Ready to discover some new character-driven steamy romance novels? Be seduced by the stories of romance writers like Janet Dailey. We’ve selected the 20 best ones for you right below.
Janet Dailey was the first American author to write for Harlequin. Her first novel was published in 1976. She has written more than 100 novels—21 of which appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list.
Dailey is known for creating romantic genre reads, but they are not just all sex and steam. She addresses significant controversial issues. Dailey sold more than 300 million copies of her books. She passed away in 2013 due to complications from heart surgery.
20 Romance Authors Similar to Janet Dailey
Jane Austen
Decades later this novel is still one of the best love stories of all time. Elizabeth Bennett is a strong, educated, and independent woman. She cares about keeping her family’s land in their name and desires her sisters to marry for only love. Elizabeth is witty and ever-so-practical. She knows how to play society’s games even though her family may not be the aristocrats of society.
Things quickly change when she meets the utterly handsome but rude, Mr. Darcy. These two may be the perfect match, but will their pride get in the way of a chance at love? Read Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Fiona Baker
Book four of the Snowy Pine Ridge Series is Christmas at the Guest House. Colette Hillis has been working as a dedicated caregiver for the wealthy Emma Cleaver for the last four years.
When Emma passes, Colette is surprised to learn that she is the benefactor of Emma’s lavish home. She’s happy about her new investment but feels uncomfortable in a home so large. Colette decides to stay in the guest house and rents the main house.
Zach McKnight is an artist looking to rekindle his creativity. He moves in, but as Christmas and snowbound weather approaches these two people will realize there is a spark between them. Things heat up in this Christmas read.
Charlotte Bronte
The unforgettable story of the orphan, Jane Eyre who is sent to the Lowood School so she can be groomed into a proper woman. It’s here she falls desperately in love with Mr. Rochester.
Jane Eyre has romantic elements but also is the story of a woman who refuses to bend to society and act like a traditional lady. A classic romantic read that is to be cherished.
Carolyn Brown
Grace Dalton loves her small Texas town and her Devin Doughnut Shop—a bakery legacy that has been in business for four generations. The doughnuts may be sweet, but Grace’s teenage daughter isn’t.
As a single mom, she has her hands full with more than just dough. The icing on the doughnut? Travis Butler is in town ready to snatch up her shop and maybe her heart. Check out The Devine Doughnut Shop, a sweet read you won’t regret.
Robyn Carr
Anna McNichol values her marriage, and her family—both aspects of her life she has made a priority. Her children are now grown and for the first time, she’s going to focus on her career. But the universe has other plans for Anna.
Her husband dies unexpectedly and Anna realizes her world was not as perfect as it seemed. Her husband was cheating on her and every aspect and person in her life is now falling apart. Will Anna be able to find herself again? Maybe, with the help of an unexpected person in A Family Affair.
Jane Green
Andi finally thinks she has found true love. Ethan is perfect for her, but his daughters—especially Emily do not want Andi in their father’s life. Emily is determined to destroy their happily ever after.
A realistic look at complications of love and the past everyone brings to the table in Jane Green’s Another Piece of My Heart. Will Andi finally get the love she’s been searching for her whole life?
Kristin Hannah
Leni Allbright’s family has always struggled. Her mother is head-over-heels for her father, but Ernt Allbright doesn’t make it easy. He suffers from PTSD from the Vietnam War. He’s unpredictable and sometimes violent.
The family spontaneously moves to the isolated Alaska frontier and realizes just how dangerous it is. They find compassion and friendship in this tough community.
Leni finds her first love, but as winter approaches the women realize the most dangerous part of Alaska may be within their own four walls in Hannah’s breathtaking novel The Great Alone.
Shanna Hatfield
Two total opposites are Emery Brighton and Hudson Cole. She’s a beautiful, party girl heiress who makes reckless decisions, and he is a single father and a rancher.
Fate brings them together after Emery’s community service sentence lands her on a remote ranch in Oregon. Despite their best intentions to stay clear of each other, they quickly develop their own love story in this romantic, wholesome novel of Hatfield’s Catching the Cowboy.
Elin Hilderbrand
The queen of beach reads brings readers 28 Summers. It’s the summer of 1993 and twenty-something homebody Mallory Blessing has just inherited her favorite aunt’s Nantucket beach cottage.
Mallory agrees to host her brother and his friends for the weekend for a bachelor party. Mallory and Jake have an instant physical and emotional connection that will stay ignited for over twenty-eight summers.
They fall desperately in love, but circumstances and other people always seem to be pulling them in opposite directions unknowingly. Mallory and Jake make a promise to see each other every Labor Day weekend in this addictive, emotional read.
Virginia Kantra
Book four in a Dare Island series is Carolina Blues. Dare Island is a small coastal town in North Carolina. Jack Rossi is the new police chief and is looking forward to the sleepy island life, especially after his complicated past.
Lauren Patterson is a graduate student but once upon a time, she made her name by preventing a bank robbery from going badly. In a romantic, passionate affair these two are brought together. Read this sweet, sexy romance.
Debbie Macomber
Hope Godwin has been devastated ever since the death of her twin brother. She hopes that volunteering at the animal shelter in Oceanside, Washington will fill the space in her heart.
