the ask@AAR: If we were to create a list of THE 100 Romances Every Romance Reader Should Read, what would you put on it?

February 17, 2023

Later this year, AAR will ask readers to choose their 100 Top Romances as we’ve done many times over the decades. What does that mean? Are these the best romances…

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Read any great classics lately?

February 13, 2023

Recently my book club read The Great Gatsby. This was, I hazard, the fourth time I’ve read it–I actually listened to it. It was phenomenal. The language–oh my giddy aunt–as…

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the ask@AAR: How has romance changed since you first started reading it?

February 10, 2023

Today’s ask is a suggestion from AAR reader BeckyK. (It’s a great one!) How has romance changed since you first started reading it? What changes do you feel are for…

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the ask@AAR: Will older heroines in romance mean older parents?

February 3, 2023

I have been thrilled to see more love stories published with older protagonists. I’ve just finished reading one–coming out this summer–where the heroine, age 49, is determined to get married…

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2022: A Year of Book Sales in Review

February 1, 2023

Every year, I review the books purchased from Amazon by AAR readers. In 2022, our sales dropped, likely due to Kindle Unlimited. Through our links, readers bought 15,280 books for…

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the ask@AAR: What’s the most imaginative romance you’ve ever read?

January 27, 2023

As a child, I loved fantasy–The Chronicles of Prydain, The Dark is Rising Sequence, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Wrinkle in Time Quintet–these were books I read repeatedly, happily…

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The Best of 2022 – Dabney’s List

January 23, 2023

2022 was not my best year for romance reading. I read only three DIKs published in 2022 and, when I look at my Goodreads list, there isn’t a single five…

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the ask@AAR: Is there still a canon for romance? What books should or shouldn’t be on it?

January 20, 2023

Almost exactly a year ago, I asked whether or not AAR should, as it typically does every five years, do a new Top 100 poll. As is the case with…

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the ask@AAR: Will ChatGPT ruin the writing? The world?

January 13, 2023

It’s fair to say I’m obsessed with ChatGPT. What’s that, you ask? Hmmm… let me try and explain. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence bot that answers questions in fairly fluent…

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Talking with Jane Porter

January 8, 2023

Jane Porter is one of the few romance writers writing love stories that, among other things, feature Baby Boomers. Her latest book, Flirting with the Beast, features a smart, sexy…

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the ask@AAR: What were the trends in romance in 2022?

January 6, 2023

Now that 2022, is in the books, what did you notice about it in romance? From my perspective, there definitely were some trends. Here, in no particular order, are some…

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the ask@AAR: a 2022 retrospective

December 30, 2022

In 2022–including this one!–AAR has published 52 the ask@AAR columns. Many of these generated lots of comments. Readers had the most to say about their pet peeves in romance, trigger…

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