By April Flowers
Hello. My name is April and I like romance novels. Scratch that. I LOVE romance novels. Heck, you could even call me an addict.
Romance novels have been around since the 18th century and in the past women read these novels in secret and hid them from the world. With romance novels being a billion dollar industry though (RWA), the world has had to acknowledge the genre and most of the stigma associated has dissipated. The genre is no longer limited to ‘bodice rippers’ but now incorporates other genres I love like: action, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy and paranormal fiction to name a few.
What makes romance novels so special you might ask? Some readers love the steamy sex scenes in romance novels. However, what makes romance novels interesting to me are the relationships between the characters. There is a story of conflict, emotional struggle, and of course romance in all types of romance novels. It’s that story that keeps me reading so many romance novels. The addition of sex varies by author and novel series. Some novels have little or no sex. While others have sex scenes so graphic I ‘lady blush’ just remembering them. While I enjoy those parts too, it’s still the relationships and drama between characters I find most fascinating.
If you’re already a fan of the genre they you’ve probably figured out the type of romance novels you enjoy the most and can skip to my recommendation list to see if there’s anything new you’d like to read.
However, if you’ve never read a romance novel or are just dipping your toes into this type of fiction you may feel a certain uncomfortableness or bewilderment at all your choices. I encourage you to take a look at some of the things I learned for myself when I first started reading romance novels.
1. Know yourself. Understand what you’re comfortable with and what you enjoy. There is a wide range of types of romance novels with a variety of levels of sex scenes. There are novels that emphasize relationships with little or no sex. There are also novels where graphic sex is in every chapter and some very kinky themes. In my recommendation list I try to let you know upfront exactly how much sex is in the novel so you know before you read what you’re in for. The main thing is that you know what you’re comfortable with.
2. Go slow at first. If you’re not sure how much sex or romance you’re comfortable with take it slow. Start off with stories with little to no sex and see how you like them just for the romance. Then as you get comfortable with that level read novels with slightly more adult scenes. You’ll soon find out what level of sex and romance works for you.
My first forays into romance novels did not have graphic sex scenes. I enjoy reading novels with a strong female lead. So when I picked up Moon Called by Patricia Briggs I liked when it got romantic but not sexual. The story wasn’t just romance either. There was an urban fantasy story with a mystery, shapeshifting, and magic. The main character, Mercy Thompson, kicks ass and saves the day. Later in the series though things definitely get steamy but the first few novels ease you into it all.
3. E-Books and Audiobooks are your friends. When I first started reading romance novels I was way too embarrassed to go in a book store to look for more books. Thank the romance gods for e-books and audiobooks. I can explore and download any type of e-book I want without fear of judgment by the cashier. I especially like Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program that lets me download tons of books for a flat monthly fee. Plus they let me try it for free for a month.
Audiobooks are also a great way to enjoy romance novels if you just don’t like reading. I travel a lot for work and can’t tell you how much more enjoyable it is when I can just put in headphones and binge on a good, steamy romance novel.
4. Mix up your genres. My first forays into romance novels came from other types of fiction. I enjoy reading urban fantasy novels with a strong female lead. I was drawn to novels series like Mercy Thompson that combine urban fantasy and romance. There are romance novels that are also action stories, sci-fi, billionaire dramas, and detective novels. If you like some other type of genre I can almost guarantee there is a romance novel version of it.
If you’re looking for a specific fandom romance mix also check out fan fiction sites. Fans write some really good stories. Just do a search for romance and whatever you’re a fan of. I like the Sherlock romance stories.
5. Get advice from the internet or a good friend. Once you’ve figured out the type of romance novel that works for you talk to friends that also like those types to get recommendations. No friends that like romance novels? The internet has plenty of reviews of romance novels for you to peruse. I have a list of my recommendations below. I’d also recommend the YouTube romance book club vaginal fantasy. They are a group of funny lady geeks that read and talk about romance novels, just like me.
Some entry level romance novels you might want to start with include:
The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires (Half Moon Hollow series Book 1)
My Bluegrass Baby (Bluegrass Series Book 1)
Love in a Nutshell (Culhane Family Book 1)
One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) (Stephanie Plum Novels)
For some spicier recommendations check out my full recommendation list.
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I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews.
Welcome to the show. I'm talking to Daniel Schinhofen about the end of one of his most popular series and the start of a new one. Plus we talk about what it's been like to write for so many years.
Welcome everyone. I’m Ramon Mejia from the LitRPG Podcast. Today I have the privilege to talk to the author of the highly rated and well loved LitRPG series: Desire series and The Towers Of Heaven series with over 200 Amazon review for book 1 and over 80 in just the week for book 2.
