Top Reads (and Authors) of 2015 (Part II)

There were also some authors who either published A LOT or I discovered them & they had a lot of stories for me to read.  Some were w/in the same series & some were various stand alones, but each of these authors had more than a few books I read & fell in love with in 2015.  I HIGHLY recommend checking each of them out to see if their stories are something you think you'd love, too!  : )

- Hadley Quinn
- Kristen Ashley (OF COURSE - she's not new-to-me this year, but I read A LOT of her books this year!)
- MJ Nightingale
- Maryann Jordan
- Rachel Brookes (Be My December... *swoon*  seriously!!)  
- Rochelle Paige (again, y'all know I love Rochelle, no surprise I gobble up her books like popcorn!)
- B.N. Toler
- CP Smith
- KC Lynn
- K Webster
- A.D. Ellis (OMH, her Torey Hope books are DELIGHTFUL!)(and I also got to meet her last year & she gives awesome hugs, so if you're ever at a book event where she's at, stop by her table & say hi!)
- Katy Regnery
- Michelle Lynn 
- Kaylee Ryan 
- Aurora Rose Reynolds (like w/ Rochelle, y'all should know by now that ARR writes it, I will read it!)
- Annalisa Nicole
- Harper Sloan
- Kristen Proby
- Skye Turner (her With Gratitude And Love that she put out this year was SO SWEET!!)(She also pointed me in the direction of my favorite way to say THANK YOU to our troops overseas - Cup of Joe For A Joe through Greenbeans Coffee.  Truly an amazing program & I encourage everyone who wants to give a thank you to check it out!)  
- Alexa Riley (I've read a few & mostly loved them a lot!  They are short & steamy & insta-love.  The only one so far I haven't been ga-ga over is Taking The Fall & that's because the main guy in that story annoyed the bleep out of me.  HOWEVER I'm still glad I read it because the stories following it about other characters in that one were enjoyable!)  
- Belle Aurora - I'd been hesitant about reading Willing Captive, but when I did - LOVE!  And then she came out w/ Lev this year & that was one of my top top top stories of the year!!  *sparkle hearts*  
- Monica Murphy
- Lynsay Sands
- Tammy Falkner 
- Kelly Elliott
- Sabrina Paige (Elias, Silas, Luke - her West Bend Saints series gets two thumbs up!!)
- Amber Nation
- Savannah Stewart (Graceful Scars - grab it now!!!)
- River Savage (Knight's Rebels series - gritty but not overly bloody or whatnot.  STEAMY.)  
- M.E. Carter (Change of Hart & Hart to Heart - emotional & fabulous!)
- Scarlett Cole (The Strongest Steele was my vote for best read of the year on the GR awards!!!)  
- Tess Oliver
- Katherine Andrews (Unforgettable Sun, book 3 in her Hale Brothers series - BEST!!  LOVE!!!)  

Again, let me know if you have read, or do read, any of these, and what you think!!  : )  

TTFN!

Top Reads of 2015 (Part I)

Wow!  What a year!!  2015 brought in lots of new (or, new to me) authors & series.  I was blessed to meet some of my favorite authors (Kristen Ashley!  Meghan March!  Rachel Brookes!) and I don't even want to think about how much money I've spent on Amazon.  LOL  But soooo worth it, every penny - even those pennies spent on books I didn't really like, because nothing ventured, nothing gained, and with the amount of gems I found, I cannot complain!  : )  

So, let's get to it!  I'm not putting a number on this list - I'm essentially going through my GoodReads challenge (goal: 300 books; I'm currently reading book 298) & picking the ones that tug at me.  I don't want it to get too bogged down, so I'll try to restrain myself!  2015 was seriously FULL of amazing books!!  

(WARNING:  I didn't do a very good job of restraining myself.  But come on, out of THREE HUNDRED BOOKS, I think I did okay narrowing it down...maybe?  Don't give up on me!  Read the list!!)  (Love you!)

Mugs of Love by Norma Jeanne Karlsson - This was a totally random find, I don't even remember from which site or how I stumbled upon it, but I began recommending it to people when I wasn't even 1/2 way through it.  It was refreshing & amazing!  

Bent Not Broken and Be Here Now by Julia Goda - These were fabulous!!  Julia's writing style reminds me a lot of Kristen Ashley, and I wasn't expecting that at all when I picked up the first book.  Pleasant surprise & these are both re-read favorites!!  

