Best of AAR Top 100 Romances

January 28, 2025

 After analyzing the Best of the Best Romance Books of All Time list I published last year, it was clear that there was a definite recency bias in the results. It turned out 76% of the books on the list were published in the 2000s, even though the modern romance genre started in the early 1970s. 

I also received a few comments about the lack of older romance books on the list and curiosity about which new books would stand the test of time.

This got me thinking about how to analyze changes in romance book lists over time and one list came to mind: AAR Top 100 Romances.

All About Romance

Created in 1996, All About Romance (AAR) is a popular website that provides romance readers with book reviews, author interviews, industry commentary, message boards and more. In 1998, the site published its first Top 100 Romances list after polling readers about their favourite books in the genre.

To date, 7 AAR Top 100 Romances lists have been published over a 20-year span: 1998, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2018.

Analysis

I decided to apply my meta-analysis methodology to the 7 AAR Top 100 Romances lists to see which books appeared on the most lists and endured over time.

Since many books appeared on the same number of lists (i.e., 15 books appeared on all 7 lists), I further ranked the books in each group by adding up their numerical rankings on each list to create a cumulative rank score—the lower the score, the better the rank. For example, Lord of Scoundrels was ranked #1 on 4 lists, #2 on 1 list and #5 on 1 list, for a cumulative rank score of 11 (1+1+1+1+2+5), earning it the top spot.1

This analysis and ranking method favours older books, as they have more opportunity to appear on more lists. For example, books published after 2010 could only appear on a maximum of 2 lists. However, in this case, that is the point! The majority of all-time best-of lists favour more recent books, so I specifically wanted to create a list that would highlight older romance books.

Note: This list has been compiled based on research and should not be considered my own personal recommendations or endorsements.

In total, 15 books appear on all 7 of the AAR Top 100 Romances lists—enduring over a 20-year period—and another 16 appear on 6 of the 7 lists.

Here are the top 31 books:

1. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase (1995)
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991)
3. Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale (1992)
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)
5. It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (1994)
6. The Bride by Julie Garwood (1989)
7. Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (1997)
8. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas (1994)
9. MacKenzie's Mountain by Linda Howard (1989)
10. Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (1995)
11. Naked in Death by J.D. Robb (1995)
12. Ravished by Amanda Quick (1992)
13. The Secret by Julie Garwood (1992)
14. Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (1998)
15. The Rake by Mary Jo Putney (1989)
16. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (2000)
17. Paradise by Judith McNaught (1991)
18. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie (2000)
19. Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens (1998)
20. Dream Man by Linda Howard (1995)
21. A Knight in Shining Armour by Jude Deveraux (1989)
22. Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught (1989)
23. Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard (2000)
24. Sea Swept by Nora Roberts (1998)
25. Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught (1985)
26. Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (1996)
27. Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer (1932)
28. After the Night by Linda Howard (1995)
29. The Shadow and the Star by Laura Kinsale (1991)
30. Perfect by Judith McNaught (1993)
31. Honor’s Splendour by Julie Garwood (1987)