Goodbye 2021! Hello 2022?

December 14, 2021

Farewell 2021
“A window breaks down a long dark street
And a siren wails in the night
But I'm alright 'cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see through the dark there is light” 

Randy Newman – Feels Like Home to Me

I had hopes for this year, but. I at least got to see my brother. I’m hoping to see my aunt in far away New York. Please people get vaccinated, cause I’m getting tired of this. And, it is all about me.

Let’s turn to books. Well, what can I say? I had more disappointments than sparkling treats. Thank goodness for Bridgerton, and the great spoon licker, Rege-Jean Page. This Netflix production brought some much-needed light into a pretty dismal world. As I have done in the past, I have turned to my old books for comfort.

Voices we have lost this year: Anne Rice, Samantha James, Lucinda Riley, Emma Darcy, Beverly Cleary, Robert Thurston, Sharon Kay Pennah. A special thanks to Ms. Rice for scaring the crap out of me, and Ms. James for making romance lovely.

Debut authors who have shown up on my radar: Elizabeth Everett, Rachel Lynn Solomon, India Holton, Kate Pembrooke, Carrie Taleck, Emily Sullivan, Shannon Gilmore, Royaline Sing, Erika Montgomery. Welcome, and good luck to all of you.

Sidney Kay’s 2021 Outstanding Romance Books List. All is not lost, I did find some outstanding romance books this year. Some of them new, and some not so new. Regardless, here is my list of books which brought a smile to my face this year. Please keep them coming!

2021 Outstanding. (In no particular order)
1. The Duchess Hunt, by Lorraine Heath, 2021
2. A Father for Christmas, by Carla Kelly, 2021, short story from A Victorian Christmas
3. Great Scot, by Suzanne Enoch, 2021, short story from Kissing Under the Mistletoe
4. Christmas at Dewberry Hollow, by Amelia Grey, 2021, short story from Kissing Under the Mistletoe
5. My Mistletoe Beau, by Anna Bennett, 2021, short story from Kissing Under the Mistletoe
6. The Spinster and the Rake, by Anne Stuart, 1982 (again on the list)
7. A Proposal to Risk their Friendship, by Louise Allen, 2021
8. One Enchanted Evening, by Anna Harrington, 2021, short story from A Midsummer Night Romance
9. A Match Unmasked, by Erica Ridley, 2021, short story from A Midsummer Night Romance
10. A Marriage of Equals, by Elizabeth Rolls, 2021
11. After Dark with the Duke, 2021 by Julie Anne Long
12. A Reckless Match, by Kate Bateman, 2021

Sidney Kay’s 2021 Disappointing Book List. 

First of all, the title says it all, these are my disappointing books, not yours. Everyone else in the world may have loved these. There could be a number of reasons for the book to be on this list. Likes and dislikes are sooooo subjective. Maybe there was a hot button in the book that I couldn’t get over. I might have had a bad day, month, or year and decided to just shut the book. Or, maybe there was a problem with the editing, or narrative, or the horrible slang. Whatever the reason, let us not forget that this list is all about me, me, me. If an author makes this list, it does not mean I am not ever going to read that author again. As you can tell, some of these authors have been on my other disappointing lists, and I’m still reading them. So, what does that say about me? I guess I just like to whine.

2021 Disappointments. In no particular order.
1. The Earl’s Unexpected Gift, by Eva Shepherd, short story from A Victorian Christmas.2021
2. A Mistletoe Christmas, anthology by Eloisa James, Erica Ridley, Jenna MacGregor, Christi Caldwell. 2021
3. Midsummer Moon, 1987, My Sweet Folly, 1997 by Laura Kinsale
4. Hidden Honor, by Anne Stuart, 2004
5. Devil in Disguise, by Lisa Kleypas, 2021
6. Entire month of July 2021
7. The Awakening of Lady Flora, by Bronwen Evans, short story from A Midsummer Night’s Romance, 2021
8. She Walks in Scandal, by Elizabeth Essex, short story from A Midsummer Night’s Romance, 2021
9. Until You, by Gina Conkle, short story from A Midsummer Night’s Romance, 2021
10. Her Wildest Dreams, by Jade Lee, short story from A Midsummer Night’s Romance, 2021
11. A Prince in the Pantry, by May McGoldrick, short story from A Midsummer Night’s Romance, 2021
12. A Moonlight Kiss, by Ella Quinn, short story from A Midsummer Night’s Romance, 2021
13. The Duke’s Runaway Bride, by Jenna Fletcher, 2021
14. Wilde Child, by Eloisa James, 2021
15. Hero Wanted, by Betina Krahn, 2021
16. A Lady’s Formula for Love, by Elizabeth Everett, 2021
17. The Worst Duke in the World, by Lisa Berne, 2021
18. Graced in Scarlett, by Sandra Sookoo 2021

