What are you reading - January 2011

Happy New Year!

I'm about to finish How to wed a Baron by Kasey Michaels.

Julia

Just finished The Forbidden Rose by Joanna Bourne and enjoyed it enough to give it 4 stars. It just didn't live up to The Spymaster's Lady which I gave 5 stars, but it was worth reading. I think I'll skip My Lord and Spymaster since it has a lower rating than the other two.

Next I'm going to try a few of the free or cheap Kindle romance books I've downloaded over the last month or two, hoping to find a gem.

I finished "Here Comes the Groom" by Karina Bliss. It was wonderful. I can't believe she packed so much into 251 pages. The main characters are unique, the people around them so well drawn, the story so satisfyingly good, it makes me want to hug this book. I loved it!

Oh I just finished the Spymaster's Lady. I thought it was refreshing because it broke the formula of a regency romance and very different.
Interested to read your comments on the Forbidden Rose

Grace, The Forbidden Rose would have gotten 4 1/2 stars from me except that somewhere in the middle it really slowed down so that I had to push myself to keep going. But, then it was really good in the end - a 5 star finish!

Don't hesitate to read this prequel to The Spymaster's Lady, even if it is such a tough act to follow! I loved Spymaster so much I consider it second only to Outlander on my list of favorites. Loved the heroine - very, very different and great writing.

DianeYu-did you download Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye - it's great, I loved it!

DianeYu-did you download Romeo Romeo by Robin Kaye - it's great, I loved it!

#7, Yep, I did, and I'm looking forward to reading this highly rated title. I did start a 99 cent Kindle book that had five, 5-star reviews on Amazon but it was a big yawn, not very well written and I stopped reading at about 20%. The author is a member of this site, so I won't mention the title.

At the moment I'm reading one of my "naughty downloads" (erotic romance) by Clare Thompson, The Cowboy Poet which is a great so far. I'll try Romeo, Romeo next.

I finished One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare. This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. The first half of the book was amazing, complete with a complicated, brooding hero but the second half had some plot devices that I didn't think were needed. But the book redeemed itself at the end and the first half was so strong. I'm definitely going to read more from Tessa Dare, especially since the rest of the trilogy is already out!

This week I finished The Devil's Waltz by Anne Stuart, Miracles by Judith Mcnaught, Sins of a Wicked Duke by Sophie Jordan and Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh. I enjoyed all of them, but really wish Miracles would have been more than a short story. I was really looking forward to this hero's story from the previous books in the series and although it was good, I wish it would have been more involved. Now I am starting An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan.

fadinga, do you have the rest of the Aidan series in your tbr pile as well?

If yes, I'm really interessted how you will like them. I got The Darcys and the Bingleys: Pride and Prejudice Continues for Christmas.

Finished How to wed a Baron and started of course Pride and Prejudice. :D

Julia

I love that you read P&P every new year, Julia! What a great tradition! :D

I am halfway through The Devil You Know and liking it pretty well. I loved Bentley in the previous books and was so excited to finally get to his story. He's a complicated character and I love watching him flail his way through the relationship with Frederica, but I feel like the heroine is a little too plain vanilla. She doesn't seem to have a very well-developed character. I have hope that she will become more 3-dimensional over the 2nd half of the book though...

Today I finished In the Company of Vampires. It's a sequel to the teen series McAlister wrote as Katie Maxwell. I really enjoyed it, although the book ends rather abruptly and she leaves too many loose ends.

Julia, I do. I picked them all up awhile ago after seeing them ranked high on a bunch of Austen Fan Fiction and P&P sequel/spin-off lists. I've never read any P&P retellings or sequels but this one being told from Darcy's point of view really interested me. It has been awhile since I've read P&P and I'm looking forward to revisiting it from a different angle.

I finished Twice Tempted by a Rogue and Three Nights with a Scoundrel by Tessa Dare. I'm glad I was introduced to this author.

Just finished Romeo, Romeo, a delightful contemporary romance that made me laugh out loud many times. Not only is it a great book, but it was a free Kindle download too. Yeah! Thanks to ktleyed for a heads-up on this one.

