Best of 2012 (Series)

Alright y'all, I guess one "Best of 2012" list wasn't enough for me. There were other books that I felt like needed recognition, and most of those books are part of a series. Now, I'm sure you know where this is going.....

Here are the series that blew my mind in 2012! Three of the series listed are not complete, but I really don't care; the books I read so far in the series are enough to put them in this category.

I have included one of my favorite quotes from each book in the series along with the cover photos; enjoy!

**Pssst! One more thing! Click on the covers and it will take you to the Amazon link to purchase the book :)

MY TOP 5 SERIES OF 2012

5. Asylum trilogy by Lauren Hammond

“I’m like a whirlpool in the middle of a choppy sea, once you’re in my grasp I’ll have no choice, I’ll snatch you by the leg, and pull you under.” –Addy

“Something else tells me that we just might be what each other needs to keep each other from falling apart.” – Addy

REVIEWS: Insanity I White Walls

4. Avoiding series by K.A. Linde

“We both know what we are. We cheated on other people, and that was what defined us. That was what defined our connection for quite some time.” – Lexi

“There was no reason to lie for him…not anymore.” – Lexi

REVIEWS: Avoiding Commitment I Avoiding Responsibility

3. The Dark Duet by C.J. Roberts

“He was my tormentor and my solace; the creator of the dark and the light within. I didn't care that he would undoubtedly hurt me at any moment, right now; I just needed somebody to hold me, somebody to be kind to me, somebody to tell me exactly those words. It’s going to be okay. It wasn't of course, I knew that. But I didn’t care. I needed the lie.” -- Livvie

"I don't want revenge, Caleb. I don't want to end up like you, letting some fucking vendetta run my life. I just want my freedom. I want to be free, Caleb. Not someone's whore...not even yours." -- Livvie 

REVIEWS: Captive in the Dark I Seduced in the Dark

2. Chocolate Lovers series by Tara Sivec

“Why is it that I’m just now finding out my best friend went through a lesbian phase? Every time I look at her now I’m going to picture vagina-hand. A little hand that looks like a who-ha chasing me around the house and watching me while I sleep. Vagina hand is always watching. Vagina hand sees you.” – Claire

"Water? At a wedding? I don't understand. Did you invite Jesus? That's the only way that will be acceptable" -- Drew

"Yes, and in just a few minutes, a dick will be able to find your vagina without needing night vision goggles and a weed whacker." -- Liz

REVIEWS: Seduction and Snacks I Futures and Frosting I Troubles and Treats

1. Slammed series by Colleen Hoover

“I wish I could freeze this moment. I wish we could just carve pumpkins forever…” – Layken

“It’s the clear headedness behind her voice and the calm, reasonable expression in her eyes that rips the heart right out of my chest. She turns to leave, and all I can do is let her go. I just let her go.” -- Will

REVIEWS: Slammed I Point of Retreat

Honorable Mentions:

The Sleepless series by Fisher Amelie

Callum & Harper I Thomas & January

That Boy series by Jillian Dodd

That Boy I That Wedding

So, there you have it. There were so many great series I read in 2012, but these were the ones that I could get lost in over and over again. If you haven't read these, read them and read them NOW.

And if you want to see my favorite books of 2012, check them out here.

3 COVER REVEALS!! The Keatyn Chronicles -- Date Me; Love Me; Hate Me.

Jillian Dodd is revealing the next three covers in her Mature Young Adult romance series, The Keatyn Chronicles. The covers were designed by Okay Creations.

Oh, and while you're here, check out my reviews for the first two books in this series, Stalk Me and Kiss Me.

Now, without further ado...here are the covers! Enjoy!

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Title: Date Me (Keatyn Chronicles, book 3)

Expected Release Date: April 2013

Title: Love Me (Keatyn Chronicles, book 4)

Expected Release Date: September 2013

Title: Hate Me (Keatyn Chronicles, book 5)

Expected Release Date: January 2014

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About The Author:

Jillian Dodd grew up on a farm in Nebraska, where she developed a love for Midwestern boys and Nebraska football. She has drank from a keg in a cornfield, attended the University of Nebraska, got to pass her candle, and did have a boy ask her to marry him in a bar. She met her own prince in college, and they have two amazing children, a Maltese named Sugar Bear, and two Labrador puppies named Camber Lacy and Cali Lucy. 

