As 2016 is coming to an end, it's that time to pick my top 10 reads for 2016.
It isn't an easy choice because I had so many books that I liked this year. So, after searching through the books I have read, here are my top 10!
(In no particular order and doesn't include books I have beta read or proofread)
The Scars Keeper
by Scarlet Wolfe
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Blurb
Avery
My scars are mine alone. They’re the validation of my pain.
The anxiety, anger and sadness I bleed.
My dark secret. A grim, ugly truth.
Most of all, they’re the one thing in my life I control.
It’s inevitable that one day I’ll have to reveal them to someone. What I wasn’t expecting was to share them now with him … with Hayden.
Hayden
Girls like Avery are all the same. They’re spoiled, superficial blondes who don’t appreciate mommy and daddy’s wealth.
Plastic shells that are empty on the inside.
Or so I thought … but I was wrong.
Avery’s heart is an abyss of emotions. She feels like no one I’ve ever met, wallowing in her insecurities and anguish yet savoring every exciting moment within her reach. I was blindsided by the immense love she was willing to give once she trusted me, and I was left with no choice but to trust her, too, exposing my own pain and scars.
I hate myself for caving in … for loving her. How do you let go of the one person you let in? How do you say goodbye to the girl who trusted you with her body and soul?
I have to leave Avery, and where I’m going, I can’t take her with me. She’s going to believe I built her up only to tear her down, but what she doesn’t realize is unlike her, I can’t change my destiny. I was born into the Knights Union MC, and it’s where I’ll go to die.
Written in the Scars
by Adriana Locke
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Falling in love is easy.
Falling out of love is the hardest thing in the world.
And Elin and Ty Whitt are terrible at it.
The first time the local basketball star smiled at Elin, she was a goner. It was just so damn easy to fall for the dark-haired hometown hero with his charming smile and strong, athletic build.
Thousands of sleepy smiles, aimless drives down country roads, and squeaks of the backdoor after a swing shift later, reality hits. And it hits hard. Falling in love was definitely the easy part. Watching it break apart was impossible.
Through the tears, the second-guesses, the memories of a life built together, the world keeps spinning. With each turn comes clarity and hope—sometimes in the form of a pair of muddy boots by the back door or from the words of a wise friend.
When Ty shows back up with a new found determination to put his family back together, Elin's torn between the fights of the past and the possibility of a new start. This is the man that holds her heart, the man she loves beyond anything else. But this is also the one person in the world that can cause her the most pain.
Life’s not always easy. Love’s not for the faint of heart. But with life comes lessons and Ty and Elin have the scars to prove it. But it's their love written in those scars that will hold them together … or break them apart.
Falling out of love is the hardest thing in the world.
And Elin and Ty Whitt are terrible at it.
The first time the local basketball star smiled at Elin, she was a goner. It was just so damn easy to fall for the dark-haired hometown hero with his charming smile and strong, athletic build.
Thousands of sleepy smiles, aimless drives down country roads, and squeaks of the backdoor after a swing shift later, reality hits. And it hits hard. Falling in love was definitely the easy part. Watching it break apart was impossible.
Through the tears, the second-guesses, the memories of a life built together, the world keeps spinning. With each turn comes clarity and hope—sometimes in the form of a pair of muddy boots by the back door or from the words of a wise friend.
When Ty shows back up with a new found determination to put his family back together, Elin's torn between the fights of the past and the possibility of a new start. This is the man that holds her heart, the man she loves beyond anything else. But this is also the one person in the world that can cause her the most pain.
Life’s not always easy. Love’s not for the faint of heart. But with life comes lessons and Ty and Elin have the scars to prove it. But it's their love written in those scars that will hold them together … or break them apart.
Say You'll Stay
by Corinne Michaels
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One word.
Stay.
It was all he had to do. Instead, he got on that bus and took my heart with him.
That was seventeen years ago.
I moved on. Marriage. Kids. White picket fence. Everything I ever wanted, but my husband betrayed me and I was left once again.
Alone, penniless, and with two boys, I had no choice but to return to Tennessee. He wasn’t supposed to be there. I should’ve been safe. However, fate has a way of stepping in.
This time around, the tables are turned. It’s my decision. Second chances do exist, but I don’t know if we can repair what’s already been broken . . .
Stay.
It was all he had to do. Instead, he got on that bus and took my heart with him.
That was seventeen years ago.
I moved on. Marriage. Kids. White picket fence. Everything I ever wanted, but my husband betrayed me and I was left once again.
