It’s Valentine’s Day, that 24 hours each year the world celebrates romantic love. AAR’s a big fan of romantic love–we’ve been writing about it and celebrating it since the early 90s. Over the years, we’ve published thousands of reviews and blogs, conversed online with countless readers, and chatted up hundreds of authors. […]
In a steam-fuelled world where vampires once ruled the aristocracy, a dangerous conspiracy threatens to topple the queen, and the Duke of Malloryn knows his nemesis has finally returned to enact his plans of revenge. […]
I’ve been writing for about thirty years on and off and before that I wrote a little for pleasure in high school and college when I wasn’t writing papers for classes. I’ve written some long stories, like my new historical romance For Her Honor, a few essays on mostly political subjects, and an occasional family story or recollection. I have found writing to be rewarding and as much a part of my life as friends and family.
I’ve talked to lots of writers over the years, some who wrote lengthy pieces and were trying to get published, and many, many more who wrote memoirs or short stories, and universally all have said how satisfying writing can be. There are days, quite a few sometimes, when I want to break my laptop into a million pieces when I’m in the middle of writing a novel and I just can’t see what the next scene is, or I’ve been away from writing […]
“I remembered afterwards…that the wedding need not be put off, for Mr. Darcy might have done as well.”
“Mr. Darcy!” repeated Elizabeth, in utter amazement.
“Oh yes! He was to come there with Wickham, you know.”
~Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
And, here it is, the AAR staff’s picks for the very best books of 2018. We ask each reviewer to pick her favorite book of the year and then we share the compiled list with you. This list isn’t one we all agree on nor is it one that we’d argue is definitive. Our Best Lists is idiosyncratic. Each pick is a reflection of a reviewer’s druthers, experiences and expectations, and is limited by what she personally read in the past year. These are, quite simply, books we individually loved.
We’d like to know what you loved too and hope you’ll share your picks with us in the comments.
Here’s to us all reading well in 2019!
As I’m sure other people have said, pretty much any book on my Best Of list could qualify […]
2018 was not my favorite year. The world, including Romancelandia, was full of anger and sadness, and most of the time I felt as if I had no idea how to do my job well. I’d pick up a romance, try to read it, and, again and again, be resistant to its draw. By midyear, I despaired of finding books I loved enough to want readers to experience their magic. But I underestimated the strength of our world, and by the end of December, I found myself with a list of books I genuinely loved, all of which brought me joy. Here, in no particular order, is my list of the best of 2018.
Caz and others on staff who read primarily historical romance are on record as saying that 2018 was a […]
Adam Mandel appeared briefly in the two previous books of this series*–as a previous, brief love interest of the heroine’s in Addicted to Love, and as the best friend of the hero in Five Minutes to Love. In both stories, he was a player, a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy. He wasn’t a terrible person, he just wasn’t interested in commitment. And professionally, his life was pretty easy as well. His father is the head of his own law firm, and Adam was guaranteed a spot there right out of law school. This guy’s life appeared made. […]
Confession: I’ve never watched an episode of Survivor which is uncool because my nephew by marriage Erik Reichenbach has been on the show twice. […]
