The modern romance novel, or mass-market romance novel as we know it today, has its origins in the romantic fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries. In novels such as Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, the gothic romances of Ann Radcliffe, and the works of Jane Austen, readers were introduced to a new form of fiction, one that primarily focused on the lives and struggles of female protagonists. Although modern romance novels have expanded to include both authors and protagonists of different genders, races, sexualities, and abilities, historically, romance novels separate themselves from other genres by being primarily written by women, for women, and about women.

Early History of Romance Novels

Early romance novels featured heterosexual, white female protagonists either defying social conventions or overcoming personal struggles in pursuit of their own happiness. The heroines of these novels eventually found the loves of their lives and ended the novels secure and happy. Any development of a romantic relationship between two (or more) people—as well as an ending that was emotionally satisfying (usually happy but not always)—became the two core guidelines that romance novels follow to this day. The term "Happily Ever After" or HEA has become an industry standard regarding how a modern romance novel is supposed to end. 

Typically, romance novels reflect the desires of their audience. Jane Austen’s novels as well as the works of the Brontë sisters (especially Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre) introduced female characters who were ultimately rewarded with succesful marriages for expressing their individuality or their own desires. For female readers tied down by social norms and conventions, these romance novels became a form of escape and inspiration.

The Romance Novel Re-Energized

In the 20th century, novels such as Georgette Heyer’s Georgian-era romance, The Black Moth (published in 1921) and Margaret Mitchell’s Civil War era epic, Gone with the Wind, (published in 1936) revitalized public interest in romance novels, especially historical fiction. While Gone with the Wind is not technically classified as a romance novel, it had a longlasting influence on the genre with many novels copying its setting, themes, characterization, etc.. 

Daphne Du Maurier’s gothic romance, Rebecca (1938) became a bestseller and invigorated the gothic romance subgenre. Gothic romance blends elements of the horror and romance genres to create thrilling, dramatic novels often featuring female protagonists battling through terrifying ordeals while struggling to be with their true loves. For more details, check out our post on the history of the gothic romance!

Authors such as Eleanor Alice Hibbert, who wrote historical fiction romance under the pseudonym Jean Plaidy, and gothic romance under the name Victoria Holt, became prolific from the 1950s on. Under different names, these women could explore and create new subgenres that would appeal to a larger audience.

Modern Changes in Modern Romance Novels

The 1950s and 1960s saw a shift towards narratives involving exotic locations and heroines who had careers outside of the expected roles of housewife or mother. Stewardesses and nurses were popular choices. In 1970, Gordon Merrick published the first bestselling  gay romance, The Lord Won't Mind; in 1983, Gaywyck, by Vincent Virga, became the first published gay gothic romance. Queer romance novels have always existed, but they were overshadowed by the success and demand of heteronormative narratives.

Published in 1972, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss’s The Flame and the Flower introduced a new subgenre: the bodice ripper. To this point, mass-marketed romance novels featured very little sexually explicit material—Woodiwiss’s work changed that. Bodice rippers were historical fiction novels that usually featured beautiful, virginal, yet fierce and independent, women who would catch the attention of a handsome alpha male who would attempt to seduce and dominate her. Bodice rippers were notorious for featuring rape and abuse as part of the "love story" and eventually were replaced by narratives that did not promote assault or violence. Bodice rippers remain a relic of their time—however, the impact of these novels has been longlasting.

Woodiwiss was not the only author changing things up. Around this time, new female authors began publishing steamy, scandalous titles that often earned them the ire of critics as well as places on the bestsellers list. Jackie Collins, Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts, etc. pushed the envelope of what female authors could get away with and many of them are household names to this day. 

Harlequin, a division of HarperCollins, was the first publishing house to produce romance novels directly targeting female readers. Over the years, they became known for their distinctive eye-catching covers, which usually featured lovers caught in illicit embraces or otherwise dreamy images. Other publishers also began producing steamy cover art in an effort to boost sales, which it did. In the 1980s and 1990s, Italian-American model Fabio Lanzoni became a cover model for dozens of romance novels, and literally changed the face of the genre forever.