2021 No More Wire Hangers, aka Mommie Dearest Award

Isn’t there a saying about you don’t get a choice in picking your family members? Well, that’s sometimes goes double in Romanceland. A lot of romance books have a plethora of horrible, loathsome relatives. They come in all shapes, and colors. There are father’s who ignore their children, mother’s who push their daughters, brothers who sale their sisters, and cousins who treat our heroes/heroines like dirt. Some of these characters cross the borders into Villainland, and I have to decide where to put them. 

Regardless of where they end up, here is my nominations for this year’s crop of Mommie Dearest relatives.
1. From the anthology book, A Mistletoe Kiss, comes a horrible father. This guy is a continuing character through all of the short stories in this book. He makes his daughter into a drudge…she really needed to go to Italy where there are pretty places.
2. Every year, since 2019, I have placed Francesca MacTaggert on this list. Well, it’s 2021 and she’s still around. She still expects her sons to love her, even though she abandoned them. I did see a little bit of redemption this year with a MacTaggert short story in Kissing Under the Mistletoe. However, the MacTaggert novel, Hit Me with Your Best Scot, by Suzanne Enoch, still had her in it, and still not forgiven. But maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe, she will get her own story. That’s the only thing that will save her.
3. Then there are the sociopath mothers! From 1987 comes Uncertain Magic, by Laura Kinsale. Nothing says love better than a mother who drugs her son his entire life. And, I thought she was one of the wee-folks! Nah! Just a psychopath.
4. From The Scoundrel’s Daughter, by Anne Gracie comes the con-artist father, Octavius Bamber. You know, I have always viewed the word “scoundrel” has something gentler then this no-good, blackmailing, father. What a looser.
5. Even though it’s a short story, She Walks in Scandal, by Elizabeth Essex manages to be loaded with bad relatives. We have terrible fathers, downtrodden mothers and bonehead brothers.
6. All of them! The entire family from The Duke’s Runaway Bride, by Jenni Fletcher are horrible. I’d run away too, if I had this family from hell on my doorsteps.
7. The winner of the Mommie Dearest 2021 Award is: a tie!!! Yes, this year I could just not make up my mind over which relative smelled the most. We have the fledgling, bad-seed sister, Jeannie, from Vanessa Kelly’s, The Highlander’s Irish Bride vs. the scum-sucking brother, from Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo, by Diane Gaston. Both of these characters were selfish, spoiled, immature, detestable people. I hope they end up with each other, but I don’t think that’s possible.

2021 Steve Morgan Bonehead Hero Award

No character ever created in romance books says bonehead more than Steve Morgan, from Sweet Savage Love. How do you qualify for this award? Well, you have to be jealous, possessive, controlling, obsessive, and arrogant. You belittle your wife/fiancé/heroine. You demean her. You don’t wear any kind of protection, you’re unfaithful, and you keep a bottle of cream beside your bed…because you just can’t be bothered. Yes, a bonehead is a self-centered jerk who should have disappeared in the 1970s, but still manages to show up in the 21st century. What a snake in the grass.
My nominations for 2021 Boneheads are:
1. Now, maybe this isn’t fair for the 21st century bonehead, because these guys come from the bodice ripper days. But, if you ever wanted to find out what romance books used to be like, you don’t have to go further than the slugs in Laura Kinsale’s, Uncertain Magic (1987) and Midsummer Magic (1987). Lord Ransome Faloner and Lord Faelan Savigar…they suck, and they are not vampires.
2. Sometimes the bonehead doesn’t have to be an Alpha male. From Anne Gracie’s, The Scoundrel’s Daughter, we have a male I would call sort of nice. Except when he’s manipulating his children to get close to the heroine.
3. The Wild Wicked Highlanders series, by Suzanne Enoch has produced many bonehead heroes, but this one is a little different. Coll MacTaggert was a bonehead secondary character in the other books in this series. But when Coll received his own story, Hit Me with Your Best Scot, he has been redeemed. So, there you go. It is possible to have a redeemed bonehead.
4. How is it possible? We have a character who has already won one of my prestigious awards. I guess the brother from Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo, by Diane Gaston isn’t the hero of the book, just a bonehead. So, congratulation Helene’s brother for being so loathsome that you won two awards. Even beating out real heroes for the honor.

The Emma Wodehouse/Scarlett O’Hara 2021 Annoying Heroine Award.

