Top 10

As we draw a curtain on 2017 and into another brand new year, I would like to reflect on what has been quite a difficult reading year for me.

With the indie romance genre becoming so saturated, I found it hard to find the kind of reads that I love – so many more books are being released on a weekly basis, and being the very fussy and particular person that I am, I sometimes struggled to find stories that captured me like so many books did in previous years.

2017 was most definitely the year of the slow burn for me, I absolutely love the anticipation of what is to come, the development of the characters and the way they come together. I am definitely not a fan of instant gratification, the longer and more agonising the slow burn, the better! And, I am happy to look back and see that I found ten amazing reads that fit this bill for me.

I also managed to read a fair amount of new authors this year; BB Easton, Nikki Sloane and Zara Cox to name a few, and now that my main blogging focus is not geared towards reading advanced new releases, I am spending more time reading books that were released over the last few years that I somehow missed, that I would consider hidden gems – for example, MK Schiller’s ‘The Other C Word’ and ‘The Do-Over’

All in all, despite finding it harder to find an all-consuming book that is impossible to put down, there are still a lot of very talented and humble writers out there who do an amazing job and deliver what many of us crave, and here are my top ten recommendations from my 2017 reading year, I hope you find it useful! Have a fabulous new year’s eve, and all the best for 2018 ~Arabella

Here are my top favourite reads of this year!

Music . . . the heart’s greatest librarian.

The average song is three and a half minutes long; those three and a half minutes could lead to a slow blink, a glimpse of the past, or catapult the soul into heart-shattering nostalgia.

At the height of my career, I had the life I wanted, the life I’d always envisioned. I’d found my tempo, my rhythm. Then I received a phone call that left me off key.

You see, my favorite songs had a way of playing simultaneously. I was in love with one man’s beats and another’s lyrics. But when it came to the soundtrack of a life, how could anyone choose a favorite song? So, to erase any doubt, I ditched my first-class ticket and decided to take a drive, fixed on the rearview.

Two days.

One playlist.

And the long road home to the man who was waiting for me.

My Review

The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal.

The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler’s armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad.

Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege.

Tatiana and Alexander’s impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.

My Review

Shy bookstore owner Jane Finch grew up hiding in the margins of her own life while her vibrant, adventure-loving sister, Samantha, dominated every plotline.

She’s made peace with it, unlike Sam’s business partner, Caleb, who’s always nudging Jane to go after what she really wants.

Why should she care what blunt, brash Caleb thinks? They’ve never had much in common, except for Sam.

After tragedy strikes, they don’t even have that.

Caleb can’t quite remember when Sam’s little sister stopped being like a surrogate sibling to him and became just… Jane.

She’s the most intriguing woman he’s ever met, and so much sexier and stronger than she thinks.

On the emotional journey to honor Sam’s memory, the spark they’ve tried to deny becomes an inferno.

This journey was meant to be an ending, but will they discover an unexpected new beginning?

My Review

He’s not a douchebag; but that doesn’t stop his friends from turning him into one.

MY FRIENDS WANT ME TO GET LAID.

So much so that they plastered my ugly mug all over campus, in bold printed letters:

Are you the lucky lady who’s going to break our roommate’s cherry?
Him: socially awkward man with average-sized penis looking for willing sexual partner. You: must have a pulse. He will reciprakate with oral. Text him at: 555-254-5551

The morons can’t even spell. And the texts I’ve been receiving are what wet dreams are made of. But I’m not like these douchebags, no matter how hard they try to turn me into one.

THIS ISN’T THE KIND OF ATTENTION I WANT.

One text stands out from hundreds. One number I can’t bring myself to block. She seems different. Hotter, even in black and white. However, after seeing her in person, I know she’s not the girl for me. But my friends won’t let up–they just don’t get it. Douchebags or not, there’s one thing they’ll never understand: GIRLS DON’T WANT ME.

Especially her.

My Review

Ruby Santos knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she signed up to write a soldier overseas.

The guidelines were simple: one letter or email a week for the length of his or her deployment.

Care packages were optional.

Been there, done that. She thought she knew what to expect.

What she didn’t count on was falling in love with the guy.

My Review

Most people would describe Katherine Berger as a responsible girl with a big heart, a loyal friend who takes care of those close to her, and the possessor of a wicked sense of humor. There was something about her that most people didn’t know. “My name is Kat Berger, and I love porn.”

