42 Comments

1. I am so curious what people think about this list!

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2. WE KNOW THERE IS PROBLEM WITH THE COMMENTS. I HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE DEVELOPER AND THEY ARE WORKING ON IT.

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3. I was sort of surprised, and sort of disappointed, to see so few authors on the list. The disappointment is because I’ve read pretty much all these authors so I don’t get to discover a new favorite this time. And while not all the books are the ones I would have chosen, I certainly can’t quarrel with the authors chosen. They are definitely all A-listers!

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   1. Here’s how it netted out:

      Lisa Kleypas — 12
      Loretta Chase — 6
      Julie Anne Long — 5
      Susan Elizabeth Phillips — 4
      Tessa Dare — 4
      Sherry Thomas — 4
      Mary Balogh — 3
      Jennifer Crusie — 3
      Elizabeth Hoyt — 3
      Julie Garwood — 3
      Courtney Milan — 3
      Julia Quinn — 3
      Mia Vincy — 2
      Eloisa James — 2
      Meredith Duran — 2
      Evie Dunmore — 2
      KJ Charles — 2
      Lucy Parker — 2
      Emily Henry — 2
      Ali Hazelwood — 2
      Georgette Heyer — 2
      Linda Howard — 2
      Jane Austen — 2
      Joanna Bourne — 2
      Alice Coldbreath — 1
      Judith McNaught — 1
      Alyssa Cole — 1
      Alexis Hall — 1
      Ilona Andrews — 1
      Stephanie Laurens — 1
      Laura Kinsale — 1
      Talia Hibbert — 1
      Rachel Reid — 1
      Charlotte Brontë — 1
      Kate Clayborn — 1
      J.D. Robb — 1
      Sarah MacLean — 1
      Diana Gabaldon — 1
      Amanda Quick — 1
      Casey McQuiston — 1
      Nalini Singh — 1
      Julie James — 1
      Sally Thorne — 1
      Helen Hoang — 1
      Jennifer Ashley — 1
      Mariana Zapata — 1
      Cat Sebastian — 1
      Total unique authors: 47

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4. I’m so happy to see The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne on the list! There are still many titles I’ve never read, so I guess I’ll have lots to work on in the next couple of years. I’m sure I own most of them even if I haven’t read them. In particular, I bought a stack of Lisa Kleypas historicals at a used bookstore while on vacation last year and I’m sure some of them are on this list.

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5. I like it and I hope to find new great romances in those novels that I have not yet read. This AAR Top 100 has helped me to discover new-to-me-authors for more than a decade, some are my favourites. I think it can be, for me, as useful as the 2013 poll was. The 2018 wasn’t.

   In a way this is a message in a bottle from a large group of romance lovers to any fellow readers out there that wants to find some of the best novels that the genre can offer.

   I’m quite interested in the part where you mention the novels that have appeared more times in a Top 100. I think it could be a real treasure trove, as well.

   As always, I think all the novels are good enough to be on the list, at least those that I have read and reviewed (85), even those that are popular and I didn’t enjoy. Do I miss any of my favourites? Of course, but the important thing is that the ones that are included are good enough for the distinction.

   BTW, the last part, books that are new to the list, are you sure is accurate?

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   1. I think maybe this is the list of new books since 2018:

      Do You Want to Start a Scandal – Tessa Dare (2013)
      Vixen in Velvet – Loretta Chase (2014)
      Pretty Face – Lucy Parker (2017)
      A Lady’s Code of Misconduct – Meredith Duran (2017)
      Duchess Deal – Tessa Dare (2017)
      The Wallflower Wager – Tessa Dare (2017)
      The Kiss Quotient – Helen Hoang (2018)
      A Wicked Kind of Husband – Mia Vincy (2018)
      Band Sinister – KJ Charles (2018)
      Angel in a Devil’s Arms – Julie Anne Long (2018)
      Love Lettering – Kate Clayborn (2019)
      Get a Life, Chloe Brown – Talia Hibbert (2019)
      Heated Rivalry – Rachel Reid (2019)
      Red, White and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston (2019)
      Bringing Down The Duke – Evie Dunmore (2019)
      Lady Derring Takes A Lover – Julie Anne Long (2019)
      Dukes Prefer Blondes – Loretta Chase (2019)
      Devil’s Daughter – Lisa Kleypas (2019)
      Boyfriend Material – Alexis Hall (2020)
      A Substitute Wife For The Prizefighter – Alice Coldbreath (2020)
      A Rogue of One’s Own – Evie Dunmore (2020)
      A Dangerous Kind of Lady – Mia Vincy (2020)
      10 Things I Hate About the Duke – Loretta Chase (2020)
      Chasing Cassandra – Lisa Kleypas (2020)
      After Dark With the Duke – Julie Anne Long (2021)
      Book Lovers – Emily Henry (2022)
      Love, Theoretically – Ali Hazelwood (2023)
      We Could be so Good – Cat Sebastian (2023)
      Funny Story – Emily Henry (2024)
      My Season of Scandal – Julie Anne Long (2024)
      Bride – Ali Hazelwood (2024)

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      1. Yes, those are more or less The titles I saw as new. But not all of them. The duchess deal by Tessa Dare was already in the 2018 poll.

