[Skittish]

I'm new to the threads :)
I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good romance-based fantasy book?

I really loved horses of heaven by gillian bradshaw
I'm a sucker for romance, but have no idea what to get into next.
Also, if anyone could list books that have a generally happing ending..haha I'm not really in the mood to read a terribly sad-upsetting story right now.

Thanks a bunch,
sara

[werewolfv2]

not exactly romance, but I dont get any nearer to it :)

Anne Bishop -The Black Jewels trilogy.

Her new book "Sebastian" seems to be getting more play at the romance angle though.

[kuden]

hehe i wanted to recomended The Black Jewels trilogy too , not only is it one of my favourites in any genre , there is a romance weaved into the story and it's really full of emotion . though i thought whether or not it fits the request as it is rather sad and dark at times and the original ending isn't too happy.
though the series gets a continuation with a better end in anne's short story collection about the black jewles called Dreams Made Flesh which is a must read after the trilogy :D

[VampGrrl]

Hmmm... well Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series is kind of Buffy-meets-Xena and is really good. Katie Mcalister writes a good vampire series and also one with dragons called Aisling Gray, Guardian (2 books). Her stuff is really light and funny if that's the kind of thing you're looking for. The Wages of Sin by Jenna Maclaine was fabulous, kind of vampire fiction meets historical romance. Jude Deveraux has a book that's really interesting called Remembrance. It's a past-life-regression scenario that takes the character through all of her different lives from medieval England to 1920s gangster New York. I've also picked up a trilogy (well, I think there are 2 out of 3 out right now) by Anne Kelleher that's more fantasy, less romance but still elements in there. There's Silver's Edge and Silver's Bane. I've only read the first one so far though. Hope that helps... or was at least on the right track.... or near the track, possibly off in the distance.....

[Ouroboros]

Charlaine Harris' 'Southern Vampire Mysteries' spring to mind, although they're possibly not the type of high fantasy you might have in mind? Harris' protagonist is a southern waitress with an unusual disability: Unwanted and only semi-controllable telepathy. Her chances of finding Mr. Right take a dramatic turn for the better when Bill walks into the bar- a man whose mind she mericfully cannot read. The only downside is he's a vampire, and a suspect in several murders. Cue an unusual mixture of supernatural thriller, mystery and romance.

Harris is several books in at this stage, and her stuff is popular enough that its been picked up for televisation, by the people who made 'Six Feet Under'.

In general, I actually think romantic themes meld amazingly well with pretty much any plot which is compelling. Love and hate are our two greatest motivators, its no wonder one or both are usually central to every page-turner.

So, sometiemes you can find really endearing little love stories in the most unexpected books. 'Legend' by David Gemmell, for example, can be read as a story with Druss, his axe, and piles of dead bodies as the central elements ... or you can read it as the story of Rek and Virae: Doomed to find each other just before they are committed to a desperate battle which can only end in death.

[glaz]

since gemmel's been brought up, id say the relationship of skilgannon and jianna (gemmel's white wolf and swords of night and day) is quite... romantic.

i know, some people don't really like it, but their relationship is still unique IMO in all the fantasy ive read (simply because its the first time ive seen it done in a fantasy novel).

[rloomis]

You may want to try the OUTLANDER Series by Diana Gabaldon...I have not yet read these but they are on my list...I heard this series is great. Classified as Romance Historical fiction..these books may actually may found in the Romance section of your local bookstore...
Perhaps someone else has read this series and can vouch for my thoughts..

[AuntiePam]

I liked the Black Jewels books too, although like kuden and werewolfv2 said, they aren't romance so much as they're just loaded with sexual tension and emotion.

Illusion by Paula Volsky qualifies as romance.

[VampGrrl]

I've read all the Outlander books except the last one (there are six). Make sure you get them in order. They are very addictive! They're a bit of a heavier read, not "sad and upsetting" necessarily but very emotionally packed.And incredibly long. I don't think any of them are under 800 pages and the 5th one in mass market paperback was I think 1400 pages. But they will really suck you in and I don't know anyone who wasn't glad they read them.

Has anyone read Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series? Those were recommended to me, looked great and might be along the lines of what you're looking for but I haven't read them yet.

[Eventine]

The Thursday Next books are comic fantasy. There is a romance within the books, but I would not regard them as being romantic at all.