Top 10 Reads Of The Year..

As the year is coming to an end i have went through a lot of books this year. Some of them amazing, some of them so-so, and i feel as though this year my reading tastes have evolved and changed, i have learned a lot about myself through the books that i read and i love the new me. I feel like I closed my eyes to sleep January 1st and suddenly its almost 2022 already, how did the year go by so fast. Well enough chattering, I will share with you my list of the best books i have read this year in no particular order of best.

1. E.L James’ Fifty Shades Trilogy- This was definitely a re read because I read the whole series in 2010 and I have to say I saw it and experienced the book in a completely different way. I would definitely suggest it all over again

2. Sylvia Day’s Crossfire Trilogy: This is definitely a re read also, I dont know why but Iv been wanting to read the books that I read while in my early 20s that I really loved just to get a different view point and feel of them and I just loved this trilogy all over again. Definitely fell in love for the second time with the trilogy.

3. Keta Kendrick’s The Chaos Series: Definitely a must read. Its been a long time since Iv read anything by Keta Kendricks and I definitely have to say she does not disappoint.

4. Dirty Cravings by Kenya Wright: A must read for those who love a good kinky read. A nice mafioso book to send you off into fantasy crimeland

5. Jack Higgins’ A Devi is Waiting: The type of book to not read on a gloomy night alone at home. But I definitely enjoyed every second of it, crime thrillers are a favorite of mine and you have to have a look at what Sean DIllion is up to in this book.

6. Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen: This is a special book for me because a friend of mine got it for me as a goodbye present after 3years of studying together in China and he couldnt have picked a better book. With the collection of short stories all put into one book it is a definite must have.

7. T. C Boyle’s Wild Child: This book is set quiet back in the back ages, I do not usually enjoy historical thrillers, but this one had me hooked.

8. Fiona Walker’s Love Hunt: Im sure for most of us who have been single throughout the pandemic know the hardships of searching for love. This book is definitely a must read, its funny, witty and a light hearted read.

9. J.A. Jance’s Devil’s Claw: A crime- suspense book that definitely had me on the edge and taking it everywhere I went trying to solve the murder mystery. If you love crime shows then this is definitely a book you must check out.

10. Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Devil May Cry: This is a thriller to read for sure. A book about sin, goddesses and Gods.

This list might be filled with books from years back but I promise you wont be disappointed. Also a book is never too old to read or too out of fashion to experience. The older the book the better..

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life

Blurb

The first full life–private, public, legal, philosophical–of the 107th Supreme Court Justice, one of the most profound and profoundly transformative legal minds of our time; a book fifteen years in work, written with the cooperation of Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself and based on many interviews with the justice, her husband, her children, her friends, and her associates.

In this large, comprehensive, revelatory biography, Jane De Hart explores the central experiences that crucially shaped Ginsburg’s passion for justice, her advocacy for gender equality, her meticulous jurisprudence: her desire to make We the People more united and our union more perfect. At the heart of her story and abiding beliefs–her Jewish background. Tikkun olam, the Hebrew injunction to “repair the world,” with its profound meaning for a young girl who grew up during the Holocaust and World War II. We see the influence of her mother, Celia Amster Bader, whose intellect inspired her daughter’s feminism, insisting that Ruth become independent, as she witnessed her mother coping with terminal cervical cancer (Celia died the day before Ruth, at seventeen, graduated from high school).
From Ruth’s days as a baton twirler at Brooklyn’s James Madison High School, to Cornell University, Harvard and Columbia Law Schools (first in her class), to being a law professor at Rutgers University (one of the few women in the field and fighting pay discrimination), hiding her second pregnancy so as not to risk losing her job; founding the Women’s Rights LawReporter, writing the brief for the first case that persuaded the Supreme Court to strike down a sex-discriminatory state law, then at Columbia (the law school’s first tenured female professor); becoming the director of the women’s rights project of the ACLU, persuading the Supreme Court in a series of decisions to ban laws that denied women full citizenship status with men.
Her years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, deciding cases the way she played golf, as she, left-handed, played with right-handed clubs–aiming left, swinging right, hitting down the middle. Her years on the Supreme Court . . .
A pioneering life and legal career whose profound mark on American jurisprudence, on American society, on our American character and spirit, will reverberate deep into the twenty-first century and beyond.

Buenas Noches…Buenos Aires..