To Have by M.L. Pennock - I admit, I clicked on this one because of the cover.  Get your mind outta the gutter!  LOL  It reminded me of Mugs of Love (the cover, not the story) & I clicked.  Then I read the synopsis & I clicked again to buy.  My instinct for this one was SPOT ON.  It is a true love story & written sooooo wellll!  I love the pacing & story line & romance in this one.  It made my soul happy.  : )  

Capture by Rachel Van Dyken - Intriguing premise, well-written, and the story had all my favorite things!  Friendship, attraction, no relationship angst... gorgeous!  It's book 1 in a spin-off series from the author's Seaside series (which I haven't read, but am interested enough to look them up later).  

Hammer's Fall and Nyght's Eve by Laurie Ramos - I believe my friend Rochelle mentioned Hammer's Fall & I fell head over heels for this one!  I read it in January & wanted the next book right away, but it was waaay out of my comfort zone for price.  Then, later in the year, it went on sale & I SNATCHED that puppy up!  There's a 3rd book I haven't purchased yet, but I'm anticipating enjoying it, as well!  

SEAL of Protection series by Susan Stoker - Susan was a new-to-me author this year.  I don't know how I came across her (probably FB) but Protecting Fiona (book 3 in the series) grabbed me w/ the synopsis.  Once I read it, I was hooked on Susan's writing style & storylines!  I've enjoyed the whole series & she has since come out w/ a couple connected but separate series that I am also enjoying/looking forward to!  

Ashes & Embers series by Carian Cole - another random find (seriously, the theme this year) was book 1 in this series, Storm.  Such a unique premise - two strangers stranded in a truck in a snow storm & one just happens to be a member of a very popular band & the heroine has NO IDEA who he is!  It wasn't all sunshine & roses, but it was soooo sweet!  I snatched up the remaining books in the series throughout the year, but ended up not reading them yet.  Until Talon (book 4), which had another super unique premise - two strangers get married as part of an experiment, and it looks like the people who put this together got it totally wrong, as these two supposed "perfect matches" seem to have NOTHING in common.  The journey their story takes is sooooo sweet and heartbreaking, with some surprise twisty roadblocks thrown in the way.  I absolutely fell in love with Talon.  : )  

Beneath This Ink & Beneath These Chains by Meghan March - ALL THE STARS!  That was the beginning of my review for BTI.  It's book 2 in the series, and I hadn't read book 1 (Beneath This Mask), so it was another random find.  I read it in February & ended up randomly meeting Meghan (in line at the KA signing) in July.  I still get a little ferkelmpt (totally misspelled that) thinking about how THAT all went down!  But this is about the stories!  Each book started out w/ a unique, new-to-me premise & continued on w/ a writing style & story that pulled me in & wouldn't let me go!  *hearts*  

Two Truths And A Lie and Play It Again by Ashley Stoyanoff (PRG Investigations) - Elena & Jason and Piper & Vance totally pulled me into their stories!  TTAAL was a random blog/FB find.  I read a snippet of a blurb, clicked on the book & immediately started reading.  Play It Again popped up on my kindle while I was out of town w/ my mom & I squealed like a little girl at Christmas.  *grin*  And immediately started reading.  My mom MAY have been mid-sentence when this happened... LOL  

Fighting Silence & Fighting Shadows (On The Ropes series) by Aly Martinez - Aly became an auto-click for me after reading her Wrecked and Ruined series last year.  OTR is connected to that series, but can be read on its own as well.  I just LOVE connected books/series, especially when I don't realize they're connected!  Both these series deal with heavy subject matters, real-life issues & problems that will rip your heart out, but I promise it's worth it (and I'm not one for having my heart ripped out, so that is definitely saying something!) and when the pieces are all put back together, you're a better person.  Or, at least, I felt like a better person after reading each of her books.  I felt like I went on the journey w/ each character, and her writing & stories are PHENOMENAL.  So, there's that.  : )  
  
Brothers of Ink and Steel series by Allie Juliette Mousseau - this is a spin-off series of a series I haven't yet read (but want to!) & was yet another random find.  I truly love the FB author/reader/blogger community!  