Welcome to the show Cameron Milan.
Today I have the pleasure of talking to Charles Dean, author of such amazing LitRPG series as:
The Bathrobe Knight (https://amzn.to/2CeZt7D ),
Merchant of Tiqpa (https://amzn.to/2Bkpn8j ),
and War Aeternus (https://amzn.to/2QAwnIS ).
Now Charles and I have been friends for a while. He and I first started talking when I made a error with the name of one of his series in the review I gave it on the LitRPG Podcast recommendation page. I called it the Bathroom Knight, and he e-mailed me and pointed out that while a story about a a plumber who fought evil would be great, the series was called the Bathrobe Knight. We’ve been friends ever since.
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I Know You're There (An Original Monster Hunt NYC Song) (30:36)
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Welcome to the show, Apollos Thorne.
Welcome everyone. I’m Ramon Mejia from the LitRPG Podcast. I bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews.
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Welcome to the podcast Christopher Keene.
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He’s here to talk about his novel Ritualist (The Completionist Chronicles Book 1) (http://amzn.to/2FGDWF5 ), which will be available on March 15th, 2018. He’s also kind enough to answer some audience questions.
I’m Ramon Mejia, host of the LitRPG Podcast, I’m here today with Daniel Schinhofen, author of the Alpha World series, Apocalypse Gate series, and the Last Horizon novels.
( Show Amazon Author Page)
We’re doing a live Q&A session celebrating Daniel hitting a goal on his author facebook page.
So the two of us will be chatting and I’ll be asking him questions sent in from his readers as well as reading any comments or questions from the live audience.
Welcome everyone. I’m Ramon Mejia from the LitRPG Podcast. I bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews.
This week I’m talking to Jeff Sproul author of multiple novels and short stories. Including the Permadeath Legacy series, Demon Bane, Grimoire Bound, and of course the Sigil Online series. Jeff is publishing the second book in the Sigil Online series, Hellions.
Welcome to the show, Jeff Sproul.
This week I’m talking to author whose work I’ve spent many a later hour reading when I should have been sleeping. I had the chance to meet him in person at DragonCon this year and was charmed by his personality and wit. He’s written and published 21 novels, 10 this year alone. He’s the best selling author of Emerilia series.
Welcome to the podcast Michael Chatfield.
Welcome everyone. I’m Ramon Mejia from the LitRPG Podcast. Every week I bring you the latest LitRPG, news, reviews, and author interviews.
This week I have the privilege of speaking to an author whose debut novel, Beginner’s Luck (http://amzn.to/2zh0OXb ), is set to release on October 31st. Welcome to the show, Aaron Jay
Today I have the pleasure of talking to an author who wrote a LitRPG series from a different perspective. He’s the author of the Last Horizon books, and the Alpha World series. Forming the Company (Alpha World Book 2) should be out by the time people are listening/watching this.
Also the audiobook for Last Horizon: Beta: Last Horizon Series, Book 1
Welcome to the podcast, Daniel Schinhofen.
Welcome everyone. I’m Ramon Mejia from the LitRPG Podcast. Today I have the pleasure of interviewing the author of one of my favorite LitRPG series, Lion’s Quest. He’s a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author. He’s written 19 novels and is still going strong.
His work has been described by his readers as: Awesome, Great Reads, Amazing stories, and True Literary Art.
Welcome to the show, Michael-Scott Earle.
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Congratulations on your wonderfully successful 2nd novel. You hit #47 on the Amazon paid store, #1 six separate categories: Kindle Store - Coming of Age, Books -Coming of Age, and Epic Fantasy
Welcome to episode 167 of Geek Bytes Podcast.
I’m Ramon Mejia and I’m Edgardo Acosta
Every podcast we bring you the roundup of the week’s best Geek and Tech news, then we discuss that news and anything else we’re interested in that week.
In Geek News this week, we’ll talk about video game news, Batman’s penis, PG-13 Deadpool, tons of superhero casting news, movie trailer showdown and more...
That’s it for the show
If you like the podcast and want to help support us you can find out all the ways to do so at geekbytespodcast.com/support
Thanks for watching and listening.
For the Geek Bytes Podcast I’m Ramon Mejia and I’m Edgar Acosta. Now Go Geek out about something.
(Music 9)
Music Credits
"Happy Bee", "Movement Proposition", "Theme for Harold (var.3) ", "Take the Lead"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Ray Johnson, of the LitRPG Audiobook Podcast, interviews the award winning and always amazing Andrea Parsneau.