AAR's Top 100

[jmc_bks]

AAR's TOP 100, as determined by voting in November, 2004, has been making the rounds of reader blogs. Just call me a lemming, I guess. Mine is below the link. Forgive the table's appearance, please, I'm still fiddling with the html for color, frame, etc. It's kind of weird, because the frames appeared when I tested over at Web Developer's Notes, but they disappeared here. Wonder if it is a Live Journal thing?

1.	Lord of Scoundrels	Loretta Chase	Average Regency-set historical. Meh.
2.	Flowers from the Storm	Laura Kinsale	Haven’t read it
3.	Welcome to Temptation	Jennifer Crusie	One of my three favorite Crusie books.
4.	As You Desire	Connie Brockway	I know I’ve read it, but it didn’t leave much of an impression.
5.	Bet Me	Jennifer Crusie	Another of the 3 favorite Crusie books.
6.	Dreaming of You	Lisa Kleypas	Another book I’ve read but only vagely remember
7.	Outlander	Diana Gabaldon	Good enough historical, not all that. (No, I haven’t read any of the other books.)
8.	Over the Edge	Suzanne Brockmann	My favorite book by her. Love Stan & Terri.
9.	All Through the Night	Connie Brockway	Haven’t read it.
10.	Sea Swept	Nora Roberts	Love this trilogy, but only liked this installment.
11.	It Had to Be You	Susan Elizabeth Phillips	My favorite SEP book
12.	A Summer to Remember	Mary Balogh	My favorite Balogh book.
13.	Morning Glory	LaVyrle Spencer	Meh. One of my least favorite Spencers.
14.	The Proposition	Judith Ivory	Haven’t read it.
15.	A Kingdom of Dreams	Judith McNaught	Loved this book as a teenager, but find it not to my taste as an adult.
15.	Ravished	Amanda Quick	I’m not sure if I’ve read this one or not.
16.	Frederica	Georgette Heyer	Haven’t read it.
17.	Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand	Carla Kelly	Good (Can CK write a bad book? I don’t think so.) But not my favorite CK.
18.	Mackenzie’s Mountain	Linda Howard	It was okay.
19.	Mr. Perfect	Linda Howard	Funny, but otherwise just an okay book.
20.	The Grand Sophy	Georgette Heyer	Haven’t read it.
21.	Pride & Prejudice	Jane Austen	Not my favorite Austen.
22.	The Bride	Julie Garwood	I’m pretty sure I read this when I glommed Garwood, but it doesn’t stand out in my memory. Can’t have been that impressed.
23.	Devil’s Bride	Stephanie Laurens	Liked it. It became SL’s template and she’s worn it out.
25.	To Have and To Hold	Patricia Gaffney	TBR
26.	Born in Fire	Nora Roberts	My favorite of this trilogy, and in my Top 5 favorite NR books.
27.	Winter Garden	Adele Ashworth	Haven’t read it.
28.	Gone Too Far	Suzanne Brockmann	What a let down. Did NOT live up to the hype, the characters were twisted out of recognition. Blech.
29.	The Viscount Who Loved Me	Julia Quinn	My favorite Quinn. Bridgerton Pall Mall.
30.	Saving Grace	Julie Garwood	Probably read it in the Garwood glom. Unmemorable.
31.	My Dearest Enemy	Connie Brockway	Haven’t read it.
32.	In the Midnight Rain	Ruth Wind	Pretty good, but not a keeper for me. Didn’t love Blue as much as most readers do.
33.	The Windflower	Laura London	Haven’t read it.
34.	Naked In Death	Nora Roberts	Took two tries for me to finish NiD, but it was worth the re-try. I’ve been a Robb fan ever since. All on the keeper shelf.
35.	Whitney, My Love	Judith McNaught	Wall-banger for me because of the @sshole hero.
36.	Nobody’s Baby But Mine	Susan Elizabeth Phillips	The last SEP book that I really liked.
37.	A Knight in Shining Armor	Jude Deveraux	First time travel I ever read. Liked, but seldom reread it.
38.	Paradise	Judith McNaught	Is this the one with Matt & Meredith? If so, I liked it.
39.	The Shadow and The Star	Laura Kinsale	Haven’t read it.
40.	Dream Man	Linda Howard	Pretty good, despite hero.
41.	Out of Control	Suzanne Brockmann	Not my favorite Brockmann, although I loved the WW2 subplot.
42.	Silk and Shadows	Mary Jo Putney	Liked this series slightly more than the Fallen Angel series.
43.	See Jane Score	Rachel Gibson	It was okay, not a keeper.
44.	Shattered Rainbows	Mary Jo Putney	I loved Michael as a hero. Only quibble is the suspense/adventure ending, being hunted. Still a keeper.
45.	Thunder and Roses	Mary Jo Putney	First Putney book I read. Love the heroine and the hero.
