A few years ago, I watched a Hindi language, historical epic film called Jodhaa Akbar, starring Bollywood superstars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.  As a librarian with a graduate degree in European history, I was intrigued by the 16th century historical detail in the film.  And I completely swooned over the beauty and charisma of the lead actors.  Being a film geek, I began to explore the Bollywood film genre.  I was, admittedly, drawn first to the beautiful costumes and song picturizations, but I soon found myself just as interested in the cultures of India.  I began to read non-fiction on modern India and watch Indian films (in Hindi and other regional languages) that went beyond the typical Bollywood masala formula.  Still, my favorite Indian films (and the ones I watch over and over) will always be Bollywood romances.  As a lifelong romance reader, I think this makes perfect sense.  There’s nothing as wonderful or satisfying as a delightful, fluffy romantic comedy or an angst-ridden, passionate romantic drama whether in print or on the screen.

My reading interests have paralleled my interests in Indian films and I’ve read several non-fiction titles on India and literary fiction by South Asian authors.  However, I’ve had to be very creative in locating mainstream romances with South Asian settings and/or South Asian characters, especially contemporary titles.  I’ve also received many recommendations from members of the romance reading community.  The following are titles that I’ve enjoyed with a strong romantic element and they represent a variety of genres including chick-lit, historical fiction, literary fiction, and traditional romances (category, paranormal, historical, etc.).

The Zoya Factor by Anjua Chauhan

Published by Harper Collins in India, this is the sweet and hilarious story of an advertising executive who becomes the “lucky charm” for India’s cricket team during the ICC World Cup.  She finds romance with the captain of the team.  There are several untranslated Hindi phrases in this book and some very specific cultural references that will be lost to most Western readers, but I still highly recommend it, especially if you’re interested in how an Indian author takes on the chick-lit format.  I also enjoyed Advaita Kala’s Almost Single, another chick-lit title by an Indian author, reviewed here at DA.

AmazonBook Depository

Saris and the City by Rekha Waheed

This Little Black Dress UK title written by a British author of Bangladeshi descent is a traditional chick lit story of a career-minded woman dealing with her conservative Bengali family’s demands and her attraction to the typical rich and gorgeous hero.

AmazonBook Depository

The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan

In this first in a historical trilogy about Mughal India, the love story of protagonist Mehrunnisa and Prince Salim is a blend of historical fact and romantic fiction.  This book piqued my interest in historical romance written by Indian authors and I recently stumbled upon a series of historical romances called Kama Kahani published by Random House India and written by Indian authors. The series, including titles like Kiran Kohl’s Passion in the Punjab, can be found through Amazon.co.uk.  They have beautiful covers and I particularly love the series’ taglines printed above the back cover blurb: “Are you a spirited beauty, your fire contained – buy only just – by the clinging brocade of your lehnga’s choli? A delicious Kama Kahani is sure to strike your fancy.”

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The Stolen Bride by Abby Green

Several years ago, Mills & Boon began to increase their presence in India and to search for promising Indian authors for their lines.  To date, two Mills & Boon titles by Indian authors have been published but they’re hard to find outside of India.  So, in the meantime, we’ve had some other interesting developments in the M&B/Harlequin Presents line, such as the late Penny Jordan’s 2008 title featuring an Indian hero and several more titles by other authors featuring characters of South Asian descent.  As a sometimes reader of the Presents line, I have enjoyed Abby Green’s The Stolen Bride and its Bollywood actress heroine and cringed at other lazier titles that simply shift the overplayed “sheikh romance” formula to the Indian setting.  I’ve also been inspired to collect vintage Harlequins and other category titles that are set in India (I’ve only found a couple that actually feature heroes or heroines of South Asian descent).  A pleasant older Harlequin Presents title set in India is Jayne Bauling’s Sophisticated Seduction (#25), published in 1996.

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The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi

In this literary fiction title, Indian born-Denmark based author Malladi writes a moving depiction of a young Indian woman’s struggles with her parents’ demand for an arranged marriage and her love of an American man.

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Finally, the following titles, which have been recommended here and elsewhere numerous times, should also be mentioned:

The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran

Historical romance partially set in India, with Anglo-Indian hero.

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Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas

The 1890s northern Indian setting of this much-praised historical is superbly drawn.

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Demon Moon by Meljean Brook

A paranormal with a heroine of Indian descent, this is one of many examples of the culturally diverse heroes and heroines that have become happily commonplace in paranormals over the last several years.

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Sexy as Hell by Susan Johnson

The Bruxton Street Bookstore series has been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me.  This title features Osmond, Baron Lennox, a hero of Anglo-Indian descent who grew up in Hyderabad and now owns India’s largest bank.  Johnson excels at interesting and unusual historical detail, but it’s often overshadowed by her steamy content.

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These are just a few titles that have stood out for one reason or another in my search for romance with a South Asian flair.  I hope that these recommendations will lead to even more recommendations from other Dear Author readers.  Happy reading!

Related posts:

1. If You Like Books About Characters with Disabilities
2. Dear Author Recommends for March
3. REVIEW: The River Devil by Diane Whiteside

It is a novel length (or three novels long) story that centers around the sexual connection and emotional romance of two individuals.  Fortunately for readers of 50 Shades, there are plenty of other books with those same themes.  This list is designed to help you find your next great read.

• I might go out on a limb and guarantee that if you liked 50 Shades, Sylvia Day’s Bared to You will please you.  BtY features a young recent college grad and a young, commanding and magnetic billionaire hero. Both come from traumatized backgrounds and feature a push/pull relationship.
• Beth Kery aka Bethany Kane has a couple of books featuring a strong male lead. Wicked Burn ( A | BN | K S ) under the name Beth Kery features a tortured/playwright director. Explosive features an ex-Navy explosives specialist suffering from a type of amnesia. ( A | BN | K S ).
• For dominant males like Christian who take care of everything you may like Blue Eyed Devil ( A | BN | K S ) and Smooth Talking Stranger ( A | BN | K S ) by Lisa Kleypas. These books feature wealthy men in a contemporary setting who want to take care of the heroine.  Reader Ridley recommends the Lorelei James Rough Rider series beginning with Long Hard Ride ( A | BN | K S )  Another favorite is After the Night by Linda Howard recommended by reader Sarah.  ”Gray has always been one of the more dominant and arrogant romance canon heroes for me. I haven’t read 50 Shades so I’m not quite sure just how erotic the sex gets but this book, particularly for when it was published, definitely has some very memorable love scenes. And while Faith is probably more strong-willed than the female lead of 50 Shades, there is definitely a part of her that is somewhat submissive to Gray.” (Not to mention the courthouse scene) ( A | BN | K S )
• For deep intense emotional angst you may like Passion ( A | BN | K S ) and Patience ( A | BN | K S ) by Lisa Valdez.  The latter book contains BDSM themes as well.  Sweet as Sin by Inez Kelly is another story featuring a lot of emotional tumult and a tortured upbringing like Christian. You can find a Review at Kati D’s site.
• If you have an interest in exploring BDSM further, other than the above recommended titles, you may be interested in Natural Law ( A | BN | K S ) by Joey Hill; Sweet Persuasion ( A | BN | K S ) and Sweet Temptation ( A | BN | K S ) by Maya Banks; Lean on Me ( A | BN | K S ) by Cherise Sinclair; Slave to Love ( A | BN | K S ) by Nikita Black
• For those looking for a short but sexy story with a dom try Victoria Dahl’s heterosexual, male-dominant novella, The Wicked West (Don Mills, Ontario: HQN, 2009) ( A | BN | K S )
• A more provocative offering recommended by reader Wendy would be Caressa’s Knees by Annabel Joseph ( A | BN | K S ). The heroine is in the position of power outside the bedroom as the hero is the PA of the heroine. This story is BDSM centered but the hero is domineering rather than dominant. It should be noted that other Joseph stories contain story lines that may be triggers for other readers including non consensual stories and the like. Please read any reviews carefully.

Related posts:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James Primer (and Books Like 50 Shades)
2. REVIEW: Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James
3. Friday News & Deals: New Deals, Fifty Shades of Grey Hitting All the Papers,

So bring on the mistress, courtesan or fallen woman recommendations.   Please note if the book features a woman who pretends to be a fallen woman and is not (Bel, from The Duke, I am looking at you).

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: His Lordship’s Mistress by Joan Wolf
2. REVIEW: The Defiant Mistress by Claire Thornton
3. Women and Power in Historical Romances

Nalini Singh’s Pys/Changeling series has focused more on the cat shifter than the wolf shifter although the Snow Dancers will likely play a bigger role in future books. Caressed by Ice features a she-wolf/Psy pairing but it didn’t delve into the shifter culture as much as it was focused on the emotional trauma suffered by Brenna and the thawing of Judd, the Psy Arrow.

I fell in love with the wolf shifter myth with Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten and Stolen which are told from the point of view of Elena who became a werewolf when Clay bit her. Armstrong’s latest work, Frostbitten, is a return to the world of Clay and Elena.

Kinsey Holley’s Kiss and Kin is a sexy werewolf shifter story but it’s a short story and I don’t think we were given enough time to explore either the myth of the shifters or the emotional bond of the characters. I look forward to more from Holley though.

Sarah McCarty’s upcoming paranormal series has werewolves and vampires that shift into wolves but Caleb, the first in the series, really doesn’t explore the wolf shifter dynamic and myth.

Susan Krinard’s main focus is the wolf, or Loup Garou, but even she has branched out into other shifter territory such as shifting unicorns (Lord of Legends).

If you were to compile a best of series for werewolf lovers, what romance books would you include?

*****

Edited to Add: Suggestions of werewolf romances from the comments:

• Dakota Cassidy – Accidental Werewolf (via May)
• Lora Leigh – Breed series (via Gina)
• Kresley Cole – A Hunger Like No Other and Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night. Her next book is about the Lykae as well. (via Cheryl McInnis)
• Terry Spear – starting with Destiny of the Wolf (I want to read these) (thanks Silver James)
• Rebeca York – Moon series, starting with Killling Moon
• Larissa Ione – Desire Unchained has a werewolf heroine (via marga)
• Mireya offers up a series of shifter books:     Judy Mays, Rhyannon Byrd (though this author also has a series with Harlequin), Tielle St. Clare, Charlene Teglia, Christine Warren (her Others series, ties to her formerly known as the Fix series, which started at EC. A few of hers involve werewolves), Sherri L. King, Shiloh Walker, Nathalie Gray, etc.   Shelly Laurenston writes fun shifter stories for Kensington’s Brava. Most of hers involve werewolves.
• Amanda: Cynthia Eden’s Hotter After Midnight.
• Kimmy: Sharie Kohler’s "Moon Chasers’ series; Karen Whiddon’s "The Pack’ series is pretty decent as well.
• Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Vane, Fang and Fury are up there too. (via Lesley)
• Lauren Dane’s Cascadia Pack and Shelly Laurentson’s series contains some werewolves (via Reacher Fan)
• Lane recommended LM Prieto’s books featuring m/m werewolf romance and Estara recommends the JL Langley werewolf books.
• Madelaine Montague, polyamorous stories suggested by Reacher Fan.
• Rebecca Flanders (OOP), Wolf in Waiting recommended by Meljean Brook.

Related posts:

1. Interview with an Author: My First Sale by Kelley Armstrong, the woman who made werewolves sexy
2. REVIEW: Dancing with Werewolves by Carole Nelson Douglas
3. REVIEW: Moon over Manhasset (Wolfmates III) by Dakota Cassidy

Choosing  this particular age, 1560 BC, in Egyptian history is quite clever. With the upheavals and the scarcity of historical records, you’ve got a more wide open canvas upon which to paint the story you want to tell. "Blue Gold" gets me doing what I love for historical books to do and that’s research the people, places and things used to tell the story. I learned all kinds of things about Hyksos rulers of Lower Egypt, the god Set, the f’ed up family of Sekenenre, the land of Punt and kedeshahs.

I would love to read more Ancient World settings. Have you got any recommendations. (Thanks to MoragtheScot for the idea of this post and for reminding me about it).

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2. World Book Day Poll Places Jane Austen at the Top
3. REVIEW: Marike’s World by Catherine Rae

Val Kovalin who writes about fantasy fiction at ValKovalin.com and m/m fiction at Obsidian Bookshelf is hosting this If You Like entry on Jordan Castillo Price. Val Kavolin did a great piece on Julia Spencer Fleming, a favorite of author of mine.

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It’s with great interest that I’ve read the comments of many DearAuthor readers, already fans of traditional m/f romance, who are venturing into m/m fiction. I happen to be doing the same thing, but coming from the opposite direction (m/m to m/f) so maybe I can help.

Jordan’s strong points include the following:

• Comedy. This is so rare and so worthwhile! I deeply appreciate the author who can make me laugh.
• Creative genre-blending. A typical piece by Jordan can contain romance, erotica, comedy, horror, mystery, and paranormal elements.
• Male characters who are GUYS through and through. Some women authors don’t write believable men, but Jordan does.
• Precise and vivid details that make each piece come alive with sensory detail.

Publishing in ebook and print, Jordan is currently working on two m/m series. The first is the PsyCop series, and the second is the Channeling Morpheus / Sweet Oblivion series. Fans of Josh Lanyon should take note: Jordan will be the co-writer with him on the Partners in Crime series forthcoming from MLR Press.

The PsyCop series. In this universe, psychic cops of various specialties partner with non-psychic cops in the elite PsyCop units. Vic is a cop with a mysterious past who can contact the dead – so naturally he works Homicide. He’s also a nervous wreck who copes by ingesting pharmaceuticals of all types. His boyfriend Jacob is a non-psychic cop. Supporting characters include Lisa, a precognitive cop; Carolyn, a truth-seer who is Jacob’s partner; and occult-shop employee Crash, an empath who delights in complicating the relationship between Vic and Jacob. The PsyCop series maintains an unusual balance between realism, angst, and comedy as it delves into the psychological and emotional problems of Vic.

Here are the PsyCop titles:

• PsyCop 1 – Among the Living
• PsyCop 2 – Criss Cross
• PsyCop 3 – Body & Soul
• PsyCop 4 – Secrets

You can buy the installments individually as ebooks or combined into print volumes: PsyCop 1 & 2 are combined in PsyCop Partners. PsyCop 3 & 4 are combined in PsyCop Property.

The Channeling Morpheus series. Channeling Morpheus is a five-novella cycle published by Changeling Press. It will soon be followed by a second cycle centered on the same characters and titled Sweet Oblivion. It’s darker in tone than the PsyCop series and centers on the obsessive emotional and sexual relationship between a vampire-slaver named Michael and a vampire named Wild Bill. I’m normally not a fan of vampires or erotica so it says a LOT that I find this particular series fresh and involving. Also, the characters travel vast distances and Jordan conveys a uniquely American sense of place as they drift from coffee shop to truck stop to fleabag motel.

Here are the Channeling Morpheus titles:

• Channeling Morpheus 1 – Payback
• Channeling Morpheus 2 – Vertigo
• Channeling Morpheus 3 – Manikin
• Channeling Morpheus 4 – Tainted

Jordan offers some stand-alone stories for free or for less than one dollar on her Lulu.com site:  http://stores.lulu.com/jcprice

These books are set in the here-and-now with the internet playing a significant role in the Channeling Morpheus series.

Setting (geographic): Midwestern USA

The PsyCop series is set in Chicago and the Midwest. The Channeling Morpheus series is set throughout the Midwest.

Heroine type: None so far

This is m/m fiction so we’ve got two male leads and some supporting female characters. Lisa Gutierrez from the PsyCop series is especially vivid as the inexperienced young cop struggling to control her precognitive talents.

Hero type: Smart, funny, and a bit anxious

It’s hard to reduce the heroes to only a few words. Vic from the PsyCop series is the most anxious. He’s insecure, high-strung, and funny. His boyfriend Jacob, sexy and self-confident, offers him a protective sense of stability. In Channeling Morpheus, Michael the young vampire-slayer has a vulnerable exterior that masks a mysterious resolve and cold willingness to kill. Wild Bill is probably my favorite narrator: his rebellious nature and harsh, unsentimental vernacular hide a deeply romantic heart. The contrast between what he says and what he feels is striking.

Plot (action-oriented / character-driven): Both

Each installment has an external conflict that must be solved: a mystery for the PsyCop characters or a quest for the Channeling Morpheus characters. The overall story arc develops their character evolution. In the PsyCop series, Vic learns to use his psychic talent and to develop enough trust to flourish in his relationship with Jacob. In Channeling Morpheus, Michael and Bill negotiate the pitfalls of attraction between vampire and slayer.

Plot (slow/fast): Fast

Not a word gets wasted. These stories really move.

Writing style (simple v. ornate): Simple

The writing style is pared-down and swift, but it still contains some beautiful prose such as this description from Wild Bill’s viewpoint (from page 22 of Channeling Morpheus 4 – Tainted):

“- I half-dreamt that I was lying in the sun under a tree with fallen peaches all around me, overripe, fermented, practically rotten, their fuzz burst and split in places, swarmed with buzzing hornets and crawling with ants.”

Dialogue (lots v. little): A balanced, medium amount

Some of the funniest moments come from her dialogue.

Humor (Yes/No-serious/some): Yes

This is serious fiction that contains a lot of humor. One of my favorite scenes comes from PsyCop 3 Body & Soul when Vic visits Jacob’s family in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. On page 20, Jacob’s dad informs their guest from Chicago of their position on football:

“We don’t watch the Bears in this house unless they’re getting their asses handed to them by the Packers.”

Emotional Angst (high/medium/low): Medium

Definitely there is emotional angst in both series. Vic copes with drug addiction, covert government conspiracies, and the harrowing experience of being harassed non-stop by the dead. Bill and Michael struggle with their intense emotional and sexual connection when they know that they should be mortal enemies.

Conflict (externally driven/internally driven/both): Both

See my comments about Plot (action-oriented / character-driven).

Heat level (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Scorching

Fans of erotica, rejoice. There is no demure fade-out in either series. The sex is explicit, realistic, well-written, and emotionally engaging. In particular, the sex scenes in Channeling Morpheus 2 – Vertigo are among the very best I’ve ever read.
If you like Jordan Castillo Price, you probably like a balance of paranormal with detailed, realistic settings. You’ll appreciate humor and explicit sex scenes. If this sounds like you, then definitely check out J. M. Snyder’s The Bonds of Love series set in Richmond, Virginia. This paranormal romance centers on a bus driver named Vic Braunson who develops an ever-changing array of superpowers through the mysterious influence of his lover, a fitness instructor named Matt DiLorenzo.
The Bonds of Love has humor, explicit sex, and a very appealing relationship between the two heroes. It also features precise, vivid sensory detail that grounds you in everyday Richmond, Virginia – sensory detail that I, as an aficionado of true escapism, look for but seldom find.

Readers, it’s your turn. What fiction would you recommend?

Related posts:

1. If You Like Julia Spencer-Fleming . . . Hosted by Val Kovalin
2. If You Like Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel Series . . . hosted by Val Kovalin
3. Wheel of Time Author, Robert Jordan, Passes On

If you would like to host an “If You Like” post, please email me at Jane at dearauthor.com

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If you like Lois McMaster Bujold -

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most acclaimed authors in speculative fiction still writing today. Her first book Warrior’s Apprentice was published in 1986 and she’s published 20 more books since then. Her latest book,The Sharing Knife, Volume Four: Horizon comes out the beginning of next year. (I can’t wait!) She’s been nominated and won scads of awards- multiple Hugos, Nebulas and one World Fantasy Award for best novel. With her large and diverse backlist Prolific is her middle name.

Warning: There are spoilers in this post

Lois McMaster Bujold currently has three ongoing series:

• Vorkosigan Saga is an extensive SF epic primarily following the exploits of the diminutive but indomitable Lord Miles Vorkosigan. These are probably her best known works to date. The first books involve Miles’ parents Aral and Cordelia (Shards of Honorand Barrayar both found in Cordelia’s Honor ). The most recent book, Diplomatic Immunity, has Miles unraveling a plot aboard a space station while awaiting the birth of his twins. There are about a dozen books and short stories in between. Bujold is currently working on a new book involving Miles.
• Chalion books are set in a fictional universe loosely based on Spain in the 15th century at its unification. Chalion books are heavy on theology, and the gods play an important part in the threads of all the books: the Father, the Mother, the Daughter, the Son and the Bastard. The series features stand-alone books with a different protagonist for each. In each book one of the 5 gods is offstage pulling the strings. Bujold has said she would like to write one book for each of the five gods in the theology, so far she has only written three: The Curse of Chalion for the Daughter, Paladin of Souls for the Bastard and The Hallowed Hunt for the Son.
• The Sharing Knife books are fantasy novels set in a world loosely based on the country south of the Great Lakes in North America with technology roughly equivalent to the 1800s, minus explosives and gunpowder. The tensions between Lakewalkers and Farmers is reminiscent of the early culture clashes between settlers and Native Americans. In these books the romance takes front and center more than in any other Bujold. Dag is a Lakewalker, member of a nomadic, magician-warrior clan. Fawn is a farmer girl who ran away from home and right into Dag. There is a wide age gap standing between the two, but more than that, a deep-seated bigotry from both their kin that Lakewalkers and farmers do not marry. The whole world is telling Dag and Fawn they can’t be together, but the two of them forge their own way by holding strong to each other.

The Spirit Ring was a stand alone fantasy novel set in Italy that dealt with metallurgy and necromancy. It reads almost like a YA book. The hero and heroine are only 17 and 15 respectively, and they have somewhat immature perspectives. There’s a more cooperative resolution than in most of her books, in that the hero and heroine’s work to save the day is supplemented by contributions from the book’s minor characters. A warning: there is more violence than one would expect in a young adult book, and lots of corpses onstage for the action, as well as one incident of infanticide early in the book.

I started reading Lois McMaster’s books after reading reviews on this blog and at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I’d heard her name before, but my interest in Lois McMaster Bujold wasn’t really piqued until SBTB gave The Sharing Knife: Beguilement a rave review. I didn’t buy the book then but it stuck with me, and this year when I got my first ever library card, I saw a copy of Beguilement on the shelves and checked it out on a whim. Boy, am I glad I did! In a few short months I have devoured her backlist and discovered a new auto-buy author.

Setting (era): Diverse
Her time periods range widely. The Vorkosigan Saga is set in a hi-tech universe approximately 1000 years in the future with wormhole technology, babies grown in replicators outside their mothers, along with typical SF standbys likes stunners and holographics. The Spirit Ring is set in a fictional Italy in the 1500s. Chalion is set in a pseudo-medieval fantasy world. The fantasy world of The Sharing Knife feels more like the American frontier (complete with riverboats and straw hats).

Setting (geographic): Also Diverse
One of Bujold’s greatest strengths is her world-building. Her worlds go "all the way to edge of the page" as she puts it. She firmly fixes her settings in your mind without info-dumps or "As you know, Bob-" dialogue. And variety is her specialty. If you can think of it, chances are she’s set a book there: cities, boonies, back roads, lakes- in the Vorkosigan books alone you get rolling foothills, mountain caves, underground cities, arctic military bases, space stations, bio-domes-On and on. She’s also got this way with words, simple but so elegant. Here’s an excerpt from her latest book The Sharing Knife, Volume Three: Passage:

The valley of the Grace spread out below them in the gold-blue autumn light. The river seemed to have put on her party dress, her banks and bending hillsides a swirl of color: scarlet and purple-red, glowing yellow, bright brown. The water reflected the azure of the sky, save where it broke into a sparkling shoal, necklace to the dress. Brooches of boats slid upon the water- a distant keel, a broad, blunt ferry- with a girdle of flatboats pulled up along the farther shore."

