Now, I don't know how many of you know my deep, dark secret but I'm going to take this opportunity to share it with you all now. Up until a couple of years ago, I was a romance novel virgin.

Yes, I know, it's hard to believe, though it's true. But, trust me, that changed pretty quickly once I got my job, especially once a certain coworker, let's call her "Esi", became my romance drug dealer. And let me tell you, my life was never the same again.

You see, Esi has something she likes to call “Romance 101” to help little newbies like me along. On one of my first days, she mysteriously called me into her office. With a glint in her eye, she handed me a book that would seal my fate as a confirmed lover of romance novels.

Esi didn't start me off with just any old romance. No, she knew that to solidify my addiction, I needed to develop a taste for the good stuff. That book? It was DEVIL'S BRIDE which, of course, meant that I immediately had to go out and read all of the rest of the Cynsters and then the Bridgertons and then the Mallorys...Thus was born a romance addict.

The one thing with coming late to romance is that I missed out on many of the “classics” that everyone else seems to have read. I realized that I needed to remedy this situation when one of our summer interns, a HUGE romance fan, was completely shocked and appalled by the fact that I had never read a Judith McNaught. She immediately leant me her copy of WHITNEY, MY LOVE.

So I'm resolved. If I'm going to be a true romance lover, I'm going to do it right. This is where I need your help. What books do I have to read? Be like the perfect reformed rake and gently teach me the ways of an ideal romance lover.