Stephanie’s Top Reads of 2016

Blurb:  Three months touring Europe.
Romantic. Dazzling. Unforgettable.
The trip of a lifetime.

But some lifetimes are shorter…

We couldn’t have known it would work out this way.
No one could. No one could’ve guessed that something so beautiful could be so tragic.

But it is tragic.

Yet so, so beautiful.

That’s what sacrifice is—beauty and tragedy.
It’s pain and suffering for something or someone you love.

And this is the ultimate sacrifice.
One stunning act of true love.

This is our story.
Our true love story.

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Blurb:  Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, right? That’s what they say, at least. I went into that day hoping I’d get the happiest day of my life. What I got? The worst. I mean, you really can’t get any worse of a day without someone actually dying.

So…I may have gotten just a little drunk, and maybe just a tad impetuous…

And landed myself in a dive bar somewhere in Alaska, alone, still in my wedding dress, half-wasted and heart-broken.

***
Eight brothers, one bar.

Sounds like the beginning to a bad joke, yeah?

I kinda think so.

Wanna hear another joke? A girl walks into a bar, soaking wet and wearing a wedding dress.

I knew I shouldn’t have touched her. She was hammered, for one thing, and heartbroken for another. I’ve chased enough tail to know better. That kinda thing only leads to clinginess, and a clingy female is the last thing on this earth I need.

I got a bar needs running, and only me to run it—at least until my seven wayward brothers decide to show their asses up…

Then this chick walks in, fine as hell, wearing a soaked wedding dress that leaves little enough to the imagination—and I’ve got a hell of an imagination.

I knew I shouldn’t have touched her. Not so much as a finger, not even innocently.

But I did.

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Blurb:  People think they have Camille Logan nailed: daddy’s girl; beautiful, spoiled young woman with her father’s bank balance to fund her lifestyle. But Camille is determined to have a life free from his strings. Out on her own, she’s made mistakes, including one that found her clawing her way back after a stint in rehab and plenty of bad press. Now, after fighting so hard to be independent and happy, she finds her life threatened as a result of her father’s ruthless business dealings. Caught between resentment and fear, Camille prepares herself for the measures her father will take to protect her. But nothing could prepare her for the ex-SAS sniper who crashes into her life.

Jake Sharp resides in his own personal hell. He was distracted from duty once before, and the consequences were devastating–both personally and professionally. He vowed never to let that happen again. Accepting the job of bodyguard to Camille Logan isn’t the kind of distraction from his demons he should take. Women and Jake don’t mix well, yet protecting the heiress seems the lesser of two evils. But Jake soon discovers that she isn’t the woman she’s perceived to be. She’s warm, compassionate, her presence settling, and his duty to protect her soon goes deeper than a well-paid job, no matter how hard he fights it. He needs absolution. He comes to need Camille. But he knows he can’t have both.

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 Genre:  Holiday Romance

Blurb:  Finn
No matter how cruel it’s been in the past, I’ve never been able to flip fate the bird. I’m a romantic at heart. So when fate drops a leather-bound journal at my feet, I know I should walk away.

I don’t. I pick her up, bend her spine, spread her pages. From the first word, I’m a goner. The owner didn’t give me access to her most intimate desires, but I devour them anyway. Her private darkness, her candid, explicit poetry—it all goes down like warm milk. And from that point forward, I drink, eat, and sleep her.

Halston
I went to his apartment and let him take my picture. Just once, to see how it would feel. I’m not his to look at, to inspire, to touch, but when he watches me through his lens, it gives me a high I don’t want to come down from…

My journal is the one place I can be myself—as long as I can tie it up and put it away when I’m finished. But when Finn undoes the bow, he pulls strings that could unravel each of us.

Amazon

 Genre:  Paranormal Romance | Fantasy | Vampires

Blurb:  NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • J. R. Ward returns with an all-new tale of paranormal passion in the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to train the best of the best to join them in the deadly battle against the Lessening Society. Among the new recruits, Axe proves to be a cunning and vicious fighter—and also a loner isolated because of personal tragedy. When an aristocratic female needs a bodyguard, Axe takes the job, though he’s unprepared for the animal attraction that flares between him and the one he is sworn to protect.

For Elise, who lost her first cousin to a grisly murder, Axe’s dangerous appeal is enticing—and possibly a distraction from her grief. But as they delve deeper into her cousin’s death, and their physical connection grows into so much more, Axe fears that the secrets he keeps and his tortured conscience will tear them apart.

Rhage, the Brother with the biggest heart, knows all about self-punishing, and he wants to help Axe reach his full potential. But when an unexpected arrival threatens Rhage and Mary’s new family, he finds himself back in the trenches again, fighting against a destiny that will destroy all he holds most dear.

As Axe’s past becomes known, and fate seems to be turning against Rhage, both males must reach deep—and pray that love, rather than anger, will be their lantern in the darkness.

