the ask@AAR: What’s your favorite book set in a foreign country?

Caroline’s fabulous blog–DIKS set in every state–got me thinking about romances I love that take place foreign locales.  I’m ruling out England from the list because there are what seems like six million Regency romances set in Britain. The US is off the list too because the vast majority of contemporary romances we cover here are set in America. Oh–and we’re listing ROMANCES here, not other genres.

So here’s a partial list of my favorite books set in other places.

France: The Forbidden Rose by Joanna Bourne. Not only is this one of the best historical romances ever written, it gives the reader a strong sense of rural France as well as Paris during the Reign of Terror.

Iceland: Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown. Though the very beginning of this extraordinary love story is set in a grim world in the future, the vast majority of it is set in 10th century Viking Iceland. Brown makes the world of those Vikings–very different than the marauders we see on TV–come alive so vividly, you can almost see the mist that lifts from the lakes.

Bangkok, Thailand: Off the Edge by Carolyn Crane. I love all the Associates books in this series but this one is my fave. As Peter and Laney rush through the streets of Bangkok, you can smell the sizzle of a street vendors fried pork and hear the cars honking on the narrow streets.

Changan, China: Capturing the Silken Thief by Jeannie Lin. All of Lin’s books are wonderfully set–her China is complex and tangible. This novella, set only in the city of Changan during the Tang Dynasty, is a masterpiece. In particular, she lims the vast space between the luxurious palaces and the dark, cramped spaces of the poor.

I could do this all day but it’s your turn!

What are yours? Why?

 

 

 

 

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