I was updating links on various yearly pages — up in the menu bar above — when I remembered, I never posted my top ten reads of 2008.  Initially, I had a hard time deciding — just like last year — but a some point, I made a list.  And never did anything with it.

Until now.

I also don’t have a 2010 list posted, but that’s because I didn’t read as much that year, due to the move.  I’m thinking of just picking a few and calling the list “My Favorites”.

So. . .I present – 2008 Top 10. I’ve quoted my reviews and linked to the full post.

(And if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll already know what I picked as #1)

10. Guardian’s Keep (Lori Devoti) – “Loved it. From the Passages Pro software (is it Vista compatible?) to Kelly’s uninvited house-guests.”

09. Silent in the Grave (Deanna Raybourn) – “I loved the characters. I loved the Crown raven. The touches of humor.”

08.  Snowbound (Janice Kay Johnson) – “I loved this book.  It’s emotional, especially the last third of the book.  I thought the story unfolded believably, and the characters were likable (the hero is a reader). “

07.  To Hell with Love (Sherri Erwin) – “An unconventional romance, with a bittersweet ending you can see coming a mile away. Yet it still managed to move me to tears — which is no small feat, as I don’t cry easily. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear “You Are My Sunshine” again without getting choked up.” (Note: Other than my favorite quotes and the summary, this is the entirety of my review).

06.  Black Ice (Anne Stuart) – “Wow. Yes, Bastien isn’t your typical romance hero, and that’s what makes him interesting. A ruthless agent tired of the “at any cost” mandate of the agency he works for, Bastien is beyond burnout.”

05.  Wife for a Week (Kelly Hunter) – “I was charmed by the book and there were several laugh-out-loud moments for me. I liked Nick, Clea, and Hallie.”

04.  Twist (Colby Hodge) – “There is a lot of action in this book.  Ever seen an episode of Buffy, especially one with a lot of slayage?  Speaking of the vampire slayer, the author is a fan of Joss Whedon and there are several references to him or his shows.  There are other pop culture references, from Grey’s Anatomy to The Princess Bride.”

03. The Spymaster’s Lady (Joanna Bourne) – “I loved Annique. At the risk of repeating what others have said, Annique is very French. Her observations and commentary had me chuckling.”

02.  Dark Deceiver (Pamela Palmer) – “I really loved this book. I loved watching Kaderil’s transformation from the Punisher to the man who would forsake even his life to save the human world — all for the woman he loved. Ms. Palmer added a little more to the world-building with the backstory of how the stones ended up in our world. The book ends with the possibility of more stories to come. I can’t wait to see what she does next!”

And the Number 1 book (surprise, surprise):

01.  Magic Burns (Ilona Andrews) – “Writing a coherent review has become impossible to do. Every time I’ve sat down to do it, I end up picking up the book and re-reading parts of it. I loved this book. I love the characters.”

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Happy New Year!

In December, I participated in two events.  They were the Top 10 Week and the Wrapping  Up 2011 Read-a-thon.

The Top 10 Week was fun, but it was also a lot of work.  I had a difficult time picking what should be on some of the lists.  As a result, I never made a Favorite Character list and I didn’t get to visit as much toward the end as I did in the beginning of the week.  My lists:

• Favorite Reads (Magic Slays is my real #1, but check out what Random.org picked)
• Favorite Covers
• Book Boyfriends Boyfriend
• Looking Forward to 2012

The Read-a-thon was a success for me.  I really wasn’t sure how it would turn out since the only read-a-thons I’ve participated in were the 24-hour type.  I’m so glad I took the chance because I completed four books!

Statistics: At the bottom of this post are my usual statistics, but there are a couple that I want to mention that aren’t reflected in that information.

