Goodbye 2012
As 2012 has comes to a close, I figured it would be fitting to post a year in review – with books – since books have pretty much dominated my life this year. I published four of them (still can’t believe that! Holy crap!), but I also read a ton. And there were many, many books that I read months ago that I still think about today that resonated with me and even, in some cases, made me think about things just a little differently. More than anything, I love getting caught up in a novel and the characters and feeling that pull that comes with just needing to know what happens next. And in 2012, there were a few books that did just that to me. So without further ado, here are the books that resonated with me this past year (they are in order of faves). And, if you don’t see one listed here that you loved, let me know! I love recommendations, and it’s quite possible that I missed an amazing story that you happened to uncover. Share it!
1. Easy – Tammara Webber: I was not alone in my love of this book – it won a GR Choice Award this year. And how can you not love Lucas with his tattoos and his broody nature and his awesome intelligence. He was a fantastic male lead. But this book also had depth and hard-hitting issues and I couldn’t put it down. Simply fantastic.
2. Something Like Normal – Trish Doller: This book made me think. And I read it while I was on vacation! You don’t want to think while on vacation, but I totally did. And I also fell in love with Travis Stephenson. The author made you feel what it was like to be a Marine fighting a war in the Middle East, and you hated it, but you respected it so much. And it really made you wonder what all those soldiers coming home from war really deal with. I loved the characters and the story and just didn’t want it to end. And there was a super-cute love story to top it all off.
3. Sinners Series & Sole Regret Series – Olivia Cunning: So yeah, I just completely combined two series’ together because I just loved them both equally. So far there are three books in the Sinners series (Backstage Pass, Rock Hard, Doubletime) and three books in the Sole Regret Series (Try Me, Tempt Me, Take Me), and I discovered them both relatively late in the year, but oh my God, I loved reading about these bad boys of rock and roll. They are fantastic and hot and freakin’ hilarious. I am anxiously anticipating the next books in each series.
4. Moving Neutral – Katy Atlas: Books, music and fashion are three of my favorite things, and Moving Neutral delivered all of them. The book itself – loved reading about Blake, Casey and the Moving Neutral Drama Tour – brought the first two, but then I was introduced to Katy Atlas’ fashion blog, which was awesome in its own right. This was one of those books where you felt really connected with the characters, and you felt like you were living their story alongside of them. Read it if you haven’t yet, it’s a great, fun, light read about a band dealing with a whole lot of craziness and a girl who runs away from home to follow them and happens to fall in love with the lead singer.
5. Beautiful Disaster – Jamie McGuire: Who didn’t love this book? Seriously! This was one of the first books I read, outside of Fifty Shades, that had a true bad boy lead, and I loved Travis. He was a train wreck, but he was so endearing. And the twists and turns the story took were phenomenal, but at the same time it was completely relatable. Highly anticipating the release of Walking Disaster in 2013.
6. What I Didn’t Say – Keary Taylor: Okay, so a hot teenage guy has a t-post go through his vocal chords, and he loses the ability to speak. What?! And the book is told from his perspective! This book was fantastic in so many ways. It was simple, but it was so complex at the same time. You felt for Jake, so much, and what he dealt with was beyond heart-wrenching, but there is also a love story, and you realize in the end that had Jake not gone through what he did, he wouldn’t have gotten Sam.
7. Rock Me – Cherrie Lynn: This was the last book I read in 2012 – finished it tonight in fact, and I cannot believe I left it on my to-read list for so long. What was I thinking?! Seriously, who wouldn’t fall flat out in love with Brian Ross? He was so bad, and yet he was so sweet and caring and kind, but then he was sexy and smoldering and all tattooed and hot. You really felt the connection between him and Candace and wanted so badly for everything to just work out for them.
8. All The Wrong Reasons – JL Paul: Did I mentioned that I’m a sucker for rock stars? Well take a rock star and give him a soft heart, and I’m done. That was Lucas in this book. He couldn’t help being a nice guy, but he was fun at the same time. I loved his and Irelyn’s story.