Alone, penniless, and with two boys, I had no choice but to return to Tennessee. He wasn’t supposed to be there. I should’ve been safe. However, fate has a way of stepping in.
This time around, the tables are turned. It’s my decision. Second chances do exist, but I don’t know if we can repair what’s already been broken . . .
Ginger's Heart
by Katy Regnery
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Blurb
Once upon a time there were two cousins:
one golden like the sun,
one dark like midnight,
one a protector,
one a predator,
one a Woodsman
and
one a Wolf…
both owning equal,
but different,
parts of a little girl’s heart.
In this contemporary love story, loosely inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood," the woodsman and the wolf are cousins, and Little Red is the girl with whom they both fall in love.
Beautiful Ginger McHuid, daughter of Kentucky's premiere horse breeder, grows up on her family farm, best friends with Cain Wolfram, the son of her father's Stallion Manager, and Cain's cousin, Josiah Woodman, son of a local banker. Throughout their happy childhood, the three are inseparable friends, but as they mature into adults, complicated feelings threaten to destroy their long history of friendship and love.
Deep Redemption
by Tillie Cole
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ONLY THROUGH BLOOD CAN THE DEEPEST REDEMPTION BE FOUND…
He was born to ascend.
He was destined to lead.
He was never meant to fail.
Prophet Cain lies broken and defeated on the floor of his cell. A cell he has been thrown into by the one person who was supposed to stand by his side until the end. His flesh and blood, his only companion. His beloved twin brother.
Cain has sacrificed everything for his people. He left the safety and security of his life of study to infiltrate the infamous Hades Hangmen. He lived with them, rode with them, and then betrayed them. All in the name of a faith he can now feel slipping away from him. Like everything else he once held dear…
But then his isolation is broken. Another prisoner is brought to the cell next to his. A woman fighting her own demons and fears. A woman who Cain understands needs him, as he needs her.
As the connection between them grows, so does Cain’s resolve. He will right the wrongs he has done. He will atone for the evil acts carried out in his name. He will save the one he loves…
… Even if the battle takes him to the gates of hell itself.
He was born to ascend.
He was destined to lead.
He was never meant to fail.
Prophet Cain lies broken and defeated on the floor of his cell. A cell he has been thrown into by the one person who was supposed to stand by his side until the end. His flesh and blood, his only companion. His beloved twin brother.
Cain has sacrificed everything for his people. He left the safety and security of his life of study to infiltrate the infamous Hades Hangmen. He lived with them, rode with them, and then betrayed them. All in the name of a faith he can now feel slipping away from him. Like everything else he once held dear…
But then his isolation is broken. Another prisoner is brought to the cell next to his. A woman fighting her own demons and fears. A woman who Cain understands needs him, as he needs her.
As the connection between them grows, so does Cain’s resolve. He will right the wrongs he has done. He will atone for the evil acts carried out in his name. He will save the one he loves…
… Even if the battle takes him to the gates of hell itself.
Torn
by Carian Cole
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He’s loved me since the day I was born.
He’s taken care of me.
He’s awakened me.
Tor. My father’s best friend.
Fifteen years older than me, he’s always been my protector.
The one I should never, ever want.
But I was born to be his.
She’s always loved me.
She’s shattered me.
She’s healed me.
Kenzi. My best friend’s daughter.
I held her the day she was born, and I never let go.
She’s forbidden to me. But she’s the only one that really gets me.
We’re slowly being torn apart by everything we love.
Everything we want.
Everything we desire.
And now I want the one thing I can’t have... I want her.
Dark Sexy Knight
by Katy Regnery
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Loosely inspired by the legend of Camelot, Dark Sexy Knight tells the story of dinner theater knight Colt Lane, who meets down-on-her-luck Verity Gwynn on the worst day of her life. Evicted from their home, Verity and her special-needs brother, Ryan, must find jobs or risk being separated. Colt, who is the furthest-possible thing from a white knight in real life, comes to their unlikely rescue, quickly cementing his place in Verity’s heart.
Colt has dark, deeply buried secrets that keep his smile hidden and his eyes down, which has kept people away . . . until he meets Verity, who seems immune to his gruff manners and taciturn ways. The more time Colt spends with her, the more he longs for her sweetness in his life and yearns to be the knight in shining armor she so desperately needs. Certain he will lose her if she learns the truth about his past, he must decide if he can trust her with his yesterday in order to build a beautiful tomorrow.
