Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

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Last Call for 2012

12.31.12 | 4:13 am | 58 Comments

The Bewitched Viking - a photograph of a guy with a smirk crooking his finger at the reader. I call him the Pull My Finger Viking.

The Pull My Finger Viking says, "C'mere 2012, I got one more thing to tell you."

Heh. I will never lose my love for that cover. 

So it's the end of 2012! Before we start celebrating the new year, and trying to remember to write "2013" on our checks (except for everyone who works in publishing, who are probably thinking "2014? Or is it 2015?" when they grab their checkbooks), I have two last things! 

One: Thank you! Thank you for another fun year of romance and silliness. I love talking with you all every day, and hearing from you in the comments, via email, on Twitter and on Facebook and wherever else about what you're reading, what you're looking for, and how much you love romance. Thank you for being here, and being part of the community 

In your honor, I'm making a donation to First Book, a charity devoted to inspiring literacy in children. (They're four-star rated on Charity Navigator, yay!) First Book distributes books and educational materials to children in the US and Canada, and focuses on encouraging and increasing childhood literacy. And since we all, I think, remember our first romance, I like to think that many of those children remember the first book they read or received as their own. 

Two: One last question! What's one book you read this year that you would recommend someone read first next year? What one book this year stuck with you, was the most memorable - even for all the crazysauce reasons? Share share!

I hope your new year, whenever you celebrate (like Australia, where I think they celebrated last week or something and it's already 2016 there), is joyful and warm and filled with all the people and words you love. Happy New Year! Cheers! 

Previous entry: Five Cowboys for $5, Plus Witchy Fiction on Sale

Next entry: A Few Bargains Before the End of the Year

  1. Mikaela Lind said on 12.31.12 at 04:48 AM • [link]

    Wine of Violence by Priscilla Royal. It isn’t the best book I read this year, but I recommend it anyway. It is a solid historical mystery set in a medieval monastery.  It gives a fascinating, and touching, glimpse into the life of a medieval monastery.

  2. Noelinya said on 12.31.12 at 04:54 AM • [link]

    My favorite this year was The witness by Nora Roberts

  3. ThingsAlySays said on 12.31.12 at 07:16 AM • [link]

    I read so many books this year… and I don’t remember 99% of them. But I know there was a ton of crazysauce to go around!

    The only book that really stood out for me this year was, surprisingly, a non-fiction one. “Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a world that can’t stop talking” by Susan Cain. A really really great insightful read.

  4. CharlotteV said on 12.31.12 at 07:28 AM • [link]

    Over Christmas I read Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles and was blown away. A fantasy that wasn’t bogged down in long descriptions and infodumps, yet had a great worldbuilding and sense of place? So good. Also, there is some romance and great characters. Just perfect. Highly recommend this fantasy.

    Otherwise, I’ve managed to read Lothaire three times in 2012. And reread Cordelia’s Honor twice. If you haven’t read Cordelia’s Honor, hop to it. Cordelia is one of my all time favourite heroines - mature, compassionate yet flawed.

  5. Liz H. said on 12.31.12 at 09:01 AM • [link]

    Double Blind by Heidi Cullinan is the first that comes to mind. I loved it so much that I immediately read it again, which I’ve never done before. It also set me off on a m/m kick for almost two months and I discovered several great new-to-me authors such as K.A. Mitchell and the Cut and Run series by Abigail Roux.

  6. Lizzie R said on 12.31.12 at 09:40 AM • [link]

    It wasn’t so much a book as a series of books.  This year I discovered Nalini Singh and her psy-changeling series (I know, it’s like I was living in a cave or something) and have surrendered to the awesomeness.

    Happy New Year!!!!

  7. Bucsie said on 12.31.12 at 09:43 AM • [link]

    The endearment by Lavyrle Spencer

  8. Cyranetta said on 12.31.12 at 10:25 AM • [link]

    Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold—whether you’re already a fan or a newbie—just great fun.

    Death of a Schoolgirl by Joanna Campbell Slan—mystery based on Jane Eyre and amazing for how well it captures the characters and voice of the original.

  9. Lostshadows said on 12.31.12 at 10:26 AM • [link]

    The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines. Fun fairytale inspired work with kickass heroines. (Plus an author willing to pose in weird positions for charity.)

