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My 2007 Top 100 Romances ballot
Here's my Top 100 Romances ballot for All About Romance. Many links are included to reviews, author interviews, and author profiles I've done.
This time around I compiled my list a little differently. Since I'd only re-read some of these books, I had a hard time evaluating each according to its overall and enduring magnificence. So I went through the database and did a little re-rating based on my current feelings about the book - points were added for comfort reads, memorable books (books that were highly ranked but not memorable got downgraded) and frequent re-reading. This bumped up favorites and dropped others rather far down the list. I also adjusted grades if I'd found them less satisfactory the second or third time around. This left me with a much smaller list of straight A's and A+s which is a bit more accurate. I put those first. Then I ranked the A-s rather emotionally. I had 15 spaces left so I went among the B+s and pulled out the top 15 then ranked those. The final list has some pretty sharp rises and falls because of this change in ranking methodology.
This time around I also deleted books that weren't necessarily romances but snuck on the list last time due to their classic nature + some small romantic thread. So gone are These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder and The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Among others. If they weren't romances and I hadn't read them lately to verify fantabulousness, they didn't make this list.
| Title | Author | 2007 Rank | 2004 Rank | Diff. +/- | Comments | |
| The Windflower |  | Laura London1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Very nearly the perfect book. Fantastically plotted and full of wonderfully nuanced characters. Also v. clever and funny throughout. A+ |
| The Shadow and the Star* |  | Laura Kinsale | 2 | 3 | +1 | Love this book more every time I read it. Maybe if I read it two or three more times before the next poll, it will hit #1. We'll see. |
| The Bronze Horseman |  | Paullina Simons | 3 | 2 | -1 |
|
| Simply Irresistible* |  | Rachel Gibson | 4 | 9 | +5 | My ultimate comfort book - makes me happy each and every time I read it. |
| Archangel! |  | Sharon Shinn | 5 | 15 | +10 | Fantastic book with a super romantic ending. And the heroine's name is Rachel to boot! |
| To Have and To Hold ** |  | Patricia Gaffney | 6 | 8 | +2 | Not for the faint of heart or easily troubled reader, but this is a wonderful story of survival and redemption for those willing to wade in. Another great Rachel heroine. |
| Till the Stars Fall |  | Kathleen Gilles Seidel | 7 | 13 | +6 | Quinn and Krissa, the Cinnamon Haired Girl. Sigh. |
| Heaven, Texas |  | Susan Elizabeth Phillips | 8 | 14 | +6 | Another guaranteed mood lifter. I re-read this one on my second (adoption) trip to Russia for the distraction. It worked. Amazingly. |
| Second Helpings! |  | Megan McCafferty | 9 | 23 | +14 | Marcus Flutie. Again and again and again. |
| Bliss | Judy Cuevas | 10 | 11 | +1 | Why, WHY, is Nardi so appealing? | |
| Fifteen |  | Beverly Cleary | 11 | 4 | -7 | Stan Crandal. My first fictional love. |
| The American Duchess | | Joan Wolf | 12 | 7 | -5 | |
| Bitten! |  | Kelley Armstrong | 13 | 18 | +5 | Here's another uber alpha hero with impulse control problems. One of my favorite combos. |
| Truly, Madly Yours ** |  | Rachel Gibson | 14 | 12 | -2 | |
| The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman |  | Louise Plummer | 15 | 26 | +11 | |
