Genre: Romance

The Wedding Witch, by Erin Sterling

The third Penhallow brother meets his match in The Wedding Witch! A delightfully funny, slightly spooky witchy romance, perfect for the season.

Pastiche, by Celia Lake

I love this gentle romance, which explores how two people, through sheer politeness, respect, and upper-class British reticence, end up in a conventionally distant arranged marriage instead of the affectionate, loving union they both desire… and how they eventually find their way to the real marriage they long for (with a little outside help from an unexpected quarter.)

Wait Until Midnight, by Amanda Quick

Amanda Quick’s books are always fun, and I plowed through Wait Until Midnight in two sittings. I particularly enjoyed Caroline’s career as writer of serialized “sensation novels,” which were extremely popular in the Victorian era. Adam has an interesting backstory as well, though to my regret, it wasn’t really developed as well as it could have been.

When a Dragon Comes Courting, by Claire Trella Hill

When a company of soldiers are quartered at a war widow’s farm, they bring with them a prisoner… and a threat to her safety. The prisoner is one of her land’s most fearsome enemies, so why does Roe find herself sympathizing with him? When a Dragon Comes Courting is a slow-burn, poignant dragon-shifter romance.

The Love Remedy, by Elizabeth Everett

The Love Remedy is a well-researched, sensitively written novel that delivers a moving romance while avoiding most of the usual historical-romance tropes. I loved it!

The Golden Chance, by Jayne Ann Krentz

A quick, fun romance with Krentz’s signature humor. It holds up fairly well considering it was written in 1990.

Love at First Book, by Jenn McKinlay

A warm, cozy hug of a romance, and a tribute to books, writers, and booklovers. I loved a lot of things about this book: the main characters, the banter, and all the bookish references.

Inheritance, by Nora Roberts

Inheritance, the first book in Nora Roberts’s Lost Brides trilogy, provides the perfect blend of wish-fulfillment fantasy, friendship, romance, and deliciously spooky atmosphere.

Gabriel’s Angel, by Nora Roberts

Gabriel’s Angel is an excellent example of just how good category romance can be when it’s done well, within the strict confines of length and style imposed by the publisher. Gabriel, a reclusive artist on the run from grief, and Laura, a woman trying desperately to protect her unborn child, are both in pain from events in their recent pasts. Each needs something the other can give: inspiration, protection, understanding, healing.

Always Remember, by Mary Balogh

Jennifer Arden, younger sister of the Duke of Whilby, was crippled after a childhood disease left her with a twisted, shortened leg and foot. Deeply loved by her family, she is nonetheless an outsider rather than a participant in the ton, forced by her disability to sit quietly on the sidelines. She has cultivated a cheerful acceptance of her fate, but in her heart, she longs for romance, marriage, children… or simply to walk and dance like other young women.