COVER REVEAL! A Solstice of Fire and Light by Angela R. Watts

Very excited to be sharing a cover reveal for a new fantasy book by Angela R. Watts today! 

Look how beautiful this is! 

Dionne, a Gifted nomad princess, hunts the warlocks that kidnapped her brother. 

Nnamdi, a popular caravan fighter, wishes to be freed from his sins. 

After they break out of prison together and spare each other in a death match, there’s no turning back… So they board a pirate ship and hunt the Order.

When Dionne learns that the wizards that took her brother have also taken child slaves and hides them all away in her kingdom, she creates a plan with the pirates to infiltrate the Order… But when Dionne reaches the kingdom, she will be sacrificed to the gods on winter solstice.

Swept in a world of deadly magic, Nnamdi swears his protection to Dionne… But then he learns she is a princess and that her fate is sealed at the hands of a jealous wizard. Nnamdi must break his chains and unleash his Gift like never before… Or lose the only woman he’s ever loved.

For lovers of slow-burn romance and fast-paced fantasy, get your next binge-read with one click! This standalone novel is perfect for readers who want a clean, swoon-worthy fantasy romance with high stakes and faith-elements.

Author’s note: this novel is suitable for ages 16+ due to dark themes and violence.

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Angela is also doing a kickstarter for this book so if you're interested in checking that out and helping to reach the stretch goals for a special edition hardcover, I highly suggest taking a look!

BACK THE CAMPAIGN AND GET YOUR COPY TODAY

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AUTHOR BIO

ANGELA R. WATTS is the bestselling and award-nominated author of The Infidel Books and the Remnant Trilogy. She has over 22 works in print. When she’s not writing, Angela enjoys freelance editing, homesteading, and art. She lives in Tennessee with her family and many pets.

You can find her Here

Website (And Newsletter)

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

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Amazon

Stayborn Blog Tour

Elemental Manipulation is a tricky business. Only those with the power can train to become a Draev Guardian.

Cyrus Sole hates life. She’s only half-human, with weak wrists, and not a day goes by when someone doesn’t say something mean about it—especially her step-mom. But when the forbidden power to manipulate metal awakens inside her, she finds herself on the run as the Argos Corps is sent to kill her…

Aken is a Scourgeblood, the last in a line of monsters. But all he really wants is to gain wings and be free. Until a new power suddenly awakens, changing the course of his life…

The Draev Guardian Academy is their only sanctuary. But training to become a Draev won’t be easy. Cyrus has to hide her human side, as she gets placed in Floor Harlow with the outcast students, and nightmares of her deceased mother keep returning.

With creepy Corpsed on the prowl, and whispers of Cyrus possibly being a reborn Hero, both she and Aken find themselves caught up in a web of secrets, racial tension, and an old legend with enemies that could spell their untimely demise…

—This book is a good fit for those who've enjoyed the Percy Jackson series, Brandon Sanderson's fantasy world-building,and the fun of J.K. Rowling.

Add it on Goodreads!

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Purchase Links

Amazon

Kindle

Barnes & Noble

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Get a free prequel short story HERE!

Cyrus Sole, a girl who can manipulate metal, and Aken-Shou the last Scourgeblood, must learn to survive in a world that is determined to either destroy them, or use them...

About the Author

E.E. Rawls is the product of a traveling family, who even lived in Italy for 6 years. She loves exploring the unknown, whether it be in a forest, inside a forgotten castle, or within the pages of a book.

She runs on coffee, cuddly cats and the beauty of nature to keep the story wheels of her mind running, as she writes tales that will both entertain and inspire others, giving them worlds they can explore and become lost within.

WEBSITE: https://eerawls.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/eerawls_author/

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Giveaway!

First place: One hardback copy of Strayborn, and one Percy Jackson soy/vegan homemade candle by A Court Of Candles.

Second and Third place: One ebook copy of Strayborn.

Ends on Monday, October 21.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What to Look Forward to In Scars of War (feat. actual lines from the book)

It's almost release day for Scars of War! but in preparation for that, I thought I would share with you a little of what you have to look forward to when reading it--so I essentially just picked out some of the most random lines I could when I did my final read through. Hopefully this actually doesn't have adverse effects XD

Introducing: Actual Quotes from Scars of War

(Bonus points for anyone who can guess who said what)

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"But isn't it better to have creases in your skin than to be captured by a man of ill repute?"

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"Warriors with babies, all of them warming milk and changing nappies. It's enough to make you weep at the strength of their loyalty."

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"I swear, if I never see a patty pie again it will be too soon."

