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?

Gifts for the Booklovers In Your Life (Or For You)

It’s that time of year again. That time when you try to decipher your relatives’ brains and figure out what they’d actually want for a holiday gift. This exercise can be downright exhausting. That’s why it’s a big sigh of relief when I get to buy for someone who is a fellow bookworm. Those are my people. I understand those people. In actuality, besides my mom, I have very few book-loving family members in my life. And my mom is a minimalist booklover. Since I bought her a Kindle years ago, she doesn’t need much else besides that and her library card. So I save my bookish gifts for my friends. And well…

Okay, let’s be real, y’all know I end up buying most of these for myself, too. I justify these purchases because for some reason, NO ONE buys me bookish gifts. Besides bookstore gift cards, I can’t remember receiving a bookish gift since childhood. I guess people assume I already have that area covered. And I do because clearly no one else is going to get them for me, lol.

So, in the spirit of buying for the booklovers in your life along with full permission to treat yourself, I’ve pulled together my list of favorite finds for booklovers. Obviously, books are a great gift for a booklover, but in case you’re looking for something in addition to that or some stocking stuffers, these may fit the bill this holiday season.

Roni’s 2018 Gift List for Booklovers

Book darts

Book Darts Line Markers - 125 Count Tin Mixed Metals Bookmarkers

When reading an ebook, you can highlight and save quotes. But what about for the print lover who doesn’t want to mark up their books with highlighters? Enter the book dart. This are tiny, light metal bookmarks that attach to a single page and point to the line or passage you want to go back and reference. I use these all the time. They are so lightweight that they won’t weigh down your book even if you mark a bunch of pages. Then, you can remove them easily when you go back and pull the quotes or reread passages. Or you can leave them in there permanently. You get a lot in a tin, so I have some references books that I keep the book darts in even after I’m done because I know I’ll need to flip through again.

A Book Beau

Book Beau - Book Sleeve Wizardy Print - Mini/Indie/XL/Jumbo Sized Protecting Cover (XL)

This is a new one for me this year, and I’m in love with it. I read a lot of print books and have a big purse for just that reason. But books (and e-readers) can get beat up in a purse or backpack. Enter the book beau. This is a cushioned pocket that keeps your book safe and is super cute to boot. They come in many different sizes, e-reader size up to fat hardback size. And besides the functionality of it, it’s a conversation starter when you pull your book out of such an adorable pouch.

Book-themed T-shirts

Out of Print Underlined Book Nerd Unisex T-Shirt (Black) X-Large

Broadcast your book love for the world to see. My favorite bookish t-shirts lately are from Out of Print. I have the Book Nerd one pictured here and the library card stamp one. You can also get a number of the designs on non-T-shirt things.

A Fancy Bookish Pen

This is one that I definitely bought for myself. I couldn’t resist a pen with the label Literary AF. (There are a few more sayings if that one’s not your style.) Easy, Tiger has fun gifts that aren’t just book-related, so I encourage you to poke around the site. This pen is not cheap but it’s refillable and well-made. It also comes in a super cute giftable box. I also love their bookmarks.

Library Kit

Knock Knock Personal Library Kit (15000)

Tired of people not returning your books when you lend them out? Here’s a kit to lay the guilt on them in the future. ;)

A Proper Journal to Record What They Read

Y’all know I’m a devotee of the reading journal. If you want tips on how to create one, see my post on how I organized mine. My pick for favorite journal, the one I use, is the Leuchtterm medium dot grid hardcover journal. I’ve managed to fit 3 years of reading in one journal (taking up about half a page per book read—and I read a lot.) It’s worth the investment. (And if you want those pens, here’s the link for those.)

As a side note, if you want a reading journal you can print out and that is already organized for you, sign up for my newsletter and get the download in your inbox.

Book Box Subscriptions

Confession: I love getting packages in the mail. If that package is full of books, I’m pretty much at peak Roni happiness. So what better to give to a booklover than a gift that gives books all year long. Not sure which kind to get? Here are some options:

Book of the Month Club

I’ve been a subscriber to Book of the Month club for 2 years now, and I have been really pleased with the service. Each month, they select five books for you to choose from. You pick one and get a beautiful hardback for significantly cheaper than the list price. Plus, you often get books ahead of their wide release, so you can be the first to read it. The selections usually include at least one thriller, one literary pick, sometimes a non-fiction, and often a quirky pick. To my great delight, this year they fixed my one complaint I had about the service—no romance. I was thrilled to see selections like The Kiss Quotient, The Proposal, and One Day in December this year. Yay, romance! So if you want to check it out for yourself or give as a gift, use my link and I think you get your first book free.

Fresh Fiction Box Not To Miss

View fullsize

Just want a big box of romance with maybe a general fiction thrown in every now and then? Then you might want to check out the Fresh Fiction Box Not To Miss. Each month you get a box of physical books and codes for a few ebooks. This is a romance focused box and is often filled with new releases. What I love about this box is that you can sign up for a monthly subscription or you can buy a single box when you’re jonesing for a surprise box of books. I don’t subscribe but I get the one-time box two or three times a year. It’s always fun opening the box and not knowing what I’m going to get.

The Bookworm Box

This box is the brainchild of author Colleen Hoover. Each box comes with a signed book and author swag. The best part? It’s for charity. So you can feel extra great about getting this box. I recently donated over 100 signed books to The Bookworm Box, so even if you don’t want to subscribe to the box but want a signed book from me, proceeds going to charity, grab one here.

