I like soap operas and I like romance novels. There, I’ve said it. Throughout the years, both those pastimes have been guilty pleasures that have gotten me teased an awful lot by my high-brow peers (and even some of my low-brow ones). But I no longer care; they have both given me hours of enjoyment and escapism and I accept your derision with a shrug. They are their own art forms, coming in varying degrees of quality and engagement. For the longest time I’d devour my books like candy, barely paying attention to authors, picking them by the cover art (no bodice rippers), settings/time periods (preferably English Regency or frontier American West), and of course the well-written jacket copy — sure, there’s a formula to them all but I just can’t have it be too obvious. Lately I’ve become more discerning, appreciating authors’ styles. Yet even though I’ve branched out to other subgenres, like paranormal books such as Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series, I was still certain I wouldn’t like time-travel books. They just seemed too out there for me. But when I’d gotten to the bottom of my latest romance novel care package (thank you, Tina Jordan), I found Flirting With Forever by Gwyn Cready, and I expanded my horizons again.
In it, modern-day art historian Campbell Stratford is accidentally transported back to 17th-century England, where she encounters playboy artist-to-the-king Peter Lely. Without spoiling too much, it turns out that Peter’s not all that he seems and he ends up following her back to present-day Pittsburgh. Roll your eyes if you must (I know I did), but between the chemistry Cready gives to Campbell and Peter and the witty lines, Flirting pulled me in. I save my guilty-pleasure reading for my train commute and one sure sign of a good read is that after my train has pulled into Grand Central, the last stop, I sit there trying to finish that paragraph, page, or chapter instead of popping up and marching off with the other determined New Yorkers. And Flirting passed the test. There are definitely some sluggish parts but Cready’s understanding of and flourish in writing about an artists’s aesthetic and mindset helps make up for that.
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YEAH! Another unashamed Romance Novel lover! I too have to hide my novels because my peers think they are silly. They don’t understand that I read them to escape, I have read deep heavy books in my classes so reading a run of the mill romance allows me to recarge. They are just good fun with easy plotlines but alwasy fun and enjoyable characters. I’m a big fan of Johanna Lindsey as well as Karen Hawkins, Lisa Kleypas and Sabrina Jefferies, but my favorite is still The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
ITA with Johanna Lindsey and Sabrina Jeffries. Also love Georgina Gentry, Julia Quinn, Gayle Callen and Jade Lee.
Oh I LOVE Gayle Callen, haven’t read the other three though…that means I’ve got a few more authors to check out!
I read them. As a kid I learned a lot from romance novels – and I’m not talking about sex. My mom used to subscribe to a couple of the Harlequin lines, so I read a lot of those. They used “foreign” words and were set all over the world. Favorite authors are Miranda Lee and Kelly Hunter (she’s fairly new).
Nerwen – if you like Lisa Kleypas, you should like Julia Quinn. I’d never been much of an historical romance reader, but Quinn sucked me in.
Some of the newer “erotic” romances – wow. Lora Leigh may top that chart.
I cannot abide the paranormal romances, I just don’t get it. (and this from a Whedonite and I do like Charlaine Harris, but those aren’t really romances)
A long time lover of romance novels or, as my mother calls them, smut books, I have to admit I adore this “outing.” I know she can be out there with her story lines, but Susan Elizabeth Phillips makes me laugh out loud with her characters’ antics and dialogue. Excuse me, but I’m going to head to Border’s and pick up “Flirting with Forever” and “The Flame and The Flower.” Thanks for the tips!!
I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Her books are the type I can read over and over again for a smile or like a security blanket when I get tired of all the wars and death out there in the real world. You should check out Jennifer Crusie. Her romance novels are hilarious and lovely all at once.
I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips, along with Jennifer Crusie, Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, and more. Romance novels are fun, easy to read, and are normally really good stories. I hate the ones that are only about sex but even some- Erin McCarthy- the stories are so good I buy them anyway and just skim through the porn . . .
SEP and Jennifer Crusie are two of my all time FAVORITES in the genre. I enjoy romance with humor and these books have it all! Check out Rachel Gibson if you like the other two. She definitely writes in the same style. Yay for romance novels!
If you’re looking for a good Romantic Comedy writer, check out Robin Kaye. She writes about Brooklyn and her stories are hilarious.
The Flame and the Flower was really the first historical romance I remember reading and it continues to be one of my favorites. I tend to re-read particular authors or books. This is especially true for Nora Roberts books. She is my favorite author and I am always reading one of hers along with whatever else I might be reading at the time. I also enjoy Johanna Lindsey, earlier Jennifer Blake, and Kathleen Woodiwiss.
You should try Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander Series and her Fever series
love, Love, LOVE Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series. I am so mad about the wait for the next book. I want to see what aiobheal has in store for the twins and cian, and whether adam is going to be involved at all.
Never apologize for your reading tastes. The best time-travel romance I can recommend is Diana Gabaldon’s OUTLANDER series. PS- I am a former librarian and reviewer of historical romance. And a lifelong pop-culture junkie.
The Outlander series is my all-time favorite. I found her first novel after I had visited Scotland and fell in love with Jamie and Claire.
The Outlander series is awesome! I find myself re-reading it over and over again.
I believe that romance novels and soaps get bad raps. Count me in as a huge fan of both! They are definite treats after a tough day at work. I am a fan of time-travel – love it when the heroine goes back in time and the alpha hero does not believe her at first. Also, I adore western historical and sizzling contemporary novels. However, I cannot get into paranormal novels – guess my imagination does not stretch that far.