Now I'm ready for something a little more literary based on real people Walk in My Soul. I read this author's awesome Ride the Wind (twice, years apart) so am looking forward to this one. Love American Indian stories and this story has a young Sam Houston as the hero and love interest. Can't wait.

The best, katybear. ;-)

I'm reading my very first Debbie Macomber book called Family Affair. It was a free gift this Christmas from Harlequin for being an ambassador. It's a very cute story that revolves around cats. My kind of book!

I've always known about Debbie Macomber but was reluctant to pick up her books, thinking an author who writes this many stories has got to have a cookie-cutter type system of writing. You know... Boy meets girl, boy rescues girl, girl falls for boy and they get married - the end.

But I'm actually finding this book heart warming and very fun to read. I watched the Mrs. Miracle special on t.v. this past weekend too. If this book and that movie are any indication, I think I'm really going to enjoy her books.

Just started Pleasure Unbound by Larissa ione - this is the 1st book Im reading from her & this series so wish me luck :)

scrpo1027, if you like paranormal romance, I can't imagine you won't enjoy this Demon series. I thought the first four books were all great, book 5 not quite as good. I'm sure you'll enjoy it and want to go back for more.

DianeYu, Thanks - so far pretty good - Iam addicted to paranormals lol... I cant wait for the next few months so many new books are coming out its driving me crazy having to wait.

Is the Demonica series complete? Or are there still upcoming books? I have not started it but I'm considering it. I love when I discover series that are finished because then I can read them straight though and not have to wait forever for the next book.

I can't confirm it's complete, but there is no info on upcoming titles for the Demonica series on her website. Books 4 and 5 were released in Feb and Sept of 2010.

She plans five releases next year that include one updated story from an anthology, one in a new anthology, one title under another pen name, Sydney Croft, and under Larissa Ione, Eternal Rider which is the start of a new series due out 4/11 with second book due to release 11/11. She also says she is writing a proposal to her publisher to write a tie in of this new series to the Demonica series. Don't know what that means.

Long story short, I think the Demonica series is pretty much done since it's not on her writing calendar for this year.

I finished The Devil You Know last night. It was good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped to. The book seemed to be all about the hero, with the heroine having very limited character development. I liked the hero, who appeared prominently in previous books in the series, but I felt like the heroine simply didn't have her own story at all. She could have been anyone. I guess it made the romance a little implausible - why would he fall in love with her versus another woman? What made her so irresistible?

Anyway, now I'm on to A Deal With the Devil. The plot description from the back of the book sounds really cool: The hero reluctantly returns to his dark, desolate ancestral castle on a cliff only to find that the castle's mysterious-but-beautiful new housekeeper is under suspicion for murder! Can't wait to start it!

I'm currently reading Juliet by Anne Fortier and loving every minute of it. I love books that are part contemporary part historical fiction and all romance. This book is so engaging that I don't want to put it down but because of my schedule I only get to read while on the bus so this is one of those books that bugs me because all I want to do is read it and I have so little time to read. I'm only half way through but so far I HIGHLY recommend it!

A Royal Likeness by local MD novelist Christine Trent, sequel to The Queen's Dollmaker.

I finished The Legend MacKinnon by Donna Kauffman, just so-so, took me forever to get through this Scottish time travel romance. Now, I'm starting Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran.

I just finished No Other Lover in Julie Anne Long's Pennyroyal Green series. I've been bouncing around this series and somehow skipped this one.

I didn't like the first book in the series that much but have really enjoyed two others. The series is about two feuding families who live in Pennyroyal Green - the Everseas and Redmonds. I've really enjoyed the books about the Redmonds but not so much the Eversea books. I think there is going to be a book with a h/h from each family soon - wonder what I'll think of that one? Anyway, I'm glad I gave this series another chance...

I listened to the audio versions of Bed of Roses and Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts (2nd & 3rd in the Bride Quartet). Enjoyed them well enough. Sometimes I wanted them to move faster. Probably just as well it was in audio version or I would have been peeking ahead.

Don't know what I'll read with my eyes next. Probably a few sweet and tender (short) style as I have a big pile of them.

