Reader Favorites – Rebecca’s Top 13 Reads for 2015

It’s Rebecca’s turn!! She’s an active member of our Facebook crew, and she is a serious book-addict (after all, she had already read and loved pretty much all of my favorites) AND still, she was able to create this awesome list for us!!

Ready?

“I really want to add F*ck Love which I started NYE but I guess it really counts for 2016. 🙂

Hi Maryse! Okay- it wasn’t easy. I think my 2015 books read total was 262? That’s a lot of books to narrow down to 10! So, here is my list- I tried to skip those on yours even though I loved all of them too (especially Marrow, The Ground Rules, Jezebel, The Deal, Badger, okay – you get, I loved your list!). So, here are my ten (okay, it’s really 17. Or 18…) – in no particular order! Happy New Year!”

1.) The Siren (The Original Sinners) by Tiffany Reisz – I was late to try this series but once I started it- I LOVED it. I didn’t want to do anything else but keep reading- and as soon as I finished- I went to one-click the next one. The books are longish and I am starting book 2 now…it’s off to a good start too. I wish I had started the series when I first heard about it.

2.) Deanna Madden series- these are from Alessandra Torre but written under “A.R. Torre” for the genre erotic suspense. These are crazy and crazy good- it’s being made into a movie too! It starts with The Girl in 6E and there are 3 so far. She’s a “cam girl” and she can’t (won’t/doesn’t) leave her apartment- for a really good reason. Love these (and everything she writes!).

3.) Life and Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagán – this book was a Kindle First choice and I picked it up not really knowing what to expect. It made me laugh out loud and also made me cry. It is not our “normal” genre but it was good.

4.) God Shaped Hole: A Novel by Tiffanie DeBartolo – I meant to read How to Kill a Rock Star first. Somehow, I read this one first. It gutted me. I highlighted the hell out of it- I loved their love. I still haven’t read HTKARS because now I am SCARED! My heart clenched up just writing this and thinking about it again.

5.) The Song of David (The Law of Moses Book 2) by Amy Harmon – this was the follow up to The Law of Moses which also ripped my heart out and then squashed it with a boot. I think Amy Harmon could write my grocery list and somehow make me cry and just FEEL. Her words are like poetry. They are just beautiful. I have now tracked down and read everything of hers. I love her. After I finished the Song of David- I even had to message her and tell her how deeply she affects me when reading her books. She is blessed with an insanely talented gift.

6.) Kyland by Mia Sheridan is another one who once I read one book- I had to read them all. They are all beautifully written. This one- was just agonizingly, tragically, beautifully written and sad. The story of these kids and their lives and their communities- really really touched me. Of all her books, I think this is my favorite.

7.) You: A Novel by Caroline Kepnes- I read this one because it was recommended by Tarryn Fisher (who is worthy of her very own list- her writing is just crazy amazing, mind-blowing, twists and turns- emotionally gutting, okay- read her stuff if you haven’t already! ALL OF IT) and wasn’t sure what to expect- I had no idea what it was even about. This story kept making my mouth drop open- CRAZINESS!

8.) Before We Were Strangers: A Love Story by Renee Carlino – I loved this book so much. I was annoyed by their miscommunications and it seemed it should have been easier to resolve much of it. Sometimes, that would completely turn me off of a story. But, their love story (the way the book is written you get to live it from the beginning- it goes back and forth) was just beautiful and touching and I loved it. This was a beautiful story.

9.) The Mason List by SD Hendrickson- another sob fest. I love these books with childhood friends that follow them into adulthood. It was a poignant and painful coming of age story that I knew was going to have SOME kind of tragedy because of the opening scene- but, you aren’t sure what has happened. I was really unsure where this book was headed- and I had it confused in my head with another book’s synopsis when I started it (whoops!) so I likely was missing the forest for the trees with where the story was going- but, it was very well written and tear your guts out sadness. There were some editing errors but they may have been fixed by now and I overlooked them because the story was so moving.

10.) Attachments: A Novel (Eleanor & Park, Fangirl: A Novel) by Rainbow Rowell- I started with Eleanor and Park and then quickly made my way through Rainbow’s entire works. Her stories remind me of John Green writing. She is awesome! I keep hoping there is going to be an announcement of sequel for Eleanor and Park. Attachments was my second favorite. At this moment.

11.) The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – this was a surprise for me and I didn’t read or know what it was about before starting. I one-clicked it at Maryse’s recommendation. Beautiful story- I paid full price for the kindle version (which I really almost never do- I buy way too many books to do that too often!) and didn’t regret it. Powerful, moving, tragic, beautiful, can’t say enough.

12.) Burn for Me: A Hidden Legacy Novel by Illona Andrews is another author who could write a children’s story and I would pay to read it. They have a real talent for world building and story telling. There is humor and the female leads kick butt! This is the start of a new series and if you haven’t read Kate Daniels or The Edge series- there are plenty of other books to read from them that are great as well! (these are paranormal books)

13.) The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins- this was a Gone Girl type feel. It’s hard to even characterize it- but, I highly recommend! It was excruciatingly painful for me to read- I was sobbing for her~ if you have ever suffered the type of loss she does in the story it is very relatable grief. But- this is also one insane story about lots of crazy people! Ha!!