But it’s not just about the landscape.
I used to believe an author only had one real, fully-formed, intricate world inside them. (Like Anne McCaffrey- her Dragonrider books are incredible, intricate and so well-developed. Unfortunately, in her other books the world-building is depressingly lackluster). Bujold has disabused me of this notion. Every world she creates is fully-formed and functional, perfectly inhabitable by the reader. The theology, the culture, the politics, and the history of the place-whichever place- are instilled so deeply on every page it’s like an immersion course, you could almost do anthropological studies on a Lois McMaster Bujold world. Her real brilliance is that she can do this without overwhelming the reader, and never once have I felt one of her world-building details was out of place or inorganic to the world. It’s a little hard to explain, but to me it sort of feels like if I was plunked in the middle of one of her books I could look all around me- up, down, sideways- and everything would be there, would be real. Forks on the table, paintings on the wall, manure in the streets, socio-political conflicts dating back centuries, etc, etc- One of my particular favorites is the religion in Chalion. It’s so logical, so seamless and legitimately real right down to the way they salute they’re gods, you’re half tempted to start your own church of the Five-Fold Pathway by the end. There are really plausible rituals and all the characters have varying levels of religious zeal. They aren’t zombies or moral mouthpieces. The church doesn’t feel like cobbled together bits of earth religions, either. It is very uniquely its own, belonging to no other place but Chalion.

Heroine type: Smart. Strong. Brave. Centered. They all save themselves, save the heroes, and save the day. They are just as capable as the heroes are. They can be naïve or jaded but never TSTL doormats. These girls don’t flounder or screw-up just so the hero can save them. They multi-task: saving themselves while ruling the world, thank you very much.

In the Vorkosigan Saga: (just a few)

• Kareen: Blonde. The bouncy daughter of the emperor’s own ex-personal bodyguard (that would be her mother), she’s ambitious and personable. The middle child in a brood of all blonde "commandos", she could sell water to a drowning man but she’s still torn, figuring her place and who she wants to be.
• Ekaterin: Brunette. An elegant widow in her early thirties, just coming out a soul-sucking, heart-blighting marriage. Damaged, unsure of herself at first, she’s sharp-witted, fierce, with a spine of steel and impeccable taste in all things.
• Cordelia: Red-head. A force of nature. At the start of the series (Shards of Honor) she’s in her mid-thirties, a science officer in despair of ever having a family or finding love. She’s tough, impulsive, and open-minded, with a bone-dry sense of humor. She not only pulls herself out of dire situations, she saves the hero too, and her ship’s crew and his ship’s crew and her planet and his planet

and- In Chalion: The romances tend to be relegated to the background, present without dominating the plot. All the women of Chalion, though, are clever and powerful, treading the dangerous waters of political intrigue with sure strokes and brave faces. Ista is the protagonist in Paladin of Souls; she’s middle-aged royalty, a faded beauty emerging from nearly two decades spent accursed and half-mad, stifled and confined for her own good by those who love her. In Paladin of Souls she reclaims her liberty and her life. She has a wonderful sense of self-direction and aggressively defends her autonomy, not only from those who love her and want to shelter her but even from the gods themselves.

In The Sharing Knife: Fawn is innocent, painfully young, but steadily learning more about the Wide Green World as the series progresses. In the first book she begins naïve, but with her voracious curiosity she grows towards full womanhood. She’s got the patented Bujold bravery and a lively sense of humor. The most appealing thing I find, though, is her unquenchable joy for life.

Hero type: Clever. Honorable. Driven. Leaders of men. Her heroes are so attractive, every last one of them, but it’s not because of how they look: it’s because of who they are. One interesting thing is, with the exception of Thur in The Spirit Ring, each and every one of her heroes has some kind of physical oddity. Aral has a large L-shaped scar on his face. Miles is very short with a mild hunch, has scars all over his body from various corrective surgeries and a giant one on his chest from a sniper shot. Cazaril is skinny and sickly for most of his book, his back is covered in whip welts, he has a sizeable tumor and he’s missing part of a finger. Dag is rugged, with the generally beat-up body of an old warrior, his left hand was bitten off by a wolf. These gentlemen probably aren’t winning any beauty pageants, and yet they are all so comfortable with who they are, what they are, it makes them so, so appealing. It’s obvious why the ladies want them- even if the heroes can’t understand it themselves.

In the Vorkosigan Saga: (just a few)

• Miles: Ah, Miles-where to begin? He’s intriguing, engrossing with charm and wit to spare. He’s unstoppable. He can unravel the most tangled piece of political intrigue. He can bring a seven foot tall werewoman to her knees with desire. He’s a genius. He’s a brilliant tactician. He’s-under five feet tall. I’ve seen him described as one of the most fascinating, well-developed characters in fiction. I can’t really argue with that, this guy’s like an onion- oy with the layers! He’s particularly charming when he’s wooing his future wife Ekaterin in A Civil Campaign: ""What, when they issued you their honor they didn’t give you the model with the reset button? Mine’s right here.’ He pointed to the general vicinity of his navel."
• Aral: A dedicated leader and father. He’s dealt with disasters (personal, political and otherwise) that would have crippled lesser men (and nearly cripple him but for Cordelia’s love-ahh!). "I would get up-but for some reason my legs go first and my tongue last. I’d rather fall at your feet in some more controlled fashion."

In Chalion:

• Cazaril: Humble. Loyal. A man of truly great integrity. He’s brilliant, especially when it comes to political maneuvering in a court full of scheming nobles. Cazaril is hands down one of my most favorite characters EVER! He fell to the very depths of despair and doom and emerged soft-spoken and self-deprecating. Once a great captain of men, after his enslavement he’s become unceasingly grateful for even the smallest kindness. He undervalues himself but fights tooth and nail, blood and bone to help those he cares about and owes fealty to. A wonderful, wonderful character. Here’s a quote of Caz’s from The Curse of Chalion:

"On the galleys we were not lords or men. We were men or animals, and which proved which had no relation I ever saw to birth or blood. The greatest soul I ever met there had been a tanner, and I would kiss his feet right now with joy to learn he yet lived. We slaves, we lords, we fools, we men and women, we mortals, we toys of the gods-’all the same thing, Palli. They are all the same to me now."

• Ingrey: The hero from The Hallowed Hunt, he’s a loyal liegeman and a secret shaman with the spirit of a wolf trapped in his gut. Handsome, agile, athletic. He’s set to guard a noblewoman who killed the prince in self-defense, and Ingrey finds himself drawn to the girl, Ijara, longing to protect her even as he knows she’s probably doomed. I enjoy how his priorities shift from self-preservation to protecting Ijara, and the ensuing romance is very sweet.

In The Sharing Knife: Dag is awesome. He begins world-weary and welcoming his death (consequence of a shattering loss in his early adult life) and then meets Fawn. She saves him, rekindling the old hunger for life and love. He defies his family and his whole society to stay by her. He acquires a philanthropic bent once he’s met Fawn, a desire to heal the world, unite the two peoples and he sets about doing it, even if it can feel like casting stones in the ocean. I particularly love how well Bujold depicts Dag’s reactions to various complications that arise. They are always multi-layered and real. And I love the way he loves Fawn.

From Beguilement:

"For the courage of her heart, which I saw face down the greatest horrors I know without breaking. For the high and hungry intelligence of her mind, which never stops asking questions, nor thinking about the answers. For the spark of her spirit, which could teach bonfires how to burn.-All this is set beside me, and you ask me instead if I want dirt? I do not understand farmers."

*swoon*

Writing style (simple v. ornate): Tends towards the simple.
It can get a little complicated in Vorkosigan if she’s space-jargoning but generally she’s not one to use a four syllables if she can get her point across with one. Really solid, well-written stuff that serves her stories. Some books have multiple points of view (A Civil Campaign has 5) and some have just the one (All the Chalion books thus far follow only one POV character). She also has a knack for summing up really complex, deep emotional truths with laser precision. An example from Vorkosigan: "Reputation is what other people know about you, honor is what you know about yourself." And here’s another for good measure from The Curse of Chalion:

"Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men have always a choice-’if not whether, then how, they may endure."

Dialogue (lots/little/balanced): Balanced.
There are occasionally sections very heavy in dialogue. Exposition. Interrogations. She doesn’t really do much rapid-fire back and forth dialogue like, say, Crusie or someone. Usually it tends to be a page of mostly conversation, then a page of mostly description, back and forth.

Humor (Yes/No-serious/some): Some.
A dry sense of humor permeates all her books. Occasionally events devolve into downright farce. A Civil Campaign probably has more in common with a Georgette Heyer romp than a classic space opera. At the least, all of her characters banter and joke with each other and to themselves. Usually they are self-deprecating and wry but always so, so funny. All of her books have humorous incidents but they’re not laugh-riots. This bit’s from A Civil Campaign:

"What the hell is going on down here?’ Roic bellowed, scrabbling for his stunner on the wrong side of his holster with his hands slippery from their coating of bug butter. "You woke me up! "S the third time somebody’s woke me up this morning! I’d just got to sleep. "Swore I’d kill the next sonuvabitch who woke me up–!’ Kareen and Martya clung together for a moment of pure aesthetic appreciation of the height, the breadth of shoulder, the bass reverberation, the generous serving of athletic young male Roic presented; Martya sighed. The Escobarans, naturally, had no idea who this giant naked screaming barbarian was who’d appeared between them and the only exit route they knew- Kareen cried urgently, "Roic, they’re trying to kidnap Enrique!’ "Yeah? Good-.Make sure they pack all his devil bugs along with him-’ The panicked Gustioz tried to lunge past Roic toward the door, but caromed off him instead. They both slipped in the bug butter and went down in an arcing flurry of official documentation.

Plot: (action-oriented / character-driven): 50/50.
But actually more like 100/100. Her books are so full, so rich and deep that you are captivated, dragged along on the adventures. Her characters are so real you want to buy them a drink. Her plots intricate and complex. She always creates organic, believable characters and then throws them into impossibly difficult, complicated, delicate situations. I’ve tried a couple times to sum them up here to give you an idea, but there’s just SO much drive in any given novel I don’t really know where to start.

Pace: (fast/medium/slow) Depends.
Most of the Vorkosigans are pretty fast-paced, but then there are some like A Civil Campaign and Komarr that start slower but rev into overdrive at the end. The Sharing Knife series is more slow and steady, episodic at times. Chalion is a mix edging more towards medium/slow. Her plots always manage, though, for all the sub-plots and complications, to remain tightly controlled. No sprawling, unfocused epics here, thank you very much.

Conflict (externally driven/internally driven/both): Both.
Bujold is always one to provide strong motivating factors, both internal and external. Here’s a couple tasters: in Diplomatic Immunity Miles is trying to get back home in time to be there for the birth of his twins. He’s side-tracked by a diplomatic nightmare. He has to worry about his own safety, that of his wife’s, the potential war brewing, a biological weapon that could kill thousands of people and a few other complications that would be too spoilery to mention. Cazaril from The Curse of Chalion has SO many conflicts. There’s a literal one growing in his belly slowly killing him, a demon and a dead soul trapped because of a curse Caz performed to save someone he loved. He’s torn politically between struggling factions. He’s torn theologically as the gods pull him every which way. He constantly questions his own decisions and motivations, wondering, hoping he’s doing the right thing and not leading his entire nation into disaster. He’s been shattered into a million small pieces and is slowly sorting through to see what still fits in his new life, his new self. Basically, in a Bujold book it doesn’t matter whether it’s external or internal- the characters are just driven. Inexorably, perhaps disastrously, driven onward to their fate.

Emotional Angst (high/medium/low): High.
Bujold writes her stories based on "What’s the worst thing I can do to this character?" They have to deal with lost loves, lost children, dishonor, death, disease, social injustice, attempted rape and so much more of the dark, twisty stuff that makes up life. Her books can get really dark but they still don’t take themselves too seriously. And as dark as the depths are to which her characters plunge they still manage to pull themselves back up.

Violence: PG-13 bordering on R.
Her violence is never gratuitous although it is often stark and shocking. I can be a little sensitive about bloodshed and I admit there have been a few scenes of hers that made me squirm, but nothing so disgusting or horrible it made me give up on the book. The Vorkosigan books are probably the most violent. In her books at large there have been mass graves, decapitations, miscarriages, graphic attempted rapes, and other acts of violence to be expected in heightened situations.

Heat level: (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Kisses/Warm.
As far as the actual love scenes I would say probably kisses to warm. Very little sex takes place on stage. More often there’s a little lead up and then a fade to black. Or veiled allusions to what they’re doing without actually going into Insert Tab A into Slot B purple prose. There are no engorged members thrusting into love grottos here. The sex scenes are really there to build character and plot more than to titillate or excite and as such, are fairly tame. Here’s an example from The Sharing Knife: Beguilement:

Hand. Soon supplemented with tongue, in very tender places indeed. His touch was like silk, there, there, there? ah! She jerked in surprise but eased back. So, this was making love-.Minutes flew. Something was swirling through her, like some astonishingly sweet emergency. His touch grew firmer, swifter, surer. Her eyes closed, her breath came faster, and her spine began to arch. Then her breath caught, and she went rigid, silent, openmouthed, as the sensation burst from her, climbing up to white out her brain, to rush like a tide to her fingers and toes, to ebb.

I would point out that there are sometimes rather frank discussions in Bujold’s books about bisexuality, hermaphrodites, sexual violence and sexual experimentation, just as an FYI for people who might be sensitive about that stuff. Bujold pulls no punches. About anything, really.

If you like Lois McMaster Bujold, you’ll like-

I’m going to break this down too:

In General:
You might try some Georgette Heyer. She has the same enveloping, precise and detail-oriented world-building. Her characters are varied and rich. Her plots can become intricate as a fold of lace. She has romance, adventure, and intrigue. The witty quips fly faster than you can keep up sometimes. These Old Shades has the dark, delicious Duke of Avon. The Talisman Ring is a hilarious romp. The Grand Sophy features an indomitable, headstrong heroine. Personally, I’ve never read a Heyer I didn’t enjoy and the same goes for Bujold’s books too.

In Particular, if You Like:

• The Vorkosigan Saga try: Finders Keepers by Linnea Sinclair. The world-building isn’t up to Bujold, but if you’re hankering for some military SF with a romance this book reads like a poor man’s Vorkosigan in many places. The hero is pretty much a beefier, "hunk" version of Aral Vorkosigan. He’s even nick-named the Butcher too. I haven’t read any others by Sinclair but she’s a RITA award winning novelist with several other SF titles under her belt: maybe someone else can give more title suggestions. I unfortunately don’t read much SF and the stuff I have read is probably too dated for most modern SF readers. I hope other folks have more suggestions.
• Chalion try: I would recommend Andre Norton’s Witch World series (most of which have some kind of romance). Some of my favorites would be the first two Witch World books respectively titled The Witch World and Web of the Witch World. Also, Year of the Unicorn (which actually has no unicorns in it- promise!). All three of these have well-developed, satisfying romantic subplots, killer world-building and adept character development. I haven’t read this myself yet but from what I’ve read Sharon Shinn’s Twelve Houses series has similar themes and high stakes like Chalion. A world in peril, the state religion kind of up in the air-Tell me if I’m wrong in the comments, though.
• The Sharing Knife try: I highly recommend The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. Fans of The Sharing Knife books might like the conflict as two sets of peoples (Dragonriders and Holders) try to figure out how to live and support each other amidst a crisis that threatens their whole world. It features the same layered, intricate world-building as a Bujold novel and it has a lot of the same themes. Actually, the more I thought about it the more similarities I saw between the Dragonrider/ Holder and the Lakewalker/Farmer conflicts. Many, if not all, of the Dragonrider books have some sort of romantic subplot and the Dragonrider men are HAWT. I would highly recommend the first two books Dragonflight and Dragonquest. The series is pretty large so if you want to dive in I really recommend reading them in the order they were published and not by the books’ internal chronology. Oh, and don’t bother with the newest ones by her son at all. The Gryphon Saga by Andre Norton, comprised of three books: The Crystal Gryphon, Gryphon in Glory, and Gryphon’s Eyrie. They’re an off-shoot of the Witch World series and they follow Lord Kerovan, a lord’s heir and soldier, and his lady-love, Joisan, as they navigate their war-torn world. The first book has them separated by conflict and chaos. Kerovan has an out of the ordinary appearance (amber colored eyes and cloven feet) and magical abilities to match. Their marriage starts off as an arranged one of convenience but then they move towards friendship and, eventually, love, trust and true companionship. Kerovan reminds me a bit of Dag. He worries constantly if there is something profoundly evil about him because of his immense supernatural power. By the end of the first book Kerovan and Joisan set off into the wide unknown world together to wander and find answers to save themselves and their world.
• The Spirit Ring try: Robin McKinley’s Beauty and Spindle’s End. These books are similar because of the cooperative defeat of the baddies and the self-sufficient, strong heroines. Also they share the more young adult tone. McKinley’s have more pronounced romances (being based on fairytales) than The Spirit Ring and Bujold in general.

Ok, your turn: What do you recommend?

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: The Sharing Knife: Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
2. REVIEW: The Sharing Knife: Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold
3. REVIEW: Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold

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If you like Jacqueline Carey -

Jacqueline Carey writes the Kushiel’s Legacy epic fantasy series (six books: Kushiel’s Dart, Kushiel’s Chosen, Kushiel’s Avatar , Kushiel’s Justice , Kushiel’s Scion , Kushiel’s Mercy), which may appeal to fans of historical romance and fantasy romance. To see why, please read on and rest assured that I don’t include any plot-spoilers.

Setting (era): Medieval.

Setting (geographic): Action takes place in Terre d’Ange (Land of the Angels), loosely based upon medieval France. The epic plotlines range across recognizable equivalents to medieval Britain and the Mediterranean area.

Heroine type: Subtle and sophisticated
Subtle, sophisticated, and serious. The heroine of the first three Kushiel books (Kushiel’s Dart, Kushiel’s Chosen, and Kushiel’s Avatar) is Phaedre, abandoned as a child to be raised in a brothel. In Terre D’Ange, however, sex is considered sacred and prostitutes are held in the same esteem as priestesses. Phaedre narrates the first three books from the perspective of a much sought-after courtesan who is also an elite spy. This is nowhere near as frivolously adventurous as it sounds. Phaedre is a very grave person, driven by loss and duty to queen and country.

The heroine of the next three books (Kushiel’s Scion, Kushiel’s Justice, Kushiel’s Mercy) is Sidonie, seen through the first-person narration of Imriel, Phaedre’s foster-son. Sidonie is the Crown Princess of Terre D’Ange. She struggles to repress her inappropriate attraction to Imriel and focus on her duty as the daughter of the queen.

Hero type: Strong and intense
The hero in the first three Kushiel books is Joscelin, a warrior-priest viewed through the first-person narration of Phaedre. Being rather young and inexperienced, he comes across believably rigid and intolerant. Assigned to protect Phaedre, he expresses his on-going disdain for her exploits as a courtesan. (Apparently, his particular priesthood holds a view towards prostitution that is atypical of that of most D’Angelines.) Later, he believes her to be a traitor. Eventually, he comes around.

The hero in the next three Kushiel books is Imriel, the foster son of Phaedre. Imriel is third-in-line for the throne. He’s probably the most complicated character in the six books: a handsome and hot-blooded type haunted by the memories of the slavery he endured as a child. His parents are remembered as the worst traitors in the history of the realm. Not only does he have their infamy to live down, he also has to struggle with an inherited tendency towards sexual sadism.

Plot: (action-oriented / character-driven): Both
Primarily, these are character-driven plots. The main characters make decisions based upon their fears and desires. This is turn results in real-world consequences such as intrigue or revenge which provides the action-oriented aspects of the plot.

Plot (slow/fast): Slow
Due to ornate writing, many side-plots, and a huge cast of characters.

Writing style (simple v. ornate): Ornate
From the first page of Kushiel’s Dart:

“It is not, of course, that I lacked beauty, even as a babe. I am a D’Angeline, after all, and ever since Blessed Elua set foot on the soil of our fair nation and called it home, the world has known what it means to be D’Angeline. My soft features echoed my mother’s, carved in miniature perfection. My skin, too fair for the canon of Jasmine House, was nonetheless a perfectly acceptable shade of ivory. My hair, which grew to curl in charming profusion, was the color of sable-in-shadows, reckoned a coup in some of the Houses. My limbs were straight and supple, my bones a marvel of delicate strength. No, the problem was elsewhere. To be sure, it was my eyes; and not even the pair of them, but merely the one. Such a small thing on which to hinge such a fate. Nothing more than a mote, a fleck, a mere speck of color – My eyes, when they settled, were that color the poets call bistre, a deep and lustrous darkness, like a forest pool under the shade of ancient oaks.”

Dialogue (lots v. little): Medium
A medium amount flavored with the occasional Elizabethanism (e.g., “Mayhap”).

Humor (Yes/No-serious/some): No-serious
Some subtle glints of irony and wry observation.

Emotional Angst (high/medium/low): High
Lots of emotional angst. See “Conflict” below.

Conflict (externally driven/internally driven/both): Internal
The internal conflict centers upon the sacrifices one must make for duty, and the hardships involved in growing beyond the legacy left by one’s parents.

Heat level: (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Hot
Other than the graceful writing, the treatment of sex is what makes these books so remarkable. In romance fiction, sex is par for the course. But in fantasy fiction, sex never used to occur and especially not in detailed descriptions.

In Terre D’Ange, the guiding principle is “love as thou wilt.” Sex of any type is sacred and there are houses of pleasure devoted to gay, straight, and lesbian love; and to sadists and masochists. Our heroine Phaedre is an anguisette, which is a rare type of masochist who thrives upon pain and heals quickly. In the later books, our hero Imriel has sadistic tendencies. Since both tell their stories in first-person, and there are a lot of sexual encounters, you can probably guess how explicit the narrative can get. The courtly and formal writing style does tend to keep the reader at a comfortable distance, and this is why I rated the Heat Level “Hot” rather than “Scorching.”

Other variables to consider:
The books are written in first-person viewpoint, past-tense. The focus tends to be upon medieval action such as battles and court intrigue with very little emphasis upon magic.

If you like Jacqueline Carey, you’ll like -
Fantasy books that come to mind include George R. R. Martin’s series, A Song of Ice and Fire. The first book is A Game of Thrones These books, set in a made-up medieval kingdom, combine intrigue, gritty realism, and the cast of thousands found in many historical novels.

Also, there are the various Robin Hobb books such as the Farseer series and the Liveship Traders series. Her books are populated with vivid characters and much intrigue. Historical romance fans may enjoy the nautical details in the Liveship Trader books.

Readers, feel free to suggest any romance titles.

Related posts:

1. If You Like Julia Spencer-Fleming . . . Hosted by Val Kovalin
2. REVIEW: Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey
3. REVIEW: Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey

If you would like to host an “If You Like” post, please email me at Jane at dearauthor.com

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If You Like-Julie Garwood

For as long as I can remember, Julie Garwood’s historical romances have been on my re-read shelf. I have a lengthy list of enjoyable authors, but no one captures my heart quite like Julie Garwood does. About once a year, I dust off my favorites and go through the entire list again, sinking into the story once more. There’s just something about a good Garwood historical romance that brings a goofy smile to my face, lightness to my heart, and all my available cash from my wallet (since I tend to lose my copies and have to buy them over and over again).