• Of the 68 books I completed in 2011, 18 were published in 2011.  That means approximately 27% (26.5%) were new books.
• This is the first year in a long while that I read more than 3 books by one author: Nalini Singh (7 books)
• Two authors have three books each: Deborah Cooke and Thea Harrison
• Four authors have two books each: Suzanne Collins, Christina Henry, Sharon Ashwood, and Lara Adrian
• 1 Person, 3 names: Jennifer Ashley, Jennifer Gardner, Allyson James (1 book each)

2011 Challenges Wrap-up: I‘ve completed wrap up posts for all the challenges ending in 2011. Well, no I didn’t.  I realized, when I updated this post, that I overlooked a few. Probably because they were not listed on my Master Challenge list. I will do those when I wrap up the Christmas Spirit Challenge.

2012 Challenges Sign-up: I signed up for four more challenges.

• Fairy Tales Retold
• Romance Reading Challenge
• Harlequin/Silhouette Reading Challenge
• Speculative Fiction Challenge

Books Read:

Note: “Goodreads” means the book fit one or more of the challenges hosted by the various groups I joined. The link is to my tracking post on that site. “Personal” means the book fit one or more of the challenges I’m doing for myself (not hosted somewhere else). The link is to the master list under the “2011″ tab.

• First Grave on the Right (Darynda Jones) {23 Dec 11}
• Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins) {26 Dec 11}
• A Countess by Christmas (Annie Burrows) {30 Dec 11}
• Risky Christmas (Anthology) (Jill Sorenson/Jennifer Morey) {31 Dec 11}

Audiobooks:

Note: I will continue to count audiobooks toward “total pages read”, using the physical book’s page count. If I own a copy, the page number will be the page the story ends on (not counting any excepts, author’s notes, etc.). If I don’t, I will get the page number from a on-line source (Amazon, Goodreads, etc). Unless otherwise noted, the audiobooks count toward the two audiobook challenges only.

• NONE

2010 – 2011 Backlogged Reviews:

Posted:

• NONE

The Challenges:

Challenges Completed this month:
2nds Challenge: 12/12

Incomplete (Ended in December):
Audiobook Challenge: 5/20
Blogger Recommendation: 3/5
Contemporary Romance: 6/10
Cruisin’ Thru the Cozies:3/6
Harlequin/Silhouette: 2/6
Historical Fiction Challenge: 9/15
Retold Fairy Tales: 0/3
SF Romance: 2/5
Whisper Stories in My Ear (audio): 5/12

♥ = Will complete; ♠ = Maybe; X = Won’t

2011-2012 Challenges:
♥ The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge (2-4 books): 2/?

2012 Challenges:
By the Dozen (personal)
Harry Potter Reading Challenge
Men in Uniform Reading Challenge
Mount TBR Reading Challenge
Off the Shelf Reading Challenge
Sci-Fi Reading Challenge
What’s in a Name 5 Reading Challenge

2012-2013 Challenges:
Year of the Dragon Reading Challenge(personal/GoodReads)

Reading Has Its Rewards Challenge
Points as of XX XXX XX: 0

Perpetual Challenges:
101 Fantasy Challenge (Month): 0
101 Fantasy Challenge (Year): 2
Grand Total since 2009: 6
~~ & ~~
Georgette Heyer (Month): 0
Georgette Heyer (Year): 2
Grand Total since 2008: 4
~~ & ~~
In Death (Month): 0
In Death (Year): 0
Grand Total since 2010: 0

Totals (Monthly/Yearly)

Total Read (Month): 4
Total Heard (Month): 0
Grand Total w/o Audiobooks (Year): 68
Grand Total w/Audiobooks (Year): 73
~~ & ~~
Total Audio Hours(Month): 0
Total Audio Hours (Year): 63h, 26m
~~ & ~~
Total Pages Read (Month): 1,203
Grand Total w/o Audiobooks (Year): 22,254
Grand Total w/Audiobooks (Year): 24,077

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Introduction:

I apologize that this is just a list of books. I thought I would have time to work on this post, but there was stuff I wanted to do that I had already put off doing earlier this week so I could work on favorite charters. After several attempts at writing something for yesterday’s topic, I just gave up: the bad thing about not writing reviews is that I was re-reading the books to refresh my memory and (hopefully) make better notes. My theme was favorite couples and guess who was couple #1? I spent more time re-reading parts of Magic Slays (and several other books) than actually taking notes. Not very productive.

