I’ve been thinking, with some reluctance, given the challenges we faced in doing our last AAR Top 100 poll, about how we might do a new one. I’ve thought about starting with the last poll and then adding in all the books from our Best of lists since 2018. I’ve thought about letting readers make up the list. It’s a conundrum, for sure.
Now, before you tell me you don’t think we need a new poll, let me just say, I hear you. But, those of you who feel that way are in the minority as best as I can tell from our Google search data and the emails I receive from readers. From my perspective the biggest reason we wouldn’t do a new poll is not that it’s, for whatever reason, unnecessary or iffy, but rather that it’s a lot of work and hard to get right.
So, IF we were to do a poll, what FIVE books would you include in the polling? This list, mind you, is not the same–although for many their Venn diagram would be a single circle–as what books do you think should be IN the AAR Top 100 list.
Thanks!
(Here are some books I think I might pick. It’s tough, isn’t it?)
Updating the list periodically makes sense — consider the KJ Charles title listed, which probably had not been published at the time. Tastes also change — books I might have recommended 30 years ago don’t all make my “best” list anymore.
But… romance publishing has an ever-increasing supply of titles. Lord of Scoundrels is great, but it dates from 1995. I think it will endure for many more years, but newer writers are jostling for my favor. Mary Balogh and Carla Kelly are long-term favorites for me, but Grace Burrowes and Stella Riley new favorites. Maybe we need a top 100 from 1950-1999, and another top 100 starting in 2000. Maybe a top 100 or top 50 by decade would be best.
We keep all the top 100 poll on site. So I sorta feel like each time we do it, it reflects what people value most now. But you make great points. Thanks!
I think changing tastes is an important consideration. If I were able to come up with a personal top twenty, I’m sure there are books that would have been on there a few years ago that have now been edged out by newer ones. One problem is also the definition of what exactly the list is FOR. Is it supposed to be a “100 romance books everyone needs to read because they’re the best of the genre”? and which therefore might have different criteria from a list of “100 Favourite Romances”.
It’s the list our readers have voted on, nothing more.
I’d pick a different KJC book – and given she’s easily the best writer of HR around today, there should probably be more than one on the list! Being completely frank, one of the challenges in compiling a poll like this – outside of the manpower needed – is probably the fact that many people vote for a book they loved, say, ten years ago or more, but haven’t read recently to see how it compares with newer titles. Of course, some books do stand the test of time and are by extraordinarily talented authors (Kinsale, Thomas etc.) and should be on such a list because they really are That Good. But I’d honestly have trouble coming up with 100 romances of that sort of calibre. I remember back when the poll was an open vote, and I started to struggle between 20 and 30! Sure I could have added more of my favourite books, but “favourite” isn’t the same as “excellence” for the purposes of a Top 100 poll IMO. I wonder if maybe we should think in terms of polling for books released in, say, the last decade or so?
I don’t think that’s what the Top 100 poll is although I see that such a poll would be useful.
I trust readers to come up with their list which is all the Top 100 poll has ever been. So, sure, there are newer authors I’d now value over ones I used to. But there are also books that hold their worth even over the decades. Both can exist together on the Top 100 list IMHO.
There IS room for both, but there’s still the possibility of the list being skewed because of “rose-coloured” voting for older books for the nostalgia value rather than because they stand the test of time. There’s such a massive pool to draw from now – I just wondered if we might think about whether we are going for “best” or “favourite”.
We’re going for Top however our readers define it.
I am not sure if this is supposed to be a very personal Top Five but if so, here are mine and none are new:
1 – Persuasion by Jane Austen
2 – Venetia by Georgette Heyer
3 – Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
4 – The Secret Pearl by Mary Balogh
= 5 – Katherine by Anya Seton
= 5 – Zemindar by Valerie Fitzgerald
Which is your favourite movie version of Persuasion?
Probably the 1995 production because the production values themselves were so good: e.g. mud on the skirt hems, low, naturally lit interiors. Ciaran Hinds was so good as Capt Wentworth as was Amanda Root’s Anne; Corin Redgrave’s performance was the highlight in many ways – a truly comic but utterly repulsive Sir Walter Elliot. The make-up and hair work were also excellent – very natural. I feel every time I watch it is a realistic journey into the past and that is a great help in immersing myself in the story. IMO, Persuasion is Austen’s best work, superior in many ways for those of us who are mature, experienced and have gone through the ups and downs of love, finding happiness in the end, perhaps unexpectedly after sadness, false starts and unhappy situations in life.
