Top 16 of 2016: Favorite Couples

Hey, ladies!

I'm so excited to participate in Kimberly Faye Reads' Top 16 of 2016 event!

Today's topic is your favorite couples of 2016, and because I am a unabashed romance junkie, this was the one I was most excited about. There were so many great couples this year, lemme tell you. #shipping
Let's jump right in! This isn't in any order, by the way. I love em all equally! Well, except for numbers 5 through 1. They stole my heart.

16. Charley and Reyes

I just love these two together. The banter, flirting, and the lifelong connection between them gets them every time. Plus, you know, Reyes. 

15. Jamie and Claire

To be perfectly honest, I prefer TV Jamie and Claire to book Jamie and Claire. I don't know why; maybe it's because I watched first, or because I feel like Starz fleshed out their romance more (in season 1, at least...). That saying, I still loved these two!

14. Amanda and Blake

These two were beyond hilarious, clever, and their chemistry practically scorched my Kindle. Plus, it was quite pleasant to have a character sharing my name. ;)

13. Adam and Diana 

This book...holy wow. I've read more than my fair share of BDSM, but since the woman has always been the sub and that's just not my personal thing, I've never been able to see the draw of it past  "that's sexy". This book, however, really peeled everything back and showed why and how it worked for the heroine, and considering the first half was Adam's POV, that was truly astounding and fascinating to read.

I do admit to getting the song "Dirty Diana" stuck in my head while reading this, though. 

12. Kate and Curran

I love them on their own, and I love them together. Their history, buildup, and just the solidness of their relationship makes me love this amazing series all the more. They rank right up there with Cat and Bones and Mac and Barrons for my all time favorites. 

11. Chance and Aubrey

I'm a sucker for unconventional first meetings, and this was the perfect mix of  funny, sexy and sweet.

10. Josh and Nastya

A stunning book in every single way, and the romance was perfect for how the story unfolded. The narrators infused so much life into their roles and did a spectacular job, too!

9. Callie and Devin

The title of cutest couple goes to these two!

8. Jade and Shane

Without fail, L.H. Cosway delivers when it comes to her couples. Each and every one sweeps me away and make me feel everything they do. She's a wildly gifted author, and these two had such an unconventional meeting and story together!

7. Alex and Violet

A compete guilty pleasure, but I have was literally breathless with laugher while reading this and Forever Pucked. Laughed. So. Fucking. Hard. So hard.

Hahaha. That's what she said. I amuse myself and Violet and Alex share my sometimes lowbrow humor. ;)

6. Keelyn and Nassir

Intense, passionate, sexy, and surprising in the best way possible.

5. Jake and Chelsea

These two hit you so hard in the feels, it's unreal. One of my favorite books of all time, and I want Jake. 

4. Lark and Tiras 

Possibly the most enjoyable relationship progression of the year. 

3. Libby and Killian

I love a good rocker romance, and the way sex and music were so woven into their relationship was a blast to watch. It made the recording, writing and preforming such a sensual experience!

2. Sophie and Gabriel 

I was sold on them from the first scene, and loved them without fail from start to finished. 

1. Roman and Elisabeth 

Sweet holy Christ, this story. This couple. 

{Book Review} The Bird and The Sword by Amy Harmon

Swallow, Daughter, pull them in, those words that sit upon your lips. Lock them deep inside your soul, hide them ‘til they’ve time to grow. Close your mouth upon the power, curse not, cure not, ‘til the hour. You won’t speak and you won’t tell, you won’t call on heav’n or hell. You will learn and you will thrive. Silence, Daughter. Stay alive.

The day my mother was killed, she told my father I wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if I died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky.

My father has a claim to the throne, and he is waiting in the shadows for all of my mother’s words to come to pass. He wants desperately to be king, and I just want to be free.

But freedom will require escape, and I’m a prisoner of my mother’s curse and my father’s greed. I can’t speak or make a sound, and I can’t wield a sword or beguile a king. In a land purged of enchantment, love might be the only magic left, and who could ever love . . . a bird? 

5 Beautiful Stars

I don't like fantasy. Urban fantasy I can do and enjoy with a little pushing and patience, but legitimate fantasy doesn't hold my attention. In fact, it frustrates me. I often find it dry, confusing, and trying-too-hard.

