I was amazed to discover that I have read 92 out of AAR's Top 100. Of the 8 I have not read, 4 were written by Julie Garwood. Here's the complete list:
The Last Hellion by Loretta Chase
Honor's Splendor by Julie Garwood
The Secret by Julie Garwood
Ransom by Julie Garwood
Saving Grace by Julie Garwood
And Then He Kissed Her by Laura Lee Guhrke
The Rake by Mary Jo Putney
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
I have been meaning to try Garwood because CindyS is a huge fan and I know most of these are probably on her list. So maybe I'll dig up one or two of these and give them a shot.
In comparing AAR's Top 100 with my Top 100, I found that only 30 of my favorites appeared on AAR's list. I guess my tastes are a bit different. Many of the book's on AAR's list were pretty good reads for me but were not what I would consider keeper. For example I remember liking Lord of Scoundrels, but it didn't exactly "wow" me. Maybe I need to re-read that one. I'm a bit surprised and disappointed that there were no books Anne Stuart or Carla Kelly.
| Num | Title | Author | AAR Ranking |
| 2 | Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austen | #4 |
| 3 | Flowers from the Storm | Laura Kinsale | #6 |
| 8 | After the Night | Linda Howard | #55 |
| 9 | To Have and To Hold | Patricia Gaffney | #60 |
| 10 | All Through the Night | Connie Brockway | #90 |
| 11 | Naked in Death | J. D. Robb | #24 |
| 19 | Morning Glory | LaVyrle Spencer | #59 |
| 20 | Sea Swept | Nora Roberts | #74 |
| 22 | The Spymaster's Lady | Bourne, Joanna | #20 |
| 23 | Dream Man | Linda Howard | #47 |
| 27 | Not Quite a Husband | Sherry Thomas | #18 |
| 28 | Dreaming of You | Lisa Kleypas | #2 |
| 29 | Thunder and Roses | Mary Jo Putney | #88 |
| 30 | It Had to Be You | Susan Elizabeth Phillips | #15 |
| 40 | Sugar Daddy | Lisa Kleypas | #52 |
| 43 | The Duke of Shadows | Duran, Meredith | #94 |
| 45 | Cry No More | Linda Howard | #80 |
| 51 | Match Me If You Can | Susan Elizabeth Phillips | #42 |
| 52 | Passion | Lisa Valdez | #65 |
| 54 | The Madness of Ian Mackenzie | Jennifer Ashley | #10 |
| 55 | Paradise | Judith McNaught | #13 |
| 56 | The Serpent Prince | Elizabeth Hoyt | #44 |
| 65 | Devil in Winter | Lisa Kleypas | #3 |
| 66 | Heaven, Texas | Susan Elizabeth Phillips | #22 |
| 70 | Perfect | Judith McNaught | #45 |
| 73 | My Dearest Enemy | Connie Brockway | #86 |
| 74 | Welcome To Temptation | Jennifer Crusie | #36 |
| 87 | Slave to Sensation | Nalini Singh | #51 |
| 94 | See Jane Score | Jane Gibson | #50 |
| 95 | Slightly Dangerous | Mary Balogh | #7 |
| Total | 30 | 30 |
This was a fun activity for a book-aholic like me. Next time this poll comes up I'll do some re-reading and spend more time creating my list because I just kinda slapped this together at the last minute. I know my top 10 or 20 favorites is correct but the rest .... not so much.
5 comments:
Definitely try Garwood. Her historicals are wonderful!
You also have to keep in mind that Garwood is 'light' historical but back in the day of bodice rippers and love you, hate you romances, she was such a breath of fresh air. Don't read her contemps or the Roses series.
I was surprised by Ransom being on the list because I don't remember it at all.
And Anne Stuart has such a large back list so any of her books making the list would be tough. I think that's starting to happen to Nora Roberts also.
I will also be doing some serious re-reading over the next little bit to see if some of picks have stood the test of time. I was happy to see some new authors on the list that I have yet to try - Sherry Thomas, Meredith Duran and Joanne Bourne - I hope they bring the heat!
Cindys
Leslie: Thanks, I'm glad to hear what others think about Garwood and since she appeared on so many lists, I really want to try one.
Cindy: I don't mind an occasional "light" historical so I'll check to see if my library has one of those. I think you will like Thomas, Duran, or Bourne. They all pack some heat - what I would consider Hot or Warm.
Woa!! Talk about freaky - LOL. I've read all but 8 on the AAR poll too! Isn't it great being a long time romance reader? We know of what is good - heh, heh, heh
KristieJ: Amazing, isn't it? I give lots of credit to you and the readers at AAR for all the books I've read from the Top 100.
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