Persuasion (1995 film) – Wikipedia
I am SHOCKED that you didn’t pick 2022. 😉
2007 for me due to Sally Hawkins’ unmatched yearning (which is the essence of the movie).
Yes, the 2007 version is a close runner-up to the 1995 but for me Rupert Penry-Jones wasn’t right for Capt Wentworth though I agree with you about Sally Hawkins’ portrayal of Anne as it was excellent though not quite as down-trodden and put-upon as Amanda Root’s version. Could not be bothered to watch the 2022 version.
I loved “The Winter Companion” by Mimi Matthews so if it were up to me I would put it in but the first book in the series “The matrimonial Advertisement” tends to be much more general in taste.
As for Inspirational romance as a subgenre, I think Pepper Basham’s Skymar trilogy is wonderfully romantic.
Fantasy, “The Forgotten Beasts of Eld” has a rather beautiful romantic subplot.
I consider “The Host” by Stephanie Meyer a nice New Adult science fiction romance because of the age of its protagonists. And Young Adult “PS I like you” by Kasie West I think several people could like it, I love K.M Shea but her fantasy books are low in heat and also the romance is built based on interactions so it is not as emotionally passionate Nor, it reminds me a little of the type of romance in shojo fantasy anime/manga so perhaps many people would not consider his books too “romantic”.
Favorites listes are always a chalenge for me. I don’t have a favorite food or movie. What day of the week is it and what am I in the mood for? I have a Top 5 (or 10) Georgette Heyer books, or Top 5 (or 10) Romantic Suspense books, Honestly I could probably get to 50 books just listing Heyer, KJ Charles, Nicky James, Jay Hogan and CS Poe books that I love. 🙂
Here are a few, picked almost at random from my 5 star list:
A Dangerous Kind of Lady by Mia Vincy (although I admit the narration by Kate Reading contributes greatly to my love of this book)
Venetia by Heyer (best Beauty and the Beast retelling out there, even if it wasn’t meant to be)
Rule Breaker by Lily Morton (it sets the standard for clever writing and emotional heft in a humorous contemporary)
Momento Mori by CS Poe (the whole series has superb characterizations and plots)
We Could Be So Good By Cat Sebastian (great sense of place and time, wonderful characters)
This is hard. It makes me feel like I’m cheating on my other 5 star books! 🙂 Like I said, ask me tomorrow and you’ll probably get a new list of 5-star favorites.
I think that’s true for all lists. They are a reflection of where we are now, not an edifice we must always hew to!
In addition to posting the Top 100 books, please consider posting a second Top 100 list where each author is on the list only once, with their top vote-getting book. On the 2018 list, 10 authors were responsible for almost half of the books, and while I have read and loved books from each of those authors, it’s only the tip of the iceberg of the great books out there. Here are a few more to consider:
Love, Theoretically – Ali Hazelwood
You Had Me at Hola – Alexis Daria
Heated Rivalry – Rachel Reid
Peter Cabot Gets Lost – Cat Sebastian
That’s a good idea, just one book by author. The one most voted. I like it.
I’ve often wondered what a list of Top 100 Authors might look like.
What a great idea! I think I’m going to use it for a post in my blog.
I love seeing the top five books readers share so I can add them to my TBR. Mine include:
-What I Did for Love by Julie Anne Long with Alexander a duke, trying to get revenge on Ian Eversea by courting his sister, Genevieve.
-Ravished by Amanda Quick with Harriet, who needs Gideon’s help to protect her beloved fossils.
-Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh, Wulfric’s story
-It Happened One Summer by Julie James, FBI series, Vaughan and Sydney are best man and woman for her sister and his brother’s wedding with lots of laughs and love
-The Love Wager by Lynn Painter and The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella tied
AW I’m so glad to see Ali Hazelwood on your list. I love her books too.
Ravished with the highest example of one of my two favourite scenes in romance, impassioned defence of the other.
The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne, as the greatest book ever written 😉 must be there.
