The Best of 2011 - Top 10 Reads of YA & Adult

According to my Goodreads account, I've read over 140 books this year. I'm quite impressed with this number; it's more than last year but it is also inaccurate. There are so many books I borrowed and didn't record on Goodreads. So many I re-read. But here what it is a true account of - 140 new books discovered. So it was no wonder when I sat down to write my Top Ten Reads of 2011, that I struggled to pick only ten out of all those books. In the end, I said, sod it, I'll have two categories. So here they are - my favourite reads of 2011. They have made me cry, laugh, swoon, shift uncomfortably, want to hide it in the freezer, but they are all on this list for a reason. And here they are.

Top 10 Adult Reads of 2011

No. 10

 

I absolutely adored Stone Cold Seduction. Hot guys, fierce heroine, betrayal, lost memories and intense action. What's not to love?

No. 9

The movie does not do this book justice. An epic historical romance with the intoxicating pull of the circus.

No. 8 

This book put me through the ringer. I felt every emotion possible. Read it now, and get the tissues ready.

No. 7

This is to represent the entire Royal House of Shadows series. It was epic, amazing, romantic, hot and sweaty and just, well, amazing. 

No. 6

The Last Letter From Your Lover stayed with me a long time after I read it. Definitely one of my all time favourite reads.

No. 5

I really got into the WW2 historical romances this year. This was one of the best.

No. 4

Ethereal. Beautiful. Mesmerising. Blissful.

No. 3

And the Band Played on haunted me. 

No. 2

For another complete series. Kat kicks ass. Bones is...Bones...

No. 1

This series grabbed me by the throat and still hasn't let go. Rock on January for book 5!

Top Ten YA Reads of 2011

No. 10

Edgy. Gripping. Dark. 

No. 9

Edgy romance. One of my favourite non-paranormal reads of 2011.

No. 8 

One of my first trips into dystopian. And of course the beginning of a dystopian obsession.

No. 7

Andrea Cremer's world of Guardian wolves is dark and dangerous. And oh so intoxicating.

No. 6

Why am I always a sucker for a bad boy?

No. 5 

Forgotten was like nothing I'd ever read before. And haven't since. 

No. 4

Zombies and Victorians and hotties oh my!

No. 3

Two of my favourite things - romance and Greek mythology.

No. 2

See what I mean? Obsession...

No. 1

Do I really need to say anything?!

So there you have it. But I'm curious - what are some of your favourite reads of this year? Let me know!

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Book Review: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Ebury Press (21 July 2011)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0091940184
• ISBN-13: 978-0091940188

I gasped . . . or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. . . . His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked in my breath and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh.

 

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of writing her bestselling book, The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. After all, Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she finds herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.

But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: He’s not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the incubus, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this demon lover from her heart

Folklore and mythology have always been a large part of Callie’s life. Her parents told her stories that felt real to her, and after their untimely death, a handsome prince visited Callie in her dreams to continue their stories. But they all stopped when Callie started researching her book, The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers.

Callie is on the hunt for the perfect teaching opportunity at a university. She is less than impressed with Fairwick, but nevertheless something draws her in, enticing her and changing her mind to stay. Especially when she discovers Honeysuckle House and it seems to call her home.

When she moves into her new home, Callie is greeted by an old friend. Her handsome prince returns to her dreams, only this time he is not interested in telling her stories. Every night Callie has intensely orgasmic and toe-curling dreams of him that feels so real her muscles ache come the morning. Her co-workers at the university stage an intervention, and inform her that she is being preyed upon by an incubus. But he isn’t the only mythical being at Fairwick, and Callie learns she has been living and working alongside witches, faeries, even vampires. Callie knows she must expel the incubus before he devours her, but expelling him from her heart proves a lot more difficult that banishing him from her home.

The Demon Lover had an amazing mix of folklore, sexual intensity and mystery. It was refreshing for a book to go back to the bare bones of paranormal, the ancient views of demons and mythical creatures rather than the somewhat jaded modern types. The relationship between Callie and her incubus is intoxicating and their chemistry leapt off the page.

Callie’s discovery of what Fairwick is really like proves life-altering for her, and leads her to question her own background. Watching Callie grow as a character and make incredible decisions was a pleasure to read, and I am sure not to forget The Demon Lover for sometime yet.

This book is full of heat, difficult choices and incredible sacrifice. Be drawn into the incubus’s charm and let this story seduce you.

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Book Review: Her Dark Knight by Sharon Cullen

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 456 KB
• Publisher: Carina Press (28 Nov 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• Language English
• ASIN: B005UPRRBA

Madelaine Alexander is on a mission. When her boss sends her to the hottest nightclub in town to meet with the owner, she won't be deterred, even if that means standing in line for fifty-eight minutes in torturous heels while she'd rather be home in her pj's with a bowl of popcorn.

A Knight of the Templar, Christien Chevalier was given immortality along with the responsibility of protecting the treasure of the Templars. He's been unwavering in his task for centuries until his one true love—who died seven hundred years ago—shows up in his club, demanding his attention.

Christien couldn't protect Madelaine when they first fell in love. She was married to a lord and he was simply a knight. Now, through some unknown miracle, she stands before him again and they have a second chance. But Christien fears that Madelaine is being used as a pawn in a dangerous game, a game of good versus evil that could affect all of mankind...

Every obstacle is standing in Madeleine’s way. She has urgent papers for the owner of the hottest nightclub in town, and knows her life isn’t worth living if she returns to her formidable boss, Giselle, without them. After arguing with the bouncer and enduring a torturous wait in killer heels, she makes it inside.

When Madeleine meets Christien Chavelier, she knows she has met him before. There is an unmistakable connection between them. Madeleine is confused by the encounter, but Christien is suspicious, believing someone has placed her in his path for a  reason…to keep him distracted. Christien is a Knight of the Templar, granted immortality to protect the key that could bring about the Armageddon if it fell into the wrong hands.

The more time the spend together, the more certain Christien is that Madeleine is the reincarnate of his love he lost seven hundred years ago. Madeleine has dreams of her past life, and of Christien. She experiences their love, and it isn’t long before it becomes her own.

It isn’t all smooth sailing for the reunited lovers. Dark forces are at work against them, intent of their ruin…and revenge.

Her Dark Knight has an intricate plot full of dips and turns to keep the reader of their toes…and keep those toes curled thanks to the hot chemistry between Christien and Madeline. With a mix of doomed historical love and modern romance, this novel has something for everyone. A fantastic page turner. 

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