Your Special Title Lists Team Hasn’t Abandoned You!
We’re happy to announce that this morning we’re opening four Special Title Lists for new submissions. That’s right, your Special Title Lists’ team hasn’t abandoned you. The lists that will be open for the next two weeks are: (1) Beta Heroes; (2) Marms, Teachers, and Governesses; (3) Favorite Funnies; and (4) Villains.
Beta Heroes: When we began updating the Special Title Lists in late 2012, we asked AAR readers to pick their favorite lists; Beta Heroes was near the top. The romances in this list feature kinder, gentler heroes, the kind of men who will change your flat tire, open doors for you, help your kid with his homework, and bring you soup when you are sick. They are the antithesis of the testosterone-filled chest beaters found in many earlier romances.
Marms, Teachers, and Governesses: Last updated in March of 2010, the romances in this list feature heroines who are either teachers, nannies, or governesses. While the title of the list may evoke notions of historical romances, many of the romances currently on the list feature contemporary school teachers, such as Grace Emerson in Kristin Higgins’ Too Good to be True and Fiona MacPherson in Janice Kay Johnson’s Snowbound.
Favorite Funnies: This was another of AAR readers’ most requested lists when we began updating the Special Title Lists in late 2012. Last updated in September of 2012, it’s time to revisit those romances that make you laugh.
Villains: Last updated in January of 2010, this list features romances with dastardly and evil villains and villainesses you’ll remember forever. While many romances feature a villain of some kind, in this list we’re interested in those special, memorable villains. A number of the villains on the list — featured in a series of romances – have ultimately been turned into heroes in their own stories.
We look forward to seeing your submissions for these lists starting today Monday May 18 and going for the next two weeks ending Sunday May 31 at midnight. As a reminder, any additions to the list have to be: (1) the best of the best, (2) stand the test of time, and (3) actually fit the list for which they were submitted. To read the selection criteria and vote, go here.
Now how about the submissions, you may ask, that you entered back in March for the For the Love of God and the Scots & Irish Romances lists? Well, we had a severe case of Real Life Intervening (nothing serious, but very time-consuming) and have not managed yet to revise both lists. The newly revised version of For the Love of God is being published today, but for the Scots & Irish Romances we have to ask for your patience for a bit longer. We apologize for the delay, but as we are all volunteers here, when our day-job intervenes, there is only so much we can do.
But we are pleased to announce that 27 new titles have been added to the For the Love of God list – although “new” is to be understood loosely here, as some of them, like Carla Kelly’s Miss Whittier Makes a List and Carola Dunn’s Miss Jacobson’s Journey are beloved classics. On the other hand, some recent books like Hadrian by Grace Burrowes, A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long and Forbidden by Charlotte Stein, all of which received very favorable grades at AAR, were submitted as well. So while the mainstream romance which deals with religion remains a niche product, there are strong new titles in this category.
We hope you enjoy the new entries and find interesting titles to read, and we are looking forward to your new submissions.
– LinnieGayl Kimmel, Rike Horstmann and Cindy Smith
This list has high scores extracted from my humor ratings (-1 to +5 stars) in my list of romance books I own. I haven’t been able to find time to get it into a form suitable for your ballot, so I’m just posting it here so you can decide if you want to look at it. I tried to delete titles already on your list, but I probably missed some. aiken, g. a.: a tale of two dragons****.5 aiken, g. a.: how to drive a dragon crazy**** aiken, g. a.: last dragon standing****.5 alexander, victoria: believe**** alexander, victoria: his mistress by christmas**** alexander, victoria: the emperor’s new clothes**** alexander, victoria: the perfect mistress**** alexander, victoria: the perfect wife****.5 alexander, victoria: the wedding bargain**** alexander, victoria: what a lady wants**** alexander, victoria: when we meet again****.5 allen, louise: the notorious mr. hurst**** andersen, susan: baby, i’m yours**** anston, linell: lady elizabeth**** anthologies: a holiday of love (jm**, jd****, al**, jb****) anthologies: a regency christmas feast (el*, sh[0, pr*, bm****, mb*) anthologies: a season