So 2012 is no more. I guess we can only smile that we all made it into 2013. Hopefully, we’ll read even better books than we did last year, right? Well, that’s always the hope. I did read some really really really good books last year.

Anyway, coming to the question of this post: What was your favourite romance novel 2012 read? The book that gets the most votes will get the pretigious (wink wink) of being crowned The Season’s Best of 2012. 

I’ll throw out the first recommendation and say that for me it was ON DUBLIN STREET by Samantha Young, edging out EASY by Tammara Webber by a sliver. The tiniest sliver. The book MUST have had it’s first release in 2012 and must be a romance. We’ll do something fun once the votes are all in. 😉 Please include the title, author and genre. 

2012Best Book Vote
By Fun Stuff, Polls93 Comments on Best Book of 2012?

93 Replies to “Best Book of 2012?”

  2. I loved Sabrina Jeffries book “A Lady Never Surrenders” the final book of Hellions of Halstead Hall for historical fiction.

  3. The best book I read last year was “Wicked at Heart” by Danelle Harmon, but there were so many other great ones, like “To Seduce a Scoundrel” by Darcy Burke, “Invitation to Ruin”, by Bronwyn Evans, I could really go on, so I will stop!!!

  6. Tarnish by Karina Cooper (Paranormal Stream Punk), A Secret In His Kiss by Anna Randol (Historical), How To Dance With A Duke by Manda Collins (Historical), A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean (Historical), Ravishing The Heiress by Sherry Thomas….There are to many that I love~!

  7. Historical Romance: My norminations are: The Wild One by Danelle Harmon, A Night Like This by Julia Quinn, A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James.

  8. My pick for best book of 2012 was Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas. Runner-ups are: A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long, Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas, About That Night by Julie James, A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah Maclean & The Witness by Nora Roberts.

  11. The Sleeping Night by Barbara Samuel. Great romance, great literature. On the lighter side, I also loved All Summer Long by Susan Mallery.

  12. +1 for Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas (Historical Romance)

    I would also put in A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant for Best Debut (Historical Romance), if there was a category ^_^

  13. I’m still debating for these top 3:
    Riveted by Meljean Brook – steampunk
    A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare (my favorite couple) – historical
    Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas – historical

    Close runner up – historicals (Tessa Dare’s a Lady by Midnight, Sherry Thomas’ Beguiling the Beauty, Loretta Chase’s Scandal Wears Satin, Julie Anne Long’s A Notorious Countess Confesses, Madeline Hunter’s Surrender of Miss Fairbourne, Jennifer Haymore’s Confessions of an Accidental Duchess, and paranormal Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness.

    Agree Cecilia Grant Best Debut author.

  14. My number one of 2012 is Ravishing the Heiress, by Sherry Thomas. The characters really hit home for me. Glad to see several others rank it highly, too.

  16. Easy and On Dublin Street would both make my top 10 list, but I think my favorite romance of the year was About Last Night by Ruthie Knox.

  17. My favorite was A Lady’s Revenge by Tracey Devlyn.

    Second runner-up for me Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood.

  18. I would be tied between a few!
    PNR would be a tie between 3 –
    Lover Reborn by J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood series)
    Shadow Rising by Yasmine Galenorn (Otherworld Sisters Series)
    Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost (Night Prince Series)

    Then for Historical I would have to say
    The Scottish Witch by Cathy Maxwell (The Chattan Curse Series)

    Romantic Suspense –
    Stolen by Shiloh Walker

    Sci-fi Romance –
    Kidnapped by Maria Hammarblad

    There is probably many more but I think I have shared more than my quota of favorite books! lol

  19. Pingback: Giveaway: 25 Books, 5 Winners, 5 Books each

  20. The best book of 2012 for me was “No Longer a Gentleman” by Mary Jo Putney. 🙂 I have a couple of other favorites.

    “Never Seduce a Scot” by Maya Banks and “Thief of Shadows” by Elizabeth Hoyt.

