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Question: Romantic book suggestions, passionate, DEEP, absorbing, worth my time!?
So I'm looking for a new romance book to read!.!.!.I'm a romantic!.!.!.and I really can't find one that seems worth reading!. I'm SO over the cliche, trashy ones in the "romance" isle of the bookstore!. I want something absorbing, that'll keep me reading practically non-stop (you know, hard to put down, you want to talk about it, you think about it, etc)!. I also want something with passion (lust as well as love), preferably, and definitely original characters!. And--this is really important--something that is not shallow!. I'm fed up with books that say, "Oh, I love him, he's beautiful, he's smart, he's nice!.!.!." I'm thinking something along the lines of Phantom of the Opera (the movie version) with more of a Phantom-type guy than a Raoul!. Ew!.
I REALLY hope someone can give me a suggestion!?
I mostly enjoy romance novels that have historical settings!.!.!.even as recently as 40 or 50 years back!.!.!.because it's hard to find something with the passion and confusion I'm looking for when it's in the times of e-mail and MySpace!.

Some examples of books like this (with romances) that I loved: A Great and Terrible Beauty (romance wasn't the biggest component, but what it had was exactly what I'm looking for), Twilight, The Notebook (and others by Nicholas Sparks), Phantom of the Opera, Wuthering Heights, Romeo & Juliet, Bloom, To Catch a Pirate, A Company of Swans, etc!. also Sarah Dessen and Meg Cabot books, and even Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (book, not movie)!.

So!.!.!.I hope someone has a suggestion for me!? Anyone!? I'd really appreciate it :)Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Thanks for giving a very clear description, with examples, of what you're looking for!. I wish everyone would do this when they ask for book suggestions!

It makes me wish I read romances, so I could give you some good recommends, but I rarely read them!. Well, here's my best effort for you:

Classic romances:

Dr!. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak is considered one of the all-time great romances!. It's set during the Russian Revolution!.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is set against the American Civil War!.

One that I read years ago and found very powerful is Csardas, by Diane Pearson!. Set around 1914, it takes place in Hungary or Poland!. It's not in publication today, but your library may have it or may be able to get it for you via inter-library loan!.

Centennial by James Michener takes you through the history of a place, Centennial, Colorado!. It includes a few good romances as part of the story!.

The Winds of War and War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk is a saga, including romance, during WWII!. Excellent, thought-provoking!.

Exodus by Leon Uris is set during the birth of Israel!. Again, romance isn't the main focus, but there is great romance in it!.

Colleen McCullough is a wonderful writer of thought-provoking romances!. Her best-known book is probably The Thorn Birds!. If you want an unlikely love object, try her first book, Tim!.

If a dozen ravening teenage girls haven't already recommended Twilight by Stephenie Meyer to you, I will!. Yes, the characters are in high school and it's marketed to young adults, but this has become a bestseller among women of all ages!. The love story is just very, very good!.

Probably these won't have as much lust as you're looking for!. Somehow "lust" and "thought-provoking" don't make it into the same books very often!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger!.

Possession: A Romance by A!.S!. Byatt!.

Both of these books are quite challenging and are not genre romances!. They are beautiful literary love stories!. Possession in particular is intellectually demanding, but well worth it!.

If you don't mind lesbian love, try Sarah Waters' Fingersmith!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

The Girl With the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
http://books4teensandadults!.googlepages!.!.!.!.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Emma by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
http://books4teensandadults!.googlepages!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

All Jane Austen books will be perfectly suited for your taste!.
also have you read the Great and Terrible Beauty sequels!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

I second Atonement!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Atonement

I agree Vannah!.!.!. definitely Pride and Prejudice!!!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen!.A classic!Www@QuestionHome@Com

I'm not sure what you'd think of her but my favorite has always been Victoria Holt!. Historical Romance is the genre her work is under but she could use suspense/thriller/mystery/romance and roll it into one!.

Some of her books can be predictable but the romance is always passionate, the characters are original and she was always very good about detailing the location and history of the story!. I've never found a book of hers that I could put down!.

My personal favorite is Pride of the Peacock!. Though I do have a few others to suggest off of the top of my head:

The Silk Vendetta
The Black Opal
The Shivering Sands
The Time of the Hunter's Moon
The India Fan
Lord of the far Island
King of the Castle

A lot of her books are now out of print but you can find them on Amazon!.com or in your local bookstore!. She also wrote under the pseudonyms Philippa Carr and Jean Plaidy!.

And no, she was not a harlequin novelist!. She knew how to dig into your heart without getting overly raunchy!.

I would recommend her to any hopeless romantic!.

If you want something a bit different you could try Anne Rice's The Mummy!. It IS a romance though it doesn't sound like it would be!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

There's one called 'Scandal's Bride'!. Not sure who it's by, but when I borrowed it I thought it was about a ballerina o_o How far from it!.!.!. the first few pages were okay, but then the guy does a really shocking thing O_O And it's set in the time where people rode horse-and-carriage thingies instead of cars =)Www@QuestionHome@Com