Julie Garwood writes two separate categories of novels. We have our historical romances (The Gift, The Prize, The Secret). In recent years, Julie has moved forward with romantic suspense-which I confess I do not read. This "If You Like’ segment will focus on Julie’s historical romances.

If I had to describe Garwood’s novels with one word, I’d probably use "charming’. Like a Hallmark card or those commercials with cute kids and puppies, you know what you’re being fed is probably a little sappy and corny, but it’s so well done that you don’t care. For me, Garwood’s books have always been spearheaded with a compelling heroine, charming interaction between the hero and heroine, and an overall "Feel Good’ sort of closure when you finish the novel. They’re not cotton candy fluff, but more like Peanut M&Ms. You promise yourself that you’re only going to eat one or two, and before you know it, you’re fishing the last one out of the bottom of the bag with your finger, and wondering if it would make you a glutton if you buy another bag (for the record, yes). Just like you wish the bag of M&Ms was endless (and calorie free), I always find myself wishing that there were more Julie Garwood historicals.

Heroine type: The Disney heroine

For me, the heroine in a Julie Garwood novel is always the stand-out, and the reason I follow the books. She always has the major story arc of the story, and never fails to win over the hearts of all she encounters. That being said, Garwood heroines also tend to have a Pollyanna-esque sort of mentality, or perhaps Disney heroine. They’re cute, they’re adorable, fluffy bunnies love them, they save the day, etc. Normally this would bother me, but the heroine is always somewhat flawed as well, or viewed as odd or eccentric by other characters, so it tends to balance out without being saccharine. Brianna in The Wedding is terribly absent-minded and constantly loses things. Judith in The Secret rides to Scotland to help deliver her best friend’s baby-and doesn’t tell anyone that she’s never actually attended a birth.

Usually in a Garwood, the heroine’s family is dead or evil, and so she must face her challenges alone-at least until the hero arrives. There’s a meta-theme that runs through her books of the lonely heroine who suddenly finds her one true defender. For me, this resonates particularly well.

Hero type: Strong-jawed man in a kilt

The heroes are always alpha and usually Scottish. What, you wanted more than that? Okay. The heroes of Julie Garwood novels are always the men with the power. Gabriel MacBain of Saving Grace is the ruler of a clan divided. The heroes of Ransom – Brodick and Ramsey – each head their own clans. The Garwood hero is the strong-jawed, silent, enduring sort of man that decides he wants the heroine right away, and then does everything in his power to keep her in his grasp. Usually the hero has some sort of issue or problem that is only brought to light through the antics of the heroine, and with her at his side, he’s either able to conquer the issue or see it in a different light. The hero is essentially the foil for the heroine, but what a foil (yum).

Plot: The Heroine’s Journey

The speed of the plot depends on the book itself. Garwood is fond of prologues, and the prologue usually sets up the heroine’s back-story. Usually things start moving right around page 50 of a Julie Garwood novel and the hero and heroine usually have sex towards the front of the book or no later than the middle.

Writing style: Conversational

I’m not a fan of "ornate’ story-telling, so Garwood’s simple, easy narrative is a joy to follow.

Dialogue: Snappy Banter

Garwood is a master of dialogue. The hero and the heroine always have a great interplay and argue brilliantly. Here’s an example from The Lion’s Lady:

“Are you angry because I”m not afraid of you?” she asked.

“No,” Lyon answered, giving her a lazy grin. “I”m not angry at all.”

“Oh, yes you are,” Christina said. “I can feel the anger inside you. And your strength. I think you might be just as strong as a lion.”

He shook his head. “You say the oddest things,” he remarked. He couldn”t seem to stop touching her. His thumb slowly brushed her full lower lip. Her softness fascinated him, beckoned him.

“I don”t mean to say odd things,” Christina said, frowning now. “It is very difficult to banter with you.” She turned her face away from him and whispered, “My Aunt Patricia doesn”t want me in your company, Lyon. If she realizes I”m outside with you, she”ll be most displeased.”

Lyon raised an eyebrow over that announcement. “She”s going to have to be displeased then, isn”t she?”

“She says you”re too shrewd,” Christina told him.

“And that is a fault?” Lyon asked, frowning.

“Too wealthy, too,” Christina added, nodding her head when he gave her an incredulous look.

“What”s wrong with being wealthy?” Lyon asked.

“You wouldn’’t be manageable.” Christina quoted her aunt”s opinion.

“Damn right.”

“See, you agree with my Aunt Patricia after all,” Christina returned.

Even when the characters aren’t passing witty zingers back and forth, a lot of the dialogue still has great emotional impact. Here’s a small clip from Honor’s Splendour

“Delenda est Carthago,” Madelyne whispered to herself, repeating the vow made so long ago by Cato, an elder of ancient times.

Duncan was surprised by Madelyne”s remark. He wondered how she”d ever come by such knowledge. “Aye, Madelyne. Like Carthage, your brother must be destroyed.”

“And do I belong to Loud…to Carthage as well?” Madelyne asked, refusing to speak her brother”s name.

“Nay, Madelyne, you don”t belong to Carthage.”

Madelyne nodded and then closed her eyes. She sagged against Duncan”s chest.

Duncan used his hand to push her chin up, forcing her to look at him again.

“You don’t belong to Louddon, Madelyne. From this moment on, you belong to me. Do you understand?”

Madelyne nodded her head.

Duncan released his hold on her when he saw how frightened he was making her. He watched her a moment longer and then slowly, aye, gently, pulled the cloak up over her face.

From her warm hiding place against him, Madelyne whispered, “I think I would rather belong to no man.”

Humor: Situational and Snappy

I love the humor in Garwood’s books. She enjoys putting the heroine in strange situations and having her work her way out of them. Since Garwood is also fond of the "extremely innocent’ and sheltered heroine, you can guess that a lot of the humor involves mistaken innuendo or innocent actions taken the wrong way.

Emotional Angst: Average

There’s definitely emotional angst and real problems touched upon, but you never feel beat down or emo after reading. I think this is in part because the angst-issues are equal with the humor of the story, and leaves you with a pleasant balance. There are deep issues hit upon (spousal abuse, blackmail, abusive family) but Garwood never makes the reader feel dragged through the wringer.

Conflict: Both Internally and Externally Driven

Garwood’s books tend to focus on the heroine’s journey, so most of the conflicts provided that deal with the over-arching story belong to her. In The Secret, the key driving force is Judith’s secret, and how it affects her relationships. In Honour’s Splendour, Madelyne’s brother is the villain and drives the plot, but there’s also an overall story arc of Madelyne growing from a timid woman to an independent, strong person, and the two plots are intertwined.

Setting: British Isles with the occasional foray outward

Julie Garwood is best known, I think, for her medieval romances. They are set anywhere from the Norman Conquest (The Prize) to King John’s reign (Saving Grace). Most of the medievals involve an English lady marrying a Scottish laird and moving to Scotland with him. Garwood has actually taken a lot of flack from historians who feel that her use of plaids and castles and such are not historically accurate, but Garwood also states that she prides herself on her accuracy and that these claims are false. "Plaids’ are mentioned for the Scots, but never tartans or kilts. Castles are mentioned, but without enough detail to point it to a specific time-frame so it never rang out as blatantly false for me (though others may argue).

Some of Garwood’s historicals are also set in Regency England (The Gift) and America (The Clayborne Brides: One Pink Rose / One White Rose / One Red Rose). Her most recent (Shadow Music) features a made-up country in Europe.

For those looking for a very detailed, grimly accurate picture of medieval life, keep moving. As a reader (and fangirl), I feel that the setting in a Garwood historical is there for ambiance more than a character on its own.

Heat level: Warm

Garwood’s love scenes are fairly detailed (except for penetration) and were probably steamy for the early 90’s, but would fall flat in comparison to today’s more erotic-leaning romances. There’s no wacky sex antics, and the most scandalous it gets is an outdoor love scene (The Bride).

Pace: Brisk

Because of the quick dialogue and the characters driving the story, the pace of a Julie Garwood romance always feels lively to me. There’s not a lot of downtime where the heroine mopes and feels sorry for herself, and there’s not a lot of internal emotional angst that goes on for chapter after chapter, dragging the story down. You never get the feeling of breakneck speed either, so I think Garwood has a very good balance.

You Would Like-

As I thought of authors to recommend, the main thing I kept coming back to was charm. I think to get the same "warm fuzzies’ feeling that a Garwood novel gives me, we need to have a good mix of character development, a plot that draws the hero and heroine together, and mix it with a good dose of adventurous fun. The authors I’ve chosen all give me the same "warm fuzzy’ feeling and I hope they would do the same for you.

Jude Deveraux’s historical romances are my closest pick for that lovely fun charm. Her romances read much like a Hershey’s kiss. Rich and sweet and brief. Deveraux loves the situational humor in her stories, and her heroines are memorable. She wrote a variety of time periods, but definitely has several medievals to choose from. My favorite pick from her backlist is The Taming, the story of a spoiled heiress who marries the dirtiest knight in England.

Lisa Kleypas is my second pick. One of my favorite authors, Kleypas tackles Regency (and post-Regency) period England with strong heroes, charming heroines, and some great plots. Overall, there’s a great sense of humor throughout her books, and her heroines are high-spirited and headstrong without going over into TSTL-land. I’d highly recommend starting with The Devil in Winter (The Wallflowers, Book 3) or It Happened One Autumn (The Wallflowers, Book 2). Read DIW for the hero, and IHOA for the bossy (but fun) heroine.

Julia Quinn is a natural pick. How can I have a list about feel-good historical romance and not include the current favorite? Julia Quinn is a master of witty dialogue and cute, charming comedy. Her books are set in Regency England, and most feature the Bridgerton family – 8 siblings out to marry their way through society. They’re great fun, and my favorite was Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgerton Series, Book 4).

For an old-school pick, I’m going to go back to the 1980s and select Catherine Coulter’s impressive backlist. Like most historical authors in that time frame, Coulter wrote a mix of medieval and regency romances, along with the occasional Viking (yes, Viking!) tossed in. Coulter is known for her witty, comedic dialogue and is an old favorite of mine. While some of her books don’t hold up as well over time (If you see a passage about "cream to ease her way’, run!), she’s still on my re-read shelf for all eternity. Earth Song is my recommendation for her – a light, funny medieval about a kidnapped heroine built like a giant, and a poor-as-dirt hero.

You want hot Highlanders? Karen Marie Moning is your girl. While her books don’t go as far back in medieval Scotland (I think most are between 1300-1500) and she features time travel as a very large plot aspect, the sex is hot. Very hot. The men are even hotter. These books have a lot of charm and everyone I recommend them to loves them. Try Kiss of the Highlander (The Highlander Series, Book 4).

Betina Krahn writes very funny medievals with a light, frothy touch. I really enjoyed The Husband Test and the other accompanying books in the series. I believe Krahn writes a variety of time periods, but I’ve only read her medievals.

Teresa Medeiros is all over the page when it comes to historical periods (and a few paranormal!), but you have to include her books when you mention "charming’ stories that make you feel good. Her stories remind me of fairy tales (and that’s a high compliment). She’s concentrated lately on Regency England, but Charming the Prince remains one of my favorites.

I realize that I’m referencing a lot of books from the past twenty years, and most will be available at your used book store (so you can glom on a back-list in a hurry). Want something recent that came out? Here’s my recommendations.

I can’t have a list about light, fun books without mentioning Jo Beverley’s latest, A Lady’s Secret. I tell everyone that this is about a "nun on the run and a dandy’ and that usually sells the book. Jayne at DA loved it. I loved it. Go read it. Beverley also wrote several medievals in her past, but they tend to move towards darker themes and will probably not be a good match.

Sherry Thomas is a newer author but one that’s going to be on my auto-buy list for quite some time. Her most recent book, Delicious, isn’t what I’d call knee-slapping funny, but there was a sweet, wonderful fairy-tale quality to the entire story, and the ending made me weepy with joy. Definitely a feel-good book and definite warm fuzzies.

Laura Lee Guhrke is another that came onto my radar last year with And Then He Kissed Her. DA reviewed this one too. Her Victorians tend to be lighter and definitely a witty, fun read with a strong, heroine-centric story. I haven’t read a lot of her back-list, but I intend to.

So those are my suggestions. Any others?

Related posts:

1. If You Like Judith McNaught, Historicals . . . Hosted by Loonigrrl
2. Julie Garwood Announces Details for Historical Novel
3. REVIEW: Honor’s Splendor by Julie Garwood

Author Mary-Francis Makichen put together this wonderful contribution for us to read, appreciate, and use as a reference point for the future. Thanks Mary-Francis.

If you would like to host an If You Like piece, please email me at jane at dearauthor.com

***

If You Like Allison Brennan

I can’t remember where I first heard about Allison Brennan. What I do remember is reading the The Prey and being captivated by heroine Rowan Smith-’a former FBI agent turned bestselling author. Rowan gets pulled into the search for a killer when people start turning up dead just like the victims in her book. To further complicate her life, her bodyguards turn out to be two hunky brothers who both vie for her affection.

It was probably then and there that I discovered romantic suspense. My reading before that had been straight mysteries and thrillers. I especially loved the mysteries that featured a relationship as part of the plot. When I stumbled upon Brennan’s books it was like a whole new world of reading opened up to me. I love a good book of suspense and I’m a sucker for a happy ending, so romantic suspense was a perfect fit for me.

Brennan’s books are written as a connected series. So, minor characters in one book become the main characters in the next. Also, several of the books center around the Kincaid family.

Setting (era)

Brennan’s books are contemporary. We don’t necessarily know exactly when, but references to current technology place them firmly in the here and now.

Setting (geographic)

USA, both small towns and larger cities, mainly out west. Some of the larger city settings include Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco. One of her books is set in the Centennial Valley of Montana.

Heroine type

Competent professionals almost always involved in law enforcement or the justice system.

Most of Brennan’s heroines are in law enforcement, either FBI agents or police detectives. Some are former officers who get pulled back into a case or crime. Others are unconnected to law enforcement. In Killing Fear, the heroine is a former stripper and in Tempting Evil, a romance writer.

What I like about her heroines is that they are savvy, resourceful women who are good at what they do. They often carry a lot of emotional baggage but that doesn’t stop them from moving forward and doing what needs to be done. Trust seems to be a recurring issue for the heroines in most of the books. Something has happened in their past that either makes them distrust men specifically or the world in general. Part of the tension in her books is the heroine and hero building trust and working together:

From Fear No Evil

“You’re under just as much stress as I am. Perhaps more."

“I’m okay.”

He looked at her oddly. "Maybe you are, maybe you aren’t. Right now I need to find my sister. What is your program telling you?"

“It’s still working.
Frustration crossed his face and it took all of Kate’s willpower not tell him about her conversation with Trask.

"Dammit, Kate, what aren’t you telling me?"

Kate stared at him and Dillon ran a hand through his hair He was grasping at straws, trying to find his sister in the proverbial haystack. Patrick was in a coma and Lucy was going to die.

And this woman-’this renegade FBI agent-’was holding back.

Brennan’s heroines can be reckless, risk takers when it comes to solving a crime or uncovering the truth. In general they are focused, capable and determined. They are extremely loyal to their friends and own cause or sense of justice. I would say that career comes first for most of them, but once they meet up with the hero they tend to want more balance in their lives between career and family. These are women I’d want to be friends with-’after their lives are not in jeopardy, of course.

Hero Types

Like the heroines, Brennan’s male protagonists are usually either current or former members of law enforcement: FBI agents, police detectives, sheriffs and even a forensic psychiatrist.

Brennan’s heroes are professional men, but not unnecessarily aggressive or overbearing. They are men of action who don’t like to sit on the sidelines. They aren’t afraid to be in the thick of things. They are determined to solve whatever problem is on their plate, which often means hunting down a killer while keeping the heroine alive. Tough guys who care-’family, friends, and colleagues are all important to them.

Here’s an exchange between Dillon and his sister Carina from Speak No Evil.

". . .By the way I like him," said Dillon.

"Him who?. . ."

"The sheriff."

"You were just lecturing me about what he was doing hanging around the case."

"Hmm, not quite. I was just curious, mostly."

Carina playfully hit him.

"Seriously, I like him. He’s one of the good guys."

Carin shook her head. "Get out of her so I can lock up. I’ll meet you at the morgue." She didn’t know what to make of Dillon’s pronouncement, but decided not to look too deeply at it. It made her feel, well, like a teenager again when Dillon put his stamp of approval on her boyfriends.

Plot (action-oriented vs character driven): Both

Brennan writes suspense, so of course action drives the story forward. However, I think she delivers a nice balance between action and letting the reader get inside the head of her characters. Solving the crime or case moves the plot forward but if she didn’t let readers get to know the characters, I don’t think we would care about the outcome. She does, so we do.

Pace (slow/medium/fast): Fast

In all of Brennan’s books there is a ticking clock. Someone’s life is already in danger and they need to be saved, or a killer will strike again if they are not stopped. Brennan throws real obstacles in her hero and heroine’s path so they are always pushing through roadblocks or deciphering evidence.

Writing Style (simple vs. ornate): Simple

I’m not sure that simple is the best word to describe Brennan’s writing. I’d actually say straightforward. Her books clip along at a fast pace and there aren’t long passages of description. Brennan’s characters are generally trained observers so the reader gets information about setting or other characters through point of view observations.

Dialogue (lots/little/balanced): Balanced

Brennan’s books are not solely comprised of dialogue. There is a nice blend between the internal narrative of her characters and the dialogue.

From Killing Fear

It was when he and Carina met back up at the front that realized exactly what was wrong.

"Security."

"What?

"Where are the lights? Virtually every house in this neighborhood had security lights. A cat walks across the yard, and spotlights come on."

"If the power was cut, wouldn’t the alarm company have called? Checked it out?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"If the security system was activated."

Will hesitated. If he was wrong and Descario had left town or was out with his girlfriend tonight, he’d be putting the department in a bad light. Cops breaking into homes. Still, an escaped convict had threatened the former district attorney. What more probable cause did he need?

Humor (Yes/No-Serious/Some): Some

Brennan’s characters find themselves in some pretty serious and scary situations. There can’t be too much humor involved when you’re tracking down a killer or a kidnapped sister. Still, even cops and FBI agents take a break now and again so you’ll find the occasional humorous exchanges in her books.

From Speak No Evil

"Cara darling." Her mom came out of the walk-in pantry, a smile on her round face. "Let me get the fruit salad from the refrigerator. Do you want some toast?"

Carina jumped, blushed. Had she ever blushed before? She didn’t think so. But her mom had caught her thinking about sex and Carina was positive her mother could read minds.

"No, Mama, I’m fine. Really."

Her mother stared at her closely, eyes narrow. Carina put on a blank face and pushed all thoughts of Nick’s naked body from her mind. "What did you eat this morning? You don’t eat breakfast so don’t lie to me."

Food. Her mom’s favorite pastime was feeding her so maybe she hadn’t see the lust on her face. "I had coffee."

"Pshaw! Coffee!"

Emotional Angst (High/Medium/Low): Medium

Many of Brennan’s characters have emotional scars from the past. They wrestle with their emotional angst but they are reluctant to include anyone else in their inner turmoil. The angst lies just below the surface. It’s a part of the character but it doesn’t dominate the storyline.

Conflict (Externally driven/Internally driven/Both): Both

This is suspense, so the main conflict you encounter in Brennan’s books is good vs. evil. It’s usually killer, kidnapper, stalker, or child predator vs. dedicated law enforcement professional. After that you have the internal conflict of characters trying to deal with their own emotional demons. Plus, you have the hero and heroine coming to terms with their attraction for one another.

Heat Level (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Hot

There are generally one or two sex scenes in each of Brennan’s books, and they are pretty hot.

From The Prey:

She had scars. He kissed an obvious gunshot wound that had grazed her lower right rib. It looked like a knife wound had damaged her upper arm, an old one. He kissed it. Unclasping her bra, he held her breasts in his hands and caressed them. He looked down at her face. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open. The tears had stopped.

He never wanted to see her cry again.

He kissed one breast, pulled in the nipple to suckle, and she moaned. He repeated the attention on the other breast, enjoying the way she responded to his touch. . .

. . .Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she reached down and felt his firm buttocks. She dug in her fingers and he thrust forward. He was rigid against her and she wanted him. She kissed him, and he took her mouth deep in his, his hands never stopping, touching her all over, keeping her warm, making her hot.

Going back through Allison Brennan’s books to write this has made me realize once again why I like this writer. Great suspense, really likeable characters and excellent pacing that you can ride like a wave from start to finish.

If You Like Allison Brennan, You’ll Like. . .

To quote others who’ve come before me, this is the hard part! Trying to figure out what authors to recommend if you like Allison Brennan has made me realize that it’s not easy to quantify why we like one author over another. Sometimes the way a writer tells a story just resonates with you and it’s hard to say exactly why. Still, here some humble suggestions.

Karen Rose is another author that I love to read. Like Allison Brennan, she writes romantic suspense. In the books I’ve read, the lead characters have been in law enforcement or part of the legal system. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed I’m Watching You, Count to Ten and Die for Me. I’m still working my way through all her books, thankfully, so I still have more to read. The suspense is dramatic and there’s been a twist or two along the way that I didn’t see coming. Her characters are interesting and somehow I think she manages to make them different.

Sandra Brown is an amazing writer and storyteller. Her writing is seamless and she’s a master at suspense. If you like Allison Brennan, I would definitely check out Sandra Brown. Some of the titles that I’ve read and loved are: Fat Tuesday, Hello Darkness, The Chill Factor, White Hot, and Ricochet.

Those are just a couple of suggestions. If you like Allison Brennan, please help me out and recommend some other authors as well. Thanks!

Related posts:

1. My First Sale by Allison Brennan
2. REVIEW: Tempting Evil by Allison Brennan
3. If You Like Mary Balogh . . . Hosted by Michelle Butler

If you would like to host an “If You Like” post, please email me at Jane at dearauthor.com

***

If You Like Julia Quinn-

Once, in the far away land of Austin, Texas, there were two young romance readers. And by young, we’re talking before high school here. We know, we know – what were their mothers thinking to let them read romances so early? In their defense, these books taught the girls the cardinal rule of womanhood- when choosing between a handsome, wealthy, and open-minded duke who will still respect you in the morning and a pimply faced teenage boy whose hands have been god-knows-where, always choose the duke. Even if he only exists in the pages of a book.

No one taught us this lesson better than Julia Quinn. Though we came to her different ways, Stephanie and I have both been reading and loving JQ for over a decade now. There are other romance novelists who are near and dear to our hearts, but no one else has us lining up at bookstores on publication days or browbeating poor booksellers into searching the back room for her newest release. She’s the tops.

So where does such devotion come from? Are her heroes just to die for or her heroines uncannily sympathetic? Do her dialog and plots move at such a fast clip, that we can barely put the books down? The answer is all of the above – and more.

Julia Quinn burst onto the historical romance stage in 1995, with arguably one of the best debut novels of the decade – Splendid, the story of an American heiress who vows to never marry an Englishman and an English Duke who has sworn to never marry. Since then, she has been entertaining her readers with her uniquely consuming brand of romance that blends emotional depth and true-to-life humor. Most well known for the Bridgerton Series, a beloved octet of books about the loves and lives of a boisterous, loving, and numerous (eight siblings!) aristocratic family, Julia Quinn has published seventeen full-length novels and four novellas. After winning the prestigious RITA award two years in a row, JQ has cemented herself as not only our favorite author, but one of the most consistent and adored authors in the entire Romance community.

