Krentz, Jayne Ann, ed. Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance. Philadelphia, Pa.: Univ. of Pennsylvania Pr., 1992 (ISBN: 978-0-8122-1411-6).
Considered a classic examination of the romance novel, Krentz leads readers through what amounts to a literary criticism of the genre plus its appeal to readers.
Ramsdell, Kristin. Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 1999 (ISBN: 978-1-56308-335-8).
Ramsdell, Kristin. What Romance Do I Read Next?: A Reader’s Guide to Recent Romance Fiction. Stamford, Conn.: Gale, 1999 (ISBN: 978-0-7876-4478-9). o.p.
An expert on romance, Ramsdell writes Library Journal’s romance column. In these two books, she guides librarians to the best of the genre.
Saricks, Joyce G. The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2001 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-0803-7).
Perhaps the most comprehensive and best guide to genre books in general; Saricks has a lengthy chapter on romance. A new edition is slated for publication in 2009.
Review Sources
In the past, collection development librarians had good reason to complain about the lack of professional reviews in the romance genre. No more–all the major library review journals now include romance coverage, even reviews of paperback originals.
Booklist. Chicago: ALA, 1905-. Bimonthly (ISSN: 0006-7385).
This review journal offers a special romance spotlight issue each September and features regular romance coverage all year long. Several Booklist reviewers have won the RWA Librarian of the Year award, and Donna Seaman, who edits the romance section, won RWA’s Industry award for furthering the genre in print.