Must Read Romance

Must Reads...

 The Classics: 

Let's get the Jane's out of the way...

    
 Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen:

Penguin Classics Cover

The iconic classic is a must have for all romance readers bookshelves. The proper and straight-laced Mr Darcy and the witty, skirt ruining Elizabeth Bennet has been a number one seller since Jane Austen put pen to paper. And the first line of the book has been used so many times in cross overs and novels that it is engrained in the international consciousness of romance lovers everywhere.

 “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

   

                                                       

  Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte: 
                                                          
                                                         Again, another amazing classic.

Penguin Classics

Who can resist the broody Mr Rochester, timid but moralistic Jane and dark, Gothic atmosphere of Yorkshire in the 19th century? This hauntingly beautiful classic will keep you warm on cold winter nights much more than any cup of tea could! 

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

                                  
  North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskill:

Penguin Classics

Okay, so maybe no real-life Richard Armitage getting all "I wish to marry you because I love you!" isn't in the book (kinda), but this is one is an all-time must. Cross border divides, factories, strikes, gloomy city life, brooding men, and mischievous mother-in-laws. North and South is one of my favourite Must Read Romances.

  "I think God has forsaken this place. I believe I have seen hell and it's white, it's snow-white."

 A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster:

Penguin Classics

This tiny book has pretty much everything: meddling old women, Italian sunshine, English villages, Anglican clergymen, pompous scholars, Baedekers, imaginative romance writers, existential liberals, sensual awakenings, women's empowerment, true love and the contrast between medieval and renaissance displayed through characters actions and thoughts. It's all here. Even in the not needed appendix, George buggers off to WWII Germany, sleeps around and crushes Lucy's heart while she endures the blitz... Advice: don't read the appendix, live in blissful ignorance.

 “Mistrust all enterprises that require new clothes.”

Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy: 

Penguin Classics

  Angst. Angst. Angels. Angst. Tess is such a sad, yet amazing, character. With a baby named Sorrow, and a crush named Angel Clare (always makes me hungry), you can't help but picture poor Tess living in the ultimate toil between heaven and hell.

  “This hobble of being alive is rather serious, don’t you think so?”

The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough: 

Avon

If you like lusting after the priestly type, then this is the book for you. You will certainly understand Meggie's predicament. An epic family saga with more skeletons in their closets than the Adams family, the Cleary family have all sorts to hide and all sorts for you to unravel!

 “When we press the thorn to our chest we know, we understand, and still we do it.”

 Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor, by R. D. Blackmore:

Penguin Classics

Meet John Ridd, a farmer who falls head over heels for the lawless clan's prized property: Lorna Doone. Soon, their childish love matures into a unbreakable bond. Set in the gloomy hills of wild Exmoor, it's the perfect gothic romance for those cosy winter nights and onesie evenings.

“May be we are not such fools as we look. But though we be, we are well content, so long as we may be two fools together.”