Where to Start With Regency Romance

It can be hard to know where to begin when it comes to reading a new genre. Some people want to read the classics—the pillar books that define the genre—first. For Regency, Georgette Heyer is basically the mother of the genre, but modern readers may find her slightly inaccessible, without some prior warming. (Though once warmed, you should definitely, definitely dive into her books, starting with The Grand Sophy.)  That’s why I recommend a different approach: the Gateway approach, in which one perfect book gets you hooked on a new genre and ready to discover more titles in it.
Here are four books that will serve as gateways to the world of Regency Romance with a focus on what the genre does best—witty conversation, slapstick situations, and fantastical parties.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, by Sarah MaClean
I’ll be honest: Nine Rules to Break was my gateway book. I fell in love with Callie, the wallflower protagonist who’d waited a little too long to find love and decided instead to just have fun. Callie creates a list of the all the things she’d do if she didn’t always follow all the rules (a list that included steal a midnight kiss, shoot a gun, drink scotch), and then she recruits Gabriel St. John, Marquess of Ralston, to assist her in conquering the list. Ralston, a notorious rake, doesn’t necessarily want to help Callie, but he sees an opportunity for himself in the arrangement and reluctantly agrees. And boy does he help. To this day, Ralston remains one my favorite romance heroes.

Lord of Scoundrels, by Loretta Chase
From one of Regency’s most-beloved authors, Lord of Scoundrels is already considered a classic in the genre, and it’s easy to understand why: it’s the perfect mix of witty dialogue, angst, and charm. One thing you’ll quickly learn about Regency romance is that it’s full of of rakes and rogues, but there is no one quite as bad as the Marquess of Dain. A tortured hero, who believes he is too ugly—both inside and out—to love, needs a strong heroine, who isn’t afraid to speak the truth and put him in his place. And Dain finds the perfect foe in Lady Jessica. Theirs is a love-hate story, reminiscent of a classic Beauty and the Beast tale, that will jump-start your hunger for more regency scoundrels.

Four Weddings and a Sixpence, by Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Boyle, Laura Lee Guhrke, and Stefanie Sloane
When dipping your toes in a genre, you want to be able to quickly get a wide-view of what it has to offer, which makes anthologies a great choice. With short stories from four of Regency romances’s best selling authors (Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Boyle, Laura Lee Guhrke, and Stefanie Sloane), Four Weddings and a Sixpence introduces you to the style and norms of the genre, while also introducing you to four authors with extensive back-catalogs. It follows four best friends who each get a turn finding true love after they discover a lucky sixpence in their mattress at boarding school. That’s right—four love stories and four happy endings in just one book. And if you’re still not convinced, here are just four more reasons to read Four Weddings and a Sixpence.

A Night to Surrender (Spindle Cove #1), by Tessa Dare
When I come to Regency romance, I come for the wit and charm, which is why I love A Night to Surrender. At times laugh-out-loud funny, this story shows another side of Regency, a side without all the balls and high-society woman. The story takes place in a delightful little seaside resort town, where Susanna Finch invites ladies of “good breeding and delicate constitution” to come experience the healing properties of the seaside air, good food, and exercise. But when Lt. Col. Bram and a few fellow soldiers show up under orders to gather a militia in the sleepy town, Susanna fears a full-scale invasion of her safe-space. And Bram, who just wanted to follow orders, is shocked to discover there are no men to gather for his militia. It only gets better from there.
Where would you recommend a new reader start with regency romance?