Saturday, December 29, 2012

Twelve favorite books from 2012


If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. - Oscar Wilde

Laura Levine's DEATH OF A NEIGHBORHOOD WITCH:

Halloween is just around the corner, and between cauldrons of candy and a deliciously cute new neighbour, Jaine Austen is struggling to resist her sweet tooth. But this year, her once humdrum neighbourhood seems to be handing out more tricks than treats.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.


Sabrina Jeffries' 'TWAS THE NIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS:   

Pierce Waverly, the Earl of Devonmont, has been estranged from his mother for most of his life. When his mother’s new companion, Mrs. Camilla Stuart, writes to tell him that his mother is seriously ill, he goes home. But when he learns that the lovely widow tricked him in order to effect a holiday reconciliation, he refuses to stay—unless she meets his “terms.” 

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link


The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read. - Abraham Lincoln

Megan Mulry's A ROYAL PAIN:  

Smart, ambitious, and career driven, Bronte Talbot started following British royalty in the gossip mags only to annoy her intellectual father. But her fascination has turned into a not-so-secret guilty pleasure. When she starts dating a charming British doctoral student, she teases him unmercifully about the latest scandals of his royal countrymen, only to find out—to her horror!!—that she's been having a fling with the nineteenth Duke of Northrop, and now he wants to make her...a duchess?

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.


Hester Browne's THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS:  

She’s a green-fingered gardener. He’s a blue-blooded banker. Can the Queen of Spades really make it work with the Prince of Diamonds?

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link


You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me. - C.S. Lewis 

Jill Mansell's A WALK IN THE PARK:

Lara Carson left her family and boyfriend Flynn eighteen years ago without a word to anyone. Why has no one heard from her since? Does it mean anything that she's suddenly reappeared in Bath just in time for her ex–best friend Evie's wedding? And what about Flynn? Even the most eagle–eyed observer can't tell whether he's happy to see her, or just stunned.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link


Susanna Kearsley's THE SHADOWY HORSES:

Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.


The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - Saint Augustine

Toni Anderson's DARK WATERS:

Known as the Graveyard of the Pacific, Barkley Sound is notorious for surging swells with the power to pull helpless victims into its merciless abyss…

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link

Dangerous Waters

Anne Elizabeth's A SEAL AT HEART:

Being a Navy SEAL means everything to John "Red Jack" Roaker, but a mission gone wrong has left his buddy dead, his memory spotty, and his world turned upside down. His career as a SEAL is threatened unless Dr. Laurie Smith's unconventional methods of therapy can help him.

I posted my review on Goodreads at this link.


You cannot open a book without learning something. - Confucius

Heather Snow's SWEET DECEPTION:

Lady criminologist, Miss Emma Wallingford, unknowingly finds herself tangled in the dangerous final mission of Lord Derick Aveline, a spy who also happens to be her long lost first love. But when deception, however sweet, is the name of the game, no one can be trusted. And every love--and every life--is at risk.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.


Victoria Alexander's MY WICKED LITTLE LIES:

Evelyn Hadley-Attwater has it all—a genteel Victoria life replete with loving husband, ball gowns and elegant parties. No one, including the man she married, suspects that she was once “Eve”, a spy for England’s most enigmatic intelligence agency. Summoned for one final assignment, the excitement of her former life and memories of her mysterious, flirtatious boss “Sir” prove too tempting . . .

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.


There is no friend as loyal as a book. - Ernest Hemingway

Cathy Maxwell's LYON'S BRIDE (Book 1 in the Chattan Curse series):

They call him Lord Lyon, proud, determined-- and cursed. He is in need of a bride, but if he falls in love, he dies. His fervent hope is that by marrying-- and having a son--without love, perhaps he can break the curse's chains forever.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.