Setting (era and geographic): Regency England

JQ’s books span the Regency period of the British Empire (strictly designated as 1811-1820, the years George IV ruled as Prince Regent, but often encompassing that transition period between Georgian & Victorian eras) and deal mainly with the upper tiers of British Society – the aristocracy and gentry. Her settings split pretty evenly between the English countryside and the glittering world of London society, but all of her characters are featured in business as usual settings – there are very few spies popping up behind bushes (with the notable exceptions of the two former-spy heroes of her early books: To Catch an Heiress and How To Marry a Marquis) and no Napoleonic invasions threatening. These books are purely English, which is a large part of their charm. Unlike many other current full-length Regency historicals, Quinn’s characters are solidly immersed in English society and culture, with all the privileges and problems that entails.

Heroine Type: Varied class levels, but always smart and self-assured

The Quinn heroines range from vicar’s daughters to lady’s maids to the daughters of London’s elite Ton, but there is one thing they all have in common – a strong sense of self. In all seventeen books, there is not a dependent, too-stupid-to-live heroine in the bunch. Whether it’s having a life independent from her large and lively family, such as Francesca Bridgerton from When He Was Wicked, or it’s a determination to run her own estate, as with Henrietta Barrett of Minx, they all have dreams and goals of their own. What’s more, they pursue those dreams

As a whole, they are not the darlings of society, but rather the nice and funny girls we ourselves would choose as best friends. Things never come easy to the Quinn heroine, but through good humor and resourcefulness, she will weather any storm – and help her hero do the same.

It’s this wit and willingness to stick to her guns even against the man she loves, that makes Penelope Featherington of Romancing Mr. Bridgerton stand out. She not only starts out as a minor character in the first books of the Bridgerton series, but also as a wallflower – a plain, shy girl who is on the receiving end of society’s scorn. By the end of this, the fourth book, Penelope has completely come into her own – she not only deserves her happy ending, but she worked for it. Even when her hero was being, well, an idiot:

"I’m sorry," [Penelope] said, "but it’s a little difficult for me to sit here and listen to you complain that your life is nothing."

"I didn’t say that."

"You most certainly did!"

"I said I have nothing," he corrected, trying not to wince as he realized how stupid that sounded.

"You have more than anyone I know," she said, jabbing him in the shoulder. "But if you don’t realize that, then maybe you are correct-’your life is nothing."

"It’s too hard to explain," he said in a petulant manner.

"If you want a new direction in life," she said, "then for heaven’s sake just pick something out and do it. The world is your oyster, Colin. You’re young, wealthy, and you’re a man."

The brilliant thing about this scene is that it comes less than a third of the way through the book. At this point, Penelope has no idea what is going on with her and Colin, yet she still tells it like it is – risking his censure because of her honesty. Of course, Colin is not truly an idiot, just a bit misguided, so all turns out well in the end. But it’s this strength of conviction and self that makes not only Penelope shine, but all of Julia Quinn’s heroines. They may be English misses in a time when women were often little more than a possession, but they don’t let themselves become victims of their circumstances. There are no helpless waifs in these pages, only strong, caring women.

Hero Type: An aristocratic mix of Alphas & Betas

The heroes of the JQ novels nearly all come from aristocratic backgrounds. Even Jack Audley, the highwayman hero of her latest novel, The Lost Duke of Wyndham, has ties to the aristocracy. Because of this background, and you know, being men, they all have their Alpha moments. And yet, there are no cookie-cutter heroes here. They are all complicated, fundamentally good men.

There are the tortured heroes, such as Simon Bassett (The Duke and I), with such true-to-life issues, that you will be falling in love with them right along with their heroines. Then, there are the charming rogues who make every woman, including the heroine, laugh as they fall head-over-heels – like Colin Bridgerton (Romancing Mr. Bridgerton) and William Dunford (Minx).

Whichever type you prefer, you can bet that the heroes of Julia Quinn novels show just as much strength of character as their heroines. They are loyal to a fault and, when they eventually realize they’ve been blindsided by love, will stop at nothing to make their heroine happy – even if it means sacrifice on their part.

Plot (action-oriented / character-driven): Character-Driven

Julia Quinn’s greatest strength is her brilliant characterization and it is from this that she derives her plots. Like we mentioned above, there are minimal spies and super-villains in these books. The tensions and conflicts that keep the plot moving come from decisions the main characters make themselves.

Even in her latest book, The Lost Duke of Wyndham, which involves a higher degree of action than normal, the characters are constantly moving the novel forward themselves. Every twist and turn is based on who the characters are – their strengths, their weaknesses, their occasional love of robbing coaches. JQ puts characters who feel real into situations the reader can honestly imagine them getting into and we keep turning the pages to see how the devil they will get themselves out again.

Plot (slow/medium/fast): Fast

Most character-driven plots lean towards the slower end of the spectrum, but not so with Julia Quinn. I cannot even tell you how many hours of sleep I’ve lost because I couldn’t force myself to put down her latest book. There isn’t a wasted scene in any of her novels – every interaction is upping the tension and stakes more and more. Sure, no ninjas are jumping down from skylights, but people are being given the cut direct at Almack’s or having scandalous adventures through Vauxhall Gardens.

When you open a Julia Quinn novel, you are swept away. There are no other words for it. She grabs you from the first page, forcing you to care about each and every character, and doesn’t let go until the last line of the epilogue.

Dialogue (lots/little/balanced): Lots

So, say one of the aforementioned evil ninjas has trapped you in a room full of manuscripts. Your mission? Pick which one is Julia Quinn’s before the egg timer goes off – or suffer a fate worse than the cut direct.

Here’s a hint: you’ll know from the dialogue.

JQ is the queen of fast-paced dialogue. Her characters are smart and it shows in their exchanges – they have inside jokes, develop teasing relationships, and use verbal wordplay just like real people.

Through a use of sentence length manipulation (short, snappy sentences when exchanges are really fast) and individual voices, she uses dialogue as a tool throughout the book to move the plot and character arcs along.

Nowhere is this skill quite so apparent as in the Bridgerton books. There are eight siblings. That’s eight separate personalities and voices, often all in the same room. A lesser author would leave her readers reaching for the Advil bottle, but these are some of JQ’s funniest and most vivid scenes. Take this, another scene from Romancing Mr. Bridgerton:

"Biscuits are good," Hyacinth said, thrusting a plate in her direction.

"Hyacinth," Lady Bridgerton said in a vaguely disapproving voice, "do try to speak in complete sentences."

Hyacinth looked at her mother with a surprised expression. "Biscuits. Are. Good." She cocked her head to the side. "Noun. Verb. Adjective."

"Hyacinth."

Penelope could see that Lady Bridgerton was trying to look stern as she scolded her daughter, but she wasn’t quite succeeding.

"Noun. Verb. Adjective," Colin said, wiping a crumb from his grinning face. "Sentence is correct."

"If you’re barely literate," Kate retorted, reaching for a biscuit. "These are good," she said to Penelope, a sheepish smile crossing her face. "This one’s my fourth."

"I love you, Colin," Hyacinth said, ignoring Kate completely.

"Of course you do," he murmured.

Doesn’t that sound like a conversation we’ve all had at a big family dinner or gathering? Brothers and sisters sniping at each other, but always with affection behind it. If you love great family banter, Quinn is the master. Her dialogue just can’t be topped!

Humor (Yes/No-serious/some): Yes (tons!)

Humor is an integral part of a JQ book. As with everything else, the humor stems from who the characters are and their interactions with others. It shows up in the large family gatherings (with sibling banter flying), ballroom conversations between best friends, and small moments between the hero and heroine. Finding an example of this wasn’t hard, but choosing just one certainly was. If you’re a Quinn reader though, you know few scenes and romance can top the laughs from the Pall Mall game from The Viscount Who Loved Me:

Openmouthed with delight, Kate just stared for a moment as the pink ball sank into the lake. Then something rose up within her, some strange and primitive emotion, and before she knew what she was about, she was jumping about like a crazy woman, yelling, "Yes! Yes! I win!"

"You don’t win," Anthony snapped.

"Oh, it feels like I’ve won," she reveled.

Colin and Daphne, who had come dashing down the hill, skidded to a halt before them "Well done, Miss Sheffield!" Colin exclaimed. "I knew you were worthy of the mallet of death."

"Brilliant," Daphne agreed. "Absolutely brilliant."

Anthony, of course, had no choice but to cross his arms and scowl mightily.

Colin gave her a congenial pat on the back. "Are you certain you’re not a Bridgerton in disguise? You have truly lived up to the spirit of the game."

"I couldn’t have done it without you," Kate said graciously. "If you hadn’t hit his ball down the hill-"

"I had been hoping you would pick up the reins of his destruction," Colin said.

Honestly, you have seek out this scene in its entirety-though you may not want to read it on your morning subway ride. No one does family antics and hilarity quite like JQ in the Bridgerton series, so there will be laughs aplenty.

Emotional Angst (high/medium/low):High

We were torn about the emotional angst level to classify Julia Quinn’s books. On one hand, she is one of the funniest authors out there – how can a book that leaves you holding your sides from chuckling be angsty? Then again, I challenge anyone to read The Duke and I or The Viscount Who Loved Me without bawling. The heroes in both are charming, wonderful men, but each has dark, deep-running issue that has them sabotaging their own happiness over and over again. What makes the impact so flooring of both these, and other Quinn novels, is that the issues her characters have are true to life – children stutter and are shunned for it as Simon (the Duke of TDAI) was, people lose parents in small, torturous ways as Anthony (Viscount Bridgerton of TVWLM) did and sometimes the only way to overcome, or even accept, these hurts is with the help and compassion of someone you love. This real life parallel is what hits Julia Quinn readers so hard. The simple, raw pain of the characters that we can completely relate to is what speaks to us, as with Simon in this scene from The Duke And I after an argument with Daphne results in his greatest fear – not being able to control his speech again:

"Y-y-you-’"he finally managed.

Daphne stared at him in horror. "Simon?" she whispered.

He didn’t want this. He didn’t want her looking at him like he was some sort of freak. Oh God, Oh God, he felt seven years old again. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t make his mouth work. He was lost.

Daphne’s face filled with concern. Unwanted, pitying concern. "Are you all right?" she whispered. "Can you breathe?"

"D-d-d-d-d-’" It was a far cry from don’t pity me, but it was all he could do. He could feel his father’s mocking presence, squeezing at his throat, choking on his tongue.

"Simon?" Daphne said, hurrying to his side. Her voice grew panicked. "Simon, say something!"

She reached out to touch his arm, but he threw her off. "Don’t touch me!" he exploded.

She shrank back. "I guess there are still some things you can say," she said in a small, sad voice.

This is the same book in which the two main characters hilariously try to dodge one of Daphne’s suitors – a scene that has left many a reader laughing. It is precisely that laughter that makes moments like these so gut-wrenching, for these are characters we have laughed and smiled with, so to see them hurt makes it 1000 times more impactful.

Conflict (externally driven/internally driven/both): Internally driven

Like everything else, the conflict in Julia Quinn novels comes directly from the characters. It is their own faults and desires that are often get in the way of their happily ever afters. One of the best examples of this are the hero and heroine from On The Way To The Wedding (which, incidentally, is the ONLY romance novel Stephanie has ever cried in, so gripping is the emotional conflict) – every action each takes is a direct result of their internal motivations: Gregory, the youngest of the Bridgerton clan, has always believed in true love and that he would know it at once, which is why he overlooks his growing relationship with our heroine, Lucy, as he believes himself in love with her beautiful best friend, Hermione. Lucy, on the other hand, is where internally driven conflict is most detrimental to the pair’s relationship – she comes to love Gregory, but even when he finally wakes up from his Hermione-induced stupor, she can’t bring herself to marry him, out of loyalty to her family and their happiness. So, even though she loves him, the entire book she is warring with her own convictions and responsibilities – which, naturally, makes their eventual HEA so moving.

Heat level: (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Medium

The heat in Julia Quinn novel is definitely palpable and the sexual tension sky-high, but it doesn’t border on the erotica category of scorching or hot. Love scenes in JQ’s books are touching and a huge relief, after pages and pages of wanting these two people to be together, but they are more filled with humor and reality than scorching images. Which is not to say that the scenes aren’t fiery, how could they not be with the proud, charming Quinn heroes, but with only one or two true love scenes in each book, it’s the build-up and dying for release that makes these eventual consummations so effective.

If You Like Julia Quinn, You’ll Like-

If you’re looking for the humor of Julia Quinn in another historical, we’d highly recommend the historical romances of Patricia Cabot. This is actually the pseudonym of Young Adult queen, Meg Cabot, but she brings the same witty and warm tone to traditional romance that she is famous for in YA. Because of her overwhelming success in that genre, she’s stopped writing adult romance for the moment, but if you can get a copy of anything from her impressive historical backlist, you won’t be sorry – her characters are charming and their banter and laughter will keep the pages flying.

Similarly, Claudia Dain’s most recent releases, The Courtesan’s Daughter (The Courtesan Series) and The Courtesan’s Secret (The Courtesan Series), also mirror the light, witty humor that JQ does so splendidly. These two romances are also great for readers who want the fast-paced aspect of JQ’s novels – the events in both take place over only a few days, with complications and tension rising the whole way through. Though, be warned, once you pick one up, you won’t be able to stop reading-so you may want to clear your schedule!

If you’re looking for the character-depth and emotional impact similar to JQ’s The Duke and I or The Viscount Who Loved Me (with two of Quinn’s more tortured heroes), but don’t want to sacrifice the warmth, look into the backlists of Julie Anne Long and Julianne Maclean. These are two slightly lesser known historical authors, but they consistently deliver stellar books. While you’re waiting for Mr. Cavendish, I Presume, they can certainly distract you with books using more externally driven plots than JQ, but that still include the shading and detail of great characters – at the end of a book by either author, you may find yourself drying your eyes and smiling at the same time. Our personal favorites are: Long’s To Love a Thief (Warner Forever) and Maclean’s Love According to Lily.

Finally, if you want all the details of JQ – totally lovable characters, quick pacing, snappy dialogue, emotional depth, and most especially the humor – but don’t care too much whether it’s a historical or not, please, please, please go pick up a Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel. Yes, she’s a contemporary author, but her sense of emotion and biting humor are pretty much only rivaled by the great Ms. Quinn. Both authors are experts at having you laughing and crying in the same book – all because you love their characters so much that you can fully believe them and their situations as entirely real. If you’re a die-hard historical reader, but have been looking to break into Contemporary, you won’t be disappointed, we promise!

So, fellow JQ fans, what are some books you would recommend while waiting for her next release? Is there a debut author whom we’ve just got to try, or even an outside-genre pick who makes you think of the wonderful Ms. Quinn? We can’t wait to read your suggestions!

Related posts:

1. If You Like Julia Spencer-Fleming . . . Hosted by Val Kovalin
2. If You Like Mary Balogh . . . Hosted by Michelle Butler
3. REVIEW: On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn

Julia Spencer-Fleming’s latest release, I Shall Not Want, is the 6th book in her Clare Fergusson / Russ Van Alstyne mystery series.

If you would like to host an “If You Like” post, please email me at Jane at dearauthor.com

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If you like Julia Spencer-Fleming -

Julia Spencer-Fleming writes the Clare Fergusson / Russ Van Alstyne mystery series, which has strong crossover appeal to fans of romance and romantic suspense. To see why, please read on and rest assured that I don’t include any plot-spoilers.

I first ran across this series when I checked a list of mystery award-winners for reading suggestions. In the Bleak Midwinter won both an Agatha Award and a Dilys Award. The Agatha is for best cozy-mystery, a category that involves an amateur sleuth. The Dilys is given by independent bookstores to their favorite mystery. When I found out the heroine is an Episcopal priest, I had to read the books. I love characters who hold unusual jobs.

Now I’ve read all six books, and await the seventh. Here are my three favorites:

1. All Mortal Flesh (Book 5). Police procedural details, suspense, workplace politics, and huge changes in the characters’ lives. It doesn’t get much better than this.

2. In the Bleak Midwinter (Book 1). A very close second. This complex mystery keeps you guessing. Plus it’s a treat seeing the hero and heroine meet and experience the first glimmerings of their mutual attraction.

3. To Darkness and to Death (Book 4). Some readers lament that the increase in minor-characters’ viewpoints results in less interaction between hero and heroine. I find the story fast-moving and the multiple plotlines intriguing.

Setting (era): Contemporary

This is the modern world filled with rapid change, loneliness, and random violence.

Setting (geographic): Small New England town

Millers Kill is a fictional location in New York state. The name derives from the Dutch settlers: “kill” means river. It’s a place of harsh lingering winters, rural Yankee accents, and conservative morals. Saint Alban’s is one of the four churches in town, and the chief of police supervises eight cops plus a dispatcher.

Heroine type: Impulsive and Idealistic

Clare Fergusson is the thirtyish heroine, an Episcopal priest newly assigned to Millers Kill. Just so you know: in ritual and appearance, an Episcopal service preserves much of the beauty of a Catholic mass. The Episcopal Church itself is so liberal that it accepts female priests and gay priests and no longer requires the vow of celibacy.

However, Clare’s specific diocese is conservative. In A Fountain Filled with Blood she gets in trouble for performing a commitment ceremony for two gay men. Her ecclesiastical superiors want her to settle down as soon as possible with a respectable husband and children. As a new priest, she still questions her vocation. Previously, she flew helicopters as an army captain during Desert Storm.

She’s impulsive, idealistic, compassionate, and action-oriented. An adrenaline junkie, she loves dangerous situations and fast sports cars. Her keen intelligence comes from her advanced education, her profession which emphasizes rational and metaphoric thought, and her tendency towards flashes of insight. She’s not movie-star beautiful but striking like a vibrant character-actress. Here is the hero’s first impression of her from page 3 of In the Bleak Midwinter:

“She was plain, no makeup and nondescript dark blond hair scarped back in a ponytail. She had that overbred look he associated with rich women from the north side of town: high cheekbones and a long thin nose that was perfect for looking down at folks – Her eyes were the only exceptional thing about her, true hazel, like granite seen under green water.”

Hero type: Rugged and Reserved

Russ Van Alstyne is the fiftyish hero and the town’s chief of police. Like Clare, he is an army combat veteran; he served with the military police. Sometimes he and Clare become conscious of their age-difference: for example, she realizes that she was a little kid back when he was an eighteen year-old soldier in Vietnam.

He is rugged, reserved, taciturn, shrewd, cynical, blunt, and a little pessimistic. A recovering alcoholic, he has settled down to a quiet life in his old home town. He enjoys wood-working and home repair and loves his gorgeous wife Linda.

With Linda, he experiences that rough patch in a marriage when two people start growing apart but can still rekindle their love. He’s a cop who handles the grim realities of his profession by keeping everything to himself. Linda is an entrepreneur struggling with the time-consuming responsibilities of her custom-curtain business. Needing a sympathetic ear, Russ begins confiding in Clare. She reciprocates because he’s her first friend in town. Emotional intimacy ensues.

We glimpse Russ through action or others’ brief impressions. He fiddles with his glasses. Clare first notices his height (well over six feet tall) and big hands. The vivacious church-secretary Lois remarks on page 84 of In the Bleak Midwinter:

“He’s really quite attractive, don’t you think? – All that tousled hair and those sexy lines at the corners of his eyes.”

Later, Clare adds on page 161 of In the Bleak Midwinter:

“He had a fit, outdoors look to him, still slightly tan from last summer, his dark brown hair picked out with gold and copper. She’d have to disagree with Lois, his nose was too big and his lips were too nonexistent to call him handsome. But he looked like a man who had lived comfortably within his skin for the past forty-odd years – His eyes were Fourth-of-July blue, high and bright with the snap of a flag in the wind. But behind them she could see something moving, like pages turning in a book no one was allowed to read.”

Plot: (action-oriented / character-driven): Both

The books are action-oriented mysteries. A crime happens, which tests the hero and heroine through its aftermath and solving. Russ, of course, is the chief of police. But Clare gets believably involved: as a priest, she must comfort and guide the victims. The action-oriented plots are as follows:

Book 1 – In the Bleak Midwinter: Someone abandons a baby on the doorstep of Clare’s church. This opens a police investigation and then leads to a murder.

Book 2 – A Fountain Filled with Blood: Hate-crimes lead to the murder of a gay man. A controversial building project threatens to divide the town.

Book 3 – Out of the Deep I Cry: A hated doctor disappears under sinister circumstances that may connect to a decades-old secret tragedy.

Book 4 – To Darkness and to Death: In a single day, the town mobilizes all resources to find the missing sister of a reclusive rich man.

Book 5 – All Mortal Flesh: When someone close to Russ gets murdered, he is the prime suspect. Meanwhile, he and Clare each get micro-managed by suspicious superiors.

Book 6 – I Shall Not Want: A serial killer may be preying on undocumented migrant workers.

The series arc is character-driven. What ties the books together is the evolving relationship between hero and heroine. Clare and Russ find that they are soul mates. But they can’t just get rid of his wife or have an affair. Each would rather rip out his own heart than selfishly pursue what he wants at the cost of wrecking other people’s lives. Russ still loves his wife, but he’s coming to love Clare even more. Clare’s ecclesiastical superiors may force her to choose between the priesthood and Russ.

Plot (slow/fast): Fast.

Especially To Darkness and to Death, which happens during a single day.

Writing style (simple v. ornate): Simple

The simple writing style compliments the close third-person viewpoint. Clare is straightforward as is Russ; the minor characters are all unpretentious Yankees not given to excessive metaphor.

By contrast, the plotting is daring and ornate. The author doesn’t always serve up the same type of book. In the Bleak Midwinter is a classic mystery, offering a whodunit puzzle. Out of the Deep I Cry experiments with parallel plots separated in time. To Darkness and Death manages to streamline many plot-threads and viewpoints into action that spans a single day. All Mortal Flesh unfolds with the gritty realism of a police procedural.

Dialogue (lots v. little): Medium

We get enough for our leads to question the witnesses and gather the information they need to solve the crimes. Meanwhile Clare and Russ tell each other secrets, including the truth about his involvement in the Vietnam War. Minor characters such as insecure teenagers, feisty dispatchers, and cranky sextons establish their personalities with well-chosen expressions. We readers learn about the Episcopal Church and get some laughs as Clare struggles with the mismatched members of the vestry board to decide church policy. Much of the books’ humor comes from dialogue.

Humor (Yes/No-serious/some): Some

The emotional angst precludes too much comedy. But we get flashes of wry humor. Much of it centers on people’s different ways of seeing things. To Russ’s weary amusement, Clare expresses a wide-eyed fascination with police work and cop-show phrases such as “legwork.” The conservative members of Clare’s congregation gawk at the military memorabilia in her office, including a coffee mug printed with the logo “Death from the Sky!” The crusty sexton, unfamiliar with female priests, addresses Clare as “Father.”

Clare and Russ enjoy verbal sparring with worthy opponents like the unflappable dispatcher, Harlene. The snappy dialogue reaches inspired heights whenever Clare’s intermittent suitor Hugh Parteger arrives. A charming British investor, he LOATHES Russ. It’s entirely mutual – as their verbal dueling confirms.

Emotional Angst (high/medium/low): High

Tremendous emotional angst: Forbidden love! Guilt! His alcoholism. Her grief over her long-dead sister. His harrowing experiences in the Vietnam War. Her uncertainty about her vocation. And more that I must keep secret to avoid plot-spoilers.