Given that, I'm not sure why I picked up The Bird and The Sword, knowing full well it was fantasy. To be perfectly honest, I was expecting it to be a did not finish.

That wasn't the case. At all.

Instead, it's now on my "Best of 2016" shelf, and has earned a permanent spot as one of my favorite books ever. 

The Bird and The Sword is a stand alone, new adult (I think) romantic fantasy, set to a backdrop of what reminds me of the Middle Ages. In this world, some people are Gifted with strange and intense powers, such as shifting into animals, healing the sick or wounded, and transforming objects.

Our heroine, Lark, is Gifted. After witnessing a horrible tragedy as a young child, she no longer speaks. Not a word, not a whisper. Silence does not mean weak, as Lark finds out on her joinery throughout the story.

Normally, I'd go far more in depth into the storyline than that, but I really feel it's something you have to experience for yourself. I went in nearly blind, and am so glad I did. It's the best way to do it! 

It feels a little Beauty and The Beast to me, which I loved. 

I think part of why it was so good for me was because I didn't view it as a fantasy read. I read it as a romance with a fantasy backdrop, rather than a fantasy with a romantic subplot. That made all the difference. 

The pacing was flawless, and enthralled me from the very first page. The writing is spectacular, as per usual with Amy Harmon's work, and I have pages and pages of highlighted notes on my Kindle!

One thing I enjoyed was the fairly minimal dialogue. Since Lark cannot speak, there isn't much chatter between her and other characters, at least not in the traditional sense. The interactions between her and other characters was all the more enjoyable because it was meaningful.

I was only limited by my ignorance, by my fear, and by my own sense of right and wrong. 

Lark had some wonderful character development throughout the story, and it was fascinating to see her grow and change. The way she got around not being able to speak made her all the more respectable in my eyes, as she does so much with so little.

And then there's Tiras, the King and Lark's love interest. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a character as much as I enjoyed him! I bounced back and forth between swooning over him and wanting to give him a solid smack on the head. He's undeniably a bit of a jackass, but...there's something about him I couldn't get enough of.

He was sexy and intense, infuriatingly haughty, proud and noble, a fearless warrior and at the same time, a scared little boy. He cared deeply about his people, and watching his love for Lark grow and evolve was lovely to see. 

"I have loved you every moment of every day, and I will love you until I cease to be."

The action was spectacular, gory battle scenes painted with such vivd detail that it felt like I was right there with them.

My one and only issue with the book is that I wish the sex scenes were as vivid as the battle scenes, rather than mostly fade to blacks. That's just my inner hussy, though. ;)

I loved the side characters, even the ones I wasn't suppose to like!

Overall, this was a fantastic story than I cannot recommend enough. 

{Book Review} Fighting Silence (On The Ropes, #1) by Aly Martinez

From Goodreads

Sound is an abstract concept for most people. We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it's the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to?

I've always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn't a single night that I didn’t hear her voice.

You see, meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one.

They both happened anyway.

Now, I'm on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting for my career.
Fighting the impending silence.
Fighting for her.

Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her.
I think that's the sound I'll miss the most.

My Review

5 "You've Always Been Forever For Me" Stars!

Till Page and Eliza Reynolds stumble upon each other in an abandoned building late one night. Each hiding from grim homes lives, they continue to meet in secret throughout the years, and soon form an incredible bond that is more than friendship. They become vital to each other's sanity in a dirt poor, damn near hopeless life.

"It was more than a friendship, but there wasn't romance or sex. There was definitely love, though. Immeasurable amounts of it. I knew Till had this grand fantasy about me, but what he didn't realize was all that he gave me in return. He was the only thing I'd ever had that I honestly thought I couldn't live without."

With his father in jail and his mother completely unconcerned, the responsibility of his two younger brothers falls to Till, in order to keep them out of the foster care system. Till and Eliza are as close as two people could be; Eliza is Till's fantasy, his escape from their bleak reality. He is terrified of loosing that, so much love for each other and one unforgettable night, their relationship never goes further.

With the stress of being a parent to his brothers at such a young age, struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food in their mouths, and Eliza going away to college, their lives are split apart as they move in different directions.

