I’ve been a reader since I was a young girl. With over four decades of reading under my belt, I’ve been through a lot of books and couldn’t possibly list all of the ones I enjoyed. Below are the books that stuck out in my brain should we, say, be having a glass of wine and discussing books we just loved. The following, in all sorts of categories, are the books I’d urge you to read if you haven’t already. The books I’ve loved, and for many, returned to time and again.
Obviously, I’ll start with romance.
Romance
Vintage Romance
Although some of these authors are still writing, and I’m sure it’s still exceptional, these writers are what led to my fierce love of romance, starting with Judith McNaught (particular favorites are…well, everything but Once and Always, A Kingdom of Dreams and Almost Heaven lead that pack). Back in the day, I also devoured anything by Penny Jordan, Jude Deveraux, Johanna Lindsey and Julie Garwood. I recently reread Johanna Lindsey’s Warrior Woman and can say it’s lost none of its awesomeness. So even if these are “vintage,” they’re absolutely worth a look.
Contemporary Romance
- Lick, Kylie Scott
- It Had to Be You, Jill Shalvis
- Archer’s Voice, Mia Sheridan
- Black Lies, Alessandra Torre
- Consumed, JR Ward
- Luna and the Lie, Mariana Zapata
Erotica
- Joey W. Hill’s Natural Law, Truly Helpless and Rough Canvas.
- The Mistress, The Chateau, Tiffany Reisz
- The Devil’s Doorbell Anthology with short stories from Anne Calhoun, Christine D’Abo, Delphine Dryden, Megan Hart, Jeffe Kennedy, Megan Mulry and Molly O’Keefe
Fantasy/Urban Fantasy Romance
- The Court Series, Sarah J. Maas
- The Fever Series, Karen Marie Moning
Historical Romance
As well as the above Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux, Johanna Lindsey and Julie Garwood, I’d also recommend:
- Bridgerton series, Julia Quinn
- Wicked Intentions, Elizabeth Hoyt
Paranormal Romance
- Scattered Ashes, Annie Anderson
- Bitter Spirits and Grim Shadows, Jenn Bennett
- Immortals After Dark series, Kresley Cole
- Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward
Zombie Romance
- Flesh Series, Kylie Scott
Women’s Fiction
- Next Year in Havana, Chanel Cleeton
- Love and Other Words, Christina Lauren
- Soulmate Equation, Christina Lauren
Books I Just Loved Reading
Autobiographies
- Becoming, Michelle Obama
Cookbooks
Yes, I read cookbooks. Both Nigella and Samin are writers, as well as cooks, so considering my love of food and words, these were joys on two fronts!
- Feast, How to Be A Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson
- Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, Samin Nosrat
Cozy Mysteries
- Her Royal Spyness, Rhys Bowen
Thrillers
- The Ascendant, Drew Chapman
- The Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris
- Strip Tease, Carl Hiaason
- Pretty as a Picture, Elizabeth Little
- The Millennium Series, Stieg Larrson
- Shutter Island, Dennis LeHane
- Relic, Preston & Child
- Lock Every Door, Riley Sager
Fiction
Classics
- Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
- Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
- Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
- In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
- Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
- To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
- Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
- Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut
Contemporary
- Cat’s Eye, The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake, Robber Bride, Margret Atwood
- The Stephanie Plum Series, Janet Evanovich
- Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding
- Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn
- Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Fannie Flagg
- The Princess Bride, William Goldman
- Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan
- Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty
- The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
- Daisy Jones and the Six, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Skinny Legs and All, Tom Robbins
- The Harry Potter Series, JK Rowling
- Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
- Wild, Cheryl Strayed
- The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas
- Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Rebecca Wells
There you go…and happy reading!