Super Six Sunday: Bad Bookish Boyfriends

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each one in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is bad bookish boyfriends, something those of you who read this blog with any frequency know is all-too perfect a topic for me. The hard part of course comes in narrowing this list down to only six–rather than say, one hundred–bad bookish boyfriends. *shakes fist at the Bookworms for limiting me so!* MY LOVE FOR FICTIONAL MEN CANNOT BE CONTAINED IN SUCH A MANNER! I have so very much to give you see, but I endeavored to adhere to the rules of this feature and picked only a handful. *exasperated sigh*

In order to help me compile this list, I narrowed the topic further and chose men who walk a fine line between hero and anti-hero, often saying or doing things that make me want to revoke their candidacy for Fictional Love of Jenny's Life, but yet I find them all the more interesting for their deep, and sometimes very dark, flaws.

1. RYODAN

The Fever Series (adult urban fantasy)

I know. I talk about him a lot. There's just so much to say! He has layers, my friends, LAYERS UPON LAYERS and I adore him. I'll spare you my fawning all over him because I already did that in a previous post, but suffice to say he pretty much owns the term badass and skates the line between someone I love and someone I could easily hate so very, very expertly. I need Burned in my hands as soon as physically possible.

First book in the entire series: Darkfever

First book in Dani's series in which Ryodan is a major player: Iced

2. KAIDAN ROWE

The Sweet Trilogy (paranormal YA)

Okay, like Ryodan, I may have mentioned Kaidan a time or two on this blog. Or possibly 23849203394 times, but that's completely beside the point. The point is Kaidan is the son of the Duke (think demon) of Lust, and he won me over the minute he came on page in Sweet Evil. He's more than just a bad boy who happens to ooze sex appeal; underneath the sharp wit, the British accent, and the devil-may-care attitude lies a young man stuck in a situation he's powerless to change, and he has perhaps more fear in him than he does cocky swagger if you take the time to really look, something very few actually do. If you couldn't tell already, I'll let you in on a little secret: I love him.

First book in the series: Sweet Evil

3. COLE

The Everneath Series (paranormal YA)

Oh, Cole. What a tangled web you weave my friend. Though Cole plays second fiddle to primary love interest Jack in this series, he remains the far more intriguing of the two (but my love for Jack is still epic!), his motivations for every action always shrouded in an untold number of mysteries, and just when I think I have a handle on the man he is, he cracks a sinister smile and laughs right in my face for being so dense. He is both kind and cruel, genuine and devious, and I simply cannot wait to see where things go with him in the third installment of this series.

First book in the series: Everneath

4. GREYFRIAR

Vampire Empire Series (adult urban fantasy/steampunk)

This trilogy completely and unexpectedly blew me away when I first picked it up a couple years ago, the world a welcome yet devastating return to a time when vampires were not the stuff of romance novels, but rather the monstrous killing machines of legend. The Greyfriar is one who hunts them, but as things unfolded in the first book I quickly realized the mask he wears hides far more than just his features from the world, and once I got a peek at what was underneath, I had to know everything there was to know. Like the others on this list he sometimes straddles the line between black and white, though he proves again and again that gray is a far more attractive and addictive color.

First book in the series: The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire)

5. PHOENIX

The Violet Eden Chapters (paranormal YA)

Phoenix has led me on a merry dance through this series (though like Cole, he is not the primary love interest, that honor falls to Lincoln). In one book I despise him and everything he is, but then in the next book he shows a completely new side to himself that has my fingers turning from claws that would slice him open to clutching digits that would pull him closer and never let him go. He can be brutal and plays a mean emotional game with Violet and Lincoln, but in the rare moments when his guard drops he shines brighter than any other character, and the glutton for punishment in me never fails to rejoice when he makes an appearance on page.

First book in the series: Embrace

6. RAPHAEL

The Guild Hunter Series (adult paranormal Romance)

Ooooo Raphael, you are a sexy bastard. I am an enormous fan of all things Nalini Singh, and though you've probably seen me gush most often about my love of alpha wolf Hawke from her Psy-Changeling series (YOU'RE STILL MY FIRST LOVE HAWKE!), I absolutely adore her Guild Hunter series as well. In these books we get to spend time with Raphael, the archangel of New York, a man who is all power and steel and immortality, and who time has hardened and shaped into someone unyielding and unrelenting. He is perhaps the most alpha of all Nalini's many alpha men, but when Elena enters his life we have the pleasure of watching the rigidity of him start to ever-so-slightly relax (though not much mind you), giving but the barest of inches before his archangel superiority snaps back into place. He's infuriating and intoxicating and if you've yet to meet him, you're missing out.

