Rowena
- Nalini Singh: I started 2015 reading pretty much nothing but Nalini Singh. I love this woman and her writing. I don’t expect that to change in 2016.
- Elle Kennedy: This is the other author that I read so much of from in 2015. Loved, loved, loved everything that I’ve read by this author. I can’t wait for more in 2016.
- Whitney Gracia Williams: This author wrote one of my favorite books of 2015. I’m still not over how much I loved Sincerely, Carter.
- Kristen Callihan: I’m obsessed with Callihan’s Game On series. She continues to impress the socks right off of me with each book she releases, Gray and Ivy’s book was fantastic and shot Callihan right onto my favorite authors of 2015.
- Lorraine Heath: I read two books by Heath in 2015 and I loved the hell out of both of them. I’m thirsty for more from her Hellions in Havisham series and the teaser that I read a couple of weeks back about the next book??? Blew me away. I can’t wait for more!
Honorable Mentions: Sarina Bowen, Liora Blake and Jen Frederick.
Holly
- Kristen Ashley: I still continue to devour her books, both old and new.
- Kristen Callihan: I’m still behind in her Darkest London series, but I’m fully invested in her contemporary NA books.
- Sarina Bowen: She continues to surprise and impress.
- Ilona Andrews: I’m new to the Kate Daniels series this year, but man did I get sucked in.
- Nalini Singh: I’m continually amazed at the quality (and quantity) of her work.
Honorable Mentions: Lauren Dane, Elle Kennedy and Sarah Mayberry.
I don’t tend to glom onto authors because I find that I get tired of their writing style if I don’t space them out. Having said that, I do have some authors that stand out for 2015, specifically, Sarina Bowen, Megan Erickson, Alessandra Torre, and LH Cosway. In addition, Tessa Dare, Ilona Andrews, and Patricia Briggs, and Shelly Laurenston are perennial favorites of mine that didn’t disappoint. I’ll pretty much buy anything they publish.
Interestingly, although I don’t usually read mysteries, I did read two mystery series by Anne Cleeland and Zoe Ferraris that I absolutely fell in love with and that were also in my top reads of the year.
Isn’t Sarina Bowen awesome? I love her stuff and Megan Erickson was a new to me author in 2015 and I’m looking forward to reading more this year. Tessa Dare was another good one. I adored her Spindle Cove series and am really loving her Castles Ever After series as well. She’s so good!
Patricia Briggs, she’s the author that I am definitely reading this year. Branching out again…I failed last year. Haha.
I love mysteries. I’m going to look both of those up. Thanks!
These mystery series are both pretty unusual. I have to warn you, the Anne Cleeland series is definitely not for everyone as the hero and heroine meet because he becomes obsessed with her and is kind of stalking her. He’s titled and is a high ranking police detective, while she’s a lowly rookie at Scotland Yard. He’s also a bit of a vigilante. On the face of it, there’s a total power imbalance and I’m guessing some readers were put off by that although she’s no pushover and I don’t feel she was taken advantage of. Anyway, I love anti-heroes so I wasn’t at all put off by the setup, but YMMV.
As for the Zoe Ferraris series, it’s set in Saudi Arabia. The romance is very slow burn and very different from what we are used to due to the setting. The hero is a very religious Palestinian, while the heroine is a pretty modern Saudi Arabian woman who is struggling to work and have an independent life while still living in the framework of a very repressive society. What I loved about the book was not only the exploration of a completely alien culture but also the way the author evoked the starkness of life in such a harsh physical environment. The first book is called Finding Nouf if you want to check it out.
Rowena, you need to check out Heath’s backlist. Always to Remember is, in a word, decimating. And her Texas series is excellent, and Parting Gifts will make you sigh.