Looking for non-stereotype love stories

[Sparrow]

I'm not a romance fan - but I love the novels of Anne Tyler; 'Accidental Tourist', 'Back When We Were Grownups' are good 'uns .

Orwell's '1984' might also fit the bill of non-stereotypical romances.

Also, PG has "The Young Visiters or, Mr Salteena's Plan" a romance written by a 9-year old Daisy Ashford.

[tompe]

Since I just reread Frederica I can recommend Georgette Heyer's regency romances.

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Suite/3088/Heyer.html

recommends some suitable books to start with.

I suppose these romances are different since they are so fun to read and often they are comedy of manners.

[igorsk]

Anything by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee, especially Liaden novels.
There are sample chapters available at Baen.
Start here.

[IceHand]

Whew, the list grows longer, thanks!

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Have you read "When the Wind Blows" by Patterson?

No, I haven't, but the book is cheap and sounds interesting so I'll add it to my wishlist.

Originally Posted by acemccloudxx

One author that I can recommend here is Christine Feehan. I've only read the Ghostwalker books and the Drake Sisters. The stories have interesting plots and characters and strong romantic elements, though I found myself more often than not skipping the sex scenes.

Hm, at first look they seem to be your typical paranormal romance novels, but I'll read a sample and decide then.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I can highly recommend Exit to Eden by Anne Rice. The book is very good. The movie however is awful.

The description doesn't really sound like something I had in mind more like SM eroticism, but I'll take a look at it anyway.

Originally Posted by ProfJulie

The Thornbirds, Colleen McCullough
Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak

The Thorn Birds and The Fountainhead sound good, I'm not sure about the other two, but Gone With the Wind is available at Feedbooks so I have downloaded it.

Originally Posted by acemccloudxx

Here's a really good one: Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy (fantasy)

Something lighter: A Quest For Chameleon, Piers Anthony (the rest of the series gradually goes down hill)

The Black Jewels trilogy seems to be interesting, I've added it to my wishlist.
Actually I've already read many of Piers Anthony's Xanth books when I was younger, but they were rather light and satirical.

Originally Posted by ProfJulie

Here are some more:

Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
The Far Pavilions, M.M. Kaye

Added to my wishlist, though I'm not sure about Cold Mountain yet – some reviews mention it to be rather verbose.

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I'm not a romance fan - but I love the novels of Anne Tyler; 'Accidental Tourist', 'Back When We Were Grownups' are good 'uns .

Orwell's '1984' might also fit the bill of non-stereotypical romances.

Also, PG has "The Young Visiters or, Mr Salteena's Plan" a romance written by a 9-year old Daisy Ashford.

Accidental Tourist sounds like I will like it, added to my wishlist.
I've already read 1984 and yes, the romance-part, if you can call it that, is very non-stereotypical.
The Young Visiters doesn't appeal to me on first look, but it's free so I'll take a second look.

Originally Posted by tompe

Since I just reread Frederica I can recommend Georgette Heyer's regency romances.

I think, I'll try Venetia first, thanks.

Originally Posted by igorsk

Anything by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee, especially Liaden novels.

I can't really say what to expect judging from the description on Webscriptions as it isn't very specific to say the least, but I'll read some of the sample chapters.


Thanks again to all of you!

[pilotbob]

Icehand,

Someone just recommended "The Time Traveler's Wife" to me. Here is a review

http://www.mostlyfiction.com/scifi/niffenegger.htm

from which I quote:

"You might say the The Time Traveler’s Wife is a love story with a time traveling twist, or a time travel story with a romantic twist."

I haven't read it, but I am adding it to my list. Not sure if I can find it as an eBook though.

BOb

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Someone just recommended "The Time Traveler's Wife" to me. Here is a review

http://www.mostlyfiction.com/scifi/niffenegger.htm

from which I quote:

"You might say the The Time Traveler’s Wife is a love story with a time traveling twist, or a time travel story with a romantic twist."

I haven't read it, but I am adding it to my list. Not sure if I can find it as an eBook though.

The Time Traveler's Wife is definitely a love story. I don't know that I'd call it a romance. I can, however, wholeheartedly recommend it.

Amazon classifies it under Science Fiction and Fantasy. When I read it in 2004, I wrote, "Well, first, I disagree that this falls into the category of Science Fiction and Fantasy. It's plain and simple a love story. Yep, there's the interesting device that one main character is a time traveler and it adds some complications to the lives of those who know and love him. But, the book can and will be enjoyed by people who don't like SF as a genre."

[IceHand]

Um, I don't want to be rude or anything, but actually in the beginning of this thread I mentioned The Time Traveler's Wife as a good example of what I am looking for. So yeah, I've already read it and liked it a lot.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by IceHand

Um, I don't want to be rude or anything, but actually in the beginning of this thread I mentioned The Time Traveler's Wife as a good example of what I am looking for. So yeah, I've already read it and liked it a lot.

Sorry, remembered the thread from a few days ago, got that book reco'd to me, thought it would be a good fit. Guess I didn't remember the details... and I didn't re-read the OP of course.

BOb

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by IceHand

Um, I don't want to be rude or anything, but actually in the beginning of this thread I mentioned The Time Traveler's Wife as a good example of what I am looking for. So yeah, I've already read it and liked it a lot.

BTW: Your message was a bit rude.

[IceHand]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

BTW: Your message was a bit rude.

Hey, I'm sorry. I appreciate that you remembered this thread and recommended me the book.

[jennifermcb]

I would suggest Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

[wetterau]

You might like Every Story Is A Love Story, a novella packaged with Joe Burke's Last Stand for free at www.memoware.com in various formats and stand alone in a Kindle version, www.amazon.com. It takes place in Woodstock in the early 60's, just before the festival. Also, O+F, at the same url's, a steamier novel set in Maine and Hawaii. I wrote them. Enjoy. J

[dugbug]

If you are looking for a good love story that is non-traditional, check out Ken Grimwood's Replay.

-d

[montsnmags]

I would suggest some of Annie Proulx's work. The Shipping News is good, but for my tastes Accordion Crimes contains more bang for your buck. I've not read more than those two, but only because I am savouring them over years (Postcards, I own, and it will be next, and then I think I'll start on the shorties).

Cheers,
Marc

[mollybo]

I second the recommendation for Diana Galbadon's Outlander series. The books really defy categorization; while love pays a large part, it's not a romance, it's time travel but not sci-fi. The Firey Cross was a bit of a drag, but the latest book in the series, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, was just great.