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?

Books That Ruined Me

My daughter and I recently had a conversation about the book at the top of this list, and then she asked me what some of my other favorites were. I stumbled a little because I've read so many books I've really enjoyed, a ton I'd recommend wholeheartedly, but they don't really rank as favorites. And then there's the question of how to define a "favorite." What criteria go into deciding rank order?

After our conversation I really gave it some thought and what I decided is that, for me, whether I categorize a book as a favorite is a function of how much a book sticks with me after I've read it. Or, as some have coined it, the "book hangover" effect. I decided to pull together a list of books I've read that have left me thinking about them long after I put them down. That's not to say I loved everything about each of them, so they may not belong on a classic "favorites" list, but they hit me in a way that didn't let me forget them.

So, in rank order of how long my book hangover lasted (as best as I can remember years later) here are the ten books that ruined me.
Side note: I intentionally left out classics as well as blockbusters. (Lolita, Wuthering Heights, and Harry Potter definitely stuck with me for different reasons.)
Side note #2: Click the covers for buy links if you want to check them out.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman
So here's the thing about this book. Adam. I obsessed over him for weeks, prompting this blog post, and also this one. Then, when I finally recovered from my Adam hangover, I sat down and, in the next three weeks, wrote the best book I'll ever write on the wave of angst and grief Adam left behind. Gayle created such an incredibly damaged and genuine character that I wanted to climb through the pages and just be there for him. Maybe it was my frame of mind when I was reading, but I honestly don't think anyone will ever top Adam on my list of favorite characters. For full effect, you'll probably want to read If I Stay first, since Where She Went is a sequel.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
This book yanked my heart out, fed it through a meat grinder, then almost succeeded in putting it back together again. Again, this all comes down to characters. Rogerson, specifically. Just like Adam, he is incredibly damaged, and Sarah captures that extremely well in her characterization. Everything, from the way he moves, to the things he says and does, reflect his brokenness. I wanted to shake him and tell him to pull himself together, because somewhere in there, you know there's a decent guy. You'll have to read to see if that happens, but make sure you've got a box of tissues handy.

Graceling/Fire by Kristin Cashore
I'm lumping these two together because I didn't want to take two spots back to back for them, but both left me with a lasting hangover. The writing is phenomenal, and the common thread with all of these books, I'm discovering as I write this post, is the characters. Katsa and Po are so well portrayed, and my favorite sex scene ever in a book happens between them. Archer from Fire is one I pined for long after I put the book down. So well done.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
This speculative is so well done that I kept thinking through the plot for days after I finished. And the romance aspect--I'll just say that not too many books leave me in tears, but this one did.

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
Keeping with the incest theme (yeah...that romance I mentioned in How I Live Now, well...) I thought about this book for a long time after I read it. This is one that probably wouldn't make my classic favorite list because I found it pretty disturbing at some turns, but it was definitely thought provoking. I came away with so many questions I was (for the first time ever) contemplating contacting the author to ask what she was thinking as she wrote it. Was the romance innocent, or abusive? Was Lochan so socially stunted that he fixated on his sister and persuaded her into the relationship, or did they genuinely just fall in love with each other? Lots to think about here.

Before I Die by Jenny Downham
This is another one that made me cry. I thought Jenny did a lovely job portraying the whole process of dying young. I loved how real both that and the romance felt. It kept the wheels turning for a while after I was done.

Beautiful by Amy Reed
This is like watching a slow motion train wreck. The prose are very different than anything else I've read, but Amy's main character's motivations as she makes a string of really horrible decisions has you right there with her. This is another one that I'm not sure how I really feel about, but it had me thinking about it for weeks.

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
I just sort of randomly picked this up one day and realize three hours later that I'd finished it. And then wished I hadn't. So, of course, I was incredibly excited to find, purely by coincidence, the movie was releasing on DVD the next day. I raced to my local Redbox and picked it up the next afternoon, watched it immediately...and then wished I hadn't. The beauty of the book is Stephen's main character and his inner dialogue. That, unfortunately, doesn't translate to the screen. But I thought the process of bringing this socially awkward character to life was done incredibly well in the book.

Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers
I read this eons ago and still sometimes think about it. Courtney's prose is sparse and she gets right to the point, which I appreciate. I've read some of her other books, and really enjoyed them, but this one left me rolling things over in my mind for weeks. It's a great study in how choices can change your life.

White Cat by Holly Black
I'm usually a pretty tough reader to get anything past. Maybe I was just so involved in the story that I wasn't paying close enough attention. Whatever happened, Holly surprised me in this one. I thought her main character was very well done, and, if you go back through this list you'll find one (okay, two) high fantasy novels at #3, a speculative at #4 and the rest until now are contemporary. I guess that's because in contemporary, it's all about the characters, and I've already mentioned that I'll follow a great character anywhere. In this one, not only was the writing great, but the premise was fresh and creative and held my interest in a way many urban fantasies don't. And it was twisty enough that it kept me rehashing the plot for a long time after reading.

So, there you go. My ten worst hangovers. Hope you find something in there that interests you. Help me find more. What books have given you your worst hangovers?

Books I read in 2013 that MUST go on your "I have to read them right now!!!!" list.

I didn't get as much of a chance to read this year as I'd like, but that was because I was so busy writing, so I'm not complaining. I did, however, read some truly amazing books, and I'd like to pass those recs along to you on this last day of 2013. Note that not all of these were published in 2013. A few came out in late 2012, and I've slipped one on here that I actually read in December of last year.

So, here we go.