| Morning Glory |  | LaVyrle Spencer | 16 | 5 | -11 | The first time I read Morning Glory, I was blown away by it; it was almost a perfect read. However, my last re-read was not as successful. Still a great book and very touching, but not more than a low A/A-. |
| Make a Joyful Noise in A Regency Christmas Carol |  | Carla Kelly | 17 | 56 | +39 | |
| When Love Isn't Enough | | Kathleen Gilles Seidel | 18 | 29 | +11 | |
| The Lady's Companion |  | Carla Kelly | 19 | 36 | +17 | |
Companions of the Night |  | Vivian Vande Velde | 20 | 35 | +15 | |
| Lady Gallant ** |  | Suzanne Robinson | 21 | 24 | +3 | Alpha-jerk hero + groveling done right = a winner. |
| Everyday Average Jones |  | Suzanne Brockmann | 22 | 32 | +10 | My favorite Brockmann. This one set me on a major glom. |
| This Lullaby! |  | Sarah Dessen | 23 | 31 | +8 | Dexter. Sigh. Love him. |
| Still Life with Murder |  | P.B. Ryan | 24 | 63 | +39 | |
| A Place to Call Home |  | Deborah Smith | 25 | 21 | -4 | APTCH is another one that hit me in the feelings' plexus the first time around, but upon re-read I have a hard time overlooking how anti-climatic the last third of the book is. Still, Roanie and Claire are one of my favorite couples. |
| Untie My Heart* |  | Judith Ivory | 26 | 77 | +51 | A bad, bad boy gets his comeuppance. Sort of. This one was controversial. I loved it. |
| Behind Closed Doors |  | Shannon McKenna | 27 | 83 | +56 | Behind Closed Doors is this list's only Guilty Pleasure (& probably the hottest book here). It's not compulsively re-readable like many of the others, but I love the hero's combination of obsession with the heroine and inability to control his impulses. |
| Regency Sting* |  | Elizabeth Mansfield | 28 | 19 | -9 | A favorite of my teenage years. |
| Flowers from the Storm* |  | Laura Kinsale | 29 | 17 | -12 | Flowers is technically a far superior book to, say, #4 Simply Irresistible. But the last time I read it I realized that, no matter how interesting and complex this book was, it doesn't resonate emotionally with me until the very end, at the Quaker meeting house scene. Plus, all of Jervaulx's late in the book spending makes me the tightwad in me tense and nervous. |
| Summers at Castle Auburn |  | Sharon Shinn | 30 | 41 | +11 | |
| Crazy for You |  | Jennifer Crusie | 31 | 30 | -1 | Look how this one held steady. This is not a perfect book, but it's my favorite Crusie. Fleetwood Mac - LOL. |
| Kiss an Angel** |  | Susan Elizabeth Phillips | 32 | 20 | -12 | |
| The Sea Wife** |  | Holly Cook | 33 | 52 | +19 | Not as strong the second time around as the gasp! plot twist requires a fresh reader, but still compulsively enjoyable. And, let's face it, I love Machiavellian alpha jerks. What happened to Holly Cook? |
| The Princess Diaries |  | Meg Cabot | 34 | 54 | +20 | |
| Losing It |  | Beverly Sommers | 35 | 43 | +8 | Clever, unique, funny and fresh he said/she said book. With every run-of-the-mill category romance I read this one seems more outstanding. |
| Miss Whittier Makes a List |  | Carla Kelly | 36 | 66 | +30 | The first Kelly book I loved. |
| Blood and Chocolate |  | Annette Curtis Klause | 37 | 51 | +14 | Gabriel. Rooooorrrrwww. |
| Beloved Stranger |  | Joan Wolf | 38 | 10 | -28 | This book probably ties for most re-reads, I've read it so many times since I was a teenager. The last time I read it, though, it annoyed me how much Ricardo didn't feel he had to help around the house or with baby Ricky. Been there, done that and don't find it so romantic anymore. |