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 Genre:  Romantic Comedy

Blurb:  Nicholas Arthur Frederick Edward Pembrook, Crowned Prince of Wessco, aka His Royal Hotness, is wickedly charming, devastatingly handsome, and unabashedly arrogant; hard not to be when people are constantly bowing down to you.

Then, one snowy night in Manhattan, the prince meets a dark haired beauty who doesn’t bow down. Instead, she throws a pie in his face.

Nicholas wants to find out if she tastes as good as her pie, and this heir apparent is used to getting what he wants.

Dating a prince isn’t what waitress Olivia Hammond ever imagined it would be.

There’s a disapproving queen, a wildly inappropriate spare heir, relentless paparazzi, and brutal public scrutiny. While they’ve traded in horse drawn carriages for Rolls Royces, and haven’t chopped anyone’s head off lately, the royals are far from accepting of this commoner.

But to Olivia, Nicholas is worth it.

Nicholas grew up with the whole world watching, and now Marriage Watch is in full force. In the end, Nicholas has to decide who he is and, more importantly, who he wants to be: a King… or the man who gets to love Olivia forever.

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Blurb:  An all new second chance love story by the New York Times Bestselling author of the Driven series.

It all started with the invitation. To my ex-fiance’s newwedding.

I should have ignored it.Thrown it away. Set it afire. But I didn’t.I replied.

With a plus one.

And then my assistant accidentally mailed it.

Enter Hayes Whitley. Mega-movie star. The man who has captured the hearts of millions. But I gave him mine years ago. He was my first love. He was my everything. Right until he up and left to chase his dreams without so much as a simple goodbye.

When he showed up out of the blue ten years later, I should have known to steer clear. I should have rejected his offer to take me to my ex’s wedding. I should have never let him kiss me.

But I didn’t.

And now we’re left wondering if the pieces of the life we once shared still fit together somehow. First loves are hard to forget. The question is, do we want to forget? Or do we risk the chance and see what happens next?

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Blurb:  New York Times bestselling author Jasinda Wilder presents the second darkly seductive novel starring the mysterious Madame X.

Everything Madame X has ever known is contained within the four walls of the penthouse owned by her lover, her keeper, the man who controls her every move and dominates her desires. While Caleb owns her body, someone else has touched her soul. X’s awakening at the hands of Logan’s raw, honest masculinity has led her down a new path, one that is as exciting as it is terrifying.

But Caleb’s need to own her completely knows no bounds, and he isn’t about to let her go. Not without a fight that could destroy them all…

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 Genre: Paranormal Romance | Fantasy | New Adult & College

Blurb:  The second saga in the bestselling, Forever Evermore series continues with Chosen Fool, where deception runs deep and Caro’s transitioning life turns even more deadly…

Caroline Jules has received news of a lifetime. She’s going to be Queen to ‘her’ people. Instead of running, as any sane criminal would, she faces the mêlée with all the wits and savvy that her difficult life has honed. With her best friend, Sin, at her side, Caro pushes past the animosity her power inevitably brings, and prepares to rewrite her future.

Until the night Sin leaves, and she is alone.

Now, Caro must face the Royal world and all its intrigues and intricacies by herself. People aren’t always as they appear—and danger lurks behind even the most pleasant face. When a threat not even the Elders can handle puts her new tribe in danger, Caro takes matters into her own hands. Armed with the power of the mysterious spirit Elementals, Caro’s determined to eliminate the evil ransacking the Mysticals. All she needs is time.

But time waits for no fool…and time isn’t as straightforward as it seems.

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Blurb:  I have loved my best friend for eleven years.

Eleven years of celebrations.

Eleven years of victories and losses.

Eleven years of inside jokes and shared smiles.

Eleven years of helping him raise his daughter as a single father.

He smiles at me and my world brightens.

He ignores me and I forget how to function.

He holds my hand and takes more of my heart.

He leaves and time stops.

We have both lost too much, but am I willing to risk the effects of falling again?

Amazon

Blurb:  Alice Beaumont is running out of time…

Plagued by sleep disorders since her childhood, Alice had grown accustomed to the nightly dreams that terrorized her. She woke up in strange places. She was paralyzed by fear and hallucinations. She screamed each night at unseen specters and evil faces.

When her sister, Delilah, goes missing, Alice’s dreams take on new meaning. A link between reality and fantasy, Alice understands that her dreams hold the key to the mystery of her sister’s abduction.

A hooded woman…
A mysterious and dangerous man…
And a doctor who is determined to help her fit together the broken pieces…

Alice has no choice but to peer deep into the recesses of her mind to discover the clues that will lead her to truth. On a race to save her sister, Alice runs a dangerous maze between the nightmares that haunt her and the monster that waits for her when she finally wakes.

*This title deals with disturbing themes that may be a trigger for sensitive readers.*

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