This has been an excellent reading year for me. I read more books this year (102) than in any year since 1996 – the last year before I started working full time. (Amazing how having a job cuts down on your reading time.) My continued unemployment probably explains why I read so many books this year, but it’s not the only reason. I found a lot more books I wanted to read this year! 28 of the books I read were from 2008, which is more than I’ve bought in any year, in close to a decade. Finally, the romance publishers were putting out serious, “angsty” historicals again, in between all the paranormals and erotica. Nice for me, and probably for a lot of other romance readers as well.
I didn’t have a keeper this year (Grade of 5), but that probably has more to do with my pickiness than anything else. But I had 8 books that I graded at 4.5, which means they were really enjoyable, the best books of the year. Three of those books were from 2008.
Simply Magic by Mary Balogh (2007)
A Heritage of Shadows by Madeline Brent (1983)
The Discarded Duke by Nancy Butler (2002)
His Captive Lady by Anne Gracie (2008)
A Kiss To Dream On by Neesa Hart (1999)
To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt (2008)
Beyond Breathless by Kathleen O’Reilly (2007)
The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn (2008)
There were a lot of other books that got very good grades (4). A lot of grading depends on my emotional reaction to a book, and a lot of these books might have gotten a higher grade on another day. They were all good reads. I won’t link to all of them but it’s a quick overview. (I included a couple of books that I read in early January, but were 2008 books.)
Barefoot in the Grass by Judith Arnold (1996)
Simply Love by Mary Balogh (2006)
Simply Perfect by Mary Balogh (2008)
Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh (2005)
A Most Unsuitable Man by Jo Beverley (2005)
The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne (2008)
Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase (2008)
Kiss The Cook by Jacquie D’Alessandro (2000)
After the Kiss by Suzanne Enoch (2008)
The Monk Upstairs by Tim Farrington (2007)
Nobody Does It Better by Jan Freed (1997)
Shores of Desire by Tracy Grant (1997)
His Secret Past by Ellen Hartman (2008)
The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries (1998)
Proving Herself by Yvonne Jocks (2001)
Summer Campaign by Carla Kelly (1989)
Like No Other Lover by Julie Ann Long (2008)
Mostly Married by Lisa Manual (2004)
Because of You by Cathy Maxwell (1999)
A Man to Rely On by Cindi Myers (2008)
Beguiled by Susan Spencer Paul (1998)
Ain’t She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (2004)
Lady of the Knight by Tori Phillips (1999)
White Picket Fences by Tara Tyler Quinn (2000)
Lean On Me by Jill Shalvis (1998)
Rain Shadow by Cheryl St. John (1994)
Cold as Ice by Anne Stuart (2006)
Long Night Moon by Theresa Weir (1995)
Mostly historicals, with a few series books and a couple of contemporaries.
Happily, there were few bad books this year – although that’s in large part because I had little patience for them. Any book that wasn’t working for me by page 50 got a quick skim, and if it didn’t look promising, into the trade pile it went. (Or into the paperbackswap queue.) So most of the disappointing books never ended up in my database. But there were a couple of exceptions:
My Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth
The Wicked Ways of a Duke by Laura Lee Guhrke
The surprising thing about these two books is that both of them were very popular. I think both made several “best of the year” lists. I definitely didn’t see the attraction.
Now, I’m looking forward to 2009. The new Carla Kelly is on its way to me – I’m hoping it will be my first great read of the New Year!
Karen Wheless
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