2014 Books in Review
Oops. I'm a bit late with this post this year, and I'm right in the middle of another book...
2013 list here
I read 63 (soon to be 64) books this year.
1. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. There was just something about this book. I suppose it hit me at the right time. Combo of plot, prose, and a few interesting characters did the trick.
2. The Original Sinners series by Tiffany Reiz - When I first read The Siren (the first book in the series) I didn't know what to think. I HATED Soren and I didn't know if I'd like it or not. I did know that her writing swept me away, her prose is absolutely gorgeous.
And then I met the author at Book Expo, and when I told her I'd just finished The Siren she asked if I'd figured out how she'd tricked me yet. So I was compelled to read on.
The next book, The Angel, I think is my favorite of the series. I adore Michael and Griffin, and I'd love to see more of them.
In short, the series is erotica, with luscious prose and LOTS of kink. (Yes, the author is "one of us" which I think makes these books very accessible to fannish folk.)
3. The Protector by Cooper West. This book was like crack for me. M/M dog shifters? Yes, please. I couldn't put it down. Read it in like a day.
4. Slightly Sinful by Mary Balogh - When I got to the end of this story, I felt sad and teared up. I just grew emotionally attached to this one.
5. Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare - I adored this one. I really felt like it embodied all that a romance novel should be.
6. Ancillary Justice because I simply couldn't put it down. Amazing world building that kept me hooked.
7. Crap, forgot Fangirl By Rainbow Rowell. This book spoke to me on a personal level. The only part I missed was the main character finding fellow geeks.
Fair warning, there are a few DNFs on here.
1. Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck - DNF - Picked this one up on an impulse buy in Barnes and Nobel because of the gorgeous cover. Never again will I do that. The author had an amazing cover designer and book packager. The prose was so stilted a fifth grader could do better. Never mind the casual racism. I'm sure 13 year olds will find something to love here, which is the only reason I can give for its popularity.
2. The Line by JD Horn - DNF - Got this via kindle loan, thank goodness. The first chapter is fantastic, hooked me, but by the 2nd I wanted to smack the heroine into next Tuesday. Glad I didn't finish because summaries on Goodreads tell me I would have tossed my kindle across the room for this one.
3. The Boss by Abigail Barnette - speaking of throwing kindles across the room...(Do read my goodreads review of this one. I picked this up for free because it was touted as better than 50 shades of gray, meaning less rapey apparently. But holy christ, it ends on a downer of a cliffhanger. I think the novel didn't know what it wanted to be. It succeeded when the author let herself be funny, and I adored several of her one-liners. But as soon as she tried to go dark and realistic, it turned me off.
Plus first person POV erotica from the woman's POV? I just can't. Especially with the amount of masturbating she did.
4. Druids by Morgan Llywelyn - speaking of rapey and a downer, that describes this book perfectly.
There were other books I didn't like that much, but no others that I really think deserve to be on this list.
2013 list here
I read 63 (soon to be 64) books this year.
1. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. There was just something about this book. I suppose it hit me at the right time. Combo of plot, prose, and a few interesting characters did the trick.
2. The Original Sinners series by Tiffany Reiz - When I first read The Siren (the first book in the series) I didn't know what to think. I HATED Soren and I didn't know if I'd like it or not. I did know that her writing swept me away, her prose is absolutely gorgeous.
And then I met the author at Book Expo, and when I told her I'd just finished The Siren she asked if I'd figured out how she'd tricked me yet. So I was compelled to read on.
The next book, The Angel, I think is my favorite of the series. I adore Michael and Griffin, and I'd love to see more of them.
In short, the series is erotica, with luscious prose and LOTS of kink. (Yes, the author is "one of us" which I think makes these books very accessible to fannish folk.)
3. The Protector by Cooper West. This book was like crack for me. M/M dog shifters? Yes, please. I couldn't put it down. Read it in like a day.
4. Slightly Sinful by Mary Balogh - When I got to the end of this story, I felt sad and teared up. I just grew emotionally attached to this one.
5. Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare - I adored this one. I really felt like it embodied all that a romance novel should be.
6. Ancillary Justice because I simply couldn't put it down. Amazing world building that kept me hooked.
7. Crap, forgot Fangirl By Rainbow Rowell. This book spoke to me on a personal level. The only part I missed was the main character finding fellow geeks.
Fair warning, there are a few DNFs on here.
1. Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck - DNF - Picked this one up on an impulse buy in Barnes and Nobel because of the gorgeous cover. Never again will I do that. The author had an amazing cover designer and book packager. The prose was so stilted a fifth grader could do better. Never mind the casual racism. I'm sure 13 year olds will find something to love here, which is the only reason I can give for its popularity.
2. The Line by JD Horn - DNF - Got this via kindle loan, thank goodness. The first chapter is fantastic, hooked me, but by the 2nd I wanted to smack the heroine into next Tuesday. Glad I didn't finish because summaries on Goodreads tell me I would have tossed my kindle across the room for this one.
3. The Boss by Abigail Barnette - speaking of throwing kindles across the room...(Do read my goodreads review of this one. I picked this up for free because it was touted as better than 50 shades of gray, meaning less rapey apparently. But holy christ, it ends on a downer of a cliffhanger. I think the novel didn't know what it wanted to be. It succeeded when the author let herself be funny, and I adored several of her one-liners. But as soon as she tried to go dark and realistic, it turned me off.
Plus first person POV erotica from the woman's POV? I just can't. Especially with the amount of masturbating she did.
4. Druids by Morgan Llywelyn - speaking of rapey and a downer, that describes this book perfectly.
There were other books I didn't like that much, but no others that I really think deserve to be on this list.