Hello PBS Friends and Family. This is my first post ever...Hope you all are doing marvelous.

I have been on the hunt for some great romantic fantasy books. I am 31 yrs old, and have read numerous fantasy books. I adore a little bit of romance in the story line, but sometimes some books recommended to me are a bit OVER the top with romance(way too many steamy sex scenes), or a little immature for my adult self. Also, I am not into vampires or werewolves.... So can anyone give me some awesome books that have a touch of romance in them?? I searched this forum but couldn't find what I am looking as far as an actual list of romantic fantasy only.

Thanks Everyone!!!

Sharon Shinn

Moira J Moore

Lisa Shearin

Sarah A Hoyt

Patricia Briggs  Hurog series, Dragon Bones (1) and Dragon Blood (2)

***Edited by PBS.  Advertising and solicitation are prohibited in our Discussion Forums.***

Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevemere have a series about magic in a regency england.  The first is Cecelia and the Enchanted Chocolate Pot.  Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms series is good.

Lois McMaster Bujold's Sharing Knife trilogy

Mary Stewart's stand alone novels tend to be either mystery or suspense with just a hint of magic and romance.

Caroline Stevermer has another series, College of Magics and Scholar of Magics.

Book club edition with both books

I like the romance(s) in the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks.  The books are definately harsh but I do like how the romances were handled.  Not your traditional romance formulas.

And I do really like the sharing knife.  much more of a romance.  Lots of her fans were not happy with it cause too much romance for them.  The audio books of this are good too.

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

I just got Lisa Shearin's new book, the whole series is quite good! About an Elf girl whose whole family are pirates and theives comes upon a magic necklace and it's trouble all the time from there. Set in a fantasy world too.

2010 - Bewitched & Betrayed (Raine Benares, Bk 4) (Paperback)

2009 - The Trouble with Demons (Raine Benares, Bk 3) (Paperback)

2008 - Armed & Magical (Raine Benares, Bk 2) (Paperback)

2007 - Magic Lost, Trouble Found (Raine Benares, Bk 1) (Paperback)

2008 - The High King's Tomb (Green Rider, Bk 3) (Paperback)

2007 - The High King's Tomb (Green Rider, Bk 3) (Hardcover)

 

Most of the Kitty Norville books by Carrie Vaughn are really good, the romance is bitter sweet in some places! About a pretty girl who becomes a werewolf and finds herself doing a radio show at night to all the supernaturals out there listening. Modern Fantasy!

2005 - Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Bk 1) (Paperback)

2008 - Kitty Goes to Washington (Kitty Norville, Bk 2) (Paperback)

2007 - Kitty Takes a Holiday (Kitty Norville, Bk 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

2008 - Kitty and the Silver Bullet (Kitty Norville, Bk 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

& onward...

 

I can give you some more ideas if you exhaust this list :)

Probably most books published by Luna will be of interest to you.  [Luna is Harlequin's 'Fantasy Chicks' publishing name, although they do tend to be more of the Urban Fantasy lately.]  Some of the series have the romance as a background thing - It doesn't happen in the first book, but by the 4th you're thinking "about time"!

Specific suggestions:

Maria V Snyder

Study Series

• Poison Study(2005)
• Magic Study (2006)
• Fire Study (2008)

Glass Books

• Storm Glass (2009)
• Sea Glass (2009)
• Spy Glass (forthcoming)

Michelle Sagara

Chronicles of Elantra series

(as Michelle Sagara, Luna Books)

The adventures of a young woman with a complicated history.

1. Cast in Shadow (August 2005)
2. Cast in Courtlight (July 2006)
3. Cast in Secret (August 2007)
4. Cast in Fury (October 2008)
5. Cast in Silence (August 2009)
6. Cast in Chaos (August 2010)
7. Cast in Ruin (tentative title)

Catherine Asaro

1. The Charmed Sphere (2004)
2. The Misted Cliffs (2005)
3. The Dawn Star (2006)
4. The Fire Opal (2007)
5. The Night Bird (2008)

These last three are part of an uncompleted series.  The first two are published by Luna, the third is eBook only.  [Luna dropped her series, but not b/c it was bad.]  Each is ok stand-alone,  but they should be read in order.

Christie Golden

1. On Fire's Wings
2. In Stone's Clasp
3. Under Sea's Shadow (ebook only)

If a series about a group of people connected by their fate may interest you, I suggest Katherine Kerr. 

• Act one: Deverry

1. Daggerspell (1986)
2. Darkspell (1987)
3. The Bristling Wood (1989)
4. The Dragon Revenant (1990)

• Act two: The Westlands

1. A Time of Exile (1991)
2. A Time of Omens (1992)
3. Days of Blood and Fire (1993) ? US title; issued in the UK as A Time of War
4. Days of Air and Darkness (1994) ? US title; issued in the UK as A Time of Justice

• Act three: The Dragon Mage

1. The Red Wyvern (1997)
2. The Black Raven (1998)
3. The Fire Dragon (2000)

• Act four: The Silver Wyrm

1. The Gold Falcon (2006)
2. The Spirit Stone (2007)
3. The Shadow Isle (2008)
4. The Silver Mage (2009)

I'd second (or third?) Bujold's Sharing Knife  saga, and add that the first two Chalion novels have nice romantic subplots.   I especially liked Paladin of Souls  - it's not often that a 40-year old widow finds adventure and romance in a fantasy novel.

Mercedes Lackey usually has some romance in her books

I'm jsut posting to book mark this. 

I don't see C.L. Wilson mentioned.  I like her Fading Lands series.  There is romance but it's not the main focus of the books.  first book is Lord of the Fading Lands

There's also the Warland series by Elizabeth Vaughan.  First book is Warprize.  Again has some romance but not the main focus. 

Welcome to the forums!

I second C.L. Wilson.  You might also like Maria Snyder (I think that's her name) and Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study.  The romance is not too over the top.

You might like "Graceling" and "Fire" by Kristin Cashore.

Also, "The Hero and the Crown" and "Blue Sword" by Robin McKinley

The Hero and the Crown has one of my favorite romances in all of fiction. . . packed into probably no more than 2 full pages of text sprinkled through the 200-page novel. ;)

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley is a GREAT recommendation by Sue P., as is The Hero and the Crown.

Another great author who doesn't get enough recognition for great fantasy first and solid romance integral to it, is Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Try The Thread That Binds the Bones for a marvelous romantic fantasy, and then you can move on to the rest of her books.

The Thread is a really great book.  But it is really hard to find.   (Mine is not leaving my house, let alone my keeper shelf.)  Another book to try by Nina K Hoffman is A Fistful of Sky.   (Much easier to find.)

Garrett PI series is by Glenn Cook.  Garrett is a Private Investigor in the Travis McGee mold and the stories are him trying to solve cases for Elves, Dwarves, Pixies and the like.  While he is trying to earn a living his love life keeps intervening.  He is really interested in an Elf called Tinnie Tate but she's a red head and insanely jealous.   He has a passing interest in her sister, the Mob Bosses Daughter, and several other damsels in distress and causing distress and some who think he should be interested in them when he's not but they are paying his salary.  He even has a thing for a woman in a protrait in his office.  Lots of romance and failed romance and misundersandings, etc. all wraped around some pretty good mysteries.

Dragon and the George by Gorden R. Dickson is about a college kid and his girlfriend who get translated to an alternate reality where magic works and is controlled like money in the bank.  He winds up there as a Dragon and has to rescue his girlfriend from a group of baddies that include a sorceror, knight, dragon and an Ogre.  He doesn't even know how to fly but love and friendship will find a way.