9. Wishing for Someday Soon – Tiffany King: This was one of those stories that was just sad. Katelyn and her brother Kevin just have a crappy life. You feel for them, but Katelyn is so strong and so fearless that you know she’ll persevere. Then there’s Max, and he’s just so sweet. The fact that you just knew everything was going to turn out okay kept you reading, because all you wanted was for them to get to ‘someday soon’.
10. Flat-Out Love – Jessica Park: Oh Flat Finn, you made this book awesome. This book felt like an indie film does where it’s coloring outside the lines just enough to be super-original. The characters were far from perfect, and not in a contrived way, but so realistic – and you loved them for it. The quick-witted humor was fantastic, from the Facebook posts to the one-liners to the quirky sister who said the oddest things. And Jessica Park introduced us to In Like Lions – a completely amazing Boston band. Thank you!
11. The Dark Duet Series – CJ Roberts: These books scared the crap out of me, but at the same time I couldn’t put them down! Talk about tortured souls and horrid experiences and generally unfathomable situations. Caleb was a nightmare, but he was also Livvie’s saving grace, and there was something so beautiful about that. But you also had to get through the immeasurable to get to the love story/HEA you knew was hiding in the dark the whole time – and it’s why you kept reading, because you knew that if you could just endure the things that made you cringe twice (and sometimes like nine times) everything would end up okay. And looking back, these were really, really well-told stories.
12. The Vincent Brothers Series – Abbi Glines: I adore everything Abbi Glines has written, but I really liked this series the best. Sawyer and Beau and Ashton were fantastic in the first book, but add Lana to the second one – because Sawyer needs his HEA – and it just made it that much better. I feel like her characters are so relatable and down-to-earth – faults and all.
1. Easy – Tammara Webber: I was not alone in my love of this book – it won a GR Choice Award this year. And how can you not love Lucas with his tattoos and his broody nature and his awesome intelligence. He was a fantastic male lead. But this book also had depth and hard-hitting issues and I couldn’t put it down. Simply fantastic.
2. Something Like Normal – Trish Doller: This book made me think. And I read it while I was on vacation! You don’t want to think while on vacation, but I totally did. And I also fell in love with Travis Stephenson. The author made you feel what it was like to be a Marine fighting a war in the Middle East, and you hated it, but you respected it so much. And it really made you wonder what all those soldiers coming home from war really deal with. I loved the characters and the story and just didn’t want it to end. And there was a super-cute love story to top it all off.
3. Sinners Series & Sole Regret Series – Olivia Cunning: So yeah, I just completely combined two series’ together because I just loved them both equally. So far there are three books in the Sinners series (Backstage Pass, Rock Hard, Doubletime) and three books in the Sole Regret Series (Try Me, Tempt Me, Take Me), and I discovered them both relatively late in the year, but oh my God, I loved reading about these bad boys of rock and roll. They are fantastic and hot and freakin’ hilarious. I am anxiously anticipating the next books in each series.
4. Moving Neutral – Katy Atlas: Books, music and fashion are three of my favorite things, and Moving Neutral delivered all of them. The book itself – loved reading about Blake, Casey and the Moving Neutral Drama Tour – brought the first two, but then I was introduced to Katy Atlas’ fashion blog, which was awesome in its own right. This was one of those books where you felt really connected with the characters, and you felt like you were living their story alongside of them. Read it if you haven’t yet, it’s a great, fun, light read about a band dealing with a whole lot of craziness and a girl who runs away from home to follow them and happens to fall in love with the lead singer.
5. Beautiful Disaster – Jamie McGuire: Who didn’t love this book? Seriously! This was one of the first books I read, outside of Fifty Shades, that had a true bad boy lead, and I loved Travis. He was a train wreck, but he was so endearing. And the twists and turns the story took were phenomenal, but at the same time it was completely relatable. Highly anticipating the release of Walking Disaster in 2013.
