The Best of 2013 (In My Humble Opinion)
2013 ended up being a crazy year when it was all said and done. I made a (somewhat joking) New Year’s Resolution at the start of the year that I wanted to write five books. It was a lofty goal, because writing isn’t my main gig, and my real life job became super-demanding around May. But apparently whirlwind craziness suits me because I ended up publishing six books this year. I know, insane, right! But I kept getting ideas, and the books came really easily. All in all in was an awesome year that was made even better by some really great books that kept me going along the way.
So to end 2013, I figured I’d share my top ten books of the year. Some were published this year and others weren’t, but I read them and loved them in 2013, so I’m going to include them. I will say that this was the year I discovered and fell in love with m/m romance and two of the best authors who write in that genre, M.J. O’Shea and Piper Vaughn, so my list is heavy with those books. I find the genre to be completely fascinating and endearing, and these authors write it so well. But there were so many other awesome New Adult and Contemporary Romance books that I loved, as well, so of the 87 books I read this year, here are my favorites:
10.One Week Girlfriend (Drew & Fable #1) – Monica Murphy: What an original story of two unlikely people who ended up having more in common than they ever thought they would. I loved the love story of Drew and Fable, and although the second book in this series didn’t live up to the first, this one was great.
9.Rock the Heart (Black Falcon #1) – Michelle A. Valentine: The first book in this series was the best, no doubt. The writing was fresh, and the storyline, although completely predictable, was cute. I loved Noel and Lanie, and since I’m a complete sucker for rock star romances, this book totally won me over.
8.Unintended – M.J. O’Shea: As far as I’m concerned, M.J. O’Shea is the best writer of m/m romance that I’ve come across. She has this innate ability to create characters that you are completely endeared to. I discovered her when I read her Rock Bay series, which is fantastic in its own right, but then I read everything else I could by her. She’ll definitely appear again on this list. I loved the simplicity of the romance between Alex and Taylor in Unintended. I loved how the book swapped back and forth to present day and back when they first met, so you really got a good glimpse of how their relationship started and evolved. It was so good.
7.Second Chances –T.A. Webb: This book was the first m/m romance I read, and it was so unexpected in so many ways. I don’t cry often when I read, but I couldn’t help it while reading this book. The main character Mark goes through so much in the ten years that the book spans, and you’re right there with him through betrayal, love, loss, and finding the person he’s mean to be with. It wasn’t like anything I’d read before, and I think that’s why I appreciated it so much.
6.Touch Me (One Night With Sole Regret #4) – Olivia Cunning: If you’ve read anything by Olivia Cunning, you know how great she is at writing about rock stars who completely get inside your head and your heart. Trey Mills did that for me in the Sinners series, and Owen Mitchell is that guy for me in the Sole Regret series. You can’t not love him for all his faults and the fact that he has a huge heart underneath it all. This was his story, and not only did I love learning more about him, but I liked Caitlin, the girl he fell for. She was tough and smart and a great match for him. I’m excited to read the next book that continues their story.
5.Wait for You (Wait for You #1) – J. Lynn: This was a fantastic story of overcoming your past to be happy in the future. Avery and Cam were completely relatable to me since I think I was friends with people just like them in college. It was the epitome of what a New Adult book should be about with humor, quick-witted banter and romance that feels real and somewhat raw. I loved it.
4.The Luckiest (Lucky Moon #2) – Piper Vaughn & M.J. O’Shea: This book was the best in this series about the rock band, Luck. Nick, the guitarist in the band, is a hot mess at the start of this story, mixed up in major drugs and alcohol. He meets Luka in rehab. Nick is somewhat bi and he’s never been in love, and Luka is gay and a hopeless romantic. They are the most unlikely people to fall in love, but they do, and although their relationship is tumultuous, you can’t help but love both of them for who they are and how much they want to make things work. They are definitely one of my favorite literary couples.
3.The Locker Room – Amy Lane: Talk about an emotional rollercoaster, but this was one of the best, genuine love stories I’ve ever read. I loved the social politics that played into this story since both Xander and Chris were professional basketball players and a relationship between them was a major no-no. So although they’d been in love since they were kids, society didn’t allow them to truly be together until much later in life after a lot of pain and suffering and sacrifice. The whole book was incredible.
