Hi all,

I am not a regular poster here, hope you'll still help me out!  My mom has recently ended a long term relationship and is trying to reclaim some old hobbies. She and I both used to be big readers of romance, but I've moved into other genres and she hasn't read much for the last 10 years.  I have continued to read Julia Quinn and Lisa Kleypas, but that's about it.  Mom used to love historicals by Johanna Lindsey, Julie Garwood, Lindsay Sands (?)- pretty much the bestsellers from 10-15 years ago. She likes westerns and scottish/irish settings the most (or did way back then.)  My impression is that the more recent Johanna Lindseys have been pretty lackluster, though I haven't actually read them to be sure.  Any suggestions on what to send her or recommend to her?  Due to circumstances, we should probably avoid anything where the man has an affair, no matter how well he redeems himself. Dukes having mistresses do not count, just men who cheat on their partners. Sex is good, but please don't trick me into sending her erotica, this is my MOM. She is a very young 54, but I still don't want to go there. Humor is good, and nothing with too much history- light is better.

Also, if you have a good selection and would be willing to make a deal please PM me!

Also the second, she does not read contemporary romance AT ALL.

Thanks, everyone.

I'm new to historical but I've read a few recently that I've liked: Amanda Quick's 'Slightly Shady' is a msytery/historical romance type book and is the 1st in a series of I think 3. I also liked therea Medeiros (not suer of the spelling sorry) Bride and Beast and have a couple more of her books in my stack to read. I also read Carried Away by Jill Barnett which is set in early US -think late 1800's and had 2 romances going on and liked it well enough I bought some other books by her as well as by Lisa Kleypas . I have 'suddenly you ' by kleypas in my pile to read along with devil in winter and a few others. I also have some historical mysteries that have Deadly in the titles..forgot the author but some were recommending them here a while back and someone gave me a deal on them.

These are contemporary but your mom may like them because they all feature women who are in their 30s minimum and some go up to 50's/60's I think and i"ve been really liking them though they're hit and miss. Harlequin Next is the line and unfortunately harlequin stopped printing these but there were some awesome reads. Merline Lovelace has 2 'ex marks the spot' and 'risky business' that go in that order though focus on 1 couple each. Charlotte Douglas has a Maggie Skerritt detective/mystery series and she's late 40's or early 50's I think and they're set in Florida and were good. A sillier mystery series is Stevi Mitman's life in long island can be murder' but the first book you need to read first to get the whole background and it's kinda hard to find but I enjoyed those. Starting from scratch was a good one, Grin and Bear it was a silly funny one that was sort of a mystery though it had a cheating hubby in it. All the Next titles are different topics/themes/level of seriousness/humor but are supposed to feature women at a turning point in life making decisions as to what comes next.

Also, these contemporariesare very good IMO if she decides to go that route: Curtiss Ann Matlock hs a series 'cold tea on a hot day', at the corner of love and heartache, and recipes for easy living. there are 2 others in the same setting that take place earlier -lost highways and driving lessons(not  sure which comes first) and robyn carr has an awesome series that starts with Virgin River. these are a tad spicier than the 3 that come before this series 'the grace valley' ones but aren't erotica. the grace valley ones are  bit like the mitford books by karon though with more drama going on and a romance that lasts 3 books and isn't focused on too much. the virgin river ones mention other characters but focus mainly on one couple.

I enjoy Julia Quinn, Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Amanda Quick, (earlier books) and Lisa Kleypas.

I have some Teresa Medeiros books but I haven't read.

Wall flower quartet by Lisa Kleypas are fun. Actually I really liked them.

There's also Victoria Alexander,and Samantha James.

Good luck.

Celeste Bradley has the Liar Clubs series and the Royal Four series are very funny and sexy.

Also, try Sabrina Jeffries who has a few series - most current is School of Heiresses.

The Effington series from Victoria Alexander is very light and fun. I think your mom might like them.

Jilian Hunter also has some light book.

Madeline Hunter has the London Dueling Society series

Definite try Mary Balogh "Slightly" and "Simply" series. Very light and romatic.

Anything by LaVyrle Spencer except HomeSong, Bittersweet and By Gones (cheating factor).

