Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Thursday Thirteen, and a contest!

Thirteen Favorite Books of 2006

This was a great year for reading, in my opinion. So many excellent authors, so many fabulous books! So below I'll be listing my favorite 13 books of the year. (Believe me, it was tough to narrow down.)

And to celebrate great reading, I'm adding a contest to this Thursday Thirteen post! All you have to do is post your favorite books of 2006 (don't worry, you don't have to come up with thirteen), and you'll be entered in to a drawing to win a copy of Beginnings: A Samhain Anthology, which includes my time travel romance, Ritual Love, as well as five more fabulous stories! The winner will be drawn on Sunday, January 7, so get your comments in soon!

Here's my list -- I'm looking forward to seeing yours!

The Smoke Thief, by Shana Abe -- a mesmerizing combination of paranormal and historical that absolutely captivated me.

Just For Kicks, by Susan Andersen -- I love her showgirls, and she writes kids better than anyone!

The Hunt, by Allison Brennan -- a great, tight, suspense-filled thriller.

Into the Storm, by Suzanne Brockmann -- I want to be Suz when I grow up.

Tempt Me, by Caroline Cross -- Part of her Men of Steele series, this sexy Silhouette Desire title blew me away. And i just discovered while finding a link for it that the next book in the series is out now! Woo-hoo!

Long Strange Trip, by Vicki Gaia -- A great sixties-set novel that made me smile.

Unleash the Night, by Sherrilyn Kenyon -- I discovered the Dark-Hunter series a little over a year ago, and have devoured all of them. Loved Wren's story, though Nick is breaking my heart.

Devil in Winter, by Lisa Kleypas -- Part of the Wallflowers series. I had no idea how Ms. Kleypas was going to redeem Sebastian, and was thoroughly delighted with the results!

Nauti Boy, by Lora Leigh -- Yes, I was one of the lucky ones who bought this from Samhain on release day, before Berkley got their hands on it. Yes, I know everyone else has to wait for it to come out in paperback in March. Yes, I'm gloating.

Take Me, by Lucy Monroe -- A wonderful conclusion to her Selwyn family historical trilogy.

and ABLE, by Lucy Monroe -- Yeah, two by Lucy. Sue me. :) Another great conclusion to a trilogy, this time to her mercenaries series.

On the Way to the Wedding, by Julia Quinn -- I read and loved the entire Bridgerton series this year, but OTWTTW was the most recently published, so I narrowed it down. :)

Impulse, by JoAnn Ross -- I'd read a grocery list by JoAnn. She's that good.

I could go on and on, but I'll defer to the comments section for more titles (and I wouldn't be surprised to see more than a few end up on my TBB list!!). Don't forget, everyone who posts is eligible to win!


21 comments:

Unknown said...

Great list. Mine are:

Nauti Boy by Lora Leigh
Megan's Mark by Lora Leigh
The Gripping Beast by Charlene Teglia
Delicious by Susan Mallery
Hunting The Hunter by Shiloh Walker
Angel with Attitude by Michelle Rowen
All U Can Eat by Emma Holly
Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
Wolf Tales by Kate Douglas
Bitten & Smitten by Michelle Rowen

Anonymous said...

In Your Arms by Rebecca Goings (Samhain)
The Cinderella Substitute by Nell Dixon (Moonlit Romance)
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman (Putnum)
Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris (Tor)
Clowning Around by Wanda Brunstetter (Heartsong)
Dreaming in Black & White/Dreaming in Technicolor by Laura Jensen Walker (Westbow)
Ten Ways to Melt a Man's Heart by Phyllis Campbell (Champagne)
The English Garden Series by Lori Wick (Harvest House)

Anonymous said...

My favorite book of 06? I had two, both of Rene Lyon's Templar Vampires books.

~Avaron

Cathy M said...

1. Nauti Buoy by Lora Leigh
2. Touch the Dark by Karen Chance
3. Crazy Love by Tara Janzen
4. Conception by Sarah McCarty
5. Born in Death J.D. Robb
6. Memory in Death J. D. Robb
7. Thrice United by Lauren Dane
8. Mirror of my Soul by Joey Hill
9. Distressing Damsel by Shelley Laurenston
10.Mistral's Kiss by LKH
11.Hot Night by Shannon McKenna

charleneteglia said...

Amy, thank you for mentioning The Gripping Beast! : ) Kate gave me a head's up.

I listed some of my favorites in my blog already. So many good books! It really was a fantastic year in publishing.

Anonymous said...

Lover Awakened by J R Ward
California Demon by Julie Kenner
Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen
Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
Drop Dead Gorgeous by Linda Howard
Megan’s Mark by Lora Leigh
72 Hours by Shannon Stacey
Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund
Trophy Girl by Melani Blazer
Loup Garou by Mandy Roth

Oh man there were just so many. I should stop now *g*

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Avaron. I assure you the Templars love you just as much. ;)

Caffey said...

