Best of List Archives : All About Romance

The Best of 2022 – Dabney’s List

By Dabney Grinnan|2023-01-22T10:35:46-05:00January 23rd, 2023|Categories: Best of 2022, Best of List, Dabney AAR|Tags: Best of, Best of 2022|

2022 was not my best year for romance reading. I read only three DIKs published in 2022 and, when I look at my Goodreads list, there isn’t a single five star read from books out last year–almost all the books I adored are from earlier years. That said, the year did offer books I enjoyed enough to happily recommend them to others. This is THAT list.

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

I’ve never read a bad book by Lisa Jewell – she’s received only high marks here at AAR. This one is one of her best – and I say that as someone who didn’t read its prequel, The Family Upstairs. The Family Remains is suspenseful but not at all scary or violent. It’s more an explanation of a stressful time rather than a […]

The Best of 2022 – Caz’s List

By Caz Owens|2023-01-15T08:34:24-05:00January 16th, 2023|Categories: Best of 2022, Best of List, Caz AAR, Romance reading|Tags: Best of, Best of 2022|

I had a more than decent reading year in 2022. Looking back through my reviews I can see I’ve been lucky enough to read a lot of good books, but when I came to put this list together, I realised that while I’ve given a lot of B/B+ grades, I haven’t given all that many DIKs, which are the books I usually base my lists on. At least that has narrowed the field a bit and meant I haven’t had to struggle to whittle the list down, so I suppose… clouds, silver linings and all that!

Pack of Lies by Charlie Adhara

Charlie Adhara’s Big Bad Wolf series is one of my favourites, so I was really excited when she announced a spin-off was in the works. Pack of Lies is the first book in […]

The Best of 2022 – Alexandra’s List

By Alexandra Anderson|2023-01-10T16:15:38-05:00January 11th, 2023|Categories: Alexandra AAR, Best of 2022, Best of List, Best of Romance|Tags: Best of 2022, best of list|

This has been a light reading year for me – words I thought I’d never say! But I suppose something had to give among the balance of new relationships, new responsibilities at work, and other family and life commitments. Happily, the books I made time for were mostly great. Here are some of my favorites:

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

Grab the tissues – Ryan’s latest book is about a divorced couple reuniting after a number of shared losses and grief. Yasmen and Josiah have two children and a successful restaurant, but their marriage is broken. Despite the strong feelings they’ve always had for each other, losing a child and a parental figure all at once caused issues which broke down their relationship rather than binding them together. But a couple years after the fallout, they’re […]

Celebrating AAPI Month 2022 – Great reads by Asian and Pacific Islander heritage authors

By Caroline Russomanno|2022-06-19T21:24:13-04:00May 24th, 2022|Categories: Best of List, Caroline AAR, Romance reading|Tags: AAPI heritage month, AoC, PoC|

May is celebrated as AAPI Heritage Month in the United States. Here, we uplift and celebrate books by authors of Asian descent and Pacific descent which we have loved since we made our last AAPI Heritage Month list in 2021!
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Best of the Best of 2021

By Caz Owens|2022-01-31T09:19:23-05:00January 31st, 2022|Categories: Alexandra AAR, Best of 2021, Best of List, Caroline AAR, Caz AAR, EmAAR, Lisa F, Maggie AAR, Maria Rose|Tags: Best of, Best of 2021|

Every year, after we’ve run all our individual “Best of” lists, we ask each reviewer to choose their ONE favourite book of the year from their list. We’re an eclectic bunch when it comes to our reading habits, so this is an eclectic list – hopefully with something for everyone! […]

The Best of 2021 – Dabney’s List

By Dabney Grinnan|2022-01-25T14:29:26-05:00January 26th, 2022|Categories: Best of 2021, Best of List, Dabney AAR|Tags: Best of, Best of 2021|

According to Goodreads, I read eighty-two books (for the first time – my rereads would have put that number closer to 165) in 2021. I read across genres and glommed series. I DNF’d anything that didn’t grab me after the first fifty pages. I gravitated (overall) to books that were aspirational and viewed humankind with a sympathetic eye. I read enough Karin Slaughter to sink a Kindle.

Here are the books I liked the best. I didn’t love them all but I’m glad I read them all and can recommend them easily.

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The Best of 2021 – Caz’s List

By Caz Owens|2022-01-17T05:35:04-05:00January 17th, 2022|Categories: Best of 2021, Best of List, Caz AAR, Romance reading|Tags: Best of, Best of 2021|

I always struggle to whittle down my annual “Best of” list, although some years there are more clear winners than others. Fortunately for me (because I’m rubbish at choosing), that proved to be the case this year, so making my list this time around wasn’t too difficult; however, as has happened before, there are a few authors with multiple books on the list because it’s just impossible to single out one as being “better” than the others!

Here, in no particular order, are the books I most enjoyed reading in 2021.

Relative Justice and Custody Battles by Gregory Ashe

Surprise!! Gregory Ashe continues to dominate my DIK table and has earned […]

The Best of 2021 – Anne’s List

By Anne Marble|2022-01-10T15:44:11-05:00January 12th, 2022|Categories: Anne Marble, Best of 2021, Best of List|Tags: Best of, Best of 2021|

I read more new books this year than usual, but it wasn’t easy. First, I tried to rekindle my love of domestic suspense books, but I got sick of naive heroines with the time to watch their ‘perfect’ neighbors. Next, I discovered Dark Academia books – and learned how long most of those books can be. Still, I managed to finish some current books in time for this column. I didn’t pick up as many young adult books this year which, I now I realize, was a mistake! So in the last month, I’ve been trying to make up for lost time.

The Gilded Ones (Deathless, #1) by Namina Forna

This is the book I really tore through this year. It’s a YA feminist fantasy novel that gives off dystopia vibes with a strong connection to West Africa. (The […]

The Best of 2021 – Alexandra’s List

By Alexandra Anderson|2022-01-08T14:14:12-05:00January 10th, 2022|Categories: Alexandra AAR, Best of 2021, Best of List|Tags: Best of, Best of 2021|

I’ve watched my preferred reading move away from historical romance and toward fantasy and paranormal in recent years, but there’s nothing like making a “Best Of” list to smack you in the face with how your tastes have changed. While I still very much enjoy historical romance, I’ve found the genre slowly slipping off my auto-buy list as new authors and storylines rise to the fore. Here are some of my top books from 2021: […]

The Best of 2021 – Maria Rose’s List

By Maria Rose|2022-01-05T09:16:16-05:00January 5th, 2022|Categories: Best of 2021, Best of List, Maria Rose|Tags: Best of, Best of 2021|

I didn’t read as much this year as I usually do for a variety of reasons (pandemic included). When I couldn’t concentrate on books, I found myself binge watching a lot of television – reality shows like The Great British Bake Off, or fantasy/sci-fi series like Loki and The Mandalorian. So it won’t come as a complete surprise that some of my favorites romance reads this year have similar themes as my viewing choices. Several of the authors have made my previous lists but there are a few new authors that have caught my eye.

Here are my choices for best reads of the year, in no particular order.

Donut Fall In Love by Jackie Lau

I’ve been a long-time fan of Jackie Lau’s books, and the way she fits Canadiana and delicious tempting dessert […]