Reevaluating the Romance Novel

With Spring Break approaching, many of us are looking for a good novel to read on the beach or at home wishing you were on the beach. Now, Spring Break is a very short week so I wouldn’t recommend tackling anything heavy like War and Peace or The Inferno. I know I’ll be curled up on the couch with whichever romance novel my local bookstore has featured that week. The romance novel has a stigma of being “trashy” or lacking the “complexity” of so-called “classic” novels. However, it’s my belief that whatever gets someone reading is a good thing, no matter the content of the book. Kind of like “don’t judge a book by its cover” even though half of romance novel covers contain barely-dressed people. Here are the top 5 romance authors to check out this Spring Break!

1) Tamra Baumann

Tamra Baumann is an award-winning contemporary romance author and is ranked number one on Amazon’s Most Popular Romance Authors. Tamra is a Golden Heart and Golden Pen Winner. The first novel in her It Had To Be Him Series titled, appropriately, It Had To Be Him, tells the story of a woman  named Meg Anderson. Meg is a single-mom with a perfection-loving father who is the Mayor and siblings that seem to get everything right while Meg can only do wrong. After three years, the father of Meg’s daughter, Josh Granger, wants his family back in his life. To find out more, pick up It Had To Be Him and check out Tamra’s website!

2) Milly Taiden

Milly Taiden, also known by her pen name April Angel, is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author. Milly’s novels range from contemporary romance to paranormal romance. She has written numerous novels and series including her latest novel: Fur-bidden. The novel tells the story of Penelope Medina who gets suckered into a bachelorette auction. She plans to have her assistant, Ethan Sinclair, buy her so she won’t have to deal with some creepy guy on a date. Instead, Ethan, who is a were-bear (a man who turns into a bear), has other ideas in mind. Find out more at Milly’s website!

3) J.S. Cooper

J.S. Cooper is another New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, as well as a Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She is a contemporary romance author and one of her best works is her Prince Charming Series. The first book in the series is titled Finding My Prince Charming. Lola Franklin decides she would like to study abroad in Europe. She meets a particularly attractive man before class one day and finds out later that he is her professor and a prince named Xavier Van Romerius. He’s also a notorious playboy. Can Lola tame her prince charming and live happily ever after? Find out in Finding My Prince Charming! Check out J.S. Cooper’s website and look at her other series!

4) Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is possibly one of the best known authors in the romance genre and has pioneered the way for other women, like Tamra Baumann, to stick their toes in the business. The New Yorker even called her “America’s favorite novelist.” Nora Roberts writes contemporary romance and her latest novel is published under the pseudonym of J.D. Robb. The book is part of her In Death series and is titled Obsession in Death. It follows the story of Eve Dallas, a Lieutenant for the NYPSD, as she solves her latest crime. This time around, Eve becomes the object of dark obsession while a murderer offers to kill for her over and over again. Eve must investigate the crime before the murderer leaves more dark presents on her doorstep. Learn more at Nora’s website!

5) Diana Gabaldon

Author Diana Gabaldon is working her way to become a household name with her New York Times Bestselling series Outlander. The series has recently been adapted into a TV-Show on Starz with the same title. The series is a historical romance novel, but it’s Game-of-Thrones-esque appeal has made it into a sensation. In 1945, combat nurse Claire Randall, has finally returned home from the war to be reunited with her husband. She is suddenly transported back in time to Scotland in 1743. Thrown into the unfamiliar, as an “outlander”, Claire relies on the help of James Frasner, a young, attractive Scots warrior. Claire is torn between her desire for James and loyalty to her husband back at home. Find out the fate of Claire the old fashioned way (by picking up the book instead of watching the show!) and check out Diana’s website.

So next time you walk past the “Romance” section at a Barnes & Noble’s think twice before rolling your eyes! You could be rolling your eyes at a New York Times Bestselling author!