All About Romance Novels - Interim Results/2004 Annual Reader Poll

Interim Results - 2005 Reader Poll

February 15, 2005

We posted two sets of interim results in our annual reader poll, the first on January 26th and the second on February 3rd. Interim results are presented in no order other than alpha by name (including "the" and "a" as that's how my database sorts). The poll is now closed...look for results here on March 1st and in the March 1st issue of At the Back Fence.

Any book with a copyright date of 2004 was eligible in this poll.
(Although Fever Dreams and Undead and Unwed were originally published in shorter versions in earlier years, they were rewritten and released as "new" with copyright dates of 2004. Both titles are eligible, therefore. Miss Thornrose and the Rake, on the other hand, was not rewritten; its copyright of 1999 makes it ineligible.)

Best Romance

A Deal with the Devil
Ain't She Sweet
Bet Me
Beyond a Wicked Kiss
Devil Takes a Bride
Dream of Me
Guilty Pleasures
Kiss Me While I Sleep
Miss Wonderful
Night Play
Northern Lights
Shadowheart
Slightly Dangerous
Tempted
The Real Deal
Under a Lucky Star
When He Was Wicked

Favorite Funny

Ain't She Sweet
Bet Me
Courting Trouble
Daisy's Back in Town
Man Trouble
Miss Wonderful
Tempted
The Accidental Duchess
Undead and Unemployed
Undead and Unwed

Most-Hanky Read

Again the Magic
Bright Eyes
Duke of Sin
Kiss Me While I Sleep
The Real Deal
When He Was Wicked

Most Luscious Love Story

Duke of Sin
His Every Kiss
Houston, We Have a Problem
Jane's Warlord
Originally Human
Return to Me
Secrets of a Summer Night
Shadowheart
The Real Deal
When He Was Wicked
Wild Rain

Most Tortured Hero

Devil Takes a Bride
England's Perfect Hero
Flashpoint
His Every Kiss
Kinsman's Oath
Northern Lights
Shadowheart
The Romantic
Yours Until Dawn

Strongest (aka Kick-Ass) Heroine

A Deal with the Devil
Ain't She Sweet
Divided in Death
Flashpoint
Kiss Me While I Sleep
Shadowheart
Undead and Unwed

Best Hero

Bet Me
Divided in Death
Elizabeth's Wolf
Getting What You Want
Kiss Me While I Sleep
Miss Wonderful
Night Play
Northern Lights
Slightly Dangerous
The Real Deal
The Romantic
The Runaway Duke
Under a Lucky Star
When He Was Wicked

Best Heroine

Ain't She Sweet
Bet Me
Devil Takes a Bride
Duke of Sin
Flashpoint
Guilty Pleasures
Miss Wonderful
My Pleasure
Night Play
Tempted
The Real Deal
The Runaway Duke
Undead and Unwed
Visions in Death
When He Was Wicked

Best Couple

A Deal with the Devil
Bet Me
Blue Dahlia
Courting Trouble
Daisy's Back in Town
Dangerous Deceptions
Divided in Death
Miss Wonderful
Night Play
Slightly Dangerous
The Real Deal
The Runaway Duke
When He Was Wicked

Best Villain

Dream of Me
Flashpoint
Kiss Me While I Sleep
Kiss of the Night
My Seduction
The Real Deal
The Romantic

Most Annoying Lead Character

Again the Magic
Daisy's Back in Town
Fair Play
Highlander Unbound
Secrets of a Summer Night
Undead and Unwed

Best Debut Author

Julie Anne Long
Kate Rothwell
Kathy Love
Marianne Stillings

Best Buried Treasure

Beyond a Wicked Kiss
Echoes
Getting What You Want
My Forever Love
Run No More
Shower of Stars
Tempting Danger
The Damsel in this Dress
The Spare
Under a Lucky Star

Guiltiest Pleasure Read

Bad Boys Online
More Than Seduction
Night Play
Return to Me
Wet and Wild
Wild Rain

Author Most Glommed in 2004

Eloisa James
Emma Holly
Georgette Heyer
Katie MacAlister
Laura Kinsale
Loretta Chase
Mary Balogh
MaryJanice Davidson
Rachel Gibson
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Suzanne Brockmann

Best Cabin/Road Romance

Immortal Highlander
My Seduction
Pure Dynamite
Tempted
The Nerd Who Loved Me
The Runaway Duke

Best Medieval Romance

A Dark Champion
Forbidden
Heart of the Hunter
Hidden Honor
My Forever Love
Shadowheart
The Fall
The Linnet
The Marriage Test

Best European Historical Romance

Again the Magic
Devil Takes a Bride
Guilty Pleasures
Miss Wonderful
Secrets of a Summer Night
Slightly Dangerous
The Accidental Duchess
The Pursuit of Marriage
The Romantic
The Runaway Duke
Under a Lucy Star
When He Was Wicked

Best traditional Regency Romance

Castaway Hearts
Courting Trouble
The Barkin Emeralds

Best American Historical or Frontier Romance

A Wanted Man
Foxfire Bride
Moon in the Water
Seen by Moonlight
Somebody Wonderful
The Unexpected Wife

Best Contemporary Romance

Ain't She Sweet
Beauty Queen
Bet Me
Kiss Me While I Sleep
Northern Lights
Public Displays of Affection
Smooth Talkin' Stranger
The Real Deal

Best Series (Category) Romance

AKA Goddess
Joint Forces

Best Romantic Suspense

Damsel in this Dress
Flashpoint
Kiss Me While I Sleep
Northern Lights
On Thin Ice

Best Alternate Reality Romance

A Kiss of Fate
A Man in a Kilt
Dead to the World
Dream of Me
Heart Duel
Jane's Warlord
Master of the Night
Night Play
Run No More
Tempting Danger
Undead and Unwed
You Slay Me

Best Chick Lit/Women's Fiction

Bet Me
Can You Keep a Secret?
The Real Deal
Undead and Unwed

Best Short Story

A Hasty Marriage/Carla Kelly
Blind Date from Hell/Anne Stuart
Much Ado About Twelfth Night/Liz Carlyle
Originally Human/Eileen Wilks
The First Kiss/Julia Quinn
The Proposition/Leslie LaFoy
The Trouble with Heroes/Jo Beverley
Winterborn/Sherrilyn Kenyon

Author You Gave Up On in 2004

Catherine Coulter
Elizabeth Lowell
JAK
Jude Deveraux
Julia Quinn
LKH
Maggie Shayne
Nora Roberts
Stephanie Laurens
Suzanne Brockmann

Author Others Love Who You Don't

Christine Feehan
Connie Brockway
Diana Gabaldon
J.D. Robb
Jennifer Crusie
Katie MacAlister
Laura Kinsale
Lucy Monroe
Mary Balogh
MaryJanice Davidson
Nora Roberts
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Suzanne Brockmann

Most Disappointing Romance

Blue Dahlia
Daisy's Back in Town
Miss Fortune
Miss Wonderful
My Seduction
Return to Me
Shadowheart
Skylark
The Real Deal
When He Was Wicked

Worst Romance

Forced Mate
One Dark Night
The Real Deal
When Bruce Met Cyn

Purple-est Prose

Lord of Seduction
Master of Temptation

First set of Interim Results: January 26, 2005