There are two lists. I realized after I made my first list, it was just a list of “next in the series” books. I looked at my various wishlists and picked a few that caught my interest.

Looking Forward to: Next in Series Books
10. Blazing the Trail (Deborah Cooke) – 3rd and final book in The Dragon Diaries trilogy (Young Adult) (June 5, 2012)

09. Flashfire (Deborah Cooke) – 7th in the Dragonfire series (Paranormal Romance) (January 3, 2012)

08. Affairs of Steak (Julie Hyzy) – 5th in the White House Chef series (Mystery) (January 3, 2012)

07. Oracle’s Moon (Thea Harrison) – 4th in the Elder Races series (Paranormal Romance) (March 6, 2012)

06. Magic Unchained (Jessica Andersen) – 7th in The Final Prophecy series (Paranormal Romance) (April 3, 2012)

05. Sins of the Son (Linda Poitevin) – 2nd in the Grigori Legacy) (Urban Fantasy) (March 27, 2012)

04. Summoning the Moon (Jenn Bennett) – 2nd in the Arcadia Bell series (Urban Fantasy) (April 24, 2012)

03. Gunmetal Magic (Ilona Andrews) – 1st of Andrea’s series or Kate 5.5 or Kate 6?? (Urban Fantasy) (July 31, 2012)

(TIE)
These last two are truly My Most Anticipated Books. Had things gone differently, both would have been published years ago. It’s been a long time coming for both.

01. A Warrior’s Desire (Pamela Palmer) – 3rd in The Esri series. The first two books in this mini-series from Harlequin Nocturne came out in 2007 and 2008. Then the author sold two more series to other publishers (one of the series is her Feral Warriors). Between commitments and slot availability on the Nocturne publishing calendar, the last two books were delayed (she explained this on her forum). I’m so excited, I’ve read the excerpt several time already. (Paranormal Romance) (Jan/Feb 2012)

01. Star Wars: Darth Plagueis (James Luceno) – the book was originally scheduled to be released in 2008. In early 2007, it was pulled from the schedule. The powers that be had decided it wasn’t the right time to tell this story. Darth Plagueis is the guy Chancellor Palpatine is referring to when he’s talking to Anakin at the opera in Revenge of the Sith. He is Palpatine’s Master. It was a major let-down when I saw that it wasn’t coming out in 2008. I really wanted to read Palpatine’s backstory. I was so happy this summer when I learned it was back on the schedule. (Science Fiction) (January 10, 2012)

Honorable Mentions: Books that Caught My Eye

• Firelight (Darkest London) (Kristen Callihan) -  January 31, 2012.
• For Darkness Shows the Stars (Diana Peterfreund) – June 12, 2012.
• An Affair with Mr. Kennedy (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard) (Jillian Stone) – January 31, 2012.
• Discount Armageddon: An InCryptid Novel (Seanan McGuire) – March 6, 2012

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I have a confession to make.

When it comes to book boyfriends. . .I’m monogamous.

You read that right. I only have one book boyfriend.

I can hear you saying, “Crazy woman! Why, with the smorgasbord available, would you settle for just one? The book-world is your oyster, girlfriend! We won’t judge.”

Yeah, I know. It’s just. . .I don’t know. It just the way I am, I suppose.

To me, “book boyfriend” implies someone who stays with you after you close the book, or he’s a central character in a series (like Harry Potter or Harry Dresden). I read a lot of romance series (paranormal or otherwise) this year. Oh, I may have fallen in love with the guy during his book — all those DarkRiver Sentinels, who can resist a damaged hero? — but they don’t stand a chance against the reoccurring hero.

I started more series that have reoccurring leads (new-to-me or debuts), but none have grown on me yet to the point of counting them as “book boyfriends”. Adam (from the Mercy Thompson series) has a slight edge, since he’s a shifter, but I don’t know him well enough. Bones (Night Huntress) doesn’t stand a chance: he’s a vampire and I’m picky about them. Jeff Martini (Katherine “Kitty” Katt series) is a hoot, but again, I just started the series.

