Harlequin/Silhouette series romances discussion

New to the group? Leave a comment here to say "hi"!

Let us know what your favorites series is, any favorite books or authors, or anything else you want us to know!

I'm the only one here so far, but I'll leave a comment with my info :)

I was originally a big fan of the Blaze series, but honestly, I got bored with it. I'd read one too many seriously cheesy storyline. I still read some Blaze books, but only if the storyline seems really interesting.

My favorite series...Harlequin Intrigue, Silhouette Special Edition, and the original Silhouette Intimate Moment books. I haven't read too many of the new Silhouette Romantic Suspense books yet...I'm annoyed that Silhouette is trying to make the series a second Intrigue set. I liked the books better the way they were.

I read other series too...Silhouette Desire, Harlequin Superromance, Harlequin American Romance. Basically, if the story sounds interesting, I'm willing to read it.

I read a lot of the old issues since I come across a lot of them at book sales and whatnot.

That's all I can of to say for now.

Hi ISIS! I just joined up...

I 'inherited' 3,000 Silhouette (Romance, Desire, Intimate Moments, Special Edition) and a smattering of HQN Blaze titles from my sister when she moved. Through selling and swapping them, I'm now down to about 1,800.

I agree with you... if it sounds interesting, I'll read it. Last year, I read 500+ books.

I like authors who can write 'tight,' not skimping on plot or character and not rushing the HEA in the last 3 pages of the book.

I'm saddened that there are sooo many readers who miss a good story because they aren't willing to read anything that has less than 300 pages.

And I know you'll want to scream when I tell you that I had a very good, clean copy of Nora Roberts 1st book, Irish Thoroughbred, and because I didn't know what I had, I sold it for $.75... UGH!

Don't know how you find time to read and moderate all these groups but it is sooo much appreciated that you do!

Colleen

COLLEEN

Wow, that's a lot of Silhouette books! I pick them up used at book sales all the time. A lot I read are so-so, but I've read some really fantastic ones. There are a couple of authors I pick up anything they put out.

It is disappointing that so many people ignore these books because of length or simply because of what they are (category romance). Even among romance readers there seems to be a big prejudice towards the HQ/Sil books. But I'm hooked on them.

LOL about the NR book. Most of what I have of hers are recent reissues. I've read every NR book but 1 - which that one is thoroughly impossible to get.

Luckily the groups I mod don't really need a whole lot of attention. But I'm a computer addict anyway, so I'm always around. My reading time does seem to have shortened though since I got hooked on Goodreads.

Hello everyone,
I am a new member of this group. I am so happy to have found another group of people of love harlequin presents romance novels as much as I do. My favorite authors are Charlotte Lamb(RIP),Lynne Graham and Jacqueline Baird.

Hello All!

I just joined this group. I've been a Silhouette/Harlequin reader for as long as I can remember. I like all the series, but the ones I buy faithfully every month are:

Harlequin Blaze
Harlequin Intrigue
Harlequin Superromance
Harlequin Presents

I have alot of favorite authors, but a couple are Carly Phillips, Leslie Kelly, Jo Leigh, Jill Shalvis, Tara Tyler Quinn, and I just know I'm leaving out some.

I look forward to chatting with everyone.

Hi Yvonne! Welcome to the group :)

We're kinda quiet around here, but feel free to post!

Thanks! The Harlequins and Silhouettes are probably my favorite books.

Hello, ladies. I just found this group; I didn't know it was here. I read a lot of Harlequin/Silhouette series books. My husband and I own a small used-books store, and when we get any of these books in trade, I usually take them home to read before putting them on our shelves. I have a stack of older Harlequin Presents waiting for me right now! :)

Hi everyone,

So glad I finally ran across this group; it's right up my alley! I collect books from the defunct category lines, such as Harlequin Everlasting Love and Silhouette Bombshell. I also have a few from the Silhouette Shadows line. Judith Arnold and Brenda Novak are my favorite Harlequin Superromance authors. I volunteer at my local library, sorting donated books once a week, and I love finding old Harlequin and Silhouette books by authors who are now superstars, like Nora Roberts and Debbie Macomber.

Happy reading!

EmJay

Glad to see more people join! Welcome to the group. I love the Harlequins and Silhouettes, too.

EmJay - I enjoyed those defunct lines as well. Also, Harlequin Flipside was a favorite of mine.

Thanks for the warm welcome, Yvonne! I also have a handful of Harlequin Flipside titles that I need to add to my virtual bookshelves.

Flipside and Shadows are no longer in print, but the Flipsides were short romantic comedies and the Shadows were more like gothic types.

