Comments on: If You Like Julia Quinn . . . hosted by Stephanie and Mary

By: Mora

Mora — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:21:41 +0000

This comment is way late, but I recently read a couple of Jessica Benson’s books, and fell in love with them. They’re light and fun and remind me a lot of Quinn’s work. Their styles are different–The Accidental Duchess is written in first person, for example–but the storylines are comparable and the effect they create on the reader are as well.

By: April

April — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:24:45 +0000

Great post! I love Julia Quinn. I had actually gone to her website to see who SHE recommends when I saw this link to “Dear Author.” I thought: “How ironic that I’m going back to Dear Author for an ‘If You Like….’ entry when the Dear Author ‘If You Like Judith McNaught’ entry got me started on my whole regency romance obsession to begin with!” I devoured all of Judith McNaught’s historicals, loved them but found that the “angst” situation was just more than I could bear. Why must she make her characters so distrustful and quick to betray those they love? It’s just too painful. So I went looking for more light-hearted fare and I found JQ.

Julia Quinn has become my fave historical romance author. I’ve devoured almost everything she’s written, and I live in fear of the day that I finish all of her books. She’s the only historical romance author I’ve encountered that manages to be funny without being silly. For instance, Amanda Quick and Julie Garwood can be funny, but their characters end up feeling so contrived and rather unrealistic.

I read an Eloisa James novel (Desperate Duchesses) the other day and was extremely excited. Her dialogue is snappy, the plot was character driven, and the situation was completely unconventional. Yay. Perhaps I’ve found another author’s books to stack up on my shelf to get me through after I’ve completed JQ’s repertoire.

Thanks for the other recs!!

By: Simplechef

Simplechef — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:58:51 +0000

I love all the recommendations here. What sets JQ apart in my opinion is how you feel like you’re reading in real time. There’s no long descriptive paragraphs between bits of dialog. No descriptions of the thought process between grabbing the heroine and the kiss… Her pacing makes her the best Regency writer out there. Karen Robard’s early novels have the same humor, but not the same pacing. Amanda Quick also has the same humor and fast pacing, but her novels are always about the metaphysical, so can get predictable… Which makes me say I just don’t think there’s an equal for JQ on the romance scene right now.

By: Alyssa Goodnight

Alyssa Goodnight — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:20:03 +0000

Awesome retrospective on all of JQ’s many masterpieces! I remember loving the Pall Mall scene myself. I’ve just gotten The Lost Duke of Wyndham and am very much looking forward to it.

By: loonigrrl

loonigrrl — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:26:17 +0000

Great post! I love that quote from The Viscount Who Loved Me. The Pall Mall scene makes me laugh every single time I read it.

I would suggest Olivia Parker’s At the Bride Hunt Ball. I actually recommended it during the Judith McNaught post, but I think the humor and her characters are more Quinn than McNaught. It’s a very enjoyable book, and one of my favorites from this year.

By: Tae

Tae — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:30:43 +0000

I’m a huge fan of JQ and right now only she and Mary Balogh are on my absolutely must read historical romance list. Mary Balogh doesn’t have the same humor, I don’t think, but her Bedwyn series are great. The last one Slightly Dangerous was amazing, and funny, too.

By: ldb

ldb — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:59:51 +0000

I have a question, I haven’t read all of JQ’s books and I noticed that the hero’s were refered to as both Alpha and Beta, since I haven’t come across any of the Betas can someone point out which books they are in, I don’t particualy LOVE betas so I’d appriciate the warning.

By: AntheaL

AntheaL — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:39:19 +0000

All of the above ~ plus Connie Brockway, who, sadly, is not writing historicals right now. “My Dearest Enemy” highly recommended for JQ fans, and “As you Desire.”

Enjoy!

By: RStewie

RStewie — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:15:15 +0000

I completely agree with Elizabeth Hoyt. She’s definitely steamier, but her characterizations are great. I loved her “Prince” series. Esp. the Serpent Prince.

More angsty than JQ, but really great.

By: Susan/DC

Susan/DC — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:04:22 +0000

I second the recommendation of Barbara Metzger if you’re looking for a very distinctive voice with a light humorous touch. Some of the other authors mentioned in prior posts are very good, but they’re not truly comparable to JQ in terms of those qualities that make her so distinctive, and I think Metzger is a closer match.

One reason I love JQ is that she does both humor and pathos well. Here too her touch is light and not overdone. In “The Duke and I”, Simon’s mother has been warned not to get pregnant again, but “she knew her duty and flung open the connecting door to the duke’s bedchamber” (quote from memory so not exact). You know the duchess is aware she is putting her life at risk to bear the duke a son, and the scene is quite touching. In “The Lost Duke of Wyndham”, which isn’t my favorite JQ book by a long shot, I was still brought near to tears when Jack’s aunt tells him how much she’s missed him and how his absence meant she’d suffered two losses. JQ knows exactly how people talk in moments like that, and she pulls at your heartstrings without making the reader feel manipulated.