The irony? I loved my book boyfriend from the first book.

So, who is he?

Here’s some hints: The series has been around for five years. In that time, he’s walked through fire, literally, to help the heroine on two separate occasions. In the heroine’s own words:

No matter where I was or how much trouble I was in, he would come to get me.  He would demolish the city to find me. I didn’t have to go at it alone.

Here’s another hint:

How about this hint?

Still no idea?  How about this one?

Still not sure? Here’s one last clue:

My book boyfriend is Curran, Beast Lord of Atlanta. In Magic Slays, he tells Kate emphatically he loves her and that she’s more important to him than the Pack. After the events in Magic Bleeds, he’s more than ready to leave Atlanta and the Pack, if Kate would feel safer someplace else. And Kate really needed to hear that from him in this book.

Even without Gordon Andrews’ Curran POV shorts, I would still have loved him, but those little insights have both reinforced my understanding of him and added to it.  My favorite, so far, is Curran’s reaction to Kate in Bernard’s (a scene from Magic Bleeds).

So.  There you have it.  My contribution to today’s topic.  And in honor of Book Boyfriends, I present this “musical interlude”.  I originally wanted to go with Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero”, but the official music video, with Bonnie dressed as a Western schoolmarm and fleeing her burning house, just turned me off — and I couldn’t find another I liked.  Thankfully, I remembered this song, which works just as well.  ENJOY!

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Introduction:
I read a lot of paranormal, urban fantasy, and sci-fi, but when it comes to cover art, I tend to like historicals and certain contemporary covers.

My favorite color is pink and that’s something that will catch my eye first. I usually like the pretty gowns worn by the cover models, even if they aren’t pink. I could easily buy, every month, all of the books in the Harlequin Historical category line based on the cover art alone.

After my list is the list “Lulu” came up with, including “her” reasoning. Don’t forget to vote in “her” poll.

10. Buffalo West Wing (The White House Chef #4) (Julie Hyzy) – I’ve liked every cover in this mystery series, but this one is my favorite of the bunch (so far). The title banner looks pink, but it’s actually a red foil — very nice. I like the color contrast between the sky surrounding the White House and the red title banner. I also the love the little details — the food, the note on the fridge door, and the box of chicken wings (so pivotal to the story) can be seen on the bottom shelf.

9. The Dragon and the Pearl (Jeannie Lin) – This is a Harlequin Historical, a category line that tends to be dominated by Regencies and Westerns. This is neither.  This book is set in 8th Century China and I love it for its uniqueness. I think it is very elegant and I love her robe.

8. Body Thief (The Body #2) (C. J. Barry) – When I featured it in a Waiting on Wednesday in October, I mentioned that I thought it was sort of sweet and romantic, and that it reminded me of “Sleeping Beauty”. I like the fact that neither the tile or the author’s name is obscuring the couple.

7. Winging It (The Dragon Diaries #2) (Deborah Cooke) – The cover art for the third book in this trilogy has been revealed and I have to say this one is my favorite. The cover is a darker coral than the picture depicts. I like the swirls of pink (naturally) and the dragon on her shirt.

6. Nearly a Lady (Alissa Johnson) – Like Body Thief, I thought this was a very sweet, romantic cover. The couple is absolutely adorable together and I love the color of her dress.

5. The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles #1) (Kady Cross) – The book cover reminded me of the Luxe series covers: young women in gorgeous, flowing gowns. Then you notice her right hand and “steel corset”. Very pretty.

4. No Proper Lady (Isabel Cooper) – Like The Girl in the Steel Corset, at first glance this looks like a typical historical romance cover. Until you see the markings on her back. I do like the shades of blue and how the pink lettering contrasts with the blue dress.

3. Dangerous in Diamonds (Rarest Blooms #4) (Madeline Hunter) – I really love this dress, though it is not my favorite of the Rarest Blooms — that would be Sinful in Satin (it’s pink!). I just wish the author’s name didn’t overwhelm the cover. Nevertheless, I think it’s beautiful.