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"Well, I have to agree that, apart from the match-making--which you really have a problem with, by the way--it is a good idea."

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"You know those sweet, cavity inducing cuddle sessions you like to imbibe in in the library with your ladylove? Gone, if you don't have a nanny."

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"Oh sure, they might knit blankets and act all fuzzy and protective, but as soon as the first nappy change comes up there will be no loyalty left in the garrison."

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"Meat Stix--with an X? How do I know this is even meat? Never trust products where they purposefully misspell a word."

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"Two pints and a Shirley Temple for the Faerie Princess."

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"Do not take liberties with my muffin tops, woman!"

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"Is it Plan M for manly or musk?"

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"Now that you have been enlightened by the power of love, can we go defeat evil?"

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"Great, now all I can smell is feet."

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And there's also some of this:

And some of this:

And this:

Oh yeah, and also this:

So join me tomorrow for the official release! I'm running a giveaway for the first two books as e-copies for anyone who comments, but I'm also running a deal where if you buy Scars of War in either paperback or e-copy you can email me for free e-copies of the first two books as well ^_^ So either way, you have a chance to get the first two books free so if you haven't read them yet, you should do that, because look at all this insanity! 

All I Want For Christmas Book Tag

I decided I needed to do a little holiday fun on my blog, and I've seen this "All I Want For Christmas" tag going around blogs and Booktube and it sounded fun to do, so I did it, even though, as usual, I cheated on some questions because I do that :P If you want to do it too, let me know!

1) What fictional character do you want Santa to leave under your Christmas tree?

I’ve always wanted a Wesley Ayers from The Archived by Victoria Schwab J

2) What character do you want to kiss under the mistletoe?

Hmm, kinda weird because most of the books I read the characters are younger than me...o_O I guess I’m gonna go with Noah from The Raven Boys though because he’s just such an adorable ghost!

3) You write your Christmas list for Santa, what are the top 5 books on it?

Hmm, okay, I have so many books on my to buy list, I’m going to change this to books I need that are coming out in 2017

1. A Conjuring of Light (Darker Shades of Magic #3) by V E Schwab

2. Our Dark Duet (This Savage Song #2) (also Victoria Schwab)

3. Heart of the Storm (Undertow #3)  by Michael Buckley

4. Wrath of the Storm (Mark of the Thief #3) by Jennifer A. Neilsen

5. The Empty Grave (Lockwood & Co. #5) by Jonathan Stroud

4) It’s secret santa at Hogwarts, what do you most want to receive?

Um, one of those invisibility cloaks, please. (#notreallyaharrypotterfan)

5) You get to the spend the day with the characters and movie adaptation actors from one fandom, what do you pick?

So both the actual characters and the actors who play them?

Umm…so this isn’t a book adaption, nor is it a movie, but can I just pick Supernatural? Because not only would having Sam, Dean, Cas (and possibly even Crowley) around be incredibly awesome, but Jensen, Jared and the other fellas are really the only actors I care to meet and spend a significant amount of time with because they’re super awesome J And because Jared vs. Dean pie eating contest! :P And also Baby, because classic cars = yes.

6) What fictional animal would you like to replace Rudolph and be able to meet on your roof?

Ooh, this is a hard one. For some reason, the first thing that came to my mind was Harry Dresden’s dog Mouse (who is huge and fluffy and adorable in case you don’t know) pulling the Blue Beatle around as an improvised sleigh. Jim Butcher needs to write a Christmas story!

7) You invite 10 fictional characters to your new years eve party, who do you pick?

Oh boy, this will be entertaining:

1. Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files)

2. Carswell Thorne (The Lunar Chronicles)

3 & 4. Jackaby and Abigail (The Jackaby Series)

5, 6& 7. Lockwood, Lucy and George (Lockwood and Co.)

8. Richard Gansey III (The Raven Boys)

9. Howell (Howell’s Moving Castle)

10. Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, duh)

8) What character would make a good santa (Doesn’t have to be appearance, personality counts too)?

Okay so the first idea that popped into my head for this was either Crowley or Gilan from the Rangers Apprentice series. I don’t know why, but either of them I could totally see :P

10 Halloween Reads

Hey everyone! I made this video to share some of my favorite Halloween reads with you. Let me know what your favorite creepy reads are!

May Wrap Up 2015

First off, I'm very sorry I didn't get any reviews up this month. I was so busy writing and all the blogging I did was for my other blog Tales From a Modern Bard (If you haven't checked out the recent challenge stories that I posted, do so! We had some awesome stories this time around and some new writers!) On the plus side, I did finish the first draft of the second book in the Modern Tales of Na Fianna series, An Earthly King. I'll be looking for beta readers to the first one Blood Ties at the end of June but I'll talk more about that later.

