[jehane]

Originally Posted by Jemcrystal

Coincidently, I get angry when almost everyone else gripes that The Sharing Knife was not Bujold's best works. Maybe it wasn't for them but it is for me. Because of the way these critics down The Sharing Knife in favor of her other works, I will not read anything else by LMB.

There's a term for that. Cutting off your nose to spite your face. Note that in spite of their preferences for adventure over romance, those critics didn't *not* read the Sharing Knife series. The Vorkosigan novels are not all a boy's own adventure in space. The Warrior's Apprentice certainly is (and I love it) however Shards of Honor could easily be categorised as Science Fiction Romance (and I love it as well). Barrayar (which, yes, I love, especially the erm, "shopping" scene) maintains the strong romantic thread of Shards of Honor. Some of the later novels deal with Miles' and his friends' own romantic entanglements. And I love them as well.

What I need help with is a question I have asked countless times on countless forums; what other fantasy novels by other authors are there that are VERY LIKE The Sharing Knife. Anyone know of some good reads that might also win my heart?

Melanie Rawn - the Sunrunner series. I actually prefer the Exiles trilogy but it remains unfinished after about a decade and with no end in the foreseeable future.
Juliet Marillier
Sarah Zettel
Robin McKinley
Isolde Martyn - historical rather than fantasy
Marion Zimmer Bradley - in particular the Avalon series and the Trillium series she co-wrote with Julian May and Andre Norton
Catherine Asaro
Mercedes Lackey
Jacqueline Carey
Guy Gavriel Kay (more historical fantasy but does the romance quite well and really does produce the most beautiful writing I have ever come across)

These are the ones I can think of that write fantasy with very strong romantic elements. It's a stereotype, but as a general rule, speculative fiction written by women will likely have stronger romantic subplots than those written by men.

If you'd like to expand your reading there's also:
SL Viehl - space opera and paranormal romance (under a different name)
Elizabeth Moon - space opera (Serrano Legacy and Vatta's War)
Kim Harrison - urban fantasy

There are more in all categories, but these are the ones I have read and enjoyed. You might also like to check out The Galaxy Express - there is a list of authors on the left, and links to other sites on the right.