  10. sabbyATL said on 12.31.12 at 10:40 AM • [link]

    The Silver Linings Playbook, which was sweet and funny as hell and not your typical romance. 

  11. Jenny Dolton said on 12.31.12 at 10:51 AM • [link]

    Most memorable? 50 Shades. Not because it was a good book, but because of all the CRAZY that surrounded it. I don’t think I’ve ever been so compelled (and irritated) to defend a mediocre (at best) book against hypocricy before…

  12. Carrie Gwaltney said on 12.31.12 at 11:28 AM • [link]

    His Very Own Girl by Carrie Lofty was a wonderful surprise and highly recommended.

    In audio I was enraptured with Vikto Slezak’s narration of Envy by Sandra Brown. Perhaps the best combination of story and reader since the late Anna Fields narrated SEP’s Chicago Stars series.

  13. Carrie Gwaltney said on 12.31.12 at 11:30 AM • [link]

    Noelinya- The Witness was a great book, and on audio the narrator (Julia Whelon) makes it even better. Her voice for Abigail was fantastic.

  14. Cate Hulk said on 12.31.12 at 11:44 AM • [link]

    Yay! This was the year I discovered SBTB, and consequently discovered Courtney Milan as well. I would recommend reading the Governess Affair by her, as it was a very lovely novelette. I kept imagining Martin Freeman as the hero…for some reason it just worked. For crazy sauce memorable I am gonna say The Use by D.L. Carter. It was actually a pretty well written and creative story, but kinda wacked out in some places, like where he “raped her skin” with magic. But it might be a very enjoyable book for those who like fantasy romance. Anyhoo…happy new year!

  15. MissB2U said on 12.31.12 at 11:45 AM • [link]

    “Libromancer” by Jim C. Hines is a must read.  Great book.  “Cold Days”  by Jim Butcher because I love Harry Dresden.  “Ashes of Honor” and “Discount Armageddon” by Seanan McGuire.  “The Governess Affair” by Courtney Milan.  Pretty much anything by Courtney Milan and/or Tessa Dare actually.  (I haven’t been reading much because I got the ENTIRE 7 SEASONS of “The West Wing” on DVD for Xmas and I’ve been glued to that for days now…) Happy New Year to all!

  16. MissB2U said on 12.31.12 at 11:48 AM • [link]

    ...and can we NEVER retire the Pull My Finger Viking???

  17. Karen H near Tampa said on 12.31.12 at 12:02 PM • [link]

    Like Lizzie R, I discovered Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series this year (from an anthology I got for another author’s story) and read and enjoyed all of them.  I’m going to start her other books soon.  The book that immediately sprang to mind, however, is “The Courtesan’s Guide to Getting Your Man” by Celeste Bradley (a favored author of mine) and Susan Donovan.  I liked it so much I kept it even though there’s no good looking guy on the cover!

    Also, I really like the picture of Frank Sepe on “The Bewitched Viking.”  He’s beckoning the viewer!  So I’m totally okay with everybody making fun of it as long as the picture accompanies the words.

  18. Tamara Hogan said on 12.31.12 at 12:03 PM • [link]

    Gotta agree with ThingsAlySays. No question, for me it’s Susan Cain’s ““Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.” This is the rare book that really could change your life. 

    Get a taste of Cain in less than twenty minutes via her March 2012 TED Talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v….   

  19. Vicki said on 12.31.12 at 12:12 PM • [link]

    I’d like to say that First Book is excellent. I worked for a bit in a clinic in Calexico that participated. For many kids, it really was their first book. I also would look at the books, which were in both English and Spanish, as a way to improve my Spanish vocabulary.

    I’ve read a lot of books this year. I loved Angelfall by Susan Ee, Memory of Morning by Susan Sizemore, Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. I enjoyed the first six books of the Virgin River series, Mercedes Lackey’s 500 kingdoms - the first five books, so far, Hunger Games, City of Bones, Chasing Fires, many more.

    However, book that I would recommend for the New Year’s first read was Veronika Decides to Die by Coelho because it made me realize that we need to look at our choices and the way we make them.

  20. Robyn Bachar said on 12.31.12 at 12:33 PM • [link]

    The Siren by Tiffany Reisz was so much awesome. In fact it was so awesome, I bought the T-shirt. (No, really.) It’s technically not romance, but it made my inner English major want to write a term paper on it, which is the highest praise my inner English major can give. ;-)

  21. Azteclady1 said on 12.31.12 at 01:04 PM • [link]

    New book in 2012? Nora Roberts’ The Witness. And always, LaVyrle Spencer’s Morning Glory, all of Lord Peter Wimsey’s novels and Good Omens.