Of course, I also have been getting ready for BookCon! By the time this post is put up, I'll either be there or be home from there, and will be making a seperate post all about it and my BookCon Haul which I know will be massive.

So, I'll just post a quick list of my reads for the month as usual. Only read 5 because of everything else, but I did read a lot of good ones, so I can't complain.

#1: The Luck Uglies (The Luck Uglies #1) by Paul Durham (3/5 stars)
#2: Blue Bloods (Blue Blood #1) by Melissa de la Cruz (2/5 stars)
#3: Tunnel Vision by Susan Adrian (4/5 stars)
#4: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1) by Rae Carson (4/5 stars)
#5: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (4/5 stars)



Favorite Reads of the Month

Red Queen
Tunnel Vision


I will be back soon with the BookCon post! So excited to share my experience with you!

April Wrap Up 2015

Back with another wrap up already! April seemed to go by really fast, but thankfully I got so much more work done this month than I did last month and finally got back into writing my second Na Fianna novel as well, which I'm aiming to finish by the end of May before summer starts.

This month I read 9 books, which was way more than I was hoping to, so that made me happy :) (also, I'm hoping to start posting more pictures on my blog, since now I have a better phone camera that makes it sooo much easier to upload pics.)

#1: Downfall (Cal Leandros #9) by Rob Thurman (4/5 stars)

#2: Fairest (Lunar Chronicles #.05) by Marissa Meyer (4/5 stars)

#3: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (4/5 stars)

#4: K-9 (Knightly and Son #2) by Rohan Gavin (3/5 stars)

#5: Shutter by Courtney Alameda (4/5 stars)

#6: Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne (3.5/5 stars)

#7: Call of the Wild by Jack London (3/5 stars) This was my classic book club read of the month.

#8: Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer (3/5 stars)

#9: The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Reese Brennan (3.5/5 stars)

Favorite Reads of the Month

Downfall

The Replacement

Shutter

I'll have the reviews for these up sometime later this month so keep an eye out!

I was good with my book buying this month, (because next month at BookCon is going to be ridiculous) even though everything were splurge buys, I only bought four. I found another used bookshop where I got two, and then I made a trip to B&N because I bought my brother a giftcard for his bday (tactical) 

#1: Summer Knight (Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher

#2: The Navigator by Eoin McNamee

#3: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Girl of Fire and Thorns #1) by Rae Carson

#4: Penny Dreadfuls This is a B&N anthology of classic horror stories. It has an awesome selection in it!

Also for those of you not following my Twitter, I finally got my baby hedgehog this month! His name is Horatio.

So next month I will be going to BookCon in NY so there will be a special book haul wrap up for that. I really look forward to sharing my experience with you all. If anyone else is going to BookCon, please let me know! 

March 2015 Wrap Up

Hey everyone! This came a day late because I wasn't ready for it to be April today haha :P Anyway, here's my March wrap up. This was a super busy and stressful month for me, so I didn't get a whole lot of reading done, and nor have I even finished half of my reviews either. I've been working on other projects and beta-reading for people so I did as much as I could.

I finished six books in March and started a seventh but I did enjoy all the ones I read.

1. A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab (5/5 stars)
2. Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Neilson (4/5 stars)
3. The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3) by Maureen Johnson (4/5 stars)
4. Prowlers (Prowlers #1) by Christopher Golden (3.5/5 stars)
5. Beware the Wild by Natalie C. Parker (4/5 stars)
6. The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver (3/5 stars)

Favorite Reads of the Month

A Darker Shade of Magic
Beware the Wild


I did buy a few books this month because I made one trip to B&N and stumbled upon another used book store. Only acquired six books though so I was good, and one was actually given to me and another my mom bought me because she wanted to read it.

1. Dead Wake by Erik Larson 
2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (the beautiful B&N hardback addition)
3. Fairest (Lunar Chronicles #1.5) by Marissa Meyer
4. Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer
5. Pagan's Crusade (Pagan #1) by Catherine Jinks
6. Stargazer (Land of Elyon #4) by Patrick Carmen

What was everyone else's favorite reads/releases this month? Mine was definitely A Darker Shade of Magic it's the best book I've read this year so far. I'll have the review up before too long, or you can read it on Goodreads. I hope everyone has a good April!

