There is a side of Paulo Coelho that is exotic, sexual, dark and daring. No married author would dare to write such things in their work that might talk about their sexual past or lustful fantasies that they might have experienced with a side of love in their golden days; Paulo Coelho has never been afraid of implementing such ideology in his books and novels. If we are discussing some of the best romantic novels of all time, he is number one on that list, even above Nora Roberts, Jodi Picoult, Danielle Steel and Kapiel Raaj. 11 minutes, one of Paulo Coelho's most intense works has also been one of his most desirable. Although the Alchemist has been his most popular work, the readers found a new delight in 11 minutes.

The story of this novel is about a girl name Maria who travels from Rio De Janeiro to Geneva in hope to find a better future for herself and her family. She uses prostitution to make the bucks she always dreamed of, while educating herself through book in library while also finding a soul-mate in an artist who wanted nothing but 11 minutes to orgasm.

The story may be a bit more twisted than my explanation, but the title says it all, as it takes 11 minutes to organism and 11 minutes to fall in love. This is a must read for all who love spiritual romance. I call this spiritual romance because these are the themes of Paulo Coelho; finding love through spirituality.

Next on my list is one of my best International read of all time: Ashita, written by Kapiel Raaj. I came across his novel at a local stand inside a train station in India during my travel back in 2009, and it wasn't a recommendation, rather a quick read to kill time while waiting for my train to Mumbai. I scanned the back of the book and quickly read the synopsis which suddenly grabbed my undivided attention. The short paragraph gave me a swift hint that this book might be a shadow of my favorite author Paulo Coelho's work. The story was filled with the experience of finding a true soul mate with the serving of spirituality and mysticism during the journey. Could this be another Brida? I asked myself. I sat down on top of my suitcase as there was barely enough space for spider to crawl, but somehow I managed to take comfort on the hard plastic surface, while smell of dog pee and cow dung had already uncoiled my aura.

The story: Ashita was Adtiya's soul, who left him for another man due to religious reasons and pressure from her family. A woman like Ashita came once every hundred years thought Aditya. She made him the man he was today; but Ashita's life was now in god's hands, and no one could do anything about it. But when Aditya finds out about her, he challenges god and his will. But what can Aditya do? He's just an ordinary man.

What a beautiful way to introduce ones work to a reader, nevertheless, the tears began to flow from my eyes from the third page. I wish I could tell everything I knew about the story in this article, but that's the beauty of story telling and books; you must go onto a journey before finding or reading about the destination. I was so much in love with this author, that I had to get his second tear jerker 'Palena, and her royal guard', which, too, turned out to be just as good and emotional as Ashita. In the age of free information, where everyone will have fifteen minutes of fame, we are surly seeing some worthy candidates which may not have shined so brightly without the emergence of digital world.

My Top 10 romantic novels of all time:

1. 11 Minutes by Paulo Coelho

2. Ashita by Kapiel Raaj

3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

4. Gone with the wind by Margaret Mitchell

5. Brida by Paulo Coelho

6. Black Rose by Nora Roberts

7. Pride and prejudice by Jane Austen

8. The 10th circle by Jodi Pichoult

9. The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

10. Palena, and her royal guard by Kapiel Raaj