Anything Jay Crownover writes will always and forever be on the top of my list. I read RULE in April and fangirl emailed Jay when I was only halfway through, even though she didn't know I existed. I've NEVER fangirl emailed ANYONE before, but I couldn't help myself. Jay writes the most authentic male
POVs I've ever read, and let me tell you, these boys are smokin' hot. After RULE, it took me months to pick up the next book in the marked men series, because I was so in love with Rule Archer that it felt like cheating on him to move on to JET. ROME releases next week (the day after my birthday, btw, so I've decided he's what I want, in case you were thinking of picking me up a gift ;p) and I was lucky enough to get an ARC. So now I am in love with all of Jay's boys. I am a polygamist. Yes I feel guilty, but not enough to give any of them up. I have never read guys as compelling as these. You definitely want to pick these up.

REAL, MINE, and REMY by Katy Evans have to make the list, because, REMY! He is totally swoon-worthy. Katy also writes some of the hottest sex scenes I've ever read. :D I met Katy in Houston a few months ago, and when she signed my copy of REAL, she wrote that she loved my books. I nearly fell over. Now we have a mutual fangirl thing going, which I love. I've gotten a sneak peek at the first few chapters of her upcoming RAW, and this is another one you are NOT going to want to miss. You think Remy's hot? I dare you not to drool all over Greyson.

And the super fun news? I'll be giving away signed copies of all six of these books for the release of A LITTLE TOO HOT! Follow the blog tours starting on January 13th for your chance to win!

More books I read and loved this year:

BEST KIND OF BROKEN by Chelsea Fine. Unfortunately for you, you can't get your hands on this one until March, but when it releases, you won't want to wait to read it. It was all kinds of heartbreak wrapped up in some of the funniest dialogue I've ever read.

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowel. This lady is all kinds of talented. I liked Eleanor and Park, but I LOVED FANGIRL. All her books are about normal people in real situations, which isn't really supposed to be great reading, but her characters are just so damn compelling that you HAVE to know what happens to them.

WAIT FOR YOU by J. Lynn. Though this one follows the standard NA tropes, Jennifer is just so insanely talented that she can make something old seem new. And holy hotness, Batman, can she write great swoony boys. Always. You can't help rooting for Avery and Cam to find their way to each other.

LOSING IT by Cora Carmack. If you've read ALTF, you know I like a little silliness, and Cora is the queen of silliness. Her characters end up in serious situations, but there's always a sense that they don't take themselves too seriously, which is refreshing. Like with Chelsea's THE BEST KIND OF BROKEN, you'll find yourself laughing out loud. A lot.

So what did I miss? There are tons of books I'm dying to get to burning a hole in my iPad, like K.A. Tucker's series and Christina Lee's ALL OF YOU, but I'm a book junkie, so I'm always glad for more suggestions. What were your favorites this year?

A Blurb by any other name is still AWESOME! (And book recs!)

So, author blurbs...

Some people say they don't put much stock in them. Others say they buy books because of them. I fall into the latter group. If I love an author's writing, and they say a book is worth reading, I'm much more likely to check it out.

What all that means is, I think I need to buy a copy of A LITTLE TOO FAR. ;-)

I've been doing a lot of nail biting because I knew some of my very favorite authors were reading it. Nail biting turned to jumping up and down and screaming when really lovely comments started popping up on Twitter, etc. And now that they're official blurbs, I get to share them with you.

Here's what Jay Crownover had to say about A LITTLE TOO FAR:
“This is forbidden love and longing done absolutely right! Complicated and sexy doesn't even begin to cover Lexie's journey.” --JAY CROWNOVER, New York Times bestselling author of RULE

My thoughts on RULE:
RULE has a solid spot at the top of my all-time favorites. I thought about it for weeks after I read it, and I still want a Rule of my own. He climbed right off the page and into my heart. I pimp it to anyone who will listen, and if you need proof, check out my agent's blog here.

Cora Carmack blew me away with this comment about A LITTLE TOO FAR:

"Sinfully sexy, but utterly unique. My favorite New Adult book of the year!" --CORA CARMACK, New York Times bestselling author of LOSING IT

My thoughts on LOSING IT:

LOSING IT was the first actual NA I read, and I fell in love with Cora's writing and her adorably awkward characters. It's funny and sexy and sweet, and it has Shakespeare! What else could you ever ask for?

Jennifer L. Armentrout has forever been one of my favorite writers, so when she said this about A LITTLE TOO FAR, I literally screamed a little:
“More than a ridiculously sexy, HOT read, Desrochers takes you on a wild ride of self-discovery and bittersweet romance.” --JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT (J. Lynn), New York Times bestselling author of WAIT FOR YOU 

My thoughts on WAIT FOR YOU: 

I love everything Jennifer writes, so I knew I would love this one too. I wasn't disappointed. This is one of the sweetest NAs (and also super hot!) that I've read, and I can't say enough about how fabulous this book is.

And, from Monica Murphy, New York Times bestselling author of ONE WEEK GIRLFRIEND, A LITTLE TOO FAR got this lovely review: "Really enjoyed this book. Taboo subject matter but handled deftly. Love the cover. The characters are relatable. Definitely recommend!"

I haven't had a chance to read this, but I've heard fabulous things about it, and it's next on my TBR shelf! Can hardly wait!







I want to send a public thanks to these awesome authors for taking the time to read my little book. I'm totally over the moon that authors I've read and loved, love me back. I highly recommend you read these fabulous books, and I hope, if you've read and liked any of them, you might consider downloading A LITTLE TOO FAR onto your reader of choice when it releases September 17th!

In the meantime, HAPPY READING!