Tag Archives: #fivestars

BEST 18 OF 2018

In 2018, I wrote one novella (New York Engagement) and three short stories, published three of them, and started on a novel. In doing so, I had to curtail my reading by a lot compared to previous years (465 in 2016, 208 in 2017).

One hundred twenty-one is still decent. I’ve actually accomplished the goal I set out at the beginning of the year of reading ten books a month. For the most part, those books were excellent with only a couple of duds among them. So good that I rated 55 novels five-stars in Goodreads, Amazon, NetGalley, BookBub, Edelweiss, etc. That’s nearly half of them, that’s why it’s so hard for me to choose the traditional Top 10. The bare minimum I could do is eighteen. These books made me laugh, cry, feel, and love. Here they are in no particular order:

  1. A Distant Heart by Sonali Dev
  2. The Ones Who Got Away and The One You Can’t Forget by Roni Loren
  3. Dark in Death by J.D. Robb
  4. Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai
  5. Making Up by Lucy Parker
  6. Undone by You and Hooked on You by Kate Meader
  7. Breathless by Celeste Bradley and Susan Donovan
  8. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
  9. The Woman Left Behind by Linda Howard
  10. When a Duke Loves a Woman by Lorraine Heath
  11. The Duke With the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne
  12. The Governess Game by Tessa Dare
  13. Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
  14. For the Duke’s Eyes Only by Lenora Bell
  15. Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh
  16. The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan
  17. Beautiful Sinner by Sophie Jordan
  18. Fierce, Funny, and Female by Marti MacGibbon

 

 

Looking forward to 2019 and more five-star reads. Happy reading!  

Boracay Vows by Maida Malby

My heart is full from this wonderful praise. Thank you, Liana. I truly appreciate you taking the time to read, review, and blog about Boracay Vows. I hope you also enjoy New York Engagement.

LianaReads's avatarLianaReads

If you like contemporary romance,interracial couples and a dream holiday place, this is your book.

The heroine is Krista, in her late twenties she wants to leave her life behind for a week, to give in her desire after being an obedient daughter,responsible older sister, diligently student,steady worker and supportive friend.

The hero ,Blake,is the perfection copy of a Jersey man that many of us love and swooned whenever he makes an appearance, Henry Cavill.

We are taken to a journey full of flavours, from specific Philippine dishes, amazing landscapes and vibrant views to the language dialect that are so different in every isle.

Like every character, each has their insecurities and think if they are good enough for the other and are going through the first moments of falling in love in a relationship and there is always a happy ending .

I liked the writing style and can…

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Happy Book Birthday: Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses by Lorraine Heath

Several of my favorite romance authors have book launches today, but I want to spotlight Lorraine Heath’s Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses. I’ve only discovered her in 2015, when Old School Romance Book Club chose Texas Destiny as our June Book of the Month. I loved it. It was incredibly well written and brought me to tears. Since then, I’ve collected as many of Ms. Heath’s books as possible. It helps that she’s from Texas and the Used Bookstore I go to, The Book Rack, has several of her collections on their shelves. I love the Leigh Brothers series and enjoyed London’s Greatest Lovers, but my favorite series of hers is what I call her St. James Universe. There are actually three series in it: Scoundrels of St. James, Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, and Hellions of Havisham.

Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses is the latest in the Scandalous series and it’s a novella. I requested the title from Edelweiss for early review and Avon gave it to me in exchange for an honest opinion.

I was pleasantly surprised by it. I have started pigeon-holing Lorraine Heath as a writer of super-angsty romances, but this book is funny and sexy, another quality that I hadn’t attached to her work before. This proves her versatility, something I always look for in my favorite authors. Although it is not a full novel, it felt complete. It’s full of substance. The character growth for both Andrew and Gina is there, so with the development of their love for one another. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

gentlemen_prefer_heiresses_d400Lord Andrew Mabry, the second son of the Duke of Greystone, has no desire to marry. As the spare, he has no obligation to provide an heir and he rather enjoys spending his days and nights in play with the demimonde. But more and more of late, he finds himself wanting to play naughty games with the American heiress, Gina Hammersley.

After her scandalous older sister marries a marquess, Gina Hammersley suddenly finds herself the darling of London with beaux a plenty calling on her, sending flowers, and filling her dance cards. Unfortunately, the one she desires most is the one who has no wish to be caught in the marriage trap: Lord Andrew Mabry.

But when they are discovered in a compromising situation, this unlikely pair must decide whether to face scandal or discover if the passion they’ve always felt is strong enough to lead them into love.

Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses is available from the following retailers:

AvonBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Google Play, Apple iBooks

 

Note: Featured Image photo credit – annadelmar.com.

 

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