Top Ten Tuesday #12: Top Eleven Best Books Of 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Happy Tuesday folks! I hope you had a fantastic week, amazing holidays, full of cheer, presents, and happy moments with your loved ones.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topics is all about the best books of 2016, and I'm here to tell you this is so friggin hard!! Making this list took for-freakin-EVER, because here's what my actual favorite books list looks like:

Especially considering I've got favorite YA, adult and comic books. So it's hard to choose. Fortunately, I managed to cut down the list to just eleven books. I just couldn't stop at ten, guys, it was too hard. Anyway, here's the books I loved most this year:

YA:

1. And I Darken by Kiersten White - I think I've said this to anybody who'll listen, but this is by far my favorite book of the year. If you want to know why, read my review here.
2. Ruined by Amy Tintera - It's not often that I read a story from the anti-hero's perspective, from what you can actually see as the villain. So it was a really good surprise to not only enjoy, but love Em's story. Now I'm very curious to see what happens next. Also, her sister is insane and I love it!
3. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo - I enjoyed the second book of the Grisha trilogy immensely. Granted, I have yet to read the last book, because I'm a chicken, but that's a different story. Besides Nikolai, I loved this book because it shows the corruption that power can cause, on even the best of the best people. I feel like Alina is slowly becoming a female version of the Darkling, only it's heartbreaking to watch because she knows it and she's fighting it with everything she's got. I hope she wins that battle.
4. Firstlife by Gena Showalter - Behind the big theme of life after death, there's a wealth of themes worth talking about in this book, but the biggest one is parent-child relationships, and it's one of the reasons why I loved this book so much. Read my review here.
5. Girl Against The Universe by Paula Stokes - This year was a big one for books that talked about mental health, and I couldn't be happier for that. GATU is a book that beautifully explores mental health, but also accurately describes the role of a psychologist, without making that figure look like a wizard with a magic wand, that makes all the problems go "poof". Read my review here.
6. Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven - Another book that explores mental health, this book was full of hope and I personally loved it. Read my review here.

 Adult:

1. Love And Let Die by Lexi Blake - A story of redemption, second chances, and forgiveness, this book has it all, plus some sexy times. If you're in love with Ian Taggart, like me, then you'll probably love this book.
2. The Bookshop On The Corner by Jenny Colgan - This book shows that if you have a dream, no matter how crazy it may seem, you can fulfill it. I loved this story so much, and I hope some of you will give it a try. Read my review here.
3. First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones - I finally read this book this year, and let me tell you, I'm mad at myself for waiting this long. I cannot wait to find some free time next year to binge read this entire series. It's funny, sexy, and it features a sassy Grim Reaper. 
4. Promise The Moon by Hailey Edwards - Probably not surprising that a Hailey Edwards book is in this list, but I have to tell you, this book was fantastic. I loved the fact that it showed a different take on werewolves, and I also loved the fact that it explored the aspect of the roles a werewolf has within the pack, and how that affects their behavior and that of their packmates, but also what happens when some of those roles are reversed. Read my review here.

Comic Books:

Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda - A really beautiful story about what fear of the unknown can do to people, as well as how war can corrupt and destroy. I am very impatient to read the next volume. Read my review of the first six issues here.

That's it *phew* There are a few books that I could mention in the "honorable mentions" section, like ACOTAR and The Raven Boys, but there are too many that would fit that description, so I won't. What about you? What are ten (or more) best books of this year?

Cover Reveal: For His Eyes Only by Lexi Blake

 

A night he can’t forget

Five years ago, Nick Markovic found himself consumed by his quest for vengeance. The one time he managed to find peace was in the arms of Hayley Dalton. Being with her was like bathing in sunlight, and he ached to feel that again, but he couldn’t. He gave his oath to Hayley’s cousin Desiree, his partner at McKay-Taggart and Knight, that he’d never let his darkness infect Hayley’s innocent world.

A spark she can’t put out

It was years before that Hayley offered everything she had to Nick. After that one amazing night, all she wanted was to be his forever. Unfortunately, Nick’s reaction was to walk away from her and never look back. The warm and caring man she’d discovered was gone, and after Des’s death, he’d only grown colder. But when Hayley finds herself in mortal danger, she’s forced to seek protection from the man who broke her heart.

A flame that threatens to consume them both

Haunted by the women he failed, Nick can’t allow himself to grow close to Hayley again. Running to stay ahead of the powerful forces that endanger their lives, they travel from the lush Garden in London to the glittering lights of Rio. As the threat against her becomes clearer, he realizes that to keep her safe he must confront the demons from his past, even if it costs him a future with the woman he loves.