2. Heiress in Love (Ministry of Marriage #1) (Christina Brooke) – Pink. Very, very pink. I also liked the fact that the title and author’s name doesn’t overpower the dress.

1. Lord and Lady Spy (Shana Galen) – Another pink cover. I liked this one better than Heiress in Love. I liked the dress more and I also like the hero — handsome and oh so serious looking.  Plus, neither of them is headless.  And did you notice her foot is lightly resting on a box labeled “explosives”?

~~ & ~~

Picking ten covers was a much easier process than picking yesterdays list — or would have, had I not used random.org for my favorite reads.   Even so, I did have a few moments of indecision on ranking, and I even made changes as I was explaining why I liked each piece.  This concludes my list.  Below you will find “Lulu’s”.

~~ & ~~

Lulu: Pink? Formal wear? She’s nuts! Who want to see that?! Here are my picks for Favorite covers.  What’s my theme?  Bare-chested men, of course.

10. Storm’s Heart (Elder Races #2) (Thea Harrison) – Great shot of his chest. Too bad it looks like the photographer didn’t center correctly and chopped off his head. I think it’s unfair that Tiago is headless. Dragos and Rune got heads. The djinn from the fourth book and the guy from the short story both got half a head — still better off than Tiago. Anyway. I also like his stance.

9. Kiss of Snow (Psy-Changeling #10) (Nalini Singh) – The long-awaited, highly anticipated book featuring Hawke and Sienna.  Impressive.  Pity it’s too close-in and the author’s name overwhelms the picture.  Actually, if her name was smaller, this would have ranked higher on the list, despite him being headless.  It is a very nice chest after all.

8. Dark Awakening (Dark Dynasties #1) (Kendra Leigh Castle) – Not a bad shot, even though he’s wearing a coat. The title and author’s name are out of the way, and even the tagline isn’t too distracting. However, the foggy, misty look makes things look fuzzy. The second book, Midnight Reckoning (due 1 January), has a better cover.

7. Dragon Warrior (Midnight Bay #2) (Janet Chapman) – Nice chest shot. However, the author’s name overwhelms the picture. I like that it also a “clear” shot — no fog, rain, snow, or misty-looking effect like the others.

6. Darkfire Kiss (Dragonfire #6) (Deborah Cooke) – Looking pretty good there, Rafferty. Title and author’s name are out of the way. Nice stance. However, Delaney (my fav!), Niall, and the new guy Lorenzo all have better covers. Still, your’s is way better than Erik’s.

5. Devil Without a Cause (The Devil’s Bargin #1) (Terri Garey) – Similar to Dark Awakening, but a much better execution.  Nothing’s obstructing the view of his chest: names, titles, taglines — all out of the way.  Nice stance, too.

4. Darkness Dawns (Immortal Guardians #1) (Dianne Duvall) – Another decent shot, despite the fact he’s wearing a shirt and standing at an angle — or sideways, if you prefer. The swirl graphic doesn’t overwhelm the cover and the title and author’s name are out of the way.

3. Raziel (The Fallen #1) (Kristina Douglas) – I had a difficult time deciding on how to rank this one.  Great chest shot, but the title and series name are displayed across it.  Compared to Dragon Warrior and Kiss of Snow, the words aren’t as overwhelming, so I felt it deserved to be ranked higher.

2. On the Hunt (Anthology) – This one wasn’t on the original list. Once I started writing about the covers, I found myself re-evaluating each one. I ended up making one of the initial picks an Honorable Mention and swapping out another entirely. I had to pick something to fill the slot vacated by the Honorable Mention. I passed on this one initially, but once I compared it to the others (and based on what I’ve written), I realized it deserves to be on this list. First off, he’s got a head! Okay, he’s missing his forehead, but still! Good chest shot, but the shadowing makes him look a little bruised. And the best thing: the names. Considering this is an anthology, and therefore has more names, it’s amazing that something didn’t get obscured.  Okay, his arm did.  But who cares about his arm?!

And Lulu’s Favorite Cover of 2011 is. . .

