Recommendations

In which I pretend you are a romance genre skeptic, challenge you to read the best of the best, and dare you not to convert.  

What you should know about my recommendations:

1. If the plot is improbable, I probably don’t care.
2. If the characters are improbable, I stopped reading it.
3. If I like it, the characters are probably imperfect (but not stupid) and vividly portrayed (by scenarios, not language).
4. If I love it, the imperfect characters are probably vividly portrayed, and the writing itself has wooed me (enter Joanna Bourne, exhibit one).
5. If I actually make room for it on my shelf (don’t worry, Joanna, you’re there), all the stuff above applies, plus, for whatever entirely subjective reason, I have reacted to the relationship.  This probably says more about me than the book, but there you have it.

Here are (in no particular order) some of the best books the genre as to offer.  Click on the title or cover to read a review.

1. The Windflower, Laura London, 1984.
2. Waltzing in Ragtime, Eileen Charbonneau, 1996.
3. Morning Glory, LaVyrle Spencer, 1989.
4. Courting Miss Hattie, Pamela Morsi, 1991.
5. Flowers From the Storm, Laura Kinsale, 1992.
6. Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie, 2004.
7. Sunshine and Shadow, Sharon and Tom Curtis, 1986.
8. The Spymaster’s Lady, Joanna Bourne, 2008.
9. Private Arrangements, Sherry Thomas, 2008.

What else should be on this list?