Worst of 2009: The Books.

Posted January 9, 2010 by Rowena in Features | 9 Comments

There were some books read throughout the year that we couldn’t believe we’d read and didn’t like at all. We thought we’d list them in an effort to you know, help a sister out. Here’s our list of books we were just not that into.

Rowena’s List:

Loves Me, Loves Me Knot by Heidi Betts
His Other Lover by Lucy Dawson
With a Twist by Deirdre Martin
Sinful Temptations by Cassidy McKay
The Wildest Heart by Rosemary Rogers

Casee:

The first three books I didn’t like for obvious reasons. When I skimmed my reviews, I found that I had a lot of ‘blah’ reviews. The book wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great either. It just didn’t resonate with me. Seduce Me in Shadow was different insofar as I didn’t like the hero or the heroine. I was expecting great things, which probably lowered the grade as well.

Holly:

In All of Me the actions of the hero drove me insane (coupled with the actions of the heroine and the general plot of the book), but in the rest it was all the heroine who pushed me over the edge.

What about you, what were your worst reads of 2009?

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Tagged: Best of 2009, Best of Lists, Casee Says, Holly's Books, Holly's Reads, Rowena's Books, Rowena's Reads, Worst Books, Worst of 2009, Worst Of Lists, Worst Reads

Best of 2009: The Authors

Posted January 8, 2010 by Holly in Features | 8 Comments

This is a new category for us this year. I was just thinking how there were some amazing authors I was introduced to (or re-discovered) this year, and I wanted to spotlight them.

1. Kris Kennedy
2. Moira Rogers
3. Christie Ridgway
4. Sarah Mayberry
5. Betina Krahn

Honorable mention: Jess Granger

Casee’s list:

1. Jennifer Lyon
2. Beth Kery
3. Jill Sorenson
4. Linda Winfree
5. Toni McGee Causey

Honorable mentions: Tracy Wolff and Marie Force.

Rowena’s list:

1. Jill Sorenson.
2. P.C. & Kristin Cast.
3. Kristan Higgins.
4. Heidi Betts.
5. Kylie Brant.

Honorable mentions: Tracy Anne Warren, Rowan Coleman and LuAnn McLane.

So there you have it…our favorite authors of the year. Now, share your favorite authors with us. Any authors that you were introduced over the year that you think we should check out? Let us know.

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Tagged: Best Authors, Best of 2009, Best of Lists, Best Reads, Casee Says, Holly Says, Rowena Says

Best of 2009: The Series.

Posted January 7, 2010 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

2009 introduced some really great series and some series were continued and we fell in love with a whole lot of them. Here’s the list for our most favorite series that were either introduced to us during the year or were continued throughout the year.

Rowena’s List:

1. The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts.
2. The Travis Family series by Lisa Kleypas.
3. The Wilder Brothers series by Jill Shalvis.
4. The Heat series by Jill Shalvis.
5. The Dark Powers series by Kelley Armstrong.

Honorable Mentions go out to: The Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann and The Mindhunter series by Kylie Brandt.

Holly’s List:

1. Celta’s Heartmates by Robin D. Owens
2. Southern Arcana series by Moira Rogers
3. Malibu and Ewe series by Christie Ridgway
4. Hearts of the South series by Linda Winfree
5. The Guardian’s by Meljean Brook

Honorable mentions go to The Heat series by Jill Shalvis, The Hathaways by Lisa Kleypas, The Chase Brothers by Lauren Dane, Wed in the West series by Karen Templeton and For Me series by Karen Rose.

Series I’m keeping my eye on in 2010:

1. A Recipe for Love series by Louisa Edwards. I was very disappointed in the heroine of the first book, but it could end up being a wonderful series.
2. Guild Hunters Series by Nalini Singh. I adored the first book and the novella I read. If the series continues in this vein it will definitely end up on my list next year.
3. The Leopard series by Christine Feehan. While I enjoyed the earlier books, her latest release didn’t wow me. I’m going to reserve judgement for now.
4. The Virgin River series by Robyn Carr. I loved the first few books, but the series has fizzled out since then. I’m waiting to see if she can bring it back with her 2010 releases.

