The Best of 2012

2012 was an exceptional year for me in terms of books. I started this blog back in March and have made so many new friends and bloggers as a result. I discovered new writers and some pretty great books.

These are my favorite new (for me) discoveries of 2012.

1. The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning

I could have listed KMM as her own discovery since I only started reading her this year when I picked up her Highlander romances back in January. I fell in love with KMM's writing and her sweeping tales of Highland love but what I was most intrigued by was the element of fantasy wrapped up in the form of the Tuatha de Danaan, an immortal race of Fae and their involvement in the books. Touched on in the Highlander series, this world KMM created is the focus of the Fever series. While intrigued, it's not something I would normally pick up so I pushed them off, only picking up DarkFever on a whim. That whim turned out to be one of the smartest reading choices I made all year. The Fever series turned into an addiction and even a week after finishing, I still can't stop thinking about them. KMM has built a new world into this series. The world is dark and scary but filled with glimpses of light here and there. The focus of the series is the search for an ancient book filled with evil. Everyone is a player in the search and each have their own motivations for finding the book first. The characters are alive and unforgettable. The heroine is pure gold and Jericho Barrons is sex on a stick. I will keep coming back to these books again and again, they're just that good.


2. Dennis Lehane

Unlike KMM, DL stands alone in this list. While he does have a PI series and I have read half of those, he has a lot of stand alone's as well. I've had Mystic River on my TBR wishlist forever and I still haven't gotten around to reading it. Lehane popped up on my radar around the time Live By Night was being released. Always up for a good mafia/gangster book, this one caught my eye and I decided to give Lehane a shot by reading the first book in the trilogy, The Given Day (Live by Night is the second in the slated trilogy). I immediately fell for Lehane's prose. He captures the streets of Boston and brings them to life for fans, never shying away from the nitty gritty, in fact he gets right down to it. I moved on to his PI series and fell deeper. The Kenzie and Gennaro series is badass, edge of your seat thriller. I love every page of Lehane's books and savor each one for the gem it is.


3. Indie Authors

Starting a blog not only gave me an outlet to write and discuss with other book lovers my passion for reading but opened me up to the world of Independent authors. I was lucky enough to have read some pretty good books this year I might otherwise have missed without my blog. I've had the chance to come in contact with authors and been offered the chance to review their work and in some small way, hopefully help their books gain the recognition they deserve. I'm looking forward to the new year and new Indies.


Just a few of my new discoveries this year. I'll have my favorite books up this week as well. I'm looking for 2013 Reading Challenges too, anyone have a good one? I was thinking about hosting an Outlander  book challenge to pump everyone up for the release of Book 8, Written in my own Heart's Blood in the fall. I haven't seen another Outlander challenge for 2013 and I'm not sure how it works, can I host a BC if someone else is hosting a similar one?

Happy Reading !