It’s here that she meets a rescue dog named Shadow and Cade, a man who has given up on life. Hope makes it her mission to show vulnerability and love again.
Slowly, she changes both Shadow’s and Cade’s hearts. But is love enough? Or will the dramas of daily life send all these broken hearts spiraling back to the past in The Best is Yet to Come?
Lindsay McKenna
Sara Romano is looking for a fresh start in Silver Creek, Wyoming. The only thing holding her back from a new life is that she needs protection as danger from her past becomes part of her now. Her mother hires an ex-SEAL turned bodyguard to protect Sara.
Wes Paxton does not just provide physical protection—he makes her feel safe in a way she’s never experienced. Wes will do anything to protect this woman who is now falling in love with in Silver Creek Bodyguard.
Fern Michaels
Jessie Roland experiences wealth and privilege her entire life. She’s never known anything different but is desperately unhappy. Jessie moves to Washington D.C. to find herself, but despite the romantic and sexual desire she feels for her new partner, it’s not enough.
Moving and a new romance will not change Jessie’s broken heart. It’s only by digging into her past with the help of Luke Holt that she will find her future in Finders Keepers.
Diana Palmer
Childhood friends who once knew each other so well. Time passes and people change. Now Clarisse Carrington is a little scared of her former buddy, Stanton Rourke.
He knows her past, the wounds of her family, and her heart. She just hopes he doesn’t break it. Sparks fly and Clarisse knows the heat between them is something they can’t avoid. Untamed is sure to make some hearts fall in love with this read.
Kate Pearce
Lovers of the comedic film “Three Men & A Baby” need to snatch up this rom-com read. Jen Rossi goes away on a mission. She’s gone longer than anticipated, but she knows her baby boy is in the reliable hands of his father.
What she doesn’t expect are three former marine buddies to be part of the package. Jen may be mad, but she can’t stay away from her ex either in this hot, sexy romantic read. Three Cowboys & A Baby is the romantic read for you.
Nora Roberts
Ally Fletcher in Midnight Shadows is an undercover cop. When she starts investigating a case at Jonah Blackhawk’s nightclub he is attracted to her. Too bad they can’t seem to get along and too bad she is off limits—she’s the police commissioner’s daughter.
There is a thin line between love and hate in this passion-filled novel.
Lavyrle Spencer
Tess McPhail is one of the biggest superstars in country music. She left home for Nashville over eighteen years ago and has never looked back. But now she finds herself back in her hometown when she gets a call that her mama is sick.
Tess confronts her past and her former lover, Kenny Kronek. He’s a single dad who is raising his teenage daughter. Tess doesn’t want to be home but finds herself falling back in love with Kenny. Check out this country star in Small Town Girl.
Danielle Steel
Charles Vincent’s life changes forever after a drive along the Normandy Coast. He falls asleep while driving and plunges 30 feet off a rocky cliff. Charles survives the crash and manages, miraculously, to walk to safety. He ends up at the cabin of a woman named Aude Saint-Martin.
Eventually, Charles is nursed back to health. He realizes, despite having everything in this life, that he is not happy. Charles and Aude are falling in love and he is now at a crossroads. Charles must choose to follow his heart or go back to his passionless life in Steel’s riveting romance Without a Trace.
Barbara Taylor Bradford
This New York Times bestselling novel is A Woman of Substance. It’s the story of the lovely and resilient Emma Harte. A true rags-to-riches tale of a woman who is beloved by many but the only man she desires is the off-limits one.
Troy Mackay is excited to finally create a home for his six-month-old daughter. He’s renting Littlegate Farm but this bronc-riding cowboy has been tricked because the property has been sold and is occupied by someone else. Kat Farley is in love with her new home and is so glad it is her own.
Still, she feels guilty when Troy shows up on her doorstep, so she lets him and the baby stay. They become more than roommates in Home With the Rodeo Dad, a read that will connect with romance readers’ hearts.
FAQ
Who is the number one romance writer?
Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts have the reputation of being two of the best romance writers of all time.
Who is the most prolific romance writer?
Some romance writers who are considered prolific are Jane Austen, Danielle Steel, and Nicholas Sparks.
What type of author is Jane Dailey?
Jane Dailey is a successful romance writer with multiple novels on the bestseller list.
What is better than 50 Shades of Gray?
A novel considered better and steamier than 50 Shades of Gray is Bared to You by Sylvia Day.
Is reading romance novels good for you?
Reading romance novels can be an escape for readers and let them know what they like in relationships.
What are the most popular romance novels to read?
1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813) 2. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (1996) 3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936) 4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991) 5. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (2012) 6. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (2005) 7. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (2011) 8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012) 9. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks (1999) 10. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)
Lisa is a fiction writer and freelance content writer. She recently finished writing her first novel, a YA work called Amelia’s Voice, and is seeking representation. She has just begun writing her second work, which will be an adult romance novel. Lisa has her MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
She is an avid reader and is never without a book in hand. Some of her favorites are psychological thrillers, compelling women’s fiction, and book club reads as well as young adult. You can find Lisa on Instagram @lisaschwarz.writer
