Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Will Make You Swoon
Top Ten Tuesday is a great meme created by Jamie at The Broke and the Bookish that combines top ten lists and books. She’s come up with a great list of weekly discussion topics and I hope you’ll join in the discussion by commenting on this post or some of the other ones (you can find the list of participating blogs in this week's Top Ten Tuesday Post on her site).
This week’s topic is Top Ten Books That Will Make You Swoon.
I love a good romance - one that makes my stay up late reading and then haunts me long after I've reached "The End." Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights are all a given. Here are a few of my other favories:
1. Various
My very favoritest type of romance novel is actually the 3-4 author anthology/short story collection. These stories tend to be tighter and without all the needless (and often completely dumb) misunderstandings and obstacles between the lovers. Things move along and get resolved a lot faster. Embarrassing confession time: I have two whole bookshelves FULL of these books, each containing at least one book that I read over and over.
My favorite stories include Meg’s Secret Admirer by Cheryl Holt from Be My Valentine (unloved orphan living in her aunt’s house sends herself gifts, pretending they’re from a secret admirer—until she starts getting gifts she didn’t send), Fall From Grace by Jill Barnett from A Season in the Highlands (completely loony highland lass bent on revenge kidnaps the wrong man—one of the funniest stories I’ve ever read!), Daniel and the Angel by Jill Barnett from A Holiday of Love (funny and touching, this is the story of an angel who will lose her wings unless she can teach a cold-hearted miser to love), Rescuing Rosebud by Judith A. Landowne from Christmas Kittens (mayhem caused by a wayward kitten brings two lonely hearts together), and To Kiss In the Shadows by Lynn Kurland from Tapestry (two sexy brothers fighting over sweet girl lacking in self-confidence during the Middle Ages). SWOON!
2. Devil's Cub by Georgette HeyerI just wrote a post last week about this book for Heyer Month over at Here There Be Books. Dominic might be an ass, but there’s something about this story that makes me swoon.
3. Faro's Daughter by Georgette HeyerAnother Heyer gem, I love the war between Deb and Max—they are equally matched, but I love it when they fall for each other even more.
4. Memoirs of a Geisha Okay, seriously, who was NOT rooting for The Chairman to fall in love with Sayuri? And when he walks in Sayuri and the general…EEK! Who didn’t have heart failure in that moment?
5. Going Postal by Terry PratchettYou’re probably going “Say waaahhhh…” right about now, because, obviously, Pratchett isn’t know for his romance, but I was rooting for Adora Belle Dearheart to warm up to Moist and when she finally did…YAYYY!! Their romance was so understated and yet one of the swoon-worthiest I’ve ever read.
6. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth GeorgeNat and Kit are okay, but Marcy and John? ::swoon::
7. Bleak House by Charles DickensEsther is so sweet and wonderful and I desperately want her to find someone who will cherish her…and then she gets small pox and becomes scarred and knows that her chances of finding love are all but gone. ::sob:: I actually wanted her to end up with Jarndyce, but when Woodcourt returned and told her he loved her and then Jarndyce released her to marry him… ::swoon::
8. The Romance of Atlantis by Taylor CaldwellSignar is an asshole at the beginning and I was rooting for Salustra to pull of her scheme to poison him and then…and then….
9. The Bride by Julie GarwoodThis is another story that manages to combine comedy and romance. Jamie creates mayhem wherever she goes, I just love her so much.
10. Hagar by Lois T. HendersonWhen Simon first asks for Hagar’s hand and is rejected by Abraham…and then every year Simon sends representatives to ask for Hagar and every year Abraham refuses…and then Abraham exiles Hagar and just as she nearly dies…SIMON APPEARS AND TAKES HER AWAY. Hooray!!!
And there you have it—some of my favorite books to curl up with when I need to have the feels. What are yours? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
And remember—support bloggers. If you read it, comment on it! :-)
TERRI BRUCE writes science fiction and fantasy stories with a literary bent from a haunted house in New England where she lives with her husband and three cats. Her contemporary fantasy Hereafter (Afterlife #1) is available wherever books are sold. Look for the sequel - Thereafter (Afterlife #2) coming May 1, 2014.
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