    Thank you for always thinking of us.

  22. I think my favorite book of the year was Ruthie Knox’s contemporary novel About Last Night. So good!

  23. The best Historical book that I COULD NOT put down was one that I accidentally found and thank God for accidents. “How to Deceive a Duke” by Lecia Cornwall was fantastic! The characters were amazing and this book had me feeling every emotion possible. I just ordered her newest book and can’t wait to read it!

  25. Tie between Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost-paranormal and Against the Sun by Kat Martin-suspence romance.

  26. Best Historical- Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase
    other good ones: #2 favorite is probably The Duke’s Tattoo by Miranda Davis (if you like some humor-this ones for you!!), A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare, Nevery Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks, When You Give a Duke a Diamond by Shana Galen, Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight by Grace Burrowes, A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long, A Summer Seduction by Candace Camp, Lady Amelia’s Mess and a Half by Samatha Grace, An Heir of Deception by Beverley Kendall, The Proposal by Mary Balogh, A Night Like This by Julia Quinn, The Way to a Duke’s Heart by Caroline Linden, The Seduction of Elliott McBride by Jennifer Ashley. It was a good year for historical romance!

  27. It was hard deciding on my top read of 2012. I have few that I absolutely loved. My top pick is Sylvia Day’s Bared To You (Comtempary).

  28. It was hard deciding on my top read of 2012. I have few that I absolutely loved. My top pick is Sylvia Day’s Bared To You (Contemporary).

  29. Here are my picks. Historical: This book I waited on pins and needles for it to come out “An Heir of Deception” by Beverley Kendall. Release date 4/12. There is never a book from this author that I don’t just love. “The Ugly Duchess” by Eloisa James. Release date 8/12.
    Contemporary: I read so many contemporary books in 2012 that it is really hard to pick, but here it goes. I loved, loved this book “Bared To You” by Sylvia Day. Release date 5/12. This book was a new author for me and I just loved it. By the way I read a lot of new authors in 2012. “Butterfly Weeds” by Laura Miller. Release date 6/12. It really made me sad to cut it down to four books! LOL!

  30. Alright we all know my pick:

    Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas

    Self-Published:
    An Heir of Deception by Beverley Kendall (bout time for me to read it again)

    Close 2nds are: Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry, Riveted by Meljean Brooks, Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas, and Seven Nights in a Rogue’s Bed by Anna Campbell.

  31. Steel’s Edge by Ilona Andrews, paranormal romance
    Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb Romantic suspense, not high in romance, but it’s nice to see a couple going strong.

  32. Well duh!!! An Heir of Deception is the best of 2012…that’s why it’s killing me waiting for the next in the series!!!

  33. Gah – I can’t decide what book I’ve read was my favorite this year. There have been some duds 😛 and some awesome ones (such as yours, Beverley). I loved both your historical – Heir of Deception & contemporary – When In Paris.

    Not saying that to suck up, but those books are usually re-reads for me.

  36. I have a lot of 2012 books I haven’t read yet but of those I’ve read…
    Mate Claimed by Jennifer Ashley
    Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston
    and the Elder Races Series by Thea Harrison. I didn’t put down Lord’s Fall or Oracle’s Moon because it’s not my favorite of the series although both were VERY good, but they were not Dragon Bound or Serpent’s Kiss.

  37. Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost was my favorite romance of 2012. Not only does she consistently write entertaining stories, but she made me overcome my dislike of 1st person pov in a romance. I thought Vlad made for a superb hero. Mmm yummy!! 🙂

    On the YA front, I really loved Easy, I thought that book was marvelous 🙂

  40. I am normally drawn to historical romances but I decided to take a chance on a young adult, dystopian romance book in 2010 and devoured that book, the second in 2011 and the last book in 2012. I’m referring to the “Matched” trilogy by Ally Condie. Matched came out in 2010, Crossed was released in 2011 and finally Reached in 2012. From beginning to end, there was not a moment I was disappointed, I am a huge fan of series but only when they are done right and she mastered that, just as well as you Beverly. So if you are looking for a good trilogy, please do yourself the favor and read them!! My vote – Reached by Ally Condie

  41. There are still a lot of great books on my TBR pile, but of the 2012 books that I did read, my top choice is a contemporary romance…Lisa Kleypas’ DREAM LAKE. From reading everyone’s choices, I have quite a few more to buy and read!