She is the author of the That Boy trilogy and The Keatyn Chronicles. 

Jillian Dodd I Facebook I Twitter

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

*This is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine. "Waiting on Wednesday" spotlights upcoming releases that I'm eagerly anticipating.*

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The Valentine's Arrangement 

by Kelsie Leverich 

Expected Publication Date: January 1, 2013

Synopsis from Goodreads:
"I didn't want the line to get blurry, and I sure as hell didn't want you to cross it"

Ronnie Clark, an edgy tattoo artist with hopes of high tailing it out of the forsaken Military town she followed her now ex-fiance to, is counting down the days until Valentine's Day is over. Ronnie doesn't do romance. She doesn't do flowers or dates, and she sure as hell doesn't do love - not anymore. After her fiance slept with a female soldier while deployed, she has vowed never to fall in love again, especially with a soldier. 

Sergeant First Class Kale Emerson is home on his mid-tour leave from Iraq, but he only has one thing on his mind - returning to his deployment to finish leading his soldiers on their mission. The last thing he wants is a relationship, but casual sex, that's a different story. And when he meets the renowned tattoo artist Ronnie Clark, a snarky, blunt, takes no prisoners kind of woman, that seems to be all he can think about. 

But when kale realizes he has met his match with a bombshell woman who is hell bent against love, will just sex be enough? And if it's not, will he be able to convince Ronnie that the proverbial hearts and flowers aren't so bad after all, even if he is a soldier?

"You changed something inside me, something I didn't ever think I would want, or feel - but you did, and now I can't go back."

Best Of 2012 (Books)

With 2012 coming to a close, I decided to share with y'all my favorite reads from the past year. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be; I mean, I read a lot of really great books over the past 12 months! How in the holy hell could I pick my top 10?! Not even just pick my top 10, but rank them?! Impossible! Well ladies and gentlemen, I conquered the impossible. After some serious debating, I finally have my lists. Check out which books rocked my world in 2012!

**I've included a snippet of my review for each book, and clicking on the number above the cover will take you to the Amazon link**

MY TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2012

10.

"Gone Girl gives a perfect and chilling portrayal of a modern day psychopath that will stay with you for days, even after you finish the book. It’s fucked up in more ways than one, and it’s very clear that both Nick and Amy have issues that they refuse to admit to each other. Their love story consists of an angst-driven romance, fueled by lies and deceit, and lit on fire with a big match full of crazy."

9.

"Seriously, I’m sitting here writing this review and pouting like a 5-year-old who’s upset because she isn’t allowed to have a cookie before dinner. The difference between me and a 5-year-old is that I don’t care about the damn cookie; I’m upset that I’m done with this book! I want MORE! I never wanted this book to end."

8.

"Sweet mother of God, Tara Sivec has managed to do it again. What is ‘it’, you ask? Well, let me tell you. She has managed to make me fall in love with someone who is simultaneously causing me to pee my pants from laughter. Now, I’m not a love doctor or anything but as far as I’m concerned, that folks, is true love."

7.

"I was so emotionally invested in these characters that it was almost scary. I think of one negative thing to say. This book was just as beautifully written as Slammed, and I was completely mesmerized by every single story line."

6. 

"Holy. Fuck. I honestly don’t even know where to start or HOW to start reviewing this book. I finished it yesterday morning, and I can’t stop thinking about it! My emotions got thrown all over the place; I felt like a 25-year-old going through early menopause! I was pissed off, I was heartbroken, I was hopeful, I was devastated; I loved the main characters and I hated the main characters."

5. 

"The emotions that these characters evoked were intense, to say the least. I think I wanted to punch every single person in the face at least once. Jack and Lexi’s relationship frustrated me, upset me, excited me, and gutted me. The sexual tension between them dripped off the pages and if girls could get blue balls, I would have had a pretty severe case of them!"

