Romantic comedy novels for men?

[obs20]

How about High Fidelity and About a Boy both by Nick Hornby.

[fjtorres]

+1 for A Civil Campaign, but the story really is a trilogy; it starts with MEMORY as Miles hits 30 and 30 hits back. Hard. Having hit his mid-life crisis early, Miles end up on KOMARR as an apprentice troubleshooter on an accident investigation that is anything but. All of which sets the stage for the courting of the woman of Miles' dreams. Except nobody told miles courting is a bit different than planning a military campaign. Throw in no less than four other mangled romances, two parallel political struggles over issues of sucession and a disjointed planetary male/female sex ratio and things get...interesting.
More than a rom/com Civil Campaign is an SF comedy of manners.

Now, if you're in the mood for fractured fairy tales, John Moore has 4 that I know of:
HEROICS FOR BEGINNERS
THE UNHANDSOME PRINCE
BAD PRINCE CHARLIE
A FATE WORSE THAN DRAGONS

Of the four, HEROICS FOR BEGINNERS is the closest to a hollywood-style Rom/com as it features an "Ice Princess" too hot for her own good, a dashing price too smart for his times, an Evil Overlord who knows all the rules, an Ancient Artfact(tm), and a Diabolical Device(tm) that is truly diabolical. Plus the usual super-competent rival prince.
Lots of humor and a good dash of romance plus a lot of common sense you don't normally see in fantasy (which is where a lot of the humor comes from).

I wish Moore had more like that.
(I'm re-reading HEROICS right now. Still funny.)

[tponzo]

Originally Posted by mikaelalind

If you want something funny, I recommend Tinker by Wen Spencer. The best way to describe it is Science Fiction with Elves and Magic. I think it is available for free from Webscription.

If you decide that you don't want fantasy, check out the collaborations between Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Being a romance junkie I heartily agree about Wen Spencer and the Crusie/Mayer collaboration (the newest one is not very good but the others are laugh out loud funny).

In the fantasy/romance line I also really like Mercedes Lackey, her elementals series are really great and also the novels of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. Both series are based on fairy tales.

If you like the classics try the classic/parodies being done now - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters; Little Women and Werewolves and Jane Slayre. Very funny.

Happy reading

[khalleron]

The first thing that popped into my head was 'anything by PG Wodehouse.'

I'd also recommend Georgette Heyer - particularly 'The Grand Sophie', which is really and truly hilarious. But anything by her is good - funny, sharp and not at all sappy. I'm not a romance reader myself, but I really enjoy her.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by khalleron

I'd also recommend Georgette Heyer - particularly 'The Grand Sophie', which is really and truly hilarious. But anything by her is good - funny, sharp and not at all sappy. I'm not a romance reader myself, but I really enjoy her.

I read (somewhere) that she never considered herself a romance author. Her books were considered a "comedy of manners"...not that I really understand that phrase.

I've never read any Heyer - keep meaning to. I saw a bunch of these at the CLEVNET ebook library site.

[GA Russell]

My idea of romantic comedies for men is Thorne Smith, with titles such as Topper and Night Life of the Gods. These are available here at MR.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=Thorne+Smith

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=Thorne+Smith

[FlorenceArt]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

My idea of romantic comedies for men is Thorne Smith, with titles such as Topper and Night Life of the Gods. These are available here at MR.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=Thorne+Smith

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=Thorne+Smith

Thanks! I'm not a man, but I might give those a try

[tponzo]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I read (somewhere) that she never considered herself a romance author. Her books were considered a "comedy of manners"...not that I really understand that phrase.

I've never read any Heyer - keep meaning to. I saw a bunch of these at the CLEVNET ebook library site.

Yes, she was great. Many of her books are quite funny. Most of them are "romance" but she also has several mysteries.

"comedy of manners" is more similar to Jane Austen in style. Even though there is a relationship, the story really revolves around the social mores and people's navigation of the social world.

[nguirado]

How about a good post-apocalyptic special forces novel for women?

[GERGE]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

HEROICS FOR BEGINNERS is the closest to a hollywood-style Rom/com as it features an "Ice Princess" too hot for her own good, a dashing price too smart for his times, an Evil Overlord who knows all the rules, an Ancient Artfact(tm), and a Diabolical Device(tm) that is truly diabolical. Plus the usual super-competent rival prince.
Lots of humor and a good dash of romance plus a lot of common sense you don't normally see in fantasy (which is where a lot of the humor comes from

I second this. I bought the book this morning, finished it just now. Great book, thank you.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by nguirado

How about a good post-apocalyptic special forces novel for women?

I believe you're asking for Cally's War.
(Or Tank Girl).