I read quite a few romance novels late last year. I'll make mention of as many of them as I can in this column so I can move on to the 2009 releases.

All of these books were released in paperback, so they are priced around $7.

Fern Michaels is a prolific writer whose books generally make the bestseller list. I know of at least five books that have come out in the past year in her Sisterhood series. The series focuses on a group of vigilante women determined to get revenge for wrongs done to them (and later other people).

The paperbacks, published by Kensington Books, include "Hide and Seek," "Hokus Pokus," "Fast Track," "Collateral Damage" and most recently "Final Justice."

The women of the Sisterhood are Myra, Annie, Kathryn, Alexis, Yoko, Nikki, and Isabelle. Assisted by Charles, a former British spy who seems to have all sorts of connections, the girls concoct elaborate plots to exact their revenge. Money is no object as Myra and Annie have plenty of it. Good thing, because after a couple of savvy media-types begin connecting the dots, they spend a lot of time in hiding.

The books are enjoyable to read, even if they do stretch the imagination a bit. And seeing the bad guys get their just reward is always fun.

Hannah Howell writes some pretty good historical romances. Recent additions to her Highland books, published by Zebra Books, include "Highland Wolf," "Highland Fire," "Highland Captive," and "Highland Sinner."

These novels are set in Scotland of old, and while readers will see some of the same characters, reading the books in order is not necessary.

Word has it that Howell is shifting her sights to Georgian England for a series to be published this summer.

And speaking of novels set in that era, Elizabeth Hoyt scores with "To Taste Temptation" and "To Seduce a Sinner," both published by Forever.

Those are the first two of the "Legend of the Four Soldiers" series in which the men are searching for someone who betrayed them in battle.

These two were good reads, so I'm looking forward to the final two stories.

Let's go back to Scotland for a moment to take a look at a trilogy by Amanda Scott. The first was "Border Wedding," followed by "Border Lass," and most recently by "Border Moonlight," all of which were published by Forever.

These books tell the stories of the three Murray sisters and their romantic -- and dangerous -- adventures.

I recommend reading these books in order because it will give the reader a better idea of the family dynamics at play.

For contemporary romance fans, Grand Central Publishing offers "Wish You Were Here," by Lani Diane Rich, and "Addicted to Love," by Lori Wilde, both of whom are popular romance writers.

In "Simply the Best," Shirley Jump gives readers a fun-loving tale about a newspaper reporter whose best buddy tries to help her find romance -- only to realize that he's the perfect man for her. (This one is published by Zebra.)

Patricia Potter offers romantic suspense in "Behind the Shadows," published by Berkley Sensation.

Kira Douglas discovers that she is not her mother's biological daughter and that her "real" family is quite wealthy. Although she's not really interested in money, she does feel that the other girl deserves to know the truth. What she doesn't realize is that revealing it may be dangerous.

Contact Faye Dasen at fdasen@thepilot.com or 693-2475.