#10: Julie Anne Long
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 18
Reviewed Works: The Perils of Pleasure, Like No Other Lover, Since the Surrender, I Kissed an Earl, What I Did for a Duke, How the Marquess Was One
What Make Her Awesome: Julie Anne Long writes the Pennyroyal Green series, a which centers around a small English town with two feuding families. I didn't really care for the first book of the series, finding it mediocre and boring. But then, magically, as I tried more of her work, I discovered that she has a talent for writing a different, unique, and engaging story for each character. You never know exactly what you're going to get, but you know it's likely to be good. Visit Her Website: http://www.julieannelong.com/index.shtml
#9: Nora Roberts
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 18Reviewed Works: Sea Swept, Rising Tides, Inner Harbor, Chesapeake Blue
What Makes Her Awesome: Nora Roberts writes amazing contemporary romance with some of the best male characters around. Visit Her Website: http://www.noraroberts.com/
#8: Gena Showalter
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 18.5Reviewed Works: The Darkest Night, The Darkest Kiss, The Darkest Pleasure, The Darkest Whisper, The Darkest Passion, The Darkest Lie, The Darkest Secret
What Makes Her Awesome: Until compiling this list, I had actually forgotten how very awesome I found these books. I was so fed up and disappointed by two or three of her books, that I actually stopped reading her altogether. Her place on this list, though, makes me think that I really ought to give her another shot. Her books are dark and sexy and worth at least a try. http://members.genashowalter.com/
#7: Jennifer Estep
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 19.5Reviewed Works: Spider's Bite, Touch of Frost, Kiss of Frost, Dark Frost, Crimson Frost
What Makes Her Awesome: I discovered this author via SBTB book club, when we read Touch of Frost. Since then, I've been following the Mythos Academy series pretty closely, and I've also started her Elemental Assassin series. She's very imaginative, writes wonderfully strong heroines, and ties everything together with a pleasantly simple style. Visit her website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/
#6: Karen Marie Moning
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 20.5Reviewed Works: Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, Dreamfever, Shadowfever
What Makes Her Awesome: A long while back, before I started this blog, I read a fair number of the Highlander books. I've never reviewed them, but I enjoyed them well enough. Then the fever series came out, and I was extremely skeptical. Back then I didn't read urban fantasy in general, and I specifically didn't care for first person narratives. She totally converted me. Visit he website: http://www.karenmoning.com/kmm/
#5: Courtney Milan
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 22Reviewed Works: Unlocked, Unveiled, Unclaimed, Unraveled, The Duchess War
What Makes Her Awesome: Courtney Milan writes historical romance in a completely unique way. She writes heroines that you can like and respect, and deliciously unusual heroes that you fall in love with. No cookie cutter characters for her. Visit Her Website: http://www.courtneymilan.com/
#4: Larissa Ione
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 28.5Reviewed Works: Pleasure Unbound, Passion Unleashed, Desire Unchained, Ecstasy Unveiled, Sin Undone, Eternal Rider, Immortal Rider, Lethal Rider
What Makes Her Awesome: Larissa Ione writes dark, sexy paranormal books that I always enjoy in a purely guilty sort of way. I love the demons and the visits to hell and all of the characters with their possibly evil dark sides. All around good, creepy fun. Visit Her Website: http://larissaione.com/blog/
#3: Kresley Cole
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 34
Reviewed Works: A Hunger Like No Other, No Rest For the Wicked, Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, Dark Desires After Dusk, Dark Needs at Night's Edge, Kiss of a Demon King, Deep Kiss of Winter, Pleasure of a Dark Prince, Demon From the Dark, Dreams of a Dark Warrior, The Poison Princess, Shadow's Claim
What Makes Her Awesome: Kresley Cole's writing has a brilliant, light funniness that somehow does not detract from the sexiness of her stories. He heroines are strong and independent and her heroes are fierce, scary monsters. I can't help but look forward to her books, even after a few let me down. Visit Her Website: http://kresleycole.com/paranormal-romance.html
#2: Ilona Andrews
Cumulative RtP Star Rating 34.5Reviewed Works: Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, Magic Bleeds, Magic Slays, Gunmetal Magic, On the Edge, Bayou Moon, Fate's Edge
What Makes Her Awesome: Ilona Andrews is actually a husband and wife writing team, and they are awesome in general. Not only are they very talented, they're also fairly generous with their work, always offering little goodies and alternate points of view on their blog. I'm not that impressed with The Edge series, but the Kate Daniels series is easily one of my favorite ongoing series to date, and I'm not really sure what I'll do with myself when it ends. I've got a couple years to go, fortunately. Visit their website: http://www.ilona-andrews.com/
