My 2018 Five-Star Reads

One of my favorite things about the end of the year is all the Best Of book lists. And this year, it’s been especially fun because I’ve made a few of them!

The Ones Who Got Away was picked as a Best Book of 2018 by Kirkus and Amazon.

The One You Can Forget was selected as a Best Book of 2018 by Publishers Weekly.

So that got my to thinking that it was time to do my own Best Books of 2018 list. As many of you know, I keep a reading journal and record my thoughts about everything I read each year. That makes it easy at the end of they year (and after reading almost 75 books so far) to easily flip back and see which books received a 5-star rating from me.

Now, I will preface this list by saying that I am VERY stingy with my 5-star ratings. Most books I read get about 3 stars (liked it but didn’t love it). I have a decent number of 4-stars (thoroughly enjoyed). But 5-stars are reserved for books that wow me.

Wowing me can mean that the book leaves me in awe of the author’s talent. Wowing can mean that the book pulled real emotion from me and got me deeply attached to the characters. Wowing can mean that a book was addictive like candy and made me want to read everything else the author has written. Wowing can also mean that I’ve learned something fascinating that I will carry with me. But most of all, it usually means that at the end of the year, even with all the reading I’ve done and my crappy memory, these books have stayed with me. I don’t have to remind myself what they were about. They’ve imprinted on my brain.

So, this year, 10 books of the 73 I’ve read have reached that 5-Star status.

Ready to fill up your TBR pile?

My 2018 Five-Star Reads

FICTION

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Romance-ish/women’s fiction

This one gutted me, y’all. It covers a touchy subject matter that I won’t reveal because spoilers, but if you’re afraid of triggers, google it and you’ll find what you need. This book handled the issue with such a deft hand and worked in a romance as well. After reading this, I wanted to go pick up everything else Colleen had ever written. My original review.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Contemporary romance

If you haven’t heard of this book, you must be living in a bunker. It’s made a ton of best of lists and the spot is well-deserved. Such a fun, sexy, and sweet romance. My original review.

One Foot In the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Paranormal Romance

I’ve told y’all that I’m on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer binge lately, and this has brought my old love of vampire romance roaring back from the grave (yeah, I went there.) So when I was looking to start a vampire romance series I missed, I picked up the first book in Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series. It fit the bill perfectly. And though I loved Halfway to the Grave (book one), the second book is the one that got me fully hooked. Lots of action, very steamy, and a couple I can’t get enough of.

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Contemporary Romance

I love a friends-to-lovers story, especially one with a dual timeline that reunites old friends. This book was sweet and fun and just an overall enjoyable experience.

Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Romantic Fiction

I’ve professed my love for Reid’s books all over the place, but my favorite of hers I read this year was Maybe In Another Life. The story follows the heroine down two separate timelines based on which decision she makes in one scene early in the book. If she goes home with this guy, this is where her life will go. If she doesn’t, this is where it will go. I loved the structure and loved how it explored the concept of soulmates. Her books always leave me thinking. My original review.

A Messy, Beautiful Life by Sara Jade Alan

YA/Romance

This one deals with some heavy topics, but it was also so delightful. I loved the characters and the author’s voice. If you’re afraid of books with illness in them (like I am), this one gives you a happy ending, so don’t fear.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

General Fiction/Historical (1970s)

This is a gut-wrencher, y’all. But also hopeful. The characters and setting in this book will stick with me for a long time. The writing was beautiful and so immersive. The whole thing had a very epic feel. Trigger warnings for domestic violence. My original review.

NON-FICTION

I’ll Be Gone In the Dark by Michelle McNamara

True Crime

This is a tough read because the crimes were very real. Also, going in, you know the author passed away while finishing this book. But this book was so well-written, interesting, and had such heart to it. Also, it helped find the killer because when McNamara wrote this, the guy was still unknown. She never got to see him caught, but her book had a hand in it. This is true crime writing at its best. My original review.

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

Health

At the heart of the body positive movement and health at every size, this book focuses on diet culture, the myths we’ve been told, and how to combat the negative dieting culture that surrounds us. As someone who’s done all the diets for many decades, this was an eye-opening book. This is not a diet book. It’s a an anti-diet book.

Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday

Business

This one is probably going to be more a fit for my fellow writers, artists, or other business owners, but Holiday’s focus on putting your best work forward, giving that work the time it needs, and developing perennial sellers was chock full of great tidbits. I marked so many passages in this one that it probably weighs an extra half pound from all the book darts.

That’s my list! A top 10 without even trying for a nice round number like 10 makes me happy. : ) So I’d love to hear from you. What were your 5-star reads this year?

Roni Recommends: Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I have made no secret that I love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, and I think because I love them so much, I’ve taken them slow. I haven’t devoured her backlist because I don’t want it to run out too quickly. So I’ve had Maybe In Another Life on my shelf for probably about a year. But I finally hit a moment where it felt like the right time to read it. I’m so glad I did!

