My votes compared to AAR poll

[jmc_bks]

As promised earlier, here is my ballot compared to the poll results at AAR.

Best Romance
My vote: Beguilement, Lois McMaster Bujold
This is probably the “lightest” of all the Bujold that I’ve read. It’s a straight up romance, though. Dag & Fawn. I’ve already preordered the sequel due out this summer

Winner: Lover Awakened, JR Ward.
Okay. I thought this was a good enough book. Ward grabs readers, despite some flaws in her writing style (too much label dropping, etc.). But it wasn’t the best.

Favorite Funny
My vote: Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich.
The best Plum book since Hot Six. B read for me, but it made me laugh out loud while reading.

Winner: Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase
I have this TBR. I thought Miss Wonderful was okay and the follow up ordinary, so I haven’t been able to summon up much enthusiasm. I’m not a big fan generally. I know a lot of people think her Lord of Scoundrels is the Best Romance Book Ever! But the charm escapes me.

Most Hanky Romance
My vote: none 

Winner: Lover Awakened, JR Ward.
Ho-kay. What about this book was tear inducing?

Most Luscious Love Story
My vote: none 

Winner: The Raven Prince, Elizabeth Hoyt
Haven’t read it, although I’ve read a bunch of very positive reviews.

Best Erotic Romance
My vote: All U Can Eat, Emma Holly
A heroine who has sex without angst? With someone other than the hero? Shouldn’t she be dead by the end of the book? Nope, thankfully not here. 

Winner: All U Can Eat, Emma Holly

Best Cabin or Road Romance
My vote: The Rogue’s Return, Jo Beverley
Loved how Simon and Jancy got to know each other and fell in love. 

Winner: Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase.

Best Author Who Debuted in 2006
My vote: Darlene Marshall
Well, this was an assumption, based on the fact that the three books I found were all copyrighted in 2006.
 
Winner: Elizabeth Hoyt.
Haven’t read her, so I can’t really say.

Best Buried Treasure
My vote: Smuggler’s Bride, Darlene Marshall 
I have to admit that this category still puzzles me somewhat. 

Winner: Jacob, Kathryn Frank
I read a lot of very mixed reviews about this one. Paranormaled out, so I won’t be reading it in the near future.

Guiltiest Pleasure Romance
My vote: A Bit of Rough , Laura Bambach
Again, perplexed by this category. Guilty pleasure for me because although it wasn’t the best m/m book or romance or ebook I read all year, I kept going back to it. 

Winner: All U Can Eat, Emma Holly

Romance Author Most Glommed
My vote: Darlene Marshall
Only three books, but it was the only thing approaching a glom for me this year.

Winner: JR Ward.
I read the SSE she released under the name Jessica Bird, but otherwise, nope.

Best Medieval/Renaissance Romance
My vote: Liberty, Kimberly Iverson
Not a medieval or renaissance set book, but it didn’t really fit anywhere else and I wanted to have it on my ballot somewhere. 

Winner: Silver Rose, Susan Carroll
I read this one, but was pretty irritated by the hero and heroine. Felt like good prose and world building was wasted on the two characters.

Best European Historical
My vote: His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik
Loved this series. Loved. It. 

Winner: Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas
Average Regency-set European historical, I thought.

Best Amer Hist or Western Historical
My vote: Smuggler’s Bride, Darlene Marshall
This one just edged out Jo Beverley’s The Rogue’s Return. 

Winner: The Rogue’s Return, Jo Beverley tied with A Reason to Live, Maureen McKade 
Hadn't heard of McKade before.

Best Contemporary
My vote: Major Crush, Jennifer Echols
I had a hard time with this category, because a lot of the contemporaries I read last year were forgettable. 

Winner: Drop Dead Gorgeous, Linda Howard
This was a wall-banger for me. Blair as heroine/narrator was entertaining for one book, but too irritating for more than that.

Best Series/Category Book
My vote: Gladiator’s Honor, Michelle Styles
Original setting, good research. The first of several Roman-set romances. 

Winner: Family at Stake, Molly O’Keefe
Haven’t heard of this one.

Best Romantic Suspense
My vote: Memory in Death, JD Robb 

Winner: Cold as Ice, Anne Stuart
Meh. DNF.

Best Alternate Reality Romance
My vote: Beguilement, LMB 

Winner: Lover Awakened, JR Ward
Interestingly, on the results, this is listed as “Best Paranormal” but on my printed ballot, it was “Alternate Reality”.

Best Chick Lit/WF
My vote: Invisible Lives, Anjali Banerjee 

Winner: Hot Dish, Connie Brockway
Not a big Brockway fan.

Best Romance Short Story
My vote: "Tacky", Charlaine Harris’s story in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding 

Winner: "Hot Toy", Jennifer Crusie in Santa Baby
This is still TBR. I wasn’t feeling very holiday-ish.

Most Tortured Romance Hero
My vote: Zsadist 

Winner: Zsadist

Strongest Romance Heroine
My vote: Jancy/Jane from The Rogue’s Return. 

Winner: Bella from Lover Awakened. Huh?

Best Romance Hero
My vote: Brody, from Angels Fall 

Winner: Sebastian, Devil in Winter.
Meh.

Best Romance Heroine
My vote: Moira, Valley of Silence 

Winner: Evie Jenner, Devil in Winter
Meh.

