The Best of 2018 – Caroline’s List

2018 was an unusual year for me in that I made a very aggressive effort to read books published this year. I deluded myself into thinking that with this hard work, by the time I got to making this list, I’d actually have read everything good from 2018 and would be able to make a list that was totally comprehensive.

Um, yeah.

It’s been quite the blow to realize that a reading year is a staircase to infinity – no matter how far you get from the bottom, you’re still never getting to the top. Still, I had a range of good romance reads, and I’m happy to share them with you.

Pas de Deux by Lynn Turner. Two sexy dancers can’t resist each other despite cultural (a black European woman and a white American man) and professional (he’s the director) obstacles. Just terrific.

Buy it at: Amazon

A Duke in the Night by Kelly Bowen

Clara Hayward runs an unconventional school, which counts among its students the younger sister of August Faulkner, Duke of Holloway. A heroine trying to hold on and a hero who has to learn to let go.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

I’m seeing more and more neuroatypical protagonists, and Stella, the autistic heroine who hires a male escort to help her improve in intimacy, is a richly-drawn and authentic one. Michael, the escort, is also well-written as a man in an odd profession.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

One and Only by Jenny Holiday

Jane’s bridesmaid duty: keep Cameron, the black-sheep brother of the groom, from ruining the wedding. Does falling for him make that more or less likely?

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

The Sins of Lord Lockwood by Meredith Duran

Liam Lockwood returns from wrongful imprisonment in an penal colony to the wife whose failure to find him feels like a betrayal.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

Emergency Contact by Mary Choi

Penny struggles with personal interactions, so it’s a rare treat to talk to Sam almost exclusively via text. But can that relationship translate into the real world?

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

Love Game by Maggie Wells

Kate, who coaches women’s basketball, is objectively better at her job than Danny, who coaches football, but the university where they both work values football more. How to reconcile attraction, reputation, and salary.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

The Prince by Katharine Ashe

A marvelous, richly drawn historical about a woman posing as a man to study medicine, and the exiled prince turned artist who supports her illusion while drawing on her for artistic inspiration.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

A Jewish moneylender marries a frost king, a noblewoman marries a cursed tsar, and they must save their country and their own lives by using magic to stave off endless winter.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas

In my new favorite Lady Sherlock book, the sexual tension between Charlotte Holmes and Lord Ingram rises around a murder – but could that same tension have motivated someone to kill?

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

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