   

Now available for pre-order!

 

Amazon | Amazon UK | iBooks | Google Play | Barnes & Noble

       

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog int eh world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Cover Reveal: The Darkest Promise by Gena Showalter

Gena Showalter is proud to share the cover for the 13^th novel in her bestselling Lords of the Underworld series, THE DARKEST PROMISE! #LOTU

   

Order THE DARKEST PROMISE here!

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * BAM * Powell’s * IndieBound

THE DARKEST PROMISE Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with a sizzling Lords of the Underworld story about an iron-willed sovereign and the somber beauty who melts him with a glance…

Possessed by the demon of Misery, Cameo isn't allowed to experience joy. If she dares, her memory is wiped clean. With no other recourse, she sneaks into a land more fantastical than any fairy tale, determined to find the one man with the key to her redemption.

Lazarus the Cruel and Unusual rules his kingdom with a single unwavering focus: to build his army and annihilate his enemies. Nothing distracts him—until Cameo. He is relentless in his quest to make her smile…and seduce her into his bed.

As dark forces conspire against them, threatening to destroy the fragile bond they've forged, the once-calm Lazarus grows crazed. Every heart-stopping kiss and wicked touch causes Cameo to teeter on the brink of happiness. But if she falls, she risks forgetting him forever…

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

    About Gena Showalter: Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld series, two young-adult series—Everlife and The White Rabbit Chronicles—and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series.  She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs and all her upcoming books at GenaShowalter.com or Facebook.com/GenaShowalterFans.      

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

   

Cover Reveal: Ever In The After: 13 Fantasy Tales

 

Hi everyone! Today, I'm so excited to share the wonderful cover for Ever in the After: 13 Fantasy Tales. This anthology of fantasy/SFF short stories has been put together in aid of Lift 4 Autism, and releases April 1st, 2017. 100% of the proceeds will go to Lift 4 Autism. So, let's take a look at the gorgeous cover!

 

Isn't it beautiful? The cover was designed and created by Stephanie Keyes, and it fits the stories in the anthology perfectly. 

About the anthology... 

In Ever in the After, 13 authors come together to explore fantastical realms full of supernatural creatures, dark intrigue, and spells that may--or may not--be curses. This anthology features work by:

• Melle Amade
• Miracle Austin
• J. A. Culican
• Madeline Dyer
• Jessica Hawke
• Alaina Hebert
• Elizabetta Holcomb
• Stephanie Keyes
• Christopher D. Morgan
• Mandy Peterson
• Alice Rachel
• Cadence Rae
• Jaqueline E. Smith

A must-have fantasy collection full of surprises, secrets, and strong teenagers who know what they need to do to succeed in these mystical realities.

Add Ever in the After: 13 Fantasy Tales on Goodreads now! Buy your copy of Ever in the After: 13 Fantasy Tales on April 1st, 2017!

Blog Tour Book Review: Perfectly Paired by Lexi Blake

Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Topped #3, Masters and Mercenaries #12.5
Audience: +18
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance, BDSM
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment, LLC
Release Date: November 29th 2016
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):

A table for two

Waitress Tiffany Hayes knows what she wants and she wants Sebastian. Top’s grumpy sommelier calls to her in a way no man has before. She simply needs to show him that they belong together. Finding an opportunity to spend some quality time with him turns out to be the easy part. Convincing Sebastian to look beyond his damaged heart and soul is far more difficult.

A thirst he can’t deny

After losing everything he held dear, Sebastian Lowe has finally rebuilt his life and the walls around his heart. Tiffany is a sweet temptation he struggles to resist. She’s bright and complex, but he’s sure she can’t handle his dark desires. When they’re thrown together on an assignment, he can’t help himself.

A perfect pairing

As passion builds, the new lovers are both forced to face their pasts. To have a future, they must find a way to heal the wounds they thought would haunt them forever.

Amazon | iTunes | Barnes & Noble

  *Disclaimer: I received an eARC from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or my opinion of the book in any way.

I've come to expect great things from Lexi Blake, and this book is no different. Blake has managed once again to make me fall in love with two wonderful characters, make me cry, smile and laugh, all while reading the same book.

The thing that I love most about this book is that this isn't just a romantic, sexy story, but a true story of healing. Sebastian is a truly wounded man, and I don't mean physically. While the loss of his legs is something really hard to go through, his wounds go soul deep. I really ached for him in the beginning of this story. While he may appear to be selfish, we learn why he is cold and why he tries really hard to keep people at arm's length. It was truly a lovely story, and a wonderful journey, seeing Sebastian going from hesitant, guarded and lonely, to a man ready to accept help when he needed it, a man that accepted friendship and a man that accepted himself, a man that allowed himself to be loved. I think that's what made my heart break for him most, the fact that he didn't think he was worthy of love. So I was really glad to see him become the man that I think, in some way, he wanted himself to become.