I was disappointed in how little I got read over the Xmas holiday. Visited with my family instead of being anti-social and would choose that again, but really hoped to get more read than I did. Only read 2 books - Eyes of Crow by Jeri Smith-Ready, which had been in my TBR for 3 or 4 years and Dakota Child by Linda Ford. I enjoyed Eyes of Crow well enough to finish it, but not well enough to continue onto the rest of the trilogy. Dakota Child is a short inspirational romance and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Penn

I finished An Assembly Such As This by Pamela Aidan. I enjoyed the believable insight into Darcy's mind in this retelling of Pride and Prejudice, although a few times it was a bit more melodramatic than I personally would expect from Darcy. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series as this book ended shortly after the ball given at Netherfield. However, I generally don't like to read books of the same series back to back, so next up is Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn.

#30 fadinga - keep in mind, the next in the series Duty and Desire is completely new and different from P&P, she writes about non-P&P events that happen to Darcy, he gets mixed up with this adventurous woman in Scotland (I think) and there is virtually no Elizabeth. The 3rd in the series brings it all back the orginal story and is in the same spirit of the 1st in the series.

Over the weekend I started Moongazer by Marianne Mancusi, kind of a sci-fi, post-apocolyptic romance novel. It has been interesting so far, although I'm not a big fan of the first person, present tense style of writing.

I just finished Pride and Prejudice sigh. Next is Not that kind of Girl by Susan Donovan.

Julia

31> ktleyed - Thanks for the warning. I'll have to keep more of an open mind for that one so I'm not completely disappointed.

32> Samantha_kathy - I've read all of her work, other than this series and the recent combo effort The Lady Most Likely, and I'd have to agree, they never seem to live up to the Bridgertons. Though I did enjoy the Agents of the Crown series quite a bit.

I started Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas last night b/c of comments y'all made here. I only had time for the first chapter, but loved it. Definitely hoping it holds up throughout the book (expecting it to!).

Penn

Now reading Dakota Child by Linda Ford. its starting off on a really down note. I feel so bad for the main character in this book and really hope the handsome hero saves the day in this one soon.

#36 - I totally loved Private Arrangements! My favorite by Sherry Thomas, but I loved Delicious so much too! She's my new favorite romance author!

DianeYu, NO WAY! You have to read My Lord and Spymaster! It's important to the story! TRUST ME! The love story of Jess and Sebastian is so sweet, so well written, I'm not sure where you're getting your info and rating from...I read all three at the same time, starting with Rose, Spaymaster and ending w/Lady and I just cant wait for Adrian's story and in order to get the FULL understanding of that book, you HAVE to read MLAS, as Adrian plays a crucial part in it!

bookworm2bookworm - Woah! Ok then. Somebody up there must think I should read it too, because I just picked it up last week for 50 cents at a library book sale. I thought I could swap it for something else even if I didn't read it. But I'll take your word for it that I should put it in my TBR pile. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm currently reading a book I've heard a lot about, plus it's on the 1001 books you must read before you die list. Story of O is not something I would normally choose to read as I expected it to be mostly about sadomasochisim which is not my thing in erotica. Bondage as well as domination and submission makes good reading in a loving relationship but not the dark stuff. I'm about half way through and toughing it out, but I don't recommend it unless you're working your 1001 list in between romances like I am.

I just wanted to be able to relate when the book is referred to and discussed - but it's definitely not pleasure reading.

Just finished Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye and really loved it. It was a free Kindle book that someone recommended. This was the first book by this author & I will definitely be reading the rest of this series. The series is called Domestic Gods, by the way, where the guys are doing the cooking & cleaning. Gotta love it!

33/Jenson: When you've finished Moongazer, what did you think of the ending?

I'm in the midst of the latest Julia Grey book, Dark Road to Darjeeling.

42/icedtea,

How are you liking Dark Road to Darjeeling? I listened to the prior/earlier Julia Grey books but for whatever reason didn't download this one as soon as it was released and kind of forgot about it. Maybe I was busy listening to other things or maybe the blurb didn't make it sound as good as the first 3 (or was it 4)? I honestly don't remember.