A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare (even though humour oriented me now prefers The Wallflower Wager)
Pretty Face by Lucy Parker with my book girlfriend Lily Lamprey
Swordheart by T Kingfisher is the best comic fantasy romance that can possibly be written
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang, is just more romantic than TKQ who’s appeal is its hotness IMHO.
I’m so glad to see Lucy Parker on your list! I love the humor in her London Celebrity Series.
Lucy Parker is a genius. I am the pickiest of bastards and she has 6 of the 7 books of hers I have read (I am saving the latest for a rainy day) on my reread list, which is COMPLETELY unprecedented.
My favourite one by Lucy Parker is Headliners. It would be in my top 10/20
My heart bleeds when I have to choose only five. Am I sure these are my five favourites…? IDK.
I’ll try to have a wide chronological perspective of five decades of romance novels. There go my five:
Kathleen Woodiwiss: ASHES IN THE WIND (1979)
Sandra Brown: SLOW HEAT IN HEAVEN (1988)
Lisa Kleypas: DREAMING OF YOU (1994)
Rachel Gibson: SEE JANE SCORE (2003)
Rachel Reid: HEATED RIVALRY (2019)
I love your Top 100 lists. I have been following you since – last century? Yep, 1998, when there were less novels and it was clearly what the majority wanted.
I understand the difficulties you have in designing a Top 100 that cannot be manipulated by street teams. I don’t know how can it be avoided.
I’m looking forward to see what you are going to do in the end. Best luck!
My Sandra Brown pick would be Envy. I did enjoy Slow Heat in Heaven, but I prefered Lucky’s Lady by Tami Hoag which has a similar feel. Have you read it?
I really liked ENVY, as well. The final twist was so great that I still remember it today. I have not read that Tami Hoag book you mention. I remember I tried a Hoag’s book once, but it didn’t work for me, so I didn’t try again.
Of Brown’s 21st century books, LETHAL and STING are my 5-star readings. But SLOW HEAT IN HEAVEN is still the one I’ve read and reread more times. I even have this book in two languages, both in Spanish and in English.
I’ve read and reviewed –in my blog and in Goodreads– ALL of Sandra Brown’s novels. Yes, even those category romances she published in the 80s. She’s my favourite romance author and I have been reading romance since 1984 so… I have had time enough to read her backlist.
Like others here have said, my choices probably change from day to day. So today, I’d have:
Georgette Heyer – Venetia
Stella Riley – A Splendid Defiance
KJ Charles – A Seditious Affair
Rachel Reid – Heated Rivalry/The Long Game – they’re really one whole story!
Meredith Duran – Fool Me Twice or A Lady’s Code of Misconduct.
Runner up – Sherry Thomas – His at Night.
I almost put A Spendid Defiance on mine. Historical romances have never been my go-to sub-genre, so I rarely feel confident judging them, but A Spendid Defiance is amazing. A Dangerous Kind of Lady had a real emotional impact on me, so it stands out. But I know that for many of my “favorites” choices, the narration may play a large part in my love of a book. All except one (Venetia) of the books I listed are audiobooks I listened to without reading the print version. I’m not sure I would have loved A Dangerous Kind of Lady quite as much in print. Kate Reading’s narration was phenomenal.
I also thought hard about Heated Rivalry and The Long Game, but didn’t think about putting them in a set. Good choices!
I always find it hard to pick favourites, even ten per year for the Best Ofs. With something like the Top 100 I’m conscious that I’m likely to go for newer titles simply because I recall more about them. I’ll have to go through my GR reviews to cast a wider net.
A seditious affair and His at night are not in my top five, but they would be in my ten or twenty best romance novels. Heated Rivalry IS in my top five. The problem with The Long Game is that it cannot be recommended as a standalone romance novel, whereas Heated Rivalry can be read alone by someone who has not read any of the Game Changers series.
My criterion: I have reread the book many times. I could easily list 100 books but I’m going to cheat and post a list of modern and pre-2000 romances.
Modern (all contemporary):
Perfect Day by Sally Malcolm – a gentle M/M second chance romance with just the right amount of angst
Rule Breaker by Lily Morton – a boss-assistant M/M romance with Ms. Morton’s trademark wit and warmth. My favorite of her books.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – M/M new adult romance between a British prince and the son of the American president. The letters exchanged by the main characters are wonderfully romantic.
