Best of 2014: The Books

Rowena: I read a lot of fantastic books this year so picking just five of them as my top favorites was really hard but I did it and here’s my list.

1. The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen. This book did everything to me. It made me laugh, happy sigh, cry and then ugly cry. When Bridger finds out that his Mom died and what happened to Lucy? My heart broke in a thousand pieces and I didn’t think I’d ever be the same again but boy did I close that book with a big ol’ happy smile on my face. I loved it.

2. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. I couldn’t wait for this book to come out and even when I was scared that it couldn’t possibly live up to the hype that I gave it in my head, I was still anxious for it. Stephanie Perkins delivered another outstanding story with this one. I LOVED this book. I loved Josh. I loved Isla. I loved Kyle. I loved everything about this. Just flat out loved it.

3. Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh. Nalini Singh knows how to write a damn good story. She brought Fox and Molly’s story to life and I wanted to live with them and BE them. Fox was a freaking fox and I wanted to lick him up. I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for more from this series. Love, love, loved it!

4. It Happened One Wedding by Julie James. It’s not a surprise that Julie James wrote another winner for me. Her books just do it for me. I love her stuff and every year her books just keep getting better and better. I don’t ever want to stop reading her books. So Julie James, please don’t ever stop writing.

5. The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram. This was another fantastic book that I read with Ames. It took me no time at all to get this book read because I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I loved the characters, especially Grayson. This book was so fun and so cute that I feel a re-read coming on. I adored this one to pieces.

Honorable Mentions: The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan, All Broke Down by Cora Carmack and Before You Break by Christina Lee.

Holly: It’s so hard narrowing these down every year.

1. The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen. This book made me ugly cry. It was the only book I read all year that did that. Bridger and Lucy, his baby sister, really got to me. I just adored them. And Scarlet’s family drama really made me think. Bowen is definitely an author I’ll be looking for in 2015.

2. Count on Me by Lauren Dane. Dane is an author who rarely writes a book I don’t love. This one really stood out, though. I loved how strong and fierce Caroline was and how Royal took such care with her.

3. The Shape of My Heart by Ann Aguirre. This book really grabbed me. Max was such an awesome hero, and Courtney was a great, unconventional heroine.

1. Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh. The first time I read this, I liked it but didn’t love it. The second time I completely devoured it. It definitely stands out as one of my favorites of the year.

2. Make-Believe Wedding by Sarah Mayberry. This was such a cute story. I really loved that the heroine was so nontraditional.

3. Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs. I’m adding a 6th entry for a book, which is cheating a bit, but I figure I can get away with it since it doesn’t release until 2015. This is the next installment in the Alpha and Omega series featuring Anna and Charles. It’s my favorite book by Briggs to date, across all her series’. The plot was well executed and the relationship development between Charles and Anna was extremely well done. Not to mention the personal growth on both sides. (R: What a freaking cheater!!)

Honorable Mentions: Tempting the Player by Kat Latham. Taken with You by Shannon Stacey. Echoes of Scotland Street by Samantha Young. The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan.

What were your favorite books of 2014? Can you narrow it down to 5(ish)?

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