| Libby's London Merchant |  | Carla Kelly | 39 | 28 | -11 | I don't like love triangles, but I did love this book. |
| Mirrors and Mistakes | | Kathleen Gilles Seidel | 40 | 46 | +6 | |
| The Wallflower |  | Jan Freed | 41 | 86 | +45 | I have never re-read this book, but gave it a straight A the first time around. Since I'm unsure of what that combo means in terms of overall book quality, The Wallflower gets stuck in the middle here. |
| Get Lucky |  | Suzanne Brockmann | 42 | N/A | N/A | Didn't make the 2004 list - surprising. I remember this one fondly. |
| Dead until Dark |  | Charlaine Harris | 43 | 27 | -16 | I liked this book better before I read most of the rest of the series. I could cry for the havoc Harris wreaked upon Vampire Bill. |
| The Prisoner | | Cheryl Reavis | 44 | 81 | +37 | I'm going on the original ranking here, because I haven't re-read this one. Henceforth, this will be referred to as HNRR for Have Not Re-read. |
| The Perilous Gard |  | Elizabeth Marie Pope | 45 | 67 | +22 | |
| Constance | | Patricia Clapp | 46 | 38 | -12 | |
| One Good Turn |  | Carla Kelly | 47 | 45 | -2 | |
| Over the Edge |  | Suzanne Brockmann | 48 | 53 | +5 | |
| Again | | Kathleen Gilles Seidel | 49 | 71 | +22 | |
| Heart of Gold |  | Sharon Shinn | 50 | N/A | N/A | |
| The Proposition |  | Judith Ivory | 51 | 55 | +4 | |
| A Rush of Wings |  | Kristen Heitzmann | 52 | 92 | +40 | |
| The Still of Night |  | Kristen Heitzmann | 53 | 96 | +43 | |
| Passing Fancies |  | Elizabeth Mansfield | 54 | 44 | -10 | |
| Hold on Tight | | Deborah Smith | 55 | 74 | +19 | HNRR. |
| Princess in Love |  | Meg Cabot | 56 | 91 | +35 | |
| Seize the Fire** |  | Laura Kinsale | 57 | N/A | N/A | This is a great book, but not for when you don't feel like crying until you puke. |
| Summer's End |  | Kathleen Gilles Seidel | 58 | 37 | -21 | |
| Sloppy Firsts! |  | Megan McCafferty | 59 | 33 | -26 | This one could have fit in anywhere in the middle of this list. It's very good, but ends kind of badly. This didn't mar my enjoyment because I read the second book immediately after. But still. |
| Bodyguard |   | Suzanne Brockmann | 60 | 79 | +19 | HNRR. But again, hero with impulse control problems. Love that. |
| George and the Virgin |   | Lisa Cach | 61 | 73 | +12 | HNRR. In its favor, this book improved my mood right in the middle of some serious infertility crap. |
| The Truth about Forever |  | Sarah Dessen | 62 | 42 | +20 | |
| Whose Baby? |  | Janice Kay Johnson | 63 | 57 | -6 | HNRR. Johnson's given me enough enjoyment though, that she deserves to have at least one book on this list. |
| Heartless |   | Mary Balogh | 64 | 60 | -4 | This is on this list for old time's sake. I love, love, loved it when I first read it. Now I don't even know if I could rank it appropriately given how many Balogh titles I've read and how I can't seem to mentally separate them. |
| The Last of the Honky Tonk Angels |   | Marsha Moyer | 65 | 25 | -40 | I'm silently including The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch in this title. They're really one long book in two titles anyway. |
| Welcome to Temptation |   | Jennifer Crusie | 66 | 22 | -44 | This is a hard one. WTT borders on being a guilty pleasure, and while I think it's very well written, in terms of character and theme, very few of the players, outside of Phin and Sophie, are actually likable. |
| The Little Lady Agency * |   | Hester Browne | 67 | N/A | N/A | |
| Marrying Stone |  | Pamela Morsi | 68 | 75 | +7 | HNRR. |
| Sunshine and Shadow | | Sharon and Tom Curtis | 69 | 47 | -22 | Another get-out-the-kleenex book. Not for readers looking for fluffy and light. |
