Heartland (True North, #7) [Dylan & Chastity] by Sarina Bowen

This book was my treat. I'm in a strange mood this week maybe even longer than that. I feel it's hard for me to commit to actually reading. But you know what? once I started this one it was IMPOSSIBLE to put down and I only did it because it was VERY late, and I had to wake up early the next day. I can tell you 5 minutes after I returned home I sat to finish this one and now all I want it to get the next one which I truly hope will be of Daphne (Dylan's twin sister) and Dylan's roommate Rickie. There are already sparks so I CAN'T WAIT.

We've already met both MC of this book - Dylan is the youngest (well, he was born a second before Daphne, does it count?) in the Shipley clan and though he is twenty years old and in his second year in college everyone still consider him the "kid" who can't commit or be serious about anything, moving from one warm body to the other included. Chastity Campbell came from the same highly religious cult Zach, Leah and Isaac came from. She bravely ran away into the warm hands of Leah and Isaac and was happy to find Zach who in a way had a very significance role in her decision to escape. Now she is also in college, getting a little bit of help from Dylan, mostly in Algebra but he tries to help he on other accounts whenever he can.

So Close (Tierney Bay, #1) [Auburn & Trey] by Serena Bell

I'm not sure how to review this book. I liked many elements in it, especially the feel of Tierney Bay and how magical it felt not just for the people living but also to the people visiting again and again, and yet I had a hard time connecting with our MCs, mainly Trey. I guess he "redeemed himself", his actions weren't actually due to "bad character" but to a situation that he found himself in and needed to fix, and not just for his sake. As his reasoning were explained to Auburn, I could see why SHE started to like him, and yeah, there was MAD attraction between the two, and yet, I still didn't see what there was there between them BESIDES the attraction. I don't think they "fit in" together, and it doesn't make sense to me the change that Trey went through in literally a WEEK he was in Tierney Bay even if Auburn sees it as a magical place who changes people and allow wonderful things to happen.

Auburn Campbell have lived all of her life in Tierney Bay and worked many years in "Beachcrest Inn", it's her home now, with it's owner - Carl - feeling like a father figure, especially after her parents passing. She always thought the inn will be hers when Carl retires, yet after he suffers a heart attack she realizes her dreams might come to an abrupt end. Seems Carl was in a bad place a few years ago and sold half of the inn to his grandson Trey. Trey was helping out Carl, he didn't have any designs on the property but things changed recently and now he intends to sell the place for investors destroying the resort and Auburn's dreams with it.

Making Nice by Elizah J. Davis

OUTSTANDING. This book kept me glued to my seat, unable to stop reading, until finally somewhere after 3 a.m. I finished it. Ryan and Blake's relationship buildup, their banter, was simply hilarious. They were making every mistake possible, lying to their friends and family but mostly to themselves. Everything worked between them, but somehow they failed miserably to see how WONDERFUL they are together and kept playing this game while breaking their own rules. Confused? So were they.

Blake Dunlap's life changes when his twin sister meets the love of her life in Matt. Their lives have always been entwined together but now he feels left out. Bianca tries to make him see how great Matt is but while he somehow reluctantly agrees Matt is THE one for her, it doesn't change the fact they spend less and less time together and he feels totally lost and alone. He gets drunk too many times to count in this book and though it's something that can TOTALLY get on my nerves, I could his see reasoning and just how lost he was.

First time he meets Matt's best friend Ryan Everett, Ryan makes the worst impression. He doesn't know what's gotten into him, but every time he opens his mouth in front of Blake he says the wrong thing. Too bad there is an undercurrent of attraction between them, because even if they actually got along, considering their position with Matt proposing to Bianca, getting involves sounds like a REALLY bad idea..

Pretty Perfect (Boys in Makeup #1) by Christina Lee & Riley Hart

I gotta say, Christina and Riley are pretty perfect together ;) LOVED this book. I could not and would not put this book down. Jesse and Dane were FIRE together or even when they were just looking at each other across the room. It's not that they "didn't mix like oil and water" they were simply explosive!

Jesse and Dane work together at a bar-club. Jesse being a dancer and Dane a bartender. They don't always work in the same part of the club but one disagreement made the owner realize there is something about these two and so he made them share two dances on Friday night and the response of the audience was to be expected - they LOVED the simmering fire. That means one happy owner and though Jesse and Dane weren't THAT happy dancing together the tips were kinda worth it..

