Meet Reviewer Maggie Boyd
Maggie’s Top 10 Romance List
About Me Favorite Romance Novels
I’ve been an avid reader since 2nd grade when the Billy and Blaze books got their hooks into me. My first official romance novel was Lord of La Pampa by Kay Thorpe. I read it when I was in sixth grade. The exotic, Argentine setting and the conflict between the hero and heroine completely captured me. I have been a captive audience for romance novels ever since. Initially I read mostly historicals and Harlequin Presents titles but somewhere around 1995 a friend sent me Nora Roberts’s Born in Ice. I finished it in one afternoon, rushed to get Born in Fire and Born in Shame and have been reading mostly contemps ever since. The surge of paranormals has been my best friend. I’ve been a Star Trek fan since I was six (Mr. Spock was my first crush. I’d still ditch my husband for him ;-) ) and I’ve been reading the “old” sci-fi writers like Andre Norton since about third grade. Naturally, the next step was reading a scifi/paranormal romance. Alas, that boom did not start until recently. Still, better late than never, right?
When I’m not reading I am usually busy with my kids! I have two teenagers and they are a lot of work. When I am not sticking my nose into some portion of their lives, I manage an autism program and (until very recently) spent many hours on autism advocacy.
Absolute Favorites
Open Season by Linda Howard
Favorite Classic
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Favorite Short Stories
A Family Christmas (Under the Mistletoe) by Mary Balogh
The Dragon and the Virgin Princess (Dragon Lovers) by Jo Beverley
Personal Reading Tastes Favorites by Sub-Genre
What I’m a sucker for in a book: Smart, resourceful characters, magic, sweet love stories, unusual historical periods, WWII stories, beautifully described locations, reserved heroes whom the heroine wins a passionate declaration from, British romance a la Mary Stewart or Emma Cole/Susanne Kearsley, fairy tale romance.
What I don’t particularly care for in a book: Secret baby plots, heroines obsessed with their virginity, large age difference between hero and heroine, heroines whom the author describes as intelligent yet who spend the whole book being TSTL, cheaters.
What drives me absolutely nuts in a book: Characters that don’t act like normal humans, sequels that rewrite history, lack of continuity in a series, historicals with politically correct characters, politics in my romance novels.
Favorite Romance Authors
All-Time Favorite Romance Authors
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Robyn Carr
Janette Oke
Linda Howard
Best Discovery/Buried Treasure Authors
Carla Kelly
Susanna Kearsley
My Biggest Glom
Mary Balogh
Nora Roberts
Contemporary:
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Born in Ice by Nora Roberts
Virgin River by Robyn Carr
Separate Beds by LaVyrle Spencer
Frontier or American Historical:
Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
European Historical:
Silk and Shadows by Mary Jo Putney
Veils of Silk by Mary Jo Putney
Rendezvous by Amanda Quick
Dangerous by Amanda Quick
Traditional Regency:
Lord Carew’s Bride by Mary Balogh
The Famous Heroines by Mary Balogh
Medieval:
The Troubadour’s Romance by Robyn Carr
Fires of Winter by Roberta Gellis
A Love So Fierce by Joanna McGuaran
Alternate Reality:
Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh
Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson
Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Category:
Frisco’s Kid by Suzanne Brockmann
Favorite Characters Favorites by Plot Type
Favorite Hero
Roarke, In Death series by J.D. Robb
Curren, Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
Favorite Heroine
Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Bella Swan, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Most Tortured Hero
Mikahl Peregrine, Silk and Shadows by Mary Jo Putney
Strongest Heroine
Eve Dallas, In Death series by J.D. Robb
Favorite Couple
Eve Dallas and Roarke, In Death series by J.D. Robb
Best Villain
Louis Rosnard, All the Queen’s Men by Linda Howard
Cabin or Road:
The Wedding Journey by Carla Kelly
Suspense:
Open Season by Linda Howard
Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
Nothing to Fear by Karen Rose
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
Funny:
Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson
Favorites by Mood
Comfort Read Authors:
Linda Howard
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Stephanie Meyer
Rachel Gibson
Mary Stewart
Patricia Briggs
Most-Hanky Reads:
Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Cry No More by Linda Howard
Guilty Pleasure:
Separate Beds by LaVyrle Spencer
Least-Favorites
Most Disappointing Books
Dark of Night by Suzanne Brockmann
Worst Books
Bittersweet by LaVyrle Spencer
Splendor by Anna Godbersen
Purple Prose-iest Book
Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
Authors I Have Given Up On
Suzanne Brockmann
Authors Others Love That I Don’t
Connie Brockway
Julia Quinn
Most Annoying Lead Character
Meg, The Defiant Hero, by Suzanne Brockman
Non-Romance Favorites
Favorite Author
Sarah Addison Allen
Stephanie Meyer
Suzanne Collins
Favorite Book
A Good Indian Wife by Anne Cherian
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Favorite Classic Novel
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Favorite Mystery
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner
Every Secret Thing by Emma Cole
Favorite Fantasy
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Favorite Women’s Fiction
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Favorite YA Book
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
Favorite Set of Connected Books
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Noble Dead series by Barb and JC Hendee
The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik
The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
Death In series by M.M. Kaye
Book Most Often Reread
Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Search our reviews database by Title or Author by Titleby Author’s Last Nameby Author’s First Name Do a more in-depth review search via Power Search
Use Freefind to locate other material at the site
]]>
Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved