It’s going to be 42 here in Melbourne for the last day of the year. That is what is officially known as hot, hot, hot, hotty, hot. Not the weather for doing anything much other than floating in a well shaded pool or staying inside with the aircon on and reading. So as my second year of blogging draws to a hot close, I’m continuing the tradition I started last year and finishing the year with books.
This year my read list (being the books I read for the first time and remembered to add to the list and liked) is sitting at 160 odd, which is more than last year. That surprised me because I would’ve said I’d read a bit less, mainly because I think I took the train less to work, thus cutting down on reading time. So maybe I re-read less. But I’d still guess I’d re-read at least one book for every new book, so I’m still around 300 for the year. It’s been a big year for fantasy and urban fantasy, so next year I’d like to find some new great contemporary romance authors. I’ve got some faves who are newish in category but not in Single Title contemps. And while I read more male authors this year, I’d like to read more again next year. So many books, so little time : )
So what were the favourites this year amongst these books? Again, no particular order…
Sunshine – Robin McKinley (I was actually surprised when I saw this on this year’s list…I thought I’d read it last year but apparently not. And I’ve re-read this book at least three times this year, that’s how much I liked it).
Working for the Devil – Lilith Saintcrow (in fact, I’ve really liked all four in this series and am waiting impatiently for the final book to arrive from overseas as we speak)
Agnes and the Hitman – Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
Blood and Iron – Elizabeth Bear (I’ve read most of Elizabeth’s books this year and all were intriguing.)
Sleeping Partner – Kelly Hunter (and Priceless was great too)
Melusine – Sarah Monette (another book I’d picked up a few times in bookstores and never bought prior to receiving it for Christmas where I gulped it down and now really want the next two)
Twilight – Stephanie Meyer
Natural Born Charmer – Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Black Ice – Anne Stuart
Billionaire on her doorstep – Ally Blake
Ysabel – Guy Gavriel Kay
Kushiel’s Justice – Jacqueline Carey
The Raven Prince – Elizabeth Hoyt
Magic Bites – Ilona Andrews
The Sharing Knife: Legacy – Lois McMaster Bujold
I hope 2007 gave you some fabulous stories and 2008 brings many more!
And here’s this year’s list in full:
The Boss’s Christmas Baby – Trish Morey
Melusine – Sarah Monette
Devlin’s Luck – Patricia Bray
Millionaire to the Rescue – Ally Blake
Rose Daughter – Robin McKinley
Worldwired – Elizabeth Bear
Scandal’s Daughter – Christine Wells
Mine Until Midnight – Lisa Kleypas
Scardown – Elizabeth Bear
An Affair Before Christmas – Eloisa James
Hammered – Elizabeth Bear
Valiant – Holly Black
New Amsterdam – Elizabeth Bear
Water Elementals – Peter Dickinson & Robin McKinley
Spindles End – Robin McKinley
Succubus Blues – Richelle Mead
The Margarets – Sheri S Tepper
Saint City Sinners – Lilith Saintcrow
Stripped – Julie Elizabeth Leto
One Forbidden Evening – Jo Goodman
Forgotten Marriage – Paula Roe
Undertow – Elizabeth Bear
Steamy Surrender – Ally Blake
On the Loose – Tara Janzen
Billionaire on Her Doorstep – Ally Blake
Sizzle, Seduce, Simmer – Lots of cool aussie romance authors
The Pinhoe Egg – Diana Wynne Jones
Lover Unbound – JR Ward
City of Bones – Cassandra Clare
Wired – Liz Maverick
Cafe du Jour – Lilian Darcy
Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch – Haywood Smith
The Hindi-Bindi Club – Monica Pradhan
Sleeping Partner – Kelly Hunter
Eat Cake – Jeanne Ray
The Sharing Knife: Legacy – Lois McMaster Bujold
The Thirteenth House – Sharon Shinn
If His Kiss was Wicked – Jo Goodman
Making Money – Terry Pratchett
Unshapely Things – Mark Del Franco
The Devil’s Waltz – Anne Stuart
The Serpent Prince – Elizabeth Hoyt