First book in the series: Angels' Blood

Super Six Sunday: Killer Endings

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each one in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is killer endings, an aspect of various book series with which I have a love/hate relationship. I understand the purpose of cliffhangers and don't deny they do their job in making me chomp at the bit for the next book, but I die a little each time I come across one because my poor heart gets so invested in the stories and characters that I give myself a stress-induced ulcer when they're left hurt or in trouble and I'm forced wait to find out if they're okay. *sobs*

Below are some of the endings tore my heart out and stomped on it, or otherwise had me screaming and swearing at the top of my lungs when I reached the last page, and though I admit to disliking endings where my beloved characters are in mortal peril, I loved each of these books!

DREAMFEVER (Fever Series #4)

This book has quite possibly the most brutal ending I've ever come across. I cried. I yelled obscenities. I stared blankly at the last sentence for an absurd length of time willing more chapters to magically appear and fix everything that just happened. What made this ending even more soul-scarring you ask? The fact that the next book, Shadowfever, didn't come out for 17 months after this book released. 17 MONTHS! *falls down dead* The wait was excruciating, but Shadowfever blew me away and entirely made up for it, so I almost forgive KMM for what she put me through with Dreamfever. Almost ;-)

DEITY (Covenant Series #3)

Deity doesn't end in quite as cruel a fashion as Dreamfever, but it's one of those endings that forced a "please, no" past my lips as the far-reaching implications and ramifications of what takes place settled like a lead weight in my gut. While I was of course dying to read Apollyon as soon as I could get my hands on it, the ending of this book also had me dreading cracking the spine of the next one, knowing my bubble of delusion wherein Alex and Aiden are happy and together and in love was going to be heart-breakingly popped. I do so love this series though, and cannot wait for Sentinel to finally bring Alex's story full circle.

THE RAVEN BOYS

Okay. So the ending of The Raven Boys isn't exactly on par with the other books on this list in terms of the emotional flaying it inflicts, but it has one of the most bizarre and befuddling parting lines I've read, and I therefore felt it earned itself a spot. Confession: I flip to the back of a book and read the ending first probably 75% of the time. I need to know what's going to happen alright? I CAN'T HELP IT! I flipped straight to the back of this one, read the last line and thought to myself "Self, I can't wait to figure out what that means" before returning to the front and reading straight through. Well, as it turns out, the line I'd read initially didn't make any more sense to me after reading the story in its entirety than it had when I read it out of context, and I need to hurry up and get a hold of Dream Thieves so it can hopefully explain things to me.

INFINITE DAYS

I absolutely LOVED this book. It turns the typical vampire story on its head a bit as the protagonist turns from vampire to human rather than human to vampire. I have to be pretty invested in a story to cry (obviously), and typically crying takes place later in a book after I've had time to really get attached to the characters. With this book though? I was crying inside of the first 30 pages as my beloved Rhode wrapped himself around my heart and refused to let go. My emotions evened out after that until the very end when former vampire Lenah saw fit to slice me into emotional confetti once more. So good.

UNTIL I DIE (Revenants #2)

While this second installment was a bit rockier for me than the first, the ending took me completely by surprise and left me feeling stripped bare as I sprinted to the computer to see when the third and final book would be coming out. Logically, I knew what happened would likely be remedied in the next book, but my heart didn't seem to understand logic at all and promptly stopped working for a beat or two. Emotional stability fail.

THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER (Mara Dyer #2)

Oh, Michelle Hodkin. What a brilliant dispenser of pain you are. This series is strange and twisted and a confusing jumble of "what the hell is going on?" that works so beautifully well that I will be able to read these books over and over again and learn something new each time. The ending of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was a jaw-dropper, but the ending of Evolution is more of a punch to the gut, one that sent me reeling and raving and looking around for anyone who might listen, willingly or otherwise, as I tried to get all my thoughts in order by speaking them aloud. Can it be time for Retribution already?