Blurb
Gideon is a lonely, horny young Englishman who arrives in Paris to take up a teaching post in the local Berlitz, and becomes increasingly fascinated by the intoxicating atmosphere of erotic banter and bragging in the school’s all-male and virtually all-gay common room. The moment has surely arrived for him, too, to overcome his own chronic timidity and actually do what he has only ever dared fantasize about. Yet Gideon has a secret – one he is prepared to share with nobody but the reader, a secret he is finally obliged to confront, with surprising results.

Review
I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this book. The blurb caught my attention enough without completely giving away the story inside the story.  I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when I started reading this one, simply because I dont usually go for this type of book, yet from the moment I started it i was transfixed to this book from the first page, I ended up reading it all in a matter of 2 days, which would have been one day if it wasnt for the fact that I was a little preoccupied with household duties.

This short book uses Adair’s trademark eloquence, fondness for perfect mots, and corkscrew sentences to tell a tale at once comedic and quietly unsettling. His description of one AIDS-ravaged friend in particular stands out as a harrowing moment in a ‘coming’-of-age novel (or not coming-of-age) that celebrates guiltless homosexuality, an essential message still to percolate into the Neanderthal brains of Russian politicians and about a hundred other tiresomely backward nations. Will Self tread similar ground in 2002 with Dorian—a novel set in London that handles the AIDS era with similar impishness and extra grotesquerie.

I would say this is the kind of book you read unsuspecting the shock that will come from most of the content that is in the book.

Toe Curling Thursday

So I have decided to do add a new dimension to my blog. I will have a Toe Curling Kiss Scene Thursday where I will share the best kiss scenes of the books I read that particular week. So here goes my very first one.. 😀

Legend- Katy Evans

He leans his head forward slowly, and I turn my head instinctively away, just an inch, scared to feel his lips on mine. Scared of what it’ll do to me.

He brushes his lips across my jawline instead. I hear a moan rip out of my throat. He exhales and eases back, looks at me for a moment.

The weight of his gaze feels like sex on my face, then he dips his head and sinuously, heatedly, drags his lips along my temple, up to my forehead, where he sets a kiss there, his soft, firm lips pressing into my skin in a kiss that lasts for about ten perfect, frightening, thrilling seconds.

My throat is tight, and I want to beg him not to stop when he inches away and studies me with eyes that shine with jealousy and possessiveness.

Thin Love- Eden Butler

Kona sat up, slow, cautious and Keira watched him, watched unable to react, to respond, until Kona leaned toward her, until she could smell the drugging scent of his skin and feel the soft outline of his mouth. It was the pause of everything, a kindling of heat that Keira did not know how to contain—Kona’s soft lips against hers, his airy breath moving behind the hint of tongue—at once Keira felt drugged, controlled and manic.

Keira’s mouth worked against her will, a reaction, a gut feel of movement that she did not control and Kona seemed to love it, pulled her closer, guided her hands around his waist, up to that massive chest and Keira did not stop him.

She loved the sound of his throat vibrating, those low, delicious growls he made when her tongue touched his, when her mouth moved faster, harder. Before she realized what was happening, Kona leaned over her, had her caged against the pillows. Behind her closed eyes, Keira allowed only the sensations of touch and taste to filter into her mind and she knew, unconsciously, absolutely, that she wanted Kona Hale. She wanted his hands on her back, lowering; his mouth, tongue, down her neck nibbling. All that sensation, the fiery spark of their bodies connecting consumed her, made her feel drunk, wanted, beautiful. Cherished. The sensation was overwhelming, consuming and Keira found she could not breathe, could not keep hold of her senses—the protective instinct to run from the sudden terror she felt.

Share any if you have more of your favorites…

Run This Town

BLURB:

In the cutthroat world of politics and crime, nothing is more dangerous than love. Ciara Simmons takes her journalism degree and her knife-edged ambition to New York City, where she goes undercover on former playboy Luka Belmonte’s mayoral campaign.
She soon learns Luka’s darkest secret: to run the city, the charming, seductive son of one of NYC’s most famous politicians will have to get in bed with the mafia.
Just like his father did.
Exposing him would be a public service, and guarantee her reputation as a rising star of journalism.
There’s just one problem … she’d rather ride him than ruin him.

***

Luka is determined to shed his party-boy image and ascend to the pinnacle of NYC politics. He’ll do whatever it takes, even deal with mobsters.
The one thing he didn’t count on was smart, stunning Ciara. Her refusal to throw herself at his feet only makes her sexier.
He knows she’s a threat, but all he wants to do is take her for his own—and protect her from harm.
With danger on every side, Luka and Ciara must decide whether to honor old loyalties … or forge new ones that could cost them everything.

