Top favorite reads

[Mark]

#40208

This post is inspired by the top 5 thread, but I’m starting a separate thread since I’m not limiting myself to 5 titles. Listing top favorite reads is always a challenge, and any list naturally changes with time. With what I track from my reading, I can take two possible approaches.

I have recorded a 5-star humor score for 48 romance books or stories since I started reading in the genre:
alexander, victoria: the marriage lesson*****
alexander, victoria: the pursuit of marriage*****
craig, emma: rosamunda’s revenge*****
crusie, jennifer: bet me*****
davidson, maryjanice: undead and unwed*****
davis, maggie: hustle, sweet love*****
evanovich, janet: back to the bedroom*****
evanovich, janet: smitten*****
evanovich, janet: the rocky road to romance*****
evanovich, janet: the grand finale*****
evanovich, janet: love overboard[ivan takes a wife]*****
garwood, julie: the lion’s lady*****
holbrook, cindy: the missing brides*****
holbrook, cindy: the missing matchmaker*****
holbrook, cindy: the actress & the marquis*****
holbrook, cindy: lord sayer’s ghost*****
holbrook, cindy: a rake’s reform*****
holbrook, cindy: the reluctant bride*****
jensen, emma: what chloe wants*****
jensen, trish: without a clue*****
joy, dara: high energy*****
krentz, jayne ann: summer in eclipse bay*****
lansdowne, judith a.: lord nightingale’s triumph*****
lansdowne, judith a.: mutiny at almack’s*****
laurenston, shelly: the mane event*****
leclaire, day: the nine-dollar daddy*****
lynson, jane: the duke’s downfall*****
macalister, katie: noble intentions*****
martin, michelle: the mad miss mathley*****
michaels, kasey: the tenacious miss tamerlane*****
nelson, judith: the merry chase*****
nelson, judith: patience is a virtue*****
phillips, susan elizabeth: nobody’s baby but mine*****
quick, amanda: ravished*****
quinn, julia: brighter than the sun*****
quinn, julia: to catch an heiress*****
quinn, julia: how to marry a marquis*****
reece, jean: the primrose path*****
sands, lynsay: single white vampire*****
smythe, sheridon: completely yours*****
thompson, vicki lewis: operation gigolo*****
tucker, bonnie: hannah’s hunks*****
anthologies: cupid cats (km*****, cb***, vlt**.5)
anthologies: highland fling (as, cm, jb*****, ls)
anthologies: the night before christmas (va’’’, sh***, dj*****, nm*)
anthologies: a season in the highlands (jd***, jb*****, gd**.5, pb*, pc**.5)
anthologies: these boots were made for stomping (jk**, jl*****, mm**)
anthologies: wish list (lk**.5, lc***, cd**, ls*****)
I could try to pick a few favorites from this list, but the list below includes more than 5 from this list.

[Mark]

#40209

(cont.)
I’ve also kept a reading log since late in 1975, which I can parse & sort in various ways. One result is a list of the number of times I’ve read each book. (Most rereads are complete, but a few are partial.) This produces a form of favorites list, though one naturally biased toward older books I’ve had more years to reread. Cutting off at 12 readings produces a list of 49 titles, with slightly more romances than F&SF even though my log includes almost 20 years more of F&SF reading than romance reading:
27 A Rake’s Reform (r) Holbrook, Cindy
24 Ravished (r) Quick, Amanda
24 Agent of Change (s) Lee, Sharon & Miller, Steve
24 Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (s) Piper, H. Beam
23 Carpe Diem (s) Lee, Sharon & Miller, Steve
22 The Secret (r) Garwood, Julie
22 Black Sheep (r) Heyer, Georgette
22 Conflict of Honors (s) Lee, Sharon & Miller, Steve
21 The Mad Miss Mathley (r) Martin, Michelle
20 The Lion’s Lady (r) Garwood, Julie
19 Masters of Space (s) Smith, Edward E. & Evans, E. E.
18 Lord Sayer’s Ghost (r) Holbrook, Cindy
18 Restoree (s) McCaffrey, Anne
18 Path of the Fury (s) Weber, David
18 “Autumn Glory” (sr) Metzger, Barbara
17 These Old Shades (r) Heyer, Georgette
17 Christmas Wishes (r) Metzger, Barbara
17 Dangerous (r) Quick, Amanda
17 The I Inside (s) Foster, Alan Dean
17 Subspace Explorers (s) Smith, Edward E.
16 The Bride (r) Garwood, Julie
16 Devil’s Cub (r) Heyer, Georgette
16 A Planet for Texans (s) Piper, H. Beam & McGuire, John J.
15 Scandal (r) Quick, Amanda
15 Subspace Encounter (s) Smith, Edward E.

[Mark]

#40210

(cont.)
14 Elyza (r) Darcy, Clare
14 The Corinthian (r) Heyer, Georgette
14 The Actress & the Marquis (r) Holbrook, Cindy
14 Deception (r) Quick, Amanda
14 Mistress (r) Quick, Amanda
14 The Shockwave Rider (s) Brunner, John
14 The Stone That Never Came Down (s) Brunner, John
14 The Apocalypse Troll (s) Weber, David
14 Healer (s) Wilson, F. Paul
13 Honor’s Splendour (r) Garwood, Julie
13 Frederica (r) Heyer, Georgette
13 Venetia (r) Heyer, Georgette
13 The Duke’s Downfall (r) Lynson, Jane
13 The Cruachan and the Killane (s) Cristabel

[Mark]

#40211

(cont.)
12 Laugh With Me, Love With Me (r) Damon, Lee
12 The Unknown Ajax (r) Heyer, Georgette
12 The Tenacious Miss Tamerlane (r) Michaels, Kasey
12 Reality Forbidden (s) High, Philip E.
12 The Cosmic Computer (s) Piper, H. Beam
12 Skylark Duquesne (s) Smith, Edward E.
12 Skylark of Valeron (s) Smith, Edward E.
12 Heirs of Empire (s) Weber, David
12 Mutineers’ Moon (s) Weber, David
12 “The Present” (sr) Holbrook, Cindy
While some of the romances on this list are also on the 5-star list, the overlap is not a majority of either list.

[PegS]

#40282

Mark, thanks for reposting this. I always find your lists useful when I’m in a reading rut.

[Anne Gresley]

#40303

I have my Top 100 on a pinterest board. Hope it’s okay to link to it:

https://uk.pinterest.com/AnneGresley/top-100-romances/

[Author]

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