Funniest Romance & Biggest Tearjerker Romance of 2015 So Far Are…
Next up in our series of posts leading up to the Annual Poll are romances in two categories that touch readers’ emotions: romances that make you laugh – Funniest Romance – and romances that make you cry – Biggest Tearjerker.
Last year’s winner in the Funniest Romance category was Julie James’ It Happened One Wedding, which was also the winner in the Best Romance category. Sherry Thomas’ My Beautiful Enemy won for Biggest Tearjerker. This wasn’t the first win in these categories for either of these authors. Ms. Thomas also won for her 2012 Ravishing the Heiress and for her 2009 Not Quite a Husband. Ms. James’ A Lot Like Love tied with Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Call Me Irresistible for Funniest Romance in 2011.
The winners in these two emotion-tugging categories have spanned romance genres and have included many widely read romance authors. Recent winners include:
Biggest Tearjerker
- 2013 Snow-Kissed by Laura Florand
- 2012 Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas
- 2011 (tie) The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne and When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James
- 2010 Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas
- 2009 Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas
Favorite Funny
- 2013 Tangled by Emma Chase
- 2012 A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare
- 2011 (tie) A Lot Like Love by Julie James and Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
- 2010 Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
- 2009 What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
But what about romances published in 2015? Are there any leading contenders for books that have made readers laugh or cry? When I look back on my reading of 2015 I’m a bit stumped as to how to vote in these two categories. I can readily think of two books that made me laugh out loud inappropriately while listening to the audio version in public. But neither of the two – Alan Bradley’s latest Flavia de Luce mystery As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust and Gail Carriger’s steampunk Prudence – fits as a romance. I’ll admit that I did shed quite a few tears while reading Lauren Willig’s final Pink Carnation entry The Lure of the Moonflower. But while a few near tears were generated for the emotions evoked when I realized just how lonely and isolated Jane has been, most of the actual tears were sadness that the series has now ended.
I asked my colleagues at AAR for their suggestions.
Maggie had a number of recommendations for Funniest Romance. She wrote, “For funniest A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Witemeyer received a B+ in a midweek mini and it is funny in a quiet way. A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Hunter is a regency farce. Win me Over by Nicole Michaels is probably my favorite funny in terms of true comedic nature.”
LeeB had the following recommendations for the Funniest Romance category: Copygirl by Anna Mitchael and Michelle Sassa, Shopaholic to the Rescue by Sophie Kinsella, and Maternity Leave by Julie Halpern. Lee also had one recommendation for Biggest Tearjerker – Before I Go by Colleen Oakley.
Caz commented that, “Tearjerkers – for me are almost all by Grace Burrowes! Actually though, I got teary reading Lorraine Heath’s The Duke and the Lady in Red ….Bits of Sherry Thomas’ The Immortal Heights (YA) were pretty emotional, too.” Caz added that, “I can – unfortunately – think of several books that were unintentionally hilarious!”
Sara wrote, “For Funniest: Again, My Lord by Katharine Ashe; Truth or Beard by Penny Reid. I second Caz’s choice for Tearjerker, The Duke and the Lady in Red. That’s the first book in a very long time that literally made me cry. All the others just are sad.
Heather commented, “Rock Hard by Nalini Singh made me giggle quite a bit…The T-Rex! I gave it to my mom and she loved it too. It’s probably the funniest book I’ve read this year.”
Dabney added, “Maggie Fenton’s writing cracks me up and I laughed lots while reading Virtuous Scoundrel. My love for Kristan Higgins’ If You Only Knew comes from how funny the book is and from how hard it made me cry. Tessa Bailey’s Chase Me is flat out hilarious in parts–I read it in a doctor’s office and annoyed my fellow patients by repeatedly giggling madly. The Legend of Lyon Redmond by Julie Anne Long brought me, several times, to tears. (And no, not just because I hate saying good-bye to Pennyroyal Green.)”
One thing that’s interesting to me as I look over the ballots you submit, is how many readers vote in just one of these two categories. Does this indicate a preference for either tearjerkers or funnies amongst most readers? I’m not sure. It may be that many readers just haven’t encountered a great example for each category in a given year. And that’s where we’re hoping you can help.
If we began voting today, what books would you consider for these two categories? We still have plenty of time to read them, so are hoping you’ll come up with some great ideas.
Thanks!
LinnieGayl
my vote for favorite tear-jerker is Carla Kelly’s Doing No Harm
The really tragic thing about it is that terrible things that happened to some of the characters are true historical events, not something made up by the author.
Kelly is maybe one of a small handful of authors who write real historical romance, and not fantasyland stories
I keep thinking of Steel Magnolias when Truvy states, “”Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.”” If an author can make me laugh and tear up I can almost guarantee that book will be memorable to me. After You by Jojo Moyes did a great job of this.
