Comparing AAR Results to My Ballot

Another year, another ballot! Next year I'm going to be even more organized thanks to Rosario's handy dandy excel spreadsheet (and by handy dandy I mean, 'holy shit, I didn't know a spread sheet could do that!)

The good news is that although a few category wins may be my fault, I'm pretty much off the hook for the rest. Yeah! Someone else to blame!

Okay, for those who couldn't give a fuck, scroll down to the bottom for some fun. I love Robin Williams and this one has me in stitches every time!

I also discovered after reading the results column here, that I am definitely more in the paranormal camp than I thought. Here I was thinking I was a well rounded romance reader until I really looked at the categories and which books won. Ooops. Guess that's probably not much of a shock to other people.

Read the rest at your own risk. There might be some whining involved but I'll try to keep the drama to a minimum.

Best 2006 Romance Novels

Best Romance Lover Awakened, J.R. Ward
Honorable Mention Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase

Shit. Right off the bat, it was me. Yeah, that's right, I heart Lover Awakened!

Bring it!!

See how I reign in the drama?

I saw a few people mention that LA couldn't possibly be the best romance of the year. For easy math, let's say there were 7000 ballots and every one had a pick for best romance of the year. Of those half voted for LA as best romance of the year. That would make me and 3499 other people completely wrong.

My people would like to say to your people:

Pfffffffft.

Favorite Funny Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase
Honorable Mention Drop Dead Gorgeous, Linda Howard

Date Me Baby One More Time by Stephanie Rowe was my vote. I have not yet read DDG and even though I read Lord Perfect, I didn't see the funny.

Now, you and your 3499 people can send me your own message. See how this works?

Hey, all I did was a raspberry, no need to throw things!


Most-Hanky Read Lover Awakened, J.R. Ward
Honorable Mention Simply Love, Mary Balogh

I believe I left this blank. LA did get me teary eyed and such but I'm starting to become a stickler about what a hanky read should contain. Mostly, lots of tear stained pages. *snort* If a book gets me crying too soon what do you think the odds are I'll finish it. Ah, well, I like to leave some areas on my ballot blank so that it's not all about me.

Like usual.

Most Luscious Love Story The Raven Prince, Elizabeth Hoyt
Honorable Mention Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas

I think I left this one blank also because I'm pretty sure I would have had to put LA in this one. Sorry any scene where a man learns to become one with his unit is pretty much solid freakin' gold for me.

Yeah, I'm feeling like I crossed the TMI line also so let's move on.

Best Erotic Romance All U Can Eat, Emma Holly

After the revealing answer above isn't it weird that I really don't read much in the erotic romance categories. I've said it before, the ones I have tried I don't find all that sexy. That said, I'm so going to read this one one of these days, it's just sitting in the TBR pile until I'm ready.

Best Cabin/Road Romance Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase

No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole was my vote. I have to be honest and tell you that it wasn't until I read the first set of interim results that I realized that this book completely fit this category.

What I know is that LP just didn't work for me and it's my own baggage and nothing else. We have kids (although not those cutesy kind but still annoying), a parent and guardian trying to track them down after they have run away, manage to fall in love AND have sex while trying to find them. Sorry, my suspension of disbelief was strained. All the same, I know that Loretta Chase and I have an odd relationship. When I love her books I LOVE them and when they don't work for me they really don't work for me.

Too bad for me.

Best New Author Elizabeth Hoyt

I think I left this one blank as the ones I would have put in actually have a background in categories. Nalini Singh for example.


Best Buried Treasure Jacob, Jacquelyn Frank
Honorable Mentions Beauty and the Spy, Julie Anne Long
The Raven Prince, Elizabeth Hoyt

I put down Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh because even though I know that some of us reading bloggers read it, I wasn't sure how many AAR readers would have heard of it. I just ordered Visions of Heat from my online store and if I'm really lucky the book will be here on Friday. STS was almost everything I look for in a paranormal and it was fresh and new for me as a reader.

I have Jacob in the TBR pile and I'm looking forward to reading it and seeing if it's any good.

Guiltiest Pleasure All U Can Eat, Emma Holly
Honorable Mention Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas

Okay, mini-rant. Guiltiest pleasure obviously means something else to other romance readers. My feeling is that if a fellow romance reader would look at me and say 'OMG you read ____!?', then that is a guilty pleasure. You know it's something most people can't stand but for some reason you can't help yourself from loving it.

MJDs Drop Dead Gorgeous was my vote. Yeah. Doesn't that make you want to mock me?

Exactly. That is a guilty please my friends.

Author Most Glommed J.R. Ward

Mine was Kresley Cole and even though I looked at this and thought, 'oh, shit, I am a paranormal junkie'. I also realized that she writes historicals and I bought them up too!

I know there was a question about what constitutes a glom and really it's quite simple for me. If I read a book and immediately go to the bookstore and buy the rest of the author's books without reading the backblurbs or caring if they are the same as the one that set off the glom (authors who write historicals and contemps etc) whether it's only 3 or 23 then that's a glom.

I figure if you only have 3 books to buy up then your both lucky and unlucky. One, you don't have to keep looking for that ever elusive highly expensive book BUT, you also don't have any more books to find - that's it that's all, you read those three and you're officially caught up.

Best Medieval The Silver Rose, Susan Carroll

Can I just say that covers obviously do make an impression because I have seen the Carroll books and have thought 'ugh, historical fiction' when in fact, I think these are historical romances. If there is anyone who has read Carroll here, can you just verify this for me because if they are romances (and by this I mean the book is mostly about a romance between two people) then I need to update my TBB list!