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade – Diana Gabaldon
Shakespeare – Bill Bryson
Bloodlines – Eileen Wilks
Spellbinder – Melanie Rawn
The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch
Mortal Danger – Eileen Wilks
The Devil’s Right Hand – Lilith Saintcrow
Warlord – Elizabeth Vaughan
Tempting Danger – Eileen Wilks
Sight Unseen – Samantha Graves
Vicious Circle – Mike Carey
Ice Blue – Anne Stuart
Agnes and the Hitman – Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
Embraced by Darkness – Keri Arthur
New Moon – Stephanie Meyer
Hot for Him – Sarah Mayberry
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever – Julia Quinn
Carnival – Elizabeth Bear
Stardust – Neil Gaiman
Bite Me if You Can – Lyndsay Sands
Queen of Babble in the Big City – Meg Cabot
Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows – JK Rowling
Lean Mean Thirteen – Janet Evanovich
Candy Apple Red – Nancy Bush
The Prince’s Outback Bride – Marion Lennox
Sugar Daddy – Lisa Kleypas
Stray – Rachel Vincent
Sex as a Second Language – Jamie Sobrato
Bad Behavior – Kristin Hardy
An Unladylike Offer – Christine Merrill
All Over You – Sarah Mayberry
Gabriel’s Ghost – Linnea Sinclair
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes – Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer and Anne Stuart
The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley
Nightlife – Rob Thurman
Desperate Duchesses – Eloisa James
The Hob’s Bargain – Patricia Briggs
Talyn – Holly Lisle
Kushiel’s Justice – Jacqueline Carey
Magic Lost, Trouble Found – Lisa Shearin
Magic Study – Maria V Snyder
The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell – Samantha James
The Blue Sword – Robin McKinley
The Leopard Prince – Elizabeth Hoyt
Deerskin – Robin McKinley
Talk Gertie to Me – Lois Winston
Lover Revealed – JR Ward
Out of Sight – Cherry Adair
Big Shot Bachelor – Nicola Marsh
Hellspark – Janet Kagan
Belladonna – Anne Bishop
Magic Bites – Ilona Andrews
Santa Baby – Jennifer Crusie, Lori Foster, Carly Phillips
The Secret to Seduction – Julie Anne Long
Beauty and the Spy – Julie Anne Long
The Raven Prince – Elizabeth Hoyt
The Scent of Shadows – Vicki Pettersson
Natural Born Charmer – Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Code Noir – Marianne de Pierres
Blood and Iron – Elizabeth Bear
Mystic and Rider – Sharon Shinn
Ysabel – Guy Gavriel Kay
Path of Fate – Diana Pharaoh Francis
Nylon Angel – Marianne de Pierres
Seducing the Spy – Celeste Bradley
Claiming the Courtesan – Anna Campbell
A Great and Terrible Beauty – Libba Bray
Dangerous Games – Keri Arthur
These Three Remain – Pamela Aidan
The Devil You Know – Mike Carey
Duty and Desire – Pamela Aidan
Blood Bound – Patricia Briggs
An Assembly Such As This – Pamela Aidan
The Last
Bachelor – Betina Krahn
Cold as Ice – Anne Stuart
Sunshine – Robin McKinley
Priceless – Kelly Hunter
Murder at the Pleasure Gardens – Rosemary Stevens
The Greek’s Virgin – Trish Morey
The Devil Wears Prada – Laura Weisberger
Black Ice – Anne Stuart
To Love and To Cherish – Patricia Gaffney
Tempting Evil – Keri Arthur
Kissing Sin – Keri Arthur
Eyes of Crow – Jeri Smith-Ready
The Hidden Heart – Laura Kinsale
The Perfect Kiss – Anne Gracie
The Shadow and the Star – Laura Kinsale
Desire Never Dies – Jenna Petersen
The Dark Side of the Moon – Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Husband Test – Betina Krahn
Matriarch – Karen Traviss
The Wife Test – Betina Krahn
The Book of True Desires – Betina Krahn
Dead Man Rising – Lilith Saintcrow
Circle of the Moon – Barbara Hambly
Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
Witchling – Yasmine Galenorn
The Rest Falls Away – Colleen Gleason
Awaken Me Darkly – Gena Showalter
Twilight – Stephanie Meyer
The Thunderbolt Kid – Bill Bryson
The Kitchen Witch – Annette Blair
The Husband Test – Betina Krahn
Angel Rogue – Mary Jo Putney
Born in Death – Nora Roberts
Cagebird – Karen Lowachee
Working for the Devil – Lilith Saintcrow
Charming Grace – Deb Smith