Soaps and romance novels are no more formulaic than action movies. Anybody else NOT surprised that the escapism women enjoy gets put down more than the escapism men enjoy?
(And yeah, I know lots of women enjoy action films. But more men than you’d think enjoy soaps and romances. The men just aren’t allowed to admit it.)
I’m with lina! Men’s escapism (that is, the sort of escapism that’s more associated with men) such as TV sports, action and horror movies, and the like are accorded much more respect than “women’s” escapism. Jane Austen mocked this attitude in Northanger Abbey, and we really haven’t come that far!
One of my Swim team mates in college used to tease me about reading romances, so I just teased him right back about his Conan the Barbarian books.
BTW, I don’t stand for people mocking what I’m reading. If they ask, I’ll tell them. If they say “you’re reading *that*?” then I say, “Oh, didn’t you like it?” Sometimes that’s enough to shut them up. If not, they reply “I didn’t/don’t read that,” and I counter with “then how do you know you wouldn’t like it?”
Once a guy picked up a book I was reading and mocked it. I said “are you judging a book by its cover?” and he sort of did a double-take and said “wow, yeah, I guess I just did, didn’t I?”
Abby, I celebrate that you’ve “come out of the closet” about loving romance novels….and now that you have, let me share a secret with you: there’s no need to be ashamed. You repeatedly use the word “guilt” here, but why in the world would you feel guilty? Is there something shameful about relationships? Female protagonists? Maybe (dare I whisper the horrible word)…sex? (Nope, that’s not part of the human experience, and mustn’t ever be discussed. Ban it, hide it in the closet, and let’s only read books about serial killers…)
If you want to nip the highbrow/lowbrow conversations in the bud, I suggest you check out Janice Radaway’s work “Reading the Romance” that looks at romance novels and reception practices. It’s a really interesting scholarly work.
omg! I LOVE regency England. Julia Quinn and Julie Garwood have some of my faves. If you love frontier West, try Linda Lael Millers McKettrick series or Stone Creek series, love them! My favorite is Bewitching by Jill Barnett, about a Scottish witch marrying a real English Duke who tries to hide that his duchess is a witch!
Please keep reading romance novels to your heart’s content. I write that “well-written jacket copy” so you’re keeping me in a job
That’s fantastic! A good “blurb” can make or break a book for me and whether or not I read it. It’s so important.
I haven’t read many romance authors, but I am a HUGE fan of Judith McNaught’s books, especially Paradise and Perfect.
I haven’t read any of her books but I’ll look into them. But I just had to comment on your username because I love it! My all-time FAVORITE soap character and I’m not at all ashamed to admit it.
Thanks! Brenda and Anna Devane will always be my favorite soap characters, too.
I adore the classic regency romances. Unfortunately, they aren’t published as frequently as before. I have read my share of the bodice-rippers, but there’s something about the flirtation and subtlety of a classic Regency!
I agree about classic Regencies! (Also known as traditional Regencies, or trads.) My favorite authors there include Joan Smith, Barbara Metzger, Carla Kelly, and of course the great Georgette Heyer, to name but a few!
I’ve been reading romance novels since I was in junior high. I especially love Scottish historicals–men in kilts! My mother-in-law shares my addiction. She believes that intelligent women read romance because it’s an escape from the pressures of everyday life. Works for me.
Susan Johnson, Johanna Lindsay, Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux are my absolute favorites! Susan’s racy as hell but what a thrill her historicals are! That she offers a nice history lesson in them too just adds to the appeal. Julie Garwood’s books are always a highlight and super entertaining as the characters, particularly the women are so amusing to read. Fun, fun characters. Johanna Lindsay? The Malory family alone is worth picking up any of her books. What an amazing family and all their different stories are witty and in general a great read. Jude Deveraux … The Montgomery family from the 13th century to modern day is simply amazing and highly entertaining. I love a writer who can take a storyline anywhere and she certainly does it. You feel like you know each and every Montgomery family member because you read about their parents and grandparents and you know soon you’ll be reading about their kids. It’s like the best ongoing soap opera. I also love Sherrilyn Kenyon’s DarkHunter series. So very good. I’ve read them all …at least twice!
I am so happy someone mentioned Jude Deveraux! “A Knight in Shining Armor” is my favorite romance novel of all time, and I’ve read it a million times. It made me want to read the other books dealing with the Montgomery family.
Love Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux. I just started branching out into the paranormal series, and I have to say I’m really enjoyin JR Wards Black Dagger Brotherhood.
I’m so glad to read this post
I am also a closet romance novel lover (literally, a closet one – that’s where I hide them) who has also recently become a little more discerning, choosing books based on online recommendations or tidbits I read in the bookstore. One of the true joys of reading is being able to escape to another time or place, and romance novels can do that for me. I teach high school English and spend my days reading Emerson, Miller, Faulkner, Twain, and other greats. During the school year there is nothing better than coming home and reading something less heavy 
While I’m here, I have to plug Sherry Thomas, particularly her most recent novel “Not Quite a Husband.” Thomas does such a beautiful job of capturing the feel of late 19th century India. She has also created compelling characters in Leo and Byrony. Their longing for and residual anger towards each other are practically tangible. I enjoyed her other two novels as well, but her third captured me in a way I don’t think another romance novel has.
The best time travel romance I have read is Awaken My Love by Robin Schone. My fav rom writers are Susan Johnson, Bertrice Small, Diane Whiteside, Victoria Janssen and of course Schone.