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      2. I think these are the new books on the list:

         Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas — 2010
         Vixen in Velvet by Loretta Chase — 2010
         Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase — 2015
         Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare — 2016
         Pretty Face by Lucy Parker — 2016
         A Lady’s Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran — 2017
         A Wicked Kind of Husband by Mia Vincy — 2018
         Band Sinister by KJ Charles — 2018
         The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang — 2018
         Angel in a Devil’s Arms by Julie Anne Long — 2019
         Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore — 2019
         Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas — 2019
         Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert — 2019
         Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid — 2019
         Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Anne Long — 2019
         Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn — 2019
         Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston — 2019
         The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare — 2019
         10 Things I Hate About the Duke by Loretta Chase — 2020
         A Dangerous Kind of Lady by Mia Vincy — 2020
         A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore — 2020
         A Substitute Wife for the Prizefighter by Alice Coldbreath — 2020
         Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall — 2020
         Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas — 2020
         After Dark with the Duke by Julie Anne Long — 2021
         Book Lovers by Emily Henry — 2022
         Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood — 2023
         We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian — 2023
         Bride by Ali Hazelwood — 2024
         Funny Story by Emily Henry — 2024
         My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long — 2024
          
          

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6. I rarely if ever, read contemporary romances so I don’t know about the books in that category that made it onto the list, but I’m not surprised at the historical romances on the list. I have read quite a few of them and have seen them on readers’ favourites lists in times past.
   Perhaps the fact that this is the last ever AAR top 100 romances poll, influenced many people’s choices – it certainly was the case for me or perhaps people are just constant in the books they love and the poll reflects that.
   Whatever be the case, I think it’s a solid list and I’m glad a few of my picks made it. Well done to everyone who took the time to vote and kudos to Dabney and everyone else at AAR who was essential in helping to collate the results.

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7. A Seditious Affair isn’t new to the list – it was in the Top 10 in the last poll.

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   1. I realized the 2018 poll wasn’t included in that last list. I have corrected it. Thank you.

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8. If I didn’t mess up my searches, I’ve read 57 of these books, one other was a DNF (Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall), and most of the rest are in my tbr shelves and files (which keep growing, so titles can be there for decades before I get to them).

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9. I’ve read 92 of these books, and about half of them I’d grade B+ or higher, so I think its a really solid list. Of course there are personal favorites that didn’t make it, and books from the shortlist I’d have liked to see, but its a good reminder that we all like different things and wouldn’t it be boring if we were all the same! Really nice to see some new authors in the list such as Helen Hoang, Ali Hazelwood, Alice Coldbreath and Evie Dunmore etc.

   Interesting that this set of reader-voters leans so heavily historical, and that there was so little romantasy given recent trends.

   Thank-you to Dabney and everyone else who has contributed. It’s really lovely to see one last Top 100 poll.

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   1. I think this list is a good one too. It feels true to the canon but open to expanding it.

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   2. Wow! That’s so impressive!

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   3. I’ve read 88. I am grateful that I started reading romance in what I think of as its golden era.

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10. I’ve read 48 books on the list (or thereabouts, I wasn’t going tp check my goodreads for every one and I’m notorious for forgetting books I thought were “good, not great”). I was actually surprised I’d read that many, since historicals have never been my go to (except for M/M authors like K.J. Charles and Cat Sebastian). A few books, like the SEP books, didn’t stand the test of time for me when I tried to reread them a few years ago even though they were B+ or A books originally.

    Of the M/F books I’ve read in the past few years, the Mia Vincy books were stand-outs for me. I really enjoyed the writing and loved Kate Reading’s narrations. I’ve also liked most of the Loretta Chase books I’ve read, although I wasn’t impressed with Lord of Scoundrels.

    Anyway, I know I’m out-of-step with the typical romance reader, although the success of Heated Rivalry as a show has brought a higher profile and significantly more exposure to/interest in queer romance lately. Whether that translates to regular readers or books sales in the long run remains to be seen.

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    1. SEP and Judith McNaught really do not work for me anymore, which is a great pity. I loved them so much, when first published! Garwood I liked, did not love, and her work does not hold up for me.

       I will try a few authors, finally, which I somehow never got to – a Pennyroyal Green novel did not do it for me when I tried, years ago, though Palace of Rogues was better suited to me. I might try again.