Need series by Cynthia P O'Neill - I Need You Always (book 1) was a random FB find in June.  I didn't realize it was a D/s story until I was already sucked in.  I'm not so much "into" that, and don't generally seek out books that are about the lifestyle, but this was done SO WELL and the explanations & family connections in this case were so amazing!  I have snapped up each book in this series & LOVED every single one!  

Sweet Hope and Sweet Soul by Tillie Cole - OH MY GOODNESS!  Amazing, amazing, amazing.  The cadence of the writing, the story, the fact that SH was to be the last in the series & then the fans really wanted to know what happened to one of the other characters & thus SS was born.  I have found that sometimes when fans... *ahem* pester ... request a book the author wasn't planning on writing, it can go horribly, horribly wrong.  The vibe isn't there, because the book wasn't the author's brainchild, really, and the characters don't "speak" to them in the same way.  This is SO NOT THE CASE w/ SS.  It was marvelously beautiful & I could seriously gush about it for paragraphs, but I won't.  : )  Just trust me & pick up her Sweet Home series (Sweet Rome was my favorite prior to Sweet Hope)!  *grin*  

Rush & Endless Possibility by Emma Scott - I'd been intrigued by Rush for a while - reviews were very favorable & the hero is scarred & broken, which equals one of my favorite types of hero!  It took me a while after purchasing to read, however, for various reasons.  When I dove in, though, I was pulled right into the story immediately & enjoyed it immensely!  It's lovely & perfect!  AND THEN when I was finished & looking for other books by this author (because it's book 3 in a series of stand alones), Endless Possibility popped up (NOT a stand alone - read it after Rush, as it's a continuation of sorts of Noah & Charlotte's story) & it had JUST been released!  I again was like a kid at Christmas!  LOVE!!!  So, for the best reading enjoyment, I recommend reading these two back to back.  : )  

Take The Fall series by Marquita Valentine - YES!  This is another spin-off series of a series I haven't read (yet) & currently has 2 books.  The stories are intense by not angsty, and so, soooo sweet!  

Forever My Angel by Kelly Walker - this is book 4 in the Chadwell Hearts series & was a highly anticipated part of the story for me.  : )  No One's Angel is book 1 & reading the series in order & together is a treat!!  

Hearts of Fire by L.H. Cosway - book 1 in this series, Six of Hearts, was one of my FAVORITE reads of 2014, and HoF fit right into that expectation.  SoH is about an illusionist & his awesome plot for revenge against those who had a hand in killing his family & hurting the girl he loves.  HoF is about his brother, presumed dead, who is a fire eater & performer w/ the circus.  EXCELLENT writing & an enjoyable story!!  The set up for book 3, King of Hearts, is wonderful & I'm looking forward to reading it (but have been putting it off because it looks to be really emotional & I have to be in the right place for that!).  : )  

Evergreen Grove series by Elisabeth Staab - These books are emotionally charged, written beautifully & and made me both cry & laugh.  Definite recommendations!  Book 3 is a m/m, which I bought to support the author but likely won't read, because I just don't want to read m/m books.  (A.D. Ellis's Sawyer is the other m/m story I have bought for the same reason.  These are, currently, the only two authors who have written a m/m as part of a series that I've bought, thinking their writing styles MIGHT have me reading one, someday, maybe.  *laugh*)  

Breaking A Legend by Sarah Robinson - Another surprise find & LOVELY story!  It's book 1 in a new series & I'm looking forward to the next one!  There is some drama & a little angst, but mostly it's a story about Rory & Clare & their interactions, how they fall in love & help each other become the best versions of themselves.  SWOONY GOODNESS ALERT as well.  : )  (And there's this dog... and the real life story about the dog is heartbreakingly beautiful!)   

Heart Shaped Hack by Tracey Garvis Graves - WOW!  This story is hilarious & full of heart & feels & happy vibes.  There's a happy ending, and it can be read as a stand alone, but there will also be a continuation of sorts, which I'm looking forward to - and I generally do NOT like that sort of thing, but I think Tracey will pull it off... 

GOOD GRIEF!  This is why I'm not a professional blogger.  I love my books so much that I just go on & on & want you to love them, too.  Or, rather, I want to share all my authors & books so those who might also love them get a chance to hear about them!  *grin*  

There were so many other authors/books... I'm making another list & if you aren't sick of me yet, go on & read part II (it's shorter, I promise!  More of a list than any descriptions...!).  

If you end up picking one (or more) of these up & loving it (them), too, let me know!  : )  

TTFN!