A twist of fates lands them smack back into each other's lives, and this time will be different. Despite fighting poverty, raising Till's brothers, navigating a new relationship, and dealing with Till's impending silence, these two stay strong. 

This time, it's no longer an escape. This time, it's their reality. 

I read Fighting Silence in one sitting, and fell in love from the very first page. It's high on my best books for 2015, and is one of my favorite books of all time. There honestly wasn't a single thing I didn't enjoy about this.

"There is nothing in this world that was ever more mine than you."

Eliza was a fantastic heroine. It was incredibly refreshing to read a heroine that was strong, capable, intelligent, and a genuinely good person. She wasn't whiny, despite how tough their lives are more often than not, and she gave so much. She loved Till's brothers like they were her own kids, and the way that family was together....that, combined with the level of gentle adoration she has for her lover and best friend, brought tears to my eyes, and inspired all kinds of:

Now Till...good god, he's a man after my own heart. I normally don't like fighter romances. The fighters are usually big, dumb, violent assholes. Till wasn't like that. He was compassionate, dedicated, hard working, smart, and loved his family beyond all reason. Even though he has so much working against him, he never once faltered in his tenacity for what he wanted. I admired him more than pretty much any character I've ever read.

"You always say that you love me, but you have given me so much more. And because of that, I will spend a lifetime fighting to give you the world."

The couple had fantastic chemistry! A truly deep, loving, understand relationship that was beautiful to watch.

Till's struggle with going deaf was fascinating to watch. How he dealt with it, how his family dealt with it, and how it affected every single aspect of his life and career was raw, and intense. It was so interesting to see how it nearly broke him, but he still pushed through and worked past it. It was inspiring and humbling, to be perfectly honest.

She burst out laughing. God, I loved that sound. I knew I'd never be the same when I lost it to the silence. I'd happily give up every noise in the world if I could just keep her laugh.

I loved the pacing and flow of this story. We start off with a bang, then we're in their childhoods. From there you're shown the evolution of the characters and their relationship, their mounting challenges, and every success. It was enthralling and addictive. I laughed, I cried, I swooned, and loved every second of it. 

This is the first book in the On The Ropes trilogy, each focusing on a Page brother. My review of the second book, Fighting Shadows, can be found here. The third and final book, Fighting Solitude, releases February 2nd!

Overall, this is one of the best contemporary romances I've ever read. If you like intense emotion, sexy boxers, strong family ties, amazing character development, and a gorgeous love story, I highly suggest this one! Go with the print of eBook version, though. The audio narrator doesn't do it justice. 

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- The Bibliophile Babe

Book Review: Six of Hearts by L. H. Cosway

From Goodreads

Step right up and meet Jay Fields: Illusionist. Mentalist. Trickster.

I think in triangles. You think in straight lines.

I show you a table and make you believe it’s a chair.

Smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, misdirection. I trick and deceive.

But most of all, I put on a good show.

The world thinks I killed a man, but I didn't. Bear with me. It’s all a part of the plan.

Revenge is what I want. I want it for me and I want it for her.

I want it for all six of us.

She doesn't remember me, but she’s the reason for everything. She’ll be my prize at the end of all this–if I can hold onto my willpower, that is. Maybe I’ll slip up a little, have a taste, just a small one.

So go ahead and pick a card. Come inside and see the show. Look at my hands, look so closely that you can’t see what’s happening while you’re so focused on looking. I’ll be destroying your world from right here in the spotlight.

You’ll never see me coming until it’s too late.

I've only got one heart, and after I've pulled off my grand deception I’ll hand it right to her.

So, sit back, relax, and let my girl tell you our story. You’re in for one hell of a ride. 

My Review

The story is told almost entirely from the point of view of Matilda, the witty, intelligent, down to earth, and delightfully relatable protagonist. She's a twenty-something living in Ireland, and working for her father's small law firm. She lives with her her father, feeling an obligation to care and look out for him after loosing her mother very unexpectedly as a young child. 

She has a great best friend and a small but successful dress making business on the side, but her dating life has been stagnant. After unsuccessfully (and hilariously) trying online dating, she runs into one Jay Fields, a mysterious, successful and sexy illusionist, and sparks fly.

