. But until I started writing this review column, I had never given much thought to romance anthologies. Boy- was I ever missing a treat!
Short stories take a different kind of writing then a novel. You don’t have all that space to build up characters and involve the reader. You pretty much need to grab them from the first page and just push them headlong into your story. So writing romance short stories can be quite a challenge. Here, then, are a handful of great collections of romance short stories, some old and some new that I thought I could share with all of you out there.
They are the perfect book to have by your bedside for that night when you don’t want to find yourself caught up in some long sweeping romantic novel that wrecks your sleep time (what Me? I never stay up until 5AM to finish that romance novel!). I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did picking them out. They are a gloriously diverse bunch.
Title: Songs of Love and Death: All Original Tales of Star Crossed Love
Author: George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Diana Gabaldon, Jim Butcher, Jo Beverly, Mary Jo Putney, Peter S Beagle, Tanith Lee.
Release: November 2010
Pages: 480
Genre: Romance
In this star-studded cross-genre anthology, seventeen of the greatest modern authors of fantasy, science fiction, and romance explore the borderlands of their genres with brand-new tales of ill-fated love. From zombie-infested woods in a postapocalyptic America to faery-haunted rural fields in eighteenth- century England, from the kingdoms of high fantasy to the alien world of a galaxy-spanning empire, these are stories of lovers who must struggle against the forces of magic and fate.
Title: Hearts Divided
Authors: Debbie Macomber, Katherine Stone, Lois Faye Dyer
Release: June 2006
Pages: 411
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Grandmothers know best . . . especially these three grandmothers, all soldiers’ brides. Their generation lived through war and peace, good times and bad, love and loss.
5-B Poppy Lane by Debbie Macomber
All her life, Ruth Shelton has loved visiting her grandmother in Cedar Cove, Washington. Now Ruth comes to ask advice about her own romance with a soldier — and discovers a secret in her grandmother’s past.
The Apple Orchard by Katherine Stone
Clara MacKenzie’s granddaughter Elizabeth arrives at Clara’s Oregon farm needing comfort. That’s exactly what Clara offers — and so does a childhood friend named Nick Lawton. But Nick wants to offer Elizabeth more than comfort. More than friendship . . .
Liberty Hall by Lois Faye Dyer
When Professor Chloe Abbot finds herself caught up in a troublesome mystery, she turns to her grandmother. She needs Winifred’s expertise as a wartime code breaker. She doesn’t need suggestions about her love life — all of which involve an ex-marine Jake Morrissey!
Title: Once Upon A Castle
Authors: Nora Roberts, Marianne Willman, Ruth Ryan Langan, Jill Gregory
Release: October 1998
Pages: 614
Genre: Romance
First time in print, these new stories of romance and magic begin with one written by bestselling author Nora Roberts with a tale of spells and their consequences. Also along for the ride are three of her closest friends and popular romance authors in their own right, Jill Gregory with a gothic tale, Ruth Ryan Langan who brings her romantic spirit to “Falcon’s Lair” and Marianne Willman’s “Dragonspell” which adds a light fantasy touch. Here are four enchanting tales of castles, spells, and happily-ever-after.
Title: Love Stories
Author: Diana Secker Tesdell (editor)
Release: January 2009
Pages: 400
Genre: Classic Romance
A new anthology of literary love stories—the third collection in the appealing Pocket Classics format.
Here are nineteen stories from a rich array of writers, and here is every kind of romantic entanglement: from the raw, erotic passion of D. H. Lawrence and Colette to the wickedly cynical comedy of Dorothy Parker and Roald Dahl, from the yearnings of unrequited romantic illusions in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” to the agonizing madness of jealousy in Vladimir Nabokov’s “That in Aleppo Once . . .” The objects of passion in these stories range from a glamorous silent-movie starlet in Elizabeth Bowen’s haunting “Dead Mabelle” to an emotionally opaque heart surgeon in Margaret Atwood’s “Bluebeard’s Egg.”
Jhumpa Lahiri plumbs the depths of despair between a husband and wife separated by tragedy, while Lorrie Moore movingly portrays a husband and wife for whom tragedy becomes a bond. Katherine Mansfield, Tobias Wolff, and William Trevor explore the intricacies of long-term relationships, while Guy de Maupassant, Italo Calvino, and T. C. Boyle portray the initial, elemental force of love. This is a collection as alluring, moving, and intoxicating as its timeless theme.
As you can see there is a little here for every kind of reader. One of the joys of the anthology is that you can read it cover to cover or hop around reading one story here, another back there, sort of like a box of chocolates. You just never know when you will hit the one with the creamy caramel filling!
Deni