Red Heat (Men in Uniform #1) (Nina Bruhns) – I don’t have to say a thing, really, but I will. Impressive chest. Not a fan of tattoos. A simple one, like the one on his arm, I like; but the one on his chest seems as if it was just added to say “yes, he’s a Russian sub commander” (Nikolai does have this tattoo on his chest, so it’s accurate).  I wish the writing was a smidgen lower (do we really need to see the hat??), but I feel it is low enough to say it’s not overwhelming the view.  And this, my friends, is the cover I wish Kiss of Snow had — this could have been Hawke.

Honorable Mention
The Beholder (The Nightwalkers) (Connie Hall) – Pretty good chest shot, but his stance doesn’t help.  The title and name, though not as overwhelming as some, are a distraction because of it.  However, it is a full body shot that isn’t headless.  That, in itself, makes it worthy of mention.

~~ & ~~

Lulu: So, what do you think?  Who’ s list is better mine or Christina’s?  I created a little poll, so you can cast your vote anonymously.

~~ & ~~

Take Our Poll

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Introduction:

Hello! My name is Christina and welcome to my blog!  Before getting down to the business of sharing my Top 10 Reads of 2011, I thought I’d give you a bit of back-story about the list.

It started off as a list of 21 books that, to me, were 5-star books. Some had reviews, but most didn’t. After a few days of trying to whittle it down to 10, I gave up. I knew which book I thought should be #1, figuring out the other nine was frustrating. It seemed like it changed every time I sat down to look at it. Then I came across this event. At first, I passed on it, but then I got an idea, based on something I did back in 2008 (see paragraph 3). Naming the “personal demons” Bitsy and Lulu, back then, was unnecessary and spur-of-the moment. My idea for this week was to create a pair of imaginary hosts, personal demons, and have them deal with my inability to come up with a list by using Random.org. Yes, I did run my list through the randomizer (several times, in fact). It turned out to be very helpful. I was able to eliminate several books because they kept showing up in the top 10, displacing books I felt should have been closer to the top. I got the list down to 14 titles. I got all the posts set up as much as possible, ready for the actual lists. By this time, I was running into issues with book boyfriends and the other character-based list (cover art and 2012 lists were easy compared to the other three).

The problem with having imaginary hosts is that you have to write their parts as well as everything else — in other words, I was adding work to a situation that didn’t need the extra head-ache. I spent nearly the entire weekend of the 17th working on Day 1. . .and it still wasn’t done. By Tuesday, no progress was made so I decided to scrap Bitsy and Lulu from the project entirely. Well, almost entirely. The Top 10 remains random — the book in #1 slot isn’t the one I would have chosen. They also remain in two other spots: Lulu didn’t like my picks for cover art so she presented her own and set up a poll for visitors to vote on which they liked best — I had fun with this so I left the cover art and the poll; the second spot is the “musical interlude” (a YouTube video) they picked to amuse visitors while they were off sorting out my book boyfriend problems.

So. On with the list. . .

~~ & ~~

In the interest of full disclosure — I tweaked the list only once after randomizing it for the final time. The book currently sitting in the #10 spot was initially placed in the top 5. I would have made that book #9 or #10 (had I actually picked them) so I just did a one-for-one swap. Since the post was already set up for a countdown, I left it that way.

# 10. . .
Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy.
From my review in January —

This book is my favorite one, so far, in this series. The mystery and the secondary story lines really worked for me. Ollie has matured in her role as the executive chef. She’s gotten better at handling Peter Sargeant, the snobby and pompous sensitivity director, who constantly hopes she gets fired. Added to the mix is Virgil Ballantine, personal chef to the First Family. On several occasions, his actions either make Ollie look bad or puts her in a difficult position. Ollie handles each situation like a mature, reasonable adult. She is dedicated to doing her best, and doesn’t require the press and notoriety the others — people like Sargeant and Virgil — seek out.

Additional Remarks: It’s the fourth in the series and each book includes menus and recipes for dishes mentioned in the books!  The fifth book will be released on 3 January.

