Hey guys! I didn't post last week, sorry, but life was a bit hectic. However, this week, I thought I would show you my 11 favorites of this year so far.
I'm going for books I've READ this year, and not books that have come out this year, otherwise I would need to leave out books I loved and I don't want that.
Full Tilt Duet by Emma Scott
FULL TILT | ALL IN
by Emma Scott
Series: Full Tilt
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: June 28th 2016 | October 11th 2016
Rating: ★★★★★
"I would love you forever, if I only had the chance..."
Kacey Dawson has always lived life on the edge--impulsively, sometimes recklessly. And now, as lead guitarist for a hot up-and-coming band, she is poised at the brink of fame and fortune. But she is torn between wanting to be a serious musician, and the demons that lure her down the glittering, but alcohol-soaked path of rock stardom. A wrecked concert in Las Vegas threatens to ruin her career entirely. She wakes up with the hangover from hell and no memory of the night before, or how she ended up on her limo driver’s couch...
Jonah Fletcher is running out of time. He knows his situation is hopeless, and he's vowed to make the most of the handful of months he has left to him. His plans include seeing the opening of his glass installation at a prestigious art gallery…they do not include falling in love with a wild, tempestuous rock musician who wound up passed out on his couch.
Jonah sees that Kacey is on a path to self-destruction. He lets her crash with him for a few days to dry out and get her head on straight. But neither of them expected the deep connection they felt, or how that connection could grow so fast from friendship into something more. Something deep and pure and life-changing…something as fragile as glass, that they both know will shatter in the end no matter how hard they try to hold on to it.
Full Tilt is a story about what it means to love with your whole heart, to sacrifice, to experience terrible grief and soaring joy. To live life with all its beauty, and all its pain, and in the end to be able to smile through tears and know you wouldn’t have changed a thing.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
by Helen Hoang
Series: The Kiss Quotient #1
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: June 5th 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.
Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.
It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...
Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...
Lucas by Jay McLean
by Jay McLean
Series: Preston Brothers #1
Genres: New Adult/Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: November 1st 2016
Rating: ★★★★★
In a sprint, every millisecond counts.
When you’re waiting for love, those milliseconds can feel like eons.
High school senior Lucas Preston has it all: star of the track team, a scholarship waiting for him, an apartment to himself and a revolving door of girlfriends. He also has an older sister, five younger brothers and a father who relies on him to make sure those brothers don’t kill each other.
His saving grace? Lois “Laney” Sanders, a girl he started to fall in like with when he was just eleven.
A girl who became his best friend, his confidant, his courage.
It took only sixteen clicks and eight seconds for Lucas to realize that his like for Laney had turned into love.
Eight life-changing seconds.
It’s also the exact length of time it took to lose her.
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
THE DUCHESS DEAL
by Tessa Dare
Series: Girl Meets Duke #1
Genres: Historical Romance
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: August 22nd 2017
Rating: ★★★★★
When girl meets Duke, their marriage breaks all the rules…
Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir—which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do.
His terms are simple:
- They will be husband and wife by night only.
- No lights, no kissing.
- No questions about his battle scars.
- Last, and most importantly… Once she’s pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again.
But Emma is no pushover. She has a few rules of her own:
- They will have dinner together every evening.
- With conversation.
- And unlimited teasing.
- Last, and most importantly… Once she’s seen the man beneath the scars, he can’t stop her from falling in love…
Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen
BROOKLYNAIRE
by Sarina Bowen
Series: Brooklyn Bruisers #4
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Rennie Road Books
Publication Date: February 12th 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
A sexy new standalone from USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen.
You’d think a billion dollars, a professional hockey team and a six-bedroom mansion on the Promenade would satisfy a guy. You’d be wrong.
For seven years Rebecca has brightened my office with her wit and her smile. She manages both my hockey team and my sanity. I don’t know when I started waking in the night, craving her. All I know is that one whiff of her perfume ruins my concentration. And her laugh makes me hard.
When Rebecca gets hurt, I step in to help. It’s what friends do. But what friends don’t do is rip off each others’ clothes for a single, wild night together.
Now she’s avoiding me. She says we’re too different, and it can never happen again. So why can’t we keep our hands off each other?
Bad for You by J. Daniels
BAD FOR YOU
by J. Daniels
Series: Dirty Deeds #3
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: January 23rd 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
Shayla Perkins isn’t the kind of girl who makes the same mistake twice, especially when it comes to Sean “Stitch” Molina. So when he gives her the world’s biggest rejection, that’s it—she’s done. Until the sexy, silent, unavailable Sean makes Shay a very personal offer. Of course, it still doesn’t mean he’s interested in her. Or does it?
Sean has done things in life. Bad things. And he’s paid the price. All he wants now is to make up for his past by doing good in the present. And no one deserves more good than Shay. Beautiful on the inside and out, Shay is the kind of woman who should be cared for and protected — especially from a man like Sean. He’s tried to keep his feelings for her in check, but a single, reckless impulse pulls them closer than ever before.
