(Note: The list below was compiled at press time: Romantic Times Issue #247, September 2004)

• Chick/Mom/Lad Lit
  
  With trials, tribulations and giggles, these novels reflect modern readers' lives and the search for love.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: Chick lit darling Kristin Billerbeck's What a Girl Wants and its sequel, She's Out of Control (Westbow Press). Penny Culliford's Faith, Hope and Chocolate series, with Theodora's Diary (Zondervan); Judy Baer's The Whitney Chronicles (Steeple Hill Cafe); Robin Jones Gunn's midlife-lit Sisterchick series, starting with Sisterchicks on the Loose (Multnomah). Inspie lad-lit pioneer Ray Blackston's Flabbergasted and A Delirious Summer (Revell).
  
  
• Multicultural Fiction
  
  Ethnic, or world fiction, offers a cultural perspectives and gives characters of all colors a voice.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: For contemporary, lighthearted yet angsty reads, look to Walk Worthy Press' Boaz Brown by Michelle Stimpson and Flippin' the Script by Aisha Ford. Fans of Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale should look at Stacy Hawkins Adams' Speak to My Heart (Revell) in October. Shelly Leanne's Joshua's Bible (Walk Worthy Press), reminiscent of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, is not to be missed.
  
  
• Fantasy
  
  Tolkien and C.S. Lewis fans--even readers of historical fantasies--have a surplus to choose from, thanks to their inspirational counterparts.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: For fans of Arthurian legend, there's Karen Hancock's Legends of the Guardian King series: The Light of Eidon and The Shadow Within (Bethany House). Try Bill Myers' modern allegories Blood of Heaven, Threshold and Fire of Heaven (Zondervan). For a mix of fantasy and historical romance, plunge into Kregel Publications' Legend of the Emerald Rose by Linda Wichman. Room of Marvels (Broadman & Holman) by James Bryan Smith earned comparisons to Lewis and Dante. This fall, check out Thomas Williams' The Bride of Stone (Revell) and Michael D. Warden's Waymaker (Barbour). Readers of any age will appreciate Donita K. Paul's young adult fantasy, Dragonspell (Waterbrook Press).
  
  
• Historical
  
  Biblical retellings, the Crusades and the birth of Christianity are popular themes, offering a natural framework to show how religion has shaped much of our history.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: Liz Curtis Higgs is a must-read-- Thorn in My Heart and Fair Is the Rose (Waterbrook Press). If you like The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, try The Shadow Women (Warner Faith) by Angela Elwell Hunt. Snatch up anything by Lisa Samson; her quirky, beautiful prose shines in Songbird (Warner Faith), Women's Intuition (Waterbrook Press) and The Living End (Waterbrook Press). For a classic read, try Ahab's Bride (Chariot Victor Pub) by Louise M. Gouge. Try Tricia Goyer's From Dust and Ashes: A Story of Liberation and the sequel Night Song: A Story of Sacrifice (Moody Publishers). Also coming this fall, King's Ransom (Waterbrook Press), an epic by Jan Beazely and Thom Lemmons, based on the true story of King Boris of Bulgaria, who saved 50,000 Bulgarian Jews during World War II. Check out C.D. Baker's first in his Journey of Souls series, Crusade of Tears (Chariot Victor Pub)--not for the faint of heart. Patricia Hickman's characters resonate with today's issues while remaining true to their times in Fallen Angels and Nazareth's Song (Warner Faith).
  
  
• Mystery
  
  Fans of Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich and Sara Paretsky cam find straight mysteries, humorous amateur sleuths, P.I.s and cozies.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: Try the Million Dollar mystery series by Mindy Starns Clark, starting with A Penny for Your Thoughts (Harvest House). Stephanie Plum fans will enjoy Lorena McCourtney's Ivy Malone series, starting with Invisible (Revell). Sharon Dunn's Romance Rustlers and Thunderbird Thieves is followed by Sassy Cinderella and the Valiant Vigilante (Kregel Publications). Lori Copeland delivers cozy mystery spiced with relationship issues in her Morning Shade Mystery series, starting with A Case of Bad Taste (Tyndale House). The first in James R. Coggins' John Smyth mystery series, Who's Grace? (Moody Publishers), follows a man who witnesses a murder through the window of a landing plane.
  
