Mainstream romance novels?

[wesleysgirl]

I'm interested in reading some mainstream romance novels. I don't want to buy them -- I intend to borrow them from the library, because reading them is more research than anything else. Can anyone recommend specific authors or titles of books that are fairly well-written and won't make me want to claw my eyes out? I'm looking for romance/angst/drama as opposed to comedy.

ETA - Stuff I've read and liked:
LaVyrle Spencer
Diana Gabaldon
Sherry Ashworth

Comments

[rakshathewolf.livejournal.com]

Judith McNaught's 'Whitney, My Love' is the best historical romance--perhaps the best of any romance genre--I ever read (I used to read a lot of historicals, "research" that came in handy when writing Angelus).

She'd have 2 or 3 in my top 10. Nearly all the rest would be LaVyrle, whom you've already discovered, although the two authors are very different.

I'm a sucker for the Regency; if you like those, try Catherine Mansfield.