Top 10 Romance Fiction: 2009.
Seaman, Donna (author).
FEATURE.
First published September 15, 2009 (Booklist).
Tried-and-true romance writers at their best, along with exciting newcomers, write of obstacles to love and love’s triumph in tales of the paranormal, the Old West, and today’s cutthroat corporate world.
Always Look Twice. By Geralyn Dawson. 2008. Signet Eclipse, paper, $6.99 (9780451224880).
Mark and Annabelle are on the verge of divorce until someone goes after their former military unit, “The Fixers,” in the most enjoyably intense title yet in Dawson’s outstanding Callahan brothers series.
The Bridegroom. By Linda Lael Miller. 2009. HQN, paper, $7.99 (9780373773886).
Lydia will do anything for her great-aunts, but does she really have to marry the town’s gross, greedy banker? This is the superb fourth installment in Miller’s extraordinary Stone Creek series.
Dogs and Goddesses. By Jennifer Crusie and others. 2009. St. Martin’s, paper, $7.99 (9780312944377).
Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, and Lani Diane Rich collaborate in a splendidly original and sublimely funny tale of three friends and dog lovers who acquire unusual powers and confront a very cranky, 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian goddess.
Hot Flash. By Kathy Carmichael. 2009. Medallion, paper, $7.95 (9781934755037).
In Carmichael’s delightful romantic comedy, sous-chef Jill is beset with troubles, from her husband’s desire to be a woman to family chaos, but her loyal friends help her navigate the twisting, turning road to love.
Laced with Magic. By Barbara Bretton. 2009. Berkley, paper, $14 (9780425227527).
Chloe, owner of a popular knitting shop and mayor of the supernatural village of Sugar Maple, Vermont, continues to battle evil forces in Bretton’s poignant and magical story of love and sacrifice.
The Magic Knot. By Helen Scott Taylor. 2009. Love Spell, paper, $6.99 (9780505527967).
Rose thinks she is a normal accountant, but instead she is a Cornish pisky queen who, with a handsome biker, must battle with vampires, nefarious druids, and a malevolent fairy queen in Taylor’s extraordinarily accomplished debut.
Practice Makes Perfect. By Julie James. 2009. Berkley Sensation, paper, $7.99 (9780425226742).
Two rivalrous attorneys at a prestigious Chicago law firm find romance in James’ sophisticated legal romance, rich in suspense and charmingly arrogant and ambitious characters.
So Enchanting. By Connie Brockway. 2009. NAL/Onyx, paper, $7.99 (9780451416292).
RITA Award–winning Brockway excels in a Victorian-era tale of a scandal-plagued widow, a young woman with strange powers, and a suspect lord in this sexy and bewitching battle of wits and wiles.
Straight from the Hip. By Susan Mallery. 2009. HQN, paperback, $7.99 (9780373773831).
Blinded in an explosion, Izzy is taken to Nick’s ranch to recuperate in the third in Mallery’s excellent Titan series.
When the Duke Returns. By Eloisa James. 2008. Avon, paper, $7.99 (9780061245602).
Eleven years after their wedding by proxy, Lady Isidore finally meets her husband as James puts a clever spin on a classic romantic plot in the latest scintillating installment in her superb Georgian-era Desperate Duchesses series.