The best romance novels that will stay with you long after the last page

Why am I passionate about this?

I read many different genres, but my favorite to write and read is romance. I love ones that have angst, adventure, danger, and a passionate push and pull between the love interests. Those seem to stick with me long after I turn the last page. In my own writing, I like to do the same, giving readers a love story they want to visit again and again. The books I’ve listed are just some of the wonderful, unforgettable novels I’ve read, and I hope you enjoy them too! Happy reading!


I wrote...

Promise Me Darkness

By Paige Weaver,

Book cover of Promise Me Darkness

What is my book about?

Maddie had the perfect life but Ryder Delaney was the one imperfection in it. He was the bad boy, the black sheep, the one your mother always warned you about. He was also her best friend. She knew the real man hiding behind the tattoos and bad attitude. He knew everything about her.

Since childhood, they had been inseparable, two opposites that couldn’t stay away from each other. He was her darkness; she was his light. But soon their world collapsed. The electrical grid was attacked. Chaos reigned. Each moment was a struggle between life and death. Alone and on the run for their lives, their only goal was to survive and to ignore the true feelings they had for each other. But love is powerful and cannot be stopped even when the darkness descends.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Boy and His Ribbon

Paige Weaver Why did I love this book?

Wow, this book! I loved it so much! Pepper Winters is one of my favorite authors. She’s an expert at world-building and writing dark romance. Her characters stay in your mind long after you finish the novel and her unique, sexy stories are unforgettable. This book was unlike anything that I have read lately. It has adventure, angst in Pepper’s wonderful signature style, and a deep, everlasting love between the two main characters that is both heart-wrenching and extraordinary. I highly recommend reading this one. Tissues will be needed!

By Pepper Winters,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Boy and His Ribbon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“What do you do when you meet your soul mate? No wait…that’s too easy. What do you do when you meet your soul mate and have to spend a lifetime loving him in secret? I’ll tell you what you do. You lie.” REN Ren was eight when he learned that love doesn’t exist—that the one person who was supposed to adore him only cared how much he was worth. His mother sold him and for two years, he lived in terror. But then…he ran. He thought he’d run on his own. Turned out, he took something of theirs by accident…


Book cover of On the Island

Paige Weaver Why did I love this book?

Tracey Garvis Graves writes amazing, deeply moving books. I have read everything she publishes and recommend them constantly.

This one was her first and it has stayed with me ever since I read it. Two people, a plane crash, and a deserted island. Talk about different! I couldn’t put it down! What it took to survive and the forbidden love that develops is a story that stayed with me for a long time. If you are a romance novel addict, this novel should be on your shelf, and I know it will become one of your all-time favorites. I can’t say enough about this book or its wonderful, creative author.

By Tracey Garvis Graves,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked On the Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It would always be summer on the island . . .

THE EMOTIONALLY GRIPPING AND ADDICTIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'I cannot put into words the love I have for Anna and T.J. I felt as though I was right there with them' 5***** Reader Review
'I'd give this more than 5 stars if I could! Will stay with me for a very long time' 5***** Reader Review
_________

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a summer job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's holiday home in the Maldives, she immediately accepts.

T.J. wishes he weren't going. Almost…


Book cover of Red Thorns

Paige Weaver Why did I love this book?

Rina Kent writes hot, dark, erotic novels that stick with you for a long time. Her writing is spectacular, and her male characters are the types that I love to hate. Red Thorns is an opposites attract, enemies to lovers novel, and is not for the faint of heart but it’s a wild ride on the dark side that will make your heart race and require you to keep an ice cold drink nearby.

By Rina Kent,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Red Thorns as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A bet turned into a disaster.

Sebastian Weaver is the star quarterback and the college’s heartthrob.
Rich. Handsome. Bastard.
Everyone’s attention flocked toward him and all the girls dreamed to be with him.
Not me.
At least, not until he made a move on me.
See, I thought I was stronger than Sebastian’s charms.
I thought I could survive being his target.
I thought wrong.
Little did I know that he will make my most twisted fantasies come true.
Fantasies I didn’t know existed...

Red Thorns is a dark new adult book that contains dubious situations some readers might find…


Book cover of Bared to You

Paige Weaver Why did I love this book?

In Bared to You, Sylvia Day created a world that is easy to get lost in and is very sexy. The characters, Eve and Gideon, meet and sparks fly but outside forces and internal struggles try to keep them apart. Through ups and downs, they fought for their love, sometimes struggling together and sometimes apart. Their story stayed with me a long time and I have reread it again and again, revisiting old friends. I highly encourage you to visit their world that so many romance readers have indulged in.

By Sylvia Day,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Bared to You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bared to You will take you to the very limits of obsession - and introduce you to a hero you'll never forget . . .

One of the bestselling love stories of the century from the No. 1 bestselling Crossfire series
_______

Our journey began in fire . . .

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness - beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white hot.

I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life.

I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me.

I was…


Book cover of The Mister

Paige Weaver Why did I love this book?

E.L. James always delivers steamy, entertaining novels and The Mister is no exception. Maxim is a “spare” to an earldom but that changes when tragedy strikes his family. He’s left with a responsibility he doesn’t want and feelings for someone on his staff he shouldn’t have. What develops is a love story that has stayed with me. The novel reminds me of regency novels but it is set in modern times. If you’re a fan of E.L. James and haven’t read The Mister or if you’ve never read one of her novels, I recommend this one. It is a wonderfully written love story.

By E L James,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Mister as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Packed with passion ... a love story full of charm, music and soul-mates ... a classic E L James combo of the sweet and erotic with the perfect ending for romantics. I think it's her best by far!' - Milly Johnson, The Sun
___________________
The thrilling new romance from E L James, author of the phenomenal #1 bestselling Fifty Shades trilogy

London, 2019. Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he's never had to work and he's rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family's…


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Blood of the White Bear

By Marcia Calhoun Forecki, Gerald Schnitzer,

Book cover of Blood of the White Bear

Marcia Calhoun Forecki Author Of Blood of the White Bear

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author History hound Polyglot Bookworm Neatness averse Yoga beginner

Marcia's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Virologist Dr. Rachel Bisette sees visions of a Kachina and remembers the plane crash that killed her parents and the Dine medicine woman who saved her life. Rachel is investigating a new and lethal hantavirus spreading through the Four Corners, and believes the Kachina is calling her to join the work against the spreading pandemic.

She finds Eva Yellow Horn, a medicine woman with the key to fighting the pandemic. When Eva demonstrates ancient healing powers beyond science, Rachel recognizes her as the medicine woman who saved her life years before. Eva reveals that Rachel’s father was investigating the 1979 nuclear disaster in Church Rock, when his plane crashed, killing her parents. Now, Rachel undertakes a new investigation, but she is not alone.

Blood of the White Bear

By Marcia Calhoun Forecki, Gerald Schnitzer,

What is this book about?

“Visions of kachinas guide doctor to spiritual healing in pandemic.”

2014 Finalist in the Willa Literary Award

This is a book that once closed and last line read, my mind wandered to explore certain character motivations and potential follow-up responses. I don’t think an author has to answer every possibility, art comes into play best when the reader’s own imagination can wander within the story.

Dr. Rachel Bisette is drawn to the Four Corners to lead the search for a vaccine against a lethal pandemic. One elusive indigenous woman, Eva Yellow Horn, carries the gift of immunity. In her search…


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