Judith McNaught

Ordinarily I would put information like this in the Bitter Aftertaste section, but my feelings about Judith McNaught are so mixed that I have to begin with it: her romances feature some of the creepiest sex scenes on the planet. Her most famous book, 1985's Whitney, My Love, not only features a semi-rape scene between the hero and heroine, but Ms. McNaught apparently named those characters after her SON AND DAUGHTER. Can you imagine your mother writing a book where a character named after a sibling has sex with a character named after you? Good God. Nor is this the only example of freaky sex. In her otherwise enjoyable Remember When (which features a heroine that was clearly inspired by Martha Stewart, which is awesome) the hero--who is sober as a judge--has sex with the heroine when she's drunk. So drunk, in fact, that she has no memory of having sex with him, and he doesn't bother to 'fess up until she mentions that she had a dream that reminded her of the dream scene in Rosemary's Baby where Mia Farrow is raped by the devil. I ask you--how is that romantic? EW!

But the most remarkable thing about her books is that Ms. McNaught has an amazing ability to draw you into a story, despite all the freakiness mentioned above. I just suggest that you stick with her Regency-period novels, where you can chalk up any disturbing sexual politics to an attempt to be authentic to the norms of a different time and place. And if you read Whitney, My Love... well, just try to forget about the names.

Aftertaste:
See above.

Availability:
Everywhere.

Other Recommendations:
Anything by Lisa Kleypas

Anything by Julie Garwood

Website:
http://www.judithmcnaught.com/ -