Wow this is hard to do, I can name so many. I just went with what I thought of first and so on. Ok here goes:

Playing With Fire by Gena Showalker
The Devine Files: Out Of Hell by Denyse Brider
My Footman, My Prince by Robin Danner
Under A Rogue Moon by Vivian Dean
Portrait Of A Lover by Julianne Maclean
Eyes Of Crow by Jerri Ready-Smith (Luna)
Pure Sex Anthology by Sasha White, Bonnie Edwards and Lucinda Betts
Dark Lover by J. R. Ward
Merc And Her Men by Elizabeth Lapthorne
Daring The Duke by Ann Malory
Celestial Passions: Brianna by Judy Mays
Primal Heat Anthology by Lora Leigh, Jaci Burton, Lorie O'Clare, Sherri King

Anonymous said...

A lot of those books are ones that I loved too :)

I also have to add
Greywalker by Kat Richardson,
Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter both by Jeff Lindsay,
Surviving Demon Island by Jaci Burton,
Hunting the Hunter by Shiloh Waker,
Jacob by Jacquelyn Frank,
Loup Garoux by Mandy Roth,
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer,
On Fire's Wings by Christie Golden

and the list goes on and on and on ... LOL

Kate Davies said...

See, the best thing about contests like this is I get reminders of all the books I'd intended to pick up and haven't yet! :) (As well as others that I read and loved and forgot to write down...) Thanks for sharing, everyone.

Anonymous said...

Strip Search by Shelley Bradley

Surviving Demon Island by Jaci Burton

Bad Boys Southern Style by JoAnn Ross, E. C. Sheedy, and Jill Shalvis

New Orleans Nights by Julie Elizabeth Leto

Thanks!!

Jodi said...

Besides a few of yours:

Jude's Law and Murphy's Law by Lori Foster
Dianne Castell's O'Fallon Trilogy
Dark Roots and Cowboy Boots by LuAnn McLane
Don't Spank The Vamp by CJ England

There are others, by my brain is already asleep!

tetewa said...

1. Footloose by Leanne Banks 2. Dark Side of the moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon 3. Night Game by Christine 4. Leadville Lady by Leslee Breene 5. My Everything by Denise Skeleton 6. An Unexpected Pleasure by Candace Camp 7. Always Mine by Sophia Johnson 8.Fortune's Folly by Margaret Blake 9. Love, Lust and Pixie Dust by Luann Mclane 10. On the Edge by Pamela Britton

Anonymous said...

My top 5 favorites were
1.Love Is in the Heir-Kathryn Caskie
2. Crazy Love-Tara Janzen
3. Declassified:Dark Kisses-Sylvia Day
4. Dead Silence-Brenda Novak
5. The Grail King-Joy Nash

Pamk said...

Megan's Mark
Harmony's Way by Lora Leigh
JR Ward's Brotherhood series
Hunting the Hunter Shiloh Walker
Master of Swords Angela Knight
Celestial Passions Sheala by Judy Mays
MIdnight Sun and the Daystar by Rene Lyons
Distressing Damsel by Shelly Laurenston
sorceress of Faith by Robin D. Owens
And probably many more that I am forgetting off the top of my head lol

Anonymous said...

Hi Kate,

In 2006 I loved A French Affair by Susan Lewis, Infatuation by Alison Kent, Dark Desires by Eve Silver, Entertaining Mr.Stone by Portia DaCosta, Showdown by Tilly Bagshawe and Daddy Girls by Tasmina Perry.

Maria

Anonymous said...

I just loved If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern.

Liz said...

Blackmailed Annmarie McKenna
Colter's Woman Maya Banks
Lover Awakened JR Ward
Slave To Sensation
Night Games Christine Feehan
Dark Celebration Christine Feehan
Megan's Mark Lora Leigh

Kate Davies said...

Thanks, everyone! I'm seeing certain names and titles pop up on multiple lists -- which is a great indication that they're well-liked, and great reads!

And Jodi, thanks for mentioning my books. (blushing)

Anonymous said...

I loved loved loved Surviving Demon Island by Jaci Burton, and Goes Down Easy by Alison Kent and Concept by Sarah McCarthy

Anonymous said...

all the Dark-Hunter books, even the ones I haven't read yet.

Wolf Tales by Kate Douglas
Ghost Hunter by Jayne Castle
The "Bells" books by Michael Barnette
(I have such a thing for Bells)
All of the "Betsy" books
Hearts Eternal by Rebecca Goings (I just love Jareth)
All the Native American books by Cassie Edwards(just bought Running Fox very recently)I love the cover-beautiful
books by Michael Schiefelbein
DJ Manly books (any and all)

well, I think that's a big enough list