Romance Books That Started It All - MA - ONLY 4+ STARS

This is a list of romance books that come FIRST in a trilogy, series, saga, etc. These books can be found in any ADULT category and ranges from traditional bodice rippers to contemporary/paranormal romances to horror/suspense/mystery romance.

Please only suggest books that START a series and have been rated with a cumulative OVERALL star score of AT LEAST 4 stars (NOT 3.something) within ADULT romance! DO NOT put YA, bundle titles, etc. in this list!
1

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4.16 avg rating — 339,177 ratings
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2

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4.09 avg rating — 75,268 ratings
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3

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4.13 avg rating — 159,258 ratings
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4

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4.07 avg rating — 93,717 ratings
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5

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4.06 avg rating — 182,750 ratings
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6

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4.19 avg rating — 69,434 ratings
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7

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4.09 avg rating — 32,950 ratings
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8

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4.07 avg rating — 51,218 ratings
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9

by
4.06 avg rating — 127,317 ratings
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10

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4.12 avg rating — 104,740 ratings
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11

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4.26 avg rating — 1,071,579 ratings
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12

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4.04 avg rating — 61,853 ratings
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13

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4.14 avg rating — 531,346 ratings
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14

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4.25 avg rating — 59,664 ratings
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15

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4.10 avg rating — 18,960 ratings
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16

by
4.05 avg rating — 84,633 ratings
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17

by
4.15 avg rating — 208,626 ratings
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18

by
4.02 avg rating — 114,449 ratings
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19

by
4.16 avg rating — 199,754 ratings
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20

by
4.21 avg rating — 3,733 ratings
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21

by
4.20 avg rating — 80,249 ratings
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22

by
3.99 avg rating — 59,266 ratings
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23

by
4.06 avg rating — 33,598 ratings
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24

by
4.15 avg rating — 57,889 ratings
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25

by
4.05 avg rating — 54,273 ratings
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26

by
4.06 avg rating — 76,775 ratings
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27

by
4.01 avg rating — 689,862 ratings
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28

by
4.13 avg rating — 194,867 ratings
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29

by
3.98 avg rating — 158,991 ratings
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30

by
4.06 avg rating — 59,610 ratings
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31

by
4.01 avg rating — 67,573 ratings
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32

by
4.23 avg rating — 67,521 ratings
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33

by
4.31 avg rating — 63,507 ratings
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34

by
4.02 avg rating — 18,856 ratings
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35

by
4.04 avg rating — 38,615 ratings
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36

by
4.19 avg rating — 30,103 ratings
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37

by
4.02 avg rating — 149,270 ratings
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38

by
4.12 avg rating — 113,067 ratings
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39

by
3.97 avg rating — 35,696 ratings
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40

by
4.25 avg rating — 53,876 ratings
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41

by
4.12 avg rating — 139,674 ratings
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42

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 58,195 ratings
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43

by
4.07 avg rating — 78,535 ratings
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44

by
4.08 avg rating — 56,402 ratings
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45

by
4.10 avg rating — 167,703 ratings
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46

by
4.05 avg rating — 45,627 ratings
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47

by
4.06 avg rating — 114,515 ratings
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48

by
3.97 avg rating — 24,562 ratings
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49

by
4.05 avg rating — 25,995 ratings
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50

by
3.99 avg rating — 62,052 ratings
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51

by
4.21 avg rating — 54,167 ratings
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52

by
4.16 avg rating — 56,930 ratings
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53

by
4.01 avg rating — 79,892 ratings
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54

by
4.04 avg rating — 20,757 ratings
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55

by
4.07 avg rating — 25,956 ratings
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56

by
4.02 avg rating — 73,585 ratings
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57

by
4.17 avg rating — 17,570 ratings
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58

by
4.04 avg rating — 14,918 ratings
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59

by
4.05 avg rating — 22,244 ratings
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60

by
3.96 avg rating — 15,992 ratings
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61

by
4.05 avg rating — 16,344 ratings
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62

by
4.16 avg rating — 116,539 ratings
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63

by
4.15 avg rating — 73,710 ratings
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64

by
4.24 avg rating — 62,035 ratings
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65

by
4.16 avg rating — 14,253 ratings
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66

by
4.06 avg rating — 8,150 ratings
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66

by
4.01 avg rating — 74,294 ratings
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68

by
4.28 avg rating — 32,564 ratings
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69

by
3.99 avg rating — 13,449 ratings
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70

by
4.03 avg rating — 103,171 ratings
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71

by
4.06 avg rating — 32,441 ratings
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72

by
4.02 avg rating — 3,304 ratings
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73

by
3.99 avg rating — 71,218 ratings
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74

by
4.05 avg rating — 556,039 ratings
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75

by
4.13 avg rating — 8,121 ratings
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76

by
4.02 avg rating — 27,803 ratings
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77

by
4.23 avg rating — 61,973 ratings
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78

by
4.17 avg rating — 58,204 ratings
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79

by
4.02 avg rating — 9,506 ratings
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80

by
4.04 avg rating — 43,861 ratings
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81

by
4.07 avg rating — 22,703 ratings
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82