Penn

I read Dark Road to Darjeeling and really liked it, my review is here. The beginning was slow going but the book picked up. I enjoyed much more than Silent on the Moor, but I think the first in the series is still my favorite.

icedtea - I thought the ending was interesting. I didn't see the twist on the Skye/Mariah thing coming, I know what I thought, but it was just a red herring :-)

I liked the story. Maybe not the best I've ever read, but an interesting, quick read with fairly likeable characters.

44/ktleyed,

Thanks for that link! I guess I'll have to get the audio so I can "read" it before 2050 ;) .

Penn

Agreed, the first Julia Grey book is probably still my fave, and that I liked Dark Road to Darjeeling more than Silent on the Moor.

Jenson - I had similar thoughts. My library ended up carrying about half of the Shomi books, and I read them because they were getting a lot of blog buzz at the time.

I just finished Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right by Kieran Kramer. This was my first book by the author and potentially my last for a while. The characters were disappointing and pretty underdeveloped and the plot was silly. I think I'll leave this author alone for awhile.

I finished Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn. I enjoyed the first half and then hit that 'enough already' point after tiring of the heroine dragging her feet and probably could have done without the last quarter of the book. I also finished A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh, which I really liked and was probably my favorite of the Huxtable series. Tomorrow I think I'll skim Dreamfever so I'll be ready for Shadowfever on Tuesday!

I'm glad every one is enjoying Romeo, Romeo as I dl it as a freebie as well, hopefully I'll get to it this month. I've been reading the Tumble Creek series by Victoria Dahl, which are fun contemporary romances, there is lots of great dialogue, which has me laughing my butt off. I'm onto #3 Lead Me On and I've just finished Mad, Bad and Blonde, which was quite good, I haven't read much of Cathie Linz so I'm going to try read some more of her this year.

I've been on a Larissa Ione kick lately and Im on the 3rd book in her Demonica Series. So far I like them - I like the stories I can do with out the " I can fix her I just have to have sex with her" thing. I know its the type of Demons they are but if it wasnt for the good story I dont think it would be my thing.

scrpo 1027, glad you're enjoying the Demonica Series. I loved it and did what you are doing, reading one after the other. The idea of having a hospital for paranormals run by demons was such great plotting. At times I was reminded of the bar scene in Star Wars where all the weird aliens came in. At the hospital they get some really weird paranormal patients. So creative and fun.

Finished Defiant Hero by Suzanne Brockmann the second book in the troubleshooters series. I liked the first one better, but this one was still ok. Now I'm reading some YA Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart and Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Book club tomorrow night with Five People You Meet in Heaven. I need to pick my book for this year for club and having a hard time choosing. Any suggestions?

I drive alot, so I listen to tons of audiobooks. Fortunately, the local library has an excellent collection. I just finished listening to All I Need Is You by Johanna Lindsey and am now listening to Dream A Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Over the holidays, I re-read a favorite, All the Queen's Men by Linda Howard. There are lots of authors mentioned here that I'm going to have to check out.

I finished Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran, dullish victorian romance. Didn't hold my interest one bit, I'm afraid, seemed like it took forever to get through!

Now, I'm beginning The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig.

ktleyed, glad to hear I'm not the only person who found Meredith Duran tedious to read. I tried one of her books and didn't make it past the first few chapters.

Just finished Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, one of the funniest and most charming books I've ever read. I had already seen the 2008 movie, but the book is so much more than the movie. A fairly quick and easy read I highly recommend. This is not a romance exactly, but lots of relationships going on - written in 1938 as a contemporary story based in London - Miss Pettigrew is an unforgettable heroine. Your library is bound to have a copy to borrow.

I just finished The Magic Knot by Helen Scott Taylor. It was a bit of a bumpy read for me. Part of that was because (from the cover art) I expected it to be a historical paranormal, not a contemporary. So I was a bit thrown there.

This was the author's debut outing, and I enjoyed some of her esoterica references - the tarot gets an interesting nod here. Plus I really liked the hero's charming sequel-bait brother, though I thought the hero was a bit irritatingly judgmental and aloof. I think I'll keep an eye out for the next in the series, but I'm not running to the shelves to get it.

Finished The Golden Ass and started Once an Angel by Teresa Medeiros.

Julia

I finished Once an Angel very good.

Next is Kiss me if you can by Carly Phillips.