The Romance Novel in the 2000s

Within the last 20 years, there has been a steady shift towards novels that more accurately reflect the diversity of their readership. Books such as Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient, Alyssa Cole’s An Extraordinary Union, and Vanessa North’s Roller Girl, have added much needed representation to the genre. This is not to discredit the work of pioneers such as Beverly Jenkins, who has been writing historical fiction romance featuring African American protagonists since her debut novel, Night Song, in 1994. Readers are simply demanding more representation and inclusivity within their romance novels, and many authors have taken up the calling. 

Modern romance novels may have adopted to a modern audience, but they continue to offer up the same feisty leads, torrid love affairs, and dreamy adventures that made them popular to begin with. So whether you’re a long-time romance novel veteran or a tentative newbie, enjoy this list of recommended titles that are sure to thrill your wildest fantasies! (Summaries adapted from the publishers.)

Guides to Romance Novels

A Natural History of the Romance Novel by Pamela Regis

The romance novel has the strange distinction of being the most popular but least respected of literary genres. While it remains consistently dominant in bookstores and on bestseller lists, it is also widely dismissed by the critical community. Scholars have alleged that romance novels help create subservient readers, who are largely women, by confining heroines to stories that ignore issues other than love and marriage.

Pamela Regis argues that such critical studies fail to take into consideration the personal choice of readers, offer any true definition of the romance novel, or discuss the nature and scope of the genre. Presenting the counterclaim that the romance novel does not enslave women but, on the contrary, is about celebrating freedom and joy, Regis offers a definition that provides critics with an expanded vocabulary for discussing a genre that is both classic and contemporary, sexy and entertaining.

Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre by Kristin Ramsdell

Ramsdell's book responds to the tremendous growth in, and diversification of, romance fiction over the past decade, and to the demand for a thorough guide to the literature.

After a fascinating overview of the genre as a whole (e.g. definition, history, reasons for appeal), the author discusses each of its major subgenres, listing and describing the titles in each and offering tips for readers' advisory and collection development. 

 

Writing Romantic Fiction by Barbara Samuel

Learn to create, compose, and share your vision for a passionate love story. Samuel explains examples of subgenre to help you understand the conventions, and then helps you create ideas and rounded characters, and find an audience for your work.

 

 

 

Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan; illustrations by Joanne Renaud and Carol Main.

With insider advice for writing romances, fun games to discover your inner Viking warrior, and interviews with famous romance authors, Wendell and Tan show that while some romance novels are silly—maybe even tawdry—they can also be intelligent, savvy, feminist, and fabulous, just like their readers.

 

 

18th and 19th Century Romance

Pamela, or, Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson

One of the most spectacular successes of the flourishing literary marketplace of 18th century London, Pamela also marked a defining moment in the emergence of the modern novel. In the words of one contemporary, it divided the world "into two different Parties, Pamelists and Anti-pamelists," even eclipsing the sensational factional politics of the day.

Preached for its morality, and denounced as pornography in disguise, Pamela vividly describes a young servant's long resistance to the attempts of her predatory master to seduce her. Written in the voice of its low-born heroine, Pamela is not only a work of pioneering psychological complexity, but also a compelling and provocative study of power and its abuse.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Of all Austen's books, Pride and Prejudice has earned a special place in the hearts of the reading public as her best-loved and most intimately known novel. From its famous opening sentence, the story of the Bennet family and the novel's two protagonists, Elizabeth and Darcy, is told with a wit its author feared might prove "rather too light and bright, and sparkling," delighting its most familiar readers as thoroughly as it does those who encounter it for the first time.

Austen's artistry is apparent, too, in the delineation of the minor characters: the ill-matched Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Charles Bingley and his sisters and, above all. the fatuous Mr. Collins, whose proposal to Elizabeth is one of the finest comic passages in English literature. While she entertains us, Jane Austen teaches us the wisdom of balance, the folly of 'pride' and 'prejudice'.
 

 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

An orphan girl who accepts employment as a governess finds herself involved in a family secret, and in love with her employer.