4. 

"Disturbing. Romantic. Fucked up. Sweet. Heartbreaking. Sexy. How in the hell can all those adjectives describe the same book? I don’t know, I honestly don’t…but somehow they do."

3.

"This is by far the funniest book I have EVER read. Yeah, you read that right…funniest book EVER! You know those rare books that you read and by the time you’re about 10-15 pages in, you’re already in love with it? Well, you’re in luck because Seduction and Snacks is one of those books."

2. 

"The writing is brilliant, the characters are phenomenal, the relationships will give you hope, break your heart, make you smile, and make you cry. Slammed is just perfection. Absolute perfection."

1.

"I can count on one hand the number of times I couldn't find words to describe something, and this is one of them. The Sea of Tranquility left me speechless and essentially inarticulate.  I sat in front of my laptop just watching the cursor blink on the blank screen for almost twenty minutes trying to find the right words to describe the wonderful perfection that is this book. No matter what I say, it’s not going to be enough; I know that already."

Honorable Mentions:

Troubles and Treats by Tara Sivec

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Avoiding Responsibility by K.A. Linde

Seduced in the Dark by C.J. Roberts

There you have it! 2012, you rocked. Let's hope 2013 brings it's A-Game and gives me just as many amazing books to get lost in.

Pssst! One more thing.....

**I hope each and every one of you has a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!**

Bad Rep by A. Meredith Walters

“Who gives a damn about their reputation? Oh, that would be me! Especially since mine has gone straight to Hell in the span of thirty minutes.”

Maysie Ardin is soaking up the summer before her junior year of college, shopping, hanging by the pool, and shopping some more. But when her black belt in spending lands her in trouble with her parents, she is forced to take a second job at a local bar to dig herself out of a deep financial pit.

She thought she’d be miserable. But then Maysie didn’t count on Jordan Levitt, the hot, pierced and tattooed, drum playing bartender who also happens to be very interested in her. And the feelings are totally mutual.

It had the makings of the perfect romantic set up. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy has girlfriend? Okay, maybe not.

But attraction is a hard thing to ignore and soon Jordan and Maysie find themselves in the middle of a gossip induced firestorm. Maysie has to learn whether she can set aside her fear of public disapproval in order to be with the one she wants. Or will she let the opinions of others dictate her life and her heart?

**ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review**

“His voice was like liquid caramel. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do with him. I wanted no holds barred, throw-me-against-a-wall-and-pound-me-within-an-inch-of-my-life sex.” – Maysie

Maysie gets a little too swipe-happy with her credit card so after she racked up a $3,500 bill and royally pissed off her parents, she gets a serving job at Barton’s, a local bar, to earn more money and pay back her parents. Enter Jordan; the tattooed, pierced, bad boy-ish bartender. They are instantly attracted to each other, except there’s one little problem: Jordan has a girlfriend. And his girlfriend isn’t just anybody. After this new revelation, Maysie finds herself battling what her heart and her head are telling her to do; which will she let win?

You know those people who care more about what people think about them than how they actually feel? The people who will do things they don’t want to do, date people they don’t want to date, steer clear of confrontation at all costs because God forbid someone say something bad about them? The people who care more about their reputation than their character?

Well, you do now; Maysie is one of those people. She lives to please her constantly disapproving parents, keep her sorority sisters happy, and make sure her reputation stays intact. She lives in constant fear that someone will think badly of her. I gotta tell ya, it was a bit exhausting at times and there were several times I just wanted to reach through my Nook and smack her; the girl didn’t even necessarily like being in a sorority but stayed anyway because to her, it was a good way to meet people. I guess so? (I can’t speak firsthand, I was never in a sorority; I dropped out of rush week the second day when I found myself rolling my eyes at 90 percent of everything involved. Well, that and I didn’t want to stay away from the 3 B’s: boys, bars, and booze. Who wants to spend their first week on campus sober and surrounded by all girls? Not me.)

