AAR’s Top Picks for 2017
Each year we ask our staff to share the romance, the one romance, they read this year they’d pick as their favorite. This year, they’ve picked more contemporary romance than anything else although other sub-genres are represented as well. Where we reviewed a book, we’ve linked to the review and, as usual, clicking on the book cover will take you to Amazon.
What do you think? If there’s a book we missed, please let us know below! Thanks!
Lee
I will choose Something Like Happy by Eva Woods. Even though it was a tearjerker, it was funny and sweet, had great characters and was a real surprise to me. I will definitely be checking out future books by the author.
Buy it at Amazon/iBooks/Barnes and Noble/Kobo
Em:
I pick Deal Maker by Lily Morton. (You can read my DIK review here.)
I already submitted my best of 2017 when Deal Maker was released in late December, and that’s too bad because it was the best thing I read all year. Charming, funny, romantic, steamy, sexy…it’s all those things and more.
Jude is a model and all around great guy with a wicked sense of humor. Unlucky in love, he’s wary (that’s an understatement) of relationships, and he flits from man to man, never committing himself to any of his partners. But he knows what love looks like – he comes from a supporting, close-knit family, and although he longs for the same, he doesn’t believe he’ll ever have it. Asa Jacobs is a famous actor in the midst of a comeback after taking time off to raise a young son. Easy-going, generous and warm, Asa has similarly been unlucky in love. After a failed relationship with a man who took advantage of his wealth and fame, he’s reluctant to trust anyone again. But everything changes when Jude, at the behest of a friend, shows up to interview for a live-in position as Asa’s personal assistant. The two hit it off and agree Jude will spend the summer working for Asa until he can find a permanent replacement…until Asa asks Jude for references and discovers he’s a model. Asa goes from friendly to frosty in the blink of an eye, assuming Jude is just as vapid and shallow as his ex. So Jude sets out to prove him right. Oh reader! Jude is so naughty and mischievous and sly and Asa is so bewildered and angry and confused…and they like each other so much.
Deal Maker hits it stride from the moment these two meet. I laughed out loud, swooned and sighed reading it, and I simply loved everything about it. The principals and secondary characters are terrific, the settings are captivating, and there’s a kid. AND he’s awesome too. I think Jude called him ‘epic’ in one scene, and friends, he is. So is this book.
Buy it at: Amazon
Shannon:
My favorite romance of 2017 has to be Come Sundown by Nora Roberts. (You can read my DIK review here.)
It’s a very dark romantic suspense novel with two plotlines that converge halfway through the novel. The two main characters have incredible chemistry, and the book as a whole has remained with me months after I finished it.
Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Heather Rash:
Reading about losing someone to cancer is always difficult, even more so if you’ve been a caregiver during a loved one’s final days. The death of the heroine’s sister in this book serves as a catalyst for bringing together a family, uniting a man with the daughter he was unaware he had and introducing him to the child’s aunt with whom he shares a powerful attraction. Realistic without being morbid, sweet without being cloying, Dancing in the Rain will make you believe in the love that grows from ashes, strong and beautiful for the hardship it’s endured.
(You can read Kristen’s B+ review here.)
Buy it at Amazon/iBooks/Barnes and Noble/Kobo
Caz:
I’m going for A Lady’s Code of Misconduct. (You can read Lynn’s DIK review here.)
Nobody writes angsty, sensually-charged, historically detailed romances like Meredith Duran, and this story of the corrupt politician who loses his memory and the young woman who takes advantage of his weakened state is utterly compelling. The way the author transforms Crispin Burke from a ruthless, conscienceless politician to a man of honour and sound principles who genuinely wants to make the world a better place is brilliant, but more importantly, it’s believable because elements of the ‘old’ Crispin are there, too, and he’s becoming the man he was always meant to be. The political background is interesting, well-researched and smoothly incorporated so the reader never feels as though they are being given a history lesson, and the plot which gradually emerges is intriguing and suspenseful. Add in the wonderful romance and two compelling but vulnerable and flawed protagonists, and you’ve got an un-put-downable book kept me enthralled from start to finish.
Buy it at Amazon/iBooks/Barnes and Noble/Kobo
Maria Rose:
My pick is Infamous by Jenny Holiday. (You can read my DIK review here.)
I’m generally not a fan of rock star romances which means that Jenny Holiday had a lot of work to do to sway me to love her late 2017 release. The story of an up and coming musician who has to hide his bisexuality for the sake of his band’s reputation and the pediatric doctor he meets on a commuter train tugged at all the right strings for me. From the baring of souls to a stranger moment that starts off their friendship, to the slow burn romance that follows, to the conflict they must overcome to be together, it all worked for me. It’s got a combination of laugh out loud moments, bittersweet scenes, and eventual sexy times that show the depth of Jesse and Hunter’s true feelings for each other. This LGBTQ romance doesn’t shy away from tough personal decisions and delivers a wholly satisfying happy ending.
Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Lisa F:
My pick is Falling For Trouble by Sarah Title. (You can read my DIK review here.)
Imagine Joan Jett falling in love with David Huxley and you’ll have the formula for Sarah Title’s latest big-hearted small town romance, my unquestioned favorite out of this year’s crop of strong contemporary novels. Solidly written and very smart, it’s also liable to get you giggling.
Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Lynn:
I think my pick for 2017 will have to be Wilde in Love by Eloisa James. (You can read my DIK review here.)
This year, for a variety of reasons, I needed a book that would make me smile. Wilde in Love has more to it than just whimsy(though there’s plenty of that) and the end result left me with a big smile on my face.
Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Alex:
The Sea King by C.L. Wilson
This book just hit on everything I like, and has probably gotten the most re-reads of all my favorite 2017 books. It’s an epic fantasy tale about great powers unleashed, involves lots of secrets and a delicious romance, and is set in a well-crafted world with wonderful characters. I’ll be revisiting it for a long time to come.
Buy it at Amazon/iBooks/Barnes and Noble/Kobo
Haley:
Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai (You can read Kristen’s DIK review here.)
It is incredibly difficult to choose a book that really topped 2017. I think Hate to Want You edged out the competition by a hair. Maybe because I read it later in the year so it’s fresh in my memory. Maybe because it hooked me from the first pages. Either way, I really loved the angst that Nico and Livvy brought to the pages. I started reading this, no joke, while eating breakfast in a Cracker Barrel and couldn’t stop. I ended up plowing through the book and the sequel in no time at all. Rai has such an original, sexy voice that can’t be beat and her books ratchet up the emotion. Within a few pages I knew that Rai would be an author I’ll be looking for consistently in the future.
Buy Now: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Caroline:
The Love Experiment by Ainsley Paton. (You can read my DIK review here.)
My top read of the year was a funny, realistic, honest, sexy, and deftly written contemp about two Chicago journalists falling in love while pursuing their careers. I’ve called it a hybrid of The Hating Game and a Julie James novel, and I hope that convinces more people to give this less well-known author and e-only release a try. I just loved it.::::
Buy Now: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
Dabney:
2017 was a tough year for me. Which is why, when I try to pick between Jennie Melamed’s Gather the Daughters and Julie Anne Long’s Dirty Dancing at Devil’s Leap, I’m going with the latter and choosing joy.
(You can read Kristen’s DIK here.)
I liked the first two books in this series but they didn’t wow me. This one did. I loved Max, Avalon, and their crazy, fucked-up love story. This book is funny as hell, wonderfully smutty, and a joy to read. (Thinking about the battle of the bands–it’s not what you think–still makes me smile. And the goats.)
Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes and Noble/iBooks/Kobo
I loved A LADY’S CODE OF MISCONDUCT, but some of the books listed I couldn’t finish. It’s all very subjective, isn’t it?
100%. That’s why we publish individual staff lists too. Not all reviewers work for all readers.
I also wasn’t crazy about it. and since we’re keeping it real at AAR, THE SINS OF LOCKWOOD didn’t really knock my socks off either.
I forgot to include Infamous by Jenny Holiday above too . . . I really enjoyed that last year as well . . . !
Just finished Deal Maker by Lily Morton – and it is wonderful! Thank you so much for mentioning it here, Em. This will absolutely be on my list of 2018 best. :-)
Like others here, I also really liked Datingish by Penny Reid and Julie James’ The Thing About Love. Dal Maclean’s Bitter Legacy would also top my list for 2017, along with anything written by Alexis Hall. (It was a really good reading year last year.)
Off to read some more Lily Morton . . . and a few more titles from all the Best of lists.
Thank you to everyone who contributes here.
nblibgirl – Bitter Legacy by Dal Maclean was published in 2016 so could not appear this year. I agree with how good it was though it was one of my DIK in 2016, see if you agree with my review.
Im off sick for now but hope to be back reviewing the best Queer books soon! – BJ
I agree that Meredith Duran’s book is a keeper. They’ve been mentioned on your other best lists, but I would have included Beauty Like the Night by Joanna Bourne & The Thing About Love by Julie James.
100 percent agree about Joanna Bourne. Beauty Like the Night was an amazing read.
I would add the little discussed Bec McMaster to the list as well. Hexbound by her was one of my favorite books of 2017.
She’s on my short list with people like Bourne, Duran etc.
