# Best Romance novels

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-romance-novels/450205>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 22, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-romance-novels/450205 "2008-05-22T03:23:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-romance-novels/450205/41 "2008-05-23T11:44:44Z")

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[QUOTE=Risha]  
Assorted thoughts:  
4. **Shirley Ujest** , I’m afraid that I’m going to have to take exception to your description of Dara Joy as a genius. Honestly, I find her writing to be pretty poor. I still read her, though, because she writes the hands down hottest smut I’ve ever read in my life.  
[/QUOTE]

If you have read Dara Joy’s latest works, which are out of an indy press and hard to get a hold of, her work is utter and complete shit. I mean, below the standards of a decent book no matter the genre. Fangirl stuff is better. I don’t think she can recover from the past few years ( which involve some lawsuit she had with book company.)

I stand by the earlier mentioning of her first three big books tetter somewhere near excellence to above average. At least for me. And the re-reads have always held up. And yes, it is Smut. Lovely, lovely Schmut.

BOT,

\*\* JR Ward \*\* and the **Black Dagger Brotherhood series** sounds interesting. I’m always up for some deep meaningful brooding asskicking Vampire Pron. Which book is first? **Dark Lover**? Can the books be read out of sequence?

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**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-romance-novels/450205/42 "2008-05-23T14:13:37Z")

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[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest]  
If you have read Dara Joy’s latest works, which are out of an indy press and hard to get a hold of, her work is utter and complete shit. I mean, below the standards of a decent book no matter the genre. Fangirl stuff is better. I don’t think she can recover from the past few years ( which involve some lawsuit she had with book company.)

I stand by the earlier mentioning of her first three big books tetter somewhere near excellence to above average. At least for me. And the re-reads have always held up. And yes, it is Smut. Lovely, lovely Schmut.  
[/QUOTE]  
I had no idea that she went down in flames like that. I hadn’t seen any new books in awhile, but she was never anyone I tracked, only someone I picked up when I spotted her in the store.

I agree, those first three books were the best - I still reread them sometimes too. She must have had an excellent editor at the time.

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**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-romance-novels/450205/43 "2008-05-23T22:51:12Z")

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okay, if you are looking for wild and crazy smut, try susan kearney. they are a bit spacy and the first one of her’s i thought didn’t johanna lindsey do this. it was very heavily based on j.l.'s “warrior woman” which also is wild and crazy smut.

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