 

 

 

 

The Mysteries of Udolpho: A Romance by Ann Radcliffe

If beautiful, orphaned Emily St. Aubert is to resist the predatory demands of her new guardian, the inscrutable Signor Montoni, she must quell the superstitious imaginings that pervade her mind.

Within the sombre walls of Montoni's medieval castle, the boundaries of real and imagined terrors are blurred as Emily is drawn into a Gothic web of mystery and intrigue which threaten her not only with the loss of inheritance, but also identity.

 

Historical Fiction

Be sure to see even more historical fiction recommendations here! 

The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer

Seven years before our story opens, Carstares protected his brother by allowing himself to be disgraced for cheating at cards. His brother, suffering intense guilt, isn't aware that they played right into the hands of the Duke of Andover. 

The disgraced Earl now roams the countryside until a confrontation with his rival thwarts the attempt to kidnap the lovely Diana. But now, the Duke is more determined than ever to have Diana for his own, and the two men will meet at swordpoint before the Earl's name can be cleared, and he can claim his fair lady.
 

A Rose in Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

After foiling her irresponsible father’s attempts at marrying her off for money, Erienne Fleming finds herself literally on the auction block, about to be married off to the highest bidder. She hopes it will be Christopher Seton, the dashing young Yankee who secretly stole her heart—but when the extremely wealthy and secretive Lord Saxton, a man who was supposed to have died in the same fire that killed his family, buys her hand instead, Erienne fears the worst.

Her new husband wears a terrifying mask and cloak to cover his scarred face and body, but Erienne vows to uphold her marriage vows upon realizing Lord Saxton's gentle true nature. Having lost Erienne before, Christopher Seton returns with renewed passion to win her back, but how will she be choose between her duty and her heart?

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian

Once beloved by London's fashionable elite, Hartley Sedgwick has become a recluse after a spate of salacious gossip exposed his most private secrets. Rarely venturing from the house whose inheritance is a daily reminder of his downfall, he’s captivated by the exceedingly handsome man who seeks to rob him.

Since retiring from the boxing ring, Sam Fox has made his pub, The Bell, into a haven for those in his Free Black community. But when his best friend Kate implores him to find and destroy a scandalously revealing painting of her, he agrees. Sam would do anything to protect those he loves, even if it means stealing from a wealthy gentleman. But when he encounters Hartley, he soon finds himself wanting to steal more than just a painting from the lovely, lonely man—he wants to steal his heart.

Between Here and Gone by Barbara Ferrer

In 1959 Cuba, Natalia San Martín was nothing short of a princess… all that changed on the fateful New Year's Eve when Fidel Castro and his followers seized control of the country, with tragic consequences for not only the island, but also Natalia herself.

Five years later, in 1960s New York, she's known as Natalie Martin. When the enigmatic Jack Roemer offers her a job writing the memoir of a starlet on the brink of self-destruction, Natalie sees not only opportunity, but also the unexpected echoes of a fairytale long forgotten… peeling back the layers of someone else's past forces Natalie to confront her own.

 

Paranormal Romantic Fiction

Bite Me, Your Grace by Brooklyn Ann

Dr. John Polidori's tale The Vampyre burst upon the Regency scene along with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, after that notorious weekend they spent writing ghost stories with Lord Byron. A vampire crazy broke out instantly in the haut ton.

Now Ian Ashton, the Lord Vampire of London, has to attend tedious balls, linger in front of mirrors, and eat lots of garlic in an attempt to quell the gossip. If that weren't annoying enough, his neighbor, Angelica Winthrop has literary aspirations of her own and is sneaking into his house at night just to see what she can find. Hungry, tired, and fed up, Ian is in no mood to humor his beautiful intruder… 

 

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire.

But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.

 

 

 

Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

Most people avoid the dreaded Whitecapel district. For Honoria Todd, it's the last safe haven. But at what price? Blade is known as the master of the rookeries, no one dares cross him. It's been said he faced down the Echelon's army single-handedly, that ever since being infected by the blood-craving he's been quicker, stronger, and almost immortal.