I’m a big fan of Bec McMaster, too – I’ve reviewed a couple of her books here (and so has Em) and I’m really looking forward to her next Blue Blood Conspiracy book.
Love Bec too!
I keep hearing about Bec McMaster and now I want to try one of her books!
guilty confession…I owe my editor a review of the first Blue Blood Conspiracy book and it’s been very
s l o w l y
percolating on my desktop. I fell HARD for Bec McMaster in 2017 and binged all her books. I prefer the steampunk vs. the Dark Arts series – but they’re all VERY good. I’ve read them all so – just my OCD 2cents worth – start with the London Steampunk series (they get better as they go) and then pick up the London Steampunk: The Blue Blood Conspiracy – which is a jump off from the first series.
Get reading BLACKJACK!
Thanks, Em! I appreciate the recommendations!!
I also recommend starting with “Kiss Of Steel” which is the first in the London Steampunk series. It’s one of my absolute favorites and the book that got me hooked on McMaster.
Her world building is IMHO, first class and she writes a range of different heroines. Honoria In “Kiss of Steel” is a starchy bliestocking type and the hero is a Vampire/Derek Craven type guy with a wry sense of humor. It’s my personal catnip.
One of the things I enjoy about her writing is the heroine is not a Mary Sue, she makes mistakes and not everyone automatically loves her. Some conflicts set up in the first book carry on into the next one for good reason. We see Honoria’s point of view for things and other people’s in the next book. Even her good intentions aren’t always right.
I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I also want to say that McMaster writes different heroines (unlike someone like Krentz/Quick). Honoria is a scientist and not physically very strong, whereas subsequent heroines are more “kickass” fighters etc. so between her various books there is something for everyone I feel.
Sounds great, as does the whole series! Thanks for the synopsis!
I reviewed Kiss of Steel – it’s a terrific read. Somehow, I read the final book in the series (Of Silk and Steam) before the others – while it got a fairly low rating here when it came out, I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to finding time to read the rest of the series.
Em: I buy almost every queer romance you review – at least the ones you describe glowingly. ;)
Robin I’m so happy to hear that!!!!! Do you like HR or CR best?
Sometimes I just want to run around forcing people to read all the books I love!
I’m listening to the audio of Joanna Chambers Enlightenment series right now. I love the series but the audio…man, it’s so good. Have you read those? Murdo is ♥️♥️♥️. And the narrator is outstanding.
I am so tickled to see Deal Maker on the list – not just because it’s a fabulous and funny book, but because it’s great to see an MM book on a list like this. ❤️
I picked Wolfsong by TJ Kline last year. We love great queer fiction at AAR. I wish I could convince more readers to buy these books!
KLUNE. Have you read it Courtney? My review is here: https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/wolfsong-by-t-j-klune/
They all sound like very interesting books. Thank you for sharing! I hope I’ll read them some time in the future. I’ve already read Meredith Duran’s and Alisha Rai’s. The first one I just liked it but Rai’s HATE TO WANT YOU was one of my favourite books this year. It was a five-star book for me and left me with one of those delicious ‘book hangovers’for several days.
On a different note, I have this doubt – Does this list mean that we will not have the annual reader poll anymore? Or one thing has nothing to do with the other?
We are thinking about that. We want to do our every five year Top 100 Romances poll this year and just aren’t sure we have the manpower to do both. (Reminder: all the work on this site is volunteer. :) )
O, I understand perfectly. If you have to choose, I think the Top 100 is more important.
I was thinking some sort of kickstarter campaign so you could hire someone to do the work. I’d donate a few bucks.
I will write more about this in a blog piece. As lovely as the idea of a one-off campaign is, there’s no way we could do it without labor on our part. This is a complex site and, in order to post in a way that works, you have to know how the site functions.
But more than that, a single campaign isn’t going to save AAR. And, yes, we are concerned about our viability. Readers of AAR know that all of us work for free–which I think is problematic given the time many of us spend. But beyond that, the site is expensive to run. We, like so many other media sites, are struggling to offer quality content for free.
As I said, I am going to put together a blog post for our readers that explains this in greater detail.
Thanks.
Interesting list with no overlap of books! Duran’s A Lady’s Code of Misconduct as well as Ainslie Paton’s The Love Experiment were among my favorites of the year too.
Penny Reid’s Dating-ish though was my personal favorite romance of 2017.
That’s a great choice too! I love how each book of Penny’s is so different. I’m looking forward to Marriage of Inconvenience!
Penny Reid’s books are all very unique, and I love that about them. I feel as if I’ve been waiting for Kat & Dan’s story for half my life now :) Marriage of Inconvenience is my most anticipated book of the year.
It’s funny–I like Reid but her books have a sameness about them for me. Maybe the problem is I glommed them. I’ll have to try again.