FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[library addict]

What were your favorite reads of 2017?

I can never pick just one book or even series as so much depends on my mood

alphabetically by author:
5 star reads for 2017: any year published
Relaunch Mission by Robyn Bachar Apr 2017* (The Galactic Cold War #1)
Contingency Plan by Robyn Bachar July 2017* (The Galactic Cold War #2)
Riveted by Meljean Brook Sept 2012 (Iron Seas #3)
The Kraken King by Meljean Brook Nov 2014 (Iron Seas #4)
Down Outback Roads by Alissa Callen May 2014 (Outback Dust #1)
All I Am by Nicole Helm Feb 2016 (Farmers’ Market #2)
Need You Now by Nicole Helm Mar 2017* (Mile High Adventures #1)
So Wrong It Must Be Right by Nicole Helm Mar 2017* (Gallagher & Ivy #1)
True-Blue Cowboy Christmas by Nicole Helm Oct 2016 (Big Sky Cowboys #3)
The Girl in the Steel-Capped Boots by Loretta Hill Aug 2012 (Barnes Inc #1)
The Mark of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy June 2014 (The Twelve Kingdoms #1)
The Talon of the Hawk by Jeffe Kennedy June 2015 (The Twelve Kingdoms #3)
Soft Target by Mia Kay Nov 2015 (Agents Undercover #1)
Red Clover Inn by Carla Neggers Apr 2017* (Swift River Valley #7)
Ashwin by Kit Rocha Mar 2017* (Gideon’s Riders #1)
Fighting Kat by PJ Schnyder Jan 2014 (The Triton Experiment #2)
Wreck of the Nebula Dream by Veronica Scott Mar 2012 (Sectors #1)
Star Cruise: Outbreak by Veronica Scott Apr 2016 (Sectors #5)
Danger in the Stars by Veronica Scott Apr 2017* (Sectors #10)
Aydarr by Veronica Scott Dec 2017* (Sectors New Allies #1)
Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis Jan 2017* (Heartbreaker Bay #3)
Silver Silence by Nalini Singh June 2017* (Psy/Changeling Trinity #1)


Also, why are stand-alones so rare nowadays?

[Blossom]

Top 2017 Reads:

* Splendid by Julia Quinn
* Nine Rules to Break... by Sarah MacLean
* Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas
* If I only Had A Duke by Lenora Bell
* The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan
* The Double Wager by Mary Balogh
* Hold Her Again by Shannon Stacey
* Just The Way You Are by Barbara Feethy
* Soulless by Gail Carriger
* Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh

Top 2017 series was The Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh. It's my third favorite series of all time.

Favorite new author for 2017 is Lenora Bell


Sent from my Nexus 7

[briefcandles]

Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi. It stayed with me for a long, long time.

[copyrite]

Blossom I never thought you'd turn into a(n) historical romance reader!

I loved Simple Jess. Read it a couple of years ago.

It's really hard to pick out any stand out books.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by copyrite

Blossom I never thought you'd turn into a(n) historical romance reader!

I loved Simple Jess. Read it a couple of years ago.

I know right. I joined a book club full of them and they got me addicted. I spent the year discovering new school historical romance.

What so funny is it's an old school romance book club but 90% are new school readers. I joined because of my love for old school and now here I am reading the very mistoricals I use to be so judgemental on.

I read so many new authors this year. I didn't read many contemporaries. Mostly historicals and paranormals. I also have many new physical books Most in good condition. I need a new bookshelf.

I'm currently reading Elizabeth Mansfield's Winter Wonderland.

This has been the hardest year of my life and historical romance and paranormal romance has been a good escape from that.

It's been a very good reading year for me.


Sent from my Nexus 7

[copyrite]

Sarah McLean was the first historical I ever read, then I moved to the older authors. I had a twitter conversation with her about that once and she was rather amazed I read her before I read, say, Mary Balogh. LOL

[Hemmi]

I read mostly contemporaries. The occasional historical or paranormal.

As usual, I read a ton of good boooks this year but the titles escape me. Not very good at remembering them since I'm reading about 80% ebook so I don't have a cover to flip to when I want to remember the title.

[library addict]

I'm still feeling burned out on historicals. I read mostly contemporaries and paranormal.

