5-Star Books I Read in 2014 (So Far!)

Sometime during the next month, you may have to shop – for yourself or someone else. I have some suggestions, so here are the books I rated 5 stars in 2014 (so far!). Of course, this by no means guarantees you or your people will find them worthy of 5 stars 😉 Listed in order from most recently read and working backward through time. The title links should take you to my reviews of the books:

Jodi Picoult, Leaving Time: A Bookworld Top Pick for Christmas. General/mainstream fiction.

Laura Wiess, Leftovers: YA suspense.

Laura Wiess, Such a Pretty Girl: YA suspense.

Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves: YA urban fantasy. (Book 2 in a series.)

Tiffany Reisz, The Mistress: Erotic fiction. (Book 4 in a series.)

M. D. Waters, Archetype: Futuristic.

Laura Wiess, Me Since You: YA general/mainstream fiction.

Allie Brosh, Hyperbole and a Half: Illustrated memoirs.

This post was supported by Bookworld.

[REVIEW] The Mistress – Tiffany Reisz

Tiffany Reisz
The Mistress (The Original Sinners: The Red Years, Book 4)
Harlequin (US: 30th July 2013; AU: 1st August 2013; UK: 2nd August 2013)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)

It’s no secret that I spend more time checking book lists than – shock – actually reading. It takes a special story to drag me away from technology…and that book was Tiffany Reisz’s The Mistress. This cracker of a binge-read held me enthralled, with its deceptively simple concept elaborated with exquisite detail. (The cloth! That grabbed me by the feels big-time.)

Also, my cheering for a particular relationship wasn’t in vain, so many thanks to the author for supporting my ‘ship.

“Killing a fairy” for romance fans:

30th July 2013 Releases

Happy Release Day to:

Dawn Metcalf
Indelible (Twixt, Book 1)
Harlequin Teen (US: 30th July 2013)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Joy Malone learns this the night she sees a stranger with all-black eyes across a crowded room – right before the mystery boy tries to cut out her eye. Instead, the wound accidentally marks her as property of Indelible Ink, and this dangerous mistake thrusts Joy into an incomprehensible world – a world of monsters at the window, glowing girls on the doorstep and a life that will never be the same. Now, Joy must pretend to be Ink’s chosen one – his helper, his love, his something for the foreseeable future…and failure to be convincing means a painful death for them both. Swept into a world of monsters, illusion, immortal honour and revenge, Joy discovers that sometimes, there are no mistakes.

Tiffany Reisz
The Mistress (Original Sinners, Book 4)
Harlequin Mira (US: 30th July 2013)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Nora Sutherlin is in handcuffs, held captive by two men. Under different circumstances, she would enjoy the situation immensely, but her captors aren’t interested in play. Or pity. As the reality of her impending peril unfolds, Nora becomes Scheherazade, buying each hour of her life with stories – sensual tales of Søren, Kingsley and Wesley, each of whom has tempted and tested and tortured her in his own way. This, Nora realises, is her life: nothing so simple, so vanilla, as a mere love triangle for her. It’s a knot in a silken cord, a tangled mass of longings of the body and the heart and the mind. And it may unravel at any moment. But in Nora’s world, no one is ever truly powerless – a cadre of her friends, protectors and lovers stands ready to do anything to save her, even when the only certainty seems to be sacrifice and heartbreak…

August 2013 Releases

Done with July 2013 Releases? Here are August 2013 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist.

July 2013 Releases

Done with June 2013 Releases? Here are July 2013 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist

Blog Search Terms – Weird & Wonderful

I check my blog stats daily to see how visitors get to my WordPress. This evening, I checked for the most used search terms to get here during the past 90 days.

Overwhelmingly popular are various search terms involving Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series. If you’re looking for spoilers, you’re in luck! For the first two novels, anyway. Haven’t got the third yet, but hopefully some bright spark at Penguin Australia will stick it on NetGalley. Or I wait for the paperback from the library, and type up my Post-It handwritten notes. Whenever that’ll be. Anyhoo, Bared to You and Reflected in You. Now you know.

WEIRD
tez bronze – I’m pale.
2nd of april 2013 will the dollar go up or down – I’m poor. But I can tell you that the only place I’ve found 250g bags of chips is in Aldi, and they’re only $2. A wise investment, perfect for binge-eaters. (I binge, but don’t purge.)
military tez kit – If you find one, let me know what’s in it.
what is a good speech for the bride from her sister – Sorry, dude; you’re on your own with that one.
brigth side i can tez my husband – I am not a verb. But if I were… tez = raise an eyebrow.
tez miller review for the book gabriel’s rapture – Haven’t read it; don’t care to. But if you send me a copy, I’ll post spoilers for you.
tez counselling – Sorry, dude; you’re on your own with that one.
invisible borders of acids irreversibly marks tresspassers – WTF?!
how did tez get killed – Not very well. I’m still alive.
reisz pronunciation – You know Reese Witherspoon? Pronounce Reisz as if it’s Reese. Kristopher Reisz taught me that. I’m guessing that also applies to Tiffany Reisz.

WHOEVER SEARCHED FOR THIS, YOU’RE AWESOME
father ted you big fool
south park ungroundable steven quotes

SAY IT AIN’T SO!
will soren die in tiffany reisz book the mistress

TELL ME IT’S TRUE!
will nora end up with kingsley and soren in the book the mistress – Would also settle for Nora with Soren, or Kingsley with Soren. But I’ll read whatever Tiffany Reisz writes, because she and her writing are freaking awesome.

5 New Covers (Bick, Falls, Hoover, Reisz, Roux)

What I’m Looking Forward to from Harlequin

I didn’t attend the Harlequin Summit, but guests were asked to share to which Harlequin books they were most looking forward. Some of my picks weren’t mentioned, so here’s my wishlist:

Kady Cross: The Girl with the Iron Touch: Buy (US)
Jeaniene Frost: Realmwalker
Megan Hart: The Favor: Buy (US)
Megan Hart: Tear You Apart: Buy (US)
Karen Ann Hopkins: Belonging: Buy (US)
Katie McGarry: Dare You To: Buy (US)
Katie McGarry: Crash Into You
Dawn Metcalf: Indelible: Buy (US)
Nichola Reilly: Dream Kingdom
Tiffany Reisz: The Mistress: Buy (US)
Tiffany Reisz: The Priest
Michelle Rowen: Countdown
Gena Showalter: Through the Zombie Glass
Amanda Sun: Ink: Buy (US)
Rachel Vincent: With All My Soul: Buy (US)
Rachel Vincent: Oath Bound: Buy (US)

2 New Covers (Norris, Reisz)

3 New Deals (Cremer, Hathaway, Reisz)

Andrea Cremer‘s adult erotic trilogy to Dutton (World). Set within the Nightshade world of the author’s YA books, about the lives, passions, and betrayals of lovers whose very desires invite their dooms. The first book is scheduled for October 2013.

Jill Hathaway‘s next two novels to Balzer + Bray (NA) for publication in 2014 and 2015.

Tiffany Reisz‘s four new books to MIRA. There’ll also be ten short stories in The Mistress Files – memoirs of Mistress Nora and her misadventures with her sexy clients. The four novels will continue The Original Sinners, including The Mistress and The Priest (Books 4 and 5). The Mistress: Mistress Nora is in the worst trouble of her life. She’ll need all her courage and all her training if she’s going to make it out alive. The Priest (a prequel to Books 1-4): Fifteen-year-old Eleanor Schreiber only has one desire in life – get out of the Catholic Church and never EVER go back. Everything goes according to plan until she gets one look at Father Stearns, the new priest at Sacred Heart, and she knows her life will never be the same again.