| Mr. Maybe |  | Jane Green | 70 | 80 | +10 | HNRR. |
| Bet Me |  | Jennifer Crusie | 71 | 93 | +22 | |
| Prospect Street |  | Emilie Richards | 72 | 82 | +10 | HNRR. |
| All American Girl |  | Meg Cabot | 73 | 78 | +5 | |
| Billy Bob Walked Got Married |  | Lisa G. Brown | 74 | 72 | -2 | HNRR. |
| Just Listen |  | Sarah Dessen | 75 | N/A | N/A | |
| Reforming Lord Ragsdale |  | Carla Kelly | 76 | N/A | N/A | |
| Gaudy Night |   | Dorothy L. Sayers | 77 | N/A | N/A | You have to read the full series to get the effect here, but if you make the effort, it's really something. |
| Maybe This Time |  | Kathleen Gilles Seidel | 78 | 87 | +9 | HNRR. |
| Redeeming Love |  | Francine Rivers | 79 | N/A | N/A | Heartwrenchingly sad, but well done. |
| Streets of Fire |  | Judith Duncan | 80 | 97 | +17 | HNRR. |
| It Came upon a Midnight Clear |  | Suzanne Brockmann | 81 | 90 | +9 | |
| Harvard's Education |  | Suzanne Brockmann | 82 | 89 | +7 | |
| High Stakes |  | Dana Warren Smith2 | 83 | N/A | N/A | HNRR. |
| The Gorgon in the Cupboard in To Weave a Web of Magic |   | Patricia McKillip | 84 | N/A | N/A | |
| The Christmas Ornament in A Regency Christmas |  | Carla Kelly | 85 | N/A | N/A | |
| The Time Traveler's Wife |  | Audrey Niffenegger | 86 | 84 | -2 | Warning: does not have a traditional HEA, but this couple is one of my top 5, probably for sheer meant-to-be-togetherness. |
| Match Me If You Can |  | Susan Elizabeth Phillips | 87 | N/A | N/A | |
| Katherine |  | Anya Seton | 88 | N/A | N/A | |
| The Monk Downstairs |  | Tim Farrington | 89 | 98 | +9 | |
| Touch Not the Cat |  | Mary Stewart | 90 | N/A | N/A | |
| The Dream Hunter! |  | Laura Kinsale | 91 | 59 | -32 | Readers harsh on Zenia all the time, but I had such sympathy for her. Sometimes you just can't control all of your anxiety. |
| Love Comes Softly | | Janette Oke | 92 | 99 | +7 | A favorite from girlhood. |
| A Debt of Honour | | Diana Brown | 93 | 64 | -29 | |
| Sweet Everlasting |  | Patricia Gaffney | 94 | 48 | -46 | |
| Rachel LeMoyne |  | Eileen Charbonneau | 95 | 61 | -34 | |
| Simple Jess | | Pamela Morsi | 96 | 68 | -28 | |
| If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend |  | Alison Pace | 97 | N/A | N/A | |
| The Boyfriend School |  | Sarah Bird | 98 | 58 | -40 | |
| Kiss Your Prince Charming |  | Jennifer Greene | 99 | 65 | -34 | |
| Miranda Blue Calling |  | Michelle Curry Wright | 100 | N/A | N/A |
1. Sharon and Tom Curtis
2. Lisa G. Brown
* denotes prim/proper heroine
** denotes alpha jerk hero
! denotes prickly heroine
Very Impressive :) I'm about half way done mine and I noticed on your list
a couple I need to add to mine. We do have a number of books the same :)
I'll look forward to seeing your ballot, Kristie, and which books we have
in common. :)
"This is a great book, but not for when you don't feel like crying until
you puke."
Thanks for posting this; it's giving me a lot of ideas of books to try.
Not that my TBR pile isn't big enough already! :) I counted 17 books on
your Top 100 that are also on my Top 100 (as my list is now -- I may still
change it if I read something I really love soon). That's pretty high,
considering that there are a whopping 62 books on your list that I haven't
read. Some I have no interest in reading, but many I have a lot of
interest in, but just haven't gotten to.
You're welcome! It was a labor of love, all of those links and pictures.
:) The kind of mindless grunt work I used to enjoy and have more time for.
I'll look forward to seeing YOUR list.