Super Six Sunday: Kick-Ass Heroines

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is kick-ass heroines, and there's nothing I love more (aside from romance, of course) than a girl who can take care of herself and fight side by side with the best of them. Most of the women I've picked have a supernatural ability to aid them in their general badassery, but what I love about all of them is the fact that even without their various gifts or abilities, every one of these ladies would place herself smack dab in the middle of a fight regardless, ready to protect those she loves with whatever of herself it's necessary to give in order to do so. If you haven't yet met any of the women below, I can't recommend their stories enough!

GIN BLANCO

The Elemental Assassin Series by Jennifer Estep • Adult Urban Fantasy

Spider's Bite •  Web of Lies • Venom •  Tangled Threads • Spider's Revenge • By A Thread • Widow's Web • Deadly Sting • Heart of Venom

I met Gin long before I started this blog, and while her cool calm as she wielded her knives and inflicted lethal damage as assassin The Spider was initially a bit of a challenge to see past in the first book, once I really settled into the series she quickly became a woman I couldn't help but adore. She's as selfless as they come (almost to a fault at times), always putting the physical safety and emotional happiness of everyone around her ahead of her own, thereby making her both someone you wouldn't want to meet on the street late at night and someone you can't help but want to hug.

DANI O'MALLEY

The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning • Adult Urban Fantasy

Darkfever • Bloodfever • Faefever • Dreamfever • Shadowfever • Iced

(Iced is technically book 6 in the Fever series, but it's the first that features Dani as a protagonist rather than a supporting character. I recommend starting with book one, Darkfever, though, as Iced contains major spoilers for books that come before it)

After my fangirl post a couple weeks back, I'm sure it's no surprise to most of you to see Dani's name on this list. Though she's only fourteen, Dani can quite literally run circles around anyone who tries to challenge her, including quite possibly the baddest supernatural alpha men in fiction, Barrons and Ryodan. Not only is she a force to be reckoned with, but she approaches the death she faces each and every day with a beautiful sense of humor, convinced if she's going to meet her end it's going to be with a smile on her face and laughter in the air.

DEUCE

The Razorland Series by Ann Aguirre • Post-Apocalyptic Young Adult

Enclave • Outpost • Horde

Deuce is the epitome of a fighter; as close to fearless as they come and completely capable of defending herself and others against the daily threat of the Freaks. She's also one of those young women who has no agenda and plays no games, her utter innocence and sweet naivete when it comes to her relationship with Fade making her a desirable combination of strength and vulnerability. I don't want to say too much more about her as I'll be gushing all over this series in a few weeks when I host Ann as part of the Authors Are Rockstars tour, but suffice to say Deuce is a personal favorite of mine.

ALICE BELL

The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter • Paranormal Young Adult

Alice in Zombieland • Through the Zombie Glass

I'm a huge Gena Showalter fan in general, and her books always have a wonderful blend of action, romantic tension and laugh-out-loud humor. Ali is a young woman who has suffered unimaginable loss, but she possesses a fierce determination and a will to survive that simply won't let her wallow in the pit of despair she quite frankly deserves. She's not always the strongest fighter, but she's eager to learn and she holds her own against the the snark, the disdain, and the overwhelmingly strong personalities of her fellow zombie hunters.

ALINA STARKOV

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo • Young Adult/Fantasy

Shadow and Bone • Siege and Storm

I think most people who've read this series would agree that Alina personifies everything we might consider to be badass. She has an ability that shocks and scares her with its power, and in the blink of an eye she finds herself trying to navigate a completely different world from everything she's known previously. People fear her, fawn all over her, love her and hate her, but she gracefully bears every burden laid across her young shoulders, becoming more gorgeously regal and awe-inspiring as the series continues.

ELISA

The Fire and Thorns Series by Rae Carson • Young Adult/Fantasy

The Girl of Fire and Thorns • The Crown of Embers • The Bitter Kingdom

Elisa and I got off to a rocky start. Book one, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, is split into three parts, and for nearly the entirety of the first part, I couldn't connect to Elisa at all. She's what could be described as pleasantly plump, and for the first third of book one she constantly bemoans her weight yet imbibes in all sorts of pastries and the like, and she hardly has any confidence as a result of her own negative self-image. As soon as part two hits however, Elisa starts to blossom, forced to toss aside all her weight issues and focus on surviving in a brutal world, and throughout the remainder of the series she continues to grow as both a woman and a leader until she's completely unrecognizable from the girl we first met. Like Ali above, she's not always the most skilled fighter in hand to hand combat, but her strength lies in her compassion and her decision-making, which more than compensate for any of her physical shortcomings in battle.