REVIEW:

It was my first time reading a book by this author so i really had little to none expectations, but even so, it was a bit of a disappointment, it was a short read and the story line was kind of super unrealistic.

What’s a small town girl from Iowa to do in the big city? Obviously keep reminding the viewer that she’s a small town girl from Iowa now in the big city. And the the small town girl of course falls for the big city, rich play boy wanna be Mayor. Luka is portrayed as a playboy who likes to party and do drugs that plans to stop and turn his life around and run for mayor. This was unrealistic to me, despite the constant reminders, this story is OK. The characters are flawed and unrealistic, but I enjoyed the story’s flow none the less. What I really did not enjoy was how Luka treated  and talked to Ciara, but I guess it all goes with his bad boy persona.

Personally I love my bad boys respectful and good to women, but what do I know..

The final chapters after the big climax seemed to falter, and it was as if the writer was not sure what else to write about them and there is a huge cliff hanger at the end of the story, which I do not really like.

If you enjoy unrealistic, bad boy, good girl stories with a hint of Mafioso thrown into the mix, then I guess this book is definitely for you.

Forbidden..

BLURB:

She is pretty and talented – sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But… they are brother and sister.

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

REVIEW:

This book is not for the weak hearted, it’s not your typical love story, it is not pretty with roses and candy. It makes you want to cry, it makes you confused and it will have you like ” What the fuck did I just read”?!?!

How many of you little sisters out there have come to a point in your life when you look at your older brother and think “Yeah, I’d hit that,” and not in the punch-you-in-the-arm kind of way?

Raise your hand. No one? Oh – you haven’t?! Really? Are you sure?! Because im pretty fucking sure I have never once thought of my brother the way this girl does. Its scary and disgusting but I just couldnt put it down.

I’m not saying I liked it, ohh No NO NO! Just the opposite in fact, I hated this book, but I desperately needed to see the ending, to see how their story ends,  and honestly to see if they will come to their damn senses and stop thinking they are in love..

I watched a movie like this book before called “Flowers in the Artic” and it had me in tears, I mean bawling like a big ole baby, but this book had me on the edge of my seat. I alternated from wanting to kick their lil asses to wanting to give them hugs because they are just kids after all.

Incest has a very long and sordid history. As long as there are relatives, there will be incest. Unless humans soon evolve into a Vulcan-like race that suppress their emotions and always base their decisions upon logic. Which sounds most illogical.

Who should read this:

Let’s just say that “brotherly love” or “sisterly love” is not for everyone. In fact, it’s not for most people. Firstly: The large majority of siblings just aren’t interested in each other. Second: If everyone participated in it – the human race would quickly devolve and be lost into genetic disorder. That’s just genetics.

I suggest that only MATURE teens read this.

It would be completely accurate for me to say that I have NEVER read a book like this in my life. Forbidden is the very definition of sexual tension.

Let’s face it. Teens have raging hormones. I know I did. I would have in NO way been able to handle this book as a young teen. I already wanted to do all kinds of naughty things without having an influence like this in my life, and I know that if I had read it before I had matured hormonally – I would have rushed out and tried to seduce the first “off limits” guy I could find. And I could have done a lot of damage to myself and other people. I was not emotionally mature enough to handle this book then and many young girls will be in the same situation that I was.

It is difficult to say for sure how or to whom this book should be marketed. This is a young adult book with ADULT content. I am in no way an advocate of censorship, but honestly some teens are just NOT ready for the material in this book. It’s just my recommendation that this book not be taken lightly. This isn’t the new generation’s Princess Bride. This book deals with things that not every teen needs to or would want to read about. All I’m saying is please, please – use discretion. Teens need to decide whether they are really interested and prepared for this book; they may even need help making their decision.

And totally no spoilers but the ending is a total complete MIND FUCK!

Shards Of Us..

Author:  K.R. Caverly

 

Blurb:

We meet every Wednesday night in hotel room #364. We stay there until morning–kissing, laughing, healing one another. We’re both broken people, him with his alcoholic family, me with my murdered one. I don’t know who he is; I don’t ask for his name. I don’t question him. I only love how he makes me feel, how he makes me forget just how alone I am in this world, and for now, that’s all I need.

We have three rules:

1) No sex.
2) No personal questions.
3) No leaving the hotel room until morning. Not ever.

For four months, I followed the rules. I came to the hotel room every Wednesday night, and his presence never failed to cure me. I was happy with him. But one night, he doesn’t show. So when I hear a scream down the hallway, I can’t help myself. I break rule number three. I leave the room.