Welcome to anyone new! Feel free to post! There's not much action here, so anything (within reason) is welcome ;)

I only ever read 1 Flipside, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I never read any of the Shadow books, but I have read a lot of the HQ Intrigue Eclipse books - which are gothic-flavored Intrigues. I love those.

I've been reading harlequins since high school. Love just about all the lines. I miss the Regency line though. That was one of my favorites. Still get the historicals and the nocturnes, I loved the old Shadows line.

I've been reading pretty much all the lines ever since I discovered Harlequin Presents back in high school. I miss the Love and Laughter and Temptation lines most of all :)

Oh Love and Laughter was great...I liked the Next line too. I miss that one, it had some great stories.

Oh my gosh, Andrea---I almost forgot about Next. I adored everything about that line. The stories were super varied and everyone I read was totally fab. I even loved the cover art :)

Next was one of my favorite lines but oh so hard to find. I wish they'd create a line like that again. I think it was nice to see older characters and stories that went a little deeper into the relationships with the characters. Plus so many of them were funny. I don't know why romance and humor can't go together.

I thought the Harlequin Duets line has some very funny story lines!

I have read a few of these Duets and really enjoyed them.

Oh I never read any of the Duets. I really need to make a trip to half priced books soon. Even though I just spent 30 at the harlequin website!

Hi Melissa! Hi Andrea! I loved Duets too :) I'm pretty sure that the Duets line is what they changed Love and Laughter to. Or, it could have been Flipsides and then Duets---not remembering too clearly on that one.

They didn't keep Next around for very long. I first heard about in launching in like Spring 04, and they released the first ones in July 05 and then the very last ones were released Jan 08. I really miss them. I liked the whole concept of well, what comes next? You know like romance after 40 or having a first baby at 45 or even just the process of the heroine learning all about herself and liking it. And you're so right about the humor!!!

Its funny Shadows didn't last long but now Nocturne is back and the stories are much the same. I think the odd way they presented Next might have hindered sales. They were a very awkward size. Though that was another reason I loved them, along with their interesting cover art.

I don't know why Harlequin seems to think that after 40 women don't want to read books like this. You can fall in love at any age. My gram read til she died and she lived to be 101, and there was one of Janet Evanovich's loveswept reissues on her couch.

Gosh, I remember devouring Maggie Shayne's Shadows back when :) One of the reasons I read about why Harlequin decided to stop publication of Next was that a good many people were disappointed that the stories were more than just romances and I guess some of them didn't end with the firm peal of wedding bells in the background.

Wow, your gram sure did have good taste. I have so loved getting to read all the one's I missed that Janet Evanovich wrote for Loveswept now that they've been reissued.

I think that's why Everlasting Love didn't work either. I read one and though there was romance, it was buried under everything else in the story. Harlequin & Silhouette = Romance. That's what people want when they pick up an HQ/Sil book.

I think if they want to publish less romantic stories, they should do it under a different name.

Hi, I'm Debbie. I love Harlequin Blaze and Silhouette Desires. I've been reading romances in general since the age of 16 and I'm 42 now. I'm divorced with no kids, and I live in Central Virginia.

Hey everyone! I'm new to GR and also to this group and I'd love to get to know some friends for book suggestions and such...

I fell into the wonderful world of romance purely through curioustiy. My Mom is a devoted harlequin/Silhouette reader and from a young age I knew what "those" books were about and knew I wasn't aloud to read them :) But occasionally I would sneak a peek inside one of those forbidden book and once I was old enough began reading them myself!!

Blaze novels are my favorites but I'll read just about anything that strikes my interest!!

Hello,
I m Michelle Styles and I write for Harlequin (Mills & Boon in the UK) HIstorical. I write in the Roman, VIking and Regency/early Victorian periods.
I also read a lot of Harlequin/Sil.It started as a rebellion from my mother who still wonders when I am going to write a proper book. I have told her not to hold her breath as she might turn blue and die.
When noot reading historicals, I tend to read ROmance, Presents, a few medicals and the Nocturne line. But it just depnds on what strikes my fancy.
Hopefully it is fine to have an author here.

Michelle - authors are completely welcome :) We're kinda quiet in this group, but feel free to start a discussion on chime in on an old one.

Little Miss Muffett -- yes I wrote The Gladiator's Honour. It was my debut book with Harlequin. My latest one -- The Viking's Captive Princess comes out next month.

Sorry to be so long in replying but I was in Istanbul and then have been suffering from rsi. I also am doing revisions which are due next Monday. WHile I was away, I read Lucy King's debut Bought Damsel in Distress which was v enjoyable.

