Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2006

Publishers Weekly has announced their 2006 Best Books Awards. They included 3 books in the Romance category.

Shadow Touch, my Marjorie Liu. This is the second book in a series, follow-up to Tiger's Eye. A paranormal romance thriller featuring the Dirk & Steele Detective Agency.

Valley of Silence, by Nora Roberts. The conclusion of her Circle Trilogy, a paranormal romance series set around an ancient vampire war. The first two books in the trilogy are Morrigan's Cross and Dance of the Gods.

A Gentleman By Any Other Name, by Kasey Michaels. The first book in her new Regency trilogy, The Beckets of Romney Marsh. The first book is about a widowed gentleman who hires a woman as governess for his children. The second and third books are The Dangerous Debutante and Beware of Virtuous Women.

2006 Quill Awards

The 2006 Quill Awards were presented last month, in a star-studded ceremony broadcast on NBC. These awards are intended to allow the readers to have input on major awards. The candidates are nominated by booksellers and librarians, and then consumers vote in the "finals".

The 2006 winner in the Romance category was Blue Smoke, by Nora Roberts. Set in Baltimore's Little Italy, its lead character is an arson investigator. After being unlucky in love for a long time, she thinks things are looking up after meeting a carpenter. The only thing standing in their way is a pyromaniac stalker who is trying to kill any man she loves!

The other nominees in the Romance category were:
Masque of the Black Tulip, by Lauren Willig. The follow up to her book The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. In 1803, the French agent the Black Tulip is on a mission to kill the English spy, the Pink Carnation.

The Preacher's Daughter, by Beverly Lewis. A romance set in the Pennsylvania Amish community.

Savannah Breeze, by Mary Kay Andrews. The sequel to her book Savannah Blues. Southern belle and three-time divorcee BeBe Loudermilk and her friends go on the road to track down the man who done her wrong.

Undead and Unpopular, by MaryJanice Davidson. The latest installment in her popular humorous vampire series.