A good romance novel has, at its base, a conflict or challenge that must be overcome by either hero or heroine, and it’s getting there that’s half the fun. Most popular romance writers know how to craft a novel that incorporates action, character building, suspense, mystery, and yes, even a little sex or a lot, but that depends on personal taste.

A romance novel can be filled with hot and steamy scenes or gentle persuasions that cause readers to fall in love with heroes while the heroine stumbles around, blind as a bat, to all his good qualities. On the other hand, many a novel heroine waits impatiently for the hero to get it through his thick, stubborn head that she loves him.