Best Contemporary Romance of 2015 So Far Is……..
Next up in our series of posts leading up to the Annual Poll for the best in romance published in 2015 is the Best Contemporary Romance category. Julie James has dominated this category in recent years with wins for her 2014 It Happened One Wedding, her 2013 Love Irresistibly, her 2012 About That Night, her 2011 A Lot Like Love, and her 2010 Something About You.
Will Ms. James win again? Her 2015 release – Suddenly One Summer – has not yet been reviewed at AAR. I’ve read it and quite enjoyed it, but decided to search for potential contenders. A quick power search at AAR reveals that we’ve given an A- to three contemporary romances so far this year:
- Heat Exchangeby Shannon Stacey
- Falling for his Best Friend by Katee Robert
- Rise by Karina Bliss
We’ve also given a B+ to four contemporary romances:
- A Taste of Heaven by Penny Watson
- Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot
- Last Hit: A Hitman Novel by Jessica Clare & Jen Frederick
- The One in My Heart by Sherry Thomas
I recently read Nalini Singh’s Rock Redemption and it’s currently in contention for my vote in this category along with Rise by Karina Bliss.
I asked my colleagues at AAR for their recommendations in this category, and they came up with a few additions to the above.
Lee B has enjoyed quite a few contemporary romances. At the top of her list are:
- Runaway Summer by Ruth Saberton
- The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
- If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins
- Last Chance Llama Ranch by Hilary Fields
- A Time for Living by Ruth Saberton
- The Piano Man Project by Kat French
Lee also is looking forward to reading two additional books she thinks might be possibilities for this category: Anything For You by Kristan Higgins and The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay.
Maggie also recommends Ms. Bliss’ Rise. In addition, she would recommend The Sound of Glass by Karen White. Shannon concurs, writing that, “The Sound of Glass was wonderful.”
Dabney read a lot of contemporary romance this year and enjoyed quite a few. Her list includes:
- The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev
- Taking the Heat by Victoria Dahl
- Good Time Bad Boy by Sonya Clark
- Ten Good Reasons by Lauren Christopher
- Chase Me by Tessa Bailey
- Bound to the Bachelor by Sarah Mayberry
Are there any other contemporary romances that you’ve loved this year (first published in 2015) that you might consider voting for in this category? And are there any that will be published before the end of the year that you’re eagerly anticipating, and think might be contenders?
We look forward to your suggestions!
LinnieGayl