DW knows all

[oyceter]

Lately the only thing I seem to be able to read is romantic comedy. So... rec me stuff!

I have just gone on a terrible binge through nearly all of Julia Quinn (rilina, this is all your fault!), whom I have been enjoying because her heroes tend to be less alpha, her couples genuinely seem to like each other, and she's funny. Also, it helps that her later books have been overcoming her tendency to put 100 pages too much at the end.

I am mostly looking for something rather like 1930s romantic comedies, with a lot of banter and extremely likable heroines. Non-alpha heroes are a HUGE plus. It doesn't have to be in the romance genre, although I only want recs for textual things; my brain just cannot concentrate on TV or movies lately. Sadly, this goes for manga too and basically anything visual.

I also enjoy Loretta Chase, Laura Kinsale's comedies, Connie Brockway's comedies, and Jennifer Crusie.

I have kind of bounced off Eloisa James (is she considered funny?). I don't read as many contemporaries because a lot of the romance genre rules work better for me in historicals, but if it is screwball and feminist, I am all for it. I tend to bounce off of adult chick lit because I frequently don't actually find it funny or enjoyable.

... Maybe I should finally start reading Heyer?

Comments

[oyceter]

Thanks for the recs! Do you think the Westlake will work if you can't keep great track of plot? I usually manage for Pratchett because I feel the plot is less essential than the general funny, but am not sure how that works other places. I'm having a bit of a problem right now keeping track of too many characters/situations (ergo romance... I can skip a ton of the plot and all I have to keep track of is the hero and the heroine!).

[kate_nepveu]

I am not sure. Some of them have very short consecutive plot arcs (_The Hot Rock_ & _What's the Worst that Could Happen?_ are both books in which they keep pulling the same job over and over again), and I never think of them as difficult, but also I've read many of them a bunch. Also they do have a bunch of characters, it's true.

He does have a collection of shorts, _Thieves' Dozen_ (bakers give you an extra, thieves steal one away).