Goodreads Choice Awards 2016: Best Romance:
Last year we discussed the Goodreads Choice Awards romance category, so I wanted to follow up this year to see which of our beloved bad books made the list and if any of you have read the other featured romances.
The Nominees:
The only nominated books I recognized were One With You and Beautiful Burn. We haven’t read Beautiful Burn on here yet, but since it’s part of the riveting story of the Maddox bros finding love, it’s inevitable that we’ll read it at some point.
I especially love how the second half of the list mainly just features identical looking, buff men in little to no clothes. I wish I knew more about the people who design these covers and whether they’re highly amused by their job or take it incredibly seriously. HIS PECS DON’T LOOK QUITE RIGHT IN THIS PHOTO, THIS IS A DISASTER!
But mostly I am extremely curious about whatever the fuck Beard Science is, which is apparently the third book in another series of books about brothers. The Winston brothers, apparently. I wonder if they are exactly like that Maddox bros but if each and every Maddox had a beard. What a story that would be! Given we got a gender-swapped Twilight, I don’t think it’s too farfetched to imagine we could get a beard-swapped Maddox book.
The Winner, It Ends With Us:
Even though I’m sure you’re all shocked and outraged that an instant-classic like One With You didn’t win, let’s talk about It Ends With Us. I’ve started reading the first chapter and think it might just have BBGT potential. Here’s a summary from Goodread’s below for those of you who haven’t heard of it:
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
I’m curious what you guys think:
Let us know in the comments which of these you’ve actually read (especially if they have BBGT potential) and whether there were any good romances that should have been nominated but weren’t.
Ryle? RYLE? And ATLAS? WTF. How does one go from a relatively common name like Lily (at least it’s not a one-syllable name that ends in “-a”, right?) to RYLE?
RYLE.
I’m not getting over that one.
Seems like Ryle originated as a typo, and the author was just like “meh, fuck it, Ryle it is.”
Hahaha yes!! “Kyle seemed like a good name, but this typo unlocked so many possibilities. Onwards!”
I’ve read Paper Princess from that list, and TRUST ME, that one belongs on this blog. I beg of you.
Just from summaries and reviews, that book looks like a mess.
I voted yes because Ryle, but I do worry It Ends With Us would be boring even to make fun of because the plot sounds SO similar to Fifty Shades and Beautiful Disaster. Then again, Atlas Corrigan… Atlas and Ryle.
I agree, the names are next level, but the heroine does give Abby/Cami/Liis/Voldemort vibes from the summary and Amazon sample.
Yeah that’s most of the feedback I’m getting. I finished reading it last night, so I was thinking either we’d have to compress more chapters into one post or make it my side project since I REALLY want to discuss it. It takes a different route than Fifty Shades and Beautiful Disaster and actually turns some of the tropes on their heads. I don’t want to give too much away but it definitely felt like at least the book was trying to send a positive message to women even if it was still wish fulfilment nonsense a lot of the time too (not always a bad thing but sometimes it was like OH COME ON).
That sounds interesting! A bonus post or some different kind of mini-series would be cool to see.
Unfortunately, while the names are absolutely ridiculous (although this might just be a genre thing. I’ve read erotic romance with someone unapologetically named Hollister), Colleen Hoover is actually not a bad writer. She just happens to write Romance, which calls for a certain kind of style, which she has. She’s not hilariously bad, like James, and she’s not willfully ignorant like McGuire… So I think it would be boring for the blog.
Paper Princess on the other hand… That I would love to see.
So I wound up finishing the entire book last night and I’m so torn, I had loads of notes about jokes, but I also had notes about things the book did really well. It might have to be something that somehow lives on as a bonus post or something.
I’ll take a look at Paper Princess, I’m very curious!
There’s no point in not putting those notes to good use (; It’d be cool to have a bonus review of it but if it’s not bad…
I am really glad you brought this name thing up, Utsutsu, the names in erotic and new adult romance are appalling. Like I know people wanna be creative with the names but put that creativity into the plot because I can’t look at protagonist named “Hollister” without feeling like I’m in a dark, sweaty place that smells bad and reminds me how uncool I was in high school.
I started hate-reading the next Maddox bros book, Beautiful Burn or some other abstract noun and HOLY SHIT is it terrible. Awkward,clunky description, Maddoxes being awful people, traumatic pasts, it is everything I expected. If you’re continuing with this series, you should do this one! Also, the girl has anot her stupid, alliterative name: Farrah (or is it Failin) Fair child. Still have no idea why McGuire does this,it makes me wonder if she’ll do the whole alphabet.
I can’t wait to read Beautiful Burn! Everything you’re describing is just getting me PUMPED!