Summer Kisses by Charlie Novak – lovers to enemies to lovers M/M romance between 2 chefs. Her books tend to be sweet (but sexy). I love this earlier one because there is more conflict between the main characters.
Managed by Kristin Callahan – this M/F romance is part of a series about a famous rock band. What is interesting in this 2nd of the series is that the main character is the band manager. It’s a great example of grumpy-sunshine done well.
Beard Science by Penny Reid – M/F romance where deceptively clever man is outwitted by his lady then in process of helping her date, he falls in love himself.
I know that’s 6 but I couldn’t help myself!
Pre-2000 (all M/F):
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas – unusual historical in that the lead male is not an aristocrat; also has a bookish heroine, which I love.
A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught – one of my favorite Medievals
The Bride by Julie Garwood – an English vs Scots historical
Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson – an early example of a sports romance
The Perfect Neighbor – Nora Roberts – I love all of her 2nd generation MacGregors stories but this one about comic book artists is one of my favorites (also a grumpy-sunshine pairing)
Sorry, it’s Kristen Callihan
I really liked Managed – probably my favorite in that series. Wasn’t crazy about Fall and never got around to reading Exposed.
I actually really love Fall. The hero is soooo clueless though. Exposed was pretty good but didn’t live up to my high expectations after this couple had been subtly teased through the previous 3 books.
I’ve only been reading romance novels consistently for about 5 years, so I don’t have the wealth of reading history and perspective that many of you do. I will have to go and read some of the books you all have mentioned. Yet I have read some older books which really stuck with me and that I would put amongst my favorites, along with some newer books. My top 5 (today, at least!) are:
It was really hard to pick just one book by KJ Charles or Joanna Bourne. They have so many great choices. I think Manjari’s criteria of frequently rereading a book is a good one, so I kept that in mind. I will always have Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion on my list of favorites. My son recently read P&P for the first time, and he laughed and asked so many questions about the characters and the era and the rules for men and women. It reminded me of the delight I felt the first time I read it, the delight any good book will bring.
The Black Hawk was among my ten favourite romance novels, but alas! I had to choose only five. All the Spymaster series is amazing.
I worked up a list of favorite books a couple years ago (http://www.ccrsdodona.org/markmuse/reading/mostread.html). These are the top 5 romances (in order of most rereads):
28 A Rake’s Reform by Holbrook, Cindy
26 Ravished by Quick, Amanda
23 Black Sheep by Heyer, Georgette
22 The Secret by Garwood, Julie
22 The Mad Miss Mathley by Martin, Michelle
They happen to be from 5 different authors, and those authors have a lot more titles on the full list.
Always interested in your suggestions, Mark, as we have similar reading tastes. Managed to find a relatively cheap copy of The Mad Miss Mathley and look forward to reading it. I’ve read your other suggestions, some more than once.
My top 5 books change – the books I selected today are totally different than what I would have picked 10 years ago. Right now, I’d say my top 5 are:
I’m reading fewer current historical romances these days so when I’m in the mood for a historical, I gravitate to those two authors (Long and Balogh).
I’ve just been reading M/M for a couple of years, and while there are some books I really love (such at Heated Rivalry), right now, they’re not cracking my Top 5 (er, 6) favorite books.
Slightly Dangerous (Balogh), Lord of Scoundrels (Chase), Shards of Honor (Bujold), The Windflower (London), Flowers From The Storm (Kinsale)
Shards of Honor, huh? I don’t think of Bujold as a romance writer but I’ve not read this one.
Along with Barrayar it makes the Aral and Cordelia romance duology.
Shards of Honor is amazing, especially on audio. I also love Komarr and A Civil Campaign, which are Miles Vorkosigan’s love story. A Civil Campaign is Bujold’s homage to Regency romances, but it makes more sense if you’ve read Komarr first, because that is where he gets to know Ekaterin. I didn’t read any of the earlier Vorkosigan books except Shards of Honor before I jumped into Komarr, and I did fine. I went back later and listened to most of the series.
Ivan’s romance doesn’t deserve a mention?
(It is my favourite series 😀 )
I haven’t read that one! Thanks for the heads up.
Yes. Although Bujold is more a science fiction novelist, I think that some of the books in the Vorkosigan saga can be read as standalone romance novels. Shards of honor (Aral/Cordelia), A civil campaign (Miles/Ekaterina), Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance (Ivan & Tej) and Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (Oliver Jole/Cordelia).