  22. Mirandaflynn said on 12.31.12 at 01:28 PM • [link]

    After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn. The family dynamics of a pair of superheroes and their non-powered daughter. It sounds cheesy, but it was awesome.

    Miranda

  23. Amy Raby (Alpha Lyra) said on 12.31.12 at 01:29 PM • [link]

    I’m now completely obsessed with Ruth Downie’s historical mystery series set in the Roman Empire, beginning with “Medicus.” LOVE the protagonist, a bitter, divorced Roman army doctor who rescues a barbarian slave woman and doesn’t really know what to do with her.

    But since this is a romance blog, best romance I read this year was Ruthie Knox’s “Ride With Me.”

  24. claritygolden said on 12.31.12 at 01:36 PM • [link]

    I read a lot of books this year, but I have a handful that stick out in my mind. Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis (haven’t gotten to read the newest one yet but I LOVED this one), Ride with Me by Ruthie Knox (Mmmm….), Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks (I don’t usually like scottish romances but this rocked), and Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare (again, not big on historicals but this one hit all the right notes). Probably my absolute favorite though was Riveted by Meljean Brook. Holy cow was that book awesome. I’ve hesitated on reading the rest of the series because I loved Riveted so much I don’t see how they can live up!

    And thanks to you for SBTB! It’s my favorite feed in Google Reader, and it always brightens my day when I see there’s a new post. Happy New Year! :)

  25. Melissandre said on 12.31.12 at 01:47 PM • [link]

    “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern is a fabulous read.  It’s not a “romance” book, but it is full of doomed love and magic and circus awesomeness.

    And, like CharlotteV, I totally dug “Lothaire.”  Everyone who just found the Psy-Changeling series would, I’m sure, also love Kresley Cole’s Immortal’s After Dark, of which “Lothaire” is a part.

  26. StarOpal said on 12.31.12 at 01:56 PM • [link]

    I had three books knock me over this year (though none of them are from 2012): The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King and Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. They gripped me more than any other books I read this year and I had a hard time putting them down, would totally recommend them to anyone.

    For crazysauce, but good, I read Hook and Jill by Andrea Jones. It’s a take on Peter Pan where Wendy starts to grow up while still in Neverland. Wendy ends up being attracted to both Peter and Captain Hook. It comes pretty close to overstepping the overly metaphorical line a couple times, but just as it’s about to go over it pulls itself back together, kinda interesting.

    I found my romance picks a little ho-hum this year, but I have a lot of promising prospects on the TBR shelves, so high hopes for 2013!

  27. PamG said on 12.31.12 at 02:12 PM • [link]

    Ooooooh—Are you me by any chance?  I bought my first car in 18+ yrs.—actually the first car I have ever chosen myself—and named her Cordelia.

  28. PamG said on 12.31.12 at 02:23 PM • [link]

    Love Downie’s mystery series also, and I think it’s completely appropriate for a romance blog.  One of the things I love about SBTB is the way it’s opened my eyes to books across many genres.

  29. PamG said on 12.31.12 at 02:38 PM • [link]

    I’d say my top book to recommend as we go into the new year is The Rook by Daniel O’Malley.  It’s not necessarily my favorite read of 2012, but I gave it to my youngest daughter for Christmas, ordered her fiance to read it as well,  recommended it more than once to my most brilliant, well-read, multi-facetted friend, and that’s just in the past week.  The Rook is absolutely not a romance, but a weird mash-up of Bondian spy novel, urban fantasy, chick lit, and Ghostbuster/Garbage Pail Kids gross-out potential.  It has no secret babies, but it does have amnesia of a sort and a strange permutation of twins.  Also pink slime mold.  (So that’s what awesomesauce looks like!)  Savor, laugh, & enjoy!  Happy 2013 to all!

  30. velocireader said on 12.31.12 at 03:00 PM • [link]

    Urban fantasy: The Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne. Smartly written, full of great mythological references, and then there is Oberon, the hilarious dog…

    I also second the books by Jim C Hines. His “Princess” series is fabulous. Libriomancer, though not as tightly written, is an amazing idea on the magic of books and the hero is a LIBRARIAN.

