Putney, Mary Jo. The Wild Child. New York: Ballantine Books, 2000 (ISBN: 978-0-449-00584-2).
Mary Jo Putney is an author whose knowledge of history gently infuses her elegantly written and emotionally involving stories. The Wild Child is a Regency-era story about whether an heiress, traumatized when her parents were killed in India years ago, is truly insane, and whether estranged twin brothers, one the future earl, the other, the spare, can resolve their differences long enough to honor their obligation to court her and thereby save her from being confined to an asylum.
Wiggs, Susan. The Lightkeeper. New York: Mira, 2002 (ISBN: 978-1-55166-880-2).
Susan Wiggs writes “warm” historical romance, from Medieval to regional Americana. Her women are more apt to be comfortable with themselves, if not their present situation, while it is the men who are more often troubled or are seeking atonement. Wiggs offers interesting insights into the past of her home territory, the Pacific Northwest. The Lightkeeper is the story of a lighthouse keeper and the pregnant woman he rescues from the sea in 1870s Washington territory.
Quinn, Julia. The Duke and I. New York: Avon Books, 2000 (ISBN: 978-0-380-80082-7).
Julia Quinn’s tales are known for their humor and sparkling conversation. Her Bridgertonbooks follow eight warm, loving, and rambunctious Regency-era siblings through sometimes-reluctant courtship into wedded bliss. The series begins with The Duke and I, in which Daphne, the eldest Bridgerton daughter, is just not having any luck finding a likely man who doesn’t treat her like a sister. Desperation brings Daphne into a sham courtship with the newly minted Duke of Hastings, who hopes that this “courtship” will protect him from the ton’s matchmaking mammas.
Schone, Robin. Scandalous Lovers. New York: Kensington, 2007 (ISBN: 978-1-57566-699-0).
Robin Schone writes sensual, explicit stories (a growing trend in some areas of romance) about characters who are frequently older and less beautiful than most romance protagonists. Her history is impeccable; the storytelling is straightforward but emotionally driven. Scandalous Lovers is the story of a middle-aged widow and widower who meet in The Men’s and Women’s Club, a scholarly club in London in the late 1800s devoted to the discussion of sexology.
Contemporary Romance
These romance novels tell the stories of modern women and the men who turn their worlds upside down. Loosely defined as a romance set after World War II, contemporary romances often incorporate many of the aspects of other romance subgenres, such as African-American, paranormal, and suspense, and other genres, such as chick-lit, women’s fiction, and urban fiction. They, therefore, account for a wide and flexible swath of the romance world, with a huge range of approaches and styles.