Today I'm taking a lot at 3 of my favorite books by 3 of my favorite contemporary romance authors. I've been loving contemporary romance lately and am really enjoying mixing it in with my usual mysteries. I will warn you though that I tend to favor the low heat more women's fiction type romance versus the super spicy kind. I love the evolution of the relationship and the characters as well as the community feel that frequently occurs in my favorites.
RaeAnn Thayne
Thayne is definitely the lowest on the heat scale with stories that tend to run to the sweet and heartfelt. There's a lot of single parents and always a small town feel. There's a certain sameness to Thayne's books which is why they're very rarely 5 star reads for me. However, they're always a total feel good delight.
Snow Angel Cove - This was the first Thayne I ever read and I completely fell in love. It was sweet with wonderful characters and still makes me smile to think about it.
Sugar Pine Trail - One of the main characters in this one is a librarian and I can never resist a librarian. There are also two boys looking for stability and a cynic who isn't looking for romance.
Snowfall on Haven Point - A grumpy sheriff recovering from an injury and a no nonsense single mother who is determined to fulfill her promise to her friend. Throw in two sweet kids and some Christmas magic and this was a fabulous read.
Nora Roberts
I don't think anything needs to say about Nora Roberts. The woman knows how to tell a story and can create characters like no one else. Plus I don't think there's a sub genre under the romance category that she hasn't tackled.
The Next Always - This is the first in a trilogy about three brothers and three friends in a small town. It's one of the few high school crush carried into adulthood that really worked for me. There's a bit of suspense and even a ghost but for the most part this is a fairly straight forward romance. I reread it recently and enjoyed it as much if not more than I did the first time.
The Obsession - This is essentially a less graphic episode of Criminal Minds with a good romance plot and is one of my favorite romantic suspense titles from Roberts.
Key of Light - This is one of her paranormal suspense titles and it's a favorite. Like many of her books it's the beginning of a trilogy and involves a quest with all kinds of supernatural craziness. This one is about Malory who is an art lover and Flynn, a newspaper editor. The second one in this trilogy is probably my favorite as it involves bookish characters but you simply must start with this one.
Jill Shalvis
Shalvis is on the higher end of the spice spectrum for me but also at the top of the fun spectrum. There's always at least one laugh out loud moment in all of her books.
Forever and a Day - Oh this was a good one! I loved the combination of uptight doctor and relaxed live for the moment Grace.
About That Kiss - I love a quest and this investigation was so fun. Plus I really liked both characters and it made me want to dive into this whole series.
Lost and Found Sisters - I may be in the minority for this more women's fiction novel but I really loved it. I loved the sister situation and watching the main character find her footing while figuring out just who she really is.
Have you read any of these authors? What are some of your favorites?
I've read all three of these authors and love them all. Before I started reading cozies, I only read this genre. Like you, I prefer the low heat books. When I "discovered" cozy mysteries, they became my go to genre and I kind of got away from the contemporary romances (and women's fiction) books, but now I'm starting to go back to them.
ReplyDeleteI haven;t read any but I like a touch of romance in my novels. The last book I read was waaaay over the top with the sex scenes though! (blushing)
ReplyDeleteThat Nora series was a good one. I want to check out her last or last two trilogies after the witches. I've been enjoying Loretta Chase's The Dressmakers series. I almost sat on the foyer bench and read and read, then remembering I had to hit my crunches and weights.
ReplyDeleteNice idea for a post. Contemporary romance is a fave of mine and these three authors provide me with reading I enjoy. I like the ones that veer towards women's fiction as well. Sometimes I tire of small town romance but I still like to go there.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big romance reader, but when I do read it, I agree with you -- I prefer low heat to spicy. And I adore a small town setting! I should definitely try RaeAnn Thayne. Even though Robyn Carr is on the spicy side, I enjoy her books, especially the settings and characters. I do wish they were a little less spicy, though :)
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy Nora Roberts and Jill Shalvis. I am glad that I have a lot of their books still on my tbr list because I think that they are a sure bet. I haven't had a chance to read ReaAnn Thayne yet but I hope to.
ReplyDeleteJill is fantastic. Thayne's covers are always amazing. So pretty.
ReplyDeleteI think it was last year or the year before that I started reading Jill Shalvis: I've enjoyed her a lot. I do like romances that tend to have prefer low heat romances and women's fiction is always good. I do at sometime want to read RaeAnne Thayne, but I'm reading so many series right now. I need to finish them or at least get caught up in them to the point where I've read up to the newest book.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to read a Nora Roberts novel (just a couple of her J.D. Robb titles). One of these days! The other two are among my favorite romance authors too though. :-)
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