Julia

I just finished Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I love her books and have read all the ones with characters included in this one. This one was good but it was completely from the perspective of the heroine until the very end of the book, whereas in all her other books you get the perspective of the hero (and usually a secondary couple) throughout. Since Ted didn't show much emotion and you had no idea what was going on in his head, it was just slightly annoying. If I didn't already like him from previous books, I might not have liked him at all. In SEP's note at the end, she says she's writing Lucy's story already, so that will be good to see. I hope it tells what she was up to during this story as I was surprised to not see much of her in it.

I also just re-read Hummingbird by LaVyrle Spencer after seeing it mentioned on here somewhere. I picked up some more Spencer books at the library, and some Linda Howard too so I'll be reading those next. The new Catherine Anderson should be arriving this week as well.

Oh and I also finally read Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie, which I quite enjoyed despite the ghosts. I was happy to see a book written by just her again and I hope she continues without quite so long a pause before the next one.

Just finished Truly, Madly by Heather Webber. This book was really cute and mostly a light hearated read staring a characeter name Lucy Valentine who has an interesting psychic ability. It was a romance but had a mystery plot tied into it as well. However, I was extremely dissapointed that when I turned the last page of the book, the story wasn't over! I have to buy the sequal to the book to know how this story continues.

I really don't like it when books don't have an ending. Mostly because I like it when all the loose ends are tied up in a book and there's a happily ever after to look forward to. Now I'm feeling unresolved and cranky because this story wasn't even finished.

I really don't mind when an author sequals a book. Susan Wiggs is a great example of books that are in a series, but can be read one at a time. She concludes her stories so I can read other books in between (I crave variety in my books) and come back to her series when I'm ready.

I'd like to know how things turn out for poor Lucy Valentine. But I'm almost upset enough to just leave the series and move on. The big question now is, do I want to track down the sequal to read it?

I'm moving on to Realm of Shadows by Shannon Drake also known as Heather Graham. It looks kind of dark, but her books haven't dissapointed me so far.

Im still on the 3rd book in the Demonica Series by Larissa Ione over 1/2 now I think when Im done I will jump to something else for a bit & then come back to her other ones. A lot of good new releases coming out & Im am trying to be patient but it's not easy :) .

Just finished 'Her Laird, Her Lover' by Sable Grey. I was sent it to review - was pleasantly surprised even if it was more a novella than a novel. Still, I'll try anything historical romance.
Grace x

>63 scrpo1027: I've only read book 3 of the Demonica series when I won it as an ER book, but from what I remember it was good.

The last time I was at my parents my dad begged me to find some books to keep my mom busy (we like pretty much the same kinds of books) because her movies of choice ("Twilight", et al, "Gladiator") were driving him crazy. Based on the ER book and your other posts about the Demonica books I decided to pick up the series (what is out so far) for my mom from Amazon. I think she'll really enjoy them.

Now my dad is impatiently waiting for the books to come in!

Currently several chapters into Demon From the Dark by Kresley Cole, book 6. I have loved every book in this series, but this one seems to have a lot more world building going on and is slower to get started. With Cole I can be pretty sure I'll be glad I read it when I'm done though, so no worries.

62 - Actually, Truly, Madly is book one of a planned trilogy so far, fyi.

I just finished a re-read of The Highlander's Touch this time on audiobook. Now, I'm straight on to the next in the series Kiss of the Highlander one of my favorites - first time listening to it with Phil Gigante. His Scottish voice is purrr-fect!

-Jenson - I think your mom will really like them. I enjoyed them all so far but the 3rd book is my fave so far. I love the tortured hero that stops feeling & is able to find love in the end..ahhh - I have a few other authors I wanted to try but if you have read any good PNR lately make sure to send the suggestions my way :)

Really busy this week and still working on Demon From the Dark which is very good. My problem is that this group gets me so hyped to read the next new author and I have about twenty books sitting in my TBR pile.

I may be the only person in this group who has not read the "Fever" series by Karen Marie Moning - the first book is on hand as well as one of her Highlander books.

I also managed to swap for both Morning Glory and Hummingbird by Lavyrle Spencer whom I've not read yet.

Currently my list of new authors to try is 28 names long. I'm feeling like I'll never catch up, but I'm loving every minute too, so keep the recommendations coming.

