My Favorite Reads of 2019 ~ #amreading #books #FridayReads #Kindle

Time for my annual round-up of my favorite reads of 2019!  As the term "annual" suggests, I do this every year, or at least I have for as long as I've been blogging.  I tend to get most of my book recommendations from suggestions, whether it's from a friend, social media, or a list, so I like to share my own list each January.

According to Goodreads, I read (and listened to) a total of 36 books this year.  Not too bad considering writing and editing my own books takes a lot of time.  I'm thrilled my own 2019 release, The Haunting of Hillwood Farm, has made it onto best book lists or won awards this year at five different review sites!  If you enjoy romantic suspense and/or ghost mysteries, I hope you'll give it a try!  This title is now on Audible too.

I should give a shout-out to Dangerous Currents too...my steamy second-chance Romantic Suspense made it into Cape Cod's 2019 In Season Magazine as a book store recommended read!

For this post, I usually pick five to seven books I really enjoyed and separate them out by genres, and link prior years as well at the bottom.  I should note that while I read many genres, I'm primarily drawn to Gothic, dark, and atmospheric stories.  Not particularly surprising since I write eerie ghost mysteries, but in my novels, I like to balance out the spooky with romance...which by definition, to be published as a romance, must have a "Happily Ever After" for the two main characters.  But since I have lots of books on this list that are not romance, I'll point out that HEAs are not guaranteed for the other genre listings! 


I'm leaving out the Romance genre this year, because my policy on these annual posts is that I cannot know the author of a book I choose, or have any relationship other than being a fan of his or her work...I don't want to pick amongst friends or have any bias for this blog series.  That said, I'll note when a title had romantic elements.

Historical Fiction: White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey

Set in Hitler's Germany, this book contains not just elements of fascinating historical fiction, but also romance and suspense.  Franka is a German citizen and a member of the Nazi resistance, hiding out in her family's summer cabin in the Black Forest.  When she finds an injured Nazi airman, her medical training and her innate compassion compel her to bring him to the isolated cabin.  Without going into spoilers, the external conflict between the main characters is unique and intense, with life-threatening consequences for each of them as they struggle with whom to trust with their secrets.  The desire to learn each character's past, along with the chillingly suspenseful scenes, kept the pages turning rapidly.   

Legal Thriller: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

The premise of this book is a trial following a fatal explosion at a privately-owned alternative-medicine treatment facility.  Who was responsible, and was it murder?  A lot of people have described this book as something similar to what would happen if Celeste Ng (author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You) wrote a legal thriller, and that feels accurate.  It blends mystery, courtroom drama, and family secrets and dynamics while also exploring subjects like caring for special needs children, adapting to America as immigrants, and marriage and parenting.  A lot is packed into this novel, along with beautiful, emotional writing.  

Psychological Suspense/Horror:  Here to Stay by Mark Edwards

It's nearly impossible to look away as a newly married couple's life spirals into a horrific disaster when the wife's family comes to stay for a short visit.  As the title suggests, the visitors actually have no intention of leaving, and the situation goes from bad to worse as mysteries surface, tragedies occur, tempers rise, and a once-peaceful life and home become unrecognizable.  A dark and twisty thriller.

Historical Fiction:  The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

The trope here is familiar...something happens in the present that uncovers a past mystery, and the story is told in dual timelines as secrets are uncovered.  While I've read a lot of these as a fan of historical fiction, this one stood out.  The main character in the present, Alice, faces daily struggles with her family, including her autistic son, as she also tries to spend time with her terminally ill grandmother.  As her grandmother tries to communicate her dying wishes, Alice begins to unravel the threads of the past, in a journey that takes her to Poland.  In alternating chapters, readers are immersed in Alina's coming of age in Nazi-occupied Poland and the horrors that she and her family and friends endured.  This story is full of hope and heartbreak, love and loss, strength and perseverance.     

Young Adult Dystopian: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

This is a YA post-apocalyptic thriller, and I tend to be a fan of survivalist type stories.  A group of kids ranging from 1st graders to high schoolers become trapped in a superstore (think Target or Walmart) after a series of disasters.  The story hooked me right away, but I have to say one of my favorite things about this book/series is that *both* my sons (age 18 and 21) read it--quickly--at my suggestion, and let's just say it's very difficult to get them reading at this stage in their lives.  I've dedicated posts to finding books for boys in the past, and I'd add this in a heartbeat.  This is a 3 book trilogy and I'm excited to get to the next in the series.

