A Banter-Filled Rom-Com Reading List From Author Martha Waters
By Martha Waters
Part of the joy of romance novels for me is the escape they offer from the real world. For a few hours, I’m not worried about whatever existential-dread-inducing headline I read that morning and can instead read a story in which I know there’s a guaranteed, soothing outcome: a happy ending. Romances come in countless sub-genres and there’s something out there for every reader, but my favorite ones—to read and write—are the ones that can make me laugh as well as swoon.
My new novel, To Swoon and to Spar, is a Regency rom-com set in Cornwall that features a heroine casually staging a haunting at her seaside estate to scare away her unwanted husband (as one does!) . . . but of course, since this is a romance novel, she quickly discovers that she might not want him gone after all. It’s full of (fake) ghosts and (true) love, and—my favorite thing of all in a romance novel—lots of banter. And since I love to read charming, banter-filled romantic comedies just as much as I love to write them, I’m happy to recommend a few of my current favorites.
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton
This new release is the third title in Holton’s Dangerous Damsels series but can be read entirely on its own. It features two autistic protagonists who are spies in a madcap, magical version of Victorian England, and it’s an absolute delight—funny, over-the-top, full of sly British humor, with a genuinely touching romance at its core.
Infamous by Lex Croucher
Less of a straight romance and more of a coming-of-age tale with a romantic element, this absolutely hilarious skewering of Lord Byron (and Sapphic love story!) made me laugh out loud alone in an empty room. You’ll want to shriek at the heroine in frustration a few times before the end, but it’s all worth it, because this book is a joy.
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
I write historical rom-coms, but I love to read contemporary romances, too, and Talia Hibbert is one of my go-to authors. This is probably my favorite of her books, featuring two neurodiverse protagonists, a charming small town as a setting, and—as always in a Hibbert book—banter that is incredibly funny.
Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller
1870s Vienna is a bit of a jump from Regency England, but Biller’s latest features many of the things I love to include in my own books: clever banter, funny shenanigans, and a cast of scene-stealing supporting characters. This book is everything I love in a romance: charming and heartfelt with absolutely scorching chemistry.
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin
This absolute charmer feels like a throwback to a previous era of Regency romances—it evokes the wit and hijinks of a Georgette Heyer novel. It follows a brazen fortune hunter embarking on a London season, and the aristocrat determined to thwart her plans. Love, of course, ensues—and it’s a delight to watch it happen.
Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
Dialogue is my favorite part of any romance novel—it’s the element that really convinces me that the two protagonists are in love!—and I’m not sure anyone does it better than Lucy Parker. She writes London-set contemporary romances that are banter-y and full of chemistry, and this grumpy/sunshine romance between two rival bakers is one of my absolute favorites.
The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian
If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “What I really need is a queer romance between an aristocrat and a highwayman in Georgian England who team up to do crimes and fall in love,” then wow do I have the book for you. This book is so fun—there’s a real stealing-from-the-rich Robin Hood vibe engaging thoughtfully with the enormous inequities of the historical period, but it’s also deeply romantic and full of clever dialogue that makes the romance absolutely sing.
Martha Waters is the author of the Regency Vows series, which includes To Have and to Hoax, To Love and to Loathe, To Marry and to Meddle, and To Swoon and to Spar. She was born and raised in sunny South Florida and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lives in coastal Maine, where she works as a children’s librarian by day, and loves sundresses, gin cocktails, and traveling.