Those are just a handful of my favorite kick-ass heroines, who would top your list?

Super Six Sunday: Love Stories

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is love stories, and given how much I love romance, it's both an awesome and a terrible prompt for me. Awesome because there are so many amazing love stories out there that have made me swoon, and terrible because it was nearly impossible to narrow it down to just six. I had to limit the topic even further in my head in order to choose books, so I went with love stories that feature really strong heroines, emotionally and physically, who aren't afraid to challenge the men in their lives. I think all six of the below women push buttons, question, and frustrate their men, but they are also loyal, powerful in their own ways, and are absolute equal partners in the relationship. Love them.

KISS OF SNOW (Psy-Changeling #10)

Nalini Singh • Adult Paranormal Romance

Nalini Singh is one of my very favorite authors, and her Psy-Changeling paranormal romance series has been one I've been obsessed with for years. We meet Hawke and Sienna in book one, but it takes another 8 books–yes eight, I died a little inside when each book that released wasn't theirs–before they finally get together. To be fair, they need all that time as Sienna is significantly younger than Hawke, but their journey in this book is one I've taken with them over and over again and will continue to do so for years to come.

DARKFEVER (Fever Series)

Karen Marie Moning • Adult Urban Fantasy

I'm sure many of you have heard the word Barrons uttered (or exhaled on a shaky breath full of longing) even if you haven't yet read this series. Jericho Barrons is not your typical romance hero. He's often neither romantic nor heroic. He's downright cruel at times and the force of his personality can be overwhelming. It's as easy to hate him as it is to love him, but Mac holds her own and never takes a step back when he takes a threatening step forward. Instead, she meets him with a step of her own, and the two of them fight, taunt, argue and then explode romantically as the series continues, and I just can't recommend their story enough. It's definitely NOT a conventional love story in any way, and that's part of what I like so much about the two of them.

TRUE

Erin McCarthy • Contemporary New Adult

True came to be in my hands just at the moment when the New Adult genre got to be at its most frustrating for me, the angst and drama of the relationships starting to test my patience and grate on my nerves, but then along came Rory. Rory wouldn't know how to play a game romantically with a guy if someone gave her a series of directions to review beforehand, and her honesty with everything she's feeling quickly led her to the top of my favorite heroines list. Tyler is a bit more cliched - a bad boy with a difficult past, but he's not nearly as superficial as labeling him a bad boy makes him seem, and I couldn't have loved him with Rory any more if I'd tried.

FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS

Diana Peterfreund • Young Adult/Dystopian

This story is one of the most romantic stories I've read where the hero and heroine don't even do so much as kiss on page. Elliot and Kai are all tension and hurt, dancing around one another as they search desperately in each other for the person they knew when they were younger, but whereas Kai takes his opportunities to land his emotional punches, Elliot always pulls hers, earning my respect and her place on this list. Despite all the lingering pain between them, there are such beautiful moments in this tale, and I always look forward to going back and spending time with Elliot an Kai on a re-read.

UNRAVELING

Elizabeth Norris • Paranormal Young Adult/SciFi

Unraveling is one of those books that took me by complete surprise, the blurb initially one that held no interest for me, but when I was lucky enough to get a review copy I decided I might as well give it a try. I fell in love with Janelle on nearly the first page, her sense of humor and low tolerance for the petty games of the popular crowd winning me over immediately. When Ben enters the picture there is no swooning (except on my part), and their relationship is one of tentative friendship and wary attraction for a long time before it becomes something much more heartwarming.

ANGELFALL

Susan Ee • Paranormal Young Adult

Like Unraveling, Angelfall was a complete surprise for me, a story I entered into not really knowing what to expect but I quickly found myself blown away. Penryn is fiercely protective of her younger sister, and when she gets taken, embarks on a long and terrifying journey with the dubious help of wingless angel Raffe to find her again. I loved everything about this book and the relationship between Penryn and Raffe, the antagonism and distrust between them ever-so slowly fading to leave genuine affection in its place. Again, a bit darker and less traditional of a love story, but strikingly memorable and beautiful just the same.