Good to see a shoutout for Cordelia Naismith, one of the members of my Pantheon of Heroines.
My criteria- reread, and still loved, recently,
Even if some detail may be super dated, I stand by still loving the book.
Focus on a love story with HEA even if a lot of other stuff also happens (not only a romance)
– Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
– Miss Chartley‘s Guided Tour by Carla Kelly (a three hanky read, so beautiful so sad)
– A Golden Chance by Jayne Ann Krentz
– Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold (Cordelia’s gentle widow romance, slow and thoughtful)
– Something Human by AJ Demas
If someone wants more book reps:
My most difficult to not include also-rans were Sharon Shinn Archangel, T.Kingfisher Paladin‘s Grace, Cat Sebastian’s We Could be so Good and The Art of Three my Maltese&McRae.
Authors who consistently move me but do not have one outstanding book are Kelly Hunter, Dani Collins, R.Cooper, Sophie Weston, Elsie Lee (both SW & EL are dated contemporaries that mirror my youth love problems & behaviors), Lucy Parker, Nalini Singh recent contemporary romances, and many others, KJ Charles, etc. much mentioned here already.
If you asked me again tomorrow my list would probably be different, but at this exact moment I’d pick these five:
Marian’s Christmas Wish by Carla Kelly
Without Words by Ellen O’Connell
Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Earth Bound by Emma Barry & Genevieve Turner
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie
Thank you – I have started Without Words and am a happy reader 🙂
Glad to hear it! 🙂
So, so hard to do! I’ll give it my best shot.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Lover Awakened by JR Ward
The Admiral’s Bride by Suzanne Brockmann
A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
Honor’s Splendour by Julie Garwood
This isn’t even close to an exhaustive list, but it’s something. 🙂
Never heard of the Brockmann. Off to check it out.
A fellow lover of A Kingdom of Dreams! I do miss Judith McNaught. Honor’s Splendour is wonderful too and I also like those early Tall, Dark, and Dangerous books by Suzanne Brockmann. Great list!
Brockmann’s The Admiral’s Bride is also a 5-star book for me! Amazing how good some category romances can be.
I don’t think I can do five because I could have 5 Lisa Kleypas alone. I have spent way to much time thinking about this I think I need 10 LOL:
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Enlightenment Series (have to have all 3 novellas together) by JoAnna Chambers
The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
Then Came You or Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Runner up 1: Flowers From the Storm
Lisa Kleypas has always had multiple books on our Top 100 lists!
“Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore”
The book with the lying bastard of a cover and an exceptional hero who when love comes his way, takes it SERIOUSLY.
Top 5:
Since there are already many mentions of Heated Rivalry/The Long Game by Rachel Reid, I’m leaving them off my Top 5 to include a more recent read.
These are/will be annual re-reads. Painful narrowing to Top 5…Top 10 would be easier!
Broadway Butchery (Momento Mori #3) by C.S. Poe – Mystery
Open Season by Linda Howard – Contemporary Romance
Marrying Winterborne (The Ravenels #2) by Lisa Kleypas – Historical Victorian Romance
Katerina and the Reclusive Earl (Sisters of Castle Fortune #3) by Alicia Cameron – Historical Regency Romance
Sweep of the Blade (Innkeeper Chronicles #4) by Ilona Andrews – Fantasy Romance
JAK is my first author crush…so Ravished by Amanda Quick has to be on the list too.
I can see the difficulty in coming up with a 100 poll. I would struggle to keep my list under 200 favorite books. I put 4 years worth of AAR Top 100 on my GRs and I read every one that I hadn’t already read. Some I agreed with some of them I didn’t. For me right now, top 5:
1. Sandra Brown’s Mean Streak (I have read every book she has wrote.), but MS I have read that one so many times.
2 Ilona Andrews Iron and Magic again I have lost count of the number of times I have read this book.
3 Jo Goodman, If His Kiss Be Wicked I have so many favs of hers.
4 Grace Burrowes The Captive I have so many favs of hers, but the older stuff.
5 Lucy Score Things We Left Behind Lucy is a new author for me and I am making my way through her backlog.
GAH…..I have so many more I could put down. I am a fan though of just having an author on the list just once, with the book that got the most votes.