Tiffany was a wonderful heroine. Stubborn and brave, she's the perfect match to Sebastian. I love how she doesn't get sad and how she doesn't retreat when Sebastian tells her to. She's the type of woman that uses the hurt to try and change the situation into a better one, and I loved that about her. I also loved how in tune she was with what she needed, and what Sebastian needed as well.

I feel like Lexi Blake wrote a story about a very different aspect of BDSM than what I've read before, because I feel like this story truly talked about the power a submissive has when it comes to this type of relationship. While we mostly see BDSM stories show the sub being dominated by a Dom/Domme, here we get a sub servicing her Dom, and it's such a powerful experience. The power of the sub is something a lot of books mention, but that very few truly explore in such a deep way, and I am so happy that Blake went there with this book. Yes, there are sexy times in this book, but I feel like they're not the focus of the story, and that's quite a great change.

I cannot wait to read the next book by Lexi Blake, and I hope that one of the couple that appeared at some point in this book will get their own story.

EXCERPT

Damn but she was a beautiful woman. She was also something he needed to keep his hands off of. No matter what Big Tag said, he did not date women he worked with.
He didn’t really date anyone. He played with subs. When the need got too great, he found a partner for a brief time. He didn’t sleep with anyone. He fucked, and that was starting to get very old. Empty.
“So you said something about house rules?” Tiffany leaned forward, her elbows on the bar. “Are these housekeeping rules or like big bad Dom rules?”
“I don’t suppose I differentiate.” He couldn’t let those big eyes of hers soften him up. It had almost happened at her apartment. When she’d stood up after he’d spanked her and there had been tears running down her face, his impulse had been to reach for her. He’d wanted to draw her in the way he had that night when she was drunk and she’d cried on his shoulder. He’d wanted to smooth back her hair and promise her everything was going to be all right, that he could fix things for her. It was a path that was sure to lead to discomfort for her and humiliation for him. “I prefer a clean living space. I don’t like for things to be messy. I expect that you will keep your things in their proper place.”
Because no matter how hard he tried, he could still trip. The legs he now walked on were only a year old. He’d spent the first two years in a wheelchair.
The Garden’s Wheelchair Dom.
He still wasn’t completely comfortable in the prosthetics.
“I can try,” she said with a frown. “I’ll be honest, I’m not the world’s biggest neat freak.”
He’d been able to tell that from the state of her apartment. It had been cluttered, a bit dusty. With the exception of her easel. That had been perfectly taken care of. He rather wished he’d taken the time to ask to see her art.
He’d seen one painting that night he’d taken her home. It had been a painting of three laughing girls, the swirling colors so vibrant he could hear them giggling as they splashed in a puddle on a rainy day. The figures had been more impressions than photographic reality, but he’d known what she was trying to convey.
“If you cook I’ll clean, and the other way around.” He’d started a list in his head on the long drive. The drive that would have been considerably shorter had they left at the proper time. As she’d sung along to sugary pop songs after she’d changed his radio, he’d sat and considered how to proceed.
With caution. Lots and lots of caution.
“I’m not the best cook in the world,” he continued, “but I can manage. Most nights, of course, we’ll be eating at Top as our training sessions for the new restaurant will last long hours, but I would prefer to eat breakfast here rather than skipping the meal or picking up fast food. Eric made sure the fridge was stocked with a few items I requested.”
“Breakfast.” She gave him a little salute with her free hand. “I can manage that.”
“In addition to our duties at Top, we will now be taking on the additional task of appearing to be a long-term D/s couple, and we need to talk about what that should look like.” Another thing he’d been thinking about ever since that moment the trap had closed around him. “You know you probably could have gotten us out of this assignment. It’s much more difficult for the Dom to say no. The sub always holds the power. Is there a reason you didn’t use yours today?”
“I didn’t want to,” she replied simply. “I don’t have a full-time Dom and I thought it would be interesting to see what that’s like.”
Was she thinking at all? “You know nothing about how I function as a dominant partner.”
“And now I do,” she replied. “You like rules and schedules and you tend to be very fair.”
“I can be quite exacting in my standards.”
“I can be quite flexible,” she shot back as the sexiest smile crossed her face. “I’m serious about that. I can still do the splits and everything.”
“You’re far too reckless, Tiffany.” He didn’t appreciate recklessness so why was she like a siren calling to him? If he listened, he would end up wrecked.
“You’re far too uptight, Sebastian.”

