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.

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!**

Seduced in the Dark by C.J. Roberts

(The Dark Duet series, book 2)

What is the price of redemption?

Rescued from sexual slavery by a mysterious Pakistani officer, Caleb carries the weight of a debt that must be paid in blood.

The road has been long and fraught with uncertainty, but for Caleb and Livvie, it’s all coming to an end.

Can he surrender the woman he loves for the sake of vengeance?

Or will he make the ultimate sacrifice?

“For the love of Christ, shut – up! Let a bitch enjoy her mental breakdown in peace.” – Livvie

Holy mother of God. This book did something to me. I finished it over a week ago, and I’m still thinking about it; I’m still feeling it. I’ve even tried to read a couple light books to bring my emotions back to normal, and it’s not working. I have this book hangover that just won’t go away. C.J. Roberts, I think you have officially fucked up my head…and I’m not even mad about it.

Seduced in the Dark doesn’t pick up where Captive in the Dark left off; it’s months later. The story goes back and forth between Livvie and Caleb’s POV, as well as the past and the present, and ultimately brings the story of Livvie and Caleb to a close. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I really can’t discuss any of the plot, but I can tell you how much I fucking loved this book…and how much it fucked with every fiber of my being.

The relationship between Livvie and Caleb was taken to an entirely different level than in the previous book, Captive in the Dark, and it tore me apart. It’s hard for me to explain how much of an emotional toll Seduced in the Dark took on me, but I’ll try. Do you know that feeling you get when something terrible happens to you? Where you start shaking and no matter what, you can’t stop? Where you feel like you’ve been gutted and your stomach is hollow? Like you could be sick to your stomach or cry or maybe both at the same time? That’s how I felt during some of the scenes between Caleb and Livvie. Seriously. I was that invested. Some of the scenes were just so incredibly hard to stomach. Some of the scenes were so tender that I thought maybe Caleb was going to change his mind. There were several times that I had tears in my eyes; I hurt for Livvie that much. You know, as the reader I almost felt like C.J. Roberts was Caleb and I was Livvie. She would dangle something in front of me to give me hope and then snatch it away. My emotions were tugged back and forth so many times that by the time I finished the book, I was emotionally exhausted. I love books that can do that to me; that make me feel like there is a void in me after I finish them. Seduced in the Dark did exactly that.

The scenes are just as intense, if not more so, than they were in Captive in the Dark so brace yourself. But guys…this series was absolutely incredible. I feel like a fucking sicko for loving it so much, but if being a sicko is wrong…I don’t wanna be right. (God, I don’t think I could get any cheesier than that.) I fell in love with Caleb and Livvie’s story, and this series is one that will stick with me for a long time. I’m sitting here now thinking that this review really doesn’t even do it justice; it just doesn’t. I could write a 10 page review and it still couldn’t possibly fully describe what I felt while reading this book. Seduced in the Dark was breathtaking, heart wrenching, gut twisting, mind fucking, and disturbingly, sickeningly perfect. 

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Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts

(The Dark Duet series, book 1)

Caleb is a man with a singular interest in revenge. Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For twelve years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was.

Eighteen-year-old Olivia Ruiz has just woken up in a strange place. Blindfolded and bound, there is only a calm male voice to welcome her. His name is Caleb, though he demands to be called Master. Olivia is young, beautiful, naïve, and willful to a fault. She has a dark sensuality that cannot be hidden or denied, though she tries to accomplish both. Although she is frightened by the strong, sadistic, and arrogant man who holds her prisoner, what keeps Olivia awake in the dark is her unwelcome attraction to him.

“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

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. If I had to sum up Captive in the Dark in six words, those would be the ones I would choose. I had heard from other readers that this book was intense, so I thought I was prepared when I started reading it; I wasn’t. I don’t think intense is a strong enough word to describe this book! As incredibly fucked up as it was at times, I never wanted to put it down. I would ask what that says about me, but I think that would open up a whole can of worms that I just don’t want to deal with…so I’m just going to skate past that and move on.

In a nutshell: Caleb wants revenge on the man who took everything from him, and there is only one way to do that; get close to him, earn his trust, and then destroy everything and everyone that matters to him. How does he plan to get close to him? By kidnapping an American girl (because apparently American girls are the bee’s knees) and selling her to him as a sex slave. Caleb just needs to find the perfect girl to kidnap and train into submission, and after secretly watching Olivia for weeks, he realizes she is exactly the girl he needs.

I loved Olivia and as crazy as it is to say it, I think loved Caleb. Olivia was submissive, yet defiant and Caleb was sadistic, yet loving. Some of the things he did to break Olivia down made me want to punch him in the throat, but there were several instances where he was so sweet to her. When he first kidnapped her, I hated him; when he tortured her, I hated him; then it was like I got Stockholm syndrome and suddenly he wasn’t that bad. Okay, okay, maybe it wasn’t Stockholm syndrome; it was more learning about his childhood and what he’s been through; dude had it rough. Olivia’s childhood wasn’t great either, and my heart ached for her when she was telling Caleb the story of why her mom doesn’t love her. I seriously can’t even describe how much I felt for her throughout the entire book; it was almost emotionally exhausting.

I could never have imagined how much this book would just completely own me. Maybe I’m a little premature in saying this, but damn it, I want Olivia and Caleb together. There! I said it! I’m incredibly anxious to see where their story goes in Seduced in the Dark, but I don’t think I can read it yet; it would just be an emotional overload and I’m not trying to have a breakdown and shit. I’m going to read a few lighter books and then when I feel like my emotions are somewhat stable again, I’ll come back to Seduced in the Dark and finish Olivia and Caleb’s story.

Captive in the Dark gets a 5 star rating from me, without a doubt. CJ Roberts somehow makes you love someone as sadistic and fucked up as Caleb, and as scary as that is…it’s also incredibly fucking brilliant. This book will take you on a crazy, whiplashy (yep, made that word up) emotional rollercoaster, but it’s a damn good ride. 

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