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Romantic, sexy and good?

12 replies

SunshineP · 10/03/2019 16:27

I’m just looking for something romantic and a bit sexy but not dire. I’ve just read every Shardlake book and I feel like a need something a bit different. Thanks.

OP posts:
SunshineP · 11/03/2019 06:37

Maybe I’ll start War and Peace.

OP posts:
IamEarthymama · 17/03/2019 00:37

Well, I feel I should name change for this, I love Nora Roberts!
She's prolific and her books could be called formulaic, but I do enjoy them.
People are good, or they are properly bad!

Heroes are sexy with big hearts and enormous...wallets.
Women are capable and smart. Throw in some trouble in the town or community and away you go.
The older ones are eye-opening, much sexist banter, cigarette smoking etc

I like the trilogies, Garden, beginning with Blue Dahlia, the first NR I ever read, or the Inn at Boonsbro, the Bride Quartet. Then there are the paranormal trilogies, Sign of Seven, Circle, Three Sisters etc. These may be set in Ireland.
The family sets are good too, I like the Quinn family, even though it's dated Chesapeake Bay, etc.

There are stand alone titles, that usually involve a mystery. Whiskey Beach, the Collector, Come Sundown, The Liar, Chasing Fire, Shelter in Place. I really enjoy these.

She is in the middle of a post apocalyptic, paranormal trilogy, Year One and Of Blood and Bone already published.

Then there are the In Death books. These are crime books set in New York in the near future after a war across the world, that doesn't seem to resolve much and left capitalism thriving. Our star is Lt Eve Dallas, hardbitten cop, married to the sexiest squillionaire, Roarke, with an Irish lilt and a criminal past. They are funny and quick-witted, with a supporting cast of characters who are zany but endearing.

I realise now that I sound obsessed. It's just that they are a really good comfort read, you know what you will get and in an uncertain world that is sometimes a good thing.
The Audible versions are good too, especially the In Death series.

Off go I, to persuade all my book loving friends that my account has been hacked and that I am knee-deep in Wolf Hall and the works of the Bloomsbury set, not tearing up at the soppy bits in Black Hills!

DancelikeEmmaGoldman · 22/03/2019 17:36

Loretta Chase The Last Hellion and Lord of Scoundrels. Regency romance with very funny dialogue and the ne plus ultra of heroes. Who are putty in the hands of clever women.

Emma Bull’s epic Freedom and Necessity which is part history, part fantasy and an epistolary novel to boot.

Dorothy Dunnett’s completely astonishing Francis of Lymond books. The romantic payoff is a long time coming, but worth it.

DancelikeEmmaGoldman · 22/03/2019 17:43

And yes, when Nora Roberts is in form, nobody does romance better. I like Black Hills and the one about firefighters who parachute out of aircraft - the name escapes me, but the romance was very adult and the heroine a real hero.

I like the In Death series, although I think the last few have been phoned in.

If you like funny romance, Jennifer Crusie is witty and engaging.

MerryTwinkletoes · 22/03/2019 17:45

What about Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb? My guilty pleasure. More crime solving than romance but a really strong sexy leading couple feature in them all

GeorgeTheBleeder · 22/03/2019 17:45

Your thread title suggests an incredibly wide field! Anything from Lorna Doone (R.D. Blackmore) to Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin) via everything on Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey by Dorothy L. Sayers ...

SunshineP · 22/03/2019 18:22

Thanks so much. I’ll look them all up. I’m so pleased with all the suggestions.

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BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 22/03/2019 18:27

I also really like Jennifer Crusie, some are better than others (like anything) but Welcome to Temptation is a good one to start with. I also like Susan Elizabeth Phillips who wrote my favourite romantic novel Ain't She Sweet.

SunshineP · 23/03/2019 08:26

Starting with Nora Roberts and then I’m going to try everything else. I think you need a bit of light reading sometimes. I’m having trouble with mumsnet I keep getting redirected to a competition site so sorry for the proper reply.

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IamEarthymama · 23/03/2019 10:57

Oh I am glad that I haven't been blackballed out of MN books for being lightweight in my love for Nora R and JD Robb.

It's great to have a comfort read in hard times, there's nothing like cwtching up on the sofa with a drink and a well loved favourite
I also love Terry Pratchett and Georgette Heyer for that very reason.

OP, do come back and tell us what you think!

IamEarthymama · 23/03/2019 11:04

Actually I must say, the earlier JD Robb are the best, do read them in order.
The later books are formulaic without the humour and pathos that were the highlights as we learned about the characters.
This was mentioned on another thread about series of books and I didn't want to recommend some books that might disappoint

MyKitchenIsATip · 23/03/2019 19:34

I'm a fan of Freya North - her most recent, The Turning Point, was superb. Some of her earlier stuff isn't to everyone's tastes (although I'm a fan). Love Rules is also wonderful, and Fen is another favourite (both by her).

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