I was really torn on how I felt about Jordan. I ended up loving him, but really?! The dude says he’s crazy about Maysie, yet refuses to break up with Olivia?! That deserves a dick punch. I understand they’ve been together for a long time, but he gives perfectly good explanations as to why they aren’t good together anymore; so whyyyy is he still with her? Homeboy, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Pick a chick. He did manage to make it back into my good graces though, and ultimately I think he and Maysie are pretty damn great together. These are two people who, for the most part, really did try to do the right thing but failed miserably.

Bad Rep isn’t just an angst-driven romance – it’s about accepting the fact that you can’t please everyone. No one wants to be the source of whispers and rumors, but at some point you just have to tone it out. Live for you, do what makes you happy, and if somebody doesn’t like it…well…fuck ‘em. Throw in some incredibly panty-tingling sex scenes, bitchy sorority sisters, douchebag fraternity brothers, and a handful of genuinely great friends and you have the makings of a pretty great read.

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Avoiding Responsibility by K.A. Linde

(Avoiding series, book 2)

Lexi has finally given up her once destructive relationships and moved onto bigger and better things with a sexy new man in town. Just when she is starting to figure it out with him, her world is tilted once again with a phone call from none other than Ramsey Bridges. A year after his entrance into her life, Ramsey is trying to make amends and does the one thing she never expects – invites her to Jack’s wedding.

The wedding she had evaded at all costs. But no matter what she does, Lexi can’t seem to escape her past with Jack. But does she really want to?

Despite the explosive chemistry between Lexi and Ramsey, she is skeptical about trusting him after everything that has happened. When things are amiss with him, she starts questioning his motives. Can Ramsey be the one to remove Jack from Lexi’s life permanently or should she move on with her blossoming new life?

“There was no reason to lie for him…not anymore.” – Lexi

Everything changed. And there was no way in hell I could have ever seen it coming.

After reading Avoiding Commitment, I was 100 percent planted on Team Jack. I didn’t care that he was a huge dick and refused to give Lexi a real relationship; when they were together, it was almost like I could feel the steam rising off my Nook. I felt the sexual tension in every way possible. As dysfunctional as they might be, they just fit together. I wanted them together. I wanted Jack to pull his head out of his ass, kick Bekah’s bitch ass to the curb, and ravage Lexi right there in his office.

Not anymore.

K.A. Linde made me abandon ship on Team Jack and take a lifeboat over to Team Ramsey.

That’s right, y’all; I am in love with Ramsey. While reading Avoiding Commitment, I thought to myself several times, “Ramsey seems like a nice guy” but I never actually wanted him and Lexi together. I was so firmly rooting for Jack and Lexi that I didn’t want to even entertain the idea of her being with anyone else; even someone as mysteriously intriguing as Ramsey. All that changed after Avoiding Responsibility.

I fell for Ramsey Bridges…HARD. The little things he did for Lexi showed just how much he absolutely adored her, and it made my heart smile. And the scene in the kitchen at Ramsey’s house?! CHRIST ON A CRACKER. I needed a cigarette after that; it was that fucking hot. It was at that moment that I realized I was riding shotgun with Ramsey at the wheel, and Jack was in my rearview mirror, standing in the dust. How in the hell K.A. Linde managed to completely rip me away from Jack and throw me into the waiting arms of Ramsey, I’ll never know. But one thing I do know is that she’s good. Damn good.

Now don’t get me wrong, Ramsey and Lexi’s relationship isn’t all rainbows and unicorns; they have their fair share of shitstorms but it’s nothing that seems unfixable. They seem to perfectly balance each other out and the ending was like a breath of fresh air; just plain perfection.

Avoiding Responsibility gave me so much more than I thought it would. I never expected to love this new path K.A. Linde decided to take me on, but I did. I loved it. Sure, all the characters still pissed me off from time to time and they all deserved a nice punch in their suckholes on several occasions, but the frustration level (for me) wasn't nearly as high as it was in Avoiding Commitment. I absolutely can’t get enough of this series, and thankfully it’s not over yet. I can only imagine what K.A. Linde has up her sleeve for the third book; I’m already mentally preparing myself…

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