  31. Txnnyc said on 12.31.12 at 03:27 PM • [link]

    My favorite book was Death Comes to Pemberly by PD James, a mystery sequel to Pride and Prejudice, perhaps the best of all of the many sequels, since PD James is such an amazing writer. I also read all of Laura Lippman’s non-series books, and they were wonderful. What the Dead Know might be my favorite of the bunch. I also read the Hunger Games, though I resisted strongly, and was very happily surprised.

    The best thing about books in 2012, for me at least, was the reemergence of the classic regency romance, which I have desperately missed. I am so pleased to see the old (and now some new) Signet Regency romance out as eBooks. The worst though, has to be 50 Shades and its imitators. I love romance novels, but my favorites all all well-written, regardless of the amount of sex in them. These are so mediocre and not the way I’d introduce anyone to the genre.

  32. Mary said on 12.31.12 at 03:39 PM • [link]

    It’s not a book that came out this year, but Beauty Queens by Libba Bray would be mine. I don’t normally read YA, but I loved this. It was about female empowerment in the right way-not slut-shaming, or trying to make everyone be WonderWoman, but about embracing who you are. But it was also insane, hilarious, set in a future-y or parallel world and awesomely written.
    I also think that I would have to say the two Ilona Andrews books that came out this year would be on my list-I’m a massive fangirl.

  33. Mary said on 12.31.12 at 03:43 PM • [link]

    Oh…and for the crazysauce, I accidentally bought Feral Sins by Suzanne Wright on kindle. It…started out interesting…became mediocre…entered crazysauce land….and became a DNF. It has 260 amazon reviews and an average of 4 stars but it was hands-down the worst book I read all year and I have to say that if you want to read something super bad and WTF then that would be it.

  34. Sdunavan said on 12.31.12 at 03:46 PM • [link]

    My latest favorite book was “Welcome to Biscuit Land” by Jessica Thom. It’s a memoir, not a romance, but it was so sweet and randomly funny. Like Thom’s tics (she has Tourette’s Syndrome and a wicked sense of humor about it).

    I think my favorite romance was Courtney Milan’s “A Kiss for Midwinter” - and it was only 99 cents. It was short (a novella) but wonderfully well done. I loved how much fascinating history she was able to draw into the story (Ignatz Semmelweis! In a romance!).

  35. Shawny Jean said on 12.31.12 at 04:01 PM • [link]

    Ditto on Rothfus’s Kingkiller Chronicles. I listened to the first one as an audiobook. It’s 90 chapters and something like 17 hours long. I didn’t even notice that it took me a month to get through. Romance…Marie Sexton’s Promises, and The Hedgewitch Queen, which was contrived and had a certain amount of crazysauce going, but somehow was compelling enough that I nearly lost my mind when I finished it on a work trip and couldn’t download the Bandit King until I got back home.

  36. Barb in Maryland said on 12.31.12 at 04:08 PM • [link]

    The books that stuck with me for most of the year are ‘The Rose Garden’ by Susanna Kearsley—fantastic romance with a time-travel twist
    and
    ‘Code Name Verity’ by Elizabeth Wein—a tale of WWII derring-do, featuring two young women caught up in the war.  While it is not a romance, it is a novel of love and friendship. (Keep the tissues handy—just sayin’)

  37. Cbeta Fiberson said on 12.31.12 at 04:14 PM • [link]

    The book I read wasn’t a romance, but was really really good: The Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin and Autobiography of Us by Aria Beth Sloss, which I would recommend for everyone to read as soon as they come out next year. Let’s see, romance-wise, some crazy-sauce books would be Janelle Taylor if you’re a masochist, or books that I had enjoyed would be Karen Kay, and Love is a Battlefield.

  38. Emily A. said on 12.31.12 at 04:26 PM • [link]

    I loved Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady, which Jane recommended at Dear Author. I had to re-read a few bits to get familiar with the world in which they live, but I loved it, loved it. The worldbuilding was great but the emotions were better. I loved the way the characters related to each other. It was the best 2012 book i read in 2012.
    I also loved Susan May Warren’s My Foolish Heart, which I reviewed for the Rita challenge and The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. I read so many wonderful books in 2012 it’s hard to count them all.
    Looking forward to 2013 I am really excited for Kira Brady’s next book among others.

