Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2012: A Retrospective

2012 was a great year for Reg Rom, with indie publishing in ebook format opening the flood gates for voracious Regency readers.

Here is the short list of my favorite reads from 2012 (which is not to say they were necessarily published this year!)

1. In 2012 I discovered the talented Jacqueline Diamond as she published her backlist. My favorite was A Lady in Disguise: Taking place in the countryside, and away from the on dit and crushes of Town, A Lady in Disguise is the story of a would-be betrothed young woman who ventures from her impoverished father’s estate to meet his new bride (a wealthy widow). When met by her would be fiance, she can scarcely resist tweaking his vanity by portraying herself as an actress come to visit his friend.  Recommended for clean and vanilla hist-ro lovers, this romp is as funny as it is sweet!
2. The Tenacious Miss Tamerlane: Kasey Michaels With laugh out loud funny banter, some very eccentric supporting characters, and a quiz of a heroine (Miss Tansy Tamerlane) you will love this book from start to finish–at least I did! Heyer like writing, beautiful cover and teen friendly, I fell in love with Miss Tamerlane and Miss Michaels!
3. A Very Merry Chase by Teresa Thomas Bonham was another funny romp. Supported ably by a wonderful cast of characters and some truly funny scenes, we also have a villian to spice up the action.  The language is true to form (or close enough) and the conflict is interesting without being over the top. This clean PG rated Reg-rom is a great escape for lovers of Heyer and Austen and truly was a delight to read.
4. Finally Frederica landed on e-shelves, rivalling my favorite Georgette Heyer, Sylvester, for top honors among beloved Reg Roms. With a funny bunch of kids lightening the Darcy and Elizabeth like sparring of H/h, Frederica is a page turner from beginning to end.
5. Bronwyn Evans: To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield Although not a full length Regency, but more substantial than a novella, To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield is a wonderfully crafted story of two neighbors at odds. Perfect for busy readers, this sweet read has a groan worthy ending and is delightfully Original.
6. Anya Wylde: The Wicked Wager With its bus friendly cover, this treasure landed in my inbox and soon sent an arrow straight to my heart! Part mystery, part Regency romance The Wicked Wager is a delightfully far-fetched escape into a world where the men are reformed rakes (and rich and handsome to boot), the young ladies are beautiful and tenacious (and rich and titled, too) and the villains are oh so wicked.
7. Brenda Hiatt was another old school hist-ro author whose backlist hit the ebook world. Both The Cygnet and Gabriella hit high marks for their simple, well crafted stories.  Fast reads, these more traditional Reg Roms were most enjoyable when transporting us from Regency hot spot to hot spot. Hiatt nails the essence of the Regency without getting too bogged down in the details.
8. With The Virtuous Ward, Karla Darcy gives us a sweet and easy Regency, with a tried and true theme of an unlikely ward and guardian who grow after being thrown together by circumstance. Her characters have rich, and deserved, character arcs which sometimes are missing, and I think the climax was time period appropriate and thus not overly dramatic/silly.
9. Joan Smith: Regency Masquerade Classic traditional Regency with clever plot twists and likeable H/h. Light on romance, but awesome on action for this vintage hist-ro which kept me up turning pages into the wee hours of the night!
10. Lauren Gilbert’s Heyerwood, with review coming soon, rounded out my year.

Several novellas also graced my ebook reader, and worthwhile mentioning as wonderful short journeys include:

1. Elizabeth Cole’s A Winter Knight
2. Almost a Spinster by Jenna Petersen
3. Sabrina Jeffries’ The French Maid

There you have it, my top reads for this last year!  I can’t wait to discover new authors and tell you all about them in 2013…keep sending suggestions, comments, and assorted other tweets and such!