       Tessa Dare with her mix of Kardashian and Wallpaper historical – not my cup of tea – or was that Sarah McLean? I tried both and did not stick to them – though I would love to read them as contemporary authors, actually – just not historicals, the heroines are not at all fitting the period, and this pulls me out of the stories, totally.

       Vincy – oh yes!

       Some material to dig into here – wonderful!

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       1. There are four Pennyroyal Green books I think of as lesser. If you want to start with the first one I think is excellent, start with Like No Other Lover.

          I have loved exactly two Dare and two MacLean books.

          I do still love many early SEPs.

          Have you read much Jo Goodman? She has many books I think are superb.

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          1. Early SEP has some cringe parts in nearly every one:

             It had to be you had the really awful first s*x scene.
             Kiss an Angel had an abusive hero – which I found romantic when I first read.
             Heaven Texas had a lot of humiliation of the heroine in it, “all in good fun”
             Nobody’s Baby but Mine has a heroine whose wrongdoing took me years to understand, when it appeared, I did not realize how awful her getting pregnant in this way was.

             By now, these beloved books are all not ok for me anymore. My sensibilities changed too much. I regret it, because I loved them so much, but I do not enjoy them anymore.

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             1. I will try this Pennyroyal book – thank you!

       2. I completely agree with Dabney about the Pennyroyal Green series. I read the first one (The Perils of Pleasure) and was baffled as to why this series was so beloved. I gave it one more chance with book 2 (Like No Other Lover) and adored it. What I Did for a Duke is also a standout in that series. I’ve only read the first 2 Palace of Rogues books but did enjoy them and mean to finish the series someday.

          As for Tessa Dare, I like her writing style and will always love Goddess of the Hunt, which I think was her first book. However, as the years went on, her books became less true to the time period and I couldn’t enjoy them.

          I liked Sarah MacLean’s earlier series but have not read the more recent ones. From what I can tell, the heroines have become more anachronistic, although I don’t think the books sound like wallpaper historicals.

          I think this may be a sign of the times. I suspect younger readers nowadays want romances where the heroines are go-getters with unique careers or interests so writers have to adjust.

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          1. Yes, I do no criticize, I just do not enjoy these anachronistic heroines myself. I end up ready less and less historicals, or older ones.

             On Jo Goodman – I do not remember any outstanding book by her at all. I am sure I must have read her, at some point, I know her name and I read pretty much every historical author that was big between 1980 and 2000.

             Which books would you recommend?

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             1. I love almost everything by Jo Goodman but her books often have darkness in them.

                You might try How to Love a Lawman. Unfortunately, many of her best books–her American Westerns–aren’t in print or available as ebooks. I spoke to her about a year ago and she said she was trying to re-release them but most of them are still not available.

             2. Thx will try this one – just the sample I downloaded shows her lovely writing –

                Oh, and I love the database here – I just read reviews and choose – so much rich knowledge to back up the recs in this thread – thanks Dabney!

             3. Huge Jo Goodman fan here, although I’ve read and enjoyed her American Westerns more than her earliest work. Used books stores (like Thriftbooks.com) are probably your best bet for her back list.

             4. I have just read my first one. I really like her, she holds my attention well, with her mix of relationship and mystery, and I did not want to skip. A very good discovery!

             5. Oh, I DO criticise! 😉 The anachronistic heroines Manjari describes are one of the main reasons I’ve pretty much stopped reading historical romances.

             6. Amen.

          2. Dare never wrote a better book than The Goddess of the Hunt.

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          3. The Wanton Dairymaid Trilogy and the Stud Club trilogy by Tessa Dare are my faves of hers, and they are her older titles.

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          4. My favorite Tessa Dare is A WEEK TO BE WICKED. I think it combines a lovely couple with humor and charm so well that even if the basic plot is a bit unbelievable, I don’t care.

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             1. That would be my second choice!

11. I have read 71 books on the list! In the 1980s and 1990s I read a lot of M/F historical then starting around 2010 the majority of my reading became M/F contemporary and around 2020 I started reading mostly M/M (contemporary and romantic suspense). The books on the list follow my reading pattern over the decades! I agree with other commenters that it is a really solid list and I thank you all for doing it one last time.

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    1. That’s impressive!

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       1. Thanks!

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12. I’ve read 37 of the books on the list. Guess I’ve got lots to catch up on!

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13. I’ve read 88 of these!

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14. It’s very exciting to see the poll results! Thank you for doing this, Dabney. I imagine many hours of effort went into it. Can you tell us how many people took the poll? Were you able to determine how many were already AAR members and how many were newcomers?

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    1. No to both of those! Sorry!

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15. Thank you for doing the list one last time, Dabney. I’ve read 86 of these – and all of the newer titles. I’ve slowly been making my way through the Top 100 lists over the years and have probably maxed out the authors whose work I enjoy at this point. But I’m so glad the site will be around for new romance readers to find and explore!

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