Best Romance Couple
My vote: Captain Will Lawrence & Temeraire, His Majesty’s Dragon
I know, not a “couple” in the traditional sense, but they were the heroes of the book, and their relationship is romantic, I think, although not in any sexual sense. 

Winner: Bathsheba & Benedict, Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase.

Best Romance Villain
My vote: Big Bad from The Circle Trilogy, Nora Roberts

Winner: The lessers from Lover Awakened. 
Meh. Could’ve done with less of them in the book.

Most Annoying Lead Character
My vote: Blair Mallory, Drop Dead Gorgeous 

Winner: Blair Mallory, Drop Dead Gorgeous

Romance Author You Gave Up On in 2006
My vote: Linda Howard
Between Drop Dead Gorgeous and Cover of Night? Finished. 

Winner: Christina Dodd
Haven’t ever read her.

Most Disappointing Romance
My vote: Simply Love, Mary Balogh
Sydnam Butler was an intriguing character in A Summer to Remember, but his story was quite a let down. It felt like a reunion story because of all of the appearances of the Bedwyns. 

Winner/Loser: On the Way to the Wedding, Julia Quinn
Didn’t finish this one because of a huge historical error.

Worst Romance
My vote: Blackmailed, Annmarie McKenna (ebook) 

Winner: On the Way to the Wedding, Julia Quinn
While I didn’t finish this one, it was not the worst book I read last year. :shrug:

Purplest Prose
My vote: Megan’s Mate, Lora Leigh 

Winner: Prince of Ice, Emma Holly
I hadn’t even heard of this book.

Comments

[sarahf.livejournal.com]

I cried at the end of Lover Awakened. When Z holds out the paper he's just written on and it's shaking and he says he can do it over if Bella can't read it--I sobbed. Hasn't happened to me for a while with a romance. Cannot WAIT for Butch's book (and V's!!!) despite how much I was eye-rolling the language on the excerpt I read. So there you have it.

But Bella as a strong heroine?! Puhleeze!

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I haven't been to Ward's site or read the excerpt that (I assume) she has posted. But I found the link to an excerpt on a reader blog: http://www.romancebooktrader.com/promo/LoverRevealedexcerpt.pdf

Same excerpt?

I wasn't feeling all that enthused about Butch ('cause I want a V-Butch-Marissa story and I'm pretty sure Ward's not going there), but I'm intrigued by Xhex, despite her ridiculous name.

[sarahf.livejournal.com]

Reader friend of mine sent me the link. There's another excerpt on Ward's MB and webpage (I think), but that 4-chapter long excerpt is the one I was talking about.

I just fall into the world. Love or hate the characters, I just get completely caught up in the world for some reason. That's why I continue reading.

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Sorry -- I found the link over at AAR, but the excerpt was posted on a reader blog.

~jmc

[rosario001.livejournal.com]

Ahh, Beguilement! Just finished reading it, and I loved it. I wish I'd waited until Legacy had come out though, because that ending was majorly abrupt.

As for the villains, ditto on the lessers, and I almost voted the same you did, only I found the little kiddie more disturbing than the Big Bad.

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

It was abrupt...but I was kind of expecting it, because I read on Bujold's site that she initially wrote Beguilement & Legacy as one long, long book. I believe it was split on the advice of her editor.

I forgot about the kid vampire -- he *was* creepy! Totally selfish, the way little kids are, but with little hints of humanity and a layer of gruesome on top.

[miladyinsanity.livejournal.com]

I don't even look at the nominations any more, because it's not unusual for me to have not read all the books in a category.

In fact, from the list you've posted here, I've only read one one book, and that's Lover Awakened. Oh, wait! I read the first book of the Circle trilogy too.

[(Anonymous)]

Try Lord Perfect anyway. It's the first Chase that has ever really worked for me. Lord of Scoundrels wasn't my cup of tea. Miss Wonderful and Mr Impossible were okay, but I'd have passed them on without rereading if Lord Perfect hadn't convinced me to keep the set. Really was my favourite romance from last year.

I know once a book has been that highly praised, it's almost bound to be a disappointment, so I won't tell you that you'll love it - but I did notice that a number of other people who enjoyed Lord P. hadn't really loved the earlier books in the series, so it's still worth a try.

Marianne McA

[(Anonymous)]

I'm so conflicted over JR Ward. I was going to read one, and then I read a horrible vampire book and told myself, no more vampires! But everyone talks about them. Which is your favorite? Or should I try the first one?

I hadn't heard much about Rogue's Return--I'll have to give it a try.

-Jennie

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed The Rogue's Return a great deal -- Simon was one of the Beverly characters who was always off-screen, off adventuring in the Americas, mysterious.

As for Ward, you can probably read any of them without too much confusion. Which would I recommend? Well, maybe starting with the first one. I like them, but don't LOVE them; both the second and third books have things in them which push my hot buttons. But the stories still sucked me in. I can't really explain it.

Do you read Bam's reviews? In her review of the upcoming fourth book, she points out all of the irritating things that Ward does (name dropping, the ridiculous character names, etc.), but also gives kudos for somehow still writing a griping story.

naisioxerloro

[(Anonymous)]

Hi.
Good design, who make it?

Re: naisioxerloro

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

It is a standard LJ design.