Top Five Contemporary Romances of 2011

Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from the doom and gloom of Urban Fantasy and cleanse your reading palate with something a little lighter, and contemporary romances are my favorite way to do just that. Here are five that I read this year that I find myself re-reading again and again.

Kristan Higgins Until There Was You

Who doesn’t like a bad boy and a reunion romance? This list has a couple of bad boy heroes, and Liam Murphy fits the bill perfectly. He builds motorcycles, wears lots of black leather, and sometimes doesn’t shave for days, giving him a swoon-worthy scruffy look. It’s no surprise that tiny Posey Osterhagen lost her heart to him when she was a teen, and now that he’s a widower and back in town with his teenage daughter, Posey tries to steer clear of him, to no avail. Liam will steal your heart when he sends his daughter off to prom, and Posey is a funny, eccentric heroine. The John Hughes ending makes the book all the more satisfying. Read my review here.

Susan Andersen Playing Dirty (Sisterhood Diaries #3)

This was the first book I read by Susan Andersen, and it’s a winner. You can pick it up without having to have read any of the prior books in the series, but they’re lots of fun as well, so I highly recommend you check out the entire series. This book focuses on Ava Spencer, a full-figured heroine who had a humiliating experience with documentary maker Cade Gallari back in high school. He slept with the free-spirited “fat girl” to win a bet and let everyone know about it. Ava manages to get her own then and now, and watching Cade lose it over the stunning Ava is so much fun.

Susan Mallery Only Mine (Fools Gold #4)

I think it’s a safe bet that you’ll love any of Ms. Mallery’s Fool’s Gold books, but I was long awaiting the beginning of the Hendrix triplets’ trilogy, and the first book featuring Dakota Hendrix is a winner. Ever since a grad student wrote about the man shortage in Fool’s Gold for her thesis, men and the media have been descending upon the town in droves. A reality tv show (think The Bachelor) has set up in town, and Dakota’s been asked to coordinate with the show to keep the craziness to a minimum. When Alaskan pilot Finn Anderssen shows up and demands that she prevent his 21 year old twin brothers from participating in the show, Dakota has to tell him that she has little control over the producers’ choices. Ms. Mallery’s books are always winners, and the romance between Finn and Dakota is sizzling and heartwarming.

Shannon Stacey Yours to Keep (Kowalski Family #3)

This ebook release was so popular that it’s coming out in 2012 in mass market paperback, which is great for those of you without ereaders. This book had me in stitches, because the Kowalski family is not above interfering in each others’ lives. Sean Kowalski has just returned from the Army and is not sure what he wants to do with his life. Little does he know that local Emma Shaw has been telling her grandmother that he’s her fiancé. When Sean returns to town just before Emma’s grandmother comes to visit, Emma’s in a panic and begs him to pose as her fiancé, with hilarious results. You can read this book on its own without any problems, but you’ll want to check out the others in the series as well. Read my review of Yours to Keep here.

Carly Phillips Serendipity (Serendipity #1)

Carly Phillips was another new-to-me author, and I picked up Serendipity at the bookstore after seeing several reviews of the book online. I wasn’t sure how likeable the heroine would be, since she’s a former rich girl whose father bilked thousands out of their money in a ponzi scheme, but Faith Harrington is delightful. She returns to her hometown of Serendipity after her husband divorces her because of the scandal surrounding her father. You’ll really enjoy watching her find her way in a town that’s not disposed to view her favorably. When she and former bad boy (yay for bad boys!) Ethan Barron meet up again, sparks fly. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, and if you want a small sample to tide you over until that book comes out, Ms. Phillips just released a novella, Kismet, set in the same town.

Glomming on Contemporaries

Yesterday I mentioned that I’m a bit burned out on historical romances, which is a bummer, since historical romances were my first "wuv, twue wuv." So to break the slump, I’ve been reading lots of contemporaries, which is a bit unusual. In fact, for me contemporaries usually rank right above Romantic Suspense. In other words, they fit in the take-em-or-leave-em category. But a few have really drawn me in lately, so here are some mini-reviews of ones I’ve enjoyed lately. I have to warn you, though - these may lead to your stocking up on the authors’ backlists!

