Books I read this year that you definitely WANT!

I read some amazing books this year. So many that I'm having a hard time remembering all of them. But there are two that really stuck with me.

This first one hasn't published yet. It's out on December 31st and I'll tell you it's definitely worth spending your holiday gift cards on. This book was sent to me over the summer to read for a blurb, but life happened and I wasn't able to get to it until October. And then I hated myself for not getting to it sooner. I finished it in a day, then sat there staring at my screen, sort of in shock. It's like watching a slow motion train wreck. I wanted to jump into this book and URGGG!, and AAAAH!, and NOOOO! But alas, I just lamented for weeks afterward. I read other books and still found myself going over this one in my head, trying to figure out how to fix everything. You can probably tell I'm still thinking about it. It is this book

and you really want it.

The other book is by one of my favorite authors. Jay Crownover is a character writer, and nothing pulls me into a story like a great character. One of her best yet (characters, that is) is Shane Baxter. This guy had me right from the start. You can find him here:

The second book in the series, Better When He's Bold, publishes in February, and I'm waiting very impatiently to see what's in store for the rest of the crew.

And, speaking of upcoming books I'm drooling over, there's also There You Stand by Christina Lee that doesn't even have a cover or buy links yet, but is publishing in April, I believe. I will definitely be checking that one out.

What are your "must reads" from this year?