Goodreads released its list of the most popular romances of the past three years (released in February of 2021). As is my wont, I determined to get through the list. I have a lot of issues with the list (no Love Lettering!), but mostly it is that there's too much reliance on a few authors (Christina Lauren shows up five times on the list, Colleen Hoover four times, and Jasmine Guillory five times) and not enough diversity of authors. It turns out that I think this list is absolute junk, but once I started, I had to finish.
Just as a note, I frequently ended up writing "not a romance novel" and what I meant by that is that it didn't prioritize the romance as the central storyline of the novel. Many of these are perfectly good novels, but they don't meet the basic criteria for a romance novel.
1. Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (library, 2019) - I read this in August of 2020. It was an adorable book, but I was not in the mood for a light, fluffy political romance in the midst of the end of the Trump administration.
2. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (library, 2018) - I wanted to like this book more than I actually did.
3. One Day in December by Josie Silver (library ebook, 2018) - Meh.
4. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (library ebook, 2019) - Pretty good first half, but the ending was quite problematic for me.
5. In Five Years by Rebecca Searle (library, 2020) - This should hardly be classified as a romance novel at all. It's about female friendship, really, so if you know that going in, you'll be better prepared.
6. Beach Read by Emily Henry (library ebook, 2020) - A perfectly fine book.
7. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (library, 2018) - A perfectly forgettable book.
8. Regretting You by Colleen Hoover (library, 2019) - There's a romance element to this book, but it's not really the central storyline. It's mostly about a mother/daughter relationship after a trauma. Good, but hardly something I'm going to remember a month from now.
9. Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center (library, 2019) - Another forgettable book.
10. Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks- (library ebook, 2018) - Sparks is so cheesy. This book was cheesy, predictable, and probably not worth your time.
11. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (library, 2019) - Another Hoang book that I want to like, but didn't really.
12. From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout (library ebook, 2020) - Legitimately a bad book.
13. All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover (library ebook 2018) - DNF at 45%. This book's heroine is depressed because she's dealing with infertility problems and her marriage is in peril. I think this is an important topic, but not one that speaks to me and after one too many scenes of obligatory sex for procreation purposes, I peaced out. I'm glad this book is out there for people who it resonates with, but I'm not that audience.
14. The Proposal (The Wedding Date #2) by Jasmine Guillory (library ebook, 2018) - Very good meet-cute. The rest was fine.
15. The Kiss Thief by LJ Shen (library, 2019) - Ugh. Why is mafia romance a thing?
16. Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (library, 2019) - I like Hibbert's writing a lot.
17. How to Walk Away by Katherine Center (library ebook, 2018) - I want to like Center, but her books are just forgettable to me.
18. I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella (library, 2019) - Pretty good. I liked the family dynamics more than the main romantic storyline, but it was a nice diversion to read this book.
19. Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson (library, 2018) - Not a romance novel. It made me irate.
20. Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren (2018, library) - Pretty good.
21. The Friend Zone (The Friend Zone #1) by Abby Jimenez (2019) - Women's health should be treated with respect. Thumbs way down from me. WAY DOWN.
22. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver (library ebook, 2020) - Not a romance novel. It's a good book, but a romance novel it is not.
23. One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London (library ebook, 2020) - This book left me with an overwhelming feeling of disappointment.
24. Pretty Reckless (All Saints High #1) by LJ Shen (2019) (library, 2019) - DNFed at page 70. I am too old to be reading about teenagers and I have little patience for their bullshit.
25. 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne (library, 2019) - DNF at page 95. So much of this book was utterly confusing, particularly the dialogue. Thorne seemed to think we could actually read fictional minds. I didn't have patience to get through this.
26. Hate Notes by Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward (library ebook, 2018) - A solid romantic comedy with witty dialogue.
27. The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club #1) by Lyssa Kay Adams (library, 2019) - Funny. Superficial.
28. Well Met by Jen DeLuca (library, 2019) - Very good entry. I enjoyed the RenFaire setting and liked the characters.
29. The Switch by Beth O'Leary (library, 2020) - This is a solid book I enjoyed greatly. The romance element was not the main story arc, so beware.
