We will be posting our Top 10 of 2009 this entire week. Today’s list is from Janine. The list is unranked. You can find more of her reviews here.
- On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
- Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran* (review by Jennie)
- Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran* (review by Jennie)
- Stillness by Megan Hart, in the anthology Pleasure and Purpose
- Determinata by Megan Hart, in the anthology Pleasure and Purpose
- Scandal by Carolyn Jewel
- The Birthday Present by Alison Richardson (#3 in The Countess Trilogy)
- Blood by Sharon Shinn, in anthology Quatrain
- Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh
- Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas* (review by Jennie)
*Full disclosure from Janine: Meredith Duran and Sherry Thomas are my crit partners and good friends, but since I enjoyed their 2009 books tremendously, I felt it would be a glaring omission not to include those books on my list of favorites.
Gotta agree with all the Carolyn Jewel love going on… her historicals this year were excellent. Also, BRANDED BY FIRE was my only A+ read this year, so thanks for mentioning. Yay!
Great list! (I’m not just saying that because we have about 50% overlap!)
Another reminder that I need to check out the Richardson. I still haven’t read the Singh, for some reason – I’ve almost started it a couple of times but then chosen something else. Maybe over the holidays.
Wow, I haven’t read any of these…yet MWUAHAHA.
Thanks for the recs.
@Krista: Yeah, Jewel’s historicals were very good. Indiscreet came close to making my list, too.
I had such a great reading year this year; there were a lot of contenders, and 2010 has great prospects too, so I’m really looking forward to it.
@Jennie: Richardson’s Countess Trilogy should be read in order, IMO. Every novella in this trilogy is much better if seen as part of the greater whole. I don’t think The Birthday Present would be nearly as satisfying by itself, but I listed it by itself because that’s how it’s sold.
As for the Singh, I think Branded by Fire is one of her best books — maybe even the best in the series. But that’s a lot because I loved Mercy so much.
@Monica: I hope you enjoy them!
I totally agree about Carolyn Jewel, Meredith Duran and Sherry Thomas. They are doing some complex and interesting things with their historical romances; love them ALL.
i love that we have some in common, makes me feel more validated somehow, very silly i know! ;)
But especially Branded by Fire. It’s hard to pick one of the Psy/Changeling books as a favorite but I am *pretty* sure Branded by Fire is IT for me. Mercy and Riley were just so fun together, I loved how their personalities related to their shapeshifter natures, how they were playful, and especially how Mercy came from a fairly normal, tragedy free background. It was nice instead of everyone being super damaged for a change.
Cheers to 2009, so many great reads!
@SonomaLass: Agreed. I’m close to halfway through Sherry Thomas’s manuscript for His at Night as I write this, and so far, so great. I can’t wait to get the second half and find out what happens next!
@Lusty Reader: That validated feeling is nice, even if silly.
You make a great point. I often love to read about flawed or damaged characters, but in the case of Branded by Fire, I think a lot of what I loved about this was Mercy’s emotional core of love and strength. She was such a strong, loving, and healthy character, yet she was every bit as interesting as Riley, with all his emotional damage. I think it’s a real credit to Singh’s writing that she could take someone as well-adjusted as Mercy and make her so interesting to read about. In fact up to this point at least, Mercy is my favorite heroine in the series. Although, I’m really looking forward to Sienna’s book, too.
Good list! I really liked Megan Hart’s anthology it was worth buying and I enjoyed all of the stories. ( I RARELY buy anthologies)
The Carolyn Jewel books are on my list to buy as is Quatran.
Glad you enjoyed Pleasure and Purpose, rebyj. Thanks for letting me know! I hope you like Scandal, Indiscreet and Quatrain as well.
Thank you, Janine! I’m terribly flattered. Where is the blush emoticon when you need it?
@ilona andrews: LOL. I know what you mean — sometimes I want a blush emoticon too. I just read On the Edge a week or so ago and I enjoyed it so much!
I’m going to pick up immediately Pleasure and Purpose based on your recs! Sounds hot!
@Cauterize: It is hot, especially the first story. I hope you enjoy it!