2.Shattered Glass (Shattered Glass #1) – Dani Alexander: I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed so much as I did when I read this book. It was freaking hilarious. Dani Alexander’s writing is so unique and fresh that it makes you want the book to never end. I loved the original take on love and the cop drama that was woven throughout the story. I don’t typically read action/adventure, but I’d read anything by this author.
And my #1, favorite book of 2013:
1.Catch My Breath – M.J. O’Shea: This book was crazy good in so many ways. Let me just say that before reading it I had no clue who One Direction was or who Larry Stylinson was, but I read that M.J. used the web gossip surrounding the supposed relationship between One Direction band members Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson as the inspiration for this book. So I read it, and I completely fell in love with the characters and the storyline. You couldn’t help but love Danny and Elliot, but the emotion their relationship invoked was incredible. They were in love but couldn’t be together because management of their boy band wouldn’t allow it. It was a great story. So about halfway through the book, I decided to Google “Larry Stylinson” to see what it was all about. It was incredible how much of what was on the web and the speculation surrounding Harry and Louis paralleled what was in this book – from the Tweets between the two characters to rumors that stemmed from photos of the boys to things that were said in interviews. It was incredible, and I got sucked in to the phenomenon. Whether it’s true or not, the whole Larry Stylinson speculation and all the attention it still gets today fascinated me. And somewhere along the way, I became a huge fan of 1D. It’s completely insane, especially for a girl who loves alt. rock like nothing else. There was no way I could be a fan of a boy band, but I am. And I have M.J. to thank for not only introducing me to my favorite book of 2013 but for also getting me hooked on one of my favorite bands. But regardless of your feelings toward One Direction – most people either love or hate them – this was a fantastic book with an even better love story threaded throughout.
So that’s it, and let me say that I read a ton of other really great books in 2013, but I couldn’t include them all. To see what I read and what I thought, you can check out my “Read” list on my author page.
Were there any books that I missed this year? I’d love to hear your recommendations. I feel sometimes that my “To Read” list is incredibly overwhelming, and it’s easy to overlook amazing books that I’ve wanted to read forever. I also might be missing some books that haven’t been added to that list. What did you love in 2013?
Here’s hoping you have a Happy New Year and your 2014 is simply amazing!
Monica
So to end 2013, I figured I’d share my top ten books of the year. Some were published this year and others weren’t, but I read them and loved them in 2013, so I’m going to include them. I will say that this was the year I discovered and fell in love with m/m romance and two of the best authors who write in that genre, M.J. O’Shea and Piper Vaughn, so my list is heavy with those books. I find the genre to be completely fascinating and endearing, and these authors write it so well. But there were so many other awesome New Adult and Contemporary Romance books that I loved, as well, so of the 87 books I read this year, here are my favorites:
10.One Week Girlfriend (Drew & Fable #1) – Monica Murphy: What an original story of two unlikely people who ended up having more in common than they ever thought they would. I loved the love story of Drew and Fable, and although the second book in this series didn’t live up to the first, this one was great.
9.Rock the Heart (Black Falcon #1) – Michelle A. Valentine: The first book in this series was the best, no doubt. The writing was fresh, and the storyline, although completely predictable, was cute. I loved Noel and Lanie, and since I’m a complete sucker for rock star romances, this book totally won me over.
8.Unintended – M.J. O’Shea: As far as I’m concerned, M.J. O’Shea is the best writer of m/m romance that I’ve come across. She has this innate ability to create characters that you are completely endeared to. I discovered her when I read her Rock Bay series, which is fantastic in its own right, but then I read everything else I could by her. She’ll definitely appear again on this list. I loved the simplicity of the romance between Alex and Taylor in Unintended. I loved how the book swapped back and forth to present day and back when they first met, so you really got a good glimpse of how their relationship started and evolved. It was so good.
7.Second Chances –T.A. Webb: This book was the first m/m romance I read, and it was so unexpected in so many ways. I don’t cry often when I read, but I couldn’t help it while reading this book. The main character Mark goes through so much in the ten years that the book spans, and you’re right there with him through betrayal, love, loss, and finding the person he’s mean to be with. It wasn’t like anything I’d read before, and I think that’s why I appreciated it so much.