30. In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren (library ebook, 2020)- Another non-romance novel on the list. Subpar implementation of what could have been an interesting idea.
31. Meet Cute by Helena Hunting (library, 2019) - The rom-com involving an orphaned child and two unethical lawyers. Not my jam.
32. Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover (library, 2020) - I think this is the best Hoover I've read yet. YA romance novel about two kids trying to deal with childhood trauma.
33. The Mister by EL James (library ebook, 2019) - This is a bad book. A really bad book relying on stereotypes, confusing action scenes, and the male gaze. It touches on a really important topic, human trafficking, but does so in such a superficial way that was disappointing. Thumbs way down.
34. Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren (library, 2018) - I liked this one! I knew Christina Lauren would eventually hit with me.
35. The Simple Wild by KA Tucker (library ebook, 2018) - I waited more than four months for this to arrive on my library hold list and then the hero was a jerk. DNF at 50%.
36. Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1) by Evie Dunmore (library, 2019) - This really is an excellent romance novel. I'm 100% on board with its inclusion in this list.
37. The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date #3) by Jasmine Guillory (library ebook, 2019) - Guillory is a good writer, but enemies to lovers doesn't do it for me.
38. If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane (library, 2020) - I really did like this book, but the main plot is not the romantic plot. Still a very worthy read.
39. Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren (library, 2019) - Very boring. Heroine lets the hero get away with things she shouldn't have. Thumbs down.
40. Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) by Tessa Bailey (library, 2019) - Terrible leads. Felt like it was written decades ago. Huge thumbs down.
41. The Happy Ever After Playlist (The Friend Zone #2) by Abby Jimenez (library, 2019) - Much better than The Friend Zone, but there are still problems with this. Pretty okay.
42. Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas (2018) - Age gap romance I didn't even try to read. I'm sorry, but I knew from the excerpt on Goodreads that I would have nothing positive to say about this.
43. The Chase (Briar U #1) by Elle Kennedy (Kindle purchase, 2018) - I liked the female friendships in this novel. The hero was a bit of a snooze, but the main character sort of snuck up on me.
44. You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle (library ebook, 2020) - DNF at 40%. The fighting and meanness between the couple were not my cup of tea.
45. From Lukov With Love by Mariana Zapata (Kindle purchase, 2018) - So many loose ends at the end of this book. It was an okay romance novel, but I found the constant use of the word blink (191 times!) to be distracting and the slow burn was too slow for me.
46. Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (library, 2020) - Hibbert is a wonderful writer and I think about this book a lot. Zafir is an exciting, unusual hero.
47. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (library, 2020) - Hall is a genius and I like his humor, real-life scenarios. It's obvious why he's the reigning leader of queer romance literature.
48. Royal Holiday (The Wedding Party #4) by Jasmine Guillory (library, 2019) - Mature characters in a romance novel. Pretty okay.
49. Party of Two (The Wedding Party #5) by Jasmine Guillory (library, 2020) - Yet another snoozefest from Guillory. Fine to read, but not memorable at all.
50. The Hunter (Boston Belles #1) by LJ Shen (2020) - Look, I'm going to be perfectly honest. I couldn't find this book at any of the library systems I have available to me and based on my DNF of a previous Shen book on the list, a description of the book on Goodreads, and the first few pages previewed on Amazon, I just opted out. I'm not going to spend money or time on this book.
51. Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (library, 2018) - This is a perfect book for someone who is not me.
52. Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane (library, 2018) - I liked the cover of this book and the side characters. The main romantic plot was lackluster.