One Holiday Ever After by Tere Michaels, Elle Brownlee & Elizah J. Davis

After finishing the previous book I knew there is something I needed to do - Add EVERYTHING by Elle and Elizah to my reading list (the books I have left from Tere's booklist are already scheduled for the near future). As both authors don't have a lot of published work I'll be finishing their books in the near future. Actually already started! I have just one more full length novel by Elizah I'll be delving into this month. Elle's books won't be left for long as well!

For me the first and third novellas were simply superb! For some reason I struggled a bit with the second one though I did like it, I didn't LOVE it like I did the other two. Nevertheless, great anthology !

2019 Yearly Recap

Another year has gone.. Time to look at what I've been reading :)

I do these recap every year and it makes me realize the shear volume of how much I read. I can't possibly remember everything I read... I don't have a really good memory to books I've read just once, and since there are SO MANY it's hard for me to re-read books (unless I listen to them..). So making this list makes a little bit of difference in reminding myself what I've been up to in 2019.

That's what GoodReads have to say about my statistics. It's a bit different than what I have, but I realized it's because there are some booksets as well as books I've re-listened to and such.

My statistics actually says 124 books (+ 8 DNF books). Total 262,692 pages, averaging 72 pages a day which is actually not bad (though I make my list according to 100 pages I almost NEVER actually read hehe).

A bit of "fun staff", the longest and shortest books I've read this year have both been by Anyta Sunday (a bookset and a VERY short novella). My most popular read haven't even been a romance novel, but a lifestyle / health book "The Obesity Code" which I HIGHLY recommend. The least popular book on my list was a book I added to GoodReads! It's an online read by Cari Z. I've added all of her online reads from her blog this year as I've been going through them. They are really AWESOME I don't get why she doesn't publish them. She deserved to be paid!

My average rating is pretty high - 4.5 stars which is really no wonder as I try and add books by authors I already know and love. Besides those I try and add authors I stumbled upon and loved and if it worked for me I go through all of their book list. Had a few of those this year!

My most read authors this year has a lot to do with reading / finishing entire book lists. So first place goes to Annabeth Albert (31 books), then Anyta Sunday (30 books). Cari Z. I actually have just ONE book left on her book list I haven't finished! (17 books), Lara Adrian mostly under her first pen name Tine St. John (9 books). I also finished reading all of Suki Fleet's booklist this year (3 books).

Naturally there were also books by my absolute favorite authors - Christina Lee (6 books), Sarina Bowen (5 books), Garrett Leigh (5 books),Charlie Cochet (3 books) and last but not least Mariana Zapata (1 book) and Joanna Chambers (1 Book) as that's what they published this year.

In a way similar to what I did last year, I'll be linking to my absolute favorite books of this year (this time firstly by author, then by genre) - ones I've given 4.5-5 stars rating. There are A LOT of those, I know, but I attribute it to me knowing to pick THE BEST authors ;)

Lara Adrian (Tina St. John) (♂♀)
Historical Romance: Lord of Vengeance
Warrior Series: #1 White Lion's Lady, #3 Lady of Valor

Paranormal Romance: Break the Day (Midnight Breed, #16)

Annabeth Albert (♂♂)
Contemporary Romance: Resilient Heart, Arctic Wild (Frozen Hearts, #2), Tease Me (#Gaymers, #3.6), Waiting for Clark, Save the Date (with Wendy Qualls), Better Not Pout, Mr. Right Now.

Out of Uniform Series: #1 Offbase, #1.5 Homecoming, #1.6 Off Leash, #2 At Attention, #2.5 I Do, #3 On Point, #5 Squared Away, #7 Rough Terrain.

Portland Heat Series: #1-#3 Bundled Up, #3.1, #4.1 Cranky Christmas + Knit Quick
Rainbow Cove Series: #1 Trust with a Chaser, #2 Tender with a Twist, #2.5 Lumber Jacked

New Adult: Winning Bracket

Sarina Bowen (♂♂ / ♂♀)

Contemporary Romance: Brooklyn Bruisers Series: #5 Overnight Sensation, #6 Superfan
New Adult: Extra Credit (The Ivy Years, #6), Top Secret (with Elle Kennedy)
Romantic Suspense: Moonlighter (The Company, #1)

Serena Bell (♂♀)
Contemporary Romance: After Midnight

Charlie Cochet (♂♂)
Contemporary Romance: Three Little Words
Romantic Suspense: Diamond in the Rough (Four Kings Security, #4), Kept in the Dark (Locke and Keyes Agency, #1)

Elizah J. Davis (♂♂)
Contemporary Romance: Firsts and Forever, The Promise of Snow

[ Also One Night Ever After with Tere Michaels and Elle Brownlee ]

Suki Fleet (♂♂)
Young Adult: Foxes, For Sam Times Infinity, Everything in the Place

