Last year, when COVID-19 was a fresh horror that seemed at times unstoppable, the romance genre served more than ever as a needed escape, and 2021 hardly provided any relief from that need, what with both variant viral strains and mulish vaccine resistance proliferating around the country. So once again I found myself turning to romance novels for some consequence-free enjoyment, and once again, romance novels did not disappoint. These were the best of them:

10 Meant to Be Immortal by Lynsay Sands (Avon) - What better way to start off our list than with the latest Argeneau novel from Lynsay Sands, all about sexy immortals searching with horndog persistence for life mates? In this latest installment, Mac Argeneau narrowly escapes a suspicious house fire and lands in the protective custody of police investigator CJ Cummings, and sparks, naturally, start to fly.

9 Boone: Eternity Springs by Emily March (St. Martin's) – March's Eternity Springs series has been wonderful for a long time, pretty much the ideal example of the homey-location romance where the cloistered locale is a big part of each plot. In this case, wealthy (and gorgeous, naturally) Texas native Boone McBride comes to Eternity Springs to heal from trauma - and promptly falls in love with Hannah Dupress, likewise seeking healing. 

8 A Scoundrel of Her Own by Stacy Reid (Entangled: Amara) – This new “Sinful Wallflowers” book squeaks in at the very end of this year’s list, once again showing Stacy Reid plotting at her chatty, charming best - this time featuring Lady Ophelia Darby, whose double life as both a properly-behaved daughter of nobility and a demimonde singer known as Lady Starlight is made possible by the scoundrel of the title, Devlin Byrne. 

7 The Worst Duke in the World by Lisa Berne (Avon) – This latest installment in Berne's delightful Penhallow series stars conflicted young Anthonly Farr, Duke of Radcliffe, who comes by his designation as “the worst duke in the world” innocently: he’s a widowed single father who mainly just wants to raise his son and live his life, not find a new society bride. Naturally, when he meets our latest Penhallow kin, Jane Kent, those plans change.

6 Not the Kind of Earl You Marry by Kate Pembrooke (Forever) – This first book in Kate Pembrooke’s “The Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair” series gets things off to a wonderful, witty start as William Atherton, the Earl of Norwood, finds himself fake-engaged to headstrong wallflower Charlotte Hurst in what unfolds as a classic faux-finacée plot that’s guaranteed to please.

5 Watching Over You by Lori Foster (HQN Books) - The third installment in Lori Foster’s “MacKenzies of Ridge Trail” pits natural enemies against each other: the MacKenzie family’s resident online intelligence expert Madison and police detective Crosby Albertson, a cop on a case who becomes increasingly interested in the mysterious MacKenzies themselves. There’s never any doubt where the plot will bring these two; the fun is in watching Foster get them there while also keeping the book’s main plot cooking along. 

4 Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin (Morrow) - Martha’s Vineyard’s Oak Bluffs - and in particular one of its much-photographed, much-coveted old gingerbread cottages - forms the backdrop for this irresistible debut by Sunny Hostin, in which a wonderful old matriarch summons her three very different adult goddaughters for one last summer at the cottage - a summer full of personal revelations, plenty of Vineyard atmosphere, and a wallop of an ending.

3 The Lady Gets Lucky by Joanna Shupe (Avon) – The two main characters in this second “Fifth Avenue Rebels” novel from the always-great Joanna Shupe each have something the other wants: bashful heiress Alice Lusk wants somebody to teach her how to be more alluring, and sexy entrepreneur Christopher Ward wants a great chef for his new club. When they meet each other, they of course start to want all kinds of new things.

2 A Duke Worth Fighting For by Christina Britton (Forever) - This third book in Christina Britton’s “Isle of Synne” series features two characters - Daniel Hayle, Duke of Carlisle, freshly returned from the battlefield of Waterloo, and Margery Kitteridge, still in mourning for her late husband - who are brought together by the usual Regency romance elements (a little seduction, a little bribery, etc.) but who are unusual in how believably wounded they each are, making for a refreshingly involving love story.

1 Hold Onto My Heart by Bella Andre (Oak Press) - Always a bit amazing to me when the top spot on this, an admittedly Regency-heavy list, goes to a contemporary novel, and yet that’s the case with this “Maine Sullivans” novel by Bella Andre. It’s the story of music superstar Nash Hardin and Maine café manager (and single mother) Ashley Sullivan, each of whom finds something they’ve long missed - Ashley a sense of adventure, Nash a feeling of home - in each other in this completely heartwarming story.