Let me introduce you to our newest award – annoying heroines. I thought to myself, I can’t just have bonehead heroes who irritate me. There are plenty of heroines in Romanceland who make me groan, and not the good kind of groan. They come in all shapes and forms. They are doormats, they wear pants to break into houses, they must never die a virgin, and they are never good enough. They misunderstand why they saw the hero in the arms of another woman. Hey, there might be a logical reason! Just ask! Why were you kissing that woman? See how easy that rows off the tongue.
My nominations for 2021 Annoying Heroines are:
1. Madeline Montgomery, from A Reckless Match, by Kate Bateman. Yes it’s the, I-can’t-die-a-virgin, heroine. Why can’t you Madeline? Why? As you get older, you might start to wonder why you were in such a hurry.
2. Jenna Waverly, from the short story The Unexpected Gift, by Madeline Hunter. Oh, the humanities. We were so close to having a perfect heroine. So close. Then she became a doormat for her brother. She had a lot going for her, if only she had stood up to him…why isn’t he on my loathsome list? Too late.
3. The, I’m-never-going-to-marry, heroine, Marcella Cranmore, from The Railway Countess, by Julia Justiss. Why isn’t she ever going to marry?  Because she wants to be an engineer. Not the kind of engineer that drives a railroad engine, but the kind of engineer who draws plans. But either one would be impossible for a woman in that time period, or almost impossible. Given the time period, I’m not sure what marriage and being an engineer has to do with each other. Besides that, we all know the hero is a man ahead of his time. Probably a lot like men of the 21st century…all so liberated.
4. The, I-want-to-make-biscuits-all-of-my-life, Belinda Carr, from The Duke’s Runaway Bride, by Jenni Fletcher. Not only does she want to have her hands in dough and flour, she has another annoying heroine characteristic. She can’t make up her mind whether she will stay with her husband, or not…or maybe…or not…well, maybe.
5. Charlotte, from Bethany Bennett’s, Any Rogue Will Do. She wants to be free from societies gossip, but is afraid to leave because of what they might think. Here’s how it works Charlotte, you don’t care what they think, that way you are free.
6. I’m so proud. The winner of the first, ever, Emma Wodehouse/Scarlett O’Hara 2021 Annoying Heroine Award is: Joan Wilde. OMG. Not only does she want to wear pants (hot button), she wants to play Hamlet. From Eloisa James, Wilde Child, we have a heroine who wants to give up the comfort, and the love of her family to wander around the countryside with a theater troupe.  Doesn’t she know that she’s going to have to pee in the woods? Good-luck squatting, Joan.

Sidekick, aka Secondary Characters, aka Supporting Cast of 2021 Award

Don’t we just love our secondary characters, even when we hate them? Yes, those characters in the book which distract us, and steal scenes. They serve many purposes in our stories. They are there for our heroines’ comfort, and to give advice to our heroes. They are there for a good laugh, and to make us smile when there is too much angst in the story. They are there to support the story, and maybe have one of their own in the future. Of course if that happens, their personality will be drastically changed.

My nominations for 2021 Secondary Characters award are:
1. A whole group of men calling themselves The Chessmen. They have clever little chess piece names. I first became aware of them in Lorraine Heath’s book, The Duchess Hunt. I found myself asking, do we have future heroes in the Chessman. They were distracting, and mysterious, and intriguing…and I want to know!
2. Lucy, from Anne Gracie’s, The Scoundrel’s Daughter. Lucy was a mighty fine character who started out being not so nice, but ended up being a friend. Great friend chemistry between the two women in this book. Lucy was a wonderful secondary character.
3. An entire family who are irritating secondary characters. See, not all characters are remembered because they play a good role. They can be supportive to the atmosphere in the book, and the angst of the main characters. This family is never happy. From Vanessa Kelly’s, The Highlander’s Irish Bride…
4. Also from Vanessa Kelly’s, The Highlander’s Irish Bride was the scene stealing, Angus. I had to chuckle at his antics. He also went a long way in distracting me from that horrible Jeannie.
5. Is Lisa Kleypas turning into Mary Balogh? Secondary characters can be distracting, especially when all of the characters from the series show up to help. I have nominated all of the secondary characters from Devil in Disguise - just because they made my head swim.
6. As long as Suzanne Enoch is doing her MacTaggart series, I must harp on Matthew, the bonehead brother from that series. I can’t forget him, and he is a secondary character who is most irritating.
7. The group of women who are so-called friends in Elizabeth Everett’s, A Lady’s Formula. I am not too fond of the current trend of women supporting each other, and then stabbing each other in the back. Not all secondary characters are good for a book, some can bring the story down. When women bully, or become catty, I am finding it more and more offensive. This is not how I want to see women treated in my stories.
8. And the winner is: When is a secondary character not a person, but a place? When that place is so memorable you can feel it. From Diane Gaston’s, Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo, I nominated the battle of Waterloo, and its aftermath scene. Ms. Gaston’s description of Waterloo is so vivid in this story, it became a living, breathing thing. There was some great writing during these scenes. Because of that wonderful writing, I must award this year’s Secondary Character Award to a place – the Battle of Waterloo.

