It’s that time of year again people. The time where we, the voracious and obsessive readers of LGBTQ romance, look back and reflect on what an amazing year of books it’s been. If you’re anything like us then you’re already compiling your 20119 “To Read” list, but first, let’s share some of our favourite books from the year just gone.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be posting our top reads of the year. Please feel free to tell us your own favourites, or simply comment on our choices.

One commenter from each of these posts will win a $5 store credit with Dreamspinner Press.

DAN

First Son of the Mound (Chronicles of an Earned #8) by Meraki P. Lyhne

I love this author, and I hate him. I love the books… I really get into the books… and then they end, and I’m stuck tapping my foot and waiting for the next one. It isn’t fair. But seriously, I love this author. If you haven’t been reading this series, you should be.

First Son of the Mound is no exception to how much I’ve enjoyed this series so far. You’d think by book eight in a series I would have had enough and moved on. Not so. I love this series. I love the character of Kaleb and he just keeps getting better. I also liked the other characters and events in this one, and the drawing together of different beings.

One warning. This one is a part of a series and this series must be read in order. The books all continue on the next page flip from the book before them, so start with book one and work through them. I guarantee you will not be sorry. If you like a play on contemporary, but with Angels, Gods, the Fae, Witches, a shadowy Order, Gargoyles, and a race of beings called the Earned, you will love it.

Twenty-Two by S. Davidson

This one was emotional. There are graphic scenes of combat, there is PTSD, there is blatant homophobia including a disturbing scene with a pick-up truck and a rope, there is hurt/comfort, there is suicide, there are some really f’d up things. But together…they work.

I love this author’s writing style. She always leaves me with a book hangover as I’ve mentioned in earlier reviews of her books. This one, and her other works are not for the faint of heart. They aren’t for the average Love Bytes reader. But if you like your reading a bit…ok…maybe a lot on the dark side, then you need to read this author.

Caledonia Destiny (Blessed Bane #1) by Lexi Ander

I picked this book up when I saw a post on Facebook about it, and wow am I happy I stumbled on that post. Wyrbears… and the book has a dragon on the cover, how could I go wrong?

Caledonia Destiny was a wonderful find. Rich in detail, the storyline was one that drew me in and kept me captive until I got to the last page in the book. The characters were very well written, and I really felt like I came to know Ewen and Roi during the story. Their tale was one of danger and evildoers, but also one of budding love.

I hope there will be more in this series. I adore this world and hope it is expanded! It is vaguely historical in setting, but honestly it read as a totally different world, just with a few common elements.

Day of Wrath (Taking Shield #5) by Anna Butler

Grief. It’s what I felt for a couple days…and I tracked it back to finishing this series. I loved the Taking Shield series, and the last installment was no exception. But the ending! OH MY GOD. I was so totally not expecting Ms. Butler to go there! No spoilers on that, but when you read this one, be prepared for a hell of a ride!

Ms. Butler is one of my favorite sci-fi authors at this point. Her stories are spot on, the technology is enough to the keep the story flowing, without being too over the top technical, and her humans and aliens are totally believable. If you’re a sci-fi reader, and you haven’t read this series, you need to start it right now. Read it in order, they aren’t in any way standalones.

Genesis Circle series by Aimee Nicole Walker & Nicholas Bella

I found this series through an announcement post on Love Bytes. It sounded intriguing, so I popped over to Amazon and one clicked the first book on KU. I rapidly worked my way through that one and the follow-up book two and I’ve got to say I loved them both. I liked the world building and I liked the way the authors brought a bunch of different supernatural species into play.

I’m enjoying the heck out of this series and now can’t wait for book three to come out. There was a teaser in the end of book two… and I want it now! I like how the authors pull the characters together

No spoilers. If you’re into urban supernatural stories, I highly recommend you pick up this series!

 

Balefire (Whyborne & Griffin #10) by Jordan L. Hawk

This is one of my favorite series. I love Whyborne and Griffin and their wild supernatural journeys. Book ten is no different. I loved it as usual.

As with all of Ms. Hawk’s books, nothing is ever as it seems, and there is much more to the dilemma that anyone knows. The group members are again all in for a wild ride. Ancient evil is alive and well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this installment and highly recommend the entire series. I would not say that any of the books are necessarily standalones. I would recommend starting with book one and working your way through the entire series so that you understand who everyone is and all the background we’ve received in the previous nine books.

I’m sad to say that there was something about ‘the conclusion’ of the Whyborne and Griffin story being in the eleventh and final book. ☹

 

A Breath of Innocence (Guns n’ Boys #8) by K.A. Merikan

As anyone who follows my reviews will know, I love the stories that these two women give us. Sometimes they get a little too violent, but not in this one. This one was a break from the violence and focused on Mark, the young man adopted by Seth and Dom in previous books. He is now a young adult and has run off to England to find Charlotte, the girl that got away after he chose to stay in South America and help Dom with the tough day to day running of their family ‘business’. But three years or so have elapsed, and Charlotte isn’t at all happy to see him. She flat out refuses to talk to him at all. But as it turns out, her brother isn’t unhappy to pick up the pieces. No more spoilers.

I enjoyed this story. It built on and filled in some of the storyline from previous books, while letting us really get to know Mark. I like these two and really hope there is more of their story in the future.

As always, I highly recommend this book and pretty much everything these ladies have written!

The Wulf Chronicles (WulfChron #1) by Wulf Francu Godgluck

I’ve been a fan of this author since I read the first story that came my way. I’m not a huge fan of cliffhangers though, so this one left me fuming a little bit.

We are introduced to a young man named Michael Salem, just as he and his mother have fled to a remote island off the coast of Maine. Michael and his mother have been on the run for years from people who have been hunting them and trying to kill them. It takes a while before we learn who those people are, but the story builds nicely as it goes along.

The story was full of moments when I just wanted to reach in and shake someone and tell them to communicate. Secrets and lies kept everyone apart, right up to the big conclusion or what I would more aptly call the aforementioned cliffhanger. GRRRRRRRR!

I highly recommend the story to anyone who isn’t faint of heart. It is by no means a romance. It is dark and might be disturbing to more sensitive readers. I, on the other hand, will be waiting impatiently for the next installment!

The Rest of Forever (Firsts and Forever #16) by Alexa Land

Mikey Dombruso has always been one of my favorite background/side characters in this series. The younger brother, accountant, father of three and widower. Uptight and kind of shy. Someone that kind of uptight, former accountant, me, can empathize with. Particularly getting razed for buttoning too many buttons on the polo shirts! When this book came out, I had to have it instantly.

I highly recommend this one, and for that matter every single darned one of the books ever written by this woman. I thought that somewhere along the way I’d get bored with this continuing saga, but no. I should also mention that the spin off Catalina Book and her Christmas shorts book should also on my list, but I didn’t want the ENTIRE list to be Alexa Land stories!

If you aren’t reading Ms. Land’s books and you like a happy ending…every time…you need to pick up one today. They can be read in any order, but I recommend starting at the beginning and going in order so that you see the character development that has happened throughout the series. And they are all really good!