A Writer's Dozen - Archive

Twelve Great Romances Everyone Should Read and Why
List compiled by Darlene First posted April 2006
This was very hard to do because it was so tough to decide which books to choose from. I have way more than 12 favorites! Top of the list is “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers, a Bantam FanFare Historical. Wonderful and beautiful story of a man who rescues a woman from a life of prostitution by marrying her. A powerful tale of the healing power of love but not just the love of a good man but also of God’s love healing a broken spirit. A real tear jerker, you’ll need a whole Kleenex box beside you when you read this one! “Catch a Fallen Angel” by Kathleen Kane, a St. Martin’s Historical. A guardian angel gives a condemned man a second chance at life but lets him believe he’s making a deal with the devil in order to teach him a lesson in sacrifice. Humorous, a very good read. “The Unwilling Bride” by Margaret Moor, a Harlequin Historical. Very well plotted with an interesting twist at the end. The heroine is betrothed to the son of a cruel lord (the son is as bad as the father, hence her unwillingness to be his bride). But you don’t know until the end that the son was killed by bandits and the guy (hero) who took the son’s place is the bastard offspring of the cruel lord (this lord died shortly after his son did). Very well written book! “The deBurgh Bride” by Deborah Simmons, a Harlequin Historical. A gentle knight is given a hellion for a bride. No one likes her for she is wild and fierce. On their wedding night the hero has to disarm her of the knife she plans to attack him with. Love tames her wild yet vulnerable heart. The author stayed very true to the heroine’s character. “The Cat’s Fancy” by Julie Kenner, a Leisure Love Spell. She’s a cat by day and a human by night and must make her owner fall in love with her but only has a week to do so or she’ll remain a cat forever. A fun, light-hearted read. Must like cats—or you will after reading this story. “Dear John…” by Lyn Ellis, a Harlequin Temptation. Though an older book, this and the next one were great reads. The hero is a soldier who comes back home to search for the mystery woman who wrote to him while fighting overseas. He finds himself wanting the fantasy of home she created in her letters. However, the heroine had been badly injured and had written letters to help pass the time. Sadly, she knows this could only be a fantasy—for what man could love a woman who is physically broken and scarred? “Montana Man” by Barbara Delinsky, a Harlequin Temptation. A woman with a newborn picks up a hitchhiker in a blizzard. When her car breaks down he ends up saving both their lives by finding them shelter. By the time they have to go their separate ways she’s ready to follow him to his home no matter how tough the journey. This book received an Award of Excellence. “The Alliance” by Patricia Waddell, a Lionhearted Futuristic. Hero and heroine are united in marriage, a political union; she’s from Earth, he’s a duty-bound governor of a planet. It will take their love to overcome the prejudices that the two races have toward the other. “Outrageous” by Norah-Jean Perkin, a Lionhearted Contemporary. A too eccentric and cocky nanny turns the hero’s life upside down and he’s ready to toss her out; he even proposes marriage to scare her off but she calls his bluff. Very well-developed characters. “Powerful Magic” by Karen Whiddon, a Leisure LoveSpell. The heroine is zapped back in time by a lightening bolt and saved by a warrior who is half Faerie and half human. They begin a quest, she to save his heart and he to save both human and faerie worlds from an evil Faerie. Only the powerful magic of their love will save them all. “Tiger Eye” by Marjorie M. Liu, a Leisure LoveSpell. He’s a shapeshifter who is hers to command. She holds the key to restore all that he has lost—and for her, he would dare all. Good suspense and intricate plot. Anything by Julia Quinn such as “How To Marry a Marquis”, an Avon Historical. I really liked one scene in this book where the hero (a Marquis whose identity is unknown to the heroine) teaches the heroine how to box and is unprepared when she succeeds on her first try. She stands over him gloating as he lays sprawled on the ground rubbing his jaw. A very funny scene. Almost all of her books are light-hearted with witty, sparkling dialogue. Very good reads! Plus... List of 12 favorite authors: C.J. Barry who writes Fantastic Futuristics, Lori Foster who writes contemporary sexy and sassy stories, Catherine Spangler who writes Futuristics, Sandra Brown who writes both contemporary and historical, Julie Garwood, Jennifer Greene, Elizabeth Lowell, Lynsay Sands, Cherry Adair, Sandra Hill, and of course Margaret Moore and Julia Quinn.

April 2006