Rai got her start writing Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys fanfic and if that doesn’t make you love her, I’m not sure I can help you. Having more great books to choose from is never a bad thing! Now, without further ado, and in no particular order, the best romance authors (& their must-read book): Alisha Rai If you really feel like I missed one of “the best” drop your choice in the comments.

Also, I didn’t include anything considered “classic.” There are more than enough lists recommending Austen to you. To these complaints I say: I don’t abide by hard genre rules. Some of you will be incensed I didn’t include Jane Austen. Some are more women’s fiction, fantasy, or erotica. Not all of these authors, or must-read books, are pure romance. Essentially, if I was still a bookseller, this is the list I would be working from if you approached me with “I know my friend likes romance but I have no clue what to buy for them,” or “I really like romantic comedies and I want to read something like that.”įurthermore, some of you may will end up disagreeing with me and my list. I’ve also included the one book you should definitely check out by each author some obvious choices, others less conventional.

If you’ve been reading romance for some time, the names on this list will probably be familiar to you, and if you haven’t yet, I would encourage you to read at least one book by each of them. “Best,” for simplicity’s sake, means the best collection of authors for newbie romance readers to get started on and for seasoned romance readers to branch out with a subjective judgment, I’m aware. Let’s start by addressing the obvious elephant in the room: the word “best.”Īs used in this list, it does not necessarily mean “bestselling.” While many of the authors including in this list are bestselling authors, I didn’t compile these 22 authors based on their all-time sales. Welcome! Why don’t we go ahead and get a couple of things out of the way? You’ve clicked on a link to find out who the best romance authors are.

Permanent Ink by Avon Gale