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!

Artemis' Top Picks for 2011

Top Picks for 2011

I don't know if the pickins' were slim, life got really complicated, there were too many books to choose from (Yeah, like that could ever happen!), or Mars and Venus didn't align properly, but for some reason those few books did not take hold of me this year and refuse to let go as they had in the years past.  Also, I wasn't able to read the all of the mainstream romance (paranormal, historical, erotic, etc.) due to the influx of new authors.  Don't get me wrong, I found some great talent that I otherwise never would have discovered.  Those other mainstream books I mentioned, you know where they ended up.

Looking back over the year, I found that I just barely met one of my resolutions for 2011.  I did read a few new authors, but I was only able to read three or 

more works of one new author.  Other than that, I missed everything else by a long shot.  Did I meet my goal of reading 125 books – No, only read 117.  And that TBR pile I was to start on.  Oh. Hell. No.  It has grown to ginormous levels.  I added a bookcase during the year and need another two or three.  Don’t get me started with what is on the Nook.  #shakingheadIdon’twanttolook

So, without further ado, and in no particular order……but I did notice that two authors from last year made it again this year.  Oh, and my most favorite cover model, the ever gorgeous, to-die-for, Paul Marron, is on two of the covers, Girlfriends!  Just sayin’….

Paranormal Romance

TEMPTED (Eternal Guardians #3) by Elisabeth Naughton

DEMETRIUS—He’s the hulking, brooding warrior his fellow Guardians avoid. Too dark. Too damaged. And given his heritage, he knows it’s best to keep everyone at arm’s length.

Isadora is missing. The words pound through his head like a frantic drumbeat. For her own protection, Demetrius did all he could to avoid the fragile princess, his soul mate. And now she’s gone—kidnapped. To get her back, he’ll have to go to the black place in his soul he’s always shunned.

As daemons ravage the human realm and his loyalty to the Guardians is put to the ultimate test, Demetrius realizes that Isadora is stronger than anyone thought. And finally letting her into his heart may be the only way to save them both.

Historical Romance (tie)

THE MANY SINS OF LORD CAMERON (Highland Pleasures #3) by Jennifer Ashley

Lord Cameron Mackenzie is intrigued when he finds the pretty widow, Ainsley Douglas, hiding in the window seat of his bedchamber. Cam remembers Ainsley Douglas all right—six years ago, he’d caught her in this very bedchamber, during a house party in the Mackenzies’ Scottish manor. Enchanted by her ingenuous excuses, he decided to seduce her, but stopped shy when she’d made a rather touching appeal about her “good husband who didn’t deserve to be heartbroken.”

Later, Cameron learned that her visit to his bedchamber was part of some female intrigue against him, the kind his late wife used to practice. Ainsley protested her innocence, but Cameron’s anger made him never want to see her again. Now she’s back, at another houseparty—and Cameron finds the gray-eyed minx in his bedchamber, again. Her excuses are just as ingenuous, but this time Cameron is determined to teach her a lesson.

They have unfinished business, Cameron tells her. He asks her how many of her many buttons she’ll let him unclasp, promising that before the houseparty is over, she’ll be asking him to undo them all.

Ainsley’s dismay is real. She’s on a mission to prevent embarrassment to Queen Victoria, and time is running out. Though the needs he’d stirred long ago during her unhappy marriage rise again, she knows it would be foolish to fall for love-them-and-leave-them Cameron Mackenzie.

But he asks her a question that challenges her beliefs about love and happiness, and she finds herself risking all to be with the black sheep of the Mackenzie family.

AND

  

PRIDE & PASSION (The Brethren Guardians #2) by Charlotte Featherstone

Lucy Ashton had long ago given up her quest for true love. In the rarified society of Victorian England, Lucy plays the game—flirting, dancing and dabbling in the newly fashionable spiritualism. Even marrying when—and who—she's supposed to. If the stuffy Duke of Sussex cannot spark the passion she craves, he can at least give her a family, a home of her own, and a place to belong. But when her polite marriage reveals a caring and sensual man, Lucy begins to wonder if she can indeed have it all.

But Lord Sussex is not the man the London ton has come to admire. And Lucy has some ghosts of her own, as well. Thus, when a blackmail scheme turns to threats of danger, the newfound peace of the Sussex marriage is cast upon the rocks. Passion has a price, Lucy learns. And not all ghosts stay buried.

