What’s the most romantic book you’ve ever read?

(Mind you, I don’t mean the hard-core stuff you hide in plain wrappers under your mattress. I mean True Love, Romance, deeply emotional, heart-tugging, and all that stuff.)

And, secondly, did you like it? Is it your usual kind of reading, or did it take you by surprise?

Anyone who knows me or has read my blog has probably figured out that one of my favorite books is Persuasion by Jane Austen.  It just so happens to be my favorite romantic book.  The story of lasting love between Anne Elliott and Captain Wentworth hits me right in the mushy heart.  They never stopped loving each other.  After years apart, a chance meeting finally gets them to admit their feelings to each other and end up where they should have been.  I love that they are both very realistic and pragmatic characters.  They don't go running off to silly infatuation (like Catherine Morland or Marianne Dashwood).  Instead, they took time to examine their feelings.  That is romance to me.  Maybe it's because I'm such a cynic, but I still think this is the most romantic book I've ever read.  Every time I read it a panic rises in me.  I start thinking about half way through the book that Anne and the Captain won't end up together, that they'll deny their feelings and/or get too scared to admit them to each other.  I panic... and then I get to the end.  He writes the letter, they reconnect, and everything is good in the world again.  It is such a release.

As to the second question, no, my answer did not really surprise me.  I love Jane Austen, so of course, the book is part of my regular reading.  I don't usually read those labeled as "romance"  (although I have picked up a few more lately for a light read in between more serious fiction).  I tend to read more historical fiction and anything paranormal.