Riley Hart (♂♂)
Contemporary Romance: Crossroads (Crossroads, #1)
[ Also Science and Jockstraps (Ace's Wild, #1) and Forever Moore - with Christina Lee ]

SE Jakes (♂♂)
Romantic Suspense: Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water, #2)

Christine Lee (♂♂)
Contemporary Romance: Redeem (Under my Skin, #4), Beautiful Temptation (So This Is Christmas, #2)
New Adult: A Breath Apart, Kickflip, Science and Jockstraps (Ace's Wild, #1) (with Riley Hart)
Paranormal Romance: Forever Moore (with Riley Hart)

Garrett Leigh (♂♂)
Contemporary Romance: Kiss Me Again 
Paranormal Romance: Fated Hearts (Shadow Bound, #1)

Tere Michaels (♂♂)
Contemporary Romance: Forever & Ever (Faith Love & Devotion, #7), One Night Ever After (with Elizah J. Davis & Elle Brownlee), Groomzilla

Anyta Sunday (♂♂)
Contemporary Romance: Hearts, Shrewed Angel (The Christmas Angel, #6)
Love Letters Series: #1 Admiring Ash, #2 Begging Ben
Love and Family Series: #1 Taboo For You, #2 Made For You, #3 Happy For You
Signs of Love Series: #1 Leo Loves Aries, #1.5 Leo Tops Aries, #2.5 Scorpio Loops Virgo, #4 Pisces Hooks Taurus, #4.5 Pisces Floors Taurus.
Enemies to Lovers Series: #2 St-st-ffed, #4 The F Words
New Adult: It Could be You, DJ Dangerfield, Liam Davis & The Raven, Nest
True Love Series: #1 True Luck, #2 True Colors

Cari Z. (♂♂)

Contemporary Romance: Love Letters

Romantic Suspense (with L.A. Witt): Double or Nothing, Doubling Down (Double Trouble #1-#2)
Bad Behavior Series: #1 Risky Behavior, #2 Suspicious Behavior, #3 Reckless Behavior, #4 Romantic Behavior
Paranormal Romance: The Tower, The Wild Hunt, Cinders (Fantasy)
Sci-Fi Romance: Bonded Series: #4 The Academy, #5 Redstone, #6 Reformation

Mariana Zapata (♂♀)
Contemporary Romance: The Best Thing

Before I finish this list there are two more books I want to add "The Obesity Code" by Dr. Jason Fung and "Delay, Don't Deny" by Gin Stephens. These two are books related to lifestyle and health. As I've mentioned before, I've been through quite the change this past year and a half. A big part has to do with nutrition. If you're even slightly interested in health and bettering yours I say give these two a go. Though I started with Jason's book, I think in a way it's easier to start with Gin's. They basically discuss the same ideas with an emphasis on Intermittent Fasting ("IF") and it's benefits, but the whole structure and the way they are written is totally different. I've been practicing IF for about 6 months and I can tell you now - I don't want to ever stop!

That's it for 2019. Can't wait to start the first book of 2020!

Groomzilla by Tere Michaels

What a wonderful read to finish of the year with! I have NO IDEA why I put reading this one off, maybe I was a bit put-off by the name. If you are - please don't be. It's not the angst filled wedding you're imagining, it's actually a sweet and endearing story of two best friends and finding love in the most unexpected place.

Daniel Green and Ander Valios have been best friends since they were both left in boarding school. Two kids bonding on being unwanted. They might be an unlikely "couple" but they somehow maintained their close friendship, like brothers, always being on each other's side. Now in their mid twenties, Ander a high end designer (still waiting for his big break with his own line) and Daniel an event planner and though his business is doing okay, he isn't doing WELL. But what Ander is offering him - planning his wedding as a part of a reality show - isn't something he wants to agree to, but it's Ander, he can't possibly disappoint him or make him unhappy through his rejection of the whole thing.. So he finds himself agreeing..

The Promise of Snow by Elizah J. Davis

While my previous read - short novella by Elizah - have been about a formed couple already living their Happily Ever After, this short novella is only a promise. Something to look forward to. I actually like these short stories. Though in a way they don't give us true romance (or a "story") I can still close my eyes and imagine how things would work out.

When Brandon Jacobs was just a kid, he didn't especially like (okay, he hated) spending time with his neighbor's grandson AJ Peterson. It didn't happen much - maybe for the better. So when his mother announces AJ is back and might need a "tour guide" of the city, he isn't especially thrilled to actually pick up the phone and call the guy. But after he sees him, well, he might have a different idea..