  39. Emily said on 12.31.12 at 04:45 PM • [link]

    Standout book for me this year=Radioactive: A Tale of Love and Fallout, by Lauren Redniss.  It was just gorgeous.

  40. alysonli said on 12.31.12 at 04:47 PM • [link]

    Just looked at my Goodreads page, and I apparently only gave 3 books five stars this year: The Diviners by Libba Bray, Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud, and Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson, which is the book I would recommend to start your year because it is utterly hilarious, and what better way to start the year than by crying from laughter?  I didn’t read much romance last year (I go through reading phases and last year was a very much a Young Adult year for me), but the best romance I read was Julie Anne Long’s What I Did For a Duke.  As for what stuck with me the most, that would be both Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (creeeeeepy!) and Cinder by Marissa Meyer (a really creative re-imagining of the Cinderella story with androids!).

  41. Anna Richland said on 12.31.12 at 04:53 PM • [link]

    2012 was a year where I broadened my reading taste out of the rut I’d been in for a copule years. When I was younger, I read widely, but getting to middle age I think I’d narrowed too much. So I rediscovered sci-fi with Jon Scalzi this year - recommended and gave Old Man’s War to lots of people, including my father-in-law. For romance, I liked Hot Zone by Catherine Mann, What I Did for a Duke, a second on Hearts of Darkness (very different from what I usually read), a bunch of Sabrina York novellas at Ellora’s Cave (I had no idea, absolutely no idea, that the genre of erotica horror existed until I read that scary plant story. Stopped gardening all fall). Also in 2012 for the first time I read superhero stuff, across many genres - Anna Alexander at Ellora’s Cave, illustrated stuff like “Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero”, etc. I like having a wider range of books to think and talk about, and a lot of different great characters. This year I vow to start Lois McMaster Bujold (I’m clearly the last person in the world who hasn’t read any of them). 

  42. Dread Pirate Rachel said on 12.31.12 at 05:00 PM • [link]

    I read so many good books this year that I’m really having trouble picking just one. I’m going to leave The Hunger Games off the list, because I assume everyone has already read it or is at least aware of it. So, this leaves me with two recommendations (sorry for breaking the rules): Castaway Dreams by Darlene Marshall, and Mariana by Susanna Kearsley. Dreams is fun and adorable and lighthearted—everything that a romance should be, in my opinion. Mariana is gorgeously written, beautifully detailed, slow-paced (but never plodding), and oh, so rewarding. I can’t choose between them, because they appeal to different facets of my love for reading.

  43. laj said on 12.31.12 at 05:15 PM • [link]

    I would recommend Ben Aaronovich’s Peter Grant series to start the New Year.
    I read over 200 books this year some new, some old favs, some backlist that were new to me.  I really liked Gun Metal Magic by Ilona Andrews, the book cracked me up.

    Happy New Year SBTB, I’ll make a donation too, thanks for a fabulous blog year!

  44. laj said on 12.31.12 at 05:19 PM • [link]

    I just read Cordelia’s Honor a few weeks ago.  Great book.  Great Heroine!

  45. The_Book_Queen said on 12.31.12 at 06:16 PM • [link]

    Thanks for another wonderful year of laughter and book crazy-ness, Sarah! :)

    The book (okay, books) I’d rec that everyone read, like NOW, would be Marquita Valentine’s Holland Spring series. I just read all of them this past week (0.5-2.5) and I’m anxiously awaiting Sebastian’s book, out in a few months. I may have begged and pleaded with Marquita on Twitter for an eARC. Maybe. Chocolate also may have been involved in my begging. :)

    The books are all so sexy and fun and sweet just plain awesome! Once you pick up one, you’ll want to read them all! Christian has a sexy tattoo, Sasha has pierced nipples, and Sebastian, I hear, has a sexy piercing of his own… Oh, I can’t wait! :D

    Enjoy!
    TBQ

  46. SueR said on 12.31.12 at 08:32 PM • [link]

    Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and Code Name: Verity by Elizabeth Wein

    SueR

  47. Beggar1015 said on 12.31.12 at 10:17 PM • [link]

    If you’ve got the time, don’t be afraid of the super thick Game of Thrones. If you don’t have the time, Bloody Jack is a delightful and quick read.

