put a little love in your heart

studying english in college meant reading crap like flannery o'connor's good country people and herman melville's billy budd, sailor and a shit ton of shakespeare. i love shakespeare, yall, but a gal can only take so much iambic pentameter. i spent the first two years at a small women's college in nevada, missouri (also called bumfuckville, misery... GREAT college, godawful location). i was sick to death of school. i spent more time playing cards and watching mtv and movies in the basement or trading smut books with my suitemates. the penchant for reading romance novels stuck. 

erin's book challenge kicked off yesterday. today, she asked me what romances i could recommend. some titles are ridiculous, but the stories are pretty good. the ones in bold are the ones i like best. some of'm may be hard to find. some of'm are incredibly sappy, but i like them anyway. some of'm are stories in a series. the ones that are collections are separated by commas. the rest are divided by semi-colons.

contemporary

cecelia ahern: love rosie

sandra brown: fanta c, adam's fall

vanessa diffenbaugh: the language of flowers

gayle forman: if i stay, where she went; just one day

emily giffin: something borrowed, something blue

jane green: straight talking; bookends; jemima j

john green: the fault in our stars

debbie macomber: navy wife

judith mcnaught: paradise

david nicholls: one day

nora roberts: daring to dream, holding the dream, finding the dream; the macgregor brides, the macgregor grooms, the macgregors: alan and grant; seaswept, rising tides, inner harbor, chesapeake blue; born in fire, born in ice, born in shame; the villa; vision in white, bed of roses, savour the moment, happy ever after; the next always, the last boyfriend, the perfect hope; tribute; birthright

rainbow rowell: eleanor and park; attachments; fangirl
ellen shanman: right before your eyes

nicholas sparks: the notebook; a walk to remember

lavyrle spencer: separate beds

katherine stone: promises, roommates, love songs, illusions, bed of roses, happy endings, rainbows, the carlton club, twins.
jennifer weiner: in her shoes

elizabeth young: asking for trouble; a girl's best friend

fantasy

cecelia ahern: p.s. i love you

audrey niffenegger: the time traveler's wife

nora roberts: jewels of the sun, tears of the moon, heart of the sea; blue dahlia, black rose, red lily; key of light, key of knowledge, key of valor; dance upon the air, heaven and earth, face the fire

rainbow rowell: landline

historical

kathleen baldwin: a school for unusual girls, exile for dreamers

julie garwood: the lion's lady, guardian angel, the gift, castles; saving grace; the secret, ransom; the prize; the bride, the wedding

heather graham: one wore blue, one wore gray

johanna lindsey: love only once, tender rebel, gentle rogue; prisoner of my desire

elizabeth lowell: untamed, forbidden, enchanted

judith mcnaught: whitney my love; once and always, something wonderful, almost heaven

romantic suspense

sandra brown: best kept secrets; french silk; mirror image; slow heat in heaven

nora roberts: honest illusions; public secrets; the reef; river's end; genuine lies; the witness; sanctuary

westerns

heather graham: and one rode west

elizabeth lowell: only his, only mine, only you, only love

francine rivers: redeeming love

nora roberts: montana sky

lavyrle spencer: the gamble