Reviving the AAR Mini-Polls: Your Top 10 Favorite Frontier/Western Romances
Back last fall when we were feeling inundated with the Top 100 Poll, several readers asked if we would consider reviving the AAR Mini-Polls, or “Top Ten Polls.” Our rather quick response was, “we’ll think about it, but need to get through the Top 100 Poll and then deal with the Annual Poll in January.” Since two of us (LinnieGayl and Cindy) also update the Special Title Lists with Rike, it seemed rather daunting. But a number of months have gone by and we’ve decided to give reviving the mini-polls a try.
We’ve decided to start this month with updating the mini-poll for your top 10 favorite frontier or western romances. Why did we decide to pick this poll as our first to update? Well, it was last updated in October of 2007, nearly seven years ago. That’s seven long years when there have surely been some outstanding frontier or western romances published. Our write-up of the results of that poll can be found here. But more importantly, when the results of the Top 100 poll were released this past fall, a number of readers decried the lack of frontier and western romances in the top 100 (and actually in the top 200). So this is your chance; what are your favorite frontier and western romances of all time?
In late 2007 Linda Howard’s 1997 publication The Touch of Fire was your top pick. Will it stand the test of time, or will it be supplanted by a newer release?
We are hosting the ballot off-site at surveymonkey; the link for the poll can be found here. This is a weighted poll. You will be asked to list your favorite frontier/western romances in order beginning with your top favorite (or #1) romance and ending with your #10 romance. The title you list in first place will receive 10 points, the title in second place 9 points, and so on down to the 10th place title receiving 1 point.
Only have one favorite frontier/western romance? That’s not a problem; just vote for it. We have no minimum number of titles set for this poll.
The poll opened this morning and will stay open until April 25th at midnight. We’ll post the results of this poll here in a few weeks after the poll closes. And if we get a good response, look for another mini-poll to open in May.
Thanks, and happy voting!
Cindy, LeeB, and LinnieGayl
Helpful info. Fortunate me I discovered your site by accident, and I am surprised why this twist of fate didn’t happened in advance! I bookmarked it.
nice, who is this?
It just occurred to me. These books can be contemporaries, right? I just remembered that there are a couple of contemporary romances set on ranches, with cowboys, etc. that I’ve enjoyed.
It does mention Frontier but I don’t know if that means no contemporary ones or not. I would just vote and find out. It can’t hurt.
Was happy to see someone else thought Ellen O’Connell’s “”Eyes of Silver Eyes of Gold”” was worthy of the top ten. I LOVED that book. Her other Western books are excellent as well. “” Touch of Fire”” was wonderful–it was written back with Linda Howard was writing excellent books, not like the tripe she has been turning out lately. Anita Mills book “”Bittersweet”” should made the western list as not only does it tell about the time the west was being settled after the Civil War, it is a great romance.
Agree with Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold. Ellen O’Connell has written several awesome books besides this one. Love them all: Dancing on Coals, Sing My Name, Beautiful Bad Man, Into the Light. Really in-depth characters!
Being a little OC about lists, I really love your polls.
I’ve already submited my ballot. Western is a very interesting subgenre, and I think it adds open spaces, freedom and adventure so different from the closed Regency London.
In the movies, it’s a very male genre -few female characters and nearly all of them, real clichés. So it’s a challange for romance writers to create good and realistic female characters in that environment. So thank you very much for this idea!
I’m surprised at what’s not on the the list that was done, but I’m not a big fan of westerns or frontier romances, so I probably didn’t notice. I totally agree with The Promise of Jenny Jones by Maggie Osborne, but that didn’t even make the top ten.
I think I might add:
Crooked Hearts by Patricia Gaffney
Winter Fire by Elizabeth Lowell
A Wild Yearning by Penelope Williamson
The Gamble by LaVyrle Spencer
and of “”the new kids on the block”” I’d offer:
Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O’Connell
I guess I should submit a ballot.
Definitely sounds like you should submit a ballot. I so rarely read westerns/frontier romances that I can’t even look at the prior top ten and have a clue what’s missing.
I just voted by ranking the top Western/frontier romances from my recent AAR top 100 list, as I haven’t read any better Western/frontier books since then. I think we should have the top 10 in major subcategories revisited. We probably need a top 20 for the historical romance as that’s the most prevalent in the genre.
Woohoo! Carla Kelly’s published several Westerns since then!
That’s great! I really also love the “”Favorite Books by Favorite Authors”” and would love to see that site updated too.
Thanks. We won’t think about tackling the Faves pages until we’re through with the top 10 mini-polls (never sure what to call them).
Thanks, and glad that the “”Faves”” page is on the radar too!
I am SO on board with this one. I LOVE this genre. Can I vote multiple times? *chuckle*
No, no, and no :) But definitely vote once.