Jay is new to Ireland, and is in search of a place to stay. Coincidentally, Matilda's father has decided to rent out a room in their house from some supplemental income. Jay tours it, and decides it's perfect. From there things progress into a smoldering friendship and then a white hot romance. Secrets arise from Jay's past arise, and the couple is faced with some serious challenges. I can't say much without spoiling it!

"Never try to out-trick a trickster."

This was my first L.H. Cosway, and the one that made me such a huge fan. She's tied with Karina Halle for my favorite contemporary author, and that is saying something! Her stories are always beautifully crafted, full of sexual tension and hilarious banter, and she knows how to properly use angst without making you feel like a hormonal pre-teen. Six of Hearts was no exception!



From the second I started reading, I was thrust into a bustling Irish setting and the mind of a fantastic heroine. Everything was so vividly depicted, letting me picture somewhere I've never seen in such an easy way. I loved it!
Matilda was so easy to connect with; despite being a bit introverted, she'd think of these wiseass cracks that had me laughing out loud. She was very smart and level headed, especially for being 23 years old.


Jay....mmm, do I love that man! He was everything you could possibly want in a book boyfriend (or real boyfriend, whatever tickles your fancy): funny, smart, protective, sexy, quirky, ridiculously charismatic, and did I mention hilarious? His character arc was fantastic, too.


Holy shit, y'all, the way the illusionist shows are described made me feel like I was in the audience! Cosway painted an incredible picture with that, and I looked forward to every trickster scene I read. They left me with bated breath and a craving for more. I could feel his audience's excitement, and Matilda's fascination. That charisma I was talking about? Yeah, it jumps off the page in these scenes. It was more like a movie or a live show than a book!

"I might tell you that you're mine, but you need to understand that it goes both ways. I belong to you, too."

Jay and Matilda's connection, banter, and sexual tension were phenomenal. I loved them so much, and found myself laughing, crying, moaning and yelling with throughout the book simply because they gave me all the feels.

The sex scenes....oh my god. They're beyond hot in and of themselves, but Jay and Matilda's connection just makes it all the more delicious. They go from smutty to funny and back again on the same page. Like this little gem right here:

"I'm - I'm taking a bath, Jay. We can talk later." I manage, trying to sound normal, but my breathing is far too labored. I shouldn't be touching myself with him right behind the door, but I can't seem to help it. Reaching up, I mould my breast in my hand and pinch my nipple, sending tremors all throughout my body.

I realize that Jay has been quiet for far too long. I didn't make any noise, did I? No, I know I didn't. I'm not that reckless.

"How's your bath going?" He asked. His voice sounds different now, lower. 

"I said we'll talk later. Can you go now?" I croak, unable to help sliding my fingers inside myself, my walls clenching tight around them. 

There's a smile in his voice when he goes on. "What are you doing in there, baby?"

"Nothing," I answer, a little too quickly. 

"Okay, you keep on doing nothing. I'll just sit here while you're at it. This spot is surprisingly comfortable. "

Bastard. 

Cosway knows how to do angst, as I mentioned. It's not the all-consuming, over-the-top fiasco that's so prevalent in new adult, not even close. There's potential for angst; the characters have their own demons and are challenged as couples, but it never overtakes their lives or the story. It's acknowledged, and then you're moved on to the story. It's quite realistic, I think. We all have issues, but it doesn't need to overwhelm everything! 

"When I look at you, my head clears. Most of the time there's a storm up in this brain of mine, but then you walk into a room and I can focus."

The mystery and slight crime element of the story kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering where everything was going to go. It wasn't like anything I'd read before, and I loved how refreshing it was!

"Why not live with the magic? Be a kid again and believe in the fantastical. Life is more fun with a little smoke and mirrors."

Six of Hearts was well written, provocative, funny, mysterious, fast paced and realistic. The writing is engaging and sarcastic, the secondary characters strong and well rounded, and the illusionist scenes were some of the most enthralling things I've ever read. Matilda and Jay's relationship is beautiful, and it made me so happy to read them. A 5+ star read for me.

I love that cover. A deliciously built back does things to me...

STATS:

Rating: 5+ stars

Genre: Adult, contemporary romance

Point of view: 1st person, heroine

Steam/sexual content: Panty melting, explicit

HEA: Yes

Cliffhanger: No

Warning: Some yummy smut

Series: Hearts #1, standalone series

Length: 354 pages

- The Bibliophile Babe

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Books I've Read So Far in 2015

Hey, guys!