I read a lot more fantasy, scifi, and steampunk than I usually do this year. My favorite new discovery was Veronica Scott. I really enjoyed her Sectors series.

Runners-up were Jeffe Kennedy (The Twelve Kingdoms and The Uncharted Realms series, though both were more hit-or-miss for me) and Meljean Brook's Iron Seas series despite the zombies (I am so not a fan of vampires or zombies). Oh and Robyn Bachar's Galactic Cold War trilogy which I bought book one on a whim.

[Keslynn]

A few of my favorite (5*) romances that I read this year:

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (YA)
Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas
Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews
The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky (marketed as fantasy but definitely romance in there too)

Archangel's Viper & Blaze of Memory, both by Nalini Singh, got 4 stars from me.

[AnemicOak]

Can't say anything really jumps out at me as a "best" this year. Read a lot of next in series that were fine and all, but nothing a real standout.

I finally read Lynne Connolly's (a favorite in general) Emperors of London series as I have been collecting all the books as Sourcebooks put them on sale over the past couple of years and liked it overall. Plan to read the spin off Shaws series eventually...

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by copyrite

Sarah McLean was the first historical I ever read, then I moved to the older authors. I had a twitter conversation with her about that once and she was rather amazed I read her before I read, say, Mary Balogh. LOL

She's quite a lady and the owner of the book club I belong to. Mary Balogh and Carla Kelly just joined last month. I feel so VIP hanging with all these authors and talking to them. lol Shana Galen, Sophie Jordan, Lenora Bell. They all are such nice ladies. I have met so many historical romance authors this year online. No wonder I switched to historical romance

Sent from my XT1528

[worktolive]

I had quite a few 5 star reads this year. Although I read at least 80% romance, only about half of my top books were in that genre, the rest were UF, nonfiction or litfic.

At the top of the heap (of all books, not just romance) were White Hot and Wildfire by Ilona Andrews. I pretty much adore everything they write anyway, and this series (Hidden Legacy) was really spectacular. Hopefully there is more to come. The ending left the main thread of the story unresolved so I'm pretty sure it's going to continue.

Wishing everyone another great reading year in 2018!

[library addict]

Originally Posted by worktolive

<snip>... by Ilona Andrews. I pretty much adore everything they write anyway, and this series (Hidden Legacy) was really spectacular.

I have this in my TBR, but have never read them yet.

Did you see new chapter of The Innkeeper Chronicles on their website? A reading blog I follow posted about it.

[worktolive]

The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen is currently free. This is the second book in her Ivy Years series. The first has been free in the past. This one was my favorite in the series but I loved all of them.

Spoiler:

She’s hiding something big. He’s hiding someone small.

Bridger Macaulley used to be a player both on and off the ice. But now, while his teammates chase the next hockey victory, Bridger worries that the dean will discover he’s housing his eight-year-old sister in his dorm room. Juggling a full course load and a big secret, it’s only a matter of time until the other skate drops.

Scarlet Crowley is the only freshman at Harkness College who had to sneak past TV news trucks parked on her front lawn just to leave town. Her name is as new as the shiny student ID it’s printed on. The only way to survive college will be to conceal her identity, even if it means lying to the green-eyed boy she's falling for.

Bridget and Scarlet form a tentative relationship based on the understanding that some things must always be held back. But when grim developments threaten them both, going it alone just won't work anymore. And if they can't learn to trust one another now, the families who let them down will take everything they've struggled to keep.

[worktolive]

Originally Posted by library addict

Did you see new chapter of The Innkeeper Chronicles on their website? A reading blog I follow posted about it.

Yes, it was a wonderful Xmas surprise for all of their fans. I'm subscribed to their blog so I get all of the updates right away.

The newest story is a shorter one that is going to focus on the MC's sister. She has an adorable half-vampire 5 YO daughter that is a big fan fav. You might want to give it a try as an intro to their writing. We are 3 books into the series, so you may miss some of the references, but it will probably be more stand alone than the main series is.

If you've never tried them, the Hidden Legacy series is a great place to start. It has more of a focus on the romance (at least in the second and third books) then the Kate Daniels or Innkeeper Chronicles does. Their Edge series is also more PNR than UF, although it still has the great world building that they are known for.