Sarah's Library

This is my favourite day of the challenge!  I have a lot of favourite romance books, logical really as it's my most commonly read genre since I turned 12 or 13.  As I have too many to choose just one, I'm going to name a few.  My favourite recently read romance is Losing It by Cora Carmack which I found sweet and funny.  My original review is below.

5/07 - Perfect light romance!!  There were some hilarious scenes, especially the one where Bliss invents Hamlet the cat as an excuse for why she can't have sex with Garrick the night they meet.  There was great sexual tension between Garrick and Bliss, especially during the nightclub scene - that was hot!  The first couple of chapters of the next book were included at the back (which gives the reader the impression of a book longer than it actually is) and they were a great teaser for a book with a HEA for Cade.  I can't wait to read the full book.

Another romance I have to include here is Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning.  It's one of only five (the others are rest of the series) romance books I've ever bought.  My mum bought romances by the hundreds, but I figured that since we'd owned so many (and not all of them were worth the $19.99 she paid for them) I would only buy them if I was likely to read them over and over.  Spell of the Highlander has the perfect balance of great romance that leads to great sex scenes and humour that actually makes you laugh, not just smile.  And I've laughed every time I've read this, not just the first time.  My original review is below.

Updated review - I first read this about 3 years ago and reviewed it back then, but I don't think it's a very good review (although I completely agree with it), so I want to revise it.

In most, if not all, of Moning's books the heroine comments (usually under her breath) that they don't make men like that anymore.  I would have to agree.  I was trying to think about where you might find a modern day comparison and the best I could come up with were WWF wrestlers.  If they made one of these books into a movie they should cast Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) as the hero (I can kind of see him with long braids dressed in a plaid).
Jessi St. James is another intelligent AND beautiful woman (as all of Moning's Highlander heroines are) who no one in her real life appreciates.  In comes the big, muscley hero who immediately appreciates her looks and brains.  My favourite scene is when Cian is stuck in the mirror and Jessi has to rescue it, with him in it from the airport Special Items collection room.  There's a bit of action which involves Jessi walloping the bitchy woman in charge of collections across the head with her backpack.  I love Cian's reaction when he hears what happened.  Another memorably funny moment happens when Drustan sees Daegus arguing with Cian, who is stuck in the mirror (again).  All Drustan can see from an upstairs window is Daegus holding a large mirror and yelling at it.  My description can't do the scene or conversation justice, but all I can say is that I found it laugh-out-loudable.
I want to reiterate my love of romance stories that show us how characters from previous books in the same series are fairing.  This one gives us further information about Gwen and Drustan from Kiss of the Highlander and further information about Chloe and Daegus from the Dark Highlander.  I love this, it's like she's telling us that even in today's society not everyone gets divorced.

(Old Review)
I love Karen Marie Moning (have I mentioned that in a previous review?). Her Scottish Highlander characters are so much fun. They're all funny and passionate, in love with "their woman" from the moment they see them and ready for a good swordfight to get them back when they inevitably get kidnapped. Also the heroines are always strong, sassy women who make their men admit their feelings properly. Spell of the Highlander follows in the usual vein as well as continuing the story of the MacKeltars (a favourite theme of mine).

I have to include one of the old-time romances (I consider old-time to be early 90s and earlier and they were pretty much all published by Avon) that my mum bought and were my first introduction to the romance genre.  Those old-time romances were mostly written by Johanna Lindsey, Elizabeth Lowell, Virginia Henley, Julie Garwood and Suzanne Enoch.  From those authors my favourite book would have to be Elizabeth Lowell's Amber Beach or maybe her Where the Heart Is - it's hard to choose your favourite book from your favourite old-time romance writer.  Unfortunately, I haven't written a review for either book, but I'll just say that I loved the humour and tension between the characters plus the mystery in Amber Beach and, once again, the tension between the characters in Where the Heart Is.