Conflict (externally driven/internally driven/both): Both

The external conflict in each book is the crime to be solved. The internal conflict centers upon the forbidden love between hero and heroine.

Heat level: (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Kisses to Warm

Books 1 through 5 sustain a high level of sexual tension but not much physical contact. Book 6 I Shall Not Want introduces another couple who have a brief, tasteful, yet lusty sex scene. Plus, it allows Russ and Clare two scenes of passionate kissing as on page 126 of I Shall Not Want:

“He dug his fingers into her hair and pulled her to him, kissing her, deep hungry kisses that tasted of chocolate and peppermint. She moaned in the back of her throat and wrestled her hands free from around his waist to twine them about his neck. He bumped against the kitchen table and bent her back, kissing her, kissing her, her mouth and her jaw and the pulse trip-hammering in her throat. He felt something huge and powerful racing through him, sparking every nerve end, blanking out everything in the world except Clare, the taste of her, the sound of her, panting and gasping , the feel of her, oh, God, better than anything he had ever fantasized, as he yanked open her pajama top and pushed it aside and touched her, touched her, touched her. She cried out, and he shut her mouth with more kisses, wet and dark -”

Other variables to consider:

Books are written in third-person viewpoint, past-tense. Violence is mild to medium. These are American books, but not excessively peppered with slang.

If you like Julia Spencer-Fleming, you’ll like -

Priests under pressure? Get The Wonder Worker by Susan Howatch. An impoverished Englishwoman comes between a charismatic Anglican priest and his wife. The priest, who has powerful psychic abilities, struggles with the temptation to control people. Part of the Starbridge series, it balances romance and suspense.

Quirky character-interaction? Try Still Life by Louise Penny. When a beloved amateur artist gets murdered in a tiny Canadian town, Inspector Gimache from the Sûreté du Québec investigates. A compassionate man, he must manage the competing agendas of his volatile subordinates, and deal with the local eccentrics (that would be everybody). Two standout characters are husband-and-wife artists whose individual insecurity is matched only by their love for one another. Later in the Inspector Gimache series, they experience intense jealousy of one another and succumb to manipulative behavior. Penny does a brilliant job with the tensions between people who can’t stand each other and yet have to work together.

Tough heroine from a military background? Read the Evan Delaney series by Meg Gardiner about a writer who lives in Santa Barbara, California. A former lawyer, Evan comes from a family of Navy fighter pilots, and has a complicated relationship with her boyfriend, another lawyer. The author, a former lawyer herself, provides convincing professional details. In China Lake, Evan’s nephew and brother get targeted by a fanatical religious cult. This is an outstanding mystery, and it even includes a steamy sex scene!

Unrequited or forbidden love? Try the Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro mystery series by Dennis Lehane, but be warned: the violence is extreme. Patrick and Angela are terrific characters: tough, funny, sardonic, and smart. Childhood friends from working-class Boston, they become partners in a private investigation business. Our first-person narrator Patrick has always been hopelessly in love with Angela. In the first book, A Drink Before the War, she’s married to someone else. By the fourth book, the great Gone Baby Gone, Patrick and Angela get torn apart by their uncompromisingly opposing views on how to handle a case. I read the book in amazement, thinking, “My God, they’re both right!”

Readers, here is where I need help in the comments because I’m pathetically unfamiliar with romance titles. For someone who likes Julia Spencer-Fleming, what would you recommend?

Who would you recommend?

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
2. REVIEW: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming
3. St Martins Press Giving Away 2 FREE eBook Editions from Julia Spencer-Fleming

A brief history of the Crusie oeuvre: her first nine books, starting with Sizzle published in 1994, were category romances. Then came Tell Me Lies (1998) followed by five more single-title novels. In 2004 she began collaborating with Bob Mayer, a former Green Beret and the author of more than 30 books. Together they wrote Don’t Look Down (2006) and Agnes and the Hitman (2007). She also co-authored The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes with Eileen Dreyer and Anne Stuart; this is her only paranormal book.

Setting (era and geographic): Contemporary, USA

Crusie’s books are always in the here and now, set in America, and the action often takes place in small Midwestern towns. There are no exotic locations, no foreign parts, no travelogue scenes. In some of her books the insularity and peculiarity of small communities are integral plot elements, as in Manhunting, Charlie All Night, Welcome to Temptation, Tell Me Lies, and Crazy for You. In a town where everyone knows you and your business, other people’s expectations can be barriers to self-understanding and growth. And you can never escape your parents.

Occasionally those placid little towns are backdrops that mirror the ruts the protagonists find themselves in. In Crazy for You, Quinn the heroine is living with Bill, a fellow teacher.   Her life is okay, very ordinary and set, but she’s vaguely dissatisfied.

Then she meets a homeless mutt. She’s got a history of rescuing strays. She knows she can’t have a pet in the apartment she shares with Bill. But when Quinn can’t figure out a better solution, she decides to keep the dog.

This one little change in her life is the falling domino that sets off a series of events: she leaves Bill, chops off her hair, buys a house, and seduces her old friend and ex brother-in-law, Nick.   Her actions – her decision to "go for it" –   inspire her best friend to leave her husband and Quinn’s mother to move in with her lesbian lover.

Here’s another example. In the small town of Temptation, Phin Tucker is forever getting re-elected even though he is not sure he wants to be in the Mayor for Life rut. Sophie Dempsy and her sister breeze in from the big city (Cincinnati) to make a film. Phin takes one look at her and suddenly he’s in another type of rut.

Phin’s political rival and his mother, both Pillars of the Community, warn him to stay away from the trashy "movie people." Family histories, petty rivalries, and small town politics play out in the backdrop of Phin’s growing interest in a woman he considers to be the "devil’s candy."

As Phin’s seduction of Sophie progresses, the town’s water tower, like some sort of phallic mood ring, keeps changing color. It starts out flesh-colored. Then it’s painted with cheap red paint the same day Phin and Sophie have sex for the first time. As their relationship hits a rough patch, the color on the tower starts to bleed and run. By the end of the book its rosy color reflects the HEA.

Heroine Type: Feisty, Funny, Self-Assured

Crusie’s writing reflects the trend towards romance imitating life: her heroines are not the beautiful young innocents of yore. In some of her books the "difference" of those women is an integral part of the story, and dispensing with the convention gives life to the plot.   For instance, a significant age gap – older woman, younger man – is an important source of romantic conflict in Anyone But You. In Bet Me, Minerva Dobbs, the heroine, is overweight, and coming to grips with her fat is what brings the hero to his knees.

Some of Crusie’s heroines start out disabled by blows to their self-esteem – I am thinking here of Nell in Fast Women, depressed by the failure of her marriage, and Maddie in Tell Me Lies – but by the end of the book they’ve gained strength and self-assurance. Others are focused on career or some other goal (Lucy in Don’t Look Down, Allie in Charlie All Night, Kate in Manhunting, Mae in What a Lady Wants), and one is getting court-ordered therapy for her rage (Agnes in Agnes and the Hitman).   All of these attributes play a part in the romantic conflict. For example, Allie is trying to turn a reluctant Charlie into a media star so she can salvage her career; Lucy is directing a film and doesn’t know that the hero, J.T., has   infiltrated the set to foil terrorists. Kate is so determined to find a husband she’s made out a list of qualities, and she’s so focused on carrying out her plan she doesn’t realize the perfect guy is the one she’s been hanging out and drinking beer with.         

The heroines are usually in their thirties or forties.   Rocky past relationships are often key to subsequent actions; they’ve learned from past mistakes (Nell in Fast Women, Lucy in Don’t Look Down). They are upfront about their sexual needs, and the physical relationship is important to the heroine. In Strange Bedpersons it is Nick’s refusal to have sex in a parking lot (symptomatic of his buttoned-down personality) that leads Tess to split up with him. There’s no sign of that persistent, romantic double   standard: approval of female virginity and admiration of male promiscuity (a.k.a. "rakishness," and for an explanation of what that’s all about, check out Laura Vivanco’s post).

Au contraire, the women in Crusie’s books are just as comfortable with their sexuality as the men. Here’s 42-year-old Nell, who’s sitting in a restaurant with her ex-husband Tim, her one-night stand Riley, her hero, Gabe (the one-night-stand’s partner), her sister-in-law Suze, and the ex-husband’s new wife, the bitch Whitney.

-Gabe poured the last of the beers and said, "What shall we drink to?"

Nell looked around and said, "Good grief. Drink to me. I just realized I’ve slept with everybody at this table."

"And God knows we appreciate it," Riley said, while Tim gawked.

"Except for Whitney, of course," Nell said.

"To Nell," Gabe said, raising his glass.

"To Nell," Riley said and drank, and Suze clinked her glass with Nell and drank, too.

Whitney tried to share a superior eye-roll with Tim, but he was staring at Nell. She turned back to Nell and leaned across the table to her, looking condescending and amused. "That’s really wild of you. Three men in what? Fifty years?"

Die, bitch, Suze thought, and said, "And me." She held up her hand, and all three men turned to her on the instant, leaving Whitney with no audience at all. Suze beamed on the table impartially. "She’s a terrific kisser. And when you consider she’s nailed three of us in less than seven months, that’s pretty good." She patted Nell’s arm, thinking, Do not tell them we only necked. This is payback time.

Gabe had already turned to Nell, a grin splitting his face. "Hello?"

"After Riley, before you," Nell told Gabe solemnly. "I don’t cheat."

-Whitney looked at them sourly. "We don’t need the details."

"Oh, sure we do," Gabe said, not taking his eyes off Nell. "Start at the beginning. What were you wearing?"

"My blue silk pajamas," said Nell. "You know, the slippery -"

"God, yes," Gabe said.

"Just the top, though," Nell lied.

"Good, good," Gabe said.

"Did you get the bottoms?" Riley said to Suze.

She shook her head. "No, I was wearing an old T-shirt."

"Not as good as the silk thing," said Riley, "but acceptable. Was there a pillow fight? You get extra points if there’s a naked pillow fight."

Hero Type: Competent, Middle-Class, Manly Men

Crusie’s protagonists are regular guys. No billionaires or chairmen of the board, sheikh, Greek, or otherwise. They are typically unambitious, attractive, and good at what they do: auto mechanic (Nick in Crazy for You), detective (Gabe in Fast Women, Mitch in What the Lady Wants), book-shop owner (Phin Tucker in Temptation), disk jockey (Charlie in Charlie All Night), resort manager (Jake in Manhunting), cop (Zack in Getting Rid of Bradley), accountant (C.L. in Tell Me Lies), soldier (J.T. in Don’t Look Down).   

One character with a driving determination to succeed is Nick in Strange Bedpersons, and this is critical to the plot: his relentless ambition to make partner in his law firm is the source of conflict with his laid-back hippie girlfriend.

For the most part the heroes are content with their lives (until those lives are upended by the heroine), and this sometimes sets up the romantic conflict. For example, in Crazy for You, Nick likes his friendship with Quinn so much that he is loath to act on his sexual attraction for her. The same dynamic is at work in Anyone But You.

While they are all alpha males, none of them could be described as arrogant or overbearing. In most of the stories they approach love in typically guy fashion, which is to say, sidling up on it cautiously and ready to scuttle away at the first sign of a Cling-On female persona or the utterance of the C word (that would be commitment).

Villain Type: Believably Human

I’ve read so many complaints about unbelievably evil villains that I want to note that Crusie usually gets wrong right: except for the antagonists in Tell Me Lies, the baddies are more than just cardboard caricatures, and there’s none of the shorthand that relies on ugly prejudice, like making the villain gay. I seldom find myself wondering "Now, what’s the motivation for this dastardly deed?" Instead, the   antagonists’ emotions are revealed, and while they may not be sympathetic characters, at least you understand where they’re coming from.

An example is Bill, the control freak boyfriend in Crazy for You. His point-of-view is given throughout the book as he quietly goes mad trying to get Quinn back. He stalks her, sabotages her house, hurts her dog, attacks her, and yet in the end I felt sorry for him.   (This is a contrarian view, I think, as other readers have found him hateful; to me he seems deranged and pitiful.)

The beautiful, manipulative, slim Cynthie in Bet Me (she is fat Min’s foil) does what she can to derail Min and Cal’s romance, but she is nonetheless a sympathetic character. She’s in love, she wants him back, and her attempts to sabotage their relationship are just pathetic.

On the other hand, there’s the one-dimensional sniper in Don’t Look Down. What a creep. We get his point of view, and what a nasty one it is. (Spoiler alert: he’s done in by a five-year-old, the hero, and the alligator in the swamp, in that order.)

And then there are the dogs

Animals in Crusie books are comedic counterpoints to move the plot along, and they do it better than the plunging stallions found on the covers of some older romances.  

The creatures are invariably losers until they have the good fortune to be taken in by the heroine. The mangy cat in Bet Me bolts inside Min’s apartment and soon learns to channel Elvis; Fred in Anyone But You is a reject from the pound who brings the hero and heroine together.

The cat is smart, but the dogs? They may have brief flashes of perception when they attack an antagonist, but the rest of the time they are charmingly stupid. Here’s an excerpt from Getting Rid of Bradley. Zack has arrived to question Lucy, who had beaten him up earlier with a physics book. She thinks he’s a mugger, slams the door on his foot, warns him she’s got vicious attack dogs, and then learns he’s a police detective.   

She closed the door behind him and then opened the vestibule door, and the dogs attacked.

The big sheep dog was the first to reach him. It immediately leaned heavily against his leg, shedding all over his jeans and drooling into his shoe. The little skinny brown one draped itself over Zack’s uninjured foot and stared off into space at nothing in particular. And the one that looked like a floor mop barked at him once and then rolled over onto its back with all four short legs in the air and lay there, motionless.

"These are vicious attack dogs?"

Plot (action-oriented / character-driven): Both

Sometimes the action in the plot is so screwball comedy it seems it’s being driven by one of those miniature clown cars. In Manhunting, Kate keeps accidentally maiming her dates; in Agnes and the Hitman, Agnes has a penchant for whacking faithless lovers and anyone else who crosses her with frying pans; in Welcome to Temptation, Sophie uses her experiences with Phin to write sex scenes for the movie she and her sister are making.

Even events as unamusing as death have comical elements: a wife beans her husband with her Franciscan Desert Rose pitcher and the body is stuffed in a freezer (Fast Women); after a blackmailer who’s threatened half the town suffers a heart attack, his body is moved, run over twice, shot, and clubbed (Welcome to Temptation).

The exception is Don’t Look Down, which is more romantic-suspense-serious than any of Crusie’s previous works, with a gruesome body count and moments of angst, as when a child is lost in the swamp and later, kidnapped. This is one book that’s almost entirely action-oriented.

But the more central plot mover is the protagonists’ characters; as mentioned above, the men are often commitment-leery, getting into the relationship because of a mutual physical attraction, but not sure they want to take it any deeper.   Or, the hero or heroine may fear that a perfectly good friendship will be ruined by sex. These are some of the barriers to resolution.

All these hurdles are overcome as the main characters get to know each other and as the commitophobic hero falls in love. In the beginning of What a Lady Wants, Mitch explains what it is men want:

"-the fact is, men cheat. We have to. It’s a biological imperative."

"An imperative," Mae repeated. "This would be testosterone we’re talking about here, right?"

"Well, that’s part of it. But a lot of it is just man’s need to see what’s beyond the next hill. It’s the reason men crossed the oceans, built the pipeline, opened the West-Look, there’s no point in getting upset about this. You can’t understand because you’re a woman, and women don’t think like that."

"Women don’t want to open the West?"

"No. Women want to say home and keep the East looking nice."

Mae took a deep breath as a red mist rose before her eyes. "You’re deliberately trying to make me kill you, aren’t you?"

"No." Mitch’s voice was the Voice of Reason. "This is just biology. Men need multiple breasts in their lives. Women need to make a commitment to one penis."

By the end of the book, though, it’s "No more pipeline. I’ve lost all my interest in the West. The only thing I want to explore is you."

Plot (slow / medium / fast): Medium to Fast

In Crusie’s category romances the plot moves along at a pretty fast clip, partly due to the shortage of the story (getting to HEA in 60,000 words or less). This doesn’t detract from the buildup or denouement; there’s just less detail in the subplots and fewer characters to keep track of.

The later single-title books have more action, more nuance, and more fully developed subplots, and Crusie takes more time to describe the difficulties that are keeping the lovers from resolving their conflicts.

Writing style (simple vs. ornate): Simple words, straightforward narration, showing not telling, multiple points of view

Crusie doesn’t suffer from adjectivitis, and there’s not a lot of lyrical description of settings or people. There is, instead, abundant dialogue to reveal character, and simple actions to evoke the sense of place. For example, the police chief and mayor in Temptation volunteer to fix plumbing and electrical problems for newcomers – something that could happen in an idealized small town. Bet Me takes place in a city large enough to have a yuppie bar, several restaurants, Little League teams, and apartment buildings, and we learn all this because that’s where the scenes take place.     

The stories start out in the heroine’s head. When the hero arrives on scene we get his perspective, and later and to a lesser degree, that of friends, family, or antagonists. It’s given as deep point of view nearly always with the two main characters, and sometimes with ancillary characters: their thoughts accompany the dialogue and action. There’s no shifting POV from one paragraph to the next, so it’s not difficult to keep track of whose experience we are reading about; we get one head per scene.

Dialogue: (lots / little / balanced): Lots

There’s dialogue on just about every page; even the backstory often comes out in conversations.

Humor (Yes / No-serious / Some): Yes, Lots

I think what distinguishes Crusie from many other contemporary romance writers is the humor and wit that saturate her books, including, in some stories, the clever incorporation of cultural references that enhance the theme.

The sexual banter can be amusing at the same time it’s arousing, but just as funny are scenes and dialogue with friends. Here’s an example from the beginning of the long seduction of Min in Bet Me. Cal has picked her up in a bar and taken her to an Italian restaurant to win a ten-dollar bet:

"Ah, Mr. Morrisey," Emilio said, and Cal turned to meet his old roommate’s glare. "How excellent to see you again."

"Emilio," Cal said. "This is Min Dobbs." He turned back to Min. "Emilio makes the best bread in town."

"I’m sure you make the best everything, Emilio," Min said, offering him her hand. She looked up at him from under her lashes, and her wide smile quirked wickedly.

Emilio cheered up, and Cal thought, Hey, why didn’t I get that?

Emilio clasped her hand. "For you, my bread is poetry. I will bring my bread as a gift to your beauty, a poem to your lovely smile." He kissed the back of her hand, and Min beamed at him and did not pull her hand away.

"Emilio, Min is my date," Cal said. "Enough kissing already."

Min shook her head at him, with no beam whatsoever. "I’m not anybody’s date. We don’t even like each other." She turned back to Emilio, smiling again. "Separate checks, please, Emilio."

"Not separate checks, Emilio," Cal said, exasperated beyond politeness. "But a table would be good."

"For you, anything," Emilio said to Min and kissed her hand again.

Unbelievable, Cal thought, and kicked Emilio on the ankle when Min turned to look at the restaurant again. The guy was married, for Christ’s sake.

"Right this way," Emilio said, wincing, He showed them to the best table by the window, slid Min into a bentwood chair, and then stopped by Cal long enough to say under his breath, "I sent the servers home half an hour ago, you bastard."

"You’re welcome," Cal said loudly, nodding to him.

Crusie’s stories are very American, and the pop cultural references can make her humor somewhat obscure to a reader who’s not up on cult classics. In Welcome to Temptation, in which the plot revolves around the making of a movie, Sophie repeatedly uses film quotes to mask her anxiety. You’ve heard of film noir (Prizzi’s Honor, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas); you may have heard of film blanc (feel good, care bear movies). And then there’s film blank, which I characterize as comedic nonsense (Tootsie, Stripes, Young Frankenstein, Rocky Horror Picture Show).   Crusie uses quotes from these movies to punctuate the dialogue, and there is an interesting progression in the book: as the quotes go from black to blank, Sophie goes from thinking Temptation is Amityville to finding it a "nice little town." In the beginning of the book it’s mostly fear and loathing and looking out for dive-bombing bats; toward the middle and at the end it’s more "Oh, you men are all alike. Seven or eight quick ones and then you’re off with the boys" (Young Frankenstein) and "This isn’t the chamber of commerce, Brad" (Rocky Horror). These scenes are funnier if you "get" the references.

For the reader with a higher brow, here’s an example of how Cruse uses the classics to heat up a seduction scene.   In Crazy for You, Quinn and Nick have split up over his fear of commitment (which he expressed by rolling out of bed and suggesting they have a post-coital pizza), and he’s trying to recover:   

"I did not pancake the third time."   Nick came closer, blocking her off from the rest of the stage, and her pulse kicked up as she edged back until she was flat against the wall. "I may have made a small musical error and blown my dismount, but pancake, no. As I keep reminding you, you came."

"I faked it," Quinn lied.

"You did not," Nick said. "You were like wet Kleenex afterward."

"Thank you," Quinn said. "That was very romantic. You can go now."

"You liked it," he said, and she refused to meet his eyes.

"Some."

"A lot." He leaned over her, his hand on the wall above her head, and she could feel herself flush, just because he was that close. "We should try it again-Want to talk Shakespeare with me?"

Quinn put as much scorn into her voice as she could. "You don’t know Shakespeare."

" "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds,’ " he said. -

Quinn tried to glare at him without meeting his eyes. "Where’d you read the sonnets? They’re putting them on cereal boxes now?"

"College," Nick said. "GI Bill, remember? Business major, English minor. Good for seducing women. "The grave’s a fine and private place, but none, I think do there embrace.’ Be a shame if we never tried again and died not knowing."

"I can live with that."

He leaned closer, his cheek almost touching hers, and whispered in her ear,             " "License my roving hands, and let them go/Before, behind, between, above, below.’ " His breath was warm on her skin. "Let me touch you again. Come back to me, Quinn. I’ll drive you out of your mind, I swear."

"Who was that one? I got Marvell, but not -"

"Donne. My favorite." He looked down into her eyes, so close. " "Thy firmness makes my circle just/And makes me end where I began.’ Come home with me tonight."

Finally, there is Bet Me. The story is bracketed by the classic lines of a fairy tale: it starts "Once upon a time" and ends with "They all lived happily ever after."   At the heart of it, Crusie turns the Cinderella fairy tale on its head. It starts off with Cal (Prince Charming) completely unimpressed with Min, who looks like a prison warden in an ugly gray suit. He’s not interested in marriage, and neither of them are smitten. It is so not love at first sight that they spend half of the book determined to avoid each other, and when random events (or bets) throw them together, they argue – mostly about what Min is not eating. There are no ugly stepsisters; instead, there are two beautiful friends and a beautiful sister, Diana, who all think Min is wonderful and deserving of a prince. Cal brings Min a gift of open-toed, fur-lined bunny slippers – about as far from a glass slipper as you can get.   When they finally make love it is on a pumpkin-colored sofa.

Bet Me has another theme: food as a metaphor for love and acceptance. Min is dieting to get into an ugly maid-of-honor dress for Diana’s wedding, and throughout the book Min’s mother nags her to stay away from carbs and butter. At the outset Min is doing her best to comply; she has a poor self-image. Then Cal persuades her to sample forbidden fruit (bread and doughnuts) and finally tells her that losing weight is misguided in a woman with her body type, and unnecessary anyway:

"The truth is, most guys would rather go to bed with you than with a coat hanger, you’re a lot more fun to touch, but most women don’t believe that. You keep trying to lose weight for each other."

Min rolled her eyes. "So I’ve been sexy all these years? Why hasn’t anybody noticed?"

