Today, the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish have mandated a a Valentine Day-based freebie, and very predictably I thought I’d list my top ten romances. In no particular order:
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon- Jaime, Jaime, Jaime. His very presence in the book vaults it to my top ten romance list.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Darcy, Darcy, Darcy, same as above. Seriously, it is almost always the hero who makes a romance my favorite.
- The Host by Stephenie Meyer – Yeah, yeah, she of the Twilight fame. Honestly, I thought The Host was seriously underrated and the romance in it is miles better in my book than the Twilight one.
- Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding – No romance list is complete without including this one.
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – One of the few contemporary literary romances that I love
- Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella – Loved this complex yet still light-hearted book about a love affair between a married woman and her husband’s best friend. Normally, these are the kinds of books I dislike, but the romance here is done so very well that I just melted.
- Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella – This is the love story that set off a monstrously successful series. I mean she combined two ideas – love and shopping into one book. Genius, I tell you!
- Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes – I love Keyes’ ability to talk about difficult things (such as, addiction) while at the same time creating a wonderful love story. I am talking about Rachel’s Holiday in this list, but so many of her books are fabulous – Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Watermelon, Anybody Out There? Fabulous books, with fabulous romances.
- Cotillion by Georgette Heyer – Actually just any romance by Georgette Heyer is always so unexpected, so funny, and with such wonderful and realistic heroes and heroines. I love every one of her books. I mention Cotillion in this list, because she so wonderfully mocks standard romance tropes, while at the same time creating such a wonderful love story.
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – I know the book is out of fashion nowadays, and if I read it now, I might not like it so much. I read this as a teenager and loved it, and I want to retain that wonderful forbidden love gone bad quality of this book. Also so highly atmospheric! The Yorkshire moors are on my travel bucket list because of this book.
Outlander – yes. Yes. That’s all we need.
I loved the movie version of The Time Traveler’s Wife so bought the book and have yet to read it. I’m embarrassed to tell you how long ago I bought it.
I love Sophie Kinsella ones from your list. I usually despise romantic novels 🙁
@Avada@bookishmuggle.com I am also not a romance lover. I need the romance to have a hefty dose of humor or drama to stomach it. Plain ole romances are just not my thing.
I’ve only read Pride and Prejudice from this list, and I completely agree with its inclusion 🙂 Oh, Darcy <3
My TTT.
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@allysongilmore:disqus Darcy forever, I agree 🙂
Nice list…all except *snicker* I won’t say, but you may not like my TTT. http://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2016/02/top-ten-tuesday-february-9-2016.html?showComment=1455053868158#c7761739795309480857
@joseph_fountain:disqus Now I am curious, is it the Sophie Kinsella? Oh, yep, it’s the Wuthering Heights 🙂 just saw your list
Oh, The Time Traveler’s Wife! I love that book! I have been thinking about it lately and contemplating a reread. It’s such a strange book, totally sui generis. I love that about it.
@readingtheend:disqus totally strange book. At the time I read it, I wasn’t too sure about it, but it’s remained in my memory for the longest time. I do want to give it a reread one day.