The other big names on my romance shelves are Linda Howard, Kay Hooper, Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Amanda Glass (got rid of all the Jayne Castle SF romances), and Robin D. Owens (kept her SF/romance titles, mostly because I love her portrayal of pet familiars who communicate with their humans), but I only have 8-15 books of each, as opposed to NR's dozens.
The authors I wish had published more are Jessica Bryan (terrific mermaid romance), Lee Damon (not a big name, but the few books I have I really treasure for wonderful characters), and Nancy Block (who only published the one book I know of, a hilarious timetravel pirate romance called "Once Upon a Pirate" that I highly recommend if you can find it--it's long out of print).
when I need escapist, no-brainer reading material
Nora's my girl for that. Not that her trilogies are brainless at all, really, but I know what's going to happen -- three couples, an overarching plot, and good snarky dialogue and decent sex.
Also, really well-drawn men. She really gets male characters in a way that most romance writers don't.
Also, really well-drawn men. She really gets male characters in a way that most romance writers don't.
SO MUCH THIS, I have to asscap it.
one of the things that infuriated me about her early books at least, was that they seemed to epitomize everything bad about the chick lit genre-- all the labels, the shallowness, the sheer vapidness of how her characters treated relationships. Jemima J was like the dark side of Bridget Jones and oh, how I hated her.
Worst of all, it didn't feel as if the character really learned anything of value by the end of the story.
That pretty much sums it up, right down to the Jemima J. That's a horrible book.
Plus her characters are the very definition of "two-dimensional."
Does anyone else remember Valerie Vayle? She was back in the '80s, and she wrote terrific pirate/Queen Anne era stuff, sexy, hilarious, the men as interesting as the women.
Also, really well-drawn men. She really gets male characters in a way that most romance writers don't.
I have to wonder if it's because she had a houseful of them, but she's the undisputed Boss of the Realm.
I LOVE Georgette Heyer and have read all her books endless times, but am still looking for a modern romance writer with the same kind of smart, witty dialogue, believable characters and sense of humor about the whole "love" kerfuffle as Heyer. Cruisie comes closest, but if any of these suggestions come close to that ideal, let me know.
I have problems with some of Nora Roberts' sex scenes - some of them are more like a rugger scrum with orgasms than I'm used to in books. Kind of sex as a full body contact sport.