Today I'm going in The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday. This week's topic is the best books we've read so far this year, and it's a great one. I was just thinking about it the other day, and I had a hard time narrowing it down. 2015 has been the best reading year I've ever had so far; I've found several new favorite authors, read books that completely changed my opinion on certain topics, laughed my ass off and had my heart ripped out, and accumulated quite the collection of book boyfriends. ;) I'm absolutely cheating, what with a lot of these being series, but oh well.


In no real order:

10.

Add to Goodreads

New adult, romantic mystery, with some seriously screwed up themes

My name is Calla Price. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm one half of a whole. My other half—my twin brother, my Finn—is crazy. I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I'm terrified he'll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me. I'm doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I'm drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline. Dare DuBray. He's my savior and my anti-Christ. His arms are where I feel safe, where I'm afraid, where I belong, where I'm lost. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me. He has the power to destroy me. Maybe that's ok. Because I can't seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt. Why? Because of a secret. A secret I'm so busy trying to figure out, that I never see it coming. You won't either.

This book was a complete mindfuck. I loved it! It was eh for about 100 pages, but that really just lulled me into a false sense of security. Then it was just WHAM, what the actual fuck is going on here? Book 1 in a trilogy. Final book is scheduled for an August release.

9.

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New adult, romantic horror, paranormal-ish (neither main character is a paranormal, which is refreshing). Book one of nine.

There’s always been something a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she’s been dealing with a quarter-life crisis and post-college syndrome like any other twentysomething, she’s still not what you would call “ordinary.” For one thing, there’s her past which she likes to pretend never happened, and then there’s the fact that she sees ghosts. Luckily for her, that all comes in handy when she stumbles across Dex Foray, an eccentric producer for an upcoming webcast on ghost hunters. Even though the show’s budget is non-existent and Dex himself is a maddening enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world that both threatens her life and seduces her with a sense of importance. Her uncle’s haunted lighthouse provides the perfect catalyst and backdrop for a horrific mystery that unravels the threads of Perry’s fragile sanity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dangerous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems. 

While I wouldn't count this book specifically as one of my top 10, the series as a whole is incredible. Don't judge until after you've read the second book. I didn't care for the first, and nearly didn't pick up the second. What a world I would've missed! Sexy, smart, hilarious, terrifying, strangely vulnerable, very intense reads.

8.

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New adult, contemporary romance

Sound is an abstract concept for most people. We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it's the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to?

I've always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn't a single night that I didn’t hear her voice.

You see, meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one.

They both happened anyway.

Now, I'm on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting for my career.
Fighting the impending silence.
Fighting for her.

Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her.

I think that's the sound I'll miss the most.


This book was amazing. The character development, the idea of coping with impending deafness at such a young age, huge responsibility, an incredible friends to lovers romance, the character's passion for what he does, all of it just blew me away.

7.

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New adult/young adult (though it does not read like it, and deals with some very intense subject matter), contemporary romance, a bit dark. Well, a lot dark.

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending. 

This book is about incest, and I almost didn't read it. I found the topic disgusting, and was gearing up for a retelling of Flowers in The Attic. That's not what happened. It was...incredible. It changed my view on the topic slightly; while I still find it a bit appalling, and I don't think any children should ever come from such a relationship....is it really, truly my place to tell two consenting people who they can or can't love? How is what they're doing effecting me in the grand scheme of things? My mind was going in circles when I was done with this.
I have never in my life read a book that hurt me as much as this book did. I was full on ugly crying during the last half of the book, and I was gutted by the end. I don't think I've ever had such a reaction to a book. I remember closing the book and just sitting there for a good ten minutes trying to absorb what I read. A beautifully written, brutally honest, agonizing book. Fair warning: it is not a happy ending.

6.