in the highlands (jd***, jb*****, gd**.5, pb*, pc**.5) anthologies: autumn loves** (bm****, pv, ll, js) anthologies: belong to the night (sl****, ce**, sq[0) anthologies: cravings (lkh**, mjd****, ew**, ry*) anthologies: dates from hell (kh*, ls****, ka**.5, lh*) anthologies: demon’s delight (mjd****, cs***, eh**.5, vt***) anthologies: fantasy (sj**.5, eh**.5, em****, cf**) anthologies: flowers for mama (mg**, ch****, mk**.5) anthologies: harvest moon (ml****.5, ms***, ch**) anthologies: hexed (ia****, yg**, aj**.5, js**) anthologies: highland fling (as, cm, jb*****, ls) anthologies: inked (kc****, mml**, yg**, ew**.5) anthologies: irresistible forces (lmb****, mjp**, ca**, ds**, jb[0, jr[0) anthologies: it happened one season (sl****, mb**.5, jd’a**.5, ch***) anthologies: kick ass (ms**, mjd****, ak*, jf**.5) anthologies: ladies prefer rogues (jc****, sh***, vw*, tj**.5) anthologies: lady whistledown strikes back (jq****, mr***, se***, kh***) anthologies: love so tender (sb****, jl***, jr*) anthologies: nicely naughty (th**, la**.5, mjd****) anthologies: surf’s up (jd**, mjd***, nb****) anthologies: the grand hotel (ck***, ef[0, ab[0, bm****, al**) anthologies: the night before christmas (va”’, sh***, dj*****, nm*) anthologies: valentine rogues (ch****, dr**, ds[0) anthologies: weddings from hell (ms[0, jf****, tg**.5, ks**.5) anthologies: when he was bad (sl****, ce**) anthologies: when you wish… (jf**.5, pc**.5, s&tc****, ee**.5, pp**.5, sr***) anthologies: wish list (lk**.5, lc***, cd**, ls*****) anthologies: wolfsbane and mistletoe (ch**.5, da***, sg[0, dc**, kr*, ag**, cv***, ds[0, ka**, jk****, pb**.5, np**, kc**.5, rt[0, tk**) avery, anne: the bride’s revenge**** barnett, jill: just a kiss away**** beck, kathleen: virtue’s prize**** bell, dana marie: little red**** bell, dana marie: shadow of the wolf**** bell, dana marie: very much alive**** blair, annette: sex and the psychic witch**** blair, annette: the kitchen witch**** blayne, sara: theodora**** block, nancy: once upon a pirate**** bond, stephanie: too hot to sleep**** bond, stephanie: wife is a 4-letter word**** boswell, barbara: rule breaker**** bradley, celeste: the impostor**** bradley, celeste: the pretender**** brockway, connie and james, eloisa and quinn, julia: the lady most likely. . .**** brockway, connie: my dearest enemy****.5 brockway, connie: the songbird’s seduction**** buck, gayle: a chance encounter**** cajio, linda: all is fair…**** carlisle, sarah: daphne**** carmichael, jeanne: a moment of madness**** carpenter, s. l.: betty and the beast**** carroll, susan: brighton road**** castle, jayne: orchid**** chater, elizabeth: a season for the heart**** christenberry, judith/judy: a cowboy at heart**** christenberry, judith/judy: my daddy the duke**** christenberry, judith/judy: never let you go**** christenberry, judith/judy: wanted: christmas mommy**** clare, cathleen: lord montjoy’s country inn**** clark, gail: bachelor’s fare**** clark, gail: the right honourable viscount**** claybourne, casey: a thing of beauty**** collier, leona: change of heart**** coughlin, patricia: merely married**** crusie, jennifer: trust me on this**** dahl, victoria: talk me down**** dalton, emily: a heavenly houseguest**** dalton, emily: beauty and the beastie**** damon, lee: again the magic**** damon, lee: laugh with me, love with me**** darcy, clare: elyza**** darcy, clare: eugenia**** darcy, clare: lady pamela**** darcy, clare: regina**** darcy, clare: victoire**** davidson, maryjanice: by any other name**** davidson, maryjanice: dead and loving it (****, ***, ***, ***) davidson, maryjanice: derik’s bane****.5 davidson, maryjanice: undead and underwater (****,****,***) davidson, maryjanice: undead and unreturnable**** davis, suzannah: heatcrazed!**** desjardien, teresa: borrowed kisses**** devon, marian: escapade**** devon, marian: miss kendal sets her cap**** dolan, charlotte louise: three lords for lady anne**** donovan, susan: he loves lucy**** donovan, susan: public displays of affection**** donovan, susan: the kept woman**** doyle, stephanie: who wants to marry a heartthrob?**** dubbin, shirin: chaos tryst**** dunn, carola: a lord for miss larkin**** edghill, rosemary: two of a kind**** enoch, suzanne: a beginner’s guide to rakes**** enoch, suzanne: meet me at midnight**** enoch, suzanne:… Read more »
Agree! I was about to add Janice Kay Johnson’s “”One Frosty Night”” list which I really liked when I noticed it was only heroines :-(
Some other really good hero tutor romances include “”Deception”” by Amanda Quick and “”A Woman Scorned”” by Liz Carlyle. In both cases the hero use a position as a tutor as a cover but they also do the job and its a really nice aspect to the story.
