How in the world do you narrow your favorites down to 10?! It was almost nearly impossible to cut my list, I have enjoyed pretty much EVERY book I've read this year! Plus with getting to know the authors and falling in love with the characters I felt like I was cutting friends! So just know that there are many many more books that I could add to this list but alas I am only allowed 10...although I'm going to be sneaky like Lauren and cheat a little ;) So here are my painstakingly picked top 10 reads of 2013 in no particular order :) .png)
Fighting Destiny (Book #1)
The Fae Chronicles by Amelia Hutchins
Have you ever heard of the old Celtic legends of the Fae - beautiful, magical, and deadly creatures that have a love of messing with humans just for kicks and giggles?
Welcome to my world.
What started out as a strange assignment, lead to one of the most gruesome murder mysteries of our times. My friends and I are set and determined to find out who is killing off Fae and Witches alike.
Couple of problems in the way – I hate the Fae and the Prince of the Dark Fae is bound and determined that I work for him. He’s a rude, overbearing egotistical ass with a compulsive need to possess, dominate and control me. Oh – did I mention that he is absolutely sex-on-a-stick gorgeous and he makes me feel things that I never ever wanted to feel for a Fae...every time he touches me or looks at me with those dangerous golden eyes he seems to pull me further in under his spell, despite my better judgment.
My friends and I can’t trust anyone and nothing is as it seems on the surface – not even me.
Tears of Tess (Book #1)
Monsters in The Dark by Pepper Winters
A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.
“My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.
Then it all changed.
I was sold.”
Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.
For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.
But lusty paradise is shattered.
Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.
Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.
Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?
Cutting Deep (Book #1)
The Cut Series by T.A. Anderson
Setting off on her dream of culinary school, Ande finds herself knocked senseless by her incredibly sexy Chef Instructor, Daniel, who also happens to have the brains and heart to match.With her plan to keep herself from repeating history, she attempts to deny what could possibly break her. Ande finds out she is not the only one with a torrid past when a bright light is shed on Daniel’s former years.
When ghosts from her past find her in the middle of her trek through culinary school and an impending relationship with Daniel, her life takes a disastrous turn. She must find the strength to push through school alongside a man that drives her wild with lust, all while trying to figure out her relationship with a stranger from years before.With help from her friends, and a tad bit of alcohol, Ande navigates her way through the pitfalls of falling in love, being broken hearted and making lasting friendships.
An amusing love story filled with steamy sex, heartache, and surprises at every turn.
Willing Captive
by Bella Aurora
Delilah “Lily” Flynn is used to her drab existence. Lily’s been living it for twenty two years.
Her boring life is suddenly turned on its head when she’s rudely kidnapped from her bedroom.
Or so she thinks.
Nox Taylor is far too high up in his field to be assigned a babysitting job.
There’s nothing more he wants than to complete his mission so he can be rid of the smartass tomboy, Lily.
Day after day, Nox watches Lily and her strange ways. She’s unlike any woman he’s ever met.
Getting close to the girl is purely for her own protection…right?
Lily never imagined she’d make her first real friends in captivity.
What lengths would she go through to keep them?
The Light of the World (Book #1)
The Light Series by Tara Brown
In dreams whispers taunt her, chant wicked things to frighten her.
Every morning she wakes, with the same sentence on her lips.
'You're dead. You're dead and I just forgot to tell you.'
The problem isn't so much the sentence.
It's the person she sees in her dreams chanting it.
It's her mother.
Effortless With You
School is out and Lucy is ready for the perfect summer: lazy days at the pool, invitations to the most exclusive parties, and romantic dates with her hot new boyfriend. That is, until she lands in trouble one too many times and her parents issue the ultimate punishment: a summer job. Suddenly, the summer can't end fast enough.
To make matters worse, the job is painting houses with Justin, the most popular, egotistical guy in school. Spending all summer with Justin might be other girls' dreams, but definitely not Lucy's. After all, Justin is cocky, annoying, and a jerk. So what if he's the most beautiful jerk Lucy's ever seen? Or that his grin makes her forget she’s mad at the world? Or that maybe, just maybe, there's more to Justin than Lucy realizes. Only one thing is certain: it won’t be the summer she wanted, but it might be exactly the one she needs.
Life's Perfect Plan
“First comes love…then comes marriage…then comes a baby in a baby carriage.” We’ve all heard this saying. In fact, Elizabeth lived and planned her life by this children’s nursery rhyme. What happens when life doesn't go according to plan? What happens when the life you created falls apart? How do you pick up the pieces? When do you finally realize what life handed you is indeed perfect, even if it was never part of your plan?
Elizabeth “Beth” Thomas is a thirty year old senior associate at a law firm. Married to her college sweetheart, Grant, they have traveled, built their dream home, and are ready to become parents. They struggle with infertility. Grant wants a normal life again. He wants to go back to the way it was before trying to have a baby consumed their lives. Once they agree to go back to a “normal” life, life hands over a different plan for Beth.
Beth struggles with loss and heartache. She leans on her family, her two best friends, and her doctor. What Elizabeth doesn't see is that her life is going according to plan, only it took a different route to get there.
"Sometimes we plan our perfect life, but life tends to give us life's perfect plan.”
Unenchanted (Book #1)
An Unfortunate Fairy Tale by Chanda Hahn
Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated, that is until she saves her crush's life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. But with her newfound fame brings misfortune as an old family curse come to light. For Mina is descended from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business. Which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her its next fairytale victim.
To break the fairy tale curse on her family and stop these deadly events, Mina must finish the tales until the very Grimm end.
Playing With Fire
Madison Stevens has had a rough life, her mother died at the age four and her father has always blamed her for it. She went through the foster system and is now attending college. Her boyfriend Chris is not willing to share Madison with anyone, not even her friends.
Her first day at college she meets Carter James, who makes her want everything she never thought she could have. She knows that she should ignore her feelings for Carter, but it's not as easy as it sounds.
As Carter and Madison begin to fall in love, they face many obstacles. Their biggest one is Chris who is not going to let her go easily.
Playing with Fire will be the first book in a three book series. It is about the obstacles that stand in your way on the path to love. It tests the characters strength and commitment to each other on every level from old boyfriend/girlfriends, to insecurities, and throws a little violence and scheming into the mix.
"Chris was like fire. It was pretty to look at but if you got too close you got burnt, and if it wasn’t controlled it would destroy everything in its path. Doing what I was about to do with Carter was dangerous, but what can I say I never had parents to warn me not to play with fire."
Love in the Time of the Dead
by Tera Shanley
Laney Landry has been fighting Deads alongside her brother and friends for three years. But she has a secret. She's immune to Dead bites and has to find the right people to trust with the information. Her team rallies around her to find a doctor who can extract a vaccine from Laney which could fight the virus that ended the world.
Sean Daniels leads a colony that provides her team with much needed shelter and supplies. He is obviously interested in Laney. The question is whether he's only intrigued by her as a source for the possible vaccine, or for something more. Tests for the cure might push her body beyond what it can endure, and just as she faces a ghost from her past, her longtime teammate Derek Mitchell hints at an interest in more than just her Dead slaying abilities.
Two honorable and alluring men - one colossal decision to make. Despite historically bad taste in men, can she rise above the chaos of the apocalypse and choose the one who deserves her heart? The right choice could mean the difference between surviving...and living.