If she likes westerns I think she'd enjoy A Reason To Live, A Reason to Believe and A Reason to Sin by Maureen McKade. Also, she'd probably like Laura Kinsale- they're long, in-depth books she could really get lost in (plus they're great!) I also recommend she trying Loretta Chase, she's my favorite and her books really are like a journey- with romance, adventure, mystery and a lot of intelligence. Her Carsington series is amazing, in order it's Miss Wonderful, Mr. Impossible, Lord Perfect and Not Quite A Lady. She might also like Elizabeth Hoyt- The Raven Prince, The Leopard Prince, The Serpent Prince and To Taste Temptation. I gave my mom her books (she's around your moms age) and she really loved them, especialy the "Prince" ones. Good luck to both you and your mother, I hope she enjoys reclaiming her old hobbies :)

Thanks everyone! I need to make a list and read descriptions now. I have a fairly good idea of what she likes, I just didn't want to start looking at random. The romance scene has changed a lot (for the better) and it helps to have a starting place.

I really like Julie Garwood's books.   She has the type of man that would die before he cheated.

I looked through some of my top-rated romances within the last ten years and here's a few I came up with.

Gayle Callen - The Viscount in Her Bedroom (part of the Shelby sisters but can be read alone; the hero is blind)

Jacquie d'Alessandro - Confessions at Midnight (part of her current series, but can be read alone; hero carries a torch for heroine who is a widow)

Suzanne Enoch - London's Perfect Scoundrel and England's Perfect Hero (books 2 and 3 in a related series) LPS' hero is a rake who reforms due to the love of a good woman and EPH's hero is suffering PTSD from the war.

Laura Lee Guhrke - And Then He Kissed Her (although the heroine becomes the hero's mistress before the Happily Ever After); there may be a danger if your mom likes the book and tries to get her backlist though, because one of her books does feature a hero who's committed adultery, The Marriage Bed

Laura Lee Guhrke - Guilty Pleasures (plain bluestocking and a hunky duke)

Lorraine Heath - Just Wicked Enough (marriage of convenience) and the Texas series (Texas Destiny is from 1997, but so good!)

Elizabeth Hoyt - The Raven Prince (the hero is scarred from childhood smallpox; this is the first in a trilogy but the only one I have read and a bit on the steamy side, but not erotica)

Samantha James - The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell (hero is very tortured, but I don't remember any cheating elements, IIRC)

Sabrina Jeffries - To Pleasure a Prince (middle of a trilogy, but I think can stand alone and is the best one in my opinion)

Laura Kinsale - Flowers From the Storm (maybe too heartwrenching, but definitely no cheating and one of the best love stories out there; hero is a math scholar and a duke who suffers a stroke and the heroine is Quaker)

Debra Mullins - Donovan's Bed and Just One Touch (first one is a western)

Karen Robards - Scandalous (hero masquerades as heroine's brother, but they fall in love in the meantime, hence the title)

Lynsay Sands - Love is Blind (heroine is blind without her spectacles and hero was scarred in the war)

Elizabeth Thornton - Almost a Princess (don't remember too much, but I remember liking it a whole lot, and it was not so steamy)

Susan Wiggs - Charm School and Halfway to Heaven (I don't read her contemporaries but Wiggs is good at the American historical, both of these touch on slavery and feature plainer heroines in a ugly duckling scenario)

Of these, I have To Pleasure a Prince and Love is Blind on my bookshelf. I also have a few other historicals that weren't keepers for me, but your mom might enjoy. The ones I can think of are:

Karen Hawkins - To Scotland, With Love

Lisa Kleypas - Someone to Watch Over Me

Linda Needham - The Pleasure of Her Kiss

Amanda Quick - Slightly Shady (mentioned above; I also have a bunch of other Quicks)

Julia Quinn - On the Way to the Wedding

Also, some other authors you might check out are: Loretta Chase (Mr. Impossible and Lord of Scoundrels are fan favorites), Anne Gracie, Georgette Heyer!, Jillian Hunter, Cheryl Reavis (westerns), and Jodi Thomas (westerns).

I hope that helps. I could do a 2 for 1. Good luck!

Edited to correct wonky formatting.

My favorite author is Debbie Macomber~

has your mom read the Cedar Cove series that author? Its very good..

Im having a special this weekend...

3-for-1..just order the one you would like from the system, and PM me your choice of the other 2 books..

Thanks!

Jodi Thomas writes great historical westerns. Most of her books have Texas somewhere in the title but not all of them. She adds humor to her storylines sometimes too.