Maggie Blackbird

I’m a romance junkie.  I got into romance through Sooner or Later, a young adult tale about a savvy girl in elementary school who falls for a high school senior.  Daring, huh?  It sure was for the time period when the novel was released by Bruce and Carol Harte.

Thirteen and seventeen is a big gap.  Of course Jessie Walters (the heroine) had to lie about her age to win a date with Michael (hero).  Since these two are a given on my top couples list, I’ll move on to other pairings I still think of as ultra-perfect for each other long after I read their story.

Chandos and Courtney Harte from A Heart So Wild.  Johanna Lindsey captured everything in a perfect duo–he was a man with a secret hell-bent on vengeance, while she was a timid mouse lacking confidence.  When Chandos agrees to take Courtney to Waco, Texas to find her father, Courtney discovers her true self, along with a host of other surprises.  These two have chemistry, respect, and a powerful attraction each fights.  There is action, love, and an intense storyline full of emotion.

I read this when I first started getting into romance novels and deemed Ms. Lindsey as the romance author for me (starting with Paradise Wild).

This book is available in print and digital at your favourite online retailers such as Amazon, Kobo, iBooks,  Barnes and Noble, and other places.

In second place is Star Dancer and Stalking Wolf from Mystic Dreamers by Rosanne Bittner.  The hero and heroine are following what all members of their respective bands do–putting duty before their own needs. After Star Dancer has a vision, she knows who she must marry, although her heart belongs to another.  Stalking Wolf has also had a vision and seeks out the woman the spirits told him to wed.  Although they don’t love each other, they are married.  Now it’s up to them to find their courage to make the best of a forced situation.

Nobody does the old west like Rosanne Bittner.  All of her stories take place in America during the 1700 or 1800s.

This book is available in print and digital at your favourite online retailers such as Amazon, Kobo, iBooks,  Barnes and Noble, and other places.

In Spirit of the Eagle by Velle Munn, Luash and Jed Britton are enemies.  He hates all natives after the massacre he experienced at the hands of the Sioux.  Now he is brought in by the army to help the government return a band of Modoc (who are hiding in a stronghold) to the reservation they escaped from.  Although they are on opposite sides, Luash and Jed can’t help their attraction to one another.  They also begin to realise they need one another to overcome the pain in their hearts.

Ms. Munn has a series of Native American novels with a plethora of strong heroes and heroines.

This book is available in print and digital at your favourite online retailers such as Amazon, Kobo, iBooks,  Barnes and Noble, and other places.

For fourth place is Beverly Bird’s Touch the Son.  Eagle Voice’s brother does the unthinkable and promises her to a dog soldier (he has an ulterior motive she is unaware of), which means uprooting his sister from their family to travel with the dog soldiers camp.  But Eagle Voice’s heart belongs to another.  Still, she obeys and marries a man she comes to love and respect.  Fire Wolf had his chance to marry Eagle Voice but passed on the offer because bitterness and anger had been driving him at the time.  The more he sees of her, the more he regrets his decision.

This book is no longer in print (but it should be, along with Beverly’s other Native America romances).  I had to dig around to find a copy, and was lucky enough to buy one at amazon.ca.

The last but not least is Johanna Lindsey’s So Speaks the Heart.  A scheming stepmother leaves French heiress Brigitte de Louroux no choice but to flee the castle.  But she runs straight into Rowland of Montville, who believes her to be a runaway serf.  When Brigitte is given to Rowland by the stepmother, they travel a great distance together to Rowland’s keep where Brigitte remains a captive.  Their devotion to each other, although they were enemies, shows how they really felt about one another.  Rowland is also habouring a secret that will shock them both.

I especially loved the setting as they travelled from France to Rowland’s keep.  The book takes place in 972 AD.

This novel is available in print and digital at your favourite online retailers such as Amazon, Kobo, iBooks,  Barnes and Noble, and other places.

What about you?  Which pairings stood out in your romance reads who you’d cite as your fave couples?