Top 5 of 2015

Happy Friday Everyone!

Since December is flying by at record speed (seriously, I'm pretty sure Thanksgiving was yesterday?) I thought I'd go ahead and share my top 5 reads for 2015. When I searched through all my ratings for the year I discovered I only gave three books a 5/5 and only a handful more a 4.5/5. Apparently I was impressively stingy with my high ratings this year. Whoops. Below are the three titles that absolutely blew me away and left me no choice but to give them the highest rating possible, and two more that were outstanding and secured themselves a place on my shelf of favorites.

SIX OF CROWS

I want to live inside Leigh Bardugo's mind for an hour. I won't be selfish and demand more time than that, just an hour so I can see what it's like. I was initially wary of this book as I tend to struggle when I'm bounced around from person to person, but Leigh made every single character so intriguing and rich in personality that I was desperate for more time with each of them rather than less. I couldn't recommend this book more highly.

Find Leigh

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A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES

Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favorite fairy-tale, so I jump at the chance to devour every retelling I can find. This version I thought was particularly well done, especially the final third where court politics really come into play and Feyre has to prove what she's made of. Sarah J. Maas can be brutal to her readers though, tearing beloved characters down again and again before building them back up, so I'm mildly nervous about what the next book holds in store but have no doubt it will be worth it:)

Find Sarah:

 

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THE START OF ME AND YOU

Contemporary YA is not my go-to genre; those of you who read this blog with any frequency know I tend to gravitate toward the paranormal and fantasy, but I will forever read anything Emery Lord decides to write. Her characters always feel completely genuine and lacking in any unnecessary drama to cause me stress as I read. If you've yet to read any of her books, I hope at least one goes on your letter to Santa this year!

Find Emery:

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MAGIC SHIFTS

Kate and Curran. I feel like that's all that really needs to be said about this one.

Find Ilona:

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THIS HEART OF MINE
 

This one would have passed me right on by if not for Candace inviting me to be a part of the tour, so THANK YOU CANDACE! I have a soft spot for stories where a character has been grievously wronged and continues to be so through a good chunk of the story because I can't wait for the moment when everyone realizes their error. Phoenix spent 17 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit, and when she gets out she continues to be a pariah in her small town. Despite that however, she shows no weakness or self-pity, and holds no ill-will toward those who are cruelest to her. Instead she holds her head up high for the sake of her son and her own self. LOVED it!

Find This Heart of Mine:

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Review + Giveaway: This Heart of Mine

THIS HEART OF MINE
Whiskey Creek #8
Brenda Novak
Contemporary Romance
400 pages
Harlequin/Mira
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY
As the daughter of a hoarder, Phoenix Fuller had a tough childhood. So when the handsome, popular Riley Stinson became her boyfriend in high school, she finally felt as though she had something to be proud of. Phoenix was desperate not to lose him—especially once she found out she was pregnant. Yes, she might have acted a bit obsessive when he broke up with her. But she did not run down the girl he started dating next!

Unfortunately, there was no way to prove her innocence. Now, after serving her time in prison, Phoenix has been released. All she wants to do is return to Whiskey Creek and get to know her son. But Jacob's father isn't exactly welcoming.

Riley doesn't trust Phoenix, doesn't want her in Jacob's life. He is, however, ready to find someone to love. And he wants a good mother for his son. He has no idea that he's about to find both—if they can forgive the mistakes in their past…

MY THOUGHTS
Despite being a later book in the Whiskey Creek series, This Heart of Mine easily stands on its own, a heroine returning home after a seventeen-year prison sentence instantaneously winning us over with the love she has for the son she was robbed of knowing. We meet Phoenix moments before her first meeting with Jacob, and the abject terror she feels in those opening pages wraps us immediately around her little finger as we long to reach in and lend her a little of our strength. Our emotional connection to Phoenix only deepens as her story unfolds, tears springing to our eyes time and again as she struggles to find her place in a town that doesn't want her and isn't afraid to show it.

After serving seventeen years of a fifteen-year sentence thanks to the cruelty of a fellow inmate, it's easy to expect Phoenix to be one of two things: Bitter and full of resentment for those who refused to believe her side of the story, or self-loathing, her time in prison giving her a clarity as to her own faults that she might not have had otherwise. Remarkably however, we find a woman who is inordinately grateful for the chance to finally meet her son, and who wants nothing more than to build a relationship with him if he and his father will allow it. Her fear that one wrong move on her part will result in Riley forbidding her from spending time with Jacob is so thick we can hardly swallow around the lump that forms in our throats, wanting nothing more than for her have this one tiny piece of happiness.

While Phoneix's story would have been heartbreaking even should she have turned out to be bitter or self-loathing, what's especially moving about her is the fact that she genuinely doesn't expect a single kindness from anyone. She doesn't feel as though she deserves their hatred though–that would lead us to wish she would come to terms with the fact that her cruelest detractor is staring back at her in the mirror–she instead knows she's served her punishment but is also keenly aware that she's been found guilty in the court of public opinion, one whose sentencing is far more brutal. Seeing her fight an uphill battle over and over again is extraordinarily painful at times, forcing us to set the book aside as we practice our deep breathing exercises and wish violence on those who feel she hasn't yet paid in full for her supposed crime.

The only minor complaint, and it's one hugely personal in nature, is the fact that we don't get to see those who were so thoroughly convinced of Phoenix's guilt eat more than the tiniest sliver of humble pie in the end. Riley's mother in particular deserved a much larger piece, but it's hard to get too worked up about it in the midst of our relief that Phoenix is finally going to live the life she should have had seventeen years ago. A beautiful and poignant contemporary romance, This Heart of Mine guarantees a late night of reading as it's nearly impossible to put down.

Rating: 4.5/5

Find This Heart is Mine:

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BRENDA NOVAK

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has penned over 45 novels. A two-time Rita nominee, she's won The National Reader's Choice, The Bookseller's Best, The Bookbuyer's Best and many other awards. She runs an annual online auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she’s raised over $2 million. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.

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TOUR + GIVEAWAY

Thanks to CBB Book Promotions and Mira, there are 5 paperback copies of This Heart of Mine up for grabs on the blog today. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US/Canada only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out the full tour schedule for more reviews, spotlights and chances to win!