As Fiction Changes, Does Our View of Men Change Too?

As fiction has shifted away from taking men seriously on the page, does it change how women see them in real life?

Author book blurbs are the worst

Do we really care if a Very Famous Author loved a book? My answer: Nope.

It’s been a great thirty years….

This is a hard column to write. So I’ll just say it: AAR is retiring. All About Romance launched in 1996. It was created by the incredible Laurie Gold, and…

Welcome to the passionate reader!

Reviewers’ Bests from 2019 to 2025

As we prepare for our 2026 AAR Top 100 Romances poll, I’ve been trying to narrow down the books that will be in the final poll–it’s just too overwhelming (and…

What books should be included on our upcoming AAR Top 100 Romances poll? Vote and let us know!

Here are the books, published in the last ten years or so, AAR readers have suggested we consider for our upcoming Top 100 Romance Novels of all time list. I’ve…

The Best of 2025 – Dabney’s List

Last year, I only read 23 books published in 2025. Of these, seven got five full stars from me and four more garnered four stars (on Goodreads.) For the purposes…

the ask@AAR: What are your top ten romances of the past decade?

We are gearing up–I promise!–for the 2026 AAR Top 100 poll. We last did one in 2018. What romances, published since then, do you think belong on the new list?…

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My New Year’s goal: Fail

Here is my goal for 2026: Fail. I’m going to fail to start listening to podcasts because, frankly, I like my own thoughts and the sound of very little. I’m…

the ask@AAR: What were your bests of 2025?

It’s that time of year where everyone–NO, Spotify, I am not 72!–makes, shares, and reads endless Best of Lists. Over the next few weeks, you’ll see more of our Best…

Whether you believe or not, I wish you a Merry Christmas!

I lost my faith in God by thirteen, though not before giving the heavens every chance to make their case. I’d sit in my tree fort, legs dangling (it was…