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Adult, darkish contemporary romance

Ellie Watt is used to starting over. The daughter of a grifting team, Ellie spent her childhood being used as a pawn in her parents' latest scam. Now she’s much older, wiser and ready to give her con artist life a rest. But returning to the dry desert town of Palm Valley, California means one more temptation than she bargained for – Camden McQueen. Once known as the high school weirdo, Camden is bigger and badder than the boy he used to be and a talented tattoo artist with his own thriving business. Ellie’s counting on Camden still being in love with her but what she’s not counting on is how easily unrequited love can turn into obsession over time. When Camden discovers Ellie’s plan to con him, he makes her a deal she doesn’t dare refuse, but her freedom comes with a price and it’s one that takes both Ellie and Camden down a dangerous road.

Karina Halle has quickly made her way to the top of my favorite authors list this year, and this is the book that started it all. First in a trilogy. One of my very few 6 star reads! I loved how Halle took characters that weren't likable and were really screwed up, and made me feel so much for them. My review for the first book, Sins and Needles, can be found here.

5. 

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Adult, contemporary romance

The first night after Caroline moves into her fantastic new San Francisco apartment, she realizes she's gaining an intimate knowledge of her new neighbor's nocturnal adventures. Thanks to paper-thin walls and the guy's athletic prowess, she can hear not just his bed banging against the wall but the ecstatic response of what seems (as loud night after loud night goes by) like an endless parade of women. And since Caroline is currently on a self-imposed dating hiatus, and her neighbor is clearly lethally attractive to women, she finds her fantasies keep her awake even longer than the noise. So when the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts Simon Parker, her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. The tension between them is as thick as the walls are thin, and the results just as mixed. Suddenly, Caroline is finding she may have discovered a whole new definition of neighborly...

In a delicious mix of silly and steamy, Alice Clayton dishes out a hot and hilarious tale of exasperation at first sight... 


This is the perfect light, fluffy, hilarious read. I laughed my ass off all the way through this, and the hero is a man after my own heart (I tell you, there is nothing sexier than a man with a camera. Nothing.). Very quick read and easy read.

4.

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New/young adult, contemporary mystery romance

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen. 
Complete strangers since this morning. 
He'll do anything to remember. She'll do anything to forget. 

This is book one of a three part novellas series. Second book is out, third is rumored to be out this summer but does not yet have a release date. Awful cliffhangers but so, so interesting and engaging. They're very short books (150 pages?), and they have a lot of information in them, but I never once felt they were rushed. I'm a big Colleen Hoover fan, but I didn't realize just how much talent she had until I read this.

3. 

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New adult, contemporary romance


She’s addicted to sex. He’s addicted to booze…the only way out is rock bottom.

No one would suspect shy Lily Calloway’s biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.

Loren Hale’s best friend is his bottle of bourbon. Lily comes at a close second. For three years, they’ve pretended to be in a real relationship, hiding their addictions from their families. They’ve mastered the art of concealing flasks and random guys that filter in and out of their apartment.

But as they sink beneath the weight of their addictions, they cling harder to their destructive relationship and wonder if a life together, for real, is better than a lie. Strangers and family begin to infiltrate their guarded lives, and with new challenges, they realize they may not just be addicted to alcohol and sex.
Their real vice may be each other. 


This is another book that really opened my eyes and made me think about an uncomfortable topic. I've never given addiction much though, and the Ritchie twins really made me think about the issue. The way they showcased the controversial topic of sex addiction was so enlightening, and showed that it truly is an addiction. This is the first book in the series. 

2.

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New adult (I think? May be adult; it's such a weird genre to pin down), contemporary romance

When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.

Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.


Oh, Archer. I just adored him. I cried so much during this book. So sweet and heartfelt, great character development, and holy chemistry!

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New adult (from what I'm understanding, it's *this close* to being adult), contemporary romance

He’s thirty-eight. I’m twenty-three.

He speaks Spanish. I speak English.

He lives in Spain. I live in Canada.

He dresses in thousand-dollar suits. I’m covered in tattoos.

He’s married and has a five-year old daughter.

I’m single and can’t commit to anyone or anything.

Until now.


Yet another one that made me stop and think. I love all books, but the ones that can get me to really examine my views are my favorites. This one got me thinking about age gaps and cheating, and I loved that it wasn't a perfect, happily ever after for the two of them. It was so realistic and beyond refreshing. In Halle's usual style, it was so easy to read. I read it in a day!

There we have it! What books make your list?

- The Bibliophile Babe