  
• Romance
  
  Inspirational love stories can be as emotional and touching as a classic Jude Deveraux, or as much fun as a contemporary romantic comedy. Most important, the hero and heroine always grow together.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: Try Embrace the Dawn (Tyndale House) by Kathleen Morgan, and the author's Brides of Culdee Creek series. Debra White Smith's contemporary retellings of the classics start with First Impressions (Harvest House), a rendition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Snap up The Duet (Waterbrook Press) by Robert Elmer--top-notch contemporary romance penned by a guy! For romantic suspense a la Suzanne Brockmann, grab the Heirs of Anton series by Susan May Warren & Susan Downs. First is Ekaterina, followed by Nadia (Barbour). As a twist, each novel takes the reader back a generation in time. Romantic comedy fans should check out Linda Windsor's Along Came Jones (Multnomah) about a savvy New York ad exec framed for embezzlement and on the run from the law and the mob when along comes Jones--a slow-walkin', slow-talkin' ex-U.S. marshal. Rene Gutteridge does comedy right with Boo and her new release, Boo Who (Waterbrook Press). Love Deveraux? Give Ginny Aiken's titles a whirl.
  
  
• Science Fiction
  
  Explore future societies, new galaxies and technology, all of which play a role in the battle between good and evil.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: Snap up anything by Kathy Tyers, including The Firebird series from Bethany House ( Firebird, Crown of Fire, Fusion Fire) and her most recent stand-alone, Shivering World, from the same publisher. If you liked the movie Apollo 13, you'll love Oxygen (Bethany) and The Fifth Man by Randall Ingermanson & John B. Olson and Olson's Adrenaline. And from Ingermanson, Transgression, Premonition and Retribution (Zondervan).
  
  
• Suspense
  
  These romantic suspenses, legal thrillers and horror novels are just as titillating as the secular market's up-all-nighters.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: Mary Higgins Clark fans should try Colleen Coble's Rock Harbor series--Without a Trace, followed by Beyond a Doubt (Westbow Press). Also, Brandilyn Collins' Brink of Death, Eyes of Elisha and Dread Champion (Zondervan). John Grisham lovers should read Randy Alcorn's Deadline and Dominion (Multnomah), Robert Whitlow's Life Support (Westbow) and Randy Singer's Dying Declaration (Waterbrook Press). No suspense library is complete without Terri Blackstock. Get her Newpointe 911 series and her Cape Refuge series. And don't forget Dee Henderson's books; the latest in the Uncommon Heroes series is True Courage. Also, check out her popular O'Malley series, beginning with The Negotiator (Multnomah). Horror buffs shouldn't pass up Shane Johnson's Chayatocha (Barbour)--chilling horror set in the American West. If Dean Koontz gets your blood pumping, grab Eric Wilson's thriller Dark to Mortal Eyes (Waterbrook Press).
  
  
• Women's Mainstream Fiction
  
  Seasoned with stories of romance, friendship, family or broader social issues, inspirational women's fiction can be poignant and humorous, while also focusing on personal and spiritual growth.
  
  RECOMMENDED TITLES: If you like Nicholas Sparks, try Karen Kingsbury's Sarah's Song (Warner Faith). Not to be missed is Robin Lee Hatcher's Beyond the Shadows (Tyndale House), Deb Raney's Beneath a Southern Sky (Waterbrook Press), Denise Hunter's Mending Places (Howard Publishing) and After Anne by Roxanne Henke (others in the series are Finding Ruth and Becoming Olivia, both from Harvest House). Andrea Boeshaar's contemporary Faded Photographs series, starting with Broken Things (Barbour), commands attention. Also, don't miss Why the Sky Is Blue (Harvest House) by Susan Meissner. Lauraine Snelling breaks out of her conservative mold with a gutsy tearjerker, The Way of Women (Waterbrook Press). Reminiscent of Anita Shreve, Melody Carlson delivers a moving exploration from within the mind of a woman afflicted with schizophrenia in Finding Alice (Waterbrook Press). If you love Ann B. Ross' Miss Julia novels, you'll enjoy Margaret Graham's Esmeralda, the elderly main character in Mercy Me and the sequel, Good Heavens (Revell). Great wisdom and humor from a feisty senior citizen. Scoop up Randall Arthur's Wisdom Hunter, Brotherhood of Betrayal and Jordan's Crossing (Multnomah)--stone sober shockers that will leave you shaken to the core. Get Breach of Promise (Zondervan) by James Scott Bell, about a gut-wrenching child custody battle from the man's point of view. And Francine Rivers' And the Shofar Blew (Tyndale) goes right onto the classics shelf. Don't miss it!