Authors Like Nora Roberts (14+ Fantastic Fiction Recommendations)

Nora Roberts was born in 1950. She is an American author who has written over 225 romance novels. She often writes under the pseudonyms Jill March and Sarah Hardesty.

Authors Like Nora Roberts

Her novels combined have spent 861 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list and she has also been inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame.

Roberts started her writing career during a blizzard that took place in 1979. She was stuck inside the house with her two sons and so she began to write. During this time, she fell in love with the process of writing.

Nora became more and more successful over the years. In 1991, she received her first appearance in the New York Times best-seller list. Two of her novels were made into TV movies. These were Sanctuary and This Magic Moments.

If you’ve enjoyed Nora Roberts’ impressive collection of novels, and are looking for similar compelling romance novels to get stuck into, then authors like Tracey Livesay, Alyssa Cole, and Tessa Bailey are for you. Read on for some fantastic recommendations by these authors.

Books By Nora Roberts

Irish Pride: Irish Thoroughbred and Sullivan's Woman: A 2-in-1 Collection

Nora Roberts has written many fantastic novels over the years. She writes in the romance genre. Her first novel was written in 1981 and it was named Irish Thoroughbred.

She wrote under the pseudonym Nora Roberts which was simply a shortened version of her birth name (did you know: Nora Roberts also writes under the pseudonym J.D. Robb? Find out more here). This name was Eleanor Marie Robertson.

By 1996, Roberts had written over 100 novels. Montana Sky was her 100th novel. In 2012, her 200th novel The Witness was published.

Her romance novel Time and Again reached number one on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list and it became one of her most popular novels. Seduction in Death was another very popular novel by Roberts.

Roberts was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Romance Writers of America. She was also awarded a lifetime achievement award. Lots of her novels have been made into TV movies and television adaptations.

Time magazine named Nora Roberts one of the top 100 Most Influential People in 2007. This was awarded to her because she has explored, explained, and dissected the passions of the human heart so well.

Nora Roberts Themes

As a romance writer, Nora Roberts explores the matters of the human heart. She explored ideas of passion, love, family, heartbreak, and lust.

Authors Like Nora Roberts

Many authors are fairly similar to Nora Roberts. If you’re a Roberts fan, you should give one of the following authors a read, too.

While they have lots of similarities to each other, these authors bring different perspectives to similar ideas and themes.

Tracey Livesay

American Royalty: A Novel

Tracey Livesay is an American author. She lives in Virginia with her husband and their three children. She started her career as a criminal defense attorney but has since become an author.

Tracey Livesay has her very own unique style of writing. However, lots of her writing has a very similar feeling to Roberts’ stories.

If you love Nora Roberts for her strong-willed main characters and her jaw-dropping storylines, then you will love Tracey Livesay!

If you’re not sure where to start with Tracey Livesay, you should check out Along Came Love.

Tracey Livesay has recently released the novel American Royalty. This novel evokes the romance of Megan Markle and Prince Harry and is definitely a great one to read!

Like Lovers Do: A Girls Trip Novel

In 2021, Livesay won the Emma Award for Best Interracial Romance. She won this award for her novel Like Lovers Do. She has also been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Pros

  • Tracey Livesay has written several books that explore the idea of women being able to have it all. It explores romance and careers running parallel to each other.
  • Tracey Livesay has been recognized for the success of her books in a lot of different cases.

Cons

  • Tracey’s novels are a bit racier than the novels by Nora Roberts. They focus on the passion and lust of romance. They also focus on matters of the human heart, like Roberts, but not quite as much. If you want a more emotional portrayal of romance then Livesay might not be for you.

Themes: Friendship, love, family, career goals, having it all.

Alyssa Cole

An Extraordinary Union: An Epic Love Story of the Civil War (The Loyal League Book 1)

Alyssa Cole was born in 1982. She is an American author who has written lots of contemporary romance novels.

She has also written novels in the historical and science fiction genres. Her romance novels explore both heteronormative and heterosexual relationships.

A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals

Cole’s novel An Extraordinary Union which was published in 2017 won lots of awards. As well as this, her novel A Princess In Theory was named one of the most notable books of the year in 2018 by the New York Times.

When No One Is Watching: A Thriller

Cole has been going from strength to strength recently, with her 2020 thriller When No One Is Watching gaining lots of attention from critics.

Cole has gained a lot of praise for her representation of Black authors within the romance industry. She has highlighted the need for diversity within this genre.

Pros

  • She has been a very positive influence on black authors, specifically in the romance genre. There is very little representation of black authors in this genre so she has helped to raise awareness of this.
  • She writes about both heteronormative and heterosexual relationships, helping people to feel more represented.

Cons

  • Alyssa Cole has written a lot more books in recent years but she doesn’t have many in her backlog compared to some other authors.

Themes: Romance, love, friendship.

Tessa Bailey

Protecting What's His (Line of Duty)

If you like Nora Roberts’ romance novels, you will also love Tessa Bailey. She is one of the most versatile romance authors around and her novels are well-known and loved for creating suspense as Nora does.

If you want to read some of Tessa’s work but you’re not sure where to start, you should check out the novel Protecting What’s His.

Tessa Bailey is a New York Times bestselling author. She focuses on characters who are loveable and loyal.

It Happened One Summer: A Novel (Bellinger Sisters, 1)

It Happened One Summer is a great novel by Tessa Bailey. She has written many different novels that, if you like Nora Roberts, you will love!

Pros

  • Tessa Bailey has written many different novels that are very entertaining, with loveable and loyal characters.
  • If you enjoy suspense, then Bailey is great at creating suspense for you.

Cons

  • There are a few differences between the two authors, so if you want something very similar then this may not be for you.
  • Tessa Bailey is not as well known as some of the other authors that are explored in this article.

Themes: Suspense, love, loyalty.

Final Thoughts

There are many authors similar to Nora Roberts. These include Tessa Bailey, Alyssa Cole, and Tracey Livesay.

Now that you have read this article, you will have a detailed understanding of Nora’s work. You will also have an understanding of some of the authors who are similar to her.

If you love the work of Nora Roberts and you’re looking for something similar to read, you should give some of the novels by the writers mentioned in this article a read! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Authors Are Similar To Nora Roberts?

If you love Debbie Macomber’s work then you will also love the work of some similar authors.

Many authors write along the same lines as Nora Roberts. These include Tessa Bailey, Alyssa Cole, and Tracey Livesay. If you enjoy Roberts, read some of the books that are recommended in this article.

What Genre Does Nora Roberts Write?

Nora Roberts writes within the romance genre. While her work has changed over the years, Nora has continued to be a staple in this genre.

Where Was Nora Roberts Born?

Nora Roberts was born in 1950 in Maryland. She had 4 older siblings. Her parents were Irish and so she considers herself an Irish woman.

Books had always been a big part of Nora’s life as her family loved stories. She had always made up stories and loved telling them to her friends and family.

She married very young, but this marriage ended in divorce. She remarried later in life.

Does Nora Roberts Use Pseudonyms?

Yes. Nora has written under a few different names over the years. J.D Robb is one of these names.

She combined her children’s initials to make this name, using the ‘Robb’ part of her surname, too. She thought that many romance novelists wrote using pseudonyms. Her name is Elenor Marie Robertson.

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Kathryn Taylor