46.	The Duke and I	Julia Quinn	Loved it until 2/3 of the way through the book.
47.	Heart Throb	Suzanne Brockmann	Bored by the main plot, liked the relationship of Susie and Jamal.
48.	For My Lady’s Heart	Laura Kinsale	Haven’t read it.
49.	Honor’s Splenor	Julie Garwood	Don’t recognize this title at all, so I don’t think I’ve read it.
50.	Lord Carew’s Bride	Mary Balogh	Haven’t read it.
51.	Untie My Heart	Judith Ivory	Haven’t read it.
52.	Dream a Little Dream	Susan Elizabeth Phillips	Wall-banger, DNF
53.	The Secret	Julie Garwood	Think I read it in the Garwood glom. They all blur together.
54.	This is All I Ask	Lynn Kurland	Haven’t read it.
55.	Slightly Dangerous	Mary Balogh	Haven’t read it.
56.	One Perfect Rose	Mary Jo Putney	Nice wrap up to the Fallen Angel series; magical family connection pushed coincidence too far.
57.	To Love and To Cherish	Patricia Gaffney	Loved this book!
58.	Kiss An Angel	Susan Elizabeth Phillips	Haven’t read it.
59.	Heaven, Texas	Susan Elizabeth Phillips	It was okay but not outstanding.
60.	Venetia	Georgette Heyer	Haven’t read it.
61.	Daughter of the Game	Tracy Grant	TBR
62.	The Prize	Julie Garwood	Another one?
63.	Reforming Lord Ragsdale	Carla Kelly	Love this one. Whichever CK book I’ve reread most recently is always my “favorite”.
64.	Prince Joe	Suzanne Brockmann	Meh.
65.	The Notorious Rake	Mary Balogh	Haven’t read it...I think.
66.	Heartless	Mary Balogh	Haven’t read it.
67.	Son of the Morning	Linda Howard	Maybe my favorite LH.
68.	Sleeping Beauty	Judith Ivory	Haven’t read it.
69.	Where Dreams Begin	Lisa Kleypas	Haven’t read it.
70.	The Devil’s Cub	Georgette Heyer	Haven’t read it.
71.	The Bronze Horseman	Paullina Simmons	Hated the heroine and the hero. Would’ve burned the book, except it was a library copy.
72.	The Time Traveller’s Wife	Audrey Niffenegger	Really mixed feelings about this book; have recommended it to several others, who loved it.
73.	With This Ring	Carla Kelly	Love Sam and Lydia. Keeper.
74.	The Lion’s Lady	Julie Garwood	Don’t think I’ve read this one.
75.	The Rake	Mary Jo Putney	Meh.
76.	Fallen From Grace	Laura Leone	TBR
77.	Always to Remember	Lorraine Heath	Haven’t read it.
78.	Castles	Julie Garwood	Criminy, how many books has this woman written? I think I’ve read this one, but I’m not sure.
79.	One Good Turn	Carla Kelly	::sigh:: CK turned a not so likable guy into a hero. And Liria breaks my heart.
80.	Chesapeake Blue	Nora Roberts	A weak offering as follow up to NR’s best (IMO) trilogy.
81.	By Arrangement	Madeline Hunter	It was okay. I liked By Design better.
82.	Perfect	Judith McNaught	Thought the heroine was a little Mary Sue-ish, and the book preachy. Meh.
83.	My Darling Caroline	Adele Ashworth	Haven’t read it.
84.	The Defiant Hero	Suzanne Brockmann	The heroine was TSTL and ruined the book for me.
85.	The Unsung Hero	Suzanne Brockmann	Excellent ensemble book. Loved the David/Mallory subplot.
86.	Guilty Pleasures	Laura Lee Guhrke	A pleasant read.
87.	Jane Eyre	Charlotte Bronte	Read and reread this book as a teenager. As an adult, Rochester doesn’t work for me as a hero so much anymore.
88.	Kill and Tell	Linda Howard	Classic LH, but the dancing/condom scene bothers me.
89.	After the Night	Linda Howard	The bathroom scene is HOT. Otherwise, the book pisses me off.
90.	More Than A Mistress	Mary Balogh	Like it a lot, much more so than the follow up book about the hero’s brother.
91.	Born in Ice	Nora Roberts	Thought the heroine Brianna was too passive, but loved the hero Grayson.
92.	Miss Wonderful	Loretta Chase	An average read. Don’t see what everyone raves about.
93.	The Charm School	Susan Wiggs	Haven’t read it.
94.	The Scoundrel	Elizabeth Elliott	Haven’t read it.
95.	How to Marry A Marquis	Julia Quinn	Haven’t read it.
96.	Angel Rogue	Mary Jo Putney	Liked this book a great deal. Keeper.
97.	Trust Me	Jayne Ann Krentz	Don’t think I’ve read this one: I stopped reading Krentz/Quick because the plots and characters became interchangeable IMO.
98.	Dancing on the Wind	Mary Jo Putney	Meh.
99.	Once and Always	Judith McNaught	I don’t believe I’ve read this one, but I’ll have to double check.
100.	This Heart of Mine	Susan Elizabeth Phillips	Wall-banger. Beginning of SEP’s slide (for me) off of the auto-read list.

