Well, first off I'd like to introduce myselft. My name is Angelica but my friends call me Angie. I have a pressing problem I hope someone could help me with. Whose getting bored of the same formula? Repetitive plots? Redundant characters? Evil villain? Jealous mistress? Cute adorable children? Flawless heroine? Great nonstop sex everytime?! I've been reading romance novels for four years, ever since freshman year in high school. It seems to me that authors are running out of fresh ideas. This year I've read mostly the same books. Can anyone recommend any new authors/books that are interesting and out of the norm? Isn't anyone else tired of the same formula: boy meets girl, instant attraction, there is animosity/fear between hero and heroine, heroine gets pregnant usually by hero, heroine risks everyones lives, hero saves her, HEA. How about something new like a villain who the reader can like, a heroine and hero who grow to like each other and become attracted to each other? Why does the heroine always get pregnant at some point in the book? Why not wait? Sorry if this is so long. My fav authors are Joanna Lindsey, Mary Jo Putney, JD Robb, Judith McNaught, J.R. Ward, Jacqueline Baird, Linda Howard, and Lorraine Heath.

Have you tried anything by Jennifer Crusie? No pregnancies that I can think of and in a few I can think of the sex is not always perfect.

Have you read Linda Howard's newest, Death Angel? The storyline is different than you usually see.

I mix up my reads pretty often. I have authors that are auto-buy but also mix others in. for instance I may read some contemporary with lotsa sex then read western historical low on the sex, a paranormal that's funny then one more serious..I like to switch around so I don't burn out on an author.

I also like to switch around and read other stuff as well.  Since you like JR Ward, so aren't opposed to a little paranormal you might want to give Kim Harrisson's Hollows series or Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld or Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson Series a try.  All of them have romantic elements but are more urban Urban Fantasy and don't necessarily have HEA endings.  I definitely get burnt out on the typical plot lines and I'm finding that I  tend to be more picky about Historicals lately.  I'm really enjoying Elizabeth Hoyt's books, but many others I've read lately have been too saccarhine for me to tolerate well.  I think after a break I might be less down on them.

I never read 2 books by the same author in a row, and I skip around, too, with which genres I read.  I just recently read a girl meets ghost love story - Stardust of Yesterday by Lynn Kurland.  That was a new type of book for me.  I really enjoyed it, and would love to read more like it. 

Cherry Adair books are good, and they help break up the monontony of some of the books I read.

I also like reading books with heroines that have disabilities  - blind, deaf, heart conditions, other illnesses.  They are different and you don't read those story lines everyday.

You might enjoy some of the time travels, although I guess they could get repetitive after awhile, too, but I haven't read so many of them yet that I'm tired of that kind of plot.

Good luck in finding some new things to try.

You can find diversity in every sub-genre, but it involves a lot of searching & reading reviews, getting recommendations, and old fashioned trial & error:P  I read some duds; I'm sure everyone does, but I find a lot of good things too.  It's easier to burn out when you stick with the same authors too, so while I have my favorites,  I'm always looking for something new & different.  I read mostly historicals myself, and while I do occasionally pick up things that are pretty formulaic, there are a lot out there that are fresh and original too.  It really depends on what you like and how willing you are to broaden the range of what you're willing to try.  My biggest requirement is originality, so I can definitely relate to being bored with the same old worn out plot devices.  Here's a list of authors & books I regularly recommend to people who are looking for something either refreshing & different, or just better than the usual stuff:

Marsha Canham - mostly a lot of "big screen" style action adventure romances

Across a Moonlit Sea & The Iron Rose  - some of the best pirate books I've ever read

The Robin Hood trilogy: Through a Dark Mist , In the Shadow of Midnight, and The Last Arrow

Stand alone novels:  Pale Moon Rider, Under the Desert Moon, and Swept Away

 Pride of Lions and Blood of Roses

 Hard to find but great: Wind and the Sea

Meredith Duran

The Duke of Shadows

And 2 upcoming releases scheduled for 2009: 

Written on Your Skin

Bound by Your Touch

Connie Brockway

My Dearest Enemy

Promise Me Heaven

As You Desire

The Bridal Season

Bridal Favors

Anything for Love

Loretta Chase - Really great regencies

Lord of Scoundrels (Avon Romantic Treasure)
The Last Hellion (Avon Romantic Treasure) 
Lord Perfect and Mr. Impossible

Suzanne Enoch

The Rake (Lessons in Love)

England's Perfect Hero

London's Perfect Scoundrel : Lessons in Love (Lessons in Love)

Before the Scandal: The Notorious Gentlemen

After the Kiss (Notorious Gentlemen, Bk 1)

Jo Goodman

A Season to Be Sinful

The Price of Desire

If HIs Kiss Is Wicked

One Forbidden Evening (Grantham Bk 2)

Sandy Hingston

The Suitor

The Affair

Judith Ivory

The Indiscretion

The Proposition

Untie My Heart

Sleeping Beauty

Laura Kinsale

For My Lady's Heart

Shadowheart

Uncertain Magic

Flowers From The Storm

My Sweet Folly

Adele Ashworth

Winter Garden

Stolen Charms

Lisa Kleypas

Wallflowers Series:

Devil in Winter

It Happened One Autumn (Wallflowers, Bk 2)

Secrets of a Summer Night

Scandal in Spring

Bow Street Runners:

Someone to Watch Over Me (Bow Street Runners, Bk 1)

Lady Sophia's Lover (Bow Street Runners, Bk 2)

Worth Any Price (Bow Street Runners, Bk 3)

Others

Then Came You

Dreaming of You

Mine Till Midnight

Seduce Me At Sunrise

Jill Barnett

Bewitching

Dreaming

Pamela Clare Colonial America

Ride the Fire

Surrender

Untamed

Maggie Osborne  - American Frontier/Westerns (some of the best out there)

Silver Lining

The Wives of Bowie Stone

The Promise of Jenny Jones

The Best Man

I Do, I Do, I Do

The Bride of Willow Creek

Foxfire Bride

Prairie Moon

Candice Proctor - mostly writes books set in Georgian & Victorian era Australia

Night in Eden

Whispers of Heaven

Beyond Sunrise

September Moon

Bequest

Karen Ranney

My Beloved (Loved, Bk 1)

My True Love

After the Kiss (Avon Romantic Treasures.)