I read no medievals and thus no vote here from me.

Best European Historical Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas
Honorable Mention Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase

Boo-yah baby!! I loved Sebastian and DIW and I was saved from wishing for something different for his character because I did not read the book before this. I heard too much about how annoying the Autumn book was so I didn't bother. Thus, I loved the story for what it was for me.

Geez, this only puts me at two!

Best Amer Hist/Frontier tie A Reason To Live, Maureen McKade
The Rogue's Return, Jo Beverley (partially set in Canadian frontier)
Honorable Mention Summer Breeze, Catherine Anderson

I did not read a American historical from 2006 but I have ARTL in my TBR pile and I'm really intrigued by TRR by Beverley so I'm putting that on the TBB list.

Best Contemporary Drop Dead Gorgeous, Linda Howard
Honorable Mentions Angels Fall, Nora Roberts
Sex, Lies, and Online Dating, Rachel Gibson

I put down Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart. Yeah, yeah, colour you surprised but I loved it. I have not read the three that are listed here - I went to buy Angels Fall tonight and saw it's in HC - I can wait.

Best Series (Category) Family at Stake, Molly O'Keefe

I don't read series books.

Best Romantic Suspense Cold as Ice, Anne Stuart
Honorable Mention Angels Fall, Nora Roberts

Yeah Baby!! *butt dance* Cold as Ice, purrrrrrrrr.

Best Paranormal Lover Awakened, J.R. Ward

This makes 4.

Don't make me get my people!

Best Chick Lit/Wom Fict Hot Dish, Connie Brockway
Honorable Mention Summer at Willow Lake, Susan Wiggs

I left this one blank because I don't think I read chick-lit. That said, Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane was released in 2006 and I read it after filling out the ballot. I loved it!

Also, I will show my 'bitter slip' by letting you know that I no longer follow authors into their new genres. Nope. Not going.

Short Story Hot Toy (Santa, Baby), Jennifer Crusie
Honorable Mention The Warlord Wants Forever (Playing Easy To Get), Kresley Cole

Geez, if I had paid more attention I would have realized that I read the honorable mention this year and loved it but I didn't record it because I only read the one story. Out of spreadsheet, out of mind.

I put Dead Man's Chest from My Big Fat Paranormal Wedding Anthology by Rachel Caine - I went to glom the rest of her books and discovered they are YA - NO THANKS!

Best 2006 Characters

Most Tortured Hero Lover Awakened, J.R. Ward Zsadist

#5.

Strongest Heroine Lover Awakened, J.R. Ward
Honorable Mentions Memory in Death, J.D. Robb
Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase

Okay, my heroine could take all three of these woman. All of them! Genevieve from Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart. Ms. Stuart, if you happen across my wee little blog please, please, please give us more heroines like Genevieve. Thank you.

Best Hero Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas Sebastian (St. Vincent)

Huh, I think I voted for Sebastian in this category - I have scratched out things all over my hand written ballot. So that would be 6.

Best Heroine Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas
Honorable Mentions Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase
Drop Dead Gorgeous, Linda Howard

Again, I loved Genevieve from Cold As Ice - for those who think AS heroines are mostly spineless, you have to read this one because she gave Genny strength and I loved it.

Best Couple Lord Perfect, Loretta Chase
Honorable Mentions Devil in Winter, Lisa Kleypas
Lover Awakened, J.R. Ward

Oh look, I put DIW as best couple and it's in the HM category! I wasn't paying attention. For those who see that I voted for LA as best romance, I couldn't in good conscience put Bella and Zsadist down as best couple. LA was more about Zsadist than about Bella while I felt the H/H in DIW were equally shown.

Best Villain Lover Awakened, J.R. Ward (unnamed to avoid spoilers)

I did not have a best villain.

Worst of the Year for 2006

Most Annoying Lead Drop Dead Gorgeous, Linda Howard Blair Mallory

Uh, maybe but I haven't read it. I voted for Ian Mackay from A Thief in A Kilt by Sandy Blair - so many ochs, achs and other weird noises going on. Ugh.

Author You Gave Up On Christina Dodd
Dishonorable Mentions Nora Roberts
Julia Quinn

Wow, I just noticed that NR is up there! I voted for Linda Howard. Used to be I couldn't wait for her next book and I have many of her HC but after the last few I just can't see putting out the money anymore.


Most Disappointing Read On the Way To the Wedding, Julia Quinn

Didn't read it but I'm not one of those readers who has to read an entire series. I put Sandy Blair's A Thief in a Kilt here because her last book was a keeper and I was looking forward to a good read. So it was disappointing.

Worst Read On the Way To the Wedding, Julia Quinn

In the end I voted for A Thief in a Kilt here also because I did read the entire book and it was the lowest graded book for the year thus, it was my worst read of the year. That's how it works. Anyone out there buying Connie Mason books? No? That's why her books are not winning worst of the year - us seasoned romance readers know better.

Purple-est Prose Prince of Ice, Emma Holly
Dishonorable Mention Mistral's Kiss, Laurell K. Hamilton

I left this one blank also but now I'm afraid to read Prince of Ice. It's hard for me to take an erotic romance seriously if there are too many euphemisms for anatomy. Although I did like Passion so maybe I shouldn't be such a judgey wudgey bear.

So there you have it. My yearly wrap up.

I know, I don't know how you could have gone one without knowing my thoughts on the situation.

And now, the man who made 'FUCK NO!' one of my favourite phrases I give you Mr. Robin Williams on golf.

Youtube hates me so you have to follow this link - so not work or kid friendly!

Robin Williams and Golf