Slainte, Hazel

February 2015 Wrap Up

Another month gone already! I don't know about you guys, but it seemed like February went super fast until the last week, then it dragged. But I've got a head cold too, so that might be why. Oh well. Well, I only read seven books this month, and not all the ones on my list, because I got so tired after my first three that I ended up adding a couple short westerns in between for fun. But four of these books was over 400 pages, a couple quite a bit, so I'm not beating myself up. It was a short month too. Next month, I have a big TBR that I hope I can get through.

I didn't get all my reviews written for this month, so I will be posting them throughout March instead. And no, it actually wasn't me being lazy, I was actually working on my formatting business and trying to do preliminary planning for my trip to NYC in May (BookCon people!) On that note, I got my train ticket! woot! So without further ado, the books I read this month:

1. Scorpion Mountain (Brotherband Chronicles #5) by John Flanagan (3/5 stars)
2. Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer (4/5 stars)
3. Ruin and Rising (Grisha Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo (4.5/5 stars)
4. Kiowa Trail by Louis L'Amour (3/5)
5. The Man From Skibbereen by Louis L'Amour (3/5)
6. A Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters (4/5 stars)
7. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (my Classics for Classic Ladies book club read of the month) (5/5 stars)

Favorite Reads of the Month

Cress
Ruin and Rising
Wives and Daughters


And now onto the books I bought this month. Really not many, only three. I didn't go to a book store, because I'm still abstaining in preparation for BookCon so I'm really only buying new releases I really want at the moment.

1. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
2. Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Neilson
3. The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3) By Maureen Johnson

Let me know what your favorite reads on the month were. March is going to be so bloody busy, lots of new books to read, stories to finish writing finally, lots of editing to do, hopefully more work, family coming for a week, and hopefully getting my hedgehog! I hope everyone has a great March. I will be seeing you at least my St. Patrick's Day if not before and I'm planning a spring Giveaway so keep an eye out for that during the second part of the month!

Slainte, Hazel

January 2015 Wrap Up

Following my new blogging regimen this year, I will be posting a wrap up of all the books I read every month and all the books I bought and list my favorite reads instead of just posting the reviews of my favs (since I am now posting all the reviews I write.)

I managed to read nine books this month which was more than I planned to, so that was a good start to the year in my opinion, and I'm still on track with my Goodreads reading challenge for the year! So without further ado here is my January wrap up:

#1. Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne (4/5 stars)
#2. The Jedi Doth Return (William Shakespeare's Star Wars #3) by Ian Doescher (5/5 stars)
#3. Siege and Storm (Grisha Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo (4/5 satrs)
#4. The Wild (Secret Journeys of Jack London #1) by William Golden & Tim Lebbon (5/5 stars--This was my month's reread)
#5. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (4/5 stars)
#6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (5/5 stars-- my Classics for Classic Ladies book club read of the month)
#7. Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3) by Morgan Rhodes (3/5 stars)
#8. Slashback (Cal Leandros #8) by Rob Thurman (4/5 stars)
#9. The Pennyroyal Academy by M. A. Larson (4/5 stars)

Favorite Reads of the Month:

Midnight Thief
Slashback
The Pennyroyal Academy


Now for the books I bought this month. I wasn't planning on buying many at all, but my friend and I decided to go visit my favorite used bookstore, so...that happened. I ended up coming back with 13 books plus the two I got earlier this month, so it could have been worse, I suppose. But I got a good haul, several books I have been wanting to read for a while, a couple to bring to BookCon to get signed, and yeah, some westerns, I have been in the mood for them lately.

#1. Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne
#2. Ruin and Rising (Grisha Trilogy #3) by Leigh Bardugo
#3. Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher
#4. The Thundering Herd by Zane Grey
#5. The Drift Fence by Zane Grey
#6. Raiders of Spanish Peaks by Zane Grey
#7. Desert Gold by Zane Grey
#8. Silverfin (Young Bond #1) by Charlie Higson
#9. Prowlers by Christopher Golden
#10. When the Eagle Hunts (Macro and Cato #3) by Simon Scarrow
#11. Captain Alatriste (Alatriste #1) by Arturo Perez-Reverte
#12. Purity of Blood (Alatriste #2) by Aruto Perez-Reverte
#13. The Sun Over Breda (Alatriste #3) by Aruto Perez-Reverte
#14. Pirates of the Levant (Alatriste #6) by Aruto Perez-Reverte
#15. The Sea Wolf by Jack London


What did you all get to read this month? Let me know if you had a good start to your reading in 2015 and if you have any must reads for me this year!