Books About Books

What is it about book about books? There’s just something comforting about knowing other booklovers are out there and have things to say. Here are a few options for a few different types of booklovers:

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life

I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel

This little essay collection by Anne Bogel (of the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog) is a perfect gift for a reader regardless of their genre preferences. Each essay covers a different topic in the reading life, and my guess is every booklover will find things to relate to. For an extra treat, try this one in audio.

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak In the Stacks - A Librarian’s Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life by Annie Spence

I own this one but haven’t read it yet. I love the concept though—a librarian writing love letters or break up notes to books that have meant something to her. This is another one that fits readers regardless of genre.

Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction

Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss

Are you or a loved one part of The Babysitter’s Club generation? Then this may be the perfect book for you. I read this recently and had such a good time going through it. Beyond being a trip down memory lane to all those books that formed me as a reader, it was interesting to learn about the progression of teen fiction from the seventies through the nineties. And if you get this one, go for the paperback not the ebook because all the photos of book covers are so colorful and enhance the experience. (Also, be warned, you’re going to want to run out to a used bookstores afterward and rummage for some of these old books.)

Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction

Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix

Have a horror lover in your life? From the same publisher as Paperback Crush and following a similar format, this book goes through the history of horror fiction in the 70s and 80s. I own this one but haven’t read it yet. I’ve flipped through, though, and am really looking forward to it. Like above, go with the paperback to get the full effect of this book. Also, I’ve read a few of Grady Hendrix’s horror novels so I have no doubt the essays will be worth reading.

Shameless Self-Promotion

You know what makes a great gift? These. :)

That’s my list for this year. Coming soon, I’ll do a post on my 5-Star reads from this year if you would prefer actual books as gifts.

So what bookish gift are you hoping to receive this year? Do you get and/or give a lot of books and bookish gifts for the holidays?

ANNOUNCEMENT: Rock That Romance Online Writing Classes with Roni Loren

ATTENTION WRITERS & ASPIRING WRITERS

If you’ve followed me for a while, you might know that I started off in this bloggy world with a website for writers called Fiction Groupie. Once I landed a book deal and was published, I had to switch things up and didn’t have the time to maintain that website. But I’ve never lost my love for teaching and sharing what I’ve learned with other writers.

In the past few years, I’ve given many in-person workshops throughout the country and have truly enjoyed that experience. I can’t do it as much as I would like because travel is tough, especially when you have a kiddo, and the majority of my time has to be spent on writing my books. However, with all the new platforms for presenting classes online, I realized that I could provide these classes without having to leave the house (introvert dream, yes?). So, in 2019, I plan to launch Rock that Romance Novel classes that you can take from the comfort of your very own home.

I don’t have all the details to give you yet because right now I have to focus on finishing book 4 in The Ones Who Got Away series and need to hammer out a few more things, but my goal is to launch the first class in Spring 2019. My plan is to offer classes for new and aspiring writers and also some for the more experienced writers who want to amp up their writing skills. Classes will mostly focus on the craft of writing, but there may be occasional classes about other writing-related topics (focus, organizing, etc.) if there’s interest.

So, if you’re interested in being the first to know about the classes and to have the chance at beta prices (AKA discounted) for the initial classes, sign up for the mailing list below.

Here’s the official pitch in which I talk about myself in third person. :-p

Sign up for updates about the launch of Rock That Romance Novel classes

Ready to take the leap and learn how to write that novel you've always wanted to write "someday"? Or maybe you're already writing but you want to raise the bar from "good enough" to "top shelf" writing and need to hone your craft. Either way, New York Times bestselling and two-time RITA-award winning romance author Roni Loren is here to help you get there. This email list is for those who are interested in hearing about Roni's online writing workshops when they launch (tentative launch date: spring 2019). In the future, this list also may include newsletters about helpful writing tips and topics. 

*This is separate from Roni's newsletter for readers.

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BEST BOOKS OF 2018 SALE on The Ones Who Got Away series!

If you’ve been wanting to try The Ones Who Got Away series or want to gift them to a friend, now’s your chance to do it for under 5 dollars! In celebration of being selected as a best book of the year from Amazon and Publishers Weekly, The Ones Who Got Away is on sale for $1.99 and The One You Can’t Forget is on sale for $2.99!

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Indiebound | Google Play

REMINDER: By the Hour, one of my erotic romances, is also still on sale until the 15th if you want to grab that one for $1.99 as well!

BOOK SALE ALERT: By the Hour is $1.99!

For the first time ever, By the Hour is on sale for $1.99! This sale is only temporary so grab it while you can. :) And even though it’s book 2 in the series, don’t worry, you can jump in without having read book one.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Off the Clock comes a story of love, hate, and the fire that ignites when the two collide... 

Dr. Elle McCray has a plan. Work hard. Be the best. And do it alone. After her ex-husband’s betrayal, she’s learned being feared is a hell of a lot easier than being humiliated. So when trouble personified, Lane Cannon, dares to flirt with her, she shuts him down cold. Too gorgeous. Too cocky. And his job as The Grove’s sexual surrogate is to sleep with patients. No, thank you.

Former escort Lane Cannon has spent enough years with people looking down on him. Stupid. Trailer trash. Rent boy. He’s heard it all. He’s worked too hard to shed his past to let some haughty doctor cut him down. But something about Elle’s ice queen act has his dominant instincts perking up and his body taking notice. He can’t walk away.

After an evening of verbal sparring turns into a night of steamy hate sex, Lane’s ready for round two. But Elle proposes a business deal. How better to keep things strictly physical than to pay him for his services? 

Lane wants her, not her money. But he’ll play along in exchange for one thing—all the control. It’s only supposed to be a dirty little fling between colleagues, but these two are about to learn a lesson in love…by the hour.

BUY THE EBOOK: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks 

READ CHAPTER ONE