Best 20th century historical romance books according to redditors

I just finished Diaspora: Return to Africa, which is a novel about a Kenyan woman coming home, dealing with her identity, and taking a turn into magical realism. I liked it pretty well, and I'm interested in seeing how the author develops in the future.

At the moment I'm in the middle of a collection of steampunk Southeast Asian stories, which I'm enjoying; I know it's a good collection when I get mad at at least one story because I want it to be a whole book XD

My to-read list is frankly terrifying, but I just read a good review of this Alyssa Cole novella, so I might try it next.

While not in the 1950s or NYC, Notes of Temptation may be what you're looking for. It's set in 1930s Hollywood, involves musicians and mobsters.

Very, very soon. Readers won't wait around these days - they are so impatient, to the detriment of a lot of good plots and books, frankly - and the Amazon LookInside will slay you if your first paragraph doesn't grab them by the (lady)balls.

However, there are some "cheats" available:

• start your book with a preview of a sexy scene, eg in Italics, acting as your front matter. Just as many books have in their inside covers, but put at underneath Chapter 1 (I did this with Tempting Her Teacher)
  
• have the book start with the heroine fantasising about a sexy guy (who may merely look like the hero when she meets him, or it may be that's she's seen the hero from a distance and is fantasising about a future encounter - DON'T have fantasy man blond and hero dark. There needs to be a link - romance readers adore the idea of predestination or "fate")
  
• if you're doing a "reunion romance" - never my cup of tea, but some readers (regretful divorcées?) adore them, you can start with a memory or dream of the relationship before it originally soured, or of their very first memory back then
  
• actual flashback. It works a little differently to the "preview" section as it's more integrated into the chapter and book flow, and you won't be repeating it verbatim later on
  

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amazon.it

amazon.es

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amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

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