Romantic Wednesdays
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Choose Your Own Romance Adventure
With cold weather and dark nights, there’s nothing I enjoy more than curling up with a warm romance book. If you’re new to the genre, you may be overwhelmed with all of the settings, tropes, and pairings, but here’s a small selection of some of my favorites to sample! Fake Dating One of the most… Continue reading
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Witchy Reads
Fiction has been awfully witchy this year, with strong showings across historical fiction, romance, and general fiction. For your reading pleasure, an incomplete list: HISTORICAL FICTION Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen In 1615 Germany, 74-year-old Katharina Kepler is accused of witchcraft, an accusation she shrugs off until it starts to… Continue reading
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African American Romance Writers
February is Black History Month and with Valentine’s Day approaching we want you to get passionate about some romance series that we love, written by African American authors. If you haven’t read anything by the prolific author Beverly Jenkins by now, we highly recommend you begin any of her numerous series. She’s a seasoned author… Continue reading
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Romance throughout American history
Happy 241st birthday, America! You don’t look a day over 240 years old. In honor of Independence Day, here are a few romances from some eras of American history that aren’t as beloved in the romance world as the Wild West or the Civil War, in chronological order. Hamilton’s Battalion by Courtney Milan, Rose Lerner,… Continue reading
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Dragons, wolves and bears in love – oh my!
Are you stuck in the winter doldrums? Perhaps you need some sexy romance novels to spice up these last winter days – why not add some steamy shapeshifting surprises to raise the temperature? Isabel Cooper has a number of books about the dragon shapeshifting clan the MacAlasdairs. Her latest trilogy, Dawn of the Highland Dragon,… Continue reading
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Second Chance Romance
Everyone has their romance catnip, a trope or plot device that makes it an automatic read for them. One favorite is the rekindled romance with a spouse, often after an estrangement or a marriage by proxy. In Eloisa James’s The Ugly Duchess, Theo (Theodora) and James have known each other for years, and Theo thought… Continue reading
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The Spy Who Loved Me
What is it about spies that make them such fantastic romance heroes? Is it the air of danger? The ability to write in code? Or maybe it’s that, when a hero is a spy, you know that eventually they’ll have to let down their guard and expose their secrets to the woman they love, proof… Continue reading
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Noteworthy 2015 RITA Award Finalists
-Posted by Eric G. The Romance Writers of America (RWA) announced the winners of the 2015 RITA Awards at their annual conference on July 25th. The RITA is one of the most prestigious awards for romance writers and its numerous subcategories showcase the variety within romance publishing. That being said, there were many excellent books nominated that… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Staff Picks
For the past two years we have been highlighting the robust and diverse romance genre on Wednesdays. Despite its staggering popularity, the romance genre doesn’t always get respect or recognition from mainstream press and book awards. It’s been our goal with this column to give romance the love it deserves (pun intended) and acknowledge its massive readership, which… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Love for Friends
Valentine’s Day is just a few days away! In order to shake things up a bit though I thought I would offer some books that focus on the bonds of friendship rather than romantic relationships. After all, friends are the ones who are there for you before, during and, if it doesn’t work out, after… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Beyond Fifty Shades
Posted by Eric G. There is much more to erotic fiction than Fifty Shades of Grey. If you are waiting for the upcoming film (and even if you’re not), there are numerous notable erotic fiction titles to explore in the meantime. Bound by Lorelei James Lorelei James’ stories should come with an extreme heat warning!… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Catching Up with Romantic Suspense
Posted by Eric G. Authors and publishers have wasted no time releasing new romance titles for 2015, and dozens of savvy library patrons are already on the request lists! While waiting for the new ones, this is a great time to read the previous titles from top romantic suspense authors. Local author Jayne Ann Krentz… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Just Like Starting Over
By Jessica W. Every year, January comes around and we make resolutions. Find love, learn a new language, go to the gym, we try to give ourselves a new start, a fresh page with the beginning of a new year. Some of us go farther than others when we want a new start—we don’t just… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: The Gamblers
By Jessica W. Historical romance can be somewhat limited in where the romance happens. Is it this ballroom or that ballroom? Rotten Row or a country house party? In the public eye, rules can’t be broken. But in the gambling clubs and hells of London, the rules of society take a second place to the… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Librarian Favorites of 2014
By Eric G. Library Reads, a website that compiles the favorite books of librarians each month, recently released their “Favorites of the Favorites 2014” list, which highlights the books that have stood out among the favorites this year. I wanted to highlight three titles that made the cut because they also offer sweet, unconventional love stories. Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Spotlight on Nora Roberts
By Jessica W. There are few authors in literature who are more prolific than Nora Roberts. With over 200 books to her name in 33 years of writing, she’s the undisputed queen of the contemporary romance novel. While people may want to write her off because she writes romances, the work she’s done in the… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Best Bets for Fall
By Eric G. Every season is a great season for romance books, but there’s something especially enjoyable about reading them as the leaves change, the days shorten, the temperatures drop and the holidays approach. All that’s missing from the following books is a blanket, a fireplace and a hot beverage – preferably pumpkin-flavored. In Your Dreams… Continue reading
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Romantic Wednesdays: Spotlight on LGBTQ Romance
Posted by guest blogger Tracy Timmons Gray If you’re looking for love stories, then the Library is a great place to start! There, you’ll find loads of romances, from mysteries to historicals, from sci-fi to contemporary, and you’ll find a ton of books that star LGBTQ main characters falling in love and finding that awesome… Continue reading