Beverly Long loves her some Stanislaskis, Mackenzies and Troubleshooters

Beverly Long, author of Stalked (book two in her Men from Crow Hollow trilogy, out this week!), joins HEA to share her favorite romance series.

Beverly: I've been a romance reader since I was 16 and over the course of many years, have had the pleasure of reading lots of series — like many readers, I love connected stories and the opportunity to get to know a whole family or community.

There are a couple that stand out in my mind, ones that I have read so many times that the books are banged up, barely standing on my keeper shelf. They are:

The Stanislaskis series by Nora Roberts. The series started with Taming Natasha, which was nice but the next two books, Luring a Lady and Falling for Rachel, were the ones that drew me in. Mikhail Stanislaski made my knees weak. He was a wood sculptor and a carpenter with a wickedly sexy accent. I was ready to move to New York and live in his run-down apartment. Unfortunately, Sydney Hayward scooped him up first. And then there was Zack Muldoon. Street-smart and able to mix a mean Manhattan in his neighborhood bar, he was totally unprepared to deal with his teenage stepbrother, or his public defender, Rachel Stanislaski.

What I loved about this series was the Stanislaski family. Bold and brash and absolutely unashamed of the deep love they had for their parents and each other.

And speaking of family, my other favorite was Linda Howard's Mackenzies. Specifically, Wolf Mackenzie in Mackenzie's Mountain, who is comfortable being an outcast, but gives up his solitude once he meets fiery Mary Potter. Then there's Mackenzie's Mission, where Joe, the oldest son, meets his match with Caroline Evans. My favorite of the series is Mackenzie's Pleasure; Zane Mackenzie is smoking-hot, brave, and completely undone by his pregnant bride, Barrie Lovejoy. And like most readers, I'm willing to play along, even when the timing isn't quite right. Mackenzie's Mountain was published in 1989. Mackenzie's Pleasure published just seven years later, in 1996. Somehow, someway, Zane, who wasn't born in the first book, is now a grown man. Details. Just details.

And finally, proving that I'm a sucker for series that feature wonderful heroes, I'm a big fan of Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooter series. It is hard to pick a favorite, but I'd have to say it's Ken "Wildcard" Karmody in Out of Control.

These books have all brought me countless hours of pleasure. I'm grateful to the authors who created these wonderful characters and kept me in joyful anticipation of the next book in the series.

Here's the blurb about Stalked:

Bodyguard Mack McCann gave up on his quiet life in Colorado to protect a tabloid darling. Hope Minnow had been marked for death—unless Mack had his way. He'd stick by her side to make sure she didn't stray too far, though Hope had learned long ago how to give unwanted suitors the slip. But what secrets was she trying to hide? Mack was smart enough not to believe everything the public said about Hope, but she sure didn't like being under his scrutiny. He had to take control of the situation somehow. And with an admirer watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to give Hope the kiss of death, he had to do it soon.

Find out more about Beverly and her books at www.beverlylong.com.