Top Ten Reads of 2018

Happy New Year!  It's pretty crazy to think we are in 2019 already - I've been blogging now since 2007 which is even crazier to think about.  I had a really great year of reading in 2018 which is always a good thing.  I managed to read 71 books which wasn't quite my goal but is up from last year so that makes me very happy.  It's been a great year in books and I'm hoping that the new year goes just as well.  I can tell you that I'm planning on "trying" to be more present in the new year.  We will see how it goes but that's the plan currently!  Let's move on to my top ten reads of 2018 though!

Look For Me by Lisa Gardner is book nine in the Detective D.D. Warren series but only my second book read by this author so far.  It is also the 2nd time this author (and series) has made it on my top reads list for the year.  That should tell you everything you need to know about these books and my love for this series!  I'm so completely pumped that I have a copy of the upcoming book in this series to read and hopefully love in the new year!

The Body Counter by Anne Frasier is the 2nd book in another amazing series that has fast become a favorite of mine!  I enjoyed the first book a ton but it was this second book that has placed this series on my must read list.  It is dark mystery series but super compelling!  I'm so excited that there looks to be another book coming out in 2019 - I will be there for it for sure!

Caged by Ellison Cooper is the beginning to a new mystery series that I just couldn't get enough of!  This was a dark and twisty page turner that I just couldn't put down.  I'm so excited to read more of this author and series in the new year!  2019 is going to be an amazing year of reading at this rate!

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier was such a dark and thrilling read!  I feel like that's almost a theme from my reading in 2018 (so I have no idea what that says about me and the books I enjoy but...).  This book was such a compelling read but it wasn't always easy to read.  I've read two books by this author so far - and both were amazing!  I can't wait to read more by her!

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine was one of the most intense books that I read this year.  It was heart pounding and such a complete page turner!  I luckily have the next two books in this series to look forward to reading in the new year.  This was a nonstop heart-pounding read that I just couldn't get enough of.  Easily a five star read and has cemented my love of this author and her books!

Watch The Girls by Jennifer Wolfe was a thriller like no other!  This one had some serious horror vibes to it and I just couldn't get enough of it!  I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next because she also takes dark and twisted to another level.  This book is probably the most underrated one on my list this year - I hope that other readers find it and enjoy it as much as I did!

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn was such a delightful beginning to this historical mystery series!  I adored my time with this book so much and am really looking forward to reading the next book in this series soon!  If you love mysteries with just a hint of romance (I'm sure hoping for more though) then I cannot recommend this series enough!

Lost Girls by Angela Marsons is the 3rd book in the D.I. Kim Stone series and the third five star read for me in it!  This is one of my must read series that I just adore.  Kim Stone is such a great main character that I can't get enough of!  I love these books and this series so much!

Blue Monday by Nicci French is the second book I've read in this series but actually the first book in this series.  I read this one in a day which goes to show how much I enjoyed this book.  I actually read this one while my husband was going through shoulder surgery which goes to show how much of a page turner this was for me that it could keep my attention during a stressful time.  I cannot wait to continue on with this series!

The Dry by Jane Harper was such an atmospheric mystery that I couldn't get enough of!  I'm so glad that I took the time to knock this one off of my TBR list because it was just amazing.  I found myself just swept away in the pages of this book.  I'm really looking forward to picking up book two in the new year.

Well there you are - my top ten reads for 2018!  I'm not going to even try to give honorable mentions this year because there would honestly be SO many!  There are just so many amazing authors that I read this year.  It's crazy looking back how amazing my year of reading really was.  So many good books, so many new series and authors to follow, and so little time!

Here's to hoping that 2019 is just as amazing!

Top Ten Reads of 2017

2017 seems to have flown by and here we are again with the best of lists coming out all over the place.  I absolutely adore seeing what books other bloggers loved in 2017.  My holds list at the library is a bit ridiculous thanks to all of these posts but I just can't seem to resist putting just one more book on hold.  It wasn't my best year of reading but quality wise it was a very strong year.  I ended up finishing 59 books in 2017.  This wasn't my lowest year numbers wise but it was pretty darn close to it.  I'm already looking towards ways of changing this in 2018 but that is for a different post.  I read a ton of really great books this year (actually the majority of the books I read were four star reads) so that makes me very happy.  My top reads for 2017 were the following:

The Doll's House by M.J. Arlidge is book three in this amazing series and also makes this the 3rd year in a row that this series has hit my top 10 reads list.  I am such a huge fan of this series and each book has been a five star read for me.  That should tell you all that you need to know - this is a must read series for me to catch up on in the new year!