What about books where it’s the hero who is a teacher/tutor/etc.? They’re rarer, I know, but they do exist.
That’s a good point. This category is strictly for heroines considering the following description:
“”Heroines in these romances are either teachers, nannies, or governesses.””
There is a separate list that is for heroes with the following description:
“”Nerds, Geeks, & Absent-Minded Professors: Heroes in these books may sport pocket protectors, but they can be incredibly sexy as well. Might there be a Don Juan lurking in Steve Jobs’ clothing?””
But, that’s kind of not the same thing, in my view. The term “”absent-minded professor”” doesn’t necessarily mean the man is an actual professor, but has the attributes of one, e.g., maybe he’s a scientist. So, it might be a good idea to expand this category. I don’t know. Furthermore, what about a modern day hero — not that I can recall one — who is a nanny?
In any event, off the top of my head, I can think of a few heroes who were teachers or professors and I’m betting there are more, especially since there are now so many teacher/student romances in the new adult sub-genre:
The Wallflower by Jan Freed (Hero is a high school teacher.)
Ain’t She Sweet by Susan Eliz. Phillips (Hero was a high school teacher.)
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion ( I believe the hero is a professor.)
I’ve got one of my own, too: Of Paupers and Peers, in which the hero is a tutor.
And another Regency, June Drummond’s The Imposter, also has a tutor hero.
I haven’t read it (yet), but Julie Klassen also has a Regency inspirational called The Dancing Master.
I agree that, while there may be some overlap, Nerds, Geeks, & Absent-Minded Professors aren’t necessarily the same thing.
Oh, really good points. And I completely agree that “”teachers”” aren’t the same thing at all as “”Nerds, Geeks, & Absent-Minded Professors.””
Okay, clearly this list is specifically about “”heroines.”” Do you think there’s enough of a demand to have a separate list for male teachers, or that the list should be modified….not now, we’re already underway, but perhaps bring it back in a few months and have a section just for heroes?
I think the list — I’m guessing you mean the marms, teachers, and governesses list — should be modified with a section for male teachers/tutors/professors.
I just submitted a few suggestions off the top of my head. Maybe these will jiggle other people’s memories.
Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok for Marms, Teachers, and Governesses since heroine becomes a ballroom dance teacher.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion for Favorite Funnies since the hero, to say the least, has a unique approach/outlook on life due to his “”disability.””
Addition by Toni Jordan for Favorites Funnies (or Teachers or Beta Heroes!) The book could fit into any of those categories. Heroine is kind of the counterpart to the guy from The Rosie Project. She is a teacher, out of work on disability, suffering from an obsessive compulsive disorder that has taken over her life. She’s snarky, funny, and not always likeable. The hero of the book is no superhero. He’s a kind man who is very understanding of her problems.
Tangled by Emma Chase for Favorite Funnies. The hero, Drew, is an unabashed alpha, womanizer, but you can’t help liking him because his observations are funny and unapologetic.
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell for Beta Heroes. At the other end of the spectrum, Lincoln, the hero of this book is like a hermit who mostly lives in his head. He falls in love from afar — via the heroine’s emails — and tries to change his life in order to be good enough for the woman he’s fallen for.
And we already have some submissions from a few of our “”regulars.”” Thanks!
For the Marms, Teachers, & Governesses list, “”Softly Falling”” by Carla Kelly.