6. What I Didn’t Say – Keary Taylor: Okay, so a hot teenage guy has a t-post go through his vocal chords, and he loses the ability to speak. What?! And the book is told from his perspective! This book was fantastic in so many ways. It was simple, but it was so complex at the same time. You felt for Jake, so much, and what he dealt with was beyond heart-wrenching, but there is also a love story, and you realize in the end that had Jake not gone through what he did, he wouldn’t have gotten Sam.
7. Rock Me – Cherrie Lynn: This was the last book I read in 2012 – finished it tonight in fact, and I cannot believe I left it on my to-read list for so long. What was I thinking?! Seriously, who wouldn’t fall flat out in love with Brian Ross? He was so bad, and yet he was so sweet and caring and kind, but then he was sexy and smoldering and all tattooed and hot. You really felt the connection between him and Candace and wanted so badly for everything to just work out for them.
8. All The Wrong Reasons – JL Paul: Did I mentioned that I’m a sucker for rock stars? Well take a rock star and give him a soft heart, and I’m done. That was Lucas in this book. He couldn’t help being a nice guy, but he was fun at the same time. I loved his and Irelyn’s story.
9. Wishing for Someday Soon – Tiffany King: This was one of those stories that was just sad. Katelyn and her brother Kevin just have a crappy life. You feel for them, but Katelyn is so strong and so fearless that you know she’ll persevere. Then there’s Max, and he’s just so sweet. The fact that you just knew everything was going to turn out okay kept you reading, because all you wanted was for them to get to ‘someday soon’.
10. Flat-Out Love – Jessica Park: Oh Flat Finn, you made this book awesome. This book felt like an indie film does where it’s coloring outside the lines just enough to be super-original. The characters were far from perfect, and not in a contrived way, but so realistic – and you loved them for it. The quick-witted humor was fantastic, from the Facebook posts to the one-liners to the quirky sister who said the oddest things. And Jessica Park introduced us to In Like Lions – a completely amazing Boston band. Thank you!
11. The Dark Duet Series – CJ Roberts: These books scared the crap out of me, but at the same time I couldn’t put them down! Talk about tortured souls and horrid experiences and generally unfathomable situations. Caleb was a nightmare, but he was also Livvie’s saving grace, and there was something so beautiful about that. But you also had to get through the immeasurable to get to the love story/HEA you knew was hiding in the dark the whole time – and it’s why you kept reading, because you knew that if you could just endure the things that made you cringe twice (and sometimes like nine times) everything would end up okay. And looking back, these were really, really well-told stories.
12. The Vincent Brothers Series – Abbi Glines: I adore everything Abbi Glines has written, but I really liked this series the best. Sawyer and Beau and Ashton were fantastic in the first book, but add Lana to the second one – because Sawyer needs his HEA – and it just made it that much better. I feel like her characters are so relatable and down-to-earth – faults and all.
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Kelli
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Jan 03, 2013 06:27AM
Several of these books are on my list of best of 2012. But 2 of my top 5 that you didn't include (and I understand why) are Broken Fairytales and Buried Castles. I'm having Zack Easton withdrawals and can't wait for Shattered Crowns. :)
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There are only two books on your list that I have not read yet and have added to my list. Thanks for the recommendations. There are several books that I have read this year that have stayed with me (these are in addition to your awesome books! =)1. Undeniable - Madeline Sheehan
2. Taking Chances - Molly McAdams
3. Breathing Series - Rebecca Donovan
4. Collision Course - S.C. Stevens
5. Seductions and Snacks Series - Tara Sivec
These are just a few in a long list! Thanks for a great year of books. Can't wait for your next ones to be released.
Kelli, I do have some sort of good news for you if you're craving some Zack Easton. My book that's coming out on 1/16, "Searching for Neverland" features two scenes with Zack, Emily and Molly. There's actually a crossover character from "Buried Castles" who's in "Searching for Neverland", and she gives you a glimpse into what's happening with Liar's Edge on the first leg of their tour. "Shattered Crowns" will pick up a few weeks after these scenes end :)
