SANDI SHILHANEK | Help with Category Recommendations

Every week when I sit down to write I try to think of what has caught my
attention for the week that
might catch yours as well. This week I’m going to be a bit selfish and ask for
happy thoughts for a
close family member. She’s going to be having a major surgery on Tuesday and
has a long
recuperation period ahead
of her.

Unfortunately I live too far away to be of much use during the recovery period,
but I can provide her
with plenty of material to read, and that’s where all of you come in. She loves
category romances.
Every month she’s at e-harlequin ordering the Harlequin Presents and the
Harlequin Romances.
Those are her two favorite series, but she will read other category romances.

My question this week is do you read category romances? If so do you have a
favorite line? A favorite
book? A favorite author? Remember they can be a bit old as I live in a fairly
large metropolitan area
and have plenty of used bookstores to scour.

Even if you don’t read category romances, but read shorter books say 300 pages
or less I’d love your
recommendations. What better thing could I do for mom long distance than to
send her a great get
well present?

Sandi Shilhanek

DFW Tea Readers
Readers 'n 'ritas... celebrating literary obsessions

Comments

12 comments posted.

Re: SANDI SHILHANEK | Help with Category Recommendations

Linda Howard had written a series for Silhouette Intimate Moments. I think it was known as the Kell Sabine Series and I loved them.

The titles I recall off-hand are:

Midnight Rainbow
Diamond Bay
Heartbreaker
White Lies
(G. Bisbjerg 1:35pm March 7, 2010)

While these may not technically fall into the "romance" category, there is a romantic interest and HEA in the Silhouette Intrigue books. There are some series in there that are really well done and hold one's interest well (or at least the did mine, and my interest is notoriously fickle!).

Another series, if she likes mystery/suspense at all, is "The Alpine Advocate" by Mary Daheim (I believe). It's an alphabetical series, and does have some romance in it, but it is more of a straight mystery than a romance-mystery. When I had surgery back in 2005, I had already read the first few of them, but by then it was up to either "O" or "P", so my mom indulged me and bought everything in the series currently available (at that time) in PB so that I could have it in the hospital with me, and still be easy to bring home. Other, older mystery series are Emma Lathem's Banker series, Amanda Cross's Kate Fansler books (especially if you're into literature of the high-brow variety - she's always quoting, but in a good way!)

I know that you asked about romance books, but when I've just had major surgery, the last thing I want to think about is romance!! It just doesn't keep my brain off of any lingering pain or other side effects of the surgery.

Best of luck to both Mom and you!

Later,

Lynn
(Lynn Rettig 1:47pm March 7, 2010)

It took me years to realize there are different categories in romance. I'm an avid reader and enjoy following series in categories of favorite authors.
(Alyson Widen 2:36pm March 7, 2010)

You know I'm a fan of Silhouette Special Edition & love Sherryl Woods & Susan Mallery. I also love Harlequin SuperRomance. I still have a big stockpile if you want to swing by my house before you leave town. Feel free to take whatever you want. Otherwise I'm saving for Ritas.
(Summer Sharp 4:03pm March 7, 2010)

My favorite lines include Harlequin Intrigue and Silhouette Desire.
(Jane Cheung 4:08pm March 7, 2010)

I would recommend Some Girls Do by Leanne Banks. That should give her some good laughs as well as an interesting story. That has been a book I simply couldn't part with.
(Gladys Paradowski 5:06pm March 7, 2010)

Harlequin Intrigue are among my favorites.
(Mary Preston 5:09pm March 7, 2010)

I read all of the older Victoria Holt books.
(Vikki Parman 6:01pm March 7, 2010)

I enjoy, and have done so, Harlequin series for a long time; I don't have a preferred series but do have some preferred authors: Diana Palmer, Helen Bianchin and the some of the reissues by Jayne Ann Krentz, Linda Howard, Nora Roberts and many more.
(Diane Sadler 8:12pm March 7, 2010)

Absolutely, books. A good
suspense mystery always helps
me get away from it all.
Amanda Quick has some great
mystery, suspense with a dash
of romance thrown in. Nora
Roberts also has several
trilogies of this type.
(Lisa Richards 9:30pm March 7, 2010)

I've enjoyed the Harlequin Presents
series.
(Jung Ja Ahn 12:33pm March 8, 2010)

Others: I started out with category books over 50 years ago and there are still some authors that I enjoy reading. My favorite category series is Silhouette Romantic Suspense, formerly Sil. Intimate Moments. Jayne Ann Krentz (also as Stephanie James), Barbara Delinsky (as Billie Douglass), began writing for this series, as well as other Harlequin and Silhouette lines in the 80s. One author who has been around for some time is Justine Davis and there isn't a book by her that I haven't enjoyed. Loreth Anne White is a SRS author from South Africa. She has written a series called Shadow Soldiers based on the French Legion. I particularly like her books because she chooses settings outside of North America; she was a reporter before she settled down in BC, Canada.

If you like your books a little hotter, Silhouette Desire and/or Harlequin Blaze are for you. Stories more about families? Try Harlequin American or Superromance, or Silhouette Special Edition. Merline Lovelace and Catherine Mann write "military" stories in SD or SRS. For paranormal, try Silhouette Nocturnes.
(Sigrun Schulz 12:57pm March 8, 2010)

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