Two Can Play by Kate Kessler is the second book in what is fast becoming another favorite mystery series of mine.  The cover quote says "Deliciously twisted" and I can't agree more!  While I think the first book was slightly better than this one, I still found this to be a five star read.  Audrey's character is a favorite of mine and I can't wait to continue on with this series in 2018 as well!

A Twist of the Knife by Becky Masterman was yet another amazing read by this author.  This is also the 3rd year in a row that this series has hit my top 10 reads list - I'm a lucky girl to have found so many great series that I love so much!  I haven't yet seen anything for the next book in the series but I sure do have my fingers crossed that it happens in 2018!

Dark Saturday by Nicci French was a dark, thrilling read that I couldn't get enough of!  This is my first time reading anything in this series (of which I read this one completely out of order).  It was just so good and now I plan to go back to the beginning and read the rest of the books in this series.  I loved this one and can't wait to read more!

Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell wasn't the only book in this series that I read and adored in 2017.  I would actually have put both books on this list but I'm cheating and just including this one (the other was From Potter's Field).  Both were fast paced and intense five star reads for me.  This is a series that I can't read fast enough but am also trying to savor.  Highly recommended!

Asylum by Jeannette De Beauvoir was a mystery series were the dual storylines ended up blowing me away - especially after realizing that the author based this book off of true events.  It was a book that left me thinking about it long after I finished.  There looks to only be two books in this series so far but I won't be waiting long to read that 2nd book in 2018!

Into The Drowning Deep by Mira Grant was everything that I had hoped it would be and even more.  I've loved Grant's Newflesh trilogy previously and after loving this book just as much....well, I basically feel like I will love everything that she writes!  I cannot say enough good things about this book or this author.  You'll just have to try her for yourself!

Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary was the beginning to a new to me mystery series that I just adored!  I am so thrilled that I have more books to look forward to after loving this book so much!  It was unexpected in the way that the author handled the mystery but I loved this book all the more because of it.  I will be continuing on with this series in 2018!

Final Girls by Riley Sager was everything that I enjoy in a good thriller - it was dark, intense, and one of those books that I just couldn't put down!  It had a horror movie vibe to it that I just couldn't get enough of.  I am so excited about this author and will be there for anything that he writes!  This was just that good and deserving of all of the attention that it got!

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter wins the award for the darkest and most thrilling book that I read this year (which says something after you've seen some of the other books that I've read in 2017).  This book was just so completely intense and full of twists and turns.  Slaughter's books are all now on my must read list after reading and loving two of her books this year.

There are so many amazing books on this list!  I plan on reading books by ALL of these authors in 2018!  There were so many other books that I read in 2017 that I really could have included on this list as well.  The following are honorable mentions (*by authors not included above):

• All The Secret Places by Anna Carlisle 
• The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal
• A Season to Lie by Emily Littlejohn
• The Breakdown by B.A. Shapiro

I better stop there or I will end up listing the majority of the books that I read and enjoyed in 2017.  I am hoping for a better year quantity wise in 2018 but I would love to have just as great of a year quality wise.  I plan on stretching myself in 2018 with my reading so here is to a wonderful year in books in 2018!  May you and your family have an amazing and wonderful year in 2018!

Happy Reading!

#COYER Winter Switch (Reading Plans)

#COYER is here!  I need this in my life (and so does my kindle lol).  I feel like my stack of e-reads is always growing - my "pile" as you will is overflowing.  Time to make a dent and get some of these books read.  I really appreciate that it starts in December and then carries on to the new year.  This means that I can end my reading year strong and then begin 2018 this was as well!  I'm following the Basic COYER rules which are:
 
"This is good old strict COYER. The rules:

1. Every book you read must be an eBook or audiobook.
2. Every book must be either free or less than $5.
3. No library books, borrowed books, or Kindle Unlimited."

I've come up with a ridiculously large pool of possibilities to choose from.  I seriously could have kept going but I found a little self control in me and made a list of 24 to start with.  This isn't to say that I will only choose from these books, but I would like to think it will help me make my reading choices a bit easier having a pile to choose from.  It's a mixture of 2018 releases and older books as well that I've been wanting to read for some time now - all e-books in the hopes that my kindle unread pile will get just a tiny bit smaller.  Enough rambling though....here is my COYER reading pool:

Whew!  That's quite the pile!  And the funny thing is I came across at least twenty more books that could have easily been on this list as well.  My reading goal for this challenge is to read at least ten books for COYER this time around.  More would be great (obviously) but I would really like to hit my goal so I'm starting with ten.  I can bump it up if needed.  Ideally I will also write up reviews for all books read for this challenge as well.  Other than that, I just plan to read to my heart's content!

