In the 1980s and 1990s, romance imprints Silhouette and Harlequin teamed up with Showtime and CBS to create television adaptations of some category novels. Here we’re covering the movies based on Silhouette romances.
Once More With Feeling is the second outing from the Silhouette Intimate Moments line. Nora Roberts’ category romance tells the love story between two musicians, one a rising star and the other an established musician, who knew each other in the past. Now they must try to make beautiful music together again–literally. Only later does the situation take a turn for the metaphorical. 3.5 Stars
Many famous and popular authors of mainstream fiction got their start writing series or category romance. Category romances are a staple of the industry. The following 7 authors got their start with Silhouette, Harlequin, Loveswept, or Dell Candlelight romances.
Harlequin Presents #366 Savage Possession by Margaret Pargeter Ryan is Melissa’s parents’ landlord. He demands Melissa pay up! 4 stars
Who is your favorite author of old-school, vintage, or retro-contemporary romances? Whether series or full-length romance, we want to hear your choice!
Glory Days by Marilynne Rudick is a Harlequin Temptation from the early 1990s. It’s one of the few books from that line that I truly disliked. Why? Because it was so dreadfully dull. 1 star
Lynne Graham’s The Italian’s Bride is unusual from her other books I’ve read in the past.
Holly Samson is the first Graham heroine I can recall who was not a virgin, and who’s borne another man’s child. The hero is typical of her heroes: dark-haired, ultra-masculine, ridiculously wealthy, smitten with the heroine, and of Italian descent. 3.62 Stars
Celia Scott’s Rumor Has It is a modern-day Cinderella story where the fairy godmother is not an actual person but a false rumor that transforms a frumpy heroine into a glamorous new woman who finds her prince. 5 stars
The Marriage War by Charlotte Lamb may not have the worst hero in Harlequin Presents history, but he certainly ranks up there in the top twenty. .5 stars
Last week Sweet Savage Flame got some good news! We were notified by the founder of Feedspot, Anuj Agarwal, that we were selected as one of the Top 30 Historical Romance Blogs on the web.
Liar’s Moon, a Dell Candlelight Ecstasy Supreme by Heather Graham is an overwrought foray into romantic suspense. There’s intrigue, murder, and a long-ago love affair between a teenage girl and a much older, close family friend. Events lead to a dramatic and happy conclusion in this so-so-category romance.
Gordon Merrick created the legendary Peter & Charlie gay romance series. The trilogy portrayed the first mainstream love story between two men that concluded happily ever after. Another milestone in gay fiction occurred when they were reprinted in the 1980s. A young artist named Victor Gadino illustrated the iconic clinch covers. Never before had two men been pictured so intimately on romance novels.
Harlequin Presents #567 Mansion for My Love is one of those Robyn Donald books where you can’t believe what the supposed hero does to the heroine. 3 stars
There’s good reason Violet Winspear’s Devil In a Silver room had many reprints: it’s an enthralling, hypnotic love story that pulls you in from the moment the hero enters the story. And oh, what a hero he is! 5 stars
Sad to report, but A Naked Flame has to be the worst Charlotte Lamb book I’ve read so far. It features a wishy-washy, stupid heroine who wouldn’t know her butt crack from the Grand Canyon. 1 star
Dark Fire by Elizabeth Lowell, a 1988 Silhouette Desire takes us on a trek through the jungles of Peru. 4 stars
The 1980 Mills & Boon reissue of Violet Winspear’s book Lucifer’s Angel is said to be the first romance (contemporary or category, anyway, not so sure about historicals) to feature a kissing couple on the cover. And what a pretty one it is.
Miranda Lee’s An Outrageous Proposal is an outrageously sexy Harlequin Presents. Laura had been happily married to Dirk Thornton. Laura was so obsessed with having a child, however. Soon their difficulty to conceive led to a divorce. But now Laura wants Dirk back. 4.5 stars
The Sheik by Edith M. Hull, published in 1919, is as influential to the modern romance genre as Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Perhaps, even more so.
It was a blockbuster of a success, despite its many detractors. While some modern readers may cringe at its depiction of women, sexual roles, and racial attitudes, The Sheik remains a compelling read one hundred years after its publication. 5 stars
Flora Kidd’s Beloved Deceiver still sticks out in my mind for one big reason. It’s the only Harlequin/Mills-and-Boon I’ve read to feature a hero from the Dominican Republic, which is my parents’ birth country. 3.45 stars
