Romance Novels

[Deleted]

Has anyone read A Year and a Day by Virginia Henley? I just started it (never read anything by her before) and it begins with the heroine becoming aroused by making out with an animal. That is one of the weirder things I've ever read. A reviewer on amazon.com claimed it wasn't bestiality because it was supposed to metaphorical. (The animal was a lynx and the hero, who she hasn't met yet, is named Lynx.) But it's not really metaphorical because it really did happen in the book (meaning not a dream or a vision). The lynx pins her down and starts licking her (she's naked) and she starts to get all excited. Unfortuntely, the lynx gets distracted by a hare so we don't get to see the end of that love scene. Shame! It is about an interesting historical period (Robert the Bruce) so I will probably finish it.

AHHHH! I bought this book in the drugstore a few years ago. I had read one Virginia Henley book (Enslaved – a time travelling romance where a sheltered English lass is transported back to the Roman Empire and is somehow bought as a slave and made to do sexy things with the hero because she was his property but she also loves it!) and wasn't really a fan but I thought this one sounded like it might be alright. Oh. My. God.

The shit with the lynx is pretty crazy (I remember that it licks her breasts or something....? ) and the book doesn't really top that. Although... I do remember that the hero is a typical Alpha male jerk and the woman has red hair so you know she is feisty, spunky etc... (although it has been YEARS since I read this and it didn't merit a re-read so my memories might be incorrect). I do think the heroine gets pregnant and has a kid during their year together because later in the book, the dickweed gets sick and can’t manage to eat so SHE BREASTFEEDS him (a lot) and he gets all better thanks to her tireless care and breast milk. Now, I have read some romances that incorporate breastfeeding in an erotic manner – Sandra Brown’s Sunset Embrace and Laura Kinsale’s The Dream Hunter spring to mind – but this situation was so clumsily handled and completely unerotic for me. Maybe it was because I hated Lynx (the hero, not the animal) and believed that the heroine would have been better off if the bastard had died. And yet… even though it was completely awful, it was also hilarious! I read the whole thing because I couldn’t believe how crazy and bad it was. I also made the mistake of telling all my friends about it. As if they didn’t already think that romances were simply poorly written trash for sexually frustrated people like myself (ahem!) – I had to go and confirm it for them. It is a shame that I don’t praise the good romances I read but instead draw attention to the lesser efforts in the genre. I am my own worst romance-loving enemy!

OT: I have read about the custom of "handfasting" - the trial "marriage" for a year - in other romances but it sounds like a load of b.s. - does anyone know if this was an actual tradition or some sort of manipulated bit of lore for romance/ proving that the Scots were backward when compared to the English/ etc…?

In terms of Regency period recommendations. Judith McNaught and Catherine Coulter have some nice ones (well, I thought they were nice back when I read them... well over ten years ago). I tried to get into Eloisa James but haven't found a book of hers that I really would recommend but she does write romances set during the Regency so she might be worth checking out. I also think some of Lisa Kleypas's novels takes place during the Regency. She is one of my favorite romance novelists and I highly recommend checking her out - even if her stuff is too late to be Regency.

[Dharma]

I just read 6 Lisa Kleypas books in a week. It's become an addiction.

[Deleted]

ThursdayNext, I'm sure it's been mentioned on this thread, but for really good Regency novels, Julia Quinn and Mary Balogh are pretty good.

Also, you could check out the "spy" series by Lauren Willig which are very recent and very entertaining (well written, too, which is a rarity in romance novels, unfortunately). A modern day historian spends time tracking down British spies (think Scarlet Pimpernal) and the narration switches back and forth between Regency time romance and modern day romance. I highly recommend her books, especially to read them in order.

Also, Tracy Grant has two good ones Daughter of the Game and a companion novel whose title eludes me right now.

These books are old but fairly easy to track down in used book stores: Far Pavilions, Shadow of the Moon, and Trade Wind by M.M. Kaye. Romance/historical fiction set in India in the 1800's involving British officers, mostly.

I went through a time in my life where I read tons of romance novels and those stand out in my mind as being some of the best; ones that I actually have reread several times and make my list of favorite books, not just because of their genre.

[dangwhathaveu8]

Just to let you all know.. Julia Quinn is having a book signing in LA tommorrow at 4pm that is open to the public. She is having a workshop from 9pm till noon, and then the book signing. I am going to have to pick out which books I want her to sign (I own them all.. ugh, I love that woman), I am thinking The Duke and I, Romacning Mr. Bridgerton, and The Secret Diaries of Miss. Miranda Cheever. Here is the info..

[tiggertoo]

The shit with the lynx is pretty crazy (I remember that it licks her breasts or something....? ) and the book doesn't really top that. Although... I do remember that the hero is a typical Alpha male jerk and the woman has red hair so you know she is feisty, spunky etc... (although it has been YEARS since I read this and it didn't merit a re-read so my memories might be incorrect).

I did finish reading the book and the breast feeding passage put me off almost as much as the lynx scene. I did not enjoy that book at all, but I do have a thing where I nearly always have to finish a book, once I start it.

Dharma, I'm picking up some more Lisa Kleypas books - do you have any particular recommendations? I really am enjoying her books - the few I've read so far.

[Dharma]

tigertoo, I really enjoyed "Secrets of a Summer Night", "It Happened One Autum", "Devil in Winter" and "Scandal in Spring" - they're the Wallflower series featuring 4 friends. And then I've read other books featuring characters who appeared in the series. They were a fun read.

[proper stranger]

I haven't read the Wallflower series yet, but Suddenly You is a great Lisa Kleypas book. I also enjoyed Again the Magic.

That lynx book sounds INSANE.

[tiggertoo]

Thanks Dharma and Proper Stranger. I actually just found Again the Magic at the second book store. I also picked up some books by Candice Proctor. I read one of her books - found it at the library and it was quite good.

[Deleted]

I'm picking up some more Lisa Kleypas books - do you have any particular recommendations? I really am enjoying her books - the few I've read so far.

I enjoyed The Wallflower series (mentioned up-thread) but if you haven't read Dreaming of You and Then Came You I would say they are worth picking up at a non-used bookstore! I also enjoyed Stranger in My Arms, Lady Sophia's Lover and Where Dreams Begin (and, honestly, I think all of her books have something to offer - although there were a few about the theatre that I didn't find immediately engaging) but Then Came You and Dreaming of You (they both feature some of the same characters - Then Came You is the book that introduces the characters) are really excellent.

ETA: I recently discovered Loretta Chase. How in the HELL have I been a romance reader for so long without ever picking up one of her books?!! I loved Lord of Scoundrels, Mr. Impossible and Lord Perfect and even enjoyed The Lion's Daughter even though it got caught up in the whole "I'm not good and proper enough for love!" scenario that gets tiresome after a while. I have a hard time finding her stuff in stores (used or new) but she is well worth checking out (well, based on the little I have read from her).

[tiggertoo]

Thanks, Thursday Next. Someone else recommended Dreaming of You. I'm having a hard time finding it. I hadn't heard of Then Came You. I'll track them down.

I haven't heard of Loretta Chase .... ever. Always most excellent to discover a new name. I'll check her too.