Ollie's Top Picks for 2011

Top Picks for 2011

This year I enjoyed reading so many wonderful books and discovering and renewing connections with amazing authors that allows us all to escape into a fantasy world where anything is possible and allow us to dream that maybe, just maybe, some things may be possible. So I want to thank all the authors out there for creating and sharing their worlds and allowing us all to get lost in them. So I hope some of you have the opportunity to check out some of these books and add them to your ever growing TBR pile. I know you will find a few that will tickle your fancy in more ways then one. ;) Without further ado here is my list of top picks for 2011.

Paranormal Romance

Love Immortal by Felicity Heaton

Rescued from werewolves by the most breathtaking man she's ever seen, Lauren is dragged into the fight of her life and a dark world she never knew existed. There, she discovers that she's the latest reincarnation of a goddess and must drink the blood of her immortal protector, Julian, in order to reawaken and continue her three thousand year old mission to defeat Lycaon, the original werewolf.

With the help of Julian and an organisation of people with supernatural abilities, Lauren fights for her life, their future and the fate of mankind against Lycaon and his deadly army, but can she succeed when Lycaon has killed all of her predecessors?

Can she crack the armour around Julian's heart and seize her happily forever after with him? And can Julian bring himself to trust Lauren with the fragments of his heart after everything he's been through

Power of the Moon (Power of the Moon #1) by Tina Carreiro

Have you ever looked at someone and knew they were going to die? Miakoda Starr has. After trying to help a homeless man whose aura has him marked for death, Mia is in more trouble than she knows. Soon she meets Detective Cole Barnett, a man that shatters her world in more ways than one. And shows her a world of fear as well as desire.

Erotic Paranormal Romance

A Scent of Greek (Out of Olympus #2) by Tina Folsom

When the god of wine and ecstasy, Dionysus, callously dumps his latest conquest, the mortal Ariadne, the goddess Hera has had enough. She robs Dionysus of his memory to teach him a lesson in humility.

Ariadne is deeply hurt after Dionysus dismisses their night of passion as “just sex” and doesn’t want to see her anymore. When she finds him bloodied and beaten and suffering from amnesia, she quickly forms a plan to get back at him. As she pretends to be his fiancée, Ariadne makes Dionysus believe he loves her. But the longer the charade continues, the more difficult it becomes to really see who teaches whom a lesson.

And what if Dionysus gains his memory back? Will there be hell to pay for her deception, or can a mortal woman truly win a god’s love?

Best New Paranormal Series

Bonded by Blood (Sweetblood #1) by Laurie London

Movie location scout Mackenzie Foster-Shaw has always known that she's cursed to die young. No one can protect her from the evil that has stalked her family for generations—vampires who crave her rare blood type. Until one afternoon in a wooded cemetery, she encounters an impossibly sexy stranger, a man she must trust with her life.
For Dominic, a man haunted by loss, Mackenzie satisfies a primal hunger that torments him—and the bond they share goes beyond heat, beyond love. She alone can supply the strength he needs to claim his revenge. But in doing so, he could destroy her….

Darkness Dawns (Immortal Guardians #1) by Dianne Duvall

Once, Sarah Bingham's biggest challenge was making her students pay attention in class. Now, after rescuing a wounded stranger, she's handed in the middle of a battle between corrupt vampires and powerful immortals who also need blood to survive. Roland Warbrook is the most compelling man Sarah has ever laid hands on. But his desire for her is mingled with a hunger he can barely control...In his nine centuries of immortal existence, no woman has tempted Roland as much as Sarah. But asking her to love him is impossible - when it means forfeiting the world she's always known, and the life he would do anything to protect.

BDSM

Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1) by E.L. James

When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2) by E.L. James

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

Urban Fantasy

One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress #6) by Jeaniene Frost

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans' voodoo queen just keeps on giving--leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.

Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity--forever. But how do you kill a killer who's already long dead?

Paranormal Anthology

The Bite Before Christmas (Night Huntress - Complete World #8.5) by Lynsay Sands and Jeaniene Frost

In Lynsay Sands' "The Gift," Katricia Argeneau knows grey-eyed cop Teddy Brunswick is her life mate. She just needs to convince him they belong together, and being snowbound in a secluded cabin will make this a Christmas neither will forget.

It's "Home for the Holidays" in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. Cat and Bones may long to wrap presents and set up a tree, but this Christmas, an evil vampire and long-buried family secrets will threaten to take a bite out of their holiday cheer.

Historical Romance

Vampire Dreams (Victorian Erotic #1) by Gabrielle Bisset

Homeless and without any family, Arden Stephens must live on the streets of mid 19th century London, never a safe place for a young woman. One night, as she is running for her life from an attacker, she is rescued by Brandon Ridley and offered a place in his home as his maid. Brandon is enchanted by Arden from the moment they meet, but just as she has secrets, so too does he. A vampire hundreds of years old, he yearns for the companionship she can give him. But for that he must make her one of his kind.

Nightly, he visits her in her sleep, preparing her for the night he will finally make her his own. For Arden, the wanton dreams she has about her handsome employer seduce her and each day when she wakes up, she finds herself more drawn to him. But love and desire aren't enough for Brandon to sire her. He must first obtain the approval of his maker, an ancient vampire named Vasilije who has thwarted his chance for happiness before.

But if Brandon can convince him, he may finally find the love he's been without for centuries.

Venice Vampyr (Venice Vampry #1) by Tina Folsom

Venice, early 1800s

Isabella Tenderini, a wealthy merchant's widow rescues a stranger from drowning in one of Venice's canals. And how does the man repay her selfless act? By kissing her - her, a respectable woman.

Not only is Raphael di Santori grateful for his life being saved, he would also like to thank his rescuer very intimately - more intimately than decorum allows. But then, Raphael has never been one to play by the rules - as a vampire he doesn't have to.

Novella

Seduction (Devil's Tavern #4) by Crymsyn Hart

Valerie dreams of a man who ties her up and pleasures her all night long. When she wakes, his soft caresses follow her. All she wants is to sink back into her dreams and become his slave.
Her sister, Niki conjures an evil djinn into their world. James and Valerie must stop the genie before it brings others of its kind into their world.

When her dream master offers a solution to defeat the djinn, Valerie is hard pressed not to take his proposition. If she does, will she be releasing the lesser of two evils?

I'm starting 2012 with a huge TBR pile and I'm already discovery many new authors and books and many books that I have in my "I can't wait until they come out". Some of the books in my "I can't wait until they come out" in 2012 are:

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter
Once Burned (Night Prince #1) by Jeaniene Frost
Tempted by Blood by Laurie London
Covet the Moon (Book #2, POTM series) by Tina Carreiro

Have a wonderful 2012 and enjoy getting lost in some hot and steamy books!