I’m excited to see that I have so many of your suggestions in my TBR including Picked, Sustained, Land of the Beautiful Dead. And I just got Truth or Beard!
Oops, I meant Pucked.
My reading selection bias is definitely for humor. Below are all the 2015 releases in my reading log with a humor score high enough to recommend for humor.
Title; Genre+Author; Sub-genre; Score; Series?
The Hooker and the Hermit; (r) Cosway, L. H. & Reid, Penny; c; 4;
The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress; (r) Alexander, Victoria; h:V; 3.5; s
The Deal; (r) Kennedy, Elle; c/na; 3.5; s
The Unleashing; (r) Laurenston, Shelly; pc; 3.5; s
Elements of Chemistry; (r) Reid, Penny; c/na; 3.5;
Feel the Burn; (r) Aiken, G. A.; far; 3; s
Figure of Speech; (r) Bell, Dana Marie; pc; 3; s
Never More; (r) Bell, Dana Marie; pc; 3; s
Shadows Strike; (r) Duvall, Dianne; pc; 3; s
Protector for Hire; (r) Fenske, Tawna; c; 3; s
About That Fling; (r) Fenske, Tawna; c; 3;
This Gun for Hire; (r) Goodman, Jo; h:A; 3;
The Spring Bride; (r) Gracie, Anne; rh; 3; s
Suddenly One Summer; (r) James, Julie; c; 3; s
Trust No One; (r) Krentz, Jayne Ann; c; 3;
It Started with a Scandal; (r) Long, Julie Anne; rh; 3; s
The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy; (r) Quinn, Julia; rh; 3; s
Truth or Beard; (r) Reid, Penny; c; 3; s
The Immortal Who Loved Me; (r) Sands, Lynsay; pc; 3; s
About a Vampire; (r) Sands, Lynsay; pc; 3; s
Still the One; (r) Shalvis, Jill; c; 3; s
All I Want; (r) Shalvis, Jill; c; 3; s
A Taste of Heaven; (r) Watson, Penny; c; 3;
My favorite funny of the year is Sustained by emma Chase. Close behind is Finding Audrey, a YA by Sophie Kinsella and Suddenly One Summer by Julie James. The biggest tearjerker I read this year was fiction, All the Light You Cannot See.
My nominations for tearjerker _Land of the Beautiful Dead_by R. Lee Smith and _After You_ by Jojo Moynes.
To LinnieGayl’s question about why readers vote in just one of the two categories, I know for myself that I do tend to gravitate toward tearjerkers and so I usually have numerous books to choose from in this category. I just don’t read funny romances nearly as much. I think I must be pickier about humor, and I also know that as a reader I want to get immersed in an emotional and angsty love story. However, for best humorous writer, Loretta Chase immediately comes to mind, and she does have a new release due out at the end of this month (fingers crossed).
Thanks for answering that question. I suspect that many readers feel the same way. For myself, I tend to gravitate toward lighter romances. While I’ve definitely read some true tear jerkers over the years, I generally lean towards lighter romances.
I’m like Blackjack in that I tend to gravitate towards the weightier stories. Also, comedy in historicals is difficult to pull off, and very few authors can do it without destroying the historical setting. Loretta Chase is certainly one of the very few who does it right.
I would have to second Sara’s choice of Penny Reid’s _Truth or Beard_ as the funniest book I’ve read this year. For a tearjerker, I really liked Anne Calhoun’s _The List_, though Julie Anne Long’s _The Legend of Lyon Redmond_ has its moments too.
What kind of author would I be if I didn’t mention my book, When Clouds Touch. Beautiful romance between Paisley, a Japanese American girl with Albinism and other medical issues and Malachi a fun guy her parents love to hate.
Reviews (USA Today is one) that amazed me and a huge tear jerker with some laugh out loud moments. http://whencloudstouch.blogspot.com
Try it, guarantee you’ll love it.
I just bawled my eyes out listening to “”Eternally Yours – Roxton Letters Vol 1.”” by Lucinda Brant. It’s a companion piece to her first three Roxton Saga books and isn’t a full length novel, being a collection of letters and diary entries by various characters. There are two letters in particular which are heartbreakingly beautiful *sniff*.
A Noble Masquerade is the only book mentioned that I’ve actually read! However, I can’t remember many funny OR tearjerker romances from 2015.
Barbara Hannay’s The Secret Years is the closest thing to a tearjerker I’ve read this year, but it is probably more women’s fiction than romance. However, the ending made me emotional (so much that I bought the book for two people for Christmas!). I’ve cried for about four books in my whole life, but this was one of them…
What’s it about?
For funniest I liked Act Like It by Lucy Parker and Pucked by Helena Hunting.