  48. Tam B. said on 01.01.13 at 06:17 AM • [link]

    I’m so glad I got some e-book credit for Christmas.  After all the sales that have been mentioned and this list I’ve got more than enough books to see me through the drought that is January until all the authors I’m waiting on release books.

    This year I discovered Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires.  Being late to this discovery meant I had BOOKS to read in a series and I fluked finishing up just before the latest release in August.  Like another before me on this list - I bought the t-shirt.  If you like paranormal - I’d highly recommend this series.

    I’d like to thank Sarah and everyone here who makes SBTB so great.  I’ve discovered new authors (romance and not) via this site and always enjoy the fun that is ever present here. 

    Happy New Year.

  49. Kilian Metcalf said on 01.01.13 at 08:18 AM • [link]

    Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling. I hated the beginning, the characters are ugly and everyone is despicable, except the dead guy. But I hung in there, and by the end, I was racing the clock to finish so I wouldn’t be late to work. Now I’m rereading to see how she did it. If this is dark humor, it’s the 79% cacao beans dark chocolate of dark humor, but I loved it by the time I was finished. I stayed up late to finish last night so it could qualify as best book of 2012.

  50. Lynn Mershon Calvin said on 01.01.13 at 12:29 PM • [link]

    Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray (then I went back and read all the rest of her stuff.  Middle age romance made real for some, others just great stories.)  Silence by Michelle Sagara.  Amazing book.  I discovered Julia Fleming-Spencer’s Claire Fergusson & Russ van Alstyne mysteries.  Courtney Milan, as above.

  51. Vasha said on 01.01.13 at 02:29 PM • [link]

    Everybody should read The Phoenix Requiem, a dark-fantasy/romance graphic novel—it’s online free (yes, the complete novel) and it’s awesome. I loved the visual style, the worldbuilding, the plot which is just the right length, the characters, and the heartrending emotions. Warning that it is fairly dark!

  52. jepeb68 said on 01.01.13 at 09:00 PM • [link]

    I was really blown away by The Siren by Tiffany Reisz.  It was a total surprise.

  53. kkw said on 01.01.13 at 10:32 PM • [link]

    My new this year massive author crushes are Patrick Rothfuss and Ruthie Knox. Whole new world of squee. (Obviously for Rothfuss one would start with the first in the series.  For Knox About Last Night was my favorite, and Ride With Me is also excellent, but I’m pretending the novella of hers I read in an anthology was written by someone else, someone with whom I am *not* infatuated.) 
    My favorite book I read this year is Stendhal’s Red and Black, but that’s one of my favorite books ever and obviously did not come out recently, so I’m not sure if it counts.  It’s not a HEA, but it’s just. so. good.  And talk about author crushes.  He doesn’t know it yet, but we’re like, totally meant to be together.  It’s for realz.

  54. Kate said on 01.01.13 at 10:55 PM • [link]

    Code Name Verity is the best YA novel I read all year. It’s so much better than Hunger Games, it’s not even funny (not the same genre - but millions of teen girls ought to be reading THIS). Really, run out and get it, everyone. Friendship between 2 young British women in WW11, one a pilot, one a spy. It’s harrowing and exhilarating.

  55. AReader said on 01.02.13 at 06:38 PM • [link]

    Best: Moonglow by Kristen Callihan or Firelight, the first book in the series. Also loved A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Ann Long, she writes great books

  56. GhengisMom said on 01.02.13 at 09:11 PM • [link]

    yes! So flipping good!

  57. StaceyIK said on 01.05.13 at 12:19 AM • [link]

    Ilona Andrews all the way!  Both the Edge series and the Magic series. Loved them both even though they were set in very different worlds.

  58. seraphcelene said on 01.08.13 at 07:43 PM • [link]

    LOL!! This was the year that I fell for self-published Amazon interracial shorts. They are mostly kinda bad. Maybe even more than a little kinda bad. Some of them are just awful. My first one, the one that I love for reasons that I don’t even understand because when I’m being coherent and objective I fully admit that it is a bad book, is J-Pop Love Song by Shiree McCarver. It’s not only an AMBW (Asian Male/Black Woman) romance, but the heroine is a curvy girl TWICE the hero’s age AND she’s pretty big stuff career-wise. In fact they meet because he wants to be the lead in her movie and she doesn’t think he’s grown up enough to handle the part. HA!!

    However, let me say, officially on the record, that I am very glad that interracial romances are things that are being written.

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