#1: Lisa Kleypas
Cumulative RtP Star Rating: 38Reviewed Works: Secrets of a Summer Night, It Happened One Autumn, The Devil In Winter, Scandal in Spring, Mine Til Midnight, Seduce Me at Sunrise, Tempt Me at Twilight, Married by Morning, Love in the Afternoon
What Makes Her Awesome: At first, her position in the number one spot on this list probably seems surprising. I haven't talked about Lisa Kleypas as loudly or as often as some of the authors lower on the list. But, in fact, Kleypas is responsible for sparking my interest in historical romance, when before I stuck almost entirely to PNR with the occasional contemporary thrown in. She can make a dull setting and situation funny, and her characters are as charming as you could ask for. Visit Her Website: http://www.lisakleypas.com/
by Lisa Kleypas, only because I've actually thought about actors that would work in those roles:
: Self declared spinster and mother hen of the family, Amelia Hathaway, finds herself in the arms of the wealthy half-gypsy Cam. If that sentence alone doesn't sell you on this book, let me say that this is one of my absolute favorite books, period. It's an opposites attract pairing. Cam is extremely sexy and mysterious. Amelia is a strong, admirable character who many women can probably relate to. Plus, you get to meet the rest of the Hathaways and get your first glimpse and all of their delightful madness. 5 stars.
: Now, this was probably the weakest in the series for me. The heroine, Win Hathaway, has spent a lot of her life in frail health. Even though she's much recovered, everyone including our hero Merripen, treat her with a lot of delicacy. I'm not overly fond of fragile heroines. Still, it's emotional and romantic. It has a very strong hero, and I did connect to his emotional journey. 3 stars.
: Poppy Hathaway is basically trapped into marrying the stern hotelier Harry Rutledge. A good portion of the book takes place in the hotel, where to Harry's dismay Poppy befriends everyone from cook to messenger. I liked that Poppy was such a friendly heroine. I thought she and Harry were an excellent match. 4 stars.
: In some ways this is your typical reformed rake (Leo) meets uptight spinster (Cat) romance. But it has enough uniqueness to keep things interesting. Leo has a pretty valid reason for his rakish behavior, and has already begun to pull himself together by the time Cat arrives. Cat is the governess for the younger Hathaway girls, and she has valid reasons for being pinned up. The two are remarkably cut together. 4.5 stars
: Beatrix agrees to help her friend Pru write letters to her betrothed, Christoper, who is at war in France. Bea ends up writing the letters herself after Pru loses interest, and through the exchange she and Christopher fall in love--without him realizing her true identity. Letters and journals are a favorite story-telling device of mine. Added to this Bea is my favorite Hathaway girl, with her love of animals and her lively spirit. This book is particularly delightful. 5 stars.
: Annabel's family is in financial ruins and she particularly wants to marry a rich nobleman. Her primary romantic pursuer is Simon Hunt, a wealthy businessman who she finds entirely unsuitable. Without spoiling, I'll just say that I at first I worried that Annabel would be unlikeable because of her prejudices. Fortunately she grows a lot with the help of her friends. Both Annabell and Simon have interesting back-stories. The romance is reasonably satisfying. And of course, the women and their antics are endlessly amusing. 4.5 stars.
: Lillian comes from an American family possessing a large fortune but lacking ties to the nobility. She has few of the social graces prized England's most elite bachelors. Marcus Westcliff is one such bachelor who finds himself coveting Lillian against his better judgement. Lillian is easily my favorite heroine in the series because she has such a bold personality. Westcliff's personality comes off as a bit generic, but he's still likeable. I loved the setting of this book. I loved the pace and process of the developing relationship. 4 stars.
: Shy, socially awkward Eve enters into a marriage of convenience with the somewhat villainous rake Sebastian St. Vincent. Even his name is villainy. The plot of this one is pretty cliched, and the pace is slow, but it's still entertaining. Eve is probably the driest of the heroines, even if she does develop a lot. I love St. Vincent, and he really saved the book for me. The other wallflowers have a smaller role in this book, which I found kind of disappointing. 3.5 stars.
: Daisy, a romantic and fanciful woman, is the last wallflower left unwed. Her father threatens to make her marry his pragmatic and ambitious business associate, Matthew Swift. I'm a sucker for the opposites attract kind of romance. My only real complaint was that Matthew's past tragedies and the way they fit into the plot don't mesh all that smoothly. 4.5 stars.