I love that Reid tends to make her books about a particular question. The question explored in Maybe In Another Life: Can we change our fate by making the smallest decision? Like if we turn left on the street instead of right, does our entire life change? Or are we destined to end up how we end up? This also plays with the concept of soulmates, which she’s explored in other books as well. Do we only have one?

So the premise of this story is that the main character, Hannah, goes to her a bar with her friend. In one scenario, she says yes to going home with her ex-boyfriend from high school. In the other scenario, she turns him down. What follows is a story told in two separate timelines. One follows the first version of Hannah and what happens if she says yes. The other story is if Hannah says no.

This story is heartbreaking at times, but I promise, y’all, this isn’t a sad book. That’s what I love about Reid’s books. She makes you worry about how things might turn out, but then she always gives a satisfying ending (even if it’s not the ending you guessed.) I found the book very life-affirming. It had great characters, romance, and made me think. I am very stingy with rating things 5 stars in my reading journal. This is only the 4th novel I’ve read this year out of almost 60 that got that rating from me. Highly recommended!

About the book:

From the acclaimed author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

A Quick, Satisfying Short Story (and it's free!): Evidence of the Affair

Typically, I’m not a short story reader. I have nothing against them and have even written a few that are tucked into the back of some of the paperback versions of my books, but I don’t often gravitate to reading them. I think there are a number of reasons for this. One, often short stories fall under the literary fiction category, and I’m more of a commercial fiction gal. Two, I like to be immersed in a story and short stories have less time to get me into that state. Three, I don’t know if it’s just been my luck, but the short stories I’ve read have often had no real ending or are super grim, and they’ve left me with a “what was the point of that?” feeling.

However, I’m happy to report that none of those are the case in the one I’m recommending today. I’m not even sure how Evidence of the Affair came into my line of sight. I’m sure the Amazon recommending machine was at work. But when I saw the cover (I love mid-century modern architecture—though I’m freaked out by all the windows now after reading I’ll Be Gone in the Dark), my attention was snagged. Then I saw it was written by Taylor Jenkins Read, who has written some of my favorite books of the last decade or so of my reading life. That’s all I needed to know. I was in. Bonus surprise: the short story is free if you’re an Amazon Prime member or if you have Kindle Unlimited. (If not, the 1.99 price is still a steal.)

This story is set in the 1970s (another thing I loved about it) and told all through letters. I love stories told in interesting ways, and the epistolary format really worked here. The main letters being exchanged are from the spouses of the cheating partners. One discovers the affair and writes to the other. Interspersed are letters between the cheating couple. I wasn’t sure where the story would go and it kept me guessing (and got me worried at points), but I will say that it was a satisfying ending.

So, if you’re looking for something a little different or for a quick read to get out of a reading slump (or to beef up your reading challenge numbers!), I recommend picking up Evidence of the Affair. If you like her writing style, I highly recommend tracking down her backlist. I’m still working my way through hers, but One True Loves has been my favorite so far.

Happy reading!

Any good short stories to recommend?

Roni Recommends: One That's Sweet & One That's Steamy

Hey there! I know it's been a while since I've been around. I've been writing, writing, writing. But in between all the writing marathons, I have had a chance to read a few books (because I always have to make time for reading even when things are crazy because otherwise *I* go crazy, lol.) Today I have two picks for you!

First up is After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I read One True Loves by the same author last year and LOVED it. It was one of my favorite reads of the year, so I don't know why it took me so long to pick up another book by Reid. Luckily, I was not disappointed. I didn't love this one quite as much as One True Loves (the bar was high, y'all), but I really enjoyed this story about a married couple that decides to take a year break from each other to try to save their marriage. I love Reid's voice and her humor. I also felt like the little frustrations of married life (and how they can become big problems) were realistically portrayed. The secondary characters were fantastic as well. Now, be warned, this is women's fiction not a traditional romance. However, I can tell you it's a satisfying ending.

Next up, is a dark and steamy erotic romance. Hostage by Annika Martin and Skye Warren is the second in the Captives and Criminals series (Prisoner was the first.) You can read it as a standalone, though. Warning, these are dark romances with antiheroes. That is not always an easy thing to pull off, but this writing duo does it well. The hero is a murderer (for very good reasons) but still...murderer. He meets the heroine by taking her hostage. So know what you're getting yourself into, lol. But if you're willing to go there, this was a page-turner and a very steamy read. I always feel a little wrong after reading this series, but I'm okay with that. ;) 

So what have you been reading lately? (I'm listening to Shonda Rimes's Year of Yes on audio and loving it.)

April Read & Watch Picks with Author Maggie Wells!

How is it April already? March was a blink. But you know what the first of the month means, a new Read & Watch theme and a guest with recommendations!

April's theme word is TIME. And I invited author Maggie Wells to join us and give us her picks for this month's theme. If you haven't seen this challenge before, each month has a new theme word that you can interpret however you'd like. You can join in at any time and can get all the details on the challenge here.

