Reader Favorites – Jeannie’s Top 10 Reads for 2015

Jeannie is equally a part of our Facebook (and blog) crew and she has just sent her 2015 Favorites list over! She’s been with us since 2011!!! One of my first fellow-readers that jumped on the “indie” band wagon along with us, and I just love when she chimes in with her book-comments!

Like:

About finding our blog:

“I found a whole group of people who are as addicted to reading as I am – no one else in my family seems to understand (and they don’t get the whole romance books either!).”

About tearjerkers (back in the day when I didn’t cry as easily 😉 ):

“Maryse. I think I am exactly like you when I come across the tearjerker parts of a book. I may tear up a bit, or “know” that’s the sad part everyone is talking about, but I don’t start actually crying. … I am not a crier either, but some books do get me there, when they do, I know it is a memorable book for me.”

Her stance on HEAs:

“I recently read a book (which I will not name) ) that did NOT have a HEA and I did NOT expect it. It completely floored me, spun me around and I cried for hours (and hours). It tore me in two and I thought about that book and the ending and for days…..and I LOVED it. That book stayed with me and I love how the author was able to rip my heart out, then make me want to read more of her books. I realized that sometimes, HEA can get a bit boring….. I have to add that if I had known it did not have a HEA, I might not have read it. And I would have missed out on a really amazing book by an amazing writer.”

Her book “pet peeves”

“…no matter what the book is about, I want good editing. Nothing is worse than being constantly pulled out of a story because you need to keep re-reading a sentence to understand what the heck it means. Too many commas, not enough, poor sentence structure, it drives me insane!”

And her love of these “Reader Favorites” lists:

“What I love about these lists are that I always find something else I have to put on my “Must Read” list. Or maybe that is not such a good thing!”

LOL!!! And now take a look at her list! There are a few that I haven’t read yet, but better yet, a few that I haven’t heard of yet, either. *squee* on new finds!!!

Hi Maryse!

I finally put together my list of favorites of 2015. My list is somewhat eclectic, but it is what keeps me (usually) from going into a book funk. I mix up my genres, I love New Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, YA, Historical; as well as those “Hard to Classify” books. I am also very stingy with 5 star ratings. I read a lot (I read over 140 books last year) so I try and save the 5 star rating for books that keep me thinking for days later, make me want to throw it (or my kindle) across the room, or just make me an emotional basketcase! If a book gets a 4 star rating from me, that is still very good rating.

My top 2015 reads (in no particular order) are:

1.) When It Rains (Rains Series Book 1) by Lisa DeJong – I loved this book! Nothing happened the way I expected it to, and I just could not put it down once I started. Be warned though, have a box of tissues ready. This one had me sobbing. So good though!

2.) Every Wrong Reason by Rachel Higginson – I just loved this, it was so beautifully written. I wanted to shake the H/h a few times though! Perfect ending though.

3.) Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass series Book 3) & Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass series) by Sarah J. Maas – Heir of Fire just tore me apart! It was one of those books that nothing happened, yet so much happened. I was choking up through pretty much the entire book. I read this book twice, almost unheard of for me, but I needed to prepare for Queen of Shadows, which I also loved. QoS had more action than HoF, but still some emotional scenes that tore me up. I highlighted these books so much, but this one tore me up:

“Because I am lost,” she whispered onto the earth. “And I do not know the way.”

4.) Transcendence by Shay Savage – I did not expect to want a Neaderthal guy as my book boyfriend, but I just loved Ehd!

5.) The Life Intended by Kristen Harmel – I loved this book, even though I was pretty choked up through most of it, and needed a box of tissues on hand for some really heart-wrenching moments. It’s a beautiful story, and I loved every moment of it.

6.) Forever, Interrupted: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid – What can I say on this, except I cried and cried almost the entire book. Going back and forth from the past to the present, knowing what will happen was gut-wrenching.

7.) Deep (Stage Dive Series Book 4) by Kylie Scott (and the rest of the Stage Dive series) – LOVE this series! And it is nice to lighten up and still read something amazing. These books make me laugh and also give me the “oh no he did NOT!!” moments. I devoured this series and can’t wait until her next book!

8.) I’m With You by Taylor Dean – I can’t remember how I found this one, but I started reading it and couldn’t put it down. It deals with the difficult subject matter of the loss of a baby and the grief and depression that happens. It also touches on how there is no timeline for grief or how it should be handled. It’s also a romance that develops unexpectedly between two unlikely people. I loved it.

9.) The Winter King (Weathermages of Mystral Book 1) by C.L. Wilson – After reading her Tairen Soul series, which is one of my favorite series, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book, which is an entirely different world. I should never have doubted her. Wilson does not disappoint, and gives us a heroine that, even though she is unwanted and unloved by her father and lives in seclusion for much of her life, is strong and resilient. She is given in marriage as part of a treaty and goes to live in her new husband’s land and finds herself alone and resented by most of the people there. It’s a long book (but it didn’t feel that way) and a standalone (the first in a new series). C.L. Wilson is not a fast writer (unfortunately for us), but her books are guaranteed to keep the pages turning.

10.) The Piano Man Project by Kat French – This was a really fun book that I absolutely loved! The H is definitely NOT loveable at all, but the banter between the H/h has some of the best (and funniest) lines. She also has two friends that try and “help” her find the right guy. I highlighted this book a lot! There is something that you find out that took me completely by surprise, which is pretty hard to do, so I loved that. There are some pretty hilarious moments, a perfect book when you need to lighten your reading a little.

This is my list Maryse!! Thanks so much for letting me share!