Nonfiction: Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas

This is part memoir and part case-studies, and completely fascinating to anyone interested in profiling killers, criminal psychology, and true crime.  Fair warning--the subject matter dictates some very gruesome and disturbing imagery...it would be difficult to describe the crime scenes and the behavioral markers without some graphic details.  As an author who incorporates bad guys and serial killers into plots, this also served as an amazing reference book as well as a unique look inside the development of profiling.  John Douglas was one of the founders of the FBI's modern profiling unit, and the character of Jack Crawford in Silence of the Lambs is based on Douglas.  Throughout 25 years with the FBI, Douglas was involved in some very high-profile cases, and the methods he developed helped find and convict serial rapists and killers.

Psychological Suspense: The Housemate by C.L. Pattison

A thriller set around two old friends who invite a third roommate to share their London flat to keep expenses down.  Strange and mysterious things begin happening, and this book has a "Single White Female" vibe.  I listened to the audio version and the narration was top-notch.  


There you have it, seven titles I really enjoyed from five genres.  Now, I want to hear some of your favorite reads...feel free to comment below!  And check out the links to some prior years for more recommendations.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Reading!

My Favorite Reads 2012

My Favorite Reads 2013

My Favorite Reads 2014

My Favorite Reads 2015

My Favorite Reads 2016

My Favorite Reads 2017

My Favorite Reads 2018

My Favorite #Books of 2016 #amreading #amwriting

I can't believe it's time for my annual write-up of favorite books!  I read some really fantastic ones this year, which I'm excited to share.  I enjoy reading almost every genre, so there are a few represented here, but of course I have my preferences.  Some of my picks don't necessarily fall neatly into a single genre, either, and I guess it's no surprise that these are my absolute favorites, given that I also write in a mixture of genres (steamy romance combined with haunting mysteries).  So I'll start with those two novels, which both have elements of three different genres.

Mixed Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Suspense

Who could resist this cover?

The Lost Girls by Heather Young - Parallel stories unfold in this beautiful blend of historical fiction, literary fiction, and suspense.  A little girl's disappearance from the family's summer lake house in 1935 is never solved.  But in her final year of life, one of the girl's older sisters records the story in a journal, which she leaves, along with the house, to her grandniece, Justine.  As Justine fights her own demons by seeking refuge in the remote house on a Minnesota lake, we slowly learn the details of that fateful summer.  This haunting novel captured my attention immediately and kept me turning the pages.  A poignant and captivating debut.

Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase.  This book, like The Lost Girls, melds two stories: the lives, and tragedies, of the four Alton children as they spend a summer in the late 1960s at their Cornwall estate, nicknamed Black Rabbit Hall, and the implications of these past events on an engaged couple 30 years later.  Black Rabbit Hall is itself a compelling character, Gothic and atmospheric, a place where time seems suspended.  The prose is beautiful, the writer's voice unique, and the comparisons to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and several of Kate Morton's books are well-deserved.

Historical Romance

Highland Surrender by Tracy Brogan.  A strong-willed beauty must marry the future chief of a clan she despises--for good reason.  But there's much more to this novel than just an enemies-to-lovers trope.  This is a great combination of Scottish history, political intrigue, murder mystery, family secrets, and hot romance.  Plenty of solid conflict, sexual tension, and lush descriptions...if you enjoyed the Outlander series, give this a try! 

Non-Fiction

It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways - Well-written and eye-opening, this book is filled with valuable information presented in an easy to understand and often humorous way, despite the seriousness of the topic.  How our bodies and hormones react to the processed food that has become so prevalent in our society is explained in layman's terms, and a guide is offered to help "reset" your metabolism to experience positive changes in health, energy levels, and eating habits (and for many people, weight loss is an inevitable side-effect from cutting out so many harmful foods).  If you haven't heard of Whole30, it's basically an eating plan that focuses on only natural and healthy foods, to be initially followed for one month.  My experience about halfway through the month I did it can be found here.  

Mystery/Suspense

Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell.  I love every word Tawni O'Dell writes.  She's done it again, combining past secrets, a new mystery, family bonds, and compelling characters into a beautifully written page-turner set against the struggling, and often dying, mining towns of Pennsylvania.  In this book, the discovery of a teenage girl's body leads a small-town police chief on a daunting and intriguing quest for justice. 


Historical Fiction

The Wars of the Roses Series by Conn Iggulden: Stormbird, Trinity, Bloodline, and Ravenspur: Rise of the Tudors.  Since we were getting ready for a trip to London, I wanted to immerse myself in a book involving some English history.  Having remembered another favorite (fantasy) series of mine, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (see my 2015 post), was inspired by the Wars of the Roses, a did a Google search and found this series.  I was hooked immediately--this author brings each battle to life in a way that makes you feel like you are there.  But aside from that, we are given enough information to understand the characters' goals and motivations, along with the incidents that lead up to the various conflicts.  The settings are described in amazing detail and the pacing is very well done.  These books truly enhanced my experience in London, especially our visit to The London Tower.

