AAR Top 100 List

Artist Liu Bolin Hidden in Books on Shelf

Top 100 favorite romances.  If you haven't already voted, be sure to do so.  Remember that you DON'T have to vote for 100 books.  A list of 1 is still a list.  But you can only vote once, so if you have two favorite books, you'll have to vote for them in ranked order.
It's that time again for voting for the

This year I've added a lot of the M/M gay titles that I've enjoyed in the past few years, a world I didn't even know existed the first year I compiled a top 100 list.  So without further ado (as they say in the awards shows), here's how I voted for the Top 100 romances:

1.      Slightly Dangerous, Mary Balogh

2.      Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

3.      The Temporary Wife, Mary Balogh

4.      Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

5.      Dance with Me, Heidi Cullinan

6.      Suddenly You, Lisa Kleypas

7.      Something Like Autumn, Jay Bell

8.      Marriage of Mercy, Carla Kelly

9.      Love Lessons, Heidi Cullinan

10.  The More I See You, Lynn Kurland

11.  The Older Woman, Cheryl Reavis

12.  Covet Thy Neighbor, L. A. Witt

13.  She’s Got It Bad, Sarah Mayberry

14.  Beyond Duty, SJD Peterson

15.  A Reason to Live, Maureen McKade

16.  Tigers and Devils, Sean Kennedy

17.  About Last Night, Ruthie Marx

18.  Black Hawk Tattoo, Aundrea Singer

19.  Nothingness of Ben, Brad Boney

20.  Plan B, SJD Peterson

21.  Weekend with Mr. Darcy, Victoria Connelly

22.  After the End, Alex Kidwell

23.  A Different Kind of Forever, Dee Ernst

24.  It’s Not Shakespeare, Amy Lane

25.  After Ben, Con Riley

Formulating My Top 100 for AAR

 It's that time of year again, when I have to re-order my Top 100 Romances list for the AAR poll. This year I want to add all the A and B gay romances I've reviewed during the past year.  What would those be?  Well, take a look:

5-star:

• Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger
• With or Without You by Brian Farrey
• The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney
• Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy
• The Cranberry Hush by Ben Monopoli
• Love Lessons by Heidi Cullinan
• Beyond Duty by SJD Peterson
• Something Like Autumn by Jay Bell
• Raining Men by Rick R. Reed
• Covet Thy Neighbor by L. A. Witt
• Plan B by SJD Peterson
• After the End by Alex Kidwell

Off on a Tangent

One of the nice things (among many nice things) about reviewing for AAR is the ability to go off on a tangent now and again with the daily blog or the daily After Hours blog.  Today I roll with the lie I used to tell myself about what kind of romances I prefer.

I do read a lot of Western romances, both historical and contemporary, as well as series and contemporary romances.  On my personal Top 100 book list are a smattering of everything as the top 10 books illustrate:

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: classic
2. Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh: Regency
3. The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh: Regency
4. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: time-travel / fantasy
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: classic
6. Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas: Regency
7. The More I See You by Lynn Kurland: time-travel / Medieval
8. The Older Woman by Cheryl Reavis: contemporary
9. She's Got It Bad by Sarah Mayberry: contemporary
10. A Reason to Live by Maureen McKade: Post Civil War America

So no one type of romance really rules, which I hadn't realized until I sat down and looked at my list.