My life has never been the same since

Review:

Alright I did it. I finished it. I got through it people.. *phew*

So I saw this book’s blurb  and thought “Well, that sure, sounds intriguing…” Hhhmmm.. I should give it a go..

Then as the time neared for me to read it i was lie “I have to have it now”

Boy was I wrong…

Truthfully I tolerated this book up until 30% of it. Then it kind of had me in a constant “WTF” state.

And im not so sure how I feel about the ending. No scratch that.. I hated the ending, what Crystal made Sebastian do in the end was just plain weird and i didn’t like it. It didnt sit well with me. And then the Epilogue *tired sigh* I just do not understand these characters..

But I guess the one good thing about it is that they got their HEA.. As weird and unrealistic as it was they got it.

Fighting For Irish..

Author: Gina .L Maxwell

 

Blurb:

Kat MacGregor has forty-eight hours to make good on the debt her ex-boyfriend owes a crime boss. Unfortunately, the measly tips she makes waitressing are barely enough for her to live on, much less cover the twenty-thousand needed to keep her breathing. With time running out, Kat ‘s forced to accept help from the only man who’s ever made her feel fire rather than fear.

When he learns a friend’s sister is in trouble, former Boston MMA fighter Aiden “Irish” O’Brien heads to Louisiana to offer himself up as collateral to keep her safe. But to satisfy the debt, he has to do the one thing he swore hed never do again: fight. With more than just money on the line, will Irish have what it takes to not only reclaim the man he once was, but become the man he needs to be for the woman he can’t live without?

Review:

I gie this book 5 Sexy as sin, Alpha male, tatted up, protective MMA fighter stars!
Just look at the cover.. What more could a girl ask for! *Melts into a puddle*.

 

When I saw that I got an ARC from the author I was like

 

And like..

This book had me hooked from the very beginning and I finished it within 24 hours of starting it, that’s how absolutely amazeballz it is..

So basically Aiden “Irish” O’Brien is a sexy former MMA fighter who has been asked by his friend to watch over Kat because they fear she has gotten herself into some trouble she cannot get out of and she isn’t res

ponding to her sister’s calls and is shutting her out of her life.

Kat is a quiet yet feisty red head who has always had bad luck with men, she also has some serious issues from her past and has a hard time believing a man could actually love and take care of her without hurting her. She has never had a good male role model and is very scared by her past. Her “kind of” ex boyfriend, that she has been with for a long while, has gotten her into a bit of trouble and she is trying to find a way out of it.She has dealt with sexual abuse from a young age and does not know how a real sexual relationship between a man and a woman feels like.
Irish also has some secrets, one of them being that Kat does not know he was sent by her sister to watch and take care of her.
Things start getting steamy and heated between them, its’ hot, it’s sweet and oh so lovely. There is sex, and lots of it. And by this I mean…. HOLY HELL! HOT! HOT! HOT!*fanning self*

 

 

But they are not just screwing around, the sex is meaningful and beautiful .

 

They both make some mistakes, but eventually work through it and I’m glad to say, as with the other “Fighting for love” books there is a HEA. We also get to see a few of our favorite characters from “Seducing Cinderella and “Rules Of Entanglement”. And we also meet the gorgeous Xander, He is English, sweet, a lady’s man and I’m totally in love with him.

 

To you miss Gina L. Maxwell I say… 😀

 

You gave us a book full of pain, heart ache, suspense, danger and most importantly, love. The first thing that made my heart constrict a little was the dedication at the beginning of the book.

 

**ARC courtesy of Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review**

If you want to be part of Gina Maxwell awesome group of fan club/book club/eye candy sharers, and you want to  become friends meet amazing women, and 1 man then you can join here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/maxwellmob/ on facebook

Or you can check out some of her works on

http://www.ginalmaxwell.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6446604.Gina_L_Maxwell

https://www.pinterest.com/ginalmaxwell/

 

 

 

Maybe This Time..

Author :Chantal Fernando

Blurb:

Moving in with my half-brother Xander, I had no idea what to expect.
But nothing could have prepared me for this.
My brother’s friends are wild, protective, secretive, always around.
And drop dead gorgeous.
Out of all of them, there’s something about Reid Knox.
Brooding, temperamental, guarded…
And I want him more than anything I have ever wanted in my life.

Review:

SO-MANY-ALPHA-MALES-I-CAN’T-SEE-STRAIGHT!