#9 . . .
Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin.
From my write-up in July —

“Raine reminded me of Kate Daniels in many was. She’s protective of those she cares about and she won’t sit idly by while others put themselves in danger because of her. Plus, she’s sarcastic.”

Additional Remarks:  It’s the first in the Raine Banares series.  One of the new-to-me series I will be continuing next year.

#8 is. . .
Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews
From my write-up in July. . .

“Love it. I liked that we got to see how Kate and Curran are coping with their relationship. I thought the dinner scene, the first few moments of it, had a “first date” vibe to it — shy and awkward. Very sweet. And who knew the Beast Lord was such a romantic.”

Additional Remarks: Still my all-time favorite Urban Fantasy series. The next book set in this world, Gunmetal Magic, is actually told from Andrea’s point of view. The authors stated on their blog that they had the Kate 6 story arc planned out and realized that they needed to resolve Andrea’s issues first before they can move the story forward.  The fact that the publishers went along with this book-detour speaks highly of their faith in this couple.  The next Kate-narrated book isn’t due out until 2013.

#7 is. . .
Red Heat by Nina Bruhns
From my notes –

I wish I could remember which review I read that inspired me to get this book. As soon as it came in, I started reading it — though I had only intended to read chapter one — and couldn’t put it down. One of the things I liked a lot was that I couldn’t figure out who was sabotaging the mission — any member of the crew or scientific team could be the culprit. The author never made anyone seem too secretive or too obvious. I was surprised.

Additional Remarks: This is the first book in the author’s Men in Uniform trilogy. Nikolai’s demotion to captaining an old, barely-holding-itself-together submarine is reminiscent of Kelsey Grammer’s in Down Periscope, a movie that the author calls “one of the best submarine movies ever made.” (scroll down past the excerpt to see her comment and a clip)

#6 is. . .
Unchained by Sharon Ashwood
From my review –

While re-reading parts of the book, to refresh my memory, I really fell in love with the characters. Okay… I fell in love with Reynard. His dilemma, even knowing how it ends, still got to me. I really do like Ashe, now that she isn’t butting heads with Holly, thinking she knows better than her little sis. And Miru-Kai. A character like him just doesn’t just disappear without being heard from again. I wonder when and where we’ll be seeing him again. I hope the author has plans for him.

Additional Remarks: This is the third book from The Dark Forgotten series and won the author a RITA in the Paranormal Romance category. Unfortunately, Frostbound (the fourth book) was also the last. The author has announced a new series she’s contracted for with Harlequin Nocturne.

#5 is. . .
Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu
From my review —

I liked Dela and Hari. They’re both good, decent people. Hari’s been through a lot, but it never destroyed his core ethics. There were a couple of times I agreed with Hari and the others when Dela seemed to be a bit blasé about her safety — but I also agree with her reasoning, that she couldn’t just hide under the bed all the time either.  I really loved this book. One of the things I wanted to learn about was Dirk & Steele itself: how Dela was connected to it, what was its purpose. The game barely touches on it. I also wanted to know more about Roland, too, but like Charlie from “Charlie’s Angels”, he’s only heard from, not seen.

Additional Remarks: This is the first book in the Dirk & Steele series. One of my goals for next year is to get caught up with the series. Within the Flames, the 11th book, was recently released.

#4 is. . .
Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh
From my notes —

If Visions of Heat re-kindled my interest in this series, then Caressed by Ice solidified it. I loved this book. It was different from its two predecessors because the roles were reversed: it featured a male Psy and a female changeling, a SnowDancer wolf this time instead of a DarkRiver cat. Judd is already out of the Net, though he’s still connected to his small family one consisting of his brother Walker, his nieces Sienna and Marlee, and nephew Toby. His problems center around his very deadly abilities and the safeguards in place to protect those around him should he break conditioning. Brenna has come a long way since her rescue in the first book, but she’s still not completely healed. She’s also dealing with two overprotective brothers who are not happy about her growing interest in Judd. Another difference is the fact that Judd and Brenna aren’t complete strangers. Judd has lived with the wolves for some time, and though there may not have been much interaction prior to her abduction, he probably knew who she was at least. I’ve become a fan of this author and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Additional Remarks: Caressed by Ice is the third book in the Psy-Changeling series. My goal this year was to read all the books before the most recent, Kiss of Snow, was published in paperback. I almost reached it. I had only one more to read. Next year, I hope to read her Guild Hunter series.