Cathy Maxwell's THE SCOTTISH WITCH (Book 2 in the Chattan Curse series):

Harry Chattan is fighting for his family. For two hundred years the Chattan men have been destroyed by love . . . and now he's come to Scotland on the hunt for a witch to break the curse. Instead he finds himself bewitched by Portia. Harry has vowed to fight the demons that torture him.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link


What are your favorite books from 2012?    I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter.  Comments are open through Saturday, January 5, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 6.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

Come back on Monday, December 31, when I share other bloggers' favorite books from 2012!




38 comments:

  1. Jill shalvis books
    Kimh

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  2. The series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE by George RR Martin makes the top of my 2012 list. I can't wait for the next.

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  3. Some of my favorites include the Lords of Deliverance books by Larissa Ione, NOBODY'S PERFECT by Kallypso Masters, and books by Kerrelyn Sparks, Lynsay Sands, Cherise Sinclair, and Eve Langlais and sooooo many more :)

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  4. Not necessarily books released in 2012 but those I read this year.
    For historical romance, Moriah Densley's Song for Sophia tho Courtney Milan's The Duchess War is a close 2nd. For Fantasy Romance my other fav genre, I really liked Renee Wildes Duality & Cate Rowan's Kismet Kiss.

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  5. My favorites include Loretta Chase's "Scandal Wears Satin, Leslie Tentler's "Edge of Midnight" and Laura Griffin's "Twisted."

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  6. That's a great list of books. Some of my favorites from this year would be Unleashed and Untouched by Sara Humphreys, Mate Claimed by Jennifer Ashley, Lords of Deliverance Books by Larissa Ione.

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  7. I'm a new fans of NA now and I just finished reading : The Edge of Never by JA Redmerski, A Song for Julia by Charles Sheehan-Miles and I will continue read Just Remember to Breathe. These all books really awesome, I hope Everyone will read it :)

    And I can't to read Easy by Tammara Webber and On Dublin Street by Samantha Young.

    And The Promise by Kate Worth is great too :)

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  8. Love your list of books but I have many many favorites...A Lady's Revenge by Tracey Devlyn and The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley.

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  9. I just discovered Coreene Callahan. She writes great books.

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  10. It's difficult to pick a favorite book. I'm now reading Jeannie Watt's Crossing Nevada & am loving it so far. Sabrina Jeffries' Twas the night after Christmas is still on my wishlist.

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  11. My favorite book this year was Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

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  12. Half of the books you named Are on my wish list.
    I read 4 books of Annette Blair loved each one.
    Jude Deveraux Has always been my top Favorite Author just finished to date The Edilean series waiting for the next.
    I went outside my comfort zone (not a huge jump) with Hope Ramsay & Lori Wilde I so want to live in a Small town community ( Hummmm for a while).
    Now I have my Kindle white so excited I can downsize my purse Whoot my shoulder will be Very Happy.
    Have a good one Ann/alba

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  13. This was an awesome reading year for me too! A lot of favs... to many to mention but top of the list: The Witness by Nora Roberts, Wallbanger by Alice Clayton, Nine Lives of An Urban Panther by Amanda Arista, Velveteen Daniel Marks, A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis by Jillian Stone, Steele's Edge by Ilona Andrews, Moonglow by Kristen Callihan, Blood Before Sunrise Amanda Bonilla, Sweet Enemy by Heather Snow, How to Dance with a Duke by Manda Collins, Ride with Me by Ruthie Knox, Hammered by Kevin Hearne, In The Company of Witches by Joey w. Hill... just to name a few :)

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  14. What a fun post! And what a nice mix of books, shows what a well rounded reader you are =)
    Iced was (of course) a great one, but also Moonglow, and the Linda Robertson series that begins with Vicious Circle (I am reading it right now and really enjoying it). Can't wait to see what 2013 brings!!!!

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  15. My favorite book was a non-fiction (memoir)...Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. As for fiction, oh so many, so I'll just pick one....I just finished Low Pressure by Sandra Brown. She is so good at romantic suspense.

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  16. I loved the Inn Boonsboro trilogy from Nora Roberts, The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James, Poison Princess by Kresley Cole, Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. These are some of my favorites, but there were so many good books.