Tapestry

The Devil Wears Tartan

An Unlikely Governess

Sherry Thomas

Private Arrangements

Delicious

And upcoming release:

Not Quite a Husband

Laura Lee Guhrke

Not So Innocent (Sonnet Books)

Guilty Pleasures (Seduction, Bk 1)

His Every Kiss (Avon Romantic Treasure)

And Then He Kissed Her

Breathless (Sonnet Books)

Hopefully this is enough to get you off to a good start.  Happy reading:)

*edited again for sloppy spacing:P

Flowers from the Storm (Kinsale) is a classic in the disabled hero category in my opinion.  Different than anything I've ever read.

Sara

You might try branching out into the Paranormal romance genre.  Very few kids or pregnancies in those.

You gotta take it into your own hands. I read almost every genre of book out there, and mixing it up keeps ALL of them fresh. Instead of only reading romances, check out mysteries, literary classics, memoirs- anything! You'd be surprised how many books out there you'd discover you'll love that you would never had considered before. One of my favorites that's definitely a romance 9though it'll never be shelved in that aisle) is The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It's absolutely fantastic and one of the most original stories- and romances- I've ever read.

I have tried to branch out of romance but it's hard for me because if a story is not romance then it has to have some secondary love story in there. For example, I enjoyed Stardust by Neil Goldman(?) and A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott(?) but these stories have a secondary love story incorporated. I've tried Connie Brockway, Loretta Chase, Laura Kinsale, Victoria Alexander and Jennifer Cruise. Oh, didn't like Death Angel 'cause they got to the sex to soon. I felt there was no more sexual tension. But anyway, I don't like their writing styles. I loved Catherine Anderson 'cause she wrote lovely stories with unusual heroes/heroines. I've exhausted PNR. For the most part, I like an intense, fast-paced book with 3D characters. Besides, all the authors mentioned above have predictable plots. Like, the heroine is running away 'cause she "killed" someone, the hero is some ex-law man who helps her find out the real killer. Why can't see be the killer? Maybe it was self-defense or something...Or, the heroine was/is married to a cruel, vindictive sadistic bastard...Like couldn't there be a story where she actually loved her husband and he loved her? I think I'll just take it easy from know on. Take it one book at a time. This is what happens when one reads a new book everyday. Ah, well :(  Thanks for responding.

Have you tried the Goddess Summoning series by P.C. Cast? They are Goddess of the Sea, Goddess of Spring, Goddess of Light, Goddess of Love, and Warrior Rising. I haven't read the last two yet but the others were unconventional, magical AND wonderfully romantic. A great mix when you're bored with the usual formula.

I have been reading a lot of Romance in the past few years also.  I have also had the problem of finding some authors that mix it up from the repetitive "happily ever after"  so here are some of my recomendations...

Marjorie M. Liu: The Iron Hunt- This book is paranormal but without all of the perfect sex, actually it is lacking any real romance and sex.  The heroine is far from perfect and the story line left me feeling like I haven't read anything quite like it.  This was one of my favorite books this year.

Sherrilyn Kenyon: One Silent Night- Unfortunately this book is number 13 in a series that some of the books seem a little repetative.  This book, and the one before it Archeron were  remarkable.  If you like J.R. Ward I am sure that you would like this series....but I would reccomend starting at the beginning.  Honestly even with the very few books that felt repetative or lacking this series is still AWESOME!!!!  It is similar to the J.R. Ward novels in that there is always a back story so that every bookk isn't completely about "one" couple or character.

Laurel K. Hamilton:  Both the Anita Blake (Vampire Huntress) and Merry Gentry (Princess of Fairy) series are awesome.  They have awesome plots and the heroine's never settle down with any one man.  Each book leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen in the next!

Sunny: Mona Lisa Awakening- This series is very different.  It is about a race called the Monere, in which I have never heard the like.  It is awesome!

Patricia Briggs: The Mercy Thompson Series- These are GREAT books!  They have romance in them but the heroine seems to "date" mor than settle down with any one man.  This is a series about Ware-wolves and othe Ware-creatures.  Excellent thrillers!

Angie, I read roughly a book every day or two, esp when work is slow on night shift..that's why I switch subgenres a lot. I'm drawing a blank on who to suggest to you because the stuff you're tired of doesn't bother me in small doses..For instance, I usually have an intense dislike to having children in my romance reads but I've read 2 recently that had kids and enjoyed both a lot - Morning comes Softly by Debbie Macomber and Tall, Dark, and Texan by  Jodi Thomas(3rd in a series). I  just read the 1st , Texas Rain, and loved it! They're fairly light and the women are strong considering what they've gone through and how they have no rights.

I'm fairly new to romance.  I mostly read mysteries before and got bored by them.  Now I just switch back and forth. When I get bored with both genres I add something else to the mix.  I find that helps.  If I read too many of one genre in a row they start to get boring and almost become a chore to finish.

Thanks everyone for your help! I'll definetly be checking into everyone's suggestions. I'm not in a reading "funk" anymore. I just got into Mary Balogh's books. I just started The Devil's Web but I get the feeling that it's part of a series. Does anybody know which series?

I use Fantastic Fiction to figure out series books - just search by author.