When Honoria shows up at his door, his tenuous control comes close to snapping. She's so… innocent. Blade doesn't see her backbone of steel, or that she could be the very salvation he's been seeking.

 

 

Midnight Wolf by Jennifer Ashley

Angus Murray, bouncer for a New Orleans Shifter bar, is sent to round up an elusive, Collar-less Shifter woman, Tamsin Calloway, who is causing trouble for Shifter Bureau and possesses information they want. If Angus refuses, he risks losing his cub. He finds Tamsin, but she's slippery and not about to be rounded up quietly. 

In fact, quiet is nothing Tamsin will ever be. She leads Angus on a wild chase, but he's determined to bring her in to save his son. Can Tamsin convince Angus she's worth helping before she's locked away by Shifter Bureau, Collared, or perhaps killed?

 

Gothic Romance

Be sure to see even more gothic romance recommendations here! 

The Secret Woman by Victoria Holt

I shall be back, he said. 
When? 
Perhaps sooner than you think. 

Dark Secrets. Lost Treasure. Delicious Scandal. Anna Brett fears she's doomed to be a governess to an English family for the rest of her life. But when the dashing captain Redvers Stretton struts back into her life, she is whisked away from the bleak English countryside forever. But is that such a good thing?

While the charming blue-eyed captain makes Anna forget her troubled past, he is hiding dark secrets of his own. It's no coincidence that Stretton's ship is named "The Secret Woman." During their voyage to the South Seas, with a murder dogging her steps and the mystery of a missing treasure haunting her dreams, Anna is forced to confront the clever captain, a man who may have just as many secrets as she. 

Contemporary Romance Novels

See even more contemporary romance novel recommendations here!

Fairytale: A Novel by Danielle Steel

First Position by Melissa Brayden

Anastasia Mikhelson is the rising star of the New York City Ballet. She’s sacrificed creature comforts, a social life, and her own physical well-being for perfection in dance. Even her reputation as The Ice Queen doesn’t faze her. Though Ana’s at the peak of her career, competition from a new and noteworthy dancer puts all she’s worked for in jeopardy.

While Natalie Frederico has shown herself to be a prodigy when it comes to ballet, she much prefers modern dance and living on her own terms. Life is too short for anything else. However, when the opportunity to dance with the New York City Ballet is thrust upon her, it’s not like she could say no. Dealing with the company’s uptight lead is another story, however. When the two are forced to work side-by-side, sparks begin to fly onstage and off. 

Rumor Has It by Cheris Hodges

Liza Palmer couldn't be happier when her best friend and sorority sister, Chante Britt, and her closest guy friend, Robert Montgomery, hit it off. And she's beyond thrilled when they announce their engagement. Robert is an up-and-comer running for the North Carolina senate. Chante is a partner at a prestigious law firm. They're a power couple made in heaven—until Liza discovers Robert in a compromising position with another woman. Liza can't possibly continue to support Robert's campaign, much less let him marry Chante.

But when she tries to reveal the truth, Robert pulls out every corrupt trick in the book—including turning Chante against her. Her only choice is to seek out his opponent, Jackson Franklin, and help him take Robert down. But to Liza's great surprise, Jackson won't play dirty and Liza finds him irresistible. As sparks fly, personally and politically, Liza and Jackson may become a winning team in more ways than one.

Hot Tamara by Mary Castillo

Tamara Contreras will never again settle for unmemorable sex. Her long-time boyfriend may look perfect to her traditional Mexican-American parents—something Tamara has never been—but at 26, she wants more from life than marriage and motherhood. So, in front of everyone, Tamara does the unthinkable: She turns down her boyfriend's unexpected marriage proposal and leaves home for L.A.

Tamara thinks she's got the single-girl-in-the-city thing down until she runs into Will Benavides, the former high school bad boy-turned-firefighter. If Tamara's parents had known how Will lit up Tamara's teenage fantasies, they'd have shipped her off to the nuns for sure! Now Will wants to make those fantasies come true permanently.

When an unexpected opportunity lands in her lap and Tamara has to choose between the career and the man of her dreams, she wonders if maybe la familia was right after all…