Because It's Never Too Late: My Favorite Books of 2014

Image Credit: Abhi Sharma

I don’t know about you, but I always thought that January  February  March needed more “Best of” lists. I mean, why so greedy, December?  Why do you hoard all the lists? Since I’m contrary like that (and didn’t have time to write this thing in December when I should have and then the months kept passing and it became The Beast to Be Defeated! GAH!!!) and because it’s never too late to annoy people with my choices, today I present you with my The Most Memorable List of Bestest Books that Ever Booked in 2014. It’s not going to be predictable or repetitive at all, so get ready to be blown away by so much awesomeness!

On a more serious note I must say that I always have good reading years, so you won’t hear me complain about having a hard time finding good books or coming up with ten titles to put on the list, but this year my productivity was so lacking and my reading so scattered, that even now, after I’ve had time to think about what I read, what I loved and why, I can’t even find the energy to remember. So memorable is a good way to describe these books, because they were the ones that first came to mind when I was having a hard time mustering the enthusiasm to blog.

 I usually break the list down in sub-genres, but this year I’m just listing them in no particular order.

I loved The Karaken King so much that I didn’t even care (much) that it was originally published as a serial. As you know, I never met a Meljean Brook book I didn’t adore, so it’s no surprise to see this one made the list, but my inability to not fan-girl aside, it’s hard not to be charmed by a main character whose dream is to become the heroine of her own adventure, and when adventure happens, she rescues herself and it’s glorious.

Also, this:

“You are my queen,” he told her, and clasped her hand to his overfilled heart. Though emotion roughened his voice, he spoke quietly. This was only for her. “I am your sword and your shield. I am your wolf and your steed. Mountains will tremble at my approach, for they know I will tear them apart if ever they stand between us. But you need not be afraid, Zenobia Fox, because my heart is iron and my will is steel, and before the new moon rises, I will come for you.”

Quick, someone fetch me my hot pink fainting couch, because I’m about to swoon! (Reviews: here and here; purchase: here)

Backwoods by Jill Sorenson was my favorite Romantic Suspense of the year (disclosure, Jill and I are Twitter friends and she's been a guest on the blog a bunch of times).  Why? Because the character with the boob job was the heroine instead of the villain; because the other woman was allowed to be human without having her flaws held against her by the narrative; and because the teenagers behaved as such, and all that messy glory made their story as compelling and interesting as the adults’. (Purchase: here)

Reading Molly O’Keefe’s Between the Sheets was an intense and beautiful experience. It had a lovely romance at its core, yes, but the characters and themes were what made it shine. I loved the wonderful, complex heroine who used sex to relieve some of the pressure in her life, and the gentle, hard-working hero fumbling with his newfound parenthood. But most of all, I loved how the story was about complex parent-child relationships, about childhood shaping our adult lives, and about building and joining communities in order to share burdens and find companionship and help. (Purchase: here)

Satisfaction by Sarah Mayberry featured a familiar story with an obnoxious trope, and yet nothing about it felt trite. I loved reading this book and talking about it, but ultimately it was such a comforting, happy reading experience that just thinking about it makes me smile. (Review: here; purchase: here)

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised by Jeannie Lin’s Gunpowder Alchemy. I was expecting a fabulous Romance and instead I got an even better coming of age story where the potential romance was a part of the main character’s journey, but didn’t take over the plot. It was surprising, lovely, and challenged my expectations. And hey, it’s 100% a heroine-centric adventure, so how could I resist? (Purchase: here)