When twenty-five-year-old Kat is dragged to a porn convention by her best friend, she’s both embarrassed and nervous. The last thing she ever expected was to meet someone who makes her laugh like no other. This is a story about acceptance and friendship, and a love born out of the most unexpected of places.

“Where you are is home…”

At age fourteen, Zelda Rossi witnessed the unthinkable, and has spent the last ten years hardening her heart against the guilt and grief. She channels her pain into her art: a dystopian graphic novel where vigilantes travel back in time to stop heinous crimes—like child abduction—before they happen. Zelda pitches her graphic novel to several big-time comic book publishers in New York City, only to have her hopes crash and burn. Circumstances leave her stranded in an unfamiliar city, and in an embarrassing moment of weakness, she meets a guarded young man with a past he’d do anything to change…

Beckett Copeland spent two years in prison for armed robbery, and is now struggling to keep his head above water. A bike messenger by day, he speeds around New York City, riding fast and hard but going nowhere, his criminal record holding him back almost as much as the guilt of his crime.

Zelda and Beckett form a grudging alliance of survival, and in between their stubborn clash of wills, they slowly begin to provide each other with the warmth of forgiveness, healing, and maybe even love. But when Zelda and Beckett come face to face with their pasts, they must choose to hold on to the guilt and regret that bind them, or let go and open their hearts for a shot at happiness.

My Review

Talia.
I have always been a bird. Caged by one prison or another when the only thing I ever wanted was to fly away.
Sold. Beaten. Starved. Drugged.
Nothing scares me anymore.
Until him.
He makes the numbness go away.
He is hazardous to me. It has nothing to do with his mafia lifestyle, and everything to do with what he offers.
A gilded prison.
A retreat from everything that I once knew. The reality I have no desire to return to.
He thinks he’s caged me, but soon…
I’m going to fly.

Alexei.
I live by a code. The Vory code.
In this mafiya world, there are traditions.
Expectations.
She does not care for these things. She does not care about anything.
She thinks she has me fooled with her haunted eyes.
What she can’t know is that I see her better than most.
She wants to fly.
But I’m going to clip her wings.
And make her my wife.

**This is a DARK mafia romance. A full-length standalone novel with HEA and no cheating.**

My Review

Emilia

They say love and hate are the same feelings experienced under different circumstances, and it’s true.
The man who comes to me in my dreams also haunts me in my nightmares.
He is a brilliant lawyer.
A skilled criminal.
A beautiful liar.
A bully and a savior, a monster and a lover.
Ten years ago, he made me run away from the small town where we lived. Now, he came for me in New York, and he isn’t leaving until he takes me with him.

Vicious

She is a starving artist.
Pretty and evasive like cherry blossom.
Ten years ago, she barged into my life unannounced and turned everything upside down.
She paid the price.
Emilia LeBlanc is completely off-limits, my best friend’s ex-girlfriend. The woman who knows my darkest secret, and the daughter of the cheap Help we hired to take care of our estate.
That should deter me from chasing her, but it doesn’t.
So she hates me. Big fucking deal.
She better get used to me.

Vicious a complete standalone and a part of the Sinners of Saint series

My Review

Because BB Easton had so much fun writing her bestselling, award-winning memoir, 44 CHAPTERS ABOUT 4 MEN, she decided to give each of her four men his own steamy standalone!

SKIN is the first book in the 44 Chapters spin-off series—a gritty, taboo, forbidden love story overflowing with ’90s nostalgia, dark humor, and heart-wrenching teenage angst. It is based on a true story.

In 1997 Ronald “Knight” McKnight was Peach State High School’s only skinhead, and hands down the meanest, most misunderstood boy on the planet. Knight hated everyone, except for BB—the perky, quirky punk chick with the locker next to his.

Brooke “BB” Bradley liked everybody, except for Knight. She was scared sh*tless of him, actually.

All BB wanted was to marry Prince Eric-lookalike and king of the Peach State High punk scene, Lance Hightower, and have a million of his babies. Unfortunately for her, Knight was even better at getting his way than she was, and once he got under her skin, BB’s life would never be the same.

*SKIN is not intended for everyone. It contains themes that might upset or offend sensitive audiences. Please consult the introduction for a list of triggers.