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!
101

by
4.04 avg rating — 21,671 ratings
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102

by
4.02 avg rating — 50,292 ratings
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103

by
4.23 avg rating — 791,272 ratings
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104

by
4.23 avg rating — 73,252 ratings
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105

by
4.09 avg rating — 22,160 ratings
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106

by
3.97 avg rating — 22,211 ratings
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107

by
3.99 avg rating — 8,312 ratings
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108

by
4.05 avg rating — 17,616 ratings
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109

by
4.04 avg rating — 15,543 ratings
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110

by
3.95 avg rating — 144,603 ratings
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111

by
4.28 avg rating — 66,800 ratings
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111

by
4.01 avg rating — 28,349 ratings
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113

by
4.05 avg rating — 6,655 ratings
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114

by
4.13 avg rating — 86,357 ratings
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115

by
4.15 avg rating — 5,718 ratings
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115

by
4.16 avg rating — 18,842 ratings
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117

by
4.04 avg rating — 119,581 ratings
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118

by
4.04 avg rating — 13,277 ratings
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118

by
4.14 avg rating — 35,198 ratings
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120

by
4.18 avg rating — 24,552 ratings
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121

by
4.09 avg rating — 8,011 ratings
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122

by
4.07 avg rating — 8,824 ratings
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123

by
4.02 avg rating — 50,990 ratings
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124

by
4.12 avg rating — 13,464 ratings
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125

by
4.04 avg rating — 16,588 ratings
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126

by
4.06 avg rating — 6,075 ratings
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127

by
4.12 avg rating — 41,768 ratings
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128

by
4.02 avg rating — 26,966 ratings
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129

by
4.05 avg rating — 27,180 ratings
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130

by
3.97 avg rating — 23,316 ratings
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131

by
4.12 avg rating — 3,266 ratings
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132

by
4.12 avg rating — 40,093 ratings
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133

by
4.12 avg rating — 21,725 ratings
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134

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 19,660 ratings
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135

by
4.15 avg rating — 18,008 ratings
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136

by
4.04 avg rating — 3,592 ratings
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137

by
4.11 avg rating — 30,364 ratings
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138

by
3.99 avg rating — 37,612 ratings
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139

by
4.06 avg rating — 33,121 ratings
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140

by
3.99 avg rating — 8,550 ratings
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141

by
4.07 avg rating — 5,928 ratings
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142

by
4.13 avg rating — 41,854 ratings
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143

by
4.10 avg rating — 1,770 ratings
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144

by
4.10 avg rating — 10,540 ratings
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145

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7,199 ratings
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146

by
4.19 avg rating — 53,378 ratings
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147

by
4.06 avg rating — 17,114 ratings
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148

by
4.32 avg rating — 30,012 ratings
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149

by
4.18 avg rating — 725 ratings
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150

by
4.08 avg rating — 140,874 ratings
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151

by
4.21 avg rating — 564 ratings
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152

by
4.14 avg rating — 3,992 ratings
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153

by
4.05 avg rating — 90,481 ratings
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154

by
4.07 avg rating — 2,571 ratings
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155

by
4.04 avg rating — 15,636 ratings
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155

by
4.01 avg rating — 13,140 ratings
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157

by
4.05 avg rating — 7,446 ratings
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158

by
4.15 avg rating — 42,546 ratings
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159

by
4.06 avg rating — 10,079 ratings
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160

by
4.15 avg rating — 92 ratings
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161

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6,738 ratings
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162

by
4.04 avg rating — 14,302 ratings
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163

by
4.13 avg rating — 73,762 ratings
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164

by
4.21 avg rating — 222 ratings
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164

by
4.23 avg rating — 296 ratings
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164

by
3.86 avg rating — 154 ratings
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164

by
4.31 avg rating — 71 ratings
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164

by
3.99 avg rating — 873 ratings
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164

by
4.14 avg rating — 16,091 ratings
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164

by
4.37 avg rating — 33,096 ratings
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164

by
4.30 avg rating — 33 ratings
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164

by
4.23 avg rating — 634,185 ratings
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164

by
4.33 avg rating — 42 ratings
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164

by
4.25 avg rating — 71 ratings
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164

by
4.25 avg rating — 4,859 ratings
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164

by
4.17 avg rating — 52 ratings
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164

by
3.67 avg rating — 102 ratings
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178

by
4.21 avg rating — 94 ratings
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178

by
4.19 avg rating — 12,053 ratings
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178

by
4.01 avg rating — 21,418 ratings
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178

by
4.27 avg rating — 12,301 ratings
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182

by
4.43 avg rating — 90 ratings
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182

by
4.29 avg rating — 26,050 ratings
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184

by
4.04 avg rating — 10,881 ratings
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185

by
4.07 avg rating — 10,076 ratings
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185

by
4.03 avg rating — 22,735 ratings
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185

by
4.16 avg rating — 1,255 ratings
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188

by
4.14 avg rating — 251 ratings
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189

by
4.07 avg rating — 2,352 ratings
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190

by
4.20 avg rating — 1,816 ratings
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191

by
4.06 avg rating — 485 ratings
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191

by
4.19 avg rating — 65,939 ratings
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193

by
3.87 avg rating — 1,552 ratings
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194

by
4.19 avg rating — 188 ratings
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195

by
4.09 avg rating — 2,353 ratings
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196

by
4.01 avg rating — 15,514 ratings
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197

by
4.16 avg rating — 2,699 ratings
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198

by
4.01 avg rating — 44,982 ratings
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199

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 12,729 ratings
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200

by
4.19 avg rating — 408 ratings
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5 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Theresa 5054 books
4 friends
Shantyl 10396 books
54 friends
Noelle (The Awesome Ninja Unicorn) 563 books
13 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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