#3 is. . .
Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch
From my July write-up —

I loved this book! I loved Kitty! And Jeff! And Kitty’s parents! I wish I’d started this series sooner. Thankfully, I have the next two on hand.

Additional Remarks: This is the first book in the Katherine “Kitty” Katt series. And it’s another series I hope to catch up with in 2012.

#2 is. . .
Storm’s Heart by Thea Harrison
From my notes —

I might be in the minority, but I liked this book more than Dragon Bound and Serpent’s Kiss. As much as I liked Dragos, I know that Pia’s got an uphill battle on her hands. And Rune and Carling as a couple didn’t work for me. However, I thought Tiago and Niniane had more of a true partnership. Tiago may be a warlord and used to being in charge, but he was also more adaptable. He and Niniane actually talk about things, discuss the future and the problems they are facing.

Additional Remarks:  This is the second book in the Elder Races series.  Had I actually picked the books, Storm’s Heart would have been in the top five.  It is the book I used to swap out Buffalo West Wing.

#1 is. . .
Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh
From my notes —

I loved the fact that both Mercy and Riley were Changelings, the first book where neither party is Psy (or part-Psy). I loved watching them try to figure out their relationship and how that will affect their standings in their respective packs

I liked Mercy. She’s a Sentinel, but she isn’t adverse to being mated and having children. She’s afraid that her dominant leopard will prevent her from accepting the mating bond. Now that Lucas and all the male Sentinels are mated, Mercy’s hard pressed to find a dominant male in the DarkRiver pack that can take her on. She’ll have to look elsewhere — or given into the temptation that is SnowDancer lieutenant Riley Kincaid.

Riley is the strong, silent type. He’s the calm, level-headed one, which is why Hawke made him the liaison to DarkRiver in the first place. He still suffers guilt for not being able to protect his baby sister Brenna, who he raised from near infancy after the death of their parents. Riley’s first instinct is to protect, something that Mercy baulks at — she’s fully capable of taking care of herself.

There are a lot of other things going on in the book — stuff the deals with the on-going plots concerning the Psy Council, the Human Alliance, and the Ghost. Plus, we get a bit more about Hawke and the situation with Sienna, and Sascha gets two very different surprises.

Additional Remarks: This is the sixth book in the Psy-Changeling series.  I fell in love with this series this year and that probably contributed to my problems choosing books for this list. Though Branded by Fire is NOT the book I would have chosen as #1, I was content to leave it in place when I randomized the list for the final time — same with Caressed by Ice.

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Event: Top Ten Week
When: 26 – 30 December 2011
Who: Several hostesses, so I just picked one to link to: Fiktshun
What: A daily event, where participants reveal their top ten picks of 2011 in several categories, and the ten books they’re looking forward to in 2012.  For more information and sign-up, visit the link above.

The schedule:

26 December – Top 10 I’ve Read in 2011 – Not limited to books published this year – The day where I reveal which books were my absolute favorites, which should be quiet the task as half the list is Psy-Changeling (okay, so I’m exaggerating a little…but there are 6 of them in the running!).

27 December – Top 10 Covers of 2011 -  Published in 2011 (whether you read them or not).  The day we all look at some pretty pictures and showcase any book published this year, but didn’t get read.

28 December – Top 10 Book Boyfriends in 2011 – From books read in 2011 – Stop by and find out who is, and isn’t, on that list.

29 December – Top 10 Characters of 2011 – Reader’s choice, so to speak.  It can be anything, as long as it’s character based:  favorite secondary characters, villains, heroines, etc.  I’m not sure what my list will be, since I have more than one idea.

30 December – Top 10 I’m Looking Forward to in 2012 – What all the Christmas gift cards/money will be spent on.  The optional part of the post will be any stats (number pages, books, etc) we might want to include.  Since this will coincide with a read-