Reid… Scarred, sexy, tall, blonde, blue eyed but he also comes with a lot of baggage. This might put you off but he’s temperamental, confusing and frustrating to the point that you just want to strangle him! He goes hot/cold and gives mixed signals. Reid has a lot of flaws and it’s either you love him or hate his guts but for some reason, it was hard to remain too angry with him. He does or say something that melts my heart and made me want to crawl all over his body.

“Are you going to kiss me?” I whisper, arrested in his blue gaze.“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he whispers back, his eyes dropping to my mouth.“Good ideas are overrated,” I say breathily.

Summer… Big brown eyes, huge tits, tiny waist and a round ass. To sum this all up our heroine is a stunner. First half of the book, I actually like Summer- she’s opinionated, feisty, hard headed but behind this is a vulnerable-weak woman. She doesn’t play mind games like some heroines out there. Maybe one thing that I didn’t appreciate was she forgives Reid soooo easily. I wanted to see more groveling in his part but hey… I’m not judging here.. I guess if I have Reid as my own begging for my forgiveness, I will probably forgive and forget and do make-up sex all night long!

“I think he’s doing enough fighting for other people, Sum, maybe he needs someone to fight for him,”

The plot might not be original but the twist and secrets made the story more intruiging and enjoyable to read. Everyone was tip toeing around Summer which kinda frustrate me. I didn’t know what the hell was going on and I’m not good in guessing so I’ve been itching to know what was the damn secrets!

When finally everything was revealed.. I was not that surprised. I’m not disappointed at all but I was hoping it’s a big mind blowing thing ya’ know? But what I liked in this story is that on each revelation, you discover another new secret that you want to unravel…

“You’re it for me,” he finally says.
“I’m not gonna give up on you, ever.”

I wouldn’t say this is the best book ever or that I love everything about it. Because it’s not. There were too many characters that I somewhat couldn’t keep up. The pacing of the story was way too fast.

“It means I’m sure Reid likes anything you like, or at least pretends to. Hell, if you were mine, I’d play that stupid game, too, just to see you smile.”

There were so many protective alpha males in this story that I couldn’t see straight! lol! To be honest, at first I had a hard time remembering all of them to the point that I even wrote down all their names, what they look like etc…by the end of the book, I know them all like the back of my hand! hahaha! Reid, Ryan, Xander, Dash, Tag, Silas and Jack OMFGjorkillmenow!!! Don’t judge me but I’m interested to know more about Jack!! I know he’s old and cheated but I find him so sexy! I want him. O__O

Despite me ranting about the paced and too many characters, I loved all the characters in this book. Even though it’s a very fast paced, you can’t help but love them all.. well.. except for Mia. I hate that bitch but her presence added some spice in the story.

“Did you see her? She’s fucking hot!”
Reid laughs. “Not as hot as you, baby, trust me.”
It’s true. Love is blind

Overall I love it but I’m not in love with it. I think it’s a good start for a great series. I’m a big fan of Chandal Fernando and been stalking her ever since I read Resisting Love series! This author never fail to write some Alpha, possessive cavemen heroes!

I highly recommend this book if you want a quick sexy read with possessive alpha males!!!

Next book is Ryan’s story. OMG! Did anyone see that coming?! The manwhore is freaking AFKJIDONTWANTTOPUTANYMORESPOILERYOUHAVETOREADTHEBOOK!!! Eeeeek! I’m so excited!!!

NOTE: This review was taken from Goodreeds.

Fallen Too Far…

Author: Abbi Glines

 

Fallen Too Far was an addictive read! The story picked up momentum immediately and never once faltered in its intensity.  Abbi has done an amazing job in taking a commonly used, but highly sought after plot—sexy bad-boy meets innocent virgin good-girl—and transforming it into something unique and genuine.

After having lost everything important to her, Blaire reluctantly heads to her estranged father’s house in search of shelter while she gets her life back on track.  What she encounters there instead is a sexy, arrogant step-brother and a  buried secret that will rock the foundation of her very world, once revealed.

Blaire and Rush have a smoldering connection that becomes evident instantly. Once again, this author proves that she can create and sustain sexual tension like no other—and the steam factor is off-the-damn-charts incredible! With many romance novels, I find that the numerous love scenes tend to become over-played and monotonous—doing nothing to enhance the actual story. The opposite is true for this author; her scenes are fun and fresh, wonderfully descriptive and uncontrollably toe curling!

The plot twist was an interesting and surprising addition. I always love when a story can throw a curve ball that I didn’t see coming and I appreciated how this bend in the plot was tackled; believable and not over-the-top.

Everyone always said that love was enough. It wasn’t. Not when your soul was shattered.