The 2021 Romanceland Plan Award.

There’s nothing like a plan that goes wrong. You know those plans. They are never going to work. They are full of pretend engagements, disguises, breaking into homes, traveling over the countryside, fighting pirates. It doesn’t matter who has the plan, sometimes it’s the hero, sometimes its the heroine, sometimes it’s both. It doesn’t matter who comes up with it, because it’s never going to work. Why? Because usually the heroine and hero don’t agree with the original plan, and use one of their own.
The 2021 Romanceland Plan nominations are:
1. The “other” woman’s plan from The Awakening of Lady Flora, by Bronwen Evans. Yes, the other woman actually explains her plan to a stunned, and speechless heroine and hero at the end of this story.
2. The pretend to be engaged plan from Betina Krahn’s, Hero Wanted. This plan eventually included pirates, who I might add, were not in the original plan…they were just a coincidence.
3. The fencing plan from Elizabeth Essex, She Walks in Scandal. I never understood how learning to fence was going to help anyone.
4. You know, this story must have had my eyebrows raising all the time when I was reading it. The winner of this years Romanceland Plan award, goes to Joan Wilde’s ridiculous plan to join an acting group, and ride around England. Congratulations on the second win! You deserve it Joan. And, again…how are you going to pee? I bet that’s not in your plan.

2021 Timothy Toad Award

Yes, it’s time for the most prestigious of my awards! We honor and bow to that male appendage, and his sidekicks, who can be found in abundance in our beloved romance novels. They can be eye-catching, they can be gigantic. Many times, you wonder how they are still attached to our hero. Sometimes it’s the sidekicks, or the antics of our toads which catch our attention. The variety of Timothy Toads and their sidekicks are endless.
Here is my list of attention grabbers, my 2021 Timothy Toad Award nominations:
1. From Hit Me with Your Best Scot, by Suzanne Enoch. Who cares if there is a murderer on the lose? Mr. Toad can invent all kinds of games to play before our heroine is murdered. Mr. Toad must be humongous to distract our heroine from her doom.
2. This is not a joke. How many Timothy Toad action shots can one get in a short story? I don’t know, but there are pages of them in Janna MacGregor’s, Compromise Under the Mistletoe. Jeez.
3. Salt allergy. From Midsummer Moon, by Laura Kinsale we have a Timothy Toad out of control because he ate salt. Oh, wait a minute it wasn’t salt, it was an aphrodisiac…my mistake. Who knew.
4. The stupid Timothy Toad, who isn’t aware of how riding a horse can break certain membranes. Once again Uncertain Magic, by Laura Kinsale.
5. A Timothy Toad who doesn’t mind that he has amnesia. He can still twitch, and recruit his finger puppets. From Lisa Kleypas, Devil in Disguise, the loss-of-memory-doesn’t-bother-me, Timothy Toad.
6. Speaking of finger puppet friends. Let’s not forget the magical fingers from Alyssa Alexander’s short story, Season of Scandal. They were pretty magical.
7. And the winner of the 2021 Timothy Toad award goes to one of my favorite author’s, Anne Stuart. Ms. Stuart has managed to create a plethora of Timothy Toads throughout the years that are just so memorable. And, the best thing is that none of her toads have ever fallen off due to overuse or disease. Congratulations Ms. Stuart, your Timothy Toads are the best! “Nobody does it better. Makes me feel sad for the rest.” -  Carly Simon

And now for a special award. In the year of 2021, when I was presented with so many negatives, there was a big, bright moment. Psyche Winthrop-Abeni. Elizabeth Rolls created one of the best heroines of the year! A Marriage of Equals is a must read for anyone who wants to find a wonderful heroine. Psyche is a stunning character, and I was simply enchanted with her.

Goodbye 2021! I hope things are better in 2022…puleeese. I’m sending a special shout out to Julia Quinn for writing her little books, which made it possible for Netflix to give us something beautiful to watch. And, thank you Rege-Jean Page for licking that spoon.