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Summer of Love As the days grow longer and the nights get hotter, it's the perfect time to celebrate the romance novel. Welcome to the NPR Books Summer of Love!
Special Series

Summer of Love

Welcome to the NPR Books Summer of Love!
Alpha, Beta, Heathcliff — An Alphabet Of Romance Heroes

Played by Olivier or not — Heathcliff was really kind of a jerk by romance hero standards. United Artists hide caption

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United Artists

Books

Alpha, Beta, Heathcliff — An Alphabet Of Romance Heroes

As part of the NPR Books Summer of Love series, Lynn Neary digs into the history of the romance hero, the difference between alpha and beta heroes, and why Heathcliff is really kind of a jerk.

Alpha, Beta, Heathcliff — An Alphabet Of Romance Heroes

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: The Romance Novel Special

Summer romance reads! Ariel Zambelich/NPR hide caption

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Ariel Zambelich/NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour: The Romance Novel Special

This week, we dive deeply into the world of romance novels with our special guest, Sarah Wendell of the web site Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: The Romance Novel Special

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The Heat Is On With These Summer Romance Novels

NPR Books is focusing on romance novels this summer. And our recommendations are not so-called "bodice rippers" or historical romances — they're contemporary.

The Heat Is On With These Summer Romance Novels

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Romantic Reads From Shakespeare To Steampunk (Heavy On The Steam)
Nishant Choksi

Review

Best Books Of 2012

Romantic Reads From Shakespeare To Steampunk (Heavy On The Steam)

Writer Eloisa James gathers the best of 2012's romance subgenres. Expect lots of heat, in the most unexpected places and with some unlikely people: From the military to the paranormal, and from Shakespeare to steampunk, James' picks for the year skip across oceans and genres.

Romantic Reads From Shakespeare To Steampunk (Heavy On The Steam)

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A Rainbow Of Happy Endings In Ethnic Romances

The cover of the romance novel Only in Paradise, by author Michelle Monkou. Harlequin Books hide caption

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Harlequin Books

A Rainbow Of Happy Endings In Ethnic Romances

Romance has always been popular with ethnic readers, even though for decades, the heroines on the covers looked nothing like the women reading them. That's beginning to change as authors like Brenda Jackson hit the big time with black-themed romances.

A Rainbow Of Happy Endings In Ethnic Romances

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Amish Romance: More Faith And No Sex In This Slice Of Christian Fiction
Harper Collins

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Amish Romance: More Faith And No Sex In This Slice Of Christian Fiction

Scott Simon spoke to Shelley Shepard Gray, who writes romance novels in a much-discussed and growing genre: the subset of Christian romances set among the Amish.

Amish Romance: More Faith And No Sex In This Slice Of Christian Fiction

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