Comments

[miladyinsanity.livejournal.com]

OMG!

You may have read even more of them than I did, and I read 44!

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize how many I had read until I sat down to do the table. I didn't vote in the poll, but even if I had, I probably wouldn't have remembered half of those books.

[miladyinsanity.livejournal.com]

I couldn't believe I had read so many either!

I was thinking, okay, maybe a dozen. Then I went through the list, and voila, 44 books!

And I think I wouldn't have nominated/voted for any of them if I had taken part too.

[(Anonymous)]

Hmm, I'll have to try Carla Kelly--I've never read anything by her.

-jennie

Carla Kelly

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I would highly, highly recommend Carla Kelly. Her trad. regencies are excellent, and to tend NOT to be full of TSTL heroines and bored rakes. If you don't care for regencies, you could try her Here's to the Ladies, a collection of short stories set in the American West, all about women who married into the armed forces. Or Daughter of Fortune, set in Mexico in the 1500-1600s.

Top 100 Poll

[(Anonymous)]

I notice there are a lot we don't quite see eye to eye on *g* but the ones we do! It took me 3 tries to get into Naked in Death too but once I did - I love the whole series. I also agree with you on The Defiant Hero.

Kristie(J)

Re: Top 100 Poll

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I keep thinking that I need to give Derek Craven another try, because you love him so much :)

[(Anonymous)]

I think between the two of us we've read nearly the whole the list. I haven't read most of the books you have and I have read the ones you haven't. Interesting.

I can't see how you managed to get away with not reading Flowers From the Storm. I thought it was on the required reading list. Ditto the Judith Ivory books.

Kate R.

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Does this mean that between us, there is one well-read romance reader? :)

I tried a Judith Ivory book once, one about a reformed thief/grifter. Meh. DNF. Flowers from the Storm -- I dunno, just never picked it up. I have a couple other Kinsale books TBR, though.

[(Anonymous)]

Balogh and Heyer definitely belong on that list. .

[rosario001.livejournal.com]

Lord of Scoundrels: *gasp* ;-)

Welcome to Temptation and Bet Me being among fave 3: like me! Which is the third book? Mine is Anyone But You.

Sea Swept: I think I actually liked the third book a teeny bit better than this one, I don't know why.

Mackenzie Mountain "just an okay book": yes! another one who makes no fuss about it!

Shattered Rainbows: yes, completely agree. That ending felt out of place in this book.

The Duke and I: May I ask what made you stop loving it on the 2/3 mark? I've just been having a discussion in one of my book groups about a certain something Daphne does that I found unforgivable (no one agreed with me).

Madeline Hunter's By... series: I think my favourite was By Possession, which I was initially very unsure about.

More Than a Mistress: I HATED the second book. Did you read Blythe's purple prose parody send-off of Balogh's martyr heroines, at AAR? It HAS to have been inspired on No Man's Mistress!

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

My 3rd favorite Crusie is Anybody But You :)

I liked all of the books in NR's Chesapeake group, but loved the second one. Ethan, a beta hero, he just wants to take care of Grace. :sigh: It may be time for a reread.

Linda Howard -- now that I am rereading her older categories, like Mackenzie's Mountain, I'm having a hard time remembering what I liked so much about her. Didn't like the beginning (I wanted to throttle Rome in Sarah's Child), not impressed with the latest stuff. The middle books, as she transitioned from category to hardback, are the ones that I lie best.

My problem with The Duke and I was something Daphne did, probably the thing that you dislike. I might (maybe?) have been able to get past it if it was the only problem, but by that point I was sick of Simon's angst and irritated with both of them.

I don't remember Blythe's parody. Off to read the PPPs again.