When it comes to romances, I consider myself fairly well read. In fact, of the RUSA Reading List 2009 winners, announced back in January at the American Library Association’s Denver Midwinter Meeting, I had read three of the five titles on the short list. That’s 60 percent. Not bad. What surprised me, though, was that I had not read the winning book, nor the fourth shortlisted title, by that very same author. Sounds like I needed to expand my borders. RUSA president and all-around readers’ advisory guru Neal Wyatt told me I had to read Joanna Bourne’s two books, the winning Spymaster’s Lady and My Lord and Spymaster (both Berkley). Who can say no to Neal?

I finished The Spymaster’s Lady this week, and it is a revelation. Gorgeous language (even when it’s supposed to be spoken in French or German), a complex, galvanizing plot, and flawed yet sympathetic characters you can’t help but root for and yell at in equal measure—they can be so frustrating, but in a good way. Read Bourne; she’s a marvel. And try to get to the other 60 percent, too: Loretta Chase’s Your Scandalous Ways (Avon), Sherry Thomas’s Private Arrangements (Bantam), and Lauren Willig’s The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (Dutton). You know you can trust this list; it was compiled by librarians.

So, tell me. What top novel have you been recommending to friends or patrons lately? Hmm?