We have a very special Hide Your Wallet today!
In celebration of our anniversary, we’re taking a look back at some of the major releases of 2005, some of which really changed the game, started trends, or even went on to become a Netflix series.
What 2005 titles do you remember fondly? Which releases do you feel made a lasting impact on you or the genre?
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Black Ice
Author: Anne Stuart
Released: May 1, 2005 by MIRA
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Romance
Series: Ice #1Living paycheck to paycheck in Paris, American book translator Chloe Underwood would give anything for some excitement and passion–even a little danger. So when she’s offered a lucrative weekend gig translating at a business conference in a remote chateau, she jumps at the chance to shake things up.
Then by chance Chloe discovers her employers are anything but the entrepreneurs they appear, and suddenly she knows far too much. Her clients are illegal arms dealers, and one of them is ordered to kill her. But instead, Bastien Toussaint drags Chloe away, and the next thing she knows she’s on the run with the most terrifying and seductive man she’s ever met. What were his motives–and would she live long enough to find out
Anne Stuart begins her Ice series, filled with alpha spy heroes.
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Dark Lover
Author: J.R. Ward
Released: September 6, 2005 by Signet
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #1In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.
The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.
“Shitkickers” has officially entered the chat.
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It Happened One Autumn
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Released: September 27, 2005 by Avon
Genre: Historical: European, Regency, Romance
Series: Wallflowers #2Four young ladies enter London society with one necessary goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband. So they band together, and a daring husband-hunting scheme is born.
It happened at the ball…
Where beautiful but bold Lillian Bowman quickly learned that her independent American ways weren’t entirely “the thing.” And the most disapproving of all was insufferable, snobbish, and impossible Marcus, Lord Westcliff, London’s most eligible aristocrat.
It happened in the garden…
When Marcus shockingly—and dangerously—swept her into his arms. Lillian was overcome with a consuming passion for a man she didn’t even like. Time stood still; it was as if no one else existed…thank goodness they weren’t caught very nearly in the act!
It happened one autumn…
Marcus was a man in charge of his own emotions, a bedrock of stability. But with Lillian, every touch was exquisite torture, every kiss an enticement for more. Yet how could he consider taking a woman so blatantly unsuitable…as his bride?
Amanda’s personal favorite in The Wallflowers series graces bookshelves everywhere.
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It’s in His Kiss
Author: Julia Quinn
Released: June 28, 2005 by Avon
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Series: Bridgertons #7Meet Our Hero . . .
Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth’s sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past . . . and the key to his future. The problem is—it’s written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.
Meet Our Heroine . . .
All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She’s fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken, and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there’s something about her—something charming and vexing—that grabs him and won’t quite let go . . .
Meet Poor Mr. Mozart . . .
Or don’t. But rest assured, he’s spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual—and annually discordant—Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth’s every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other . . . and that there is nothing as simple—or as complicated—as a single, perfect kiss.
The penultimate book in the Bridgertons series releases. Who would have guessed it would become a hit Netflix series? Streaming didn’t come to the platform until 2007 and Netflix original programming didn’t premiere until 2013.
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Mr. Impossible
Author: Loretta Chase
Released: March 1, 2005 by Berkley
Genre: Historical: European, Regency, Romance
Series: Carsington Family #2Impossible…
Rupert Carsington, fourth son of the Earl of Hargate, is his aristocratic family’s favorite disaster. He is irresistibly handsome, shockingly masculine, and irretrievably reckless, and wherever he goes, trouble follows. Still, Rupert’s never met an entanglement–emotional or other–he couldn’t escape. Until now.Outrageous…
Now he’s in Egypt, stranded in the depths of Cairo’s most infamous prison, and his only way out is accepting a beautiful widow’s dangerous proposal. Scholar Daphne Pembroke wants him to rescue her brother, who’s been kidnapped by a rival seeking a fabled treasure. Their partnership is strictly business: She’ll provide the brains, he, the brawn. Simple enough in theory.Inevitable…
Blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat, but as tensions flare and inhibitions melt, the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way.Mr. Impossible came out March 1st and Candy ran her review less than a week later!
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Poison Study
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Released: June 1, 2004 by Mira
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Romance, Romance, Young Adult
Series: Study #1Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…
About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…
This book would go on to earn a spot on Lara’s Keeper Shelf.
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Survivor in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Released: February 1, 2005 by Berkley
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Romance
Series: In Death #20No affairs. No criminal connections. No DNA. No clues. Eve Dallas may be the best cop in the city – not to mention having the lavish resources of her husband Roarke at her disposal – but the Swisher case has her baffled. The family members were murdered in their beds with brutal, military precision. The state-of-the-art security was breached, and the killers used night vision to find their way through the cozy middle-class house. Clearly, Dallas is dealing with pros. The only mistake they made was to overlook the nine-year-old girl cowering in the dark in the kitchen…
Now Nixie Swisher is an orphan – and the sole eyewitness to a seemingly inexplicable crime. Kids are not Dallas’ strong suit. But Nixie needs a safe place to stay, and Dallas needs to solve this case. Not only because of the promise she made to Nixie. Not only for the cause of justice. But also to put to rest some of her own darkest memories – and deepest fears. With her partner Peabody on the job, and watching her back – and with Roarke providing the kind of help only he can give – Lieutenant Eve Dallas is running after shadows, and dead-set on finding out who’s behind them.
