Meredith Shayne

Books I enjoyed in 2012

Within the first week of the new year is fine for posting these sorts of lists, right? Too bad if it isn’t, because I’m posting it anyway. For the past few years I have posted a list of the books I read during the calendar year that I particularly enjoyed, so here is 2012’s list. If you’re looking for some kind of insightful reviewing, you will not find it here, but hopefully you’ll at least get a sense of why I liked the books I’ve included. I’ve included buy links as well, just in case anything tickles your fancy. In no particular order, we have:

The Christmas Proposition, by KA Mitchell

Christmas tree farm owner Mel takes up with millionaire mining company owner Bryce Campion again after a 3-year break. This was great. The introduction of Bryce was genius, the sex was smoking hot and overall, despite some contact embarrassment from some events towards the end of the book, it was a ridiculously enjoyable read.

Wild Boy, My Life in Duran Duran, by Andy Taylor

Oh, ANDY. As a child of the 80s I of course loved Duran Duran so this was right up my alley. Undoubtedly biased, it was still an easy and interesting read, giving a lot of insight into what it’s like to be thrust into the middle of enormous fortune and fame when you least expect it. John Taylor also has an autobiography out (In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death and Duran Duran. Oh, JOHN), and I am all over that like a frigging rash, let me tell you.

Soulless, by Gail Carriger

Spinster Alexia Tarrabotti, half Italian and with no soul to boot, gets under the skin of the grumpy Scottish Alpha of the local werewolf pack, Lord Maccon. She has trouble understanding feelings, and he has a lot of those, plus poor impulse control when it comes to her. He is also prone to stripping in public when he wants to shift, which the gaggle of gay vampires in the book do not mind one little bit. This was fluff, but the type of fantastic fluff that had me laughing out loud a lot, and loving it.

The Time of the Singing, by Louise Blaydon

Gay priest meets late-teen altar boy and shenanigans ensue. I am partial to religious-themed stories, and this one was a great one. I found the struggles that the priest, Raf, went through over his feelings for Nate realistic. From what I’ve seen some people had problems with Nate’s age, but I would say that anyone who masturbates openly while confessing their sins to the object of those sinful thoughts isn’t exactly a naive innocent.

Tigerland, by Sean Kennedy

Sequel to Tigers and Devils, which I LOVED. I loved this one just as much. It’s 3 years on from Tigers and Devils, and Simon and Declan have grown and matured, both as individuals and a couple. These books are hilarious, and also very Australian. If you haven’t read these two books, you are really missing out on some absolute gold and you should go right now, RIGHT NOW, and get them because they are totally worth the time you’ll lose when you can’t put them down.

Once Burned, by Jeaniene Frost

The vampire Vlad (yes, that Vlad) meets Leila, who, after an accident with some power lines, electrocutes everyone she meets. I expected to hate this book. I didn’t. I enjoyed it a lot. I haven’t read the original series for which this is a spin off, but that didn’t matter. Vlad was sexy, and Leila does try to resist him in a non-annoying way. I will be reading the second one when it comes out.

The Channeling Morpheus series, by Jordan Castillo Price

Vampire hunter Michael meets Wild Bill, vampire extraordinaire, and they can’t keep away from each other. Eventually they stop trying. Holy crap, THIS SERIES. I adored it. Absolute, unreserved adoration. The last 3 or 4 in the story are particularly intense, and really shows how far they’ve come over the course of the series. I am particularly partial to Bill’s POV, because he really gives away how his feelings for Michael are developing, in only a word here and there, a stray thought, which is masterful on JCP’s part. The link is to the first one, Payback, but there’s a link to the entire bundle (#1-10 plus a couple of shorts) there as well. Just buy them all, and read them all at once. You won’t regret it.