From Chicago, With Love

Are you a reader that is new to the romance genre? Have you picked up a romance novel and fallen in love with it? Maybe you're simply looking to try something new and venture outside your usual reading interests? I'd suggest picking up a romance. Romance novels have greatly evolved since your mother's or even grandmother's stacks of paperback bodice rippers. Sure bodice rippers and mass market paperbacks featuring drawings of shirtless, muscular men are still a part of the romance novel game, but nowadays, there is much more available to suit every reader's tastes.

First off, there is Julie James, who's book Practice Makes Perfect is about two lawyers and the romance that evolves between them. James writes fun, flirty, contemporary romance novels often involving characters who are lawyers, since she is a law school graduate and a former clerk for the United States Court of Appeals.

If you are looking for something on the gentle and tender side, but still fulfilling with love and romance, look no further than Maureen Lang. I recommend starting with Look to the East which is Book 1 in the Great War Series. The novel is set in the dawn of the First World War and combines elements of romance, historical fiction and inspirational fiction to offer readers an enchanting and fulfilling story.

For fans of page-turning drama, try Catherine Andorka's novel Fly Me to Paradise. Filled with drama and full of heart, this novel should appeal to many veteran readers of the romance genre as well as newcomers.

Besides writing romance novels, Julie James, Catherine Andorka and Maureen Lang have something else in common: They all have roots in the Chicago area. For more, check out my booklist of romances written by authors native to the Chicago area. Happy reading!