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Reads of 2016

Wow!  Last year I held out until the very last minute on posting my top reads for the year and it worked- my very last read made it on my top reads list.  This year I know that I'm not going to finish any more books before the new year begins so I've been thinking about my top reads list for weeks now.  It is so crazy to think that we are beginning a new year already but here we are.  I had another solid year of reading in 2016 as I finished 80 books for the year.  It wasn't the 85 that I had originally hoped for but I went ahead and lowered my Goodread's goal to 80 so I could count that as a win.  Ha!  One of these years I swear that I will finally hit a hundred books....that is one of those goals in the back of my head every year.  I've come close but haven't yet hit the hundred mark.  My reading year overall was pretty solid.  I'm still on a thriller/mystery kick but with other genres tossed in there to keep things interesting.  But let's move on to the important things- the best books I read in 2016:

It Takes One by Kate Kessler was easily one of those books that I knew instantly after finishing would make my top reads list for this year.  It was everything that I enjoy as it contained a thrilling mystery along with characters that I couldn't get enough of.  Out of all the books that I read this year, this is one that I felt deserved WAY more attention then it actually got.  I really hope that other readers find this series soon!

Find Her by Lisa Gardner was one of the most twisted and dark books that I read this year.  I also found that I couldn't stop reading it and thought about it long after I finished.  I started right in the middle of a series with this one but don't let that stop you.  It obviously didn't affect my enjoyment in the slightest as this was another book that easily made my top reads list.

City of Light by Keri Arthur began a new urban fantasy/science fiction series that I absolutely adored.  I couldn't get enough of this world which meant it had to be on my top reads list for 2016.  I would include the 2nd book as well but that feels a bit like cheating (and this is my favorite of the two).  I love the world that Arthur has created and cannot wait for more!

Pop Goes the Weasel by M.J. Arlidge is the second book in this series AND the second time that this author has been on my top reads list for the year.  I am loving this series and author so much!  This book was just as intense and page turning as the first book was which left me as one very happy reader.  At this point I will be reading anything and everything that this author writes because these books are just that good!

The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne easily wins the award for best romance read in 2016.  This book was so FREAKING good and I just can't say anything other than that.  I was swept away by this romance which was so unlikely yet so perfect.  I've got all of this author's other books on my TBR list just waiting to be read and enjoyed.  If you haven't tried Kerrigan Byrne yet, you're missing out!

Rage Against The Dying by Becky Masterman cemented my love of this series and these characters (just an FYI that this is book one in the series- I read the 2nd book last year first).  I seriously wish Ms. Masterman wrote faster because the wait for the third book is just about killing me.  Brigid Quinn is one of my very favorite characters to read about and this is another mystery series that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves.  I love it and can't get enough!  Highly, highly recommended.

The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell was one of the harder choices as I went back and forth between this book and Cruel and Unusual by Cornwell.  Really I enjoyed each of these books equally but it was the introduction of Carrie Grethren in this book that made this book the clear winner.  I'm loving this series so much that part of me just wants to read them all straight through and the other part wants to take my time and savor them.  So, so good!

Evil Games by Angela Marsons is the second book in yet another series on this list (I'm sensing a theme here).  It was another amazing follow-up to the first book and I'm so lucky that I have found all of these amazing authors to read.  This book was just as intense and thrilling as I had hoped it would be.  I can't say enough good things about this series as well!

The Silence of the Sea by Yrsa Sigurdardottir was one of the books that stayed with me the longest.  This was such a haunting thriller that felt reminiscent of Agatha Christie in some of the best ways.  I didn't know what was going on until the very end....and even then I found myself surprised with how it all turned out.  Readers should not miss this book in my opinion!

Inherit the Bones by Emily Littlejohn was the mystery with the most gorgeous writing in comparison to all of the other books that I read this year.  This author's way with words just blew me away and I loved every minute of reading this book because of it.  If I was giving out awards for most surprisingly chilling reads, this book would also be the clear winner.  Another author that I will be watching out for in 2017!

This was a really, really tough list to make this year!  I had quite a few other books that could have/should have made my list of top reads but I stayed firm with only sharing ten.  Here are the other books that deserve honorable mention at least:

• The House at Seas End by Elly Griffiths
• The Body Reader by Anne Frasier
• A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley
• Mercury Striking by Rebecca Zanetti

And so many, many more.  I looked back at the books I finished this year and couldn't get over how many good books were on this list.  Obviously I'm hoping to have just as great of a year of reading in 2017.  There are already way too many books that I'm looking forward to in the new year (but that is another post).  I'll end this post wishing all of year a wonderful coming new year!  May you and your families have an amazing year in 2017.

Happy Reading!