Anyta Sunday's Blog - Posts Tagged "recommended-reads"

Book Surprises 2014

I have far from read all the books of 2014, but of the bunch I have read, I've had some WONDERFUL reads.

I just wanted to jot some of my faves down. Of course, there are heaps more I enjoyed, but these are ones that particularly stuck out.

Some of the books are older ones that I only discovered this year, they are jotted down too.

I look forward to checking other people's favorites and adding them to my to-read list for 2015 as well . . .

So first . . . seems I was/am on a bit of a historical trip this year. A lot of faves have ended up from this genre.

Provoked by Joanna Chambers
Rest And Be Thankful by Joanna Chambers
Another Place In Time by Aleksandr Voinov

Joanna Chambers was a fab discovery! I adored the books above and her Introducing Mr. Winterbourne in the Another Place in Time anthology.

Ms. Chambers is my surprise of the year, and has very quickly made herself an auto-buy author! :D

Another awesome author discovery, and definitely a fave author, is Cornelia Grey!
I LOVED:

Benjamin Pepperwhistle and the Fantabulous Circus of Wonders by Cornelia Grey Devil at the Crossroads by Cornelia Grey
Circus of the Damned (A Deal with a Devil Book 2) by Cornelia Grey




Then there's the awesomely talented historical writer Tamara Allen . . .

I REALLY must just stop here and thank Another Place in Time for making me aware of all this talent! (Best anthology of the year!)

Back to Tamara Allen -- I really got into her stuff, I'm a big fan of Slow Burn stories, and all these books had that element!
The Only Gold
If It Ain't Love by Tamara Allen

These created a very visercal mood! But my favorite read of hers was:
Downtime by Tamara Allen

This one was simply so much fun, and I loved the fun mystery in there. My only nag with these wonderful books is the very limited sex scenes. I wouldn't have minded just a bit more--I love slow-burn, but there should be a payoff for the wait. ;)

K.J. Charles, discovered last year, is just getting better and better! One of my standalone faves of the year is her

Think of England by K.J. Charles

which hit a lot of my YEAH reading spots. ;) I also really enjoyed The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh in (again)

Another Place In Time by Aleksandr Voinov
(See how awesome this antho is!!!)

T.J. Klune-- keeps me emotionally nourished with his stories. I read and loved
The Art of Breathing by T.J. Klune
Sigh, this was just beautiful and I relished every moment of it.


Aleksandr Voinov--WHOA, this guy can write. Like, wow. Often dark, edgy, and a little off the norm for MM romance, he fills his stories with such amazing, flawed, fascinating characters. (He also wrote Deliverance in the aforementioned anthology!)
Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov
is my fave story of his so far, and I have a bunch of his other stuff on my Kindle to gobble up soon!
I can't wait for his Bird Book next year!


Ohhhh Jay Bell. Like, yeah . . . I was late to the show (as always), but I only stumbled over his Something Like . . . series this year, but it's right up my alley. I love YA, and his writing clicks with me on many levels. I think I've read nearly everything of his so far! I love it all.
Hell's Pawn (Nook) by Jay Bell , Like and Subscribe by Jay Bell , The Cat in the Cradle (Loka Legends, #1) by Jay Bell
Kamikaze Boys by Jay Bell Language Lessons by Jay Bell Something Like Summer (Seasons, #1) by Jay Bell Something Like Winter (Seasons, #2) by Jay Bell Something Like Spring (Seasons, #4) by Jay Bell Something Like Lightning (Storms, #1) by Jay Bell




Eli Easton struck gold with
The Mating of Michael (Sex in Seattle Book 3) by Eli Easton
Another of my top reads of the year. :)


Another fave was
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Sweet and tender and just right. Sigh. Loved this.


And then my Secret Santa (who I still don't know, but am very thankful to) knocked it out of the park with this gift:
Split by Mel Bossa
This is such a me book--emotional and touching, and I recommend it so hard. Unless you are pregnant, then wait. ;)


Wow, lol, realizing how many good books I read this year--and this isn't all of them. Ha!

Olley White is new to the MM writing scene and is an author going places! I've REALLY enjoyed her stuff, and can't wait for more. Game On by Olley White
is so much fun. Sweet, sexy, and slow-burn!


Finding Zach by Rowan Speedwell
-- this one got me teary and emotional, and I loved every minute of it. Rowan Speedwell is another new-to-me author that a friend of mine urged me to try and boy am I glad I did.


On the Fan Fic side . . . my fave read was
No Homo by RemainNameless .
Snarky and funny and Stiles is unbelievably daft r.e. his sexuality, but it cracked me up.


As for other YA books: I really got into
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater


As for books for kids, my fave read to my son this year was:
The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli


Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock keep producing good quality and fun reading books.


So many talented authors! So many wonderful books. And these are just a few.
But I can't end this list without mentioning Natasha Snow, who has designed some of the BEST book covers in the MM genre this year. Just WOW. Such quality! Such an eye for design.
I wish I could link right to all of the covers she's designed because there are so many and are so wonderful. I'll settle for showcasing just a couple though:

Game On (Game On, #1) by Olley White Outshine the Stars by Nash Summers Maps by Nash Summers Boo! (Beauty And The Bookworm, #2) by Nick Pageant
The Arroyo by M. Caspian
rock by Anyta Sunday Bird Meets Cage by Anyta Sunday
(I know the last two are my own books, but I really LOVE the covers. Thank you, Natasha Snow!)


And that's it for 2014 in books this year. ;)
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Published on December 28, 2014 11:25 Tags: auto-buy-authors, awesome-stories, best-authors, best-books, cover-art, fun-reads, recommended-reads