ep. 148: Romance Novel Redemption

Deep Dives
Written By She & She LLC

Romance is the most popular fiction genre, but it rarely gets the respect it deserves. Avid romance reader Nichole Perkins and best-selling queer romance author Casey McQuiston guide us through the relationships, tropes and happily-ever-afters that make romance novels worth falling for.

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More from Nichole Perkins

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Read: Lilith, But Dark // Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be

Nichole’s romance recommendations:

  • For existing romance readers: Anything by Sarah MacLean: “I just read her most recent book, Bombshell, which is the start of a new series which I really enjoyed. She tends to write historical romances. … I just love them because her characters, the women are always very — they know what they want, you know, and they're just very, you know, they're a little sassy and feisty, but they know what they they want and they can't be swayed from that, and I really enjoy that.”

  • For new romance readers: The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa: “That is a contemporary, more of a rom-com kind of feel, but it was so funny and so good. I just I read it immediately back to back when I first read it.”

  • If you like murder mysteries: Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutano

  • If you’re into suspense: “I like old-school suspense stuff. So there’s Lisa Jackson, there’s an author named Heather Graham, which is not the actor.”

  • “If you like some sauce with your romance, like a little bit of kink, a little bit of dirty talk, read Tessa Dare’s stuff. The men in her book say some filthy shit, and I love it.”

  • Other authors to check out: Rebekah Weatherspoon, Jasmine Guillory; “Gosh, you can never go wrong with Nora Roberts or Sandra Brown.”

More from Casey McQuiston

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Read: Red, White and Royal Blue // One Last Stop // I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Casey’s romance recommendations:

  • For new romance readers: Talia Hibbert and Emily Henry (“Those are both great entry-level rom-com authors who have, like, really funny, sexy, fun, smart books that have a great level of like heat or spice, whatever you want to call it, but not so much that I think that they would kind of scare a first-time romance reader who might not be ready for all that — we got to ease them into it.”)

  • If you like comedy: “I would usually recommend Abby Jimenez for them, who does some of the most laugh-out-loud, funny rom-coms that I’ve read lately.”

  • If you like “classic historical bodice-ripping stuff”: “I would love to recommend somebody like Beverly Jenkins. Like, let's just get down with the classics, you know? Actually, Beverly Jenkins would be a great place to start for anybody who wants to try historical. I think she does amazing stuff. I also love Alyssa Cole.”

  • If you like sci-fi: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske; The Unbroken by C.L. Clark (“It's like a queer sci-fi romance or maybe romantic sci-fi. I don't know how you would classify it, but holy shit. Very good.”)

Sources

She & She LLC
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