1. Linda Howard:
Son of the Morning
A murder-mystery meets Knight Templar, and you've got one of my most re-read books.
2. Jennifer Crusie:
Bet Me
Wildly funny romance . . . with great shoes!
3. Laurell K. Hamilton:
A Kiss of Shadows
A real-life modern faerie princess . . . with killer relatives.
Warning, this could be cross-listed with horror.
4. Jane Feather:
The Accidental Bride
Historical romance, set in England in the 1600s, with wildly independent female heroines.
5. Jennifer Weiner:
Good in Bed
Modern romance: tears and laughter.
6. Linda Howard:
To Die For
Flat out the most amusing blond in the genre. This one veers between murder-mystery, romance, and slap-stick comedy. Delightful!
7. Laurell K. Hamilton (and others):
Never After
This collection of short-stories speaks to those of us who "dodged a bullet" when it comes to matrimony.
8. P.C. Cast:
Divine By Mistake
An English teacher gets tossed into another dimension where she's treated as a goddess. How could I not love this?!
9. Tanith Lee:
The Silver Metal Lover
This one is an odd little book wandering somewhere between sci-fi, fantasy, fairy tale, and romance. Enjoy!
10. Dan Parkinson:
Starsong
Another tale that merges sci-fi and romance, this one will break your heart.
Focus for this list:
This genre is rapidly evolving, and the variety of cross-genre books is encouraging to me. This list has everything from modern romance to a fairy princess and knights templar. Some would even argue that a few of these belong on a sci-fi, humor, or horror list. Best of all though? They're all quite well-written. I won't tell you who, but one of these authors has her doctorate in the structure of women's literature; I'm just delighted that she's making millions and helping revolutionize this genre! Note: read the reviews / summaries as the titles tell you practically nothing about the book. Oh, and yes, I do recommend these authors, not just these specific books, as a glance at my shelves will tell you!
, by Spider Robinson