"Because you dress like you hate your body," Cal said. "Sexy is in your head and you don’t feel sexy so you don’t look it."

"Then how do you know I am?" Min said, exasperated.

"Because I’ve looked down your sweater," Cal said, flashing back to that. "And I’ve kissed you, and I have to tell you, your mouth is a miracle. Now eat something."

At the same time Cal is accepting Min as she is and trying to get her to eat what she wants, Diana’s fiancé Greg is failing to provide food. He’s supposed to order the wedding cake, but doesn’t; he’s supposed to bring wine to a family dinner, but forgets; he’s supposed to arrange for the rehearsal supper, and neglects to do so. Each time this happens Min and Cal save the day. Greg doesn’t love Diana.

Emotional Angst (high / medium / low): Low to Medium

In the romance realm, any tension derives from conflict resolution on the road to the happy ending, and each emotional moment should lead to change. We expect the protagonists to stay in character at the same time they are growing. When they do fall in love it shouldn’t be irrational or the result of a   deux ex affecta (the emotional equivalent of a deux ex machina).   

Emotional moments in Crusie have very little bathos. Changes can be painful or difficult, but never as emotionally wrenching as what is found in works by Laura Kinsale, for example; and they makes sense in the context of the characters’ development.

In Tell Me Lies, Maddie lives according to others’ expectations, and she covers up for her husband for fear of what others will think. When her daughter, distraught because of   her father’s death, accuses her of being a liar, Maddie has an epiphany that lets her move forward with healthier relationships.

Then there’s the final revelation in Welcome to Temptation. Sophie’s going to marry Phin and they’ll have four thousand useless Tucker for Mayor – More of the Same posters, since he has decided not to run again. That’s when she sees her destiny:

She’d have two years to get to know everybody in town. That was only about two thousand people; she could do that. And she could make a difference, she was good at making people do what she wanted. She was born to make people do what she wanted.

"My God," she said, as the full meaning of her family’s legacy for lying, cheating, and scheming hit her.

She was born to be a politician.

To paraphrase a famous quote from the movie A League of Their Own: There is no crying in Crusie.

Conflict (externally-driven / internally-driven / both): Both

Crusie has "opposites attract" as a set up for the romantic conflict. Min is an actuary, Cal is a risk taker; Phin is respectable, Sophie is not; Kate is focused, Jake is laid-back; Gabe is a slob, Nell is orderly.

The internal conflict is often due to the protagonists’ insecurities and uncertainties: Min thinks she is unattractive because she is overweight; Sophie is the low-class "daughter of a thousand felons" from a family with a tradition of con artistry; Nell is shattered by the end of what she had thought was a good marriage.

In some of the books, external conflict comes from family and friends. In Tell Me Lies, Maddie has ample reason to divorce her cheating husband, but her mother tries to guilt her out of it. In Bet Me, Min’s mother tries to keep her away from fattening food, her friend Liza tries to keep her away from Cal, and her ex-boyfriend David sets up the bet that creates all the trouble. In Welcome to Temptation, family members try to sabotage Sophie and Phin’s relationship.   

Heat level (kisses / warm / hot / scorching): Hot

The sex scenes are funny and hot. The buildup of interest may be long or short – it varies from months (Fast Women) to mere days (Welcome to Temptation) – but it’s always the culmination of some funny verbal foreplay. Here’s an example from Manhunting:

"Are you playing pool tonight with me or not?"

"Yes," Kate said. "But I’m going to win."

"Oh?" Jake looked amused. "And what makes you think that?"

Kate batted her eyes at him once. "I’m not going to wear any underwear."

Jake looked at her for a moment and then pulled his hat back over his face. "Me neither," he said.

There isn’t a lot of explicit description. We get the woman’s perspective, what she’s thinking and feeling, and then we get post-coital comedy.

Here’s later on in Manhunting, after sex in an old rowboat out on a lake:

Gradually she realized there was something wrong.

"Jake, have you noticed the wet spot is bigger than usual?"

"Hmm."

"Jake, I’m all wet."

"I don’t care," he said into her neck. "I’m not making love to you again tonight. I have to   be able to walk around tomorrow."

"Not that kind of wet." She pushed him off her and sat up. "The boat is leaking."

"What?" He put his hand between the cushions where her hip had been. The boat was filling with water. "I knew I heard something crack a while back. I thought it was my spine. Thank God, it’s just the boat."

"Just the boat?" Kate grabbed her tank top and pulled it on over her head.

"I was wrong." He lay back against the cushions, exhausted and happy. "You’re not going to kill me with sex. You’re going to drown me."

"Jake, the boat is going down."

"So did you." He smiled at her in the moonlight. "Have I mentioned that was great?"

She grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him. "Jake!"

He sat up slowly. "What do you want me to do? Sing "Nearer, My God, to Thee’?"   

If you like Jennifer Crusie, you’ll like-

Crusie at her best is incomparable.   

This is true of other great romance authors as well, but they are incomparable in other ways. I read Janine’s description of Laura Kinsale’s novels as I was writing this, and was continually reminded of the famous Monty Python line: And now for something completely different! Kinsale is uniquely excellent, but her work could not be more different from Jennifer Crusie’s.

The closest I’ve found to Crusie is Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Match Me If You Can and Natural Born Charmer, in particular, are very similar in tone, treatment, and story arc.   She incorporates comedy, interesting subplots, great friendships, and well-developed characters in contemporary stories that are set in the American heartland.

Mr. Perfect, by Linda Howard, has got some wonderful give and take between an assertive heroine and a cop. But it gets less and less funny as sympathetic characters are killed off.

Nora Roberts is another author who melds wit and humor with hot romance, but her later novels are more romantic-suspense than Crusie’s; there’s likely to be a murder plot driving the action, often a loathsome serial killer, and that can be a real downer. Probably the closest to Crusie are the stories about the Quinn brothers: Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor, and Chesapeake Blue.

I recently started reading Rob Byrnes, who writes m/m romance. When the Stars Come Out is a lighthearted, charming book about the difficulties of being who you are in a world where people expect you to be someone else. It’s more sweet than erotic.

For more in the sweet, not particularly hot line, there is Susan Wiggs. She writes contemporaries as well as historical romances. Her Lakeshore Chronicles are set in a small town and tell the story of connected families.

Suzanne Brockmann writes hilarious romantic suspense with unconventional heroes (in the sense that they may be short, balding, older, gay, or otherwise different from the usual) and heroines who kick ass and take names.

Janet Evanovich has the same sort of comedic outlook as Crusie, I am told, but she’s been hit or miss for me. I couldn’t get into the Plum line, but read Metro Girl and liked it. Then, unfortunately, I picked up Love Overboard (one of her older categories), got to the part where it is revealed that the heroine is an ex-cop in her thirties and still a virgin, soldiered on, got to the part where "her doodah started to hum a little tune," and could not go on. The magic was gone. So if anyone can suggest other books of hers that are funny but doodah-less, I’d like to know the titles.

Improper English by Katie MacAlister has some high comedy, a hot romance, a wonderful hero, and a not so wonderful heroine. The humor devolves into slapstick at times, but I’d give some of her other books a go.

Blame It on Paris by Jennifer Greene was recently reviewed here by Jayne, and while I haven’t read the book, it sounds like fun.

Smart Mouth and Heiress for Hire by Erin McCarthy are funny contemporaries; most of her other books are paranormals, and don’t work as well for me.

If you, gentle reader, have any other ideas, I’d like to hear them.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Don’t Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
2. Jennifer Crusie to work on solo book in 2007
3. Wherein A Bestselling Author (Jennifer Crusie) Responds

Please be aware that the post below may contain some spoilers.

***

Laura Kinsale

My first experience of Laura Kinsale was the riveting Seize the Fire. The story of the cynical, out-for-himself Sheridan Drake and the idealistic dreamer Princess Olympia of Oriens was so gut-wrenching that I was afraid to finish it. It was clear that Olympia’s idealism and Sheridan’s cynicism were on a collision course, and that things would get worse for them before they got better.

Yet, though I dreaded what might happen to Sheridan and Olympia with the turn of each page, I also could not put the book down. The ultimate shattering of Olympia’s innocence was painful — but it was one of the most powerful things I have read in any book, in any genre. The last few pages of the book, in which Sheridan opens up to Olympia about his past and wonders whether his words will make a difference are so potent and so visceral that though I’ve reread them many times, they have never lost their emotional power.

When I finished Seize the Fire, I was certain of three things: the book had affected me more deeply than any romance ever had, I would never be able to reread it in its entirety, and it would stay on my keeper shelf for years to come.

It took a long time for me to get up the nerve to try Kinsale again, but the second time I tried her, with Flowers from the Storm, I was relieved to find that it wasn’t quite as gut-wrenching as Seize the Fire… but it was just as fierce and potent in a different way, just as beautifully written, just as meaningful and thought-provoking, and even more romantic.

I went on to read Kinsale’s entire backlist, and I discovered that few books can match the romanticism of hers, and no other romance author has written as many books that have such a strong effect on my emotions. The Shadow and the Star is my second favorite book in the romance genre, and I’ve reread it, For My Lady’s Heart and The Dream Hunter more times than I can count. Flowers from the Storm is also a favorite, and has appeared in survey after survey as one of the most beloved romances. If you’ve never read her before, you are in for a spectacular experience.

Setting (era): A variety of historical eras

Kinsale’s settings are as diverse as the fourteenth century (For My Lady’s Heart and its sequel, Shadowheart), the late eighteenth century (Uncertain Magic and The Prince of Midnight), the early nineteenth century (My Sweet Folly), Regency England (Midsummer Moon and Flowers from the Storm), the 1820′s (Seize the Fire), the 1840′s (The Dream Hunter), and the Victorian era (The Hidden Heart and its sequel, The Shadow and the Star).

Setting (geographic): England and many other locales

Every single one of Kinsale’s novels takes place at least partly in England. But roughly two-thirds of them take place in one or two other locales as well. Thus, The Hidden Heart takes place partly on board ship, Uncertain Magic partly in Ireland, Seize the Fire partly in Madeira and the Falkland Islands, The Prince of Midnight partly in France, The Shadow and the Star partly in Hawaii, The Dream Hunter partly in the Arabian desert, and Shadowheart partly in Italy.

Heroine type: Varied

If Kinsale has a heroine type, I’m stumped as to what it is. Her heroines each have unique personalities and come from diverse backgrounds. Like her heroes, they are psychologically complex, but they range from innocent and sometimes painfully naive (Olympia from Seize the Fire or Leda from The Shadow and the Star) to experienced and bitterly cynical (Leigh from The Prince of Midnight and Melanthe from For My Lady’s Heart). Even when two have something in common — for example, Melanthe and Folie from My Sweet Folly are both widows first married at a young age; Leda and Zenia from The Dream Hunter are both born on the wrong side of the blanket — they have vastly different temperaments and attitudes toward their circumstances. If readers’ opinions on this differ from mine, I would welcome hearing them.

Hero type: Alone, tortured and determined

Kinsale has a knack for putting her characters through the wringer, but it makes her endings that much happier. Several of her heroes suffer from a physical or psychological malady or disability that they must overcome. Faelan from Uncertain Magic and Robert from My Sweet Folly are both wrongly thought to be mad, and suffer some symptoms that indicate they may be dangerous. S.T. Maitland from The Prince of Midnight is a former highwayman who has lost his sense of balance, while Samuel from The Shadow and the Star was sexually abused as a child and therefore represses his own sexuality. Christian, duke of Jervaulx from Flowers from the Storm is unable to communicate due to post-stroke aphasia and his troubles are compounded when his relatives believe him mad and have him put in a lunatic asylum. It would be a huge spoiler to reveal what it is that torments Sheridan in Seize the Fire.

Even when one of her heroes is relatively well adjusted, they frequently experience feelings of aloneness at some point in the story (aloneness as opposed to being part of a couple is a theme that recurs in Kinsale’s books), and are still tormented by something — often a need to prove themselves to someone, be it the heroine (The Prince of Midnight, The Dream Hunter), a mentor (The Shadow and the Star), society or a monarch (Flowers from the Storm, For My Lady’s Heart), or oneself (even if that means proving one doesn’t give a damn, as in Seize the Fire). Their determination to prove themselves, overcome the forces that hold them back, and attain their goal can reach epic proportions, and is one of the things that makes them so very heroic.

Kinsale’s heroes and heroines are psychologically complex and multidimensional. Some of them are wounded people and some are not, but all of them have acutely vulnerable interiors (though some hide them beneath a tough exterior).

Plot (action-oriented/character-driven): Character-driven

Kinsale’s plots are almost always driven by the intense internal conflicts that her characters are faced with. Even in a book like For My Lady’s Heart, which has a large cast of characters, everything that happens is the result of the emotions of those characters. To take an example from that book, when Princess Melanthe’s happiness with Ruck, the man she has fallen in love with, is threatened by Gian, a ruthless man who will stop at nothing to attain Melanthe’s hand and her lands, Melanthe must decide whether to place her trust in Gian’s son Allegreto, who is in a position to help her. Allegreto, however, is torn between the loyalty and fear he feels for his father, and his feelings for someone else, whom Melanthe can protect. It’s a beautifully intricate, complex plot, but everything in it stems from the characters’ emotions and personalities, and everything depends on their decisions. By the end of the novel, the characters are lined up like dominoes: if one falls they will all come down. But it never feels less than convincing because no one ever behaves uncharacteristically to accommodate a plot device.

Pace (slow/medium/fast): Medium

Kinsale’s books tend to run long (Shadowheart, the most recent, has 502 pages), but that is not the same as slow paced. Often they begin with a slow build up in, but by the end, events are coming fast and furious. So I would say medium.

Writing style (simple v. ornate): Intricate and lyrical

If forced to choose between these two descriptors, simple and ornate, I would have to say Kinsale’s style is ornate, but I think better words are intricate and lyrical.

Her sentences can be long and elaborate, but to me, their rhythms serve to accentuate the emotions that her characters, and by extension, I myself, feel when reading them. Her words also possess a sharp clarity. She can render her setting so vivid that the images that form in my mind’s eye when I read are breathtaking.

Take this example, from The Dream Hunter :

Something about the clear winter light and the deep ruddiness of the setting sun tinted everything with crimson and vermilion, like a twilight in the red sands — it brought the desert back vividly — just so had she sat, just so, in silence, looking a little down, singing softly in the vast emptiness… and strangely, as if the light revealed some lost aspect of reality or memory or vision — he saw her fully, for the first time, as the same companion who had sat beside him there. The same face, the same person, the same heart.

All his memories conformed at last — the free-striding youth had not vanished, had not died, but been different all along. It was not a boy; it had never been: it was this woman beside him who had mounted a camel by a graceful athletic swing upon its neck, who had slept close at his back; who had let him braid turquoise and pearl into her hair, it was this sober, beautiful, pensive young woman who had rationed his water and food for him in the sands and labored up the endless dunes and wept as he lifted her up onto a camel’s back, so thin and light she was nothing.

Kinsale is also not afraid to challenge her readers and has been known to take some risks with her prose. In For My Lady’s Heart some Middle English words are woven through some of the dialogue, while in some sections from Flowers from the Storm the hero’s POV thoughts mimic his aphasia. While these portions of the books demand a little extra effort, they are rewarding because they convey the characters’ mindset so well.

Dialogue (lots/little/balanced): Balanced

Kinsale doesn’t skimp on description, as the quote above shows, but her books also contain their share of wonderful dialogue. The conversation between the characters reveals their personalities and their emotions, and always moves the story forward.

Here’s an exchange between Samuel and Leda after she discovers that he, a man she barely knows, has been breaking into her rented room at night.

“Miss Etoile, I have been in this room every night for the past week and more. Have I hurt you? Have I touched one of your possessions?”

“What?” Her voice went up to an unladylike squeal. “You’ve been coming in my room for a week?”

“And you’ve known nothing of it, have you? Until you moved everything and bathed yourself and the whole room in that exceptionally odorous soap.”

“You are mad! What has soap to do with anything?”

“It reeks. That hampered me.”

“It does not reek,” she said indignantly. “Hudson’s has no smell.”

“It reeks,” he said. “But it’s my responsibility–my mistake–I was too impatient; I allowed my perceptions to become disordered.”

“Certainly it’s your responsibility. It isn’t mine! I’ve every right to clean my floor and move my furnishings if I please, without some housebreaker complaining of it! And–and hanging up in the eaves like a horrid vampire bat!” She felt herself flushing. “I will never forgive you for that, sir! Never! You could have spoken, when you saw I had called the police! You could have revealed yourself!”

From The Shadow and the Star

Humor (Yes/No-serious/some): Some

Midsummer Moon is considered Kinsale’s lightest book. Most of her other novels are so emotionally intense that people sometimes forget that there is also some subtle humor in them. The section of dialogue I quoted above is one example. Here is another, from the epistolary opening of My Sweet Folly:

Cambourne House, Calcutta
15 October 1900

My dear Cousin Charles,

I disturb your peace at my father’s behest. He wishes me to investigate the progress of a lawsuit concerning the proper location of a hedgerow. Knowing and caring nothing of this hedgerow, except that it languishes, properly or improperly, in Shropshire, I beg you will do me the favor of not replying to this inquiry.

Emotional Angst (high/medium/low): High

The characters in Laura Kinsale’s books go through their share of heartbreak. It’s not so much that her characters suffer things characters in other books don’t, but rather that they seem so real, that Kinsale favors showing over telling, and that she reveals her heroes and heroines from inside, peeling back layers of determination and yearning and vulnerability. The result is that their longing for one another has is as acute and intense as it could be, and the pages of her books are saturated with emotion.

Conflict (externally driven/internally driven/both): Both, but with a stronger emphasis on internally-driven conflict

While the internal conflict is always more pronounced in Kinsale’s books, it is usually exacerbated by an external conflict. For example, in Flowers from the Storm, Maddy, a devout Quaker, and Christian, a rake, are brought together when she helps him escape from her uncle’s asylum after realizing he is perfectly sane.

The internal conflict is that in helping Christian escape, Maddy becomes separated from her Quaker community, and she fears that marriage to Christian will cut her off from them, and from a devout life, forever. She also disapproves of Christian’s rakish pre-stroke lifestyle, and is therefore unsure whether loving him is the right thing.

In addition to that central internal conflict, there are external obstacles which include a Quaker gentleman who is determined to return Maddy to the fold, Christian’s family members who seek to separate him from Maddy and return him to the asylum, and Christian’s former mistress who has recently given birth to his illegitimate daughter. Each of the external conflicts has an effect on the internal conflict.

Heat level: (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Hot bordering on scorching

With the exception of Shadowheart which contains some pain play, Kinsale’s books don’t generally contain unusual sex acts. But they are some of the hottest scenes I’ve ever read nonetheless, and I would argue that their heat level stems from the way the characters’ intense emotions are woven through them. For example, this excerpt from The Dream Hunter comes as Arden and Zenia expect to be put to death the next morning and try to take comfort from one another.

“Am I like honey?” she asked, shyly, half beneath her breath.

“No,” he said. He leaned down and kissed her, his whole body pressed against her. He pushed his hands up into her hair and held her face between his palms. “You’re like water. Like bright water.” He bent his face to her throat. “Oh, God, so bright and cold that it hurts to drink.”

She felt him, his body ready to mount hers. He was heavy, lying atop her. She had never seen a man unclothed, though she had lived among them, for the Bedu were painfully modest even among their own. But she had seen animals, and boy children, and she knew. It frightened her a little, but the terror that lay beyond, outside this small circle of their bodies locked together, was so huge that her fright seemed like elation.

“Is that a stupid thing to say? I could live without honey,” he said, muffled against her throat. “I can’t live without water.”

Strangely, happily, she began to weep. She put her arms around his shoulders. “No. It is not stupid.”

There is a raw, almost shocking intimacy to this scene, something that is very much the case with Kinsale’s other love scenes as well.

If You Like Laura Kinsale, You’ll Like . . .

Ah, this is the toughest part here. I’ve never found another romance author whose books match Kinsale’s for pure emotional intensity. Truthfully, she is incomparable, and I think any romance reader who has not read her is missing out on greatness.

But there are other authors whose books have some similar qualities. Here (listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name) are my suggestions for other readers who, like me, adore Kinsale’s work and are looking for something to read between now and when her next book comes out.

Shana Abe’s drakon series (The Smoke Thief, The Dream Thief, and Queen of Dragons). I haven’t read most of Abe’s earlier backlist yet. Although the drakon books are paranormal historicals with shapeshifter heroes and heroines, Abe’s heroes possess a similar determination to Kinsale’s, and her heroines are reminsicent of some of Kinsale’s tougher ones. The books are set in Georgian England and have both internal and external conflict. Abe’s writing style is also lyrical and it reminds me of Kinsale’s at times.

Mary Balogh’s traditional regencies and early single titles. This choice may be a stretch since Balogh’s writing style and character types are quite different from Kinsale’s. But Balogh’s earlier books are filled with emotional angst. Set in Regency and Georgian England, these books have character-driven plots and lots of internal (as well as some external) conflict.

Joanna Bourne. Of Bourne’s two regency set historicals, I’ve only read The Spymaster’s Lady, and while it didn’t work so well for me, many other readers loved it and I do think Bourne’s writing style is lyrical and has a similar richness to Kinsale’s. Her two books have been set in England and France, had a good balance of dialogue and description, some humor as well as some angst, and both internal and external conflict. Also, my gut tells me that Bourne could appeal to Kinsale’s readers.

Elizabeth Chadwick’s medievals. Chadwick’s books, like Kinsale’s, are exceptionally well researched, and her heroes are both determined and vulnerable. Her settings are geographically varied and her writing style reminds me a bit of Kinsale’s.

Megan Chance’s romances, in particular, A Candle in the Dark, The Portrait, Fall from Grace, and The Way Home. It’s been a while since I’ve read most of these but I recall that Chance’s historical romances settings are historically and geographically varied (although her books are set in the Americas), as are her character types. Her plots are character-driven, though they can be slower paced. Chance’s writing style is a bit simpler than Kinsale’s, but still lyrical. The angst quotient in Chance’s books is quite high, and her characters are frequently emotionally wounded in some way.

Eileen Charbonneau. I confess that I have never read this author but from a glance through her books, her writing style was very reminiscent of Kinsale’s and I have heard other readers say that there are some similarities in their books.

Tom and Sharon Curtis. The Curtises, who have written both historical and contemporary romance, have a lyrical and intricate style of writing and character-driven plots, some with a fair amount of angst.

Meredith Duran’s The Duke of Shadows. The hero of Duran’s book fits the “alone, tortured and determined” description to a tee, the characters suffer some psychological damage, the story is set partly in England and partly in India, has medium pacing, lyrical and sharp writing, both internal and external conflict, hot love scenes, and emotional angst.

Patricia Gaffney’s later historical romances, in particular, Sweet Everlasting, the Wyckerley trilogy (To Love and to Cherish, To Have and to Hold, Forever and Ever) and Wild at Heart. Gaffney’s books, like Kinsale’s, have varied settings (though all three of the Wyckerley books are set in the same village). Her heroines (as well as her heroes) are varied, with no single type. The characters in the last four of these books go through the wringer. Gaffney’s plots are character driven, her writing style is lyrical, there is plenty of angst and conflict, both external and internal, and Gaffney’s love scenes can be hot.

Megan Hart’s Dirty and Broken. Since they are contemporary erotic novels some might wonder what Dirty and Broken are doing on this list. I would argue that these two books have earned their place with character driven plots that are high on angst and internal conflict, and plenty of hot to scorching love scenes. Hart’s characters are psychologically complex and sometimes damaged, too.