By now, we were up to twenty books of Eve Dallas and Roarke’s shenanigans. There is a light sci-fi element to these and we wonder how those elements would feel today. Realistic? Dated? Cutting edge?
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Twilight
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Released: July 18, 2007 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Young AdultBella Swan’s move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.
Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.
Oh, come on. Like we’d leave this one out! Just think of all the romances that have been released because of Twilight and fandom communities.
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Mr Impossible! What a book!
This is such a fun trip down memory lane! Thanks for doing this, and congratulations on 20 years of bringing joy to readers and authors.
I was just reading a dark mafia book that was published about a year and a half ago when a line triggered my Twilight switch. I’m now convinced it also started or is a fanfic of it.
Twilight is the gift that keeps on giving
Oh, wow! MR IMPOSSIBLE and IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN are two of my favorites (I guess I should say “of all time,” because wow, 20 years!). It’s my favorite of the Wallflowers books as well, by far—maybe my favorite Kleypas ever?—and possibly the reason I’ve never gotten into the DEVIL IN… books.
Mr Impossible was one of the gateway drugs that got me back into reading romance after years away. And LC is still going strong. I just finished her latest over the weekend.
Congratulations on the anniversary. May you have many more…
I really liked POISON STUDY and have the sequel on my TBR. Funnily, it was recommended to me by a friend who’s a librarian and always up on the next new release, so I thought I was waiting for the sequel but it turns out it came out in 2006. To the library I go!
I still love Black Ice. I reread it every few years and remember some passionate discussions about consent and Bastien assaulting Chloe. Watching him go from thinking he should kill her and be done with it to “I would kiss your wounds, I would drink your tears, I could make love to you in ways that haven’t even been invented yet,” is such a gripping arc, IMHO.
Funny to think that, now, he’d be downright tame compared to what a lot of authors have been doing with their protags in Dark Romance. (I also hold that Anne Stuart was one of the proto-Dark Romance authors and deserves her flowers for that.)
Oh wow, I’ve read almost all of those. Good memories.
I was skimming the article until I got to Poison Study and went and went ´hang on, what’s going on’… had to go back and actually read the intro. I’ve read many of these 😀 I may need to see what’s still in my house or bought on ebook, may need to do some re-reading.
I took a look at my copyright 2005 books on Goodreads – either I wasn’t reading a lot of romance 20 years ago, or I didn’t bother logging them. The closest was Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin – a cozy mystery with a low-key romance in the background.
@Sandra: Just adding to my first post. The original Mr Impossible cover was very much of its era, headless dude, with his shirt open. And am I the only one who has wished ever since for Daphne’s brother Miles to get his own HEA?
The Black Dagger Brotherhood will always hold a special place in my heart. I have read the first bunch way too many times. I am sad that while JR Ward is still writing them, the books are no longer very good.
CONTENT NOTE: I really don’t want to be a dampener on the Loretta Chase love (I too loved Mr. Impossible) but just as an FYI for readers who HAVEN’T read it yet, there’s some orientalism in there that might make some readers uncomfortable, and I think that’s worth knowing before you go in.
I’m also going to go even further and say that Lord of Scoundrels has some racial dynamics and language that modern readers might also want to be prepared for.
None of this is to scare anyone off or invalidate anyone’s appreciation! It’s just something that I think many of us (myself included) may not have absorbed in earlier readings.
And if this is too far off topic, I will understand if the mods feel like this comment would be better placed in a different conversation.
Realized I’d totally lost track of the JD Robb ones at somewhere around 20 or 30, and decided at Christmas to go back to book one. The tech side of things is actually holding up pretty well.
@Laurel – 100% agree! My nephew’s mother loaned me the first 5-ish books in TBDB and got me hooked, but my interest began to waiver after book 11 and I never got further than 13. I cannot believe that there are now 22 (!) books in the series and at least a couple spinoff series?
@Amanda – yes. One must include Twilight. This was another series I shared with my nephew’s mother. We both read them and we went to the movies together without our men folk so we could enjoy them in peace. I’ve been meaning to re-read them because it’s been at least 10 years.
I’m still reading the InDeath books and enjoy them. There’s something especially nostalgic about the audiobooks, like hearing from cherished friends!
This is the rare list where I have read every book!
@FashionablyEvil ~ you might be interested to know that Snyder has been releasing companion books recently that are written from Valek’s point of view.