Celebrate Valentine's Week!

The big Kahuna of romance holidays is just around the corner...February 14, Valentine's Day. Although I have some nightmarish flashbacks from working in a flower shop on this consumer-driven holiday (think rose thorn injuries!), the concept is very sweet. Celebrating love is what romance writers do every time we create a new story. Valentine's Day also holds a special place in my heart since my husband and I started our courtship on this day in 1987, when I left a hand-made Valentine pinned to his dorm room door. I told my friends I was going to "rock his world" and needless to say, I have been rocking it ever since. To commemorate this holiday, The Quirky Ladies would like to recommend the author/book we consider to be the epitome of romance. Enjoy this wonderful holiday with chocolate, (thornless) roses, and of course...a romantic book!


The Quirky Ladies Valentine's Specials...

Nina- Simply Love by Mary Balogh...Balogh is the master of deeply romantic love stories, and this book about two damaged souls finding love is extraordinary.

Dalton-Virgins by Caryl Rivers (This the book I read that made me fall in love with backstory!) Also, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, and The Admirals's Bride and Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann. After the Night and Kill and Tell by Linda Howard. Oh, and about 500 others sitting on my keeper shelf, but I'll let someone else talk now...

Vicki- Paradise by Judith McNaught, an old time, sentimental favorite. And Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, which is a more complex, multi-layered romance story.  I also adored LaVyrle Spencer's Morning Glory and November of the Heart, both of these romances were so poignant they made me laugh and cry.  Suzanne Brockmann's Out of Control with Wildcard Karmody, who finally finds the love of his life while fleeing for his life in the jungles of Indonesia  is also a fun ride filled with romance and adventure.  

Michelle - The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. Yes, the entire three books. Although it's housed in the fantasy, not romance section, I'm amazed time and time again by these three books and Bishop's ability to weave a believable sense of dark, sensual destiny bringing the hero and heroine together. Daemon, the hero, is born knowing he is meant to be Witch's lover. And by the end of their journey on twisted paths to reach one another I sure believe it.

Kate - Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. To be honest, I'm chosing this for purely sentimental reasons (although it is a great romance regardless). I'd given up on reading romance in college because the women in the books I had been reading just didn't speak to me. Then I was given this book by my roommate and it changed everything. Johanna is strong, smart and sassy and the story is fast, fun, touching and hot. Perfect.

Tara - Bittersweet by LaVyrle Spencer. It was one of my first "big" romance reads after graduating from shorter Harlequin Romances (think white covers with a couple encircling each other in a circle, no less). The hero and heroine, Eric and Maggie, were in their mid-to-late 30s (imagine that!) and were so well written they seemed like real people. They had a an epic love story. They loved each other as teenagers, lost each other, gone through other marriages, and then suddenly found each other again. They had a torrid affair, their families were aghast and I was in love with them and their story. After reading Bittersweet, I continued reading bigger and more sweeping romances. In fact, I now write single title contempories myself and thank Ms. Spencer for inspiring me.