    1. By the way, anyone who wants to read this book should read the first 2 in the series first. It makes this story much richer if you have become acquainted with the h/h in the previous books.

  42. Kathryne Kennedy’s The Lord of Illusion (the 3rd in a trilogy) with The Fire Lord’s Lover and The Lady of the Storm first.

  43. I think my favorite book of 2012 was Beautiful Disaster by Jaime McQuire. I also loved ON dublin street and easy which I read only because I found your reviews on this blog so thanks so much for that!!

    Kourtni

  44. I would say Matthew by Emma Lang and Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt were two of my favorite reads last year.

  45. I went through my list of books read in 2012. My favorite of my favorites was “Firelight” by Kristen Callihan.

  46. My favorite book of 2012 was AN HEIR OF DECEPTION. I have read it 3 times already. Looking forward to reading Catherine’s story whenever it comes out now.

  47. Ack! I can’t remember the name of the book I read last week, better yet this whole year! LOL. The one that stands out the most in my mind is the book Slammed by Colleen Hoover. I’m not even sure how I came to read this book, as it’s not something I would normally read. (I think it might have been on sale on my Nook, or something). That being said, this book had me on an emotional roller coaster from the beginning. I don’t think I’ve laughed, cried, sobbed, grinned, and cried more in any other book! The follow-up was also good, and I’m looking forward to the release of the 3rd book. I read somewhere that the movie rights have already been sold for the 2 published books.

    1. Oh, and I think this was marketed as a Contemporary, but with the age of the main characters, it seems to fall more into that New Adult category for me.

  49. Two of my favorite reads of 2021 were Tangle of Need, a paranormal by Nalini Singh and Almost a Scandal, an historical romance by Elizabeth Essex.

  50. I have quite a few I enjoyed!

    JR Ward/Lover Reborn, BA Tortuga/Fighting Addiction, and Brother’s Keeper/Elizabeth Finn. I could’ve listed a few others but will quit there.

  51. “Ravishing the Heiress” by Sherry Thomas gets my vote. I cried so much while reading the book, I felt I had read it three times. Never have I read such a long and painful road to love and happiness. These two characters reached a spectacular HEA.

    1. I don’t usually cry when reading either, but that one tear jerked. The last one really brought out the tears.

  53. Did have any major “OMG!-OMG!-OMG!” fave read this year but there were several that were close making picing a single fave difficult (rolling out pre-2012 helps some though) so wil lgive you 2, one for each of the genres I read most 🙂
    historical — Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt
    paranormal — Phantom Shadows by Dianne Duvall

  55. A Week To Be Wicked- Tessa Dare (historical romance)
    and/or
    Bride By Mistake- Anne Gracie (historical romance)

  57. read a lot last year so hard to pick one or 2 faves, there were several (both historical & paranormal) books that I enjoyed above the rest that were also published in 2012. The paranormal books are harder to recommed since they’re all pretty much mid series that best if read in order — ie: dying wish (setinel wars #6) by shannon butcher, fury of ice (dragonfury #2) by new author coreene callahan (all 3 of this series so far was released in 2012 & would recommend them if like dragon shifter stories) & how to drive a dragon crazy (dragon kin #6) by g a aiken, of course wicked nights by gena showalter is the 1st of that series & really good (1st book I’ve read of hers & can’t wait till book 2 comes out). In historicals, the series books work on their own so not a problem there. My tops of those include: lady risks all by stephanie laurens, how to catch a devilish duke by suzanne enoch, both a week to be wicked & lady by midnight by tessa dare & a rogue by any other name by sarah maclean. (I know, couldn’t do just one or 2 😉 but could have named twice as many.)

