Here is the annual list.
I have to admit, the number of books I read this year disappoints me. It is the lowest since I started tracking my numbers. I went back to work part-time this year and I think that made an impact. I also spent more time writing and researching for the new series I started in September.
Along with the lower numbers, almost all the books are some sort of romance genre. I did not stray far this year from my first love. In 2014, I am going to try to branch out a bit. I would like to have more scifi/fantasy on the next list.
Books Read – 34
Least books in a month: April and July with 1 each
Most books in a month: October and December with 5 each
Best books: The first two books on this list are auto-buy authors for me. Not only do I adore their stories, but they are lovely ladies online as well. I wish I could tell you how much I adore them. If I ever meet either of them in person, my head might explode.
How Beauty Loved the Beast by Jax Garren (May) – A wonderful culmination to a trilogy that has captivated me. By captivated, I mean this series is like the best kind of drug. I have no will to resist. (See Best Rereads below)
Bewitched by Sandra Schwab (August) – Bewitched is a touching tale of magic, love, and the miracles love can work in our lives. Schwab has a way with words that reminds me of Austen and she makes me swoon. She is a wonderfully smart lady who throws references to literature, history, and culture into her books. Fabulous.
A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourne (December) – Every once in awhile you find that book whose words drip from the page into your pores. This is one of those books. The way Raybourne paints Africa you can feel the heat of the sun and hear the animals hidden in the grass. Raybourne uses complicated, but beautiful characters, to draw you into a timeless story. It is perfect.
Best reread: The Jax Garren Beauty and Beast books. They are irresistible to me. I go to read one and then have to read them all. It’s a sickness, but I don’t want the cure. In fact, just writing about them makes me want to read them again.
Unexpected find: Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch – Sexy. Gargoyles. I don’t really think I have to say more.
Hottest read: Takhini Wolves series (Black Gold, Silver Mine, Diamond Dust) by Vivian Arend – No one, I think, does shifters like Arend.
Books By Month
January – 2
Lady X’s Cowboy by Zoe Archer
All He Ever Dreamed by Shannon Stacey
February – 4
Firelight by Kristen Callihan
How Beauty Met the Beast by Jax Garren
How Beauty Saved the Beast by Jax Garren
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
March – 2
Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer
April – 1
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
May – 3
The Lady of the Rivers by Phillipa Gregory
How Beauty Saved the Beast by J. C. Garren
*How Beauty Loved the Beast by Jax Garren
June – 3
Ten Days by Olivia Mayfield
Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow
Dead Man Rising by Lilith Saintcrow
July – 1
Critical Digital Literacies as Social Praxis ed. JuliAnna Avila and Jessica Zacher Pandya
August – 4
*Bewitched by Sandra Schwab
Betrayal by Sandra Schwab
Black Gold by Vivian Arend
Harry Potter and the Half -Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
September – 1
Silver Mine by Vivian Arend
October – 5
Diamond Dust by Vivian Arend
Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch
Simply Love by Mary Balogh
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
November – 3
Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison
December – 5
*A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourne
All She Wanted by Nicole Deese
Far in the Wilds by Deanna Raybourne
Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
Love A Little Sideways by Shannon Stacey