Here's how it all worked out:
|
Loved |
Liked |
Meh |
Actively Would Not Recommend |
DNF/DNS |
|
Well Met |
Red, White, & Royal Blue |
The Kiss Quotient |
Every Breath |
All Your Perfects |
|
Bringing Down
the Duke |
Beach Read |
One Day in December |
From Blood and Ash |
Pretty Reckless |
|
Take a Hint,
Dani Brown |
I Owe You One |
The Unhoneymooners |
The Kiss Thief |
99 Percent Mine |
|
Boyfriend
Material |
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating |
In Five Years |
Matchmaking for Beginners |
Birthday Girl |
|
|
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird |
The Wedding Date |
The Friend Zone |
The Hunter |
|
|
Hate Notes |
Regretting You |
Meet Cute |
|
|
|
The Switch |
Things You Save in a Fire |
The Mister |
|
|
|
Heart Bones |
The Bride Test |
Twice in a Blue Moon |
|
|
|
Love and Other Words |
The Proposal |
Fix Her Up |
|
|
|
If I Never Met You |
How to Walk Away |
|
|
|
|
The Chase |
One to Watch |
|
|
|
|
Royal Holiday |
The Bromance Book Club |
|
|
|
|
|
In a Holidaze |
|
|
|
|
|
The Wedding Party |
|
|
|
|
|
The Happy Ever After Playlist |
|
|
|
|
|
From Lukov with Love |
|
|
|
|
|
Party of Two |
|
|
|
|
|
Ayesha at Last |
|
|
|
|
|
Don’t You Forget About Me |
|
|
What a fun project!
ReplyDeleteI think I've only read the Christina Lauren books, and I think I liked them well enough but I can't remember!
ReplyDeleteI found the Lauren books super inconsistent - some I thought were terrible and some were pretty good - but I agree that they aren't particularly memorable.
DeleteOof, this was not a successful list for you! But it's good to know not to rely on Goodreads when they are using user data. Better to get your recommendations from someone who has similar reading tastes. I have read all of the Guillory novels and I really enjoyed them, but I find I am not at all critical when reading genre fiction. I'm just along for the ride and hoping to be entertained! I had to take a break from romance because even though I know there will be a HEA, the conflict will often stress me out!
ReplyDeleteI don't really follow a lot of people who have similar tastes to me in romance novels, so I'm always really struggling trying to find which ones I should read next. I think I'm actually really critical of genre fiction because I know it has a reputation and I want to fight against stereotypes. Well-done genre is such a pleasure.
DeleteBased on the way the Goodreads Choice Awards fall every year, I have learned not to trust Goodreads users too much when it comes to choosing the "best books," lol. I've read a lot of these books but I don't think any of them would be one of the "bests" I've ever read. I do really love Helen Hoang's books, though. So mayyybe I would give it to The Kiss Quotient. But I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteMan, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne is my all-time favorite romance but her subsequent books have been so, so bad. A one-hit wonder, I guess!
Yeah, it's like Sally Thorne has been replaced by an entirely different author. I didn't love THG (3/5 for me), but there were some laugh out loud lines in there and 99PM wasn't even readable for me!
DeleteWow, this is amazing work! I kind of wish I had kept better records of things I've read over the years....kind of how I wish I had kept up my boys' baby books, or made yearly photo books since they were little. too late now! haha. Sorry lots of these were misses for you....I so rarely DNF a book, this made me a little twitchy to see how many you stopped reading! LOL! But good for you for being ruthless when you know it's not for you.
ReplyDeleteOh, my only real document of what I've read is on this blog. If it weren't for that, I would have no idea what I've read - I'm not nearly organized to have it in another location. (My photo albums are in absolute disarray, too, so I agree on that point.)
DeleteIt's interesting about DNF. Some people just don't do it at all and I understand that impulse, but if I'm not enjoying a book, it can make me avoid reading. I'd rather DNF than stop reading for a period of time. Also, if I just don't care what happens in the book, then DNFing is no big deal to me!
I've been reading your reviews for a while, and had to comment for the first time here because your breakdown of the Goodreads list feels so akin to how I feel. One to Watch definitely did not feel like a Romance to me... like I couldn't even remember who the guy was when he reappeared at the end. And In Five Years was a much better book once I realized that it wasn't a romance novel. I love a good romance novel, but so much of it just doesn't do it for me either in terms of plot or character development or style of writing. I wonder if many authors appear multiple times because they have a high output level and therefore a larger readership? Like I adore Courtney Milan and Sherry Thomas, but they don't publish at a fast pace, so maybe not as many people are wanting to read them? Anyhow, Evie Dunmore has been one of the few new authors in recent years that I've really loved, so I'll have to check out the other books in your "Loved" column.
ReplyDelete