Eva Ibbotson’s historical romances. Ibbotson’s romances have a lighter tone than Kinsale’s and the bedroom door remains closed in her books, but the diversity of her settings, the richness of her writing style and characterization, and her use of both internal and external conflicts are the reasons I think she might appeal to Kinsale’s readers.

Judith Ivory (also writing as Judy Cuevas). Judith Ivory’s books are also very different from Kinsale’s in tone but there is a big overlap between their readers — many Kinsale fans are also Ivory fans and vice versa. I count myself among that group. Ivory’s books are set in 19th century England and France, but I think the biggest reasons for the overlap are Ivory’s sumptuous prose style and her psychologically complex, varied and conflicted characters.

Judith McNaught’s historicals. When Loonigrrl hosted an “If You Like Judith McNaught” column, some of our readers suggested Laura Kinsale as an author fans of McNaught might like. I’m working on the theory that this could work in reverse, too, though I could be wrong about that. McNaught’s historicals are set mainly in Regency England (she also has one Medieval romance.) There are quite a few differences between McNaught’s historicals and Kinsale’s — the writing style is simpler, the character types are generally different, and McNaught’s books contain more humor, but they are similar in their pacing and length, their use of both internal and external conflict, in being character-driven, and especially in having a whole lot of emotional angst.

Mary Jo Putney’s earlier single titles, in particular, Uncommon Vows and the Fallen Angels series (Thunder and Roses, Dancing on the Wind, Petals on the Storm, Angel Rogue, Shattered Rainbows, River of Fire and One Perfect Rose). The Fallen Angels series takes place in Regency England and Uncommon Vows in the Medieval era. Putney’s writing style is somewhere between simple and ornate. Her books, like Kinsale’s, are well-researched and make good use of history. They are also character-driven. Putney’s characters also have psychological issues, deal with internal and external conflicts both, and her books can be quite emotional.

Barbara Samuel’s historical romances. Samuel’s historicals have varied settings and character types. They are written in a descriptive, though simpler, writing style. Her plots, too are character-driven. There is both internal and external conflict in her books, and some, like Lucien’s Fall and Bed of Spices, have their share of angst.

Sharon Shinn. Even though Shinn writes fantasy, I had to include her on the list, partly because she is one of the few authors to write books as romantic as I find Kinsale’s. Her fantasy settings have a historical feel to them, though her books are not set in our own world. Her character types are somewhat varied and her characters are psychologically complex. Her plots are character driven, with medium pacing, and she too has a lyrical writing style, though hers is a bit simpler than Kinsale’s. There is both internal and external conflict in Shinn’s books, though they are not as angsty as Kinsale’s. Though the heat level is often kisses only, Shinn writes some of the hottest kisses I’ve read.

Sherry Thomas. Private Arrangements and Delicious are both set in Late Victorian England. So far, Thomas’s heroines have been varied and her heroes filled with determination. The characters are complicated, the plots are character-driven, and though faster paced than Kinsale’s, both books have a flashback structure that is a bit reminiscent of the one Kinsale uses in The Shadow and the Star. They are also written in a lyrical writing style, have some humor as well as emotional angst, internal and to a lesser degree external conflict, and hot love scenes.

Sandra Schwab’s The Lily Brand. Schwab’s debut reminded me of some of Kinsale’s work, most especially because of Schwab’s writing style, the complex, three-dimensional character portrayal (that of the heroine especially), and the high emotional angst. The book was also set in Regency France and England, was character driven, and had both internal and external conflict.

Penelope Williamson’s historical romances. I haven’t read much of Williamson but The Passions of Emma, which I did read, was a medium-paced tearjerker with complex, conflicted characters. Some of my Kinsale-loving friends adore Williamson as well, so I’m including her on my list for that reason too.

What do you think? Which of my recommendations do you agree with? And which other authors or books would you recommend to a die hard Laura Kinsale fan yearning for this author’s next book?

Related posts:

1. If You Like Judith McNaught, Historicals . . . Hosted by Loonigrrl
2. If You Like Suzanne Brockmann . . . Hosted by Dr. Sarah Frantz
3. If You Like Mary Balogh . . . Hosted by Michelle Butler

***

If you like Mary Balogh

In 1996, Beth Pattillo did me a great favor when she told me that I must read a Mary Balogh novel. It was love at first read. At that point, Mary Balogh had been published for ten years. Since then I have read at least 55 of her nearly 70 novels to date and several of her novellas. I would have read all of them if I could have found copies. Some of the quotes in this piece may include spoilers.

Setting (era and geographic): Mostly Regency England

Mary Balogh has set the vast majority of her stories in Regency England (early nineteenth century) – in London or the English countryside with lots of house-party settings. The Napoleonic Wars have played a part in some of her stories as well. The exceptions to this setting are her two Georgian England novels, one Victorian and two novels set in Wales.

Balogh uses history as a source of inspiration and conflict for her stories. While still appealing and relevant to twenty-first-century readers, her novels feel historically accurate and display an appreciation for history. Social mores have a profound influence on her heroes and heroines.

Heroine Type: A lovely variety of English Misses

There is no stock Balogh heroine as Balogh is one of the best there is at characterization. Her characters have psychological and emotional depth, and her heroines are likeable, competent, strong, appealing, and smart. They often are outsiders in some way. Balogh portrays her outsiders – the prostitutes, the governesses, the old maids, the poor relations, the disabled – as she portrays nearly all her characters – with full appreciation for their humanity, their life experiences, their hopes, fears, wishes, needs, desires, dreams, foibles, weaknesses, and strengths. This makes each of her heroines unique.

"I can live without your approval," she said coldly. "I do not know what you have done that is so heinous. I do not want to know. I want you out of this room, and I want you out now. Find somewhere else to cower in fright."

"Fright?" He laughed and set a hand over his heart. "You wound me, my charmer."

He was standing very close, quite close enough for Freyja to realize that the top of her head reached barely to his chin. But she always had been short. She was accustomed to ruling her world from below the level of much of the action.

"I am neither your sweetheart nor your charmer," she told him. "I shall count to three. One."

"For what purpose?" He set his hands on either side of her waist.

"Two."

He lowered his head and kissed her. Right on the lips, his own parted slightly so that there was a shocking sensation of warm, moist intimacy.

Freyja inhaled sharply, drew back one arm, and punched him hard in the nose.

"Ouch!" he said, fingering his nose gingerly and flexing his mouth. He drew his hand away and Freyja had the satisfaction of seeing that she had drawn blood. "Did no one ever teach you that any ordinary lady would slap a man’s cheek under such scandalous circumstances, not punch him in the nose."

"I am no ordinary lady," she told him sternly.

From Slightly Scandalous

Hero Type: Mostly Arrogant Aristocrats

Balogh’s heroes come from privileged backgrounds and have the arrogance that comes from that. For example, Balogh writes deliciously arrogant dukes. Yes, one year of historical romances feature more dukes than were probably alive throughout the entire nineteenth century in England, but Balogh’s dukes are unique. Each is his own complete self. The Duke of Bewcastle is nothing like the Duke of Tresham, who is not interchangeable with the Dukes of Handon, Bridgewater or Tenby.

Perhaps this was, after all, just the thing for him, Wulfric thought as he settled into conversation. He would enjoy two weeks of interesting company and then be ready to return to Lindsey Hall for the rest of the summer. After all, one could not become a hermit simply because one’s brothers and sisters had all married and one’s mistress had died.

And then the door opened again and he heard two extremely unpleasant sounds-feminine giggles and male laughter. Male and female voices mingled in a flurry of merry sound. The ladies went on their way; a large group of gentlemen came inside the room. And there was not one among them, Wulfric estimated, who was above twenty-five years of age. And not one of them-if he was to judge by their laughter and posturing and swaggering-who had a brain in his head.

From Slightly Dangerous

While Mary Balogh’s heroes aren’t often outsiders like some of her heroines are, each is distinctive and has his own reasons why falling in love with the heroine is a challenge. Her stories are often about two lonely, damaged souls finding love, healing and a better life through the new relationship.

He did not look forward to the summer.

He would stay out of the way as much as he was able. He would try at least to remain out of sight of the children. He did not want to frighten them. The worst feeling in the world was to see fear, revulsion, horror, and panic on the faces of children and to know that it was his own appearance that had caused it.

One month, Bewcastle’s secretary had written. Thirty-one days, if that statement was to be taken literally. It seemed like an eternity.

But he would survive it.

He had survived a great deal worse. There had been days-and nights-when he had wished he had not done so. Survived, that was.

From Simply Love

Anne Jewell helped Sydnam Butler heal, and Sydnam helped Anne. The heroines see the real self behind the heroes’ social masks, help the heroes discover, acknowledge and value the hidden parts of themselves and vice versa.

Plot (action-oriented / character-driven): Character-driven

It’s the romance, stupid, or at least it is in a Mary Balogh story. She writes character-driven love stories. Yes, she’ll have some kind of an external plot, stuff always happens in her books, and some of her books even include a suspense subplot, but the main focus and narrative drive of her novels come from the developing romance between two, well-developed characters who grow and change as they fall in love. No two Balogh characters fall in love the same way. This path to love is unique in each of her stories based on her characters.

"It is the word "like,’" she said. "I did not know that what I had always thought was liking was really love. I have been very foolish."

He felt rather as if someone had just punched him in the stomach again. He felt robbed of breath.

"Give me an example," he said, risking further pain by lowering his cheek to the top of her head.

"When I met you at Highmoor," she said, "I liked you so terribly much, Hartley. After each meeting I lived for the next time, and when I had to leave early with Aunt Aggy, there was a dreadful emptiness in my life where you had been. I thought you my best friend in the world, and I thought I would never know such friendship again. Town and the Season were flat because I did not have my friend to share them with. And then when I saw you again, I was so happy that I thought I would burst. I wanted you to kiss me and I wanted to say what I said to you afterward and I wanted to marry you-because I liked you so much. After we were married, for those three days, I-I have never been so happy in my life. And afterward, I wanted to die, I wanted the world to end because I thought you did not like me any longer."

"Ah, love," he said.

"Have I given you enough examples?" she asked. "Do you see what I mean?"

He swallowed and rubbed his cheek against her hair.

"You see," she said, "when I went through that horrid experience during my first Season, I called it love. I thought that was what it was, that horrible obsession, the dreadful guilt, the-oh, everything. And all I have clung to since is the conviction that I wanted nothing more to do with love. I saw Jenny and Gabriel together and other people, too, but I did not believe in it for myself. So when I met you, I think I was afraid to call my feelings what they were. I thought everything would turn ugly. I wanted to like you and you to like me so that we could be happy together."

"I like you, sweetheart," he said.

From Lord Carew’s Bride, ISBN: 0451185528

While Balogh has written suspense and secondary romance subplots, the majority of her subplots tend to be about other important relationships for the hero and heroine and how they influence the developing romance. Her secondary characters are well-developed, and she often writes about their romances in subsequent novels. I do like to read her books in a row as there is some character development across novels or series, but each of her books can stand alone. If you have never read a novel by Mary Balogh and would like to start with one that is not connected to any previous novel, I recommend More than a Mistress.

Plot (slow / medium / fast): Medium

I’m following loongrrl’s example from her analysis of Judith McNaught’s novels and going with medium. I can’t put these books down and I’ve stayed up very late to finish them, but emotions, sexual tension, romance, character growth and relationship-stuff are moving the story forward for the most part, and I think the label fast-paced applies to more plot-driven books.

Writing style (simple vs. ornate): Emotional

I think of Balogh’s writing style as deeply emotional. Balogh uses language to help her tell her story better, show her characters’ emotions and even evoke those emotions in her readers. She uses deep point-of-view to increase intimacy with the characters and help the readers identify with them. She includes all five senses in her love scenes. She’s never wordy. Her prose never gets in the way of my enjoyment of her stories. I think her writing is beautiful, and it powerfully evokes the emotions of her stories, but I don’t know what to call it. What do you think?

Dialogue: (lots / little / balanced): Lots

Balogh has lots of dialogue in most of her novels. I like the hero and heroine to talk to each other, and they certainly do in a Balogh novel. Their communication improves as their relationship deepens, and Balogh writes some of the most beautiful "I love you" scenes when the hero and heroine confess their love and express what the beloved has added to his or her life.

"Come back to me," he said. "Please, Priss. Marry me. Or if you don’t want anything so permanent, well, come back to me anyway. And when you want to leave, I will provide for you and the child. I know I’m not much, but I will look after you. If only things had been different, I know you could have done so much better for yourself. You are so intelligent and knowledgeable and accomplished. I know I have nothing much to offer someone like you, but-"

"Gerald!" she said, and her hands were rubbing hard against the lapels of his coat. "You have everything to offer me. Everything in the world. In the whole universe. Your love. A loyal and a warm and kind heart. Yourself. You are so very worthy of being loved, and all I can offer you is a soiled life."

He covered her hands with his and held them flat against his chest. He was shaking his head. "You survived, Priss," he said. "You worked for your living. And I am glad you did or I would never have met you. It is in the past, those months at Kit’s. In the past, where it will stay."

"You are a baronet," she said. I will never be accepted, Gerald. Never received."

"I think you are wrong," he said. "There are perfectly respectable people in society who have a far more scarlet past than yours. But even if you are right, it does not matter. It’s you I want, Priss. Only you. We will live it through together, whatever may be facing us. And I know Miles will receive you and the countess, too. She hugged me when I was leaving and even kissed my cheek. I was never so surprised in my life."

"Gerald." She looked at him with troubled eyes. "Are you sure? Are you very sure?’

He smiled at her suddenly, more radiantly than she had ever seen him smile before.

"You are going to say yes, aren’t you?" he said. "I know that you are. Say it, Priss. I want to hear it. I have dreamed of this moment for months and never believed that it would really come. Say it. Will you marry me?

She leaned her head forward and rested her forehead between her hands against his chest.

"Yes," she said.

From A Precious Jewel, ISBN: 0451176197

Humor (Yes / No-serious / Some): Some

Balogh can be funny. A few of her Signet regencies were farces, and A Summer to Remember and Slightly Scandalous had very humorous beginnings. I smile or even laugh several times during the majority of her novels. She’s never silly or slap-sticky, and her humor comes from her characters. There is always a lot of emotional and psychological depth to her characters, and often her characters’ humor masks pain. In some of her earlier, full-length novels (e.g. the signet super regencies and first single titles), I think she might have had too much dark in her stories.

Emotional Angst (high / medium / low): High

If you don’t like angst, Balogh may not be for you. A lot of Balogh’s characters are wounded in some way, and their path to true love and healing can be painful and rocky. Balogh is able to convince her readers to doubt whether these two people will be able to make their relationship work while realizing, at the same time, that these two people must be together.

Yet, for all of the emotional angst in a Mary Balogh story, the loving relationship developed between the hero and heroine never seems unhealthy. It is emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, equal, passionate, but never unhealthy. Often, this new relationship has helped to heal the hero or heroine. The reader knows that this couple is good for each other, one side has not had to lose something important to make it work, falling in love often heals them in some way, they are each better people because of this new, loving relationship, and it will last.

"Kit, why are you here?"

"There is something I need to tell you," he said. "Something I should have told you before you left Alvesley. Something you ought to know whatever you decide to do with the knowledge. Once I have told you, you have only to say the word, Lauren, and I will walk back along this beach and up to the cliff top and into the village and I will never trouble you again, never try to see you again. It is a promise."

"Kit-"

He set one finger across her lips and looked into her eyes.

"I want to marry you," he said. "I want it more than I have ever wanted anything else in my life. For many reasons. But only one of them really matters to me. It is the one I did not tell you of because it seemed somehow dishonorable after you had carried out your side of the bargain so sweetly and so well. I love you. That is it, you see, the part I omitted. Just that. I love you. I do not believe it can really hurt you to know. It lays no obligation on you. I just needed to say it. I’ll leave now if you wish."

She said nothing, just pressed her head back harder against the rock and gazed at him with her lovely violet eyes. The drizzle was turning to light rain. It was running in droplets down her face. But it was not raindrops that were welling in her eyes.

"Tell me to go," he whispered.

She started to say something and then swallowed. She tried again. "I do not need you, you know," she said.

"I know." His heart was down in his boots somewhere.

"I do not need anyone," she said. "I can do this alone, this living business. All my life I have shaped myself into being what others expect me to be so that I will belong somewhere, be accepted somewhere, be loved by someone. When I knew I could not belong to Neville, I felt as if I had been cut adrift in the universe. I anchored myself by retreating into an even more rigid gentility. I don’t need to do any of that any longer. And I do have you to thank. But I don’t need you any longer, Kit. I am strong enough on my own."

"Yes." He bowed his head and closed his eyes again. "Yes, I know."

"I am free, you see," she said, "to love or to withhold love. Love and dependence need no longer be the same thing to me. I am free to love. That is why I love you, and it is the way I love you. If you have come here, Kit, because you think you owe me something, because you believe I might crumble without your protection, then go away again with my blessing and find happiness with someone else."

"I love you," he said again.

She gazed at him for a long time, her eyes still swimming in tears, and then she smiled, very slowly, and very, very radiantly.

He wrapped his arms about her waist, lifted her off her feet, and twirled her about in circles, while she braced her hands on his shoulders, flung her head back to expose her face to the rain, and laughed.

Kit whooped, and because the echo from the cliffs was so impressive, he threw back his head too and howled like a wolf.

From A Summer to Remember

Conflict (externally-driven / internally-driven / both): Internally-driven

Her conflicts are internally-driven. A Balogh hero is not able to fall in love with the heroine at the beginning of the novel and vice versa. It’s not possible until they have changed and grown in some way, and this growth is driven by the developing relationship and the healing and transforming power of love. She entwines the character arcs of the hero and heroine with the relationship arc and makes all three stronger in the process. This is what gives power to her love stories. When there are external sources of conflict, it often comes from society, usually represented by family members, and its social mores, class differences and expectations. She occasionally has a suspense subplot.

Heat level (kisses / warm / hot / scorching): Warm

Some of you who are fans of traditional regencies may disagree with the warm rating as Mary Balogh was very revolutionary in her inclusion of loves scenes in traditional regencies, but her love scenes are more sensual and emotional than graphic and athletic. I speculate that the reason why Signet allowed her to include those love scenes in her traditional regencies was that the stories would not have made as much sense if you took those bits out. A Mary Balogh love scene furthers the plot. You can’t skip the love scenes as they change the relationship and the direction of the story in significant ways. The physical aspect of the hero and heroine’s relationship is an important part of them falling in love.

"What I think, Jane," he said, narrowing his gaze on her, "is that I will see your hair down now at last. Take out the pins."

It was not dressed with its customary severity. It was waved and coiled in a manner that complemented the pretty, elegant dress she wore. But he wanted to see it flowing free.

She removed the pins deftly and shook her head.

Ah. It reached to below her waist, as she had said it did. A river of pure, shining, rippling gold. She had appeared beautiful before. Even in the hideous maid’s dress and the atrocious cap she had been beautiful. But now-

There simply were not words. He clasped his hands behind him. He had waited too long to rush now.

"Jocelyn." She tipped her head to one side and looked directly at him with her very blue eyes. "I am on unfamiliar ground here. You will have to lead the way."

He nodded, wondering at the great wave of-oh, not desire exactly that washed over him. Longing? That sort of gut-deep, soul-deep yearning that very occasionally caught him unawares and was shaken firmly off again. He associated it with music and painting. But now it was his name that had aroused it.

"Jocelyn is a name that has been in my family for generations," he said. "I acquired it when I was still in the womb. I cannot think of a single soul until now who has spoken it aloud to me."

From More than a Mistress

A Mary Balogh hero and heroine are deeply in love at the conclusion of the novel. She consistently delivers what I call the "ah moment". This is when you say, "ah," as you shut the covers of one of her novels after you’ve finished reading it because the hero and heroine are deeply in love, they’ve acknowledged and treasure this new relationship, all is right in their lives and all is right in your world for that moment.

"Luke," Anna said, "I have always been fortunate enough to be able to enjoy happiness when it presented itself. I have always had hope and I have always had the ability to see and appreciate the little things that can make life worth living. But I know now that it has been years and years since I have felt totally happy. I am happy now at this moment. Totally, wonderfully happy. No matter what the future has in store for us, I want to remember that there has been this moment. And that even this moment, with no more preceding and no more to come after, would make the whole mystery of living worthwhile."

He rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. "We will live life from moment to moment," he said, " thankful for each one we have together. Look, Anna, the world is turning gray beyond the windows. Dawn is coming."

"Ah," she said, "daylight and hope."

"And sunshine and laughter," he said. "Let us watch the sun come up, shall we? Together?"

She sighed with contentment. She did not need to answer in words.

At the end of Heartless (ISBN: 0425150119), I felt and believed this moment. I felt it for Anna and Luke, but I also felt it, in some ways, for myself.

Mary Balogh always entertains me. She often moves me. In every one of her novels, she always shows me and makes me feel the how and why these two interesting, unique and appealing people have fallen in love with each other, and how this new relationship has vastly improved their future lives. In my favorite of her novels, she’ll take me even further.

She can inspire me to think about the great questions of life and its meaning in a positive way. She can make me ponder life, love, relationships, God, hope, redemption, justice, gender relations, the role of women. She digs deeper in her stories, inspires me to do the same in my life and fills me with hope and belief in the healing power of love.

If you like Mary Balogh, you’ll like-

If you like a strong sense of history in your historical romances, I recommend Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Loretta Chase, Liz Carlyle, Madeline Hunter, Candice Hern, and almost any author who once wrote traditional regencies.

While the sensuality level is much, much hotter than that of a Mary Balogh novel, Passion by Lisa Valdez reached Baloghian heights in terms of emotional angst. You may also want to try Gaelen Foley, Judith McNaught or Lisa Kleypas.

If you prefer Mary Balogh’s lighter novels and farces, you may want to read some Julia Quinn or Loretta Chase novels. Other possibilities include Elizabeth Boyle, Laura Lee Guhrke, Anne Gracie, Eloisa James, Barbara Metzger, Julie Anne Long, and Amanda Quick.

Honor is important to Balogh’s characters, especially her heroes. A similar devotion to honor can be found in a Carla Kelly or a Lois McMaster Bujold hero.

My favorite romance novels deliver a satisfying romance, provide an emotional reading experience, and inspire me to think deep thoughts. Mary Balogh consistently delivers. Some of my other favorites who can deliver all three – across the sub-genres of romance – are Mary Jo Putney, Carla Kelly, Emilie Richards, Barbara Samuel/Ruth Wind, Laura Kinsale, Judith Ivory/Judy Cuevas, Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, Brenda Novak, Gayle Wilson, Kathryn Shay, Tara Taylor Quinn, Kathleen Korbel/Eileen Dreyer, Margot Early, Cheryl Reavis, Marilyn Pappano, Curtis Ann Matlock, Judith Duncan, Janice Kay Johnson, Catherine Anderson (some of her historicals), Lorraine Heath (particularly her westerns), Megan Chance, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennifer Crusie, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre, other classic girl stories-

I highly recommend everyone I just mentioned, but I do believe there is nobody just like Mary Balogh. Which authors would you recommend for a similar reading experience?

