A good romance novel?

[TimmyBerry]

This may be a silly question, but can anyone here reccomend a good semi-typical maiden/knight/blah novel for escapism reading?
(As I've discovered that WWI/II memoirs and Dostoyevskiy tend to make one mildly depressed..)

[Lisa Simpson]

Almost anything by Nora Roberts will be tolerable. I think she writes "modern" romances, rather than historical ones, but she's a good author. I like her mysteries written under the pen name J.D. Robb.

[tkingdoll]

Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a good romance, as is Geisha.

[SusanB-M1]

Have you tried Barbara Erskine? Earlier ones better than later I think.

[kc440_]

Mary Stewart wrote the best books of that genre -- romance, suspense, mystery. What a great writer. There's also Green Darkness by Anya Seton. No other genre book can compare to it. Then there's Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca. There are books by Jane Eyre from the 1800s. These are the best I can offer.

kc440

[kc440_]

Timmy, there's also "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James.

kc440

[tomgv15]

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen. Plus there's movies!

[kittynh]

look, really get away is Barbara Metzger....the older ones, but they have reissued some (try Borders)

Joan Smith has some great ones you can get cheap on ebay....I'd reccomend
"Harlequin", "Heart on his Sleeve" (really good), and almost any of the others...not the mystery ones though.

"Tryst" by Elswyth Thane is very good, if a bit odd as the hero is a ghost.

If you PM me I can mail you my extras.

[Mahatma Kane Jeeves]

Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey ;)

[kittynh]

"Song of the Young Sentry" by Westheimer is a very uplifting novel of WWII.

If you are feeling a little blue, it will lift your spirits.

"One Pair of Hands" by Monica Dickens ALWAYS cheers me up. Hilarious!!!

And....

"Cold Comfort Farm"...really good take on the dark novel with a twist...what happens when a clear thinking skeptic comes along to clean the farm up?

sure fire happy books.

[qayak]

I recommend Girlfriend 44 by Mark Barrowcliffe.

Okay, so it isn't a romance per se, but it is a hilarious look at how men really think. The Dear Jane letter on the opening pages is worth the money spent. :D

[SusanB-M1]

"One Pair of Hands" by Monica Dickens ALWAYS cheers me up. Hilarious!!!

And....

"Cold Comfort Farm"...really good take on the dark novel with a twist...what happens when a clear thinking skeptic comes along to clean the farm up?



I missed 'Cold Comfort Farm' when I was younger and listened to it about a year ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I never got into Wilbur Smith's books, but a friend recommended 'The Seventh Scroll' because the theme is ancient Egypt. There is a 'sequel' whose name I can't remember, which I also enjoyed. Rather gory in parts, which I'm not particularly keen on, but definitely very exciting.

[Boo]

Seconded on 'Tryst'. I will someday own that book if I can find a copy.

Try Sharon Shinn Archangel series as well.




Boo

[varwoche]

For something a little different check out The Woman and the Ape.

[TimmyBerry]

Thank you, all!

So far, I've read: Margaret Moore's "The unwilling bride". Cheesy, knight/maidenish/giggleworthy.



Will scout the used book stores around here for some of the listed, later this week. XD

[Elizabeth I]

Georgette Heyer - either her Regency romances or her murder mysteries. Her Regencies are great because of all the research she did - she knows a lot of the contemporary slang, etc.

She did a couple of historical novels that are kind of downers. Also if you want fun reading, stay away from A Marriage of Convenience.

[bruto]

For something a little different check out The Woman and the Ape.

A kind of romance sub-genre here: you could continue with Rachel Ingalls's Mrs. Caliban, and for the male point of view follow up with John Collier's classic His Monkey Wife. Not quite a romance, but you could round out the session with Marian Engels's Bear.