Casee’s List:

1. Hearts of the South series by Linda Winfree
2. Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh
3. The Bobbie Faye series by Toni McGee Causey
4. Wing Slayer Hunters by Jennifer Lyon
5. Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter

Honorable mentions go to: The Bullet Catchers by Roxanne St. Claire and Last Chance Rescue series by Brenda Novak.

You’ve seen our favorite series of the years, now it’s time to share yours…what were your favorite series last year?

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Tagged: Best of 2009, Best of Lists, Best Reads, Best Series, Casee Says, Holly Says, Rowena Says

Best of 2009: The Heroines.

Posted January 6, 2010 by Rowena in Features | 1 Comment

This is the list that’s always hard for us to write because it’s easy to love the heroes but it’s not so easy to like the heroines. The heroines usually tend to get on our nerves and it’s a lot harder for us to forgive the heroines then the heroes but we did it. We made our lists and now we’re going to share them with you.

Rowena’s list:

1. Payton Kendall from Practice Makes Perfect.
2. Olivia Bevelstoke from What Happens in London.
3. Sophie Mills from The Accidental Family by Rowan Coleman.
4. Rebecca Strand from The Secret of Joy.
5. Allie Daniels from Twisted Creek.

Honorable Mentions: Haven Travis from Blue Eyed Devil and Jane Fenton from The Notorious Viscount.

Holly’s List:

1. Cassandra Riley from Dirty Sexy Knitting
2. Irena from Demon Forged
3. Olivia Bevelstoke from What Happens in London
4. Elena Deveraux from Angels’ Blood
5. Taylor Donovan from Just the Sexiest Man Alive

Honorable mentions go to: Pepper Malone from Rewriting Monday, Ailim D’SilverFir from Heart Thief, and as always Eve Dallas from the In Death series.

Casee’s List:

1. Ava Bixby from The Perfect Liar
2. Elena Deveraux from Angels’ Blood
3. Gwendolyn the Timid from The Darkest Whisper
4. Bobbie Faye Sumrall from When a Man Loves a Weapon
5. Keely McDermott from Atlantis Unleased

Honorable mentions go to Shea Monroe from Run to Me, Elle Drake from Hidden Currents and Celia St. John from Memories of Us.

There were lots and lots of heroines that we loved throughout the year and we’re hoping that 2010 will be full of awesome heroines as well.

So, you’ve seen our favorite heroines…what are some of your favorite heroines that you’ve met in 2009?

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Tagged: Best Heroines, Best of 2009, Best of Lists, Best Reads, Casee Says, Holly Says, Rowena Says

Best of 2009: The Heroes.

Posted January 5, 2010 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

We can’t have a Best of List without listing our favorite heroes that we met in the year, 2009. There were plenty and this was hard work but we did it. We compiled a list of our favorite heroes and here they are:

Rowena’s List:

1. Jack Travis from Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas.
2. J.D. Jamison from Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James.
3. Jack Cooke from Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts.
4. Hardy Cates from Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas.
5. James Matthews from Crash Into Me by Jill Sorenson.

Honorable mentions go out to: Sir Harry Valentine from What Happens in London by Julia Quinn, Stone Wilder from Instant Gratification by Jill Shalvis and Alex Markov from Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Holly’s List:

1. Troy Lee Farr from Fall Into Me by Linda Winfree
2. Finn Jacobson from Must Love Mistletoe by Christie Ridgway
3. Jason Andrews from Just the Sexist Man Alive by Julie James
4.Raphael from Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh
5. Adam Temple from Can’t Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards

Honorable mentions: Pace Martin from Double Play by Jill Shalvis, Roarke from the In Death series by J.D. Robb, and Logan Scott from Because You’re Mine by Lisa Kleypas.

Casee’s list:

1. Raphael from Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh
2. Julian from Hidden Fire by Jo Davis
3. Ice Rykard from Possess Me at Midnight by Shayla Black
4. Wyatt Blackstone from Black at Heart by Leslie Parrish
5. Trevor Cormier from When a Man Loves a Weapon by Toni McGee Causey