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Simply Love by Mary Balogh
2. REVIEW: Lord Carew’s Bride by Mary Balogh
3. REVIEW: Simply Love by Mary Balogh

If you would like to host an “If You Like” post, please email me at Jane at dearauthor.com

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Suzanne Brockmann

Once upon a time, I was browsing in a Waldenbooks and saw a two-for-one deal: Suzanne Brockmann’s The Unsung Hero came free with a re-issue of her one and only time travel, Time Enough for Love. TEFL looked intriguing, so I bought the other book so I could get it. It was intriguing, but TUH, one of the most exquisitely plotted books I’ve ever read, truly rocked my world and I’ve been a rabid Brockmann Fan Grrl ever since.

Brockmann started out in 1993 writing tightly plotted Silhouette Intimate Moments and light, frothy Loveswepts (that are all slowly being reissued). But she really hit her stride in 1996 when she began her “Tall, Dark and Dangerous” SEAL Team Ten books from Silhouette Intimate Moments. In 2000, she created another SEAL team for her mainstream Troubleshooter series (Into the Fire [TS#13] released last week). In a post-9/11 world, her Troubleshooter books are topical, thoughtful, and exceptionally well-written. For a bleeding-heart liberal, she gets the military mindset-’the details of military life might not be 100% perfect, but the mindset, the way we think and the way we feel about our fellow service members and our commitment and loyalty to our country, is spot on. Additionally, her forty-six novels tangle with, stretch, and sometimes break romance genre conventions in innovative and fascinating ways. And finally, she’s just a genuinely nice person and understands the importance of a personal relationship with her readers. (As a bonus, she’s the host of the RITA Awards ceremony at RWA this year, so say Hi! to her for me if you’re going to San Francisco!)

So, without further ado:

Setting (era): Contemporary

Brockmann only writes novels set in the present day (even her one time travel novel only jumps back a few years). And by present day, they’re usually set the date the book comes out, or a little later. There are flashbacks to important points in the characters’ lives, but the action is relentlessly present to the extent that you’re convinced as you read it that you should be able to watch it instead on CNN. In fact, a large part of what she does is put a human face, with characters you care about deeply, on what we do watch on the evening news.

The exception to this, of course, is her World War Two subplots in her Troubleshooter books. There were seven such plots-’in the earlier books in the series-’and they all tell the stories of everyday heroism in WWII (French resistance, Danish Jews, Dunkirk, double agents, the genesis of the SEAL teams and of psychological warfare, the Tuskegee airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots [WASPs]) that eventually intertwine with the modern-day plot in intricate, essential ways.

Setting (geographic): USA and various hotbeds of terrorism

Most of Brockmann’s characters are relentlessly American with very few exceptions-’including her villains, as she deals with domestic terrorism as well as foreign-’and despite her focus on terrorism, she manages to set most of her novels on US soil. Two of her Troubleshooter novels are set in the fictional country of Kazbekistan, two are set in Indonesia, and her WWII subplots are obviously set mostly in Europe. More specifically, her Troubleshooter world is now anchored by Troubleshooters Inc., a private security firm founded by the hero of The Unsung Hero after the fifth installment of the series, but she still includes characters who work variously for the FBI, for police departments, for an unnamed “Black Ops” governmental organization, and of course, for SEAL Team 16.

Heroine Type: Competent professionals

Her most recent heroines have been, variously, a pediatrician, a linguist, a helicopter pilot, an appellate attorney, a member of the White House staff, an FBI agent, a computer specialist, a missionary, a movie producer and script-writer, and two former police officers. Sometimes their job is integral to the plot, sometimes its incidental, but they’re never Too Stupid To Live, they’re never incompetent, and they’re never unaware of their own issues. Savannah, in Out of Control, for instance, is a rich heiress whose never been so much as camping and she finds herself in an Indonesian jungle. While she does a few boneheaded things, she never whines, she never complains, and she usually does what her SEAL hero tells her to do, to the extent that her ability to be smart in the face of sheer ignorance is one of the things about her that he falls in love with. While you might violently disagree with their choices, they’re always true to character. Meg, in The Defiant Hero, is the queen of this particular point. Her daughter is kidnapped and she will do anything to save her, including ignoring and outright avoiding the help of her SEAL hero and his FBI buddies. While most people found this behavior TSTL, I think it’s perfectly within character and makes sense in the context of the story. Most of all, Brockmann’s heroines get their heroes; there is a true connection between them, usually symbolized by a shared sense of humor. The heroines understand what makes their men tick, and that understanding is what makes them fall in love. Above all, Brockmann’s genius is in writing individuals. You could give me a paragraph of a character thinking or speaking and I’d probably be able to tell you who it was, without any plot clues, just because the voices of her characters are so distinct.

Hero type: Competent, self-aware, Alpha males.

Brockmann’s heroes are all Alpha, all the time-’they’re SEALs and FBI agents and cops, after all-’but they’re also very aware of their feelings, of their reasons for reactions to situations and people. So, while they might fight falling in love, they know what they’re doing and why.

My personal favorite Brockmann hero is not a SEAL. Jed Beaumont from Heart Throb, Brockmann’s only stand-alone mainstream, is a recovering alcoholic, former A-list actor who is trying to get back into the movie business after burning all his bridges. His story, with nary an explosion in sight, is the tale of a man finding his way back to feeling and understanding his own emotions, and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read.

A game I like to play in all of Brockmann’s books is finding the tears. Because Brockmann’s heroes like to cry. The entire of personality of her most famous character, Sam Starrett, and his love affair with Alyssa is built around his relationship to his own tears, and they’re pretty powerful stuff:

But she was stuck there. Hypnotized by the sight of those eyes filled with tears, by the very idea that this tough, unbreakable man was capable of crying over anything. (Over the Edge 286)

Plot: (action-oriented / character-driven): Both

Brockmann not only writes, but also certainly popularized, if not outright pioneered, the genre of romantic military suspense, so her plots are all about action. Most take place over a week, or even a couple of days-’although if it’s only a couple of days, there are almost always flashbacks to the characters’ previous history. Because although you keep turning the pages because you have to know if the bomb is going to go off and the hero and heroine will save the world, you also turn the pages because you’re genuinely connected to these characters and need to see how they’re going to get their HEA. So although it’s all about the action, you also know that things would have turned out differently if the characters were different people, because they would not have made the same decisions.

Plot (slow/medium/fast): Fast

Even the construction of the plots heightens the suspense, with point of view breaks coming fast and furious (and sometimes confusing) at the denouement of the novel. They’re the type of book that you put down after finally finishing it in one long rush, and realize that it’s 3:30 am and you have to get up in two and a half hours to go to work, and you’re too jazzed by the good guys winning and the HEA to care.

Writing style (simple v. ornate): Simple

Brockmann has very few passages of description, whether long or short. And even the description you do have is told from deep point of view, so it reveals as much about the character whose head you’re in as it does about what they’re describing. Joan describes Mike in Into the Night:

It really was remarkable. The guy was right out of central casting. Hello, Gertrude? Yeah, we need a Navy SEAL hero type over on lot twenty-four this afternoon. Make sure he stands well over six feet tall, is built like a Greek god, has neon blue eyes, golden brown hair, and a face more handsome than Brad Pitt’s, will ya?

“Ma’am.”

And he should definitely be ridiculously young, so as to make me feel as old as possible by actually addressing me as ma’am. (21-22)

Dialogue (lots/little/balanced): Lots

Brockmann’s books are heavily and increasingly dialogue driven. This only works, of course, because her characters are so distinct, but it also supports the suspense plots by keeping the pace fast and furious.

Even when dialogue is not front-and-center, Brockmann writes in (one might even say, again, pioneered and popularized) deep point of view, so even if a character is not actually talking with another character, their internal thoughts read like dialogue anyway.

But her characters actually talk to each other. No Big Mis for Brockmann. Or if there is, it gets worked out and the real problems raise their ugly heads to be dealt with. The hero and heroine MUST talk to each other to, as Brockmann puts it, “deserve” their HEA. They’re constantly talking around and through and to and finally with each other and that’s what makes these books so great:

Sam closed his mouth, biting back everything equally nasty that otherwise might’ve escaped. He was not going to do this again. He was not going to fight with Alyssa until one or both of them lay bleeding on the floor. Not, not, not.

Instead, he had to figure out what to say before he said it. Come on, Starrett. You’ve got a fairly large brain. Use it.

He also had to remember what he knew about this woman. She’d let him get close, and now she was probably pretty fricking scared. (Gone Too Far 354)

Humor (Yes/No-serious/some): Yes

The humor is, as everything with Brockmann’s books, very character-based, which means I am completely unable to find a short example of the humor that doesn’t need a long explanation. However:

“This is Max Bhagat. Connect me to the President.”

“I’m sorry, sir-’”

“Wrong answer.” . . .

“He’s in a meeting with the-’”

“Do you know who I am?

“I’m sorry, I’m new. This is my first day, sir. I’m trying-’”

“Connect me to someone who is not new, right now,” Max said, “or this will be your last day.” On earth.

Someone else picked up. “Peterson.”

“This is Max Bhagat-’”

“I’ll connect you to the President right away, sir.”

If certain characters are on the stage (Ken, Jules, Izzy), you know you’ll get some good one-liners. If certain pairs are on the stage (most of them, TBH), you know that they’ll have great and funny interaction with each other. Because while her books always deal with serious subjects, they deal with them in funny and heart-warming ways that make you think and don’t make you want to slit your wrists when you finish the book.

Emotional Angst (high/medium/low): Medium

The emotional angst is mostly on the reader’s side, to be honest. Brockmann’s innovative story arcs not only introduce future heroes and heroines in books way before their own, but actually start their relationships. Most series books, Nora Roberts most famously, will introduce future main characters in books before their own, and might even hint at their future partner, but very rarely actually start the romantic relationship before their own book. Sam and Alyssa, Brockmann’s first extended arc couple, sleep together in Books #2 and #3 before their own story in Book #6 of the Troubleshooter, Inc. series. Other authors, for example Susan Elizabeth Phillips, will often have two or three couples receive their HEA at the end of a single book. Brockmann, however, once said in an interview: “I have a contract with my readers: ‘Dear Reader: I promise I will give you a happy ending for the two main characters in this book. But I’m going to have subplots that may end unhappily or even in death. In ways you don’t expect, I will create different emotional responses in you.’” She’s a firm believer that the requisite happily-ever-after ending of romances denies readers “a lot of cathartic emotions” that take them out of their “comfort zone,” so her secondary characters almost never receive an HEA until their own book (with one exception). This creates lots of angst for her readers (see the end of her current novel, Into the Fire, which hints at an unexpected pairing for the main characters of her next book), and for the characters left hanging, but not necessarily for the main couples of the novel.

Conflict (externally driven/internally driven/both): Both

Again, Brockmann writes character-driven military suspense, so the characters must deserve their HEA by actually talking with each other, but they are also driven by the exigencies of their suspense plot. They might never have met or talked if it weren’t for the suspense plot. Brockmann does a brilliant job, IMO, of making the internal and external plots depend on each other fully, both of them unresolvable without resolution in the other. She does this better than almost anyone else I’ve read.

Heat level: (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Hot

She’s not erotica-level scorching, but her sex scenes are nothing to be sneezed at, either.

Except for the closed-door nature of the scenes between gay FBI agent Jules and his partner Robin-’much to the disgust of some readers. She has explained that she felt like she was pushing enough boundaries to give Jules and Robin their HEA and, indeed, their own book, without pushing open the door of their bedroom, but many readers who have adored Jules since he first showed up were very unhappy.

She’s an expert at building sexual tension. Jones brings Molly (a missionary in a remote village in Indonesia) a book:

. . . “It’s a good one, huh?”

“They’re all good,” Molly told him from atop her bed. “If it’s got pages and a spine and I haven’t read it before, it’s fabulous. Even if it’s a how-to guide for building an igloo. But [Robert] Parker-For a new Parker, okay, yes, I’d have sex with you”

“Well, all right,” Jones said. “Let’s get naked.”

She got down off the bed. “I was kidding.”

“So was I.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “No, you weren’t.”

“Okay, I wasn’t,” he agreed.

He didn’t reach for her. He didn’t move closer. He just stood there, still by the door, smiling into her eyes.

“I love it when you smile,” she whispered. “You should do it more often.”

“Make love to me. I’ll smile the whole time, I promise.”

Neither of them was smiling now. Now there was only heat between them. (Out of Control 132-133)

And I think that quote sums up everything I’m trying to say about how freaking great Brockmann’s books are: humor, dialogue, character-driven, fast-paced, sexy, down-right addictive books. Go get one now! If you’re intimidated by the SEAL series (13 and counting), start with Heart Throb. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. If the SEALs intrigue you, start from the beginning: The Unsung Hero is still one of the most perfect books of all time. (As is Heart Throb, for that matter!)

If You Like Suzanne Brockmann, You’ll Like . . .:

Good question. I’ve never really found anyone to compare, but let’s try.

Linda Howard’s mid-career books remind me of Brockmann’s. After the Night, Dream Man, Mr. Perfect, and Open Season have similar dialogue, h/h interaction, tight plotting, and competent characters. I’ve never really liked her CIA/assassin books, but other Brockmann fans think that they compare.

Other military romance authors: Catherine Mann, who writes about the Air Force and is herself the wife of an Air Force pilot; Lindsay McKenna’s website claims that she “created the sub-genre of military adventure/romance” and I’ve often heard her compared with Brockmann.

Authors with similar “Bands of Brothers”: J.R. Ward immediately springs to mind. Although her Black Dagger Brotherhood is a lot more campy and unrealistic than Brockmann’s SEALs, their loyalty to each other and the rabidness of their readers are similar (with complete awareness that I am one of those rabid fans for both of them!). Ward herself claims a great debt to Brockmann-’she’s certainly emulated Brockmann’s expanded story arcs by starting the romances of some of her couples before their own books-’and she is herself a Brockmann Fan Grrl.

Brockmann’s humor and dialogue often reminds me of both Nora Roberts and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, although she’s obviously further from SEP in tone and plotting. Going much further afield, I’m also reminded of Julia Quinn’s historical characters and the way they interact.

For competent heroines, check out Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz)’s historicals (well, her earlier single word titles-’I haven’t read her recent stuff). For self-aware males, check out Susan Johnson’s American-Indian Braddock-Black historicals (nothing like Cassie Edwards, I promise!).

For Alpha Males-well, where does one start? For the emotionally connected part, I’m going to throw out a shout-out to Joey Hill, especially Natural Law, but very little else about the books are similar, except their quality.

And for fabulously marvelous, character-driven, dialogue-heavy, steaming-but-not-erotica (although definitely open door), funny gay romance, go check out Matthew Haldeman-Time. His book, Off the Record might be a POD, but it’s one of the best romances I’ve ever read, right up there in my personal pantheon with Heart Throb. If you don’t want to risk it, read his short stories-’you won’t be disappointed, I promise.

But really, when you come right down to is, no one compares to Suz Brockmann. I’d love to find someone who does, so who would you recommend?

Related posts:

1. Suzanne Brockmann showed up in…
2. Questions for Suzanne Brockmann? I Need Them
3. If You Like Judith McNaught, Historicals . . . Hosted by Loonigrrl

If you would like to host an “If You Like” post, please email me at Jane at dearauthor.com

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Judith McNaught

Fifteen years ago, I fell in love with an author. Her books had plucky heroines and sophisticated men. They were so skillfully written that the characters nearly jumped off the page. If you were like me, you were so captivated by the story that you almost wished you could transport yourself back nearly two-hundred years and be Whitney Stone or Elizabeth Cameron, even if for a short while.
Their journey to happily ever after was never easy, but you truly believed in their perfect endings.
For many years, Judith McNaught’s stories were that by which I measured all other books.

Setting (era): Regency and Medieval

McNaught has written six historical novels. A Kingdom of Dreams is her only Medieval Romance and is set in the late 1400s.
Her five other historicals- Whitney, My Love, Once and Always, Something Wonderful, Until You, and Almost Heaven- are set in the Regency period of the early 1800s.

Setting (geographic): England

The majority of all six historical books are set in England with both London and countryside scenes. Whitney, My Love takes place partially in Paris. Kingdom of Dreams is set in England and Scotland.

Heroine Type: Courageous Innocent

A number of adjectives come to mind when discussing McNaught’s historical heroines: beautiful, innocent, courageous, loyal, warm-hearted, naïve, kind, sensitive, witty, intelligent, and a bit rash. Most have known what it is like to be the outsider. If featured at a younger age, like Alexandra Townsend in Something Wonderful or Whitney Stone in Whitney, My Love then they are also slightly awkward both in looks and in mannerisms. Often, the heroines have known what it’s like to be an outsider or to be unloved.

Hero type: Redeemed Cynic

They’re handsome, powerful, sensual, tortured, strong, bold, intimidating, confident, intelligent (some are geniuses) commanding, and of the nobility. Often, they are nearly jaded beyond hope and have little respect for most women. Characters such as Jason Fielding in Once and Always, Jordan Townsend in Something Wonderful and Ian Thornton in Almost Heaven are, at times, both contemptuous and downright mean to their heroines. Their redemption through the love of a kind-hearted and courageous woman is a theme often used in McNaught’s books.

Plot: (action-oriented / character-driven): Character-driven

Judith McNaught’s characters and their often arduous journey to happy ever after ARE her books. There is some action of course, but it’s almost negligible compared to the love and the sweetness of the romance blossoming between her hero and heroine.

Plot (slow/medium/fast): Medium

This is pretty subjective. Some may think these are slow paced books. If you’re a fan like me, these character driven stories just zip along. How about we compromise and call it medium?

Writing style (simple v. ornate): Simple

McNaught’s writing may occasionally venture into the ornate, particularly with the love scenes, but on the whole her writing style is simple. That’s not to say it’s boring by any means. She writes love stories that tug at the heartstrings, but she does so without excessive adjectives, analogies and metaphors. The following is a random sampling:

Alexandra accepted the invitation with sleepy gratitude and shifted onto the seat beside him, but instead of merely offering his shoulder, Jordan lifted his arm and put it around her so that her head was cradled snugly in the curve of his arm and chest. My lady, Alex thought sleepily. How lovely that sounded when he said it. She was asleep almost instantly.

Something Wonderful

Dialogue (lots/little/balanced): Balanced

While McNaught’s books have a lot of dialogue, they are not dialogue heavy. Neither will you find too many passages with page after page descriptions of the countryside, ballrooms, or someone’s feelings. McNaught usually keeps the dialogue and descriptive passages balanced.

Humor (Yes/No-serious/some): Some

McNaught’s books do have some humor. It’s not necessarily laugh out loud funny, but there’s a sweetness to it, often arising from the heroine’s slight awkwardness or naïveté, that is delightful to read.

Unaware of the man who had just stalked into the barn, she stroked the animal’s flank and drew a long, hesitant breath.
"I may as well be perfectly honest with you, she confessed to the cow. The truth is- I haven’t actually done this before . . . This,’ she told the cow in a revolted voice as she stretched her hands forward, "is going to be as embarrassing for me as it is for you’ . . . She squeezed twice, quickly, then she leaned back and gazed hopefully at the bucket. No milk dropped into it.
. . . Twice more she repeated the same process, and still nothing happened. Frustration made her yank too hard the next time, which brought the cow’s head swinging around as it glared reproachfully at her. "I’m doing my part,’ Victoria said, glaring right back, "the least you could do is yours!’

Once and Always

Emotional Angst (high/medium/low): High

Oh yeah. Judith McNaught is Queen of the Angst. I mean that in a good way. Her books are all about the characters’ emotional highs and lows, their distrust, their yearning, their Big Misunderstandings, their Big Separations and their big emotions. In fact, McNaught takes us on such a roller coaster of emotions with so many misunderstandings that some readers may question whether certain characters’ distrust issues are truly over when the book ends. That’s right, Clayton Westmoreland: I’m talking to you.

He forced himself to pick up the quill and write the words, "Please accept my sincere wishes for your happiness and convey them to Paul’ . . . He thought of the words he really wanted to write to her: "Please come back to me. Just let me hold you and I swear I will make you forget.
I’ll fill your days with laughter and your nights with love. I’ll give you a son. And if you still can’t love me, then all I ask is that you give me a daughter. A daughter with your eyes, your smile, your-"

Whitney, My Love

Conflict (externally driven/internally driven/both): Both

Most of the historicals have both internal and external conflict. For example, the external conflict in A Kingdom of Dreams centers around Jennifer Merrick’s kidnapping by her people’s enemy, and later her marriage to said enemy. The internal conflict results from Jennifer’s conflicted loyalties, and her reluctant feelings for Royce.

Often, the conflict in McNaught’s books derives from The Big Misunderstanding. For example, in Almost Heaven, Elizabeth Cameron and Ian Thornton meet, begin to fall in love, and are torn apart by a malicious third party. Rather than discussing their misunderstanding, both parties, particularly Ian, part on bitterly angry terms for years.

Heat level: (kisses/warm/hot/scorching): Warm

The loves scenes are sensual, but generally lack graphic language, explicit terminology and lengthy detail. The prose tends to be ornate in these scenes with the focus being as much on emotion as on the physical act. Similes (and metaphors) are not uncommon to describe said emotion such as the one used in the scene below.

’Jenny,’ he groaned, his hands rushing over her back and thighs and buttocks. . .
"Jenny,’ he whispered hoarsely, his tongue plunging into her mouth, tangling with hers as he rolled her onto her back and covered her body with his. "Jenny,’ he murmured hotly as he hungrily devoured her breasts and stomach and thighs with his mouth.
He could not stop saying her name. It played like a melody in his heart when her arms went around him and she lifted her hips, willingly molding herself to his engorged manhood. It sang in his veins as she welcomed the first fierce thrust of his body into her. . . and it exploded in a crescendo as she cried out, "I love you. . .’

A Kingdom of Dreams

If You Like Judith McNaught, You’ll Like . . .

Here’s where I need help. In all the years that I’ve been reading Judith McNaught, I have yet to find an author who consistently writes comparable characters, angst and romance. However, I have found a few books which, I believe, have McNaughtian elements.

Once in a Blue Moon by Penelope Williamson has a courageous and feisty heroine, as well as high levels of emotion and angst. For more high levels of angst, try Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas.

His Wicked Kiss by Gaelen Foley has a courageous and intelligent and occasionally rash heroine. The romance’s sweetness reminds me of McNaught’s books.

The Masquerade by Brenda Joyce: although not exact, there are qualities about the characters particularly the heroine’s innocence and kind-heartedness, and about the tenderness of the romance that are not dissimilar to McNaught. I would also recommend Joyce’s Beyond Scandal.

Julie Garwood is often recommended when discussing McNaught. I’m actually not a fan of her work in general, but I did find qualities about the heroes and heroines in Rebellious Desires and The Lyon’s Lady that I enjoyed.

Olivia Parker’s At the Bride Hunt Ball is a humorous tale with a witty yet slightly awkward heroine and a confident and sensual hero. I would recommend it to anyone who likes McNaught.

Who would you recommend?

Related posts:

1. Call for Reader: If You Like Series . . .

I’m trying to do a better job of recommending authors to other people (and would love to be able to add at the end of a review, an “If You Like” segment). The idea is that we start out a thread with a very popular author like Susan Elizabeth Phillips and we talk about what we like about her books; what, if any, threads of commonality there are about the books; what heroine/hero tropes are in the books; and then, what other authors write books in a similar vein.

If we kind of flesh out what we like about a particular author, then we might be able to give better recommendations. Does that interest you? Would you be willing to participate? Drop a note as to what you think.

Related posts:

1. Paid Product Placement for Young Reader Book Series
2. Query Saturdays: Call for Submissions
3. Call For Papers: Academia wants you!