Top Ten books of 2007

Depending on how much I need to procrastinate, there may be more of my top picks of the past year posted later, but for now, I’ll start out and simply list my favorite books overall.

I had a really good reading year, and discovered a lot of new authors, largely thanks to following romance reader blogs, and in so doing I discovered a lot of excellent books. But here are my top ten, in no particular order.

• 1. Naked in Death by J. D. Robb - I’d put off this series for a couple of years, because the number of books written about Eve Dallas is still fairly staggering. But I’m glad I finally took the opportunity to start the series. Eve and Roarke are great characters with great chemistry, and I love the futuristic world Robb has conujured for them.

• 2. Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh - This one was definitely brought to my attention because of the blogs I read. Singh’s alternate universe is one of the most creative I’ve read in a while, and she brings together two very likeable people who deserve happiness.
• 3. The Elvenbane by Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton - This is wonderful epic fantasy. The sequel was a serious disappointment, but the first book delivered a rivveting story with characters I came to love.
• 4. Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold - This is my favorite Miles Vorkosigan book so far. I just adore him, and I love watching him extricate himself from his various adventures. Plus, I admit that a large part of why this is my favorite in the Vorkosigan saga is because of Elli Quinn, who kicks so much ass in this book.
• 5. Pirate’s Price by Darlene Marshall. I chose to read this book back in March, and I don’t think I posted a full-fledged review, but it’s the sort of book that I can still remember even months later, and it features a heroine I absolutely adore.
• 6. Tiger Eye by Marjorie Liu - This is paranormal romance that works equally well as urban fantasy. What I liked about this book was the fact that the hero and heroine are seen evolving in the way they relate to each other, starting out wary and then growing to fall in love. I also really liked the fact that Dela doesn’t suffer from what I call the April O’Neil syndrome. We see her interactions with the sequel-baits in a way that feels as if these people really do have connections with each other. She isn’t coddled or protected, she fights when she needs to, but she also allows herself some vulnerability.
• 7. Wild at Heart by Patricia Gaffney - Another book that worked very well for me, set in a time period that isn’t explored very often, 1890’s Chicago. Sydney and Michael were three-demensional characters and we got to watch their attraction build, and overall theres was a very sweet love story.
• 8. It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - I really was skeptical about reading anything by SEP. The plot summaries make her books seem really wacky, and I am really not a fan of wacky. What I got instead was a sweet romance with funny moments about two people who both needed to find that special person in the other.
• 9. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas - This was a very sweet story about two very different people who realize they need each other. Derek Craven isn’t one of the gentry, and it was nice to read about some of the lower-class members of London society. And though I am distinctly in the minority from what I’ve read, I really loved Sarah, probably more than Derek.
• 10. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase - This book nearly didn’t make the cut. I remember thinking the book was pretty OK when I read it, but not the OMGBESTROMANCEEVAH! Then I spent some months reading vastly inferior books. Jess and Dain are well-suited. Their chemistry is excellent, I love their banter back and forth, and I loved watching Dain grow up over the course of the story. It was wonderful to see a heroine be who wasn’t a complete nitwit, and I wish there were more heroines represented in the stuff I read like Jessica Trent.