The Greatest Ever Romance Novels

I have been fortunate enough to interview a handful of really amazing authors from the romance genre. An ever-popular genre that so many of us have a soft spot for, over $1 billion worth of romance novels are sold each year. With so much being spent on this genre, it got me wondering — what are the greatest ever romance novels? It’s a tricky thing to quantify, as each person will have their own list of the greatest ever romance novels. However, to put together a special reading list of the greatest ever romance novels, I assembled a wonderful panel of authors and asked for this opinion. So, before we discover the greatest ever romance novels, we must first meet that panel…

Annabel Abbs – @AnnabelAbbs

Annabel Abbs is a writer and The Joyce Girl was her debut novel, and it won awards including the 2015 Impress Prize for New Writing and the 2015 Spotlight First Novel Award, as well as being longlisted for the 2015 Caledonia Novel Award and the 2015 Bath Novel Award. She has also contributed her short stories and journalism to publications such as The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Huffington Post and many more.

Brenda Jackson – @AuthorBJackson

Brenda Jackson is an American novelist who writes contemporary multicultural romance novels. Brenda Jackson has published more than 100 novels and novellas. Additionally, she has over 10 million books in print. In 2012, Brenda received the Romance Writers of America’s (RWA) Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest literary awards an author can receive in the romance genre.

Helen Hardt – @HelenHardt

Helen Hardt is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today Bestselling author, who is famous for her romance novels. Her passion for writing began very early in life when her Mother would read her books as a child. Helen Hardt penned her first story at the early age of six, and never looked back. Her most recent book, Surrender is receiving extremely positive reviews and continues her Steel Brothers Saga.

Now, let’s discover the greatest ever romance novels…

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1.

The Pursuit of Love

by Nancy Mitford

Annabel Abbs:

I first read The Pursuit of Love as a teenager. Like its heroine, Linda Radlett, I fell madly in love with the French duke (Fabrice), who found her in tears on the platform of a Parisian railway station. It’s not a hugely feminist story, but as a 1980s teen, I thought it was fabulously romantic. Re-reading it later, I discovered a much darker, sadder underbelly, making it one of those novels that can be read over and over as one ages.

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2.

Shanna

by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Brenda Jackson:

Written in 1977, it is my opinion that Shanna is one of the most prolific historical romance novels that has ever been written. It not only tells the story of love but tolerance and patience. When a man loves a woman he can break through any barriers that a woman erect and this is so skilly shown with Sanna and Ruark. This book takes you on a rollercoaster adventure where in the end you not only fall in love with Shanna and Ruark, but also with all the secondary characters such as Shanna’s father, uncle, the servants and the entire Beauchamp family.

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3.

Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon

Helen Hardt:

The author herself doesn’t consider this a romance novel, but this genre-bending book—which does include the requisite “happy ever after” ending, though it begins a saga that doesn’t always follow that rule—hits the top of my list. It explores some difficult themes, including spousal abuse, male rape, and marital infidelity, but it does so with graceful honesty. The biggest reason it’s a favorite of mine, though, is the hero, Jamie Fraser. Jamie is everything a reader looks for in a romance hero. He’s strong, both physically and mentally, has lived through torturous abuse that nearly leaves him broken, and his love for the heroine is raw and pure. Readers fall in love with Jamie, and they do so without ever getting into his head. Gabaldon has written the book solely from the heroine’s point of view. It’s a beautiful work of art.

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4.

Wuthering Heights

by Emily Bronte

Annabel Abbs:

For years, Wuthering Heights was my all-time favourite novel. Its wild passion was everything I hoped for, and aspired to, as a young girl. When I read it now, it’s the intricacy of the plotting, the brilliance of the narrative device and its sense of place that strike me most. But in my youth, it was the intensity of Cathy and Heathcliff’s emotions that appealed. This is romantic love at its most savage…

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5.

Night Song

by Beverly Jenkins

Brenda Jackson:

Written in 1994, this is one of my most favorite historical romance because it is the first romance I read regarding Black history. Beverly Jenkins takes a period beyond the period of slavery and introduces black-owned towns and the heroes and heroines who lived in them. Through her writing, which is full of rich history, I learned about the Buffalo Soldiers and those thriving towns where there was 88% or more of the Black population.

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6.

The Wolf and the Dove

by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Helen Hardt:

Yes, this is a bodice ripper from the seventies, but let’s face it—bodice rippers were an integral part of the romance genre and remain an important part of its history. They are what catapulted Kathleen E. Woodiwiss into fame, and for good reason. Her writing is poetically descriptive. Though the book includes non-consent, it is presented in a historically accurate way. It takes place during the Norman invasion of England in the eleventh century. The heroine is strong and capable, and the Norman hero, of course, awakens an all-encompassing passion in her. Saxon England provides a beautiful backdrop for this powerful story.

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7.

Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy

Annabel Abbs:

A story of doomed romance, thwarted love and the complexities of being a mother and woman in 19th century Europe, this is one of the most compelling novels I’ve ever read. The difficulties it explores – love, motherhood, betrayal, society – are as pertinent now as they were 150 years’ ago. Anna’s final soliloquy, on the platform of a Russian railway station, will stay with me forever.

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8.

Ties That Bind

by Brenda Jackson

Brenda Jackson:

I would be amiss if I didn’t pick one of my own novels that is considered a classic and my best work. Ties That Bind covers a period of time from the middle sixties to current day and tells about 4 couples who meet on the campus of Howard University in the sixties and how their love and friendship help sustain them through the civil rights movement, the Black Panther movement, and the Viet Nam war. It shows the power of love and truer friendship.

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9.

These Happy Golden Years

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Helen Hardt:

A Little House book on a list of top romance novels? Absolutely. The eighth book in Wilder’s series, this young adult novel tells the fictionalized love story of the author and her husband, Almanzo Wilder. The two fall in love in Laura’s little town on the prairie, DeSmet, South Dakota, in the late nineteenth century. Conflict abounds in the form of a teaching position Laura hates, a jealous schoolmate, and Laura’s own ambivalent feelings about leaving her family. However, Laura and Almanzo finally marry and embark on what will turn out to be a sixty-four-year union.

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If you enjoyed this reading list, you may also enjoy the best fantasy books of all time. What do you think are the greatest ever romance novels? Let us know which books you’d nominate as the greatest ever romance novels, in the comments below!