If you're interested in any of my past lists, see:

Favorite books of 2012

Favorite books of 2013

Favorite books of 2014

Favorite books of 2015

I'm thrilled that my 2016 release, Haunted Souls, recently ended up on a list too...this military romance + ghost mystery set on Cape Cod came in second among the Top 10 Books of 2016 at Read Freely! 

Hope I've offered some helpful recommendations for readers here--and I'm always looking for great new reads, so feel free to share your favorites in the Comments section below.  Happy reading and Happy 2017! 

My Favorite Reads of 2015 #amreading #mustread #books

I began this blog in 2012, shortly after my first novel, SILVER LAKE, released.  Since then, I've done an annual January post highlighting my favorite reads of each year.  While some writers get so busy they find themselves with little time to read, that is not a situation I can handle for long. Yes, my reading slowed in the early months of 2015, as I buckled down to finish HAUNTED SOULS. But reading is my passion, my stress relief, my favorite past-time.  I simply can't sleep until I've done some reading, and any free time I have is eagerly devoted to whatever book or books I'm enjoying.

Of course, my absolute favorite thing to read (and write) is a combination of tension-filled romance mixed with a haunting mystery.  But that's not the easiest thing to find, which is one of the reasons my imagination began creating stories of this genre mix--so I could get my fill!  But I enjoy reading all genres, and I often leave my own genre out of the list in order to focus on others.

So along with links for 2012, 2013, and 2014 favorite reads, I'll give some brief thoughts on the books that stood out on my Goodreads list this year.

Historical Fiction: Belle Cora by Phillip Margulies

I can't believe more people don't know about this book - I thought it was fantastic.  I'd never heard of it, either, so I found it by chance--I happened to walk by it propped up on a shelf as a recommendation at the library.  The cover grabbed my attention and the blurb did the rest.  This is the story of Arabella Godwin, a/k/a Belle Cora, a good girl who, through a series of misfortunes, falls from grace.  Set in the 1800s and loosely based on the life of a real madam, this book has everything: history, romance, secrets, suspense, betrayal, triumph, and tragedy.  It is long, which only makes it more epic in scope...I felt like I knew Belle intimately by the end.  And the research and attention to historical detail is evident throughout.  I learned quite a bit in the best way possible--immersed in an unputdownable book.  My #1 favorite read of the year.

Historical Fiction: Safekeeping by Jessamyn Hope

Yes, another historical fiction made my list.  I saw this book in the free monthly BookPage magazine made available from my library. The blurb sounded fascinating so I gave it a try, and I'm really glad I did.  The story actually spans several centuries, linked together by an ancient brooch, although mostly we flip between 1994 and the end of WWII.  The main setting is a kibbutz in Israel, and learning about this type of community was fascinating.  Again, this book touched on a lot of elements beyond history: love, loss, hope, loyalty, and struggle.  I was hooked by page one.  I really, really enjoyed this book...a great, original story with realistically flawed characters dealing with solid conflict.


Suspense: Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin

This was another pick from the monthly BookPage magazine at my library (I'm at the library a lot). First off, this book is a bit dark, but I enjoy that type of thing, and for me, this was a page-turner through-and-through.  The main character is the one "lucky" victim who survived a serial killer. With no memory of the events that led to her waking in a grave with the bones of the other "Black-Eyed Susans", she testifies as a child under pressure to convict the killer for the woman who no longer have voices.  But two decades later, with the murderer's execution looming, she has reason to believe she may have helped convict the wrong man.  If you like dark psychological suspense in the same vein as Gone Girl and Girl on A Train, give it a try.


Horror: Bird Box by Josh Malerman

I wanted a good horror book for Halloween, and this came recommended from a friend.  I'd call this horror mixed with psychological suspense, a thrilling combination that had me turning the pages to see what happened next.  A fresh twist on a post-apocalyptic theme that taps into a very primal fear...I think fans of The Walking Dead and/or Stephen King would enjoy this read.


NonFiction: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Speaking of Stephen King...Okay, I admit, reading nonfiction is not a preference for me.  So despite being a lifetime Stephen King fan, I just read this in 2015, along with some other books on writing, as additional preparation to teach my own Fiction Writing and Publication class. Although at this point some of the querying information is dated, the good advice offered on writing still holds true.  And I really enjoyed the sections on King's early years that made an impact on the person and author he is today.  Plus, it's all delivered in Stephen King's captivating voice, which could probably make a grocery list interesting.  Excellent reading for both SK fans and writers.


So there you have it--my favorite picks from last year.  What were your favorite reads of 2015?