Erotic Novelette

EDUCATING APHRODITE by Kimberly Killion

Two years is too bloody long to be abstinent, especially when one is married to the insatiable Earl of Warwick.

Countess Alexandra Falkner is desperate to rekindle the passion in her marriage. Unfortunately, she lacks the confidence and experience to accomplish her goal. She solicits the help of sexy hypnotist, Vincent Delacroix, to empower her and teach her the art of seduction. What she gets is an education in temptation that leads her heart astray. Will she lose sight of her goal in Delacroix's arms? Or dare she risk everything to keep them both?

Reader Advisory: Our sexy heroes aren't the only two educating the Countess. Alexandra's new maid has a lesson or two as well.

Sci-fi/Fantasy Romance

THE KRAKEN’S MIRROR by Maureen O. Betita

Treated by our youth oriented society as invisible and sexless Emily Pawes attends a pirate festival to recapture the make believe magic she knew as a younger woman. She wins an interesting bit of booty at an old woman’s bric-a-brac stand. The Kraken’s Mirror is a magical portal and transports her to a land of Hollywood piratitude, where swashbuckling heroes own iPods. With little choice, she embraces the madness, deciding she’ll play pirate until she figures out how to get home. Or wakes up in a padded cell.

Instead of men in little white coats, she encounters the handsome Captain Alan Silvestri. He is a man haunted by a strange curse. Good luck is his to command, but it comes at the cost of any place to call home or people to call family. Resigned to die shunned by all, forced to sail every three days, he begins to dream of a special woman.

When they meet, sparks fly, passion flares. He needs her to be free, but more than that, he needs her to be whole. They set sail, uncertain of who has control of the wheel, seeking to defeat his curse of good luck and discover all the Kraken’s Mirror plans for them.

Contemporary Romance

THE CHASE (Fast Track #4) by  Erin McCarthy 

Kendall Holbrook is determined to make it to the top, even with the challenge of being a woman on the male-dominated racing circuit. She doesn't have time for romance-especially not with racing rival Evan Monroe, the man who nearly crushed her dream years ago. Tricked into meeting him, Kendall is experiencing all those old feelings again-and she can't deny that they still have enough chemistry to set fire to the track.

Romantic Suspense

FACE OF DANGER (The Guardian Angelinos, #3) by Roxanne St. Claire

Private investigator Vivi Angelino has never met a risk she wouldn't take-and her latest client, a starlet with a madman on her heels, gives Vivi the perfect opportunity to walk on the wild side. That is, as long as she can make sure a certain overprotective, overly gorgeous FBI agent stays out of her way-and out of her fantasies.

Special Agent in Charge Colt Lang is not about to stand back and watch Vivi dangle herself as bait for a serial killer. Yet trying to rein her in means throwing his well-worn rulebook-and his iron self-control-to the wind . . . and taking the chance that his heart will become collateral damage in an already perilous case. Because a woman who can't stop searching for the truth is impossible to resist-even when every discovery she makes brings them closer to a calculating murderer with nothing to lose.

Erotic Paranormal Romance

BLOOD LAW (Blood Moon Trilogy, #1) by Karin Tabke

For all eternity, only one thing shall separate them—until the Blood Law is avenged…

The coming of the Blood Moon will lead two Lycan packs into war, spur two rival brothers into conflict, and spark an act of vengeance so evil that its effects will be felt for generations.   One woman stands at the center of it all.

As undisputed Alpha, Rafael must choose a life mate to preserve the dominance of his Lycan pack. He never suspected, his mate would be a human, the same wounded, girl-woman he seduces from the brink of death. Falon is a dangerous combination of Lycan and Slayer—beings bred to destroy his kind. Even more, she’s a mesmerizing beauty whose sensuality tempts the seasoned warrior to take unnecessary risks. The primal heat between them is irresistible, yet surrendering to it could destroy them both…for a vengeful foe stands ready in the shadows to fulfill what is rightfully his by Blood Law.

Remarkable New Discoveries in 2011

Well, they are New Discoveries for me!  Listed here are the authors I have discovered in 2011 whose work I find to be invigorating and notable.  You have to put their writings on the top of your TBR pile.

Brindle Chase

Stacey Kennedy

D. B. Reynolds

No new resolutions for 2012.  I’m just going to recycle the ones from last year.  HA!

Blog Mistress Laurie has given me new tasks, so you may see me around a bit more.  She keeps pushing books at me, like I’m supposed to read them or something….

I’m looking forward to AAD 2012 and finally putting faces with names.