Oh, Brother!: Siblings in Romance Novels

I'm currently reading Lauren Dane's Petal series and enjoying it the family feel of it. I believe she does siblings a lot and has quite a following.

I really loved Mary Balogh's Bedwyns, because you got to know them throughout the course of each book, until by the time Wulfric's book came up, you were DYING to find out who he might get ensnared with.

I really liked the Marcelli sisters, in the first three books of the Marcelli series by Susan Mallory. And then she got to the youngest sister and the long lost brother, and she lost me.

I love the Walsh Family series by Marian Keyes. I don't know if I'd classify the books as true romance novels. But the family is great. The sisters aren't perfect. They fight. The books aren't all happy all the time. The five sisters are unique individuals who have unique books.

This is really old news, but the Merrivilles from Georgette Heyer's Frederica are just wonderful. I remember the plot much less than I remember the two hilarious younger brothers of the heroine (who is also fantastic.) I think it might be my favorite Heyer novel of all, and it's partly down to how well she wrote families (and dogs.)

I also love Venetia's younger brother Aubrey in Heyer's Venetia (although I don't love the romance plot in that as much because "no" means "no", Jasper, so you don't kiss young ladies who don't want you to!)

I love Bella Andre's The Sullivans and Shannon Stacey's The Kowalski's

I think Nora Roberts does families very well. There are too many to mention, but every time her connected books feature a family, either by blood or by choice, I know I'm in for a good emotional read.

A second vote for the Merrivilles! I like that the hero's so good with the younger siblings, too, taking care of Felix after the hot-air balloon disaster and talking with Jessamy about not being so hard on himself.

I'm also fond of Liz Carlyle's Rutledge siblings, although I've never read the sister's book and I didn't care much for the older brother's. The reconciliation in The Devil You Know is amazing.

I like Balogh's Bedwyns more as separate units than as a whole. Unless they're up against something truly awful (like in Slightly Scandalous), it always seems like foul play when they band together against some hapless individual. Plus they enable Freyja to be an asshole way too often. I'm sorry, but if your ex finds a new fiancee after you threw him away, you're not justified in enlisting your entire Viking family to make her life miserable just because your decision didn't work out in your favor. Not that I think her decision was wrong, but being an adult means living with consequences and not taking things out on innocent bystanders.

I don't really have a strong opinion on the Bridgertons as a family, but I do always end up liking the non-Bridgerton protagonists better. I've only read five out of eight books, though.

I've enjoyed the Bridgertons; I still have Gregory's story to read. Julia Quinn always makes me laugh and I can see myself and my sister saying some of those things to each other. I also like Balogh's Bedwyns and Kleypas' Hathaways.

I particularly like the family relationships in Grace Burrowes books.