Rachel Gibson Not Another Bad Date (Writers #4) I’m a sucker for reunited lovers, and this book is a charmer! Fantasy Author Adele Harris jumps to her sister’s rescue when her seemingly perfect marriage falls apart and her sister finds herself hospitalized. Adele steps in to look after her tween niece, little realizing that her niece’s new friend is the daughter of the guy who got away in college, former pro football player Zach Zemaitis. He’s a single parent, since his snooty Junior League wife was t-boned by a garbage truck, and trust me, her accident is definitely an example of karma at work. He broke Adele’s heart in college when his former girlfriend (aforementioned Junior League member) announced she was pregnant. He’s not interested in forever, especially since he’s got a 13 year old daughter, but true love manages to save the day, despite the former wife’s intervention from beyond the grave. Really cute novel that has me catching up on Ms. Gibson’s backlist.

Susan Mallery Only His (Fool’s Gold #6) You really can’t go wrong with Ms. Mallery’s heartwarming contemporaries. This is the last installment in her latest Fool’s Gold trilogy (more to be released next year, yay!). Like Not Another Bad Date, this book features reunited lovers, in this case triplet Nevada Hendrix and Tucker Janack. Nevada wants to spread her wings and work for someone other than her brother, and when Janack Construction announces they’re building a casino, she decides to apply for an engineering job, believing that she’ll be interviewed by the senior Janack. She’s shocked to discover that Tucker Janack is running the show. They had a one night stand that resulted in his calling her his ex-girlfriend’s name, and Nevada was crushed. They manage to work everything out in the end, despite the former nutcase girlfriend showing up, and this delightful romance features no fewer than 3 couples. The romance between bartender Jo and Tucker’s friend Will is just as appealing as that of Nevada and Tucker, while the third couple consists of Nevada’s mother Denise and her long-ago boyfriend Max. The older couple manages to create some cringe worthy moments that are hilarious, while Tucker’s former girlfriend decides to donate a statue to the city that’s in questionable taste. Definitely a fun read that leaves you wanting more, and you will NEVER forget where Tucker proposes.

Carly Phillips Serendipity I was prepared to dislike the heroine of this book, because I was afraid she’d come off as a spoiled little princess, but she’s actually nothing like that. Faith Harrington’s husband divorces her when her father is sent to prison for a Madoff type ponzi scheme, and Faith returns to her small town to start her own decorating business. When she runs into the town’s bad boy, Ethan Barron, her new business gets a boost when he hires her to decorate her former family home. Even better, her love life picks up. Ethan’s got his own family issues, since his parents died when he was 18, and he abandoned his two younger brothers to the foster care system. He’s hoping to establish a relationship with them, which becomes all the more complicated when their fourteen year old half sister is dumped at Ethan’s doorstep. Despite all the complications, Faith and Ethan are likeable characters you’ll want to root for, and the fact that Ethan is a bad boy on a motorcycle proves irresistible.

Christina Dodd Revenge at Bella Terra (Scarlet Deception #2) I confess that I had my doubts about how Ms. Dodd was going to pull this novel off, but she has another winner with Revenge at Bella Terra. Eli Di Lucca is in dire financial straits and too proud to ask his family for help, setting the stage for a marriage of convenience. He agrees to marry Italian businessman Tamosso Conte’s daughter Chloe if Conte will pay off his debts. Since Chloe is completely unaware of the deal, I’m sure you can see why I had my doubts! Chloe is starting her second mystery novel and already suspects her estranged father of matchmaking, so Eli has his work cut out for him. But the two end up spending a lot of time together when a mummified body is discovered at a local water tower owned by Eli, and sparks start to fly. He manages to get the girl, but convincing Chloe to stay once she learns the truth is the hard part. Watching the strong, silent type fall for the creative Chloe is a real pleasure, and while the villain was a bit predictable, the mystery is no less enjoyable. It’s going to be hard to wait until the third book comes out in April!