First, a little more about Maggie:

Maggie Wells is a deep-down dirty girl with a weakness for hot heroes and happy endings. By day she is buried in spreadsheets, but at night she pens tales of people tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt, this mild-mannered married lady has a naughty streak a mile wide.

Fueled by supertankers of Diet Coke, Maggie juggles fictional romance and the real deal by keeping her slow-talking Southern gentleman constantly amused and their two grown children mildly embarrassed.

All right, now I'll turn it over to Maggie and let her tell you her picks!

Maggie's Picks

BOOK:

I admit it, my instinctive response to the word “TIME” is Outlander! But I shall refrain and travel a less obvious path. Not that choosing to spend time with James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser is ever wrong…

The book I want to share this month was once my least favorite book from one of my favorite authors. It wasn’t until I read The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen a second time, that I truly came to appreciate all of its glorious nuance.

For those who haven’t read it yet, I’ll share just this one quote:

“It feels like he's taken your heart, doesn't it? Like he's reached in and pulled it out from you. And I bet he smiles like he doesn't know, like he doesn't know he's holding your heart in his hand and you're dying from him.”

If you have read The Sugar Queen, it may not seem like a good fit for this month’s theme at first glance, but to me, this book is all about time. Each character has a different relationship with time. Josey is waiting for her life to start. Margaret is holding her breath until enough time passes for scandal to fade away. Chloe has put her own life on hold. Jake destroys everything he loves in a rash moment. Adam is simply killing time because he doesn’t quite know what to do next. And then, there’s Della Lee, who has just enough time left to show them all how they are wasting their most precious commodity.

Movie:

For this one, I chose one of my all-time favorites: Big Fish.

Again, this may not seem like an obvious choice for the theme, but bear with me. Will Bloom has only a brief window of opportunity to mend his strained relationship with his dying father. But unlike other movies with the same sort of theme, Big Fish takes us, and Will, along on the epic adventures of his father, Ed Bloom’s, life.

Let’s face it, most of us think our parents are frozen in time. Our time. They are simply Mom and Dad. The rule makers. Those ever-present forces that shape our lives for better or worse. I think many us don’t really get an opportunity to know our parents as people with hopes, dreams, and adventures of their own. I know I didn’t, and now it’s too late for me to ask them to tell me their version of their story.

So, yeah, use your time wisely. Watch Big Fish with one or both of your parents, if you can. If you’re lucky, you may be able to use it as a springboard to pry a few of their fish stories from them.

TV:

Okay, fine, I have to say it—Outlander!

A time-traveling woman from the 20th century.

A Scottish highlander from the 18th century.

Love. War. Desire. Jealousy. Kilts. Greed. Shenanigans.

I’m usually not a fan of book-to-screen adaptations, but I think Ronald D. Moore and the gang are doing a bang-up job of adapting the books for the series. If you haven’t given it a peek yet, take the time!

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Thanks so much, Maggie! And I'm totally with her on Outlander. I haven't read or seen the others, but Outlander...yessss.

Now that you Maggie has excellent taste, you should check out her book!

A BOLT FROM THE BLUE by Maggie Wells

Available April 4th from Kensington/Lyrical Press

True love, like lightning, never strikes twice—or does it?

As a free-spirited young woman, Hope Elliot was desperate to escape her snobbish high society family. So she ran off to Paris, where she lived for twenty-five years. Now widowed, she’s come home to settle her family’s massive lakefront estate. But before she can put her mother’s house on the market, it needs a major renovation. Enter master electrician Mick McInnes, a traditional guy who’s about to turn her life upside down . . .

Aside from the fact that Mick is hopelessly attracted to his latest client, Hope represents everything he doesn’t want in a woman. She’s ridiculously rich and adventurous, yet she doesn’t seem to know much about the real world. Besides, his policy is to never get involved with clients. But he can’t seem to resist the Chicago heiress’s sizzling advances—and soon enough finds himself in her bed, feeling like a teenager once again. And like teenagers, the two of them will just have to convince their families that opposites can not only attract, but they can also make the perfect match . . .

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Roni's April Picks

Here's what I'll be reading and watching this month for the challenge!

Book:

Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This one takes one event in a woman's life and then branches off into two possible storylines, what happens if she makes one decision and what happens if she makes another, so it will be dual timelines/fates. I loved her book One True Loves, so I have high hopes.

About the book:

From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him. 

TV:

Thirteen Reasons Why on Netflix

This is a brand new series on Netflix and is based on a YA book I read many years ago and really liked. It's been long enough that I don't remember much about the book, but I remember that it was good enough to keep on my shelf. I DO remember that it flashes back in time to show the things leading up to a certain even, so it goes perfectly with this month's theme.

Oddly enough, both my book and TV show picks have heroines named Hannah.

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Utterly Shameless Promotion

If you need another suggestion for the TIME theme, may I also suggest Off the Clock, which is the first book in my Pleasure Principle series and a current finalist in the RITA Contest (!), and By the Hour, book 2, which comes out April 25!

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Now, it's your turn! What will you be reading/watching? Or if you have any suggestions for the theme, let us have 'em! :)