Read a Romance Blog: Charlotte Loves to Read

Featuring our favorite romance book bloggers!

Happy Wednesday, Wormies! Welcome to another Read a Romance Blog feature! Today, we’re featuring Charlotte @charlottelovestoread on Instagram!

Read a Romance Blog series is a feature on this blog showcasing book bloggers & bookstagrammers that primarily review romance.

About the Romance Reader & Bookstagrammer

I’ve been a devoted reader my whole life, and I’ve been reading romance almost exclusively for the last 8 years. I live in Southern California with my husband and our new cat, Sascha. I am lucky to live fairly close to the Ripped Bodice and I have loved meeting authors and fellow romance readers over the past couple of years when we could go to events in person. I started my bookstagram almost a year ago as an outlet for my enthusiasm for my favorite books and authors, and to boost underrepresented authors in my own way.

Where You Can Find Me

Twitter: https://twitter.com/allllthebooks

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/charlottelovestoread

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/charlottelovestoread

First Romance Book I Read

I’m not even sure! I devoured a lot of teen romances when I was young. I was a big Meg Cabot fan and I know her adult romances were some of where I started. She Went All The Way (forced proximity) stands out in my memory, and I read that sometime in high school.

Ezrah: OMG! I honestly haven’t read Meg Cabot before!

Favorite Romance Genre/s

Contemporary and Paranormal Romance

Ezrah: I am slowly reading more PNR!

Favorite Romance Trope/s

Sunshine/Grumpy, fake relationship, friends to lovers, and enemies to lovers

Ezrah: Enemies to lovers is definitely on my list!

Top Auto-buy Authors

Nalini Singh | Penny Reid | Kate Canterbary | Elizabeth Hunter | Talia Hibbert

Top Romance Books You Highly Recommend

• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – if you haven’t read this by now, please take this as a GIANT sign to do so! (Standalone)
• The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite – a really accessible historical (I don’t read a ton of historicals) that focuses on two women who defy societal norms in more ways than one! I absolutely love a STEM heroine. (First in a series, standalone)
• Hooking Up by Helena Hunting – funny, emotional, and high heat! Wedding reception goes awry due to a cheating groom, the bride goes solo on her island honeymoon trip where she decides she is entitled to some great, no-strings-attached sex, but what starts as a fling turns into strong feelings. (Second in a series, can be read standalone)
• Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – A stellar fake relationship story. I laughed out loud, I swooned at the romance-reading hero, and the steaminess does not disappoint! (Second in a series, can be read standalone)
• Code of Conduct by April White – action, humor, and historical and geeky references, this book has it all! (First in a spinoff series, it’s better if you have read Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series but can be read standalone) 

Top Romance Series You Recommend

• Psy-Changeling by Nalini Singh – PNR, 19 books and counting. Branded by Fire (book 6) is one of my (no lie) 6 favorites. I reread from this series often, the chemistry and feelings and world-building make for fabulously vivid stories and the characters feel like family.
• The Winston Brothers by Penny Reid – small-town contemporary, 7 books. Beard Science (book 3) is my favorite. The humor in these books is so distinctive, and Penny weaves in all kinds of facts and details. Another series I have reread, the audiobooks are fantastic.
• The Walshes by Kate Canterbary – 8 books plus a newer novella. It’s really hard to pick a favorite from the entire second half, but today I’ll say book 4, The Cornerstone. A sarcastic and dysfunctional family runs a sustainable architecture firm in Boston and each of them faces the scars of their past and finds their (sexy) match where it is least expected. Overlapping timelines and surprises abound, another series with fantastic audiobooks.
• New Camelot by Sierra Simone – MMF erotic romance trilogy, 3 books. Book 1, American Queen is my favorite, but these are not standalones, if you are not reading the full trilogy you should not read the last chapter of book 1.
• So Over the Holidays by Erin McLellan – queer holiday novellas, currently 3 books. My favorite is book 2, Candy Hearts.

Favorite Quote from a Romance Book

“Stay away from the normals, the small-minded people who fill their brains with small-minded pursuits, who blend in and keep up with the Joneses. Those people will tear you down and make you boring. Instead, surround yourself with the weirds. With the misfits, oddballs, and outcasts. Because the normals, bless their hearts, have no idea how to have fun.”

– Beard Science, Penny Reid

Favorite Thing About the Romance Community

There is nothing better than finding friends who share your taste in books, and this community is so generous with time and resources. The number of books I’ve gotten for free or won in a giveaway, or bought while proceeds benefit charity – it amazes me and makes me proud to be a romance reader.

Romance Myth That You Hate

Let’s squash the myth that all romance books are the same, there is so much variety in what is available and it grows every day! While we’re at it, let’s squash the perception that white cishet stories are enough. I look forward to the day that publishing embraces the fact that readers want diverse stories and storytellers.

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