6.Touch Me (One Night With Sole Regret #4) – Olivia Cunning: If you’ve read anything by Olivia Cunning, you know how great she is at writing about rock stars who completely get inside your head and your heart. Trey Mills did that for me in the Sinners series, and Owen Mitchell is that guy for me in the Sole Regret series. You can’t not love him for all his faults and the fact that he has a huge heart underneath it all. This was his story, and not only did I love learning more about him, but I liked Caitlin, the girl he fell for. She was tough and smart and a great match for him. I’m excited to read the next book that continues their story.
5.Wait for You (Wait for You #1) – J. Lynn: This was a fantastic story of overcoming your past to be happy in the future. Avery and Cam were completely relatable to me since I think I was friends with people just like them in college. It was the epitome of what a New Adult book should be about with humor, quick-witted banter and romance that feels real and somewhat raw. I loved it.
4.The Luckiest (Lucky Moon #2) – Piper Vaughn & M.J. O’Shea: This book was the best in this series about the rock band, Luck. Nick, the guitarist in the band, is a hot mess at the start of this story, mixed up in major drugs and alcohol. He meets Luka in rehab. Nick is somewhat bi and he’s never been in love, and Luka is gay and a hopeless romantic. They are the most unlikely people to fall in love, but they do, and although their relationship is tumultuous, you can’t help but love both of them for who they are and how much they want to make things work. They are definitely one of my favorite literary couples.
3.The Locker Room – Amy Lane: Talk about an emotional rollercoaster, but this was one of the best, genuine love stories I’ve ever read. I loved the social politics that played into this story since both Xander and Chris were professional basketball players and a relationship between them was a major no-no. So although they’d been in love since they were kids, society didn’t allow them to truly be together until much later in life after a lot of pain and suffering and sacrifice. The whole book was incredible.
2.Shattered Glass (Shattered Glass #1) – Dani Alexander: I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed so much as I did when I read this book. It was freaking hilarious. Dani Alexander’s writing is so unique and fresh that it makes you want the book to never end. I loved the original take on love and the cop drama that was woven throughout the story. I don’t typically read action/adventure, but I’d read anything by this author.
And my #1, favorite book of 2013:
1.Catch My Breath – M.J. O’Shea: This book was crazy good in so many ways. Let me just say that before reading it I had no clue who One Direction was or who Larry Stylinson was, but I read that M.J. used the web gossip surrounding the supposed relationship between One Direction band members Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson as the inspiration for this book. So I read it, and I completely fell in love with the characters and the storyline. You couldn’t help but love Danny and Elliot, but the emotion their relationship invoked was incredible. They were in love but couldn’t be together because management of their boy band wouldn’t allow it. It was a great story. So about halfway through the book, I decided to Google “Larry Stylinson” to see what it was all about. It was incredible how much of what was on the web and the speculation surrounding Harry and Louis paralleled what was in this book – from the Tweets between the two characters to rumors that stemmed from photos of the boys to things that were said in interviews. It was incredible, and I got sucked in to the phenomenon. Whether it’s true or not, the whole Larry Stylinson speculation and all the attention it still gets today fascinated me. And somewhere along the way, I became a huge fan of 1D. It’s completely insane, especially for a girl who loves alt. rock like nothing else. There was no way I could be a fan of a boy band, but I am. And I have M.J. to thank for not only introducing me to my favorite book of 2013 but for also getting me hooked on one of my favorite bands. But regardless of your feelings toward One Direction – most people either love or hate them – this was a fantastic book with an even better love story threaded throughout.
So that’s it, and let me say that I read a ton of other really great books in 2013, but I couldn’t include them all. To see what I read and what I thought, you can check out my “Read” list on my author page.
Were there any books that I missed this year? I’d love to hear your recommendations. I feel sometimes that my “To Read” list is incredibly overwhelming, and it’s easy to overlook amazing books that I’ve wanted to read forever. I also might be missing some books that haven’t been added to that list. What did you love in 2013?
Here’s hoping you have a Happy New Year and your 2014 is simply amazing!
Monica
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