All I know about sex I learned from reading romance novels. Well, that is not technically true. I had sex ed in high school. The basic stuff. The rest came with trial and error. Not always satisfying.
Romance novels didn’t become my routine reading until about 10 years ago or more. 50 SHADES OF GREY was the first, I think and probably for a good portion of the female population. I was not impressed with the writing or the S&M (a whole new world not for me), but it opened a door and I walked through.
My favorite author is Sylvain Reynard and his GABRIEL series. GABRIEL’S INFERNO, GABRIEL’S RAPTURE, GABRIEL’S REDEMPTION, and GABRIEL’S PROMISE. All beautifully written. However, I realized that Reynard may have used 50 SHADES as a starting point. Young boy’s mother dies, leaving him homeless. Woman finds him at the hospital and adopts him. Even the name is the same. GRACE. Like Christian Gabriel is rich. They are both tortured souls who use sex to keep the darkness at bay. They both fall in love with virgins and end up marrying them. Both books have been made in films. GABRIEL’S are availing at Passionflix.com.
According to Book Ad Report, Romance and Erotica books sold amounted to $1.44 billion during the pandemic. Memoirs, biographies, ROMANCE, and suspenseful thrillers are the most popular in both print and digital edicitons.
TOP BEST
- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen
- OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon (love this series and the TV show)
- JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte
- GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell
- SENSE AND SENSIBILITY by Jane Austen
- THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks
- PERSUASION by Jane Austen (coming attraction..Dakota Johnson in a remake for TV)
- DRAGONFLY IN AMBER by Diana Gabaldon
- VOYAGER by Diana Gabaldon
- WHITNEY MY LOVE by Judith McNaught
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