Those are six of my very favorites, what love story would top your list?

Super Six Sunday: Summery Book Covers

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week, the focus is on summery book covers, but since I tend to gravitate toward darker, grittier books, I decided to split up my six covers into two categories: covers that are bright and colorful and have a summertime feel even if they didn't release during summer and aren't necessarily the quintessential beach vacation read, and then covers that are a bit heavier and feel more appropriate for the wind and chill of fall or winter. Way to not at all adhere to the prompt Jenny! *takes a bow* Hope you enjoy the covers anyway:

• • • WARMTH AND COLOR • • •

NANTUCKET BLUE

Leila Howland

From Goodreads:

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

INVISIBILITY

Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

 From Amazon:

Stephen is used to invisibility. He was born that way. Invisible. Cursed.

Elizabeth sometimes wishes for invisibility. When you’re invisible, no one can hurt you. So when her mother decides to move the family to New York City, Elizabeth is thrilled. It’s easy to blend in there.

Then Stephen and Elizabeth meet. To Stephen’s amazement, she can see him. And to Elizabeth’s amazement, she wants him to be able to see her—all of her. But as the two become closer, an invisible world gets in their way—a world of grudges and misfortunes, spells and curses. And once they’re thrust into this world, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how deep they’re going to go—because the answer could mean the difference between love and death.

MEANT TO BE

Lauren Morrill

From Goodreads:

Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.

It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").

But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

* I will say I'm not in love with the grass in the foreground, it looks out of place to me, but I adore the handwritten font and the background. If I could, I would crop this image right above their ankles and call this one a winner!

• • • DRAMA AND INTENSITY • • •

BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA

April Genevieve Tucholke

From Goodreads:

You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying—a debut to watch.

CRASH INTO YOU

Katie McGarry

From Goodreads:

The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind.

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look.

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

THE TOO CLEVER FOX

Leigh Bardugo

From Goodreads:

In Ravka, just because you avoid one trap, it doesn't mean you'll escape the next. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo’s upcoming novel, Siege and Storm, the second book in the Grisha Trilogy.

If you hadn't noticed, I'm a big fan of covers that feature type prominently, making it bold and important and as much a focus as the image that accompanies it (with the exception of The Too Clever Fox, that cover is all about the stunning illustration). What do you guys think of the covers?

Super Six Sunday: Authors I've Met/Want to Meet

I'm really excited today to be participating in a new feature put together by the fabulous ladies over at Bewitched Bookworms! Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously. This week, the focus is on authors I've met or would like to meet, so below are just a handful of the authors who turn me into an utter fangirl at the mere mention of their names!

KATIE MCGARRY

(Pushing the Limits/Dare You To)

I first met Katie when she came to Columbus for a YA author panel at my local bookstore, and even while hyperventilating with excitement, I still managed to plaster a smile on my face and carry on what I hope was a coherent conversation. I don't remember it all that well, it's just a haze of happiness really, but I'm pretty sure I didn't scar her for life. A couple months later I had the pleasure of meeting up with her again for dinner while in NYC for BEA, and I fell in love with her even more. She's adorable and funny and I just need to stop talking before I embarrass myself ;-)

 (Pushy, Me, Katie, Julie Kagawa, and Danny)

JULIE KAGAWA

(The Iron Fae/Blood of Eden Series)

Dinner with Katie at BEA included Julie Kagawa, a happy surprise addition I had no idea was joining us. It's for the best I didn't know she was coming ahead of time as then I didn't have as much time to stress about being cool, so aside from a brief flustered moment I was able to rise above my awkwardness and not just stare at Julie with a dreamy expression on my face. The whole dinner was simply one giant win and definitely not something I will ever forget.

MICHELLE HODKIN

(The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer)

I unfortunately don't have a picture with Michelle, but I was lucky enough to meet her for lunch at BEA last year, and had one of those surreal moments where I looked around me and realized I was sitting in Bryant Park with my mom, my mother in law, Melissa from I Swim for Oceans and Michelle Hodkin, just chatting away with the author of one of my very favorite series. Thankfully I was able to say more than "I love Noah" to her, but I'm pretty sure it still came out of my mouth a time or two. Or four. Whichever.

