Will Ms. James win again? Her 2015 release – Suddenly One Summer – has not yet been reviewed at AAR. I’ve read it and quite enjoyed it, but decided to search for potential contenders. A quick power search at AAR reveals that we’ve given an A- to three contemporary romances so far this year:
- Heat Exchangeby Shannon Stacey
- Falling for his Best Friend by Katee Robert
- Rise by Karina Bliss
We’ve also given a B+ to four contemporary romances:
- A Taste of Heaven by Penny Watson
- Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot
- Last Hit: A Hitman Novel by Jessica Clare & Jen Frederick
- The One in My Heart by Sherry Thomas
I recently read Nalini Singh’s Rock Redemption and it’s currently in contention for my vote in this category along with Rise by Karina Bliss.
I asked my colleagues at AAR for their recommendations in this category, and they came up with a few additions to the above.
Lee B has enjoyed quite a few contemporary romances. At the top of her list are:
- Runaway Summer by Ruth Saberton
- The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
- If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins
- Last Chance Llama Ranch by Hilary Fields
- A Time for Living by Ruth Saberton
- The Piano Man Project by Kat French
Lee also is looking forward to reading two additional books she thinks might be possibilities for this category: Anything For You by Kristan Higgins and The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay.
Maggie also recommends Ms. Bliss’ Rise. In addition, she would recommend The Sound of Glass by Karen White. Shannon concurs, writing that, “The Sound of Glass was wonderful.”
Dabney read a lot of contemporary romance this year and enjoyed quite a few. Her list includes:
- The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev
- Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl
- Good Time Bad Boy by Sonya Clark
- Ten Good Reasons by Lauren Christopher
- Chase Me by Tessa Bailey
- Bound to the Bachelor by Sarah Mayberry
Are there any other contemporary romances that you’ve loved this year (first published in 2015) that you might consider voting for in this category? And are there any that will be published before the end of the year that you’re eagerly anticipating, and think might be contenders?
We look forward to your suggestions!
LinnieGayl
Suddenly One Summer was okay but my 2015 5 star contemporaries were:
-Nalini Singh: Rock Hard
-Mariana Zapata: Kulti (loved it, one of my fav. sports romances ever)
-LH Cosway/Penny Reid: The Hooker and the Hermit (very funny)
-Marie Force: Fatal Scandal
Although I liked Trade Me, written by Courtney Milan, I think my favourite, this year has been Rock Hard by Nalini Singh. It’s the best contemporary I’ve read this year and I just cannot understand why the most visited romance webpages have ignored this wonderful book. For instance, AAR haven’t reviewed any of her Rock kiss novels.
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I usually love Julie James but her latest just didn’t do it for me. I recently fell down the rabbit hole of Lauren Layne’s 4 book Stiletto series and the first of the new Oxford series. All of them are SO! GOOD!
The best contemporary I read was:
Under the Lights
By
Shannon Stacey.
I loved it!
Heat Exchange is $.99 on AMZ- sold!
And so is If You Only Knew- there’s another buy :-)
My favorites were To Love a Cop by Janice Kay Johnson and Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre.
As a new reviewer with AAR responsible for reviewing LGBTQ+ romances – I am so happy to have the chance to add my suggestions –
Marty and the Pilot – Harper Fox Quirky and adorable m/m romance illustrating how we change as we become adults, and how we sometimes let childish fears still influence us.
For Real- Alexis Hall Winner of Romance of the Year 2015 in Publishers Weekly An emotional, funny and sexy Dom/Sub romance with a twist
Beverley,
Thanks for adding these. I am reading For Real right now and think it’s great!
Dabney
I am a 90% historical reader, and was a little put out when I saw Sherry Thomas was venturing into contemporaries ( was scared I was going to lose her to the new genre). But I gotta tell you I love this book!!! I have read most of the Julie James books and the new one, Suddenly Last Summer was ok. I enjoyed Grace Burrowes’ “”Sweetest Kisses”” series this year.
I was pleasantly surprised too that Sherry Thomas’s foray into contemporaries produced such a strong book. I would definitely read more contemporaries from her if she keeps writing them.