Soon the two are sharing their biggest dreams and satisfying their deepest desires. But what will happen if the only way to truly give one another want they want most . . . is to let each other go?
Boy Toy by Sarina Bowen & Tanya Eby
Bowen & Tanya Eby
Series: Man Hands #3
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Blunderwoman Productions
Publication Date: August 14th 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
A brand new romantic comedy from your favorite snort-laughing duo!
Liam
The moment Sadie Matthews walks through the daycare center door, I feel my world tilt in her direction. Again. I fell for her when I was fourteen, and I'm still not over her. Problem: she still thinks of me as a teen she used to babysit. But I've learned a few things about pleasing a woman in the last fifteen years. I can't wait to show her how good it could be. I need to move quickly before I lose her again. This is more than a game to me, but I still plan to win.
Sadie
I've just survived the worst year of my life. As a single mom of twin toddlers, I don't have time for a man. I barely have time to finish a thought. Who knew that Liam McAllister would grow up to be so devastating? He's everything my husband was not: tall, built, and willing to have a tea party with my girls.
I can't possibly get involved with him. He's too young for me. Too handsome. But he's so persuasive...
Making Up by Lucy Parker
by Lucy Parker
Series: London Celebrities #3
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Carina Press/Harlequin Audio
Publication Date: May 29th 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
Once upon a time, circus artist Trix Lane was the best around. Her spark vanished with her confidence, though, and reclaiming either has proved…difficult. So when the star of The Festival of Masks is nixed and Trix is unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight, it’s exactly the push she needs. But the joy over her sudden elevation in status is cut short by a new hire on the makeup team.
Leo Magasiva: disgraced wizard of special effects. He of the beautiful voice and impressive beard. Complete dickhead and— in an unexpected twist — an enragingly good kisser.
To Leo, something about Trix is…different. Lovely. Beautiful, even though the pint-size, pink-haired former bane of his existence still spends most of her waking hours working to annoy him. They’ve barely been able to spend two minutes together for years, and now he can’t get enough of her. On stage. At home. In his bed.
When it comes to commitment, Trix has been there, done that, never wants to do it again. Leo’s this close to the job of a lifetime, which would take him away from London — and from Trix. Their past is a constant barrier between them.
It seems hopeless.
Utterly impossible.
And yet…
The Upside of Falling & The Downside of Love
by Meghan Quinn
Tucked away at the base of the Rocky Mountains lived a little boy with one singular dream: leave this broken and battered home and become someone.
Be somebody’s hero.
That boy was me — Colby Brooks. Except I’m not that same little boy anymore.
My dreams might still be the same, but my reality isn’t.
I’m smarter. Stronger. A man.
And I learned a long damn time ago, the only way to achieve my dreams was to avoid distractions — at any cost.
Focus. Resolve. Determination.
But all it took was one single night. One night and my entire life…changed.
One night had me colliding head first with the biggest distraction of my life; Rory Oaks.
Smart. Charming. Beautiful.
Rory changed everything.
Quickly, my one-track mind started to bend.
Each kiss faded decade-long dreams.
And with one single incident, I fly off course.
The Left Side of Perfect & The Right Side of Forever
by Meghan Quinn
Series: The Perfect Duet #1 and #2Genres: Contemporary RomancePublisher: Self-published
Publication Date: August 30th 2018 | August 31st 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
(no links yet)
For better or for worse,'til death do us part . . .
The better captured me; she's who stole my heart.
And made me realize I couldn’t live without this woman.
The worse of her took my breath away -- kicked me when I was down and twisted me into a million knots.
When I first met her, I thought she was someone I would never see again.
The second time I ran into her, it was a random coincidence.
The third?
I didn’t know it at the time, but she was the girl I was going to marry.
But life isn’t always perfect. You have to take the better and the worse -- even if it means giving her up, having her slip between your fingers, and letting her walk away.
I’m getting married.
This is forever, 'til death do us part.
BAD BOY BRODY
by Tijan
Genres: New Adult/Contemporary Romance
Publisher: EverAfter Romance
Publication Date: May 7th 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
One punch took him from Hollywood’s Golden Boy to Bad Boy Brody.
The media didn’t care he was grieving his brother’s death. They descended on him, but to change his reputation, his manager got him a deal.
Act in an indie film, one that already had Oscar buzz, and he’d get the movie roles he needed to secure his future.
He took the deal.
Yet he wasn’t prepared for the real-life people behind the script. He wasn’t prepared for the murder the movie was based on. And he really wasn’t prepared for her, the biggest secret of all.
She was wild. She was beautiful. She defied gravity.
But was she the leading role that would tame him?
So, have you read any of these books?
What are your thoughts?