by
4.15 avg rating — 172,737 ratings
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83

by
4.19 avg rating — 2,815,107 ratings
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84

by
4.15 avg rating — 7,183 ratings
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85

by
3.98 avg rating — 208,860 ratings
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86

by
4.13 avg rating — 26,948 ratings
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87

by
4.16 avg rating — 18,181 ratings
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88

by
3.93 avg rating — 136,035 ratings
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89

by
4.25 avg rating — 28,641 ratings
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90

by
4.02 avg rating — 499,374 ratings
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91

by
4.11 avg rating — 1,038 ratings
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92

by
3.99 avg rating — 7,797 ratings
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93

by
3.98 avg rating — 49,536 ratings
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94

by
4.06 avg rating — 52,973 ratings
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95

by
4.14 avg rating — 18,207 ratings
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95

by
4.19 avg rating — 27,645 ratings
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97

by
4.25 avg rating — 61,743 ratings
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98

by
4.02 avg rating — 25,660 ratings
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99

by
4.12 avg rating — 9,494 ratings
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100

by
4.22 avg rating — 75,400 ratings
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5 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Theresa 5021 books
4 friends
Shantyl 10396 books
54 friends
Noelle (The Awesome Ninja Unicorn) 563 books
14 friends
Leslie G. 51 books
1 friend
Deborah 780 books
148 friends
Vanessa 331 books
24 friends
Cheycheyrose 310 books
11 friends
Cary 148 books
97 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-8 of 8 (8 new)

dateDown arrow    newest »

message 1: by Theresa (last edited Oct 18, 2013 12:38PM) (new)

Theresa Hey everyone,

Not to be a bitch, but I have noticed how some of you have been adding books in here that do not adhere to the description requirements. I will be going back through the list and weeding out these books. I appreciate your contribution, but it's also for the benefit of others that the requirements of this list is adhered to.

This list is for romance books with an OVERALL aggregate star score of AT LEAST 4 stars. Books who have a star rating of 3 point something, no matter how close to the 4 star rating you feel it might be after "rounding" DOES NOT COUNT. Neither does your belief that a book *should be* considered a 4. Many books on here I have personally rated as lower than 4, but have included on this list because of the opinions of everyone else.

When voting for future romance books, please be aware of the requirements, otherwise I will have to remove books as they are added. With this being said, thank you to all of you who have voted for books and have followed the guidelines! I'm sure with your additions, many more readers will be able to enjoy a new series from different (ADULT) authors!

Thanks a bunch!
-Theresa (creator of this list LOL)


message 2: by Katrina (new)

Katrina Hi Theresa. May I suggest Raphael (Vampires in America #1) by D.B Reynolds. It is definitely AO with overall #4.11 score.


message 3: by Theresa (new)

Theresa Hi Katrina,

Raphael (Vampires in America #1) by D.B. Reynolds was added to the list. Thanks for the contribution!

------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: October 14, 2013

I have gone and have weeded out 3 books who did not meet the list's guidelines. Please follow the rules and add ONLY 4+ star ratings!

Thank you to all of you who have followed the rules and have helped this list to grow :)


message 4: by Theresa (new)

Theresa Hi Everyone,

I hope y'all are enjoying this list ;) I've noticed it has grown since I started it! With that being said, I want to take a moment to thank all our contributors, and give a HUGE thanks to some of your who have messaged me with book updates and about violators.

NEW BOOK ADDED:
"Outlander" Series by Diana Gaboldon

---------------------------------------------------------
ALSO, I HAVE BEEN TOLD THERE HAVE BEEN VIOLATORS. IF YOU CAN'T FOLLOW THE RULES OF THIS LIST, I'M GOING TO BE FORCED TO CALL YOU OUT FOR BEING AN ASSHOLE.

DON'T RUIN THE READING EXPERIENCE FOR OTHERS BY ADDING BOOKS THAT DON'T BELONG ON THIS LIST.

---------------------------------------------------------
That's all! Thanks again!

Happy Reading!
~Theresa


message 5: by Natasha (new)

Natasha Carman You have Sterling by Dannika Dark on there 2 times. I think they should be combined.


message 6: by Stephaniec (new)

Stephaniec Great List THanks!


message 7: by Raine (new)

Raine Removing the following books since they are not first in the series:
The Mating (Law of the Lycans, #3)
Bound in Blue (Cirque Masters, #2)
Upon a Winter's Night (MacKinnon's Rangers, #3.5)
Untamed (MacKinnon's Rangers, #2)
Defiant (MacKinnon's Rangers, #3)
Darkest Before Dawn (KGI, #10)
Highlander Most Wanted (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs, #2)
Their Virgin Mistress (Masters of Ménage, #7)
Off the Edge (The Associates, #2)
In the Company of Witches (Arcane Shot, #2)


message 8: by Crystal (new)

Crystal There are a few on the list that are below the 4 star.
Also
A Court of Thorns and Roses and Relentless are young adult.

A court of thorns has some sexual content, but it's certainly not a mature book that seems to fit the list requirements. Relentless is absolutely just YA.

Good list though! I appreciate being able to see where to start new series that are mature and highly rated. Helpful!


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