Hello from New Zealand ... I look forward to following any discussions. I am both a reader of most of the series, but also a librarian and an advocate for all readers.

hello,

I'm from NYC. I love harlequin presents writers charlotte lamb, lynne graham and jacqualine baird.

hey did you guys know that charlotte lamb's daughter has a web page in her mother's honour?

I cut my teeth on harlequin when I first began reading in the late 60s/early 70s. For years I devoured hundreds, maybe thousands of the little buggers. Nowadays I mainly read the Harlequin Intigues or Blazes or Silhouette Special Editions or Romantic Suspense

HI! Am relatively new to the group---but as Pam, above said, I too started reading Harlequin back in the day...my mother used to devour them also, and I got them after her!

These days, I read mostly ALL the Intrigues and Inspirational Suspense also--that I can get my fingers on, but do like most Harlequins! Don't a specific favorite author, but have found a few that I keep going back to over and over again!

Hi everyone!

I've been reading these books for as long as I remember. I used to be a huge fan and read every book I could grab in my teens, but now that I'm older (but not necessarily wiser, LOL), I'm not a subscriber anymore and I only read the ones that pick my interest and/or come highly recommended by friends.

My favorite lines are HQ Blaze and Silhouette Special Edition. The only line I don't like is HQ Intrigue. My preference changes as time passes, but that's it for the moment.

I used to read a lot of Harlequins when I was younger but got away from them for a few years until I started reading ebooks - now I buy a ton because I enjoy having the shorter stories to read.

My main favorites are Sheikh stories, mostly Harlequin Presents because I find them more exciting. I also like Harlequin Intrigue and Blazes.

I'm new to the group, and fairly new to Harlequin. I'm looking forward to finding more books to read. :)

Hi to all the new members (most of you I already know ;)

Welcome to the group!

Thanks, Isis!

I've been a member since last fall, but I never posted an intro. I'm Danielle, unrepentant book addict and Harlequin/Silhouette fan. I've been reading these for over twenty years, and no plans to stop. My favorite lines are: Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Historical, Silhouette Desire, Silhouette Intimate Moments/Romantic Suspense, Silhouette/Harlequin Nocturne, and Harlequin Romance. I like some of the Harlequin Intrigues by specific authors. I am especially addicted to Harlequin Presents because they deliver my drama/soap opera fix, not because of arrogant, overbearing billionaires. My favorite authors who write Har/Sil are: Diana Palmer, Susan Napier, Lynne Graham, Sarah Morgan, Michelle Reid, Abby Green, Day Leclaire, Leigh Michaels, Julie Miller, Carole Mortimer, Violet Winspear, and recently Cindy Dees. HH authors: Deborah Simmons, Lyn Stone, Carla Kelly, Terri Brisbin, Sophia James, Christine Merrill, Stacey Kayne, Cheryl St. John, and Jenna Kernan. I'm sure I'm leaving someone off my list. LOL.

I should add that my favorite author, Anne Stuart, wrote a whole ton of Silhouette/Harlequin books in her day!

Hi Danielle! You're the one who got me started reading Harlequin and Silhouette! Bad, bad Danielle! Like I should be encouraged to spend more money on books! ;)

But HQ/Sil books are so cheap, UM! That's why it's so easy to leave the bookstore/UBS/Wal-Mart/etc. with a bunch of them at once, LOL.

Sorry, Dhestiny! I hope you're happy with your new pasttime. :)

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Sorry, Dhestiny! I hope you're happy with your new pasttime. :)"

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I don't think you're sorry at all, Danielle! LOL It's your life's mission to convert us all to the Harlequin side!

Dina,

True that. They are very inexpensive! And the library sales seem to have tons of them for .33!! Can't beat that! Well, unless you buy 4 and get them for $1 LOL

You're onto me, Dhestiny. :)

My favorite line overall is probably HQ Historical - I have a ton of them. I go through phases with others -went through a Blaze phase last year and an Intrigue phase earlier this year. I also read SRS/SIM and the occasional HP. I don't tend to read HQ American or Silh Desire unless the author interests me. I almost never read Silh Special Edition, HQ Superromance, medical, NASCAR etc. I tend to be picky and rely on my friends to tell me which ones are worth reading :-)

I keep swearing I'm going to try a Nascar book. That's one theme I've never read, period.

Can anyone reco any good ones, either HQ or not?

I've only read one Nascar book: Speed Dating by Nancy Warren. I hated it, but I know some readers liked it. If you want to give it a try, I think it's still a freebie from Harlequin.