Thanks to my Kindle, I Can Recommend Romance Novels

Posted by Alex Sharp Mar 29, 2009

Of all the different Harlequin collections, there are some outstanding books. I never would have read a Harlequin if not for my Kindle, by the way. It has brought me to a lot of books through free and easy downloads.

I am a Jane Austen/ D.H. Lawrence Fan (and fans of Lawrence know that he was no Austen fan), so adjusting to the contrived romances of Harlequin has been a bizarre experience. Since the 16 books are available to everyone, I ... attempted ... to read all of them. My eyes got through the screen, but anyone who has ever gotten a rejection letter from a publisher should never, ever read Baby Bonanza. I read that thinking - this got published? Did the editor get fired?

The best books in the 16 book collection of free books are:

Snowbound by Janice Kay Johnson is worth reading. I don't know if it is because the main character is a Quiz Bowl coach and we have that in common, but with the exception of the author's odd insistence on delving into the natural privacy of teenage girls, I thought it was a really good book. Of all of them, it is the one I would most likely read again.

Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch was an intriguing mystery, and I liked reading it and fell for the red-herring suspect. It would have been better without the romance, actually, B.J. Daniels is a good mystery writer.

Homespun Bride is a good read for anyone who ever wished Mary Ingalls would fall in love. I was afraid that Jillian Hart would let love cure blindness, but she didn't. It is a good Christian book.

Runners up include Speed Dating, for humor (the actuary award is a sharpened pencil), and Hide in Plain Sight and Stranded with a Spy were both okay without a lot of clothes ripping.

I'm not a romance novel reader, but I will probably buy some more Janice Kay Johnson books. She seems like a "real writer" who found Harlequin as an avenue to get published, but that is all just my conjecture. All of her other books might be clothes-ripping romps for all I know. If I read more, I'll review them or at least blog about them.

Thanks for the books, Kindle and Harlequin!