On a side note, I volunteer at our local, small-town library branch and found that many of the donated books they received were put out for sale for 50 cents each when many of them were top notch romance books they didn't have. So now I've been put in charge of reviewing all the donated romances and making recommendations on what should be shelved instead of sold cheap. I'm working through two huge bags of books at the moment and having a ball.

DianeYu- Great for you!! Kresley Cole is at the top of my fave list & I loved Demon from the Dark - I cant wait for her next one to come out. I am currently looking to find something new to read so if you see anything that looks good in those bags of books throw the recs my way :)

Scrpo1027, I saw that Dreams of a Dark Warrior will be out 2/11 and decided to hurry up and read "Demon" so I'm ready for the next one. Love everything Cole has written so far.

The trouble with donated books, I'm finding, is that many people still buy their books from grocery stores, drugstores and Walmart etc. (stickers on the covers tell me this) based on reading a cover blurb. This is fine except that many of those books are from little known authors, (there is a reason they were cheap) and when I check Amazon ratings, they are often rated 2 1/2 - 3 stars - not a book I would spend my time on or think should be in the library. Also, I'd hate to turn people off an author because they got an early book that wasn't good at all, but the author does have some good titles well worth reading. I'm still feeling my way on this project and learning a lot about what people read. Great experience!

Historical romance rules, by the way, second is contemporary. Only a very few paranormal books have been donated.

I just finished Island of the Swans by Ciji Ware, loved, loved, loved it! Now, I'm starting A Dangerous Love by Sabrina Jeffries.

70> You're not the only one who hasn't read the Fever series.

As for the donated books, libraries strive to find the right balance between quality and popularity. The grocery stores, drugstores, etc. only carry books that are new and popular. If your library has room for some Harlequins and the time to process them, it's worth a try. Just check the copyright date. For a small library, I'd only add stuff published in the past year or so.

My former boss used to pooh-pooh anything in paperback but especially romances. Then we received a large donation of romances which we put on display and our circulation soared. People like Harlequins because they're a quick read, so they check out a dozen at a time, and with Valentine's Day coming up, now is a great time for a romance book display.

73> Island of Swans sounds lovely, so glad you mentioned it. I love historical romance based on real people.

74> Thanks for the feedback. Our little library does have a display of romance paperbacks that are not put on the fiction shelves, and it is very popular. I was thinking of posting a list of recommended reads for it as well as the fiction section, and Valentines Day would be perfect timing - thanks!

I guess I would like to steer romance readers to some of the best books in the genre without my prejudice against the more fluffy titles showing. I do understand they have a place for leisure reading and I've seen people check out four and five of them at a time. I must remind myself not to get snooty and appreciate that we all have different tastes, and a few fluffy titles might be just the thing someone needs for stress-free reading.

Hi all, I have been away for some time and just enjoyed reading all your recommendations and thoughts. I just finished reading My Dangerous Duke by Gaelen Foley, yet again reading a series out of order but I did enjoy it. I just ordered the first book from the library.

I see that a lot of you like Sherri Thomas and Tessa Dare so I will be looking for their books. Right now I am listening to The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell but have not decided what to read next.

It is really good to see what everyone's reading.

I finally finished 'Shadowfever'. It took me forever, not because it wasn't good, "real life" just wasn't allowing me enough reading time. Now I've started 'In Scandal They Wed' by Sophie Jordan. Touchstones don't seem to be working tonight.

Looks like the last day for this thread! Just finished The Devil Wears Plaid, my first Teresa Medeiros book. It was a great read and a "steal your enemy's bride at the altar and hold her for ransom story. Worked for me. I'll read more from this author.

Just started Cross Stitch (UK version) by Diane Gabaldon, which I think may also go by the name of Outlander US- have read good things about it on Library Thing. If it doesnt then I've bought the wrong book.

You CANNOT go wrong with Cross Stitch/Outlander. Most people get so caught up in Jamie and Claire that they want to read all the followup books too, so watch out. The All About Romance website posts a top 100 Romance (ever written) list every year and Outlander came in at #5 in 2010 even with all the fairly new books that made the list like The Spymaster's Lady at #20.