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  17. I "met" Grace Burrowes this past year and absolutely LOVE her books! THE SOLDIER was the first of her books that I read, but I quickly ordered all the others that were in print and then waited patiently while others were released. I am current waiting for her next to be released.

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    1. I loved The Soldier, too! Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish was one of my favs this year. Grace has a lovely writing style, doesn't she?

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  18. My favorite books are The Bronze Horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons!

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  19. One of my favorite reads of the year is A Discovery of Witches.

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  20. Among my favorites for 2012, in no particular order: Beguiling the Beauty and Ravishing the Heiress (Sherry Thomas,) About that Night (Julie James,) One More Summer (Liz Flaherty,) A Week to be Wicked (Tessa Dare,) A Notorious Countess Confesses (Julie Anne Long,) Sweet Enemy (Heather Snow,) A Deeper Darkness (J.T. Ellison,) A Wanted Man (Lee Child,) Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish (Grace Burrowes) and Finding Jacob (William Landay.)

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  21. Among the books I loved this year are Jennifer Estep's Widow's Web, Kevin Hearne's Tricked, Meljean Brooks' Riveted, Gini Koch's Alien Diplomacy, Jenn Bennett's Kindling the Moon and Summoning the Night, Heather Snow's Sweet Enemy, Cassie Alexander's Nightshifted and Jessica Scott's Because of You.

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  22. It's so hard picking a favorite - there are so many good books out there. I would say anything that I've read from Kathryne Kennedy.

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  23. lover reborn by JR Ward

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  24. I loved The Escape Diaries. That book was hilarious.

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  25. Easy, Tammara Webber
    The Witness, Nora Roberts
    A Lady Awakened, Cecilia Grant
    Fair Game, Patricia Briggs

    They were my top 4 for 2012 (published in 2012). They're all so different I can't pick a favourite! :)

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  26. I rode with my husband for 4 1/2 months this past year and had nothing to do but read. As a result, I've read over 350 books in 2012. Trying to pick favorites just isn't possible for me. Some books I enjoyed include The Rake and The Recluse by Jenn LeBlanc (6 part serial)and the Inn Boonsboro trilogy Nora Roberts. I read everything published by Sarah Ballance, Regan Black, Terry Odell and Jessica Scott. I also read a number of books by Karen Ranney/Katherine Storm, Sue-Ellen Welfonder, Allison Brennan, Linda Castillo, and Mariah Stewart. Plus many more established & favorite authors as well as a lot of new-to-me authors. It was a good year!!

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  27. Yum, so many great titles to read...we share several favorites, Kim, and I have enjoyed many of the other titles mentioned. I have added new names to my TBR list and I am impressed that Karen C. was able to read more than 350 books this year! What an amazing accomplishment.

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  28. I read a lot of great books this year, though a lot of those were published prior to 2012. My favorite books released in 2012 (in order by author) were Andrews' Gunmetal Magic, Armstrong's Thirteen, Briggs' Fair Game and River Marked, Burrowes' Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal (and the novella The Courtship), Chapman's Spellbound Falls and Charmed by His Love, Cole's Lothaire, Dare's The Wolf Who Loved Me, Frost's Once Burned, McCarty's The Saint, Moning's Iced, Sands' Under a Vampire Moon and the anthology Love at First Bite.

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  29. So many great books were published in 2012!
    A few of my faves are:

    Lothaire by Kresley Cole
    Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost
    Black Magic by J.D. Tyler
    Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward
    Rogue Rider by Larissa Ione
    Darker after Midnight by Lara Adrian
    Provoked by Rebecca Zanetti
    Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

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  30. I read the 5 Hellions of Halstead Hall books so now I'll have to get Sabrina Jeffries' 'TWAS THE NIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS to finish off the series.

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  31. I read several of Sabrina Jeffries this year. All were great!

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  32. One of my favorites was Easy by Tammara Webber

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  33. Some of my favourite reads this year include Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost, Lover Reborn by JR Ward, and On Dublin Street by Samantha Young.

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