Until next time,
Slainte, Hazel

2014 Wrap Up/ Favorite Reads

Hey everyone, first of all, sorry for being AWOL for so long, I guess over a month now. It's just that November was majority busy with NaNo by craft fair and Etsy stuff, Thanksgiving, and just everything else. And then December was busy as usual, plus I had my hand in a cast for most of it, making typing hard. Yeah, fun. But I have come back to do a yearly wrap up and share with you what I hope to accomplish next year. I don't do resolutions, but I do set goals for myself.

2014 wasn't a bad year, I wrote one and a half novels, published another, and while I didn't read as many books this year as I did last year, I read some very good ones. And some bad, but that's the way it is. We got a new season of Sherlock, I got into a couple new fandoms, the last Hobbit movie came out and destroyed my feels, and a bunch of amazing books came out this year, several from debut authors! Overall the year was good, if a little boring in my personal life.

Next year, I hope to finish two more novels as usual, continuing with my Modern Tales of Na Fianna series (no longer a trilogy, I have thought of four books now). A lot of book releases to look forward to, no movies I'm currently waiting for yet, but lots of shows I follow coming back. I'm going to get a pet hedgehog! He's sort of a Christmas present, but I haven't gone to get him yet, but you will all know when I do. I am going to start a formatting business online, I'll have more about that later once I get it set up. I always promise to blog more, but that doesn't always happen, though this year I do plan to find a weekly feature to do, maybe staring with Top Ten Tuesday to give it a go. Most exciting, is that Mara (from the Reading Hedgehog) and I are planning on going to BookCon this year! If you too, are going, let me know! I also hope to start reading several series this year that I have been meaning to for a long time like The Dresden Files after I finish the Cal Leandros series, and yes, everyone, I plan to start watching Doctor Who this year. It's been long enough.

Now, onto my reads for the year!

Overall, I read 86 books this year. Not terrible, and I did meet my Goodreads goal, but not as great as the over 100 I read last year. Several were re-reads too, but oh well. I'm going to give you my Top 10 favorite reads of the year: First five are 2014 publications, and the others are just books I picked up for the first time. There were certainly other books that could have made this list, but I decided that I read so many good books this year, that I would just do ten otherwise this could go on for ever!

(You can click on the title for the link to my review)

Favorite 2014 Reads:

2014 Releases

1. Jackaby by William Ritter Victorian era, mystery, amazing heroine, quirky detective, and faeries, what is not to like, I ask? Probably my favorite 2014 release and possibly my favorite read of the year. I can’t say enough about this one!

2. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater Continuing to love the Raven Boys Cycle, and this one did not disappoint, in fact, it was better than I expected and less painful too. As always Maggie manages to write something so strange yet so perfectly amazing, and once again leaves us with many questions and a terrible cliffhanger to boot. But I can’t stop loving these books all the same.

3. The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Neilson I have loved this trilogy since the beginning, and the last book was no exception, very much everything I hoped for, and tying of the ending perfectly. The only problem was that it was hard to let go of Sage who has become one of my favorite fictional characters.

4. The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson This was a lovely book, and one of the best Tam Lin retellings I have ever read, and I've had a hard time finding good ones. I just love the way she writes, it's so visual and her characters are well crafted and enjoyable to read about. Definitely looking forward to what she has next.

5 The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp This was just a fun book, written in the classic adventure style with faeries and magic and daring do. I love to see classic swashbucklers come back, and was so excited to find this one. It had to make the list.

Other Books

1 Vicious by V. E. Schwab I love me a good revenge story, and this one was totally awesome. I read this at the beginning of the year, and I still say it’s one of the best reads of 2014. Villains done right are ones you actually find yourself caring about. This was a dark story, but wonderful as well. I have a feeling I’m going to be talking about this one for a while yet.

2 I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga I read the whole trilogy this year, after a long time of it being of my TBR and loved it. So dark, so intense and addicting. It’s been a long time since I read a book that really got into the psychology of a killer like this one did. Not books for the faint of heart, but my dark side loved them.

3 The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud This is the first in the Lockwood & Co.  series and I love it! A new favorite series. So very fun and British and though it's set in the modern day, it feels very Victorian. This was the first Jonathan Stroud book I have read, but I now hope to read the rest of his books.

4 Nightlife by Rob Thurman I discovered the Cal Leandros series this year and loved it. I love any story about brothers, and while I still have a couple little issues with this series, I can't help but love it. One of my favorite new finds of the year. I've enjoyed it so far.

5 Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby This might have been the most surprising book of the year. I read this back in January or February I think, but it was lovely, and a very nice story, not at all what I expected going into it. I ended up really loving this book and thought I should add it to my favorites.

As a special extra, my least favorite book of the year:

The Friday Society by Adrienne Cress

Let me know what your favorite reads of the year were!