Colt has dark, deeply buried secrets that keep his smile hidden and his eyes down, which has kept people away . . . until he meets Verity, who seems immune to his gruff manners and taciturn ways. The more time Colt spends with her, the more he longs for her sweetness in his life and yearns to be the knight in shining armor she so desperately needs. Certain he will lose her if she learns the truth about his past, he must decide if he can trust her with his yesterday in order to build a beautiful tomorrow.
Blood and Rust
by Cat Porter
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Blurb
The bad boy.
The fuck up.
The thief.
That was me.
Once a king,
Now a wanderer.
I’d thrown the best parts of me away, over and over again.
I was reckless.
Still am.
I’d been exiled.
Twice.
I did my time.
I’ve cleaned up.
Well, sort of.
I got plans.
Yeah, good ones.
Then I ran into her.
A bolt of lightning
Startling
Unsettling
Breathtaking
Out of reach.
The woman I once scorned years ago
is now the woman I can’t live without.
I need what I didn’t think I’d ever need again.
I want and want and want.
Torture.
She’s the epicenter of the war I’ve triggered,
of the battle in my rusted heart.
I may be as reckless as I ever was,
but I’m determined as fuck.
To hell with it.
I want it all.
The fuck up.
The thief.
That was me.
Once a king,
Now a wanderer.
I’d thrown the best parts of me away, over and over again.
I was reckless.
Still am.
I’d been exiled.
Twice.
I did my time.
I’ve cleaned up.
Well, sort of.
I got plans.
Yeah, good ones.
Then I ran into her.
A bolt of lightning
Startling
Unsettling
Breathtaking
Out of reach.
The woman I once scorned years ago
is now the woman I can’t live without.
I need what I didn’t think I’d ever need again.
I want and want and want.
Torture.
She’s the epicenter of the war I’ve triggered,
of the battle in my rusted heart.
I may be as reckless as I ever was,
but I’m determined as fuck.
To hell with it.
I want it all.
A Thousand Boy Kisses
by Tillie Cole
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One kiss lasts a moment. But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime.One boy. One girl. A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade. A bond that neither time nor distance can break. A bond that will last forever. Or so they believe.When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway to the sleepy town of Blossom Grove, Georgia, where he befriended Poppy Litchfield as a child, he has just one thing on his mind. Why did the girl who was one half of his soul, who promised to wait faithfully for his return, cut him off without a word of explanation?Rune's heart was broken two years ago when Poppy fell silent. When he discovers the truth, he finds that the greatest heartache is yet to come.A stand-alone young adult tearjerker romance, recommended for ages fourteen and up.
The Baller
by Vi Keeland
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The first time I met Brody Easton was in the men’s locker room.
It was my first interview as a professional sportscaster.
The famed quarterback decided to bare all.
And by all, I don’t mean he told me any of his secrets.
No. The arrogant ass decided to drop his towel, just as I asked the first question. On camera.
The Super Bowl MVP quickly adopted a new hobby—screwing with me.
When I pushed back, he shifted from wanting to screw with me, to wanting to screw me.
But I don’t date players.
And it’s not because I’m one of the few women working in the world of professional football.
I’d date an athlete.
It’s the other kind of player I don’t date.
You know the type. Good looking, strong, cocky, always looking to get laid.
Brody Easton was the ultimate player.
Every woman wanted to be the one to change him.
But the truth was, all he needed was a girl worth changing for.
Turned out, I was that girl.
Simple right?
Let’s face it. It never is.
There’s a story between once upon a time and happily ever after…
And this one is ours.
It was my first interview as a professional sportscaster.
The famed quarterback decided to bare all.
And by all, I don’t mean he told me any of his secrets.
No. The arrogant ass decided to drop his towel, just as I asked the first question. On camera.
The Super Bowl MVP quickly adopted a new hobby—screwing with me.
When I pushed back, he shifted from wanting to screw with me, to wanting to screw me.
But I don’t date players.
And it’s not because I’m one of the few women working in the world of professional football.
I’d date an athlete.
It’s the other kind of player I don’t date.
You know the type. Good looking, strong, cocky, always looking to get laid.
Brody Easton was the ultimate player.
Every woman wanted to be the one to change him.
But the truth was, all he needed was a girl worth changing for.
Turned out, I was that girl.
Simple right?
Let’s face it. It never is.
There’s a story between once upon a time and happily ever after…
And this one is ours.
