Some Thoughts

I thought January would be a good time to talk about what I read and really liked in 2011. To be honest, last year was an odd reading year. Odd in that I didn't LOVE – like, get totally lost and couldn't stop reading love – that many books. Much of the stuff I read was outside of romance. I went on this mystery/suspense kick and read many books by female authors, all revolving around the theme of murder/kidnapping. The authors were folks like Chevy Stevens, Myla Goldberg, Gillian Flynn, Rosamund Lupton, Cara Hoffman, Megan Abbott, Heather Gudenkauf and a whole bunch more. And, again, not romances.

My favorite non-romance of the year was SISTER by Rosamund Lupton. I liked it so much that I ordered Lupton's second book directly from her U.K. publisher rather than wait for it to come out in the U.S. The book looks like this:

When her mom calls to tell her that Tess, her younger sister, is missing, Bee returns home to London on the first flight. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture, the bossy big sister scolding her flighty baby sister for taking off without letting anyone know her plans. Tess has always been a free spirit, an artist who takes risks, while conservative Bee couldn't be more different. Bee is used to watching out for her wayward sibling and is fiercely protective of Tess (and has always been a little stern about her antics). But then Tess is found dead, apparently by her own hand.

Bee is certain that Tess didn't commit suicide. Their family and the police accept the sad reality, but Bee feels sure that Tess has been murdered. Single-minded in her search for a killer, Bee moves into Tess's apartment and throws herself headlong into her sister's life–and all its secrets.

Though her family and the police see a grieving sister in denial, unwilling to accept the facts, Bee uncovers the affair Tess was having with a married man and the pregnancy that resulted, and her difficultly with a stalker who may have crossed the line when Tess refused his advances. Tess was also participating in an experimental medical trial that might have gone very wrong. As a determined Bee gives her statement to the lead investigator, her story reveals a predator who got away with murder–and an obsession that may cost Bee her own life.

My favorite romance of the year was LOOSE ENDS by Tara Janzen…but not for the usual reason. This was book #11 in a series. I hadn't read the books that came before, which would usually keep me from trying one of the later ones. But good friend and reading buddy Jill Shalvis talked me into it. We read this together (as in we read it at the same time and talked about it via email) and the whole time Jill told me I had to go back and read the beginning of the series. Thanks to this book and Jill's recommendation, I picked up the beginning of the series. Man, is there anything better than discovering a great series? I'm still confused how I missed this series to begin with since it hits all my reader buttons.

Six years ago, the Special Defense Force mourned the loss of J. T. Chronopolous. Now the striking soldier is back with scant memory, a new name—Conroy Farrel—and one single mission: to bring down SDF. But SDF has its own plan: get him back at any cost. And so they've set a trap for Con, a trap that Jane Linden accidentally steps into. With darkness falling and the night heating up, Con finds himself on the run in an oddly familiar 1967 Pontiac GTO with a drop-dead-gorgeous brunette named Jane by his side. Who she is he doesn't know. Or does he? Jane certainly hasn't forgotten him. When she was a teenager, he caught her picking his pocket. Now the former street thief is all grown up and gone legit—and the effect she has on Con is all too clear: pure, sweet longing. Con's not sure if Jane is there to save him or to take him down. But one thing's certain: With desire leading the way, all bets are off.

Not sure what type of books will grab my attention in 2012. I'm thinking about going on a YA binge. I find so many of the covers amazing. I mean, look at these:

I've heard so much about Amanda Hocking and her self-publishing success, but it's the covers that make me want to read.