We read a lot of books every year. We read good books, bad books. Books that make us cry. Books that make us mad. But this list…this list is the best of the best. The books that we loved above all others.
Casee
- Archangel’s Heart by Nalini Singh: What can I say about this book? About this author? She’s my people. She never lets me down, ever. Elena Deveraux and Raphael are the ultimate. There is nothing about this book that wasn’t amazing. From start to finish I was absorbed. Plus it’s an autographed ARC. I wasn’t complaining.
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Shadow Rider by Christine Feehan: I’ve been a diehard Feehan fan since 2000 when I read Dark Prince. Whenever she starts a new series, I dive right in. I didn’t hesitate to start this new series and I’m glad I did. This series is going to be fantastic.
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The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward: While J.R. Ward doesn’t know it, we have an on-and-off relationship. I didn’t read The Bourbon Kings when it first came out because I was determined that I wasn’t going to get hooked on another series. Alas, I couldn’t help myself. I’m glad I did read it. It’s a soap opera, plain and simple. I’m hooked.
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Back to You by Jessica Scott: This book wrecked me. I can’t even pretend to know what it’s like for military families, but if anything showed me a glimpse of what it’s like, it is this book. Scott did a wonderful job of weaving the story and pulling me into this broken family. It was an emotional ride and I can’t recommend it enough.
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Mercury Striking by Rebecca Zanetti: Zanetti was a new-to-me author this year and I am thrilled that I discovered her. I read about eight of her books. The Scorpius Syndrome series was my favorite of all of them and Mercury Striking is the beginning of the series. Post-Apocalyptic Los Angeles is fascinating.
Holly
- Archangel’s Heart by Nalini Singh: Singh never disappoints, but the latest installment of the Guild Hunter series was stellar. Imaginative and gripping..I couldn’t put it down.
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Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews: 2016 was the year of Ilona Andrews for me. I read her entire backlist for the first time, so I had a plethora of good reads to choose from. Magic Binds was such a fabulous read. The Kate Daniels world is imagivitive and bright. I can’t wait for the next.
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Steadfast by Sarina Bowen: Though I enjoyed Bittersweet and Keepsake as well, Steadfast makes my Best Of list. Jude and his struggle with sobriety stole my heart. It wasn’t a perfect book, but I fell into it immediately.
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One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews: The Innkeeper Chronicles was one of my best finds of 2016. The entire series is fabulous, but I think One Fell Sweep is my favorite so far.
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Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews: This book was my favorite of the series. The creepy world, characters and storyline were gripping.
Rowena
- Kiss of Snow (Psy/Changelings #10) by Nalini Singh: This book absolutely slayed like Beyonce’ in formation. When Sienna rolls up and lays to waste all of those damn Psy’s that thought they were going to win that battle? Man, I ate that stuff up. I loved how protective Hawke was of Sienna, the pack and just every damn body in the book. Such a great book.
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Heart of Obsidian (Psy/Changelings #12) by Nalini Singh: This book was a surprise for me. I wasn’t prepared for how much I was going to like this book. Before this book, I was strictly Team Changeling but this one. This guy changed that for me. This book was good from beginning to end. It was hard to read and yet it paid off so well if you stuck with it. So, so good.
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For Better or Worse (Wedding Belles #2) by Lauren Layne: I loved this book. I loved the heroine. I loved the hero. I loved everything. It was such a great book, with great characters and chemistry for days. Josh and Heather were fabulous characters and their story hit every one of my love buttons so of course this one was going on my best of lists.
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Bittersweet (True North #1) by Sarina Bowen: I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet and it wasn’t full of angst and for me, it was perfect. Such a great read.
There you have it, our favorite reads of 2016. Did any of our favorites make your favorites list as well? What were your favorite reads of 2016?
I like that we all have different tastes within the genre/s – cos I have read only 2 of the books listed! ☺ I DO have Lauren Layne in my TBR mountain though – heard lots about her and decided to give her a whirl!
Fabby books I read were the latest installment in C.S.Harris’ Sebastian St Cyr series – Where The Dead Lie, the series maintains it strength. I also enjoyed Jen’s recommendation of Bayou Hero by Marilyn Pappano.
Also discovered Lisa Clark O’Neill – her debut book called Serendipity was great R/S and some hilarious moments too! And Laura Griffin’s Tracer series continued with Deep Dark which I thoroughly enjoyed after the disappointing (to me) Shadow Fall.
Willa, glad Bayou Hero was good enough to make your list!
I know we often have differing opinions about the Tracers books, but I think we’d both agree that even our least favorite Tracers book is still pretty great. I can’t wait for the next one coming out in 2017! We seem to switch off, so since you loved Deep Dark does that mean the next one will be my favorite? 😉
Well, the next one has Scott Black as the hero, so my hopes are high, don’t want them dashed! perhaps we will both love it!
I hope you try Lauren Layne this year. I adore her stuff.
I haven’t read or heard or any of the other books you mentioned. I’ll have to look them up, though.
Happy New Year, Willa!
Great lists! I really liked Bittersweet and have all those LL on my TBR – just need to catch up on her books!
You should, Eva! LL is so good!!
I’ve been trying to keep better records on Goodreads, so this is the first year where I feel like I can say with at least a little accuracy how much I read. I read somewhere in the vicinity of 70 books, which is a lot for me given how much I had on my plate this year! This post gave me a great push to go back and look over my books. Some of my favorites:
Phoenix Adventures by Anna Hackett–A new-to-me author, and I totally got hooked on this sci fi series. It’s 100% cheesy and outrageous but I gobbled them up, especially book 3 which is about a cyborg hero (!!) and a space mechanic heroine.
Deadly Odds by Adrienne Giordano–I really loved this book much more than I expected and hope she continues the series.
Under the Wire by HelenKay Dimon–Glad I kept going with the Bad Boys Undercover series because I didn’t like all the books, but I loved this one. And honorable mention goes to Dimon’s new series that just started with The Fixer right at the end of December. That book is so good too.
Search and Rescue series by Katie Ruggle–This new series totally wowed me, especially book #3 with the grumpy virgin hero. Siiiiigh. 🙂
Bayou Hero by Marilyn Pappano–Like Willa this one is on my list. It made me think AND entertained me.
The Undoing by Shelly Laurenston–I LOVE this series. I LOVE this book. I’m saying I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I am kind of pained that the next book isn’t coming out until March.
Cyborg hero? Hmm…I can’t say that I’ve ever read one of those before.
I enjoyed The Fixer too. I’m excited for more in that series.
Good luck on your reading goals this year, Jen! I’m rootin’ for you.
Hmm Helen Kay Dimon is very much hit and miss for me – between wow and meh! No consistency, so have taken a break.
And I have Katie Ruggle in my TBR mountain – did you say Virgin hero??? *Moves book up *
Willa, I LOVE the hero, George. He is so cute and sweet and you just want to give him a big hug. I really liked all the books but #3 was my absolute favorite.
I love Marilyn Pappano! Have you read her Bethlehem series?
No I haven’t! I’ve read a couple of her romantic suspenses now but only just recently saw she writes contemporaries too. I’ll have to check them out, thanks! 🙂