About The Author
 

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog int eh world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Release Launch: Perfectly Paired by Lexi Blake

 

A table for two

Waitress Tiffany Hayes knows what she wants and she wants Sebastian. Top’s grumpy sommelier calls to her in a way no man has before. She simply needs to show him that they belong together. Finding an opportunity to spend some quality time with him turns out to be the easy part. Convincing Sebastian to look beyond his damaged heart and soul is far more difficult.

A thirst he can’t deny

After losing everything he held dear, Sebastian Lowe has finally rebuilt his life and the walls around his heart. Tiffany is a sweet temptation he struggles to resist. She’s bright and complex, but he’s sure she can’t handle his dark desires. When they’re thrown together on an assignment, he can’t help himself.

A perfect pairing

  As passion builds, the new lovers are both forced to face their pasts. To have a future, they must find a way to heal the wounds they thought would haunt them forever.

* * * *  

Amazon | iTunes | Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT:

Damn but she was a beautiful woman. She was also something he needed to keep his hands off of. No matter what Big Tag said, he did not date women he worked with.
He didn’t really date anyone. He played with subs. When the need got too great, he found a partner for a brief time. He didn’t sleep with anyone. He fucked, and that was starting to get very old. Empty.
“So you said something about house rules?” Tiffany leaned forward, her elbows on the bar. “Are these housekeeping rules or like big bad Dom rules?”
“I don’t suppose I differentiate.” He couldn’t let those big eyes of hers soften him up. It had almost happened at her apartment. When she’d stood up after he’d spanked her and there had been tears running down her face, his impulse had been to reach for her. He’d wanted to draw her in the way he had that night when she was drunk and she’d cried on his shoulder. He’d wanted to smooth back her hair and promise her everything was going to be all right, that he could fix things for her. It was a path that was sure to lead to discomfort for her and humiliation for him. “I prefer a clean living space. I don’t like for things to be messy. I expect that you will keep your things in their proper place.”
Because no matter how hard he tried, he could still trip. The legs he now walked on were only a year old. He’d spent the first two years in a wheelchair.
The Garden’s Wheelchair Dom.
He still wasn’t completely comfortable in the prosthetics.
“I can try,” she said with a frown. “I’ll be honest, I’m not the world’s biggest neat freak.”
He’d been able to tell that from the state of her apartment. It had been cluttered, a bit dusty. With the exception of her easel. That had been perfectly taken care of. He rather wished he’d taken the time to ask to see her art.
He’d seen one painting that night he’d taken her home. It had been a painting of three laughing girls, the swirling colors so vibrant he could hear them giggling as they splashed in a puddle on a rainy day. The figures had been more impressions than photographic reality, but he’d known what she was trying to convey.
“If you cook I’ll clean, and the other way around.” He’d started a list in his head on the long drive. The drive that would have been considerably shorter had they left at the proper time. As she’d sung along to sugary pop songs after she’d changed his radio, he’d sat and considered how to proceed.
With caution. Lots and lots of caution.
“I’m not the best cook in the world,” he continued, “but I can manage. Most nights, of course, we’ll be eating at Top as our training sessions for the new restaurant will last long hours, but I would prefer to eat breakfast here rather than skipping the meal or picking up fast food. Eric made sure the fridge was stocked with a few items I requested.”
“Breakfast.” She gave him a little salute with her free hand. “I can manage that.”
“In addition to our duties at Top, we will now be taking on the additional task of appearing to be a long-term D/s couple, and we need to talk about what that should look like.” Another thing he’d been thinking about ever since that moment the trap had closed around him. “You know you probably could have gotten us out of this assignment. It’s much more difficult for the Dom to say no. The sub always holds the power. Is there a reason you didn’t use yours today?”
“I didn’t want to,” she replied simply. “I don’t have a full-time Dom and I thought it would be interesting to see what that’s like.”
Was she thinking at all? “You know nothing about how I function as a dominant partner.”
“And now I do,” she replied. “You like rules and schedules and you tend to be very fair.”
“I can be quite exacting in my standards.”
“I can be quite flexible,” she shot back as the sexiest smile crossed her face. “I’m serious about that. I can still do the splits and everything.”
“You’re far too reckless, Tiffany.” He didn’t appreciate recklessness so why was she like a siren calling to him? If he listened, he would end up wrecked.
“You’re far too uptight, Sebastian.”

 

  

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog int eh world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE