The 20 Most Influential Romance Novels of the Last 100 Years

Janet Dailey’s No Quarter Asked signaled a big shift from romance novels being primarily British and European to the rise in American romance novels. This was the first novel set in America by an American writer for the dominant romance publisher Mills and Boon. The book also helped pioneer (pun intended) the western romance sub-genre. In the story, Stacy retreats to an isolate Texas cabin to grieve her father’s death. But she soon butts heads with the rugged, handsome rancher Cord who wants her to go back to the city. Dailey’s place in romance novel is history is marred by her later plagiarizing from the books of Nora Roberts.

Renay is a Black musician in an abusive marriage with an alcoholic man. When he sells her piano, she runs away with her child. Renay finds passion, love, and mutual respect in a new relationship with Terry, a wealthy, white woman author who Renay met at a supper club. Despite the racism and homophobia Renay and Terry face, they end up happily together and in love at the end of the book. This book stands out for several reasons. The happy ending in a queer novel was still quite unusual for this time. It is also the first known interracial lesbian romance which brings intersectionality to the genre.

Entwined Destinies by Rosalind Welles is known as the first romance novel by a Black author to feature Black characters. But Sandra Kitt was the first Black romance author to publish with Harlequin and build a romance writing career with over 25 books. This groundbreaking romance, brought together Eva and Maxwell (sometimes called Adam in the book…it’s confusing) on a tropical vacation. They were two people who had been wounded by love in the past. But eventually, they give in to the undeniable chemistry between them. The gender roles and fat shaming are old fashioned, but other parts of the story hold up.

Whew! I had a lot of angst picking which Nora Roberts book to add to the list. She’s kind of in her own class when it comes to influential romance novels. When she broke onto the romance scene in the 1980s, she was immediately popular and incredibly prolific. She’s written over 200 romance novels and 69 New York Times Best Sellers. One Nora Roberts fact sheet for Penguin says on average 13 of her books are sold every minute. She didn’t create a new category, genre, or trope within romance. But by writing dependably wonderful romance novels in many categories, she expanded the readership greatly. Her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published in 1981, and she wrote 23 more romances before publishing Playing the Odds in 1985. I told you she was prolific! But this was her first bestseller and the first of the MacGregor series. Most romance novels were standalone at the time. But this novel shows the trend of romance series having characters who were family, friends, coworkers, or linked in some other way. Later, Roberts would write thrillers, standalones, science fiction romance, and more. But Playing the Odds gave the first hint of the romance legend she would become.

It’s hard to choose just one Jayne Ann Krentz romance to add to a list of influential romance novels, because she wrote superlatively in many romance categories. But Sweet Starfire is known as the first futuristic romance published by a mainstream publisher. In a future universe, Cidra and Teague go on an interplanetary adventure to find an alien shrine. Not only was this book hugely important for the development of both science fiction and paranormal romance, it also apparently inspired Krentz to begin writing her amazing historical romances under the name Amanda Quick.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips started writing romance novels in the 1980s. But her Chicago Stars series, starting with this book, brought the idea of sports romance novels into the market. Phoebe is a beautiful, young heiress who hates sports and just inherited a Chicago football team. At first, she thinks the head coach Dan is a sexist jerk, but that opinion slowly changes throughout the story. Aside from helping invent the sports romance sub-genre, Phillips writing demonstrates the increasing trend for adding humor into romance novels.

Regency romances remained dominant in historical romance (in fact, they still are), but Lisa Kleypas’s Dreaming of You shows how far they’ve moved on from the novels of Georgette Heyer or the bodice rippers from the 1970s and ’80s. In this Regency romance, the heroine Sara makes her own living as a writer, and the hero isn’t a duke or lord from the aristocracy. Instead, Derek Craven was born poor in the London slums and is now a wealthy owner of an exclusive gambling club. This reversal in class dynamics, the agency of the heroine, and the emphasis on female friendship all represent an influential shift in historical romance.

No list of influential romance novels would be complete without Beverly Jenkins on it. She started publishing in the 1990s and was instrumental in the reclaiming of Black stories from history. While she writes in several genres, her historical romances have been hugely influential within romance history. Indigo tells the story of Hester and Daniel, two conductors of the Underground Railroad. Sparks fly between the pair as Hester must nurse Daniel back to health after a severe injury. Like all Beverly Jenkins books, the heroine is brave, intelligent, and powerful and the chemistry in the romance is undeniable.

Written by a romance fiction scholar, Bet Me challenged the overwhelming norm of romance novel heroines being thin and conventionally attractive. Minerva begins the novel believing that she must lose weight and change her appearance to find love. While Crusie doesn’t tell us Minerva’s exact body dimensions, she is described as chubby throughout the novel. But Cal, the hero, is attracted to her exactly as she is. This paved a path for more fat heroines and fat positive romances to come since (although personally, I’m still waiting for more fat heroes in romance novels). Be warned there is a lot of diet talk in this book, but otherwise it is smart, funny, and so sexy.

Nalini Singh began writing paranormal romance before the YA novel Twilight made the genre explode in popularity. In her popular Psy-Changeling series, she introduces a world where emotions are forbidden. Sascha is a rare member of the ruling Psy species who feels emotions. She must keep them hidden at all cost. Lucas is a Changeling who can shift between human and panther forms. The Psy and Changeling are on the brink of war, when Sascha and Lucas are brought together. Both are surprised by each other and the feelings that build out of their relationship. The book influenced the explosion of shapeshifter/werewolf romances that flooded the romance novel market in the 2000s. It also combined science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal elements in new and innovative ways.

Brenda Jackson is another pioneering Black romance novelist. When she first started writing romances, editors offered to publish her books only if she made her Black characters white. She refused, believing there was a market for Black love stories. In 1995, she published her first novel Tonight and Forever with the new Arabesque imprint, focused on African American romances. She would go on to become the first Black romance author to publish over 100 books and the first to hit the USA Today Bestselling List. But it was Irresistible Forces that marked the first Black romance novel to hit The New York Times Best Seller list. Dominic and Taylor both want a child, but not the relationship or marriage that go along with it. They make a business deal to go to the Caribbean on a “procreation vacation.” Yes, this book is exactly as bonkers as it sounds. But also, yes it will show you why Brenda Jackson is such a beloved, barrier-breaking author.

Jeannie Lin’s debut novel won the Golden Heart award for historical fiction from the Romance Writers of America. Set in Tang Dynasty China, her books show a move away from historical romance taking place in just Europe and America. In this story, Princess Ai Li runs away before her wedding with only her butterfly swords to protect her. She enlists the help of Ryam, a foreign warrior, to help regain her honor and royal legacy.

Some people hate Fifty Shades of Grey or will argue it doesn’t belong in the romance category. But, as evidenced by it selling over 100 million copies, a lot of people love the book too, and its impact on romance novels and the market is apparent. The first in a trilogy about a controlling young billionaire and innocent college graduate was a publishing phenomenon. It showed the dominance (pun intended) of self publishing/fan fiction movements within romance. It brought literally millions of readers into the romance genre. And, furthermore, it brought the idea of BDSM into the mainstream and caused a huge increase in kink in romance novels.

Helen Hoang’s debut novel was an instant hit in the romance world. It went through several printings the summer it came out, and got a seal of approval from folks ranging from Roxane Gay to The New York Times. In the story, Stella is a successful econometrician on the autism spectrum who falls in love with Michael, the male escort she hires to teach her about sex and intimacy. The book is hilarious, sexy, and so romantic. It also marked a turning point for diversity in romance, with an intersectional story combining representation around race, disability, and sex workers with depth and nuance.