  60. I’d say Moning’s Iced, but it’s not really a romance – not yet, anyway! So I’ll go with Andrews’ Gunmetal Magic.

  61. Oh gosh! I love quite a few book in 2012 but my fave would have to be A Lady Never Surrenders by Sabrina Jeffries. (Historical Romance)

  62. Fun to read the faves.

    Paranormal Romance: Wicked As They Come by Delilah S. Dawson.
    I fell in love with Criminey and the world of Sang….if only I could have a blud bunny of my very own, oh and a Criminey of my very own too!

    1. I liked Wicked As They Come. Definitely different and tons of fun. Can’t wait for her next book.

  64. I read so many books, it is really hard to pick just one. I read all of the other posts and have read just about every book mentioned. The first book I read in 2012 was Princess Charming by Nicole Jordan which is a very witty Historical Romance. I really hate picking just one book so I am picking the first book I read…boo hoo I dislike having to choose. Every book I read is my favorite when I finish~

  70. I’ve heard so much about On Dublin Street. It’s definitely going to be my next read.
    Mine was Pamela Clare’s MacKinnon Brother’s trilogy. Well, the last two anyway from 2012. Untamed and Defiant. Surrender, book 1 was in 2011. I

  71. Without a doubt my fav 2012 read was Hot Under Pressure by Louisa Edwards – it was the last in the series and the ending was great – both the hero and heroine cooked up an entire meal representing their lives. It was for the final round of a cooking competition and they both chose the same theme – that theme was NOT given to them. So heartwrenching.

  72. So many are at the top of my list so bear with me:
    What Angels Fear and When Gods Die by C. S. Harris
    How to Marry a Duke by Vicky Dreiling
    How to Woo a Reluctant Lady; A Lady Never Surrenders; The Truth About Lord Stoneville; To Wed a Wild Lord; A Hellion in Her Bed, all by Sabrina Jeffries.

    Runners up (in no particular order):
    An Affair with Mr. Kennedy by Jillian Stone
    The Lady Risks All and The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae by Stephanie Laurens
    Shooting Hollywood: Diana Poole Stories by Melodie Johnson Howe
    The Rake by Suzanne Enoch
    A Woman Scorned by Liz Carlyle

  74. Tough question, but I’ll go with Carrie Lofty’s His Very Own Girl–it’s set during WWII, so I think it’s considered historical 🙂

  75. My most mostest favorite books from 2012 would be DREAM LAKE and BARED TO YOU. They both made me really emotional and I reread them many times.

  77. Let me just say that it’s really hard coming up with only one book that was my favorite of 2012. I’m mean seriously hard. It’s between On Dublin Street by Samantha Young and Reflected in You by Sylvia Day as my top. I just can’t pick between the two, both were just so good.

  78. SO many choices but one of them would be Enforcers Redemption by Carrie Ann Ryan

  79. Too many favorites, but Pamela Clare’s MacKinnon Brother’s books 2 and 3 are on the top of the list. Not sure if they qualify since they are reissues, but the trilogy is well worth the read.

  80. I read so many great books in 2012 I’ll give you my top 10, all historical romance:
    At Your Pleasure – Meredith Duran
    Beguiling the Beauty – Sherry Thomas
    Ravishing the Heiress – Sherry Thomas
    Tempting the Bride – Sherry Thomas
    The Ugly Duchess – Eloisa James
    Ruined by Moonlight – Emma Wildes
    ***A Rogue by Any Other Name – Sarah MacLean
    Thief of Shadows – Elizabeth Hoyt
    The Lady Risks All – Stephanie Laurens
    Scandal Wears Satin – Loretta Chase

    ***If you twisted my arm and made me pick one it would probably be the Sarah MacLean one!

  83. This was a hard choice. And still I couldn’t pick just one. So for me, it would be a three-way tie: A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long
    A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare
    Seven Nights in a Rogue’s Bed by Anna Campbell

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