ALLY CARTER

(Heist Society/Gallagher Girls series)

I wrote a whole big blog post about my time with Ally Carter here if you're so inclined to read it, but meeting her definitely deserves another mention! At the request of the fantastic people at Disney-Hyperion, I was asked to attend Ally's signing in Cincinnati and come a half hour or so early for a blogger-author meet and greet. Due to a misunderstanding on my part, I arrived under the impression it would be a group of bloggers meeting with Ally, but when I got there it was just me (and my mother in law who I drag to all bookish events). Me and Ally. Ally and Me. Alone in the corner of a bookstore. I had zero questions prepared, but Ally was so incredibly personable and easy going that I was able to shake off my initial shock and enjoy the fact that I had her all to myself for nearly a half hour.

J.R. WARD
(The Black Dagger Brotherhood)

I actually met J.R. Ward before I started the blog, but I'd been a longtime fan of her Black Dagger Brotherhood series and nearly fell out of my seat with excitement when I saw she was going to be in Columbus for the RT Convention a few years back. I'm obsessed with this series. Obsessed. I took my mother in law (of course) with me to get copies of Lover Mine (my favorite of the series) signed for me and my mom who lives out of town. We were allowed to bring our own books to the signing, so I was holding both copies as we approached the table to buy our tickets.

When purchasing our tickets, the woman informed me that J.R. was only signing one book per person. I nodded that I understood and figured I was good to go because I had two books and there were two of us there. Win. The woman at the door collecting the tickets noticed I was holding two copies of Lover Mine and once again told me that J.R. Ward was only signing one book per person. I blinked this time, looked at Cathy, looked at the two books in my hand and smiled at the woman to indicate all was well. Awesome. I went straight for J.R.'s line once I was in, and upon arriving at the back the woman trying to keep things under control looked at the books in my hands and said what you ask? You guessed it, apparently J.R. Ward was only signing one book per person. I DID NOT KNOW THAT! I finally just gave up and handed a copy to Cathy and we sat down and waited.

The signing itself was only scheduled to be I think 3 hours, and it was glaringly apparent at the 2.5 hour mark that she wasn't going to get through everyone in her line before time was up. Instead of getting up and leaving after 3 hours though, she stayed and made sure every single person that was in her line got their book signed. The people regulating the line wouldn't allow her to take pictures with anyone (understandable, there were a ton of people there), but J.R. made a point to talk to everyone instead of simply signing her book with her head down and then moving on to the next person. She was fantastic.

• • • • • • • • • •

I decided to use my sixth spot for an author I desperately want to meet (aside from Wendy Higgins who knows I adore her and am counting down the minutes until we're finally at the same event and I can hug her). This is likely someone I will never have the chance to meet unless I attend FeverCon, but I dream of coming face to face with the woman who gave me Barrons and Ryodan.

KAREN MARIE MONING

(The Fever Series)

If any of you haven't read the Fever series, I beg you to drop what you're doing and run to the nearest bookstore to pick up all 6 books (technically book 6, Iced, is a spinoff, but they need to be read in order). She writes alpha men like no one else, and I, like untold numbers of others, fell madly in love with Jericho Barrons. He's a complete a-hole, but there is something about him that's indescribably magnetic and I've read the Fever books more times that I care to admit. Even if you end up not liking him or the books, I guarantee you will walk away with strong feelings about the man.

More recently (with the release of Iced), I fell hard for Ryodan. Ryodan is in the Fever series, but he's a smaller secondary character, and is quite frankly overshadowed by all that is Barrons, but in Iced he's very much the alpha among alphas. Karen sometimes teasers her readers on her Facebook fan page with pictures of beautiful men who fans think fit the image of Barrons and Ryodan she's created in our heads. Not too long ago she posted some pictures of a model by the name of Stuart Reardon who many fans thought embodied Ryodan. I feel the need to share some of these pictures with you, as they will no doubt inspire you to pick up the books and will definitely make you want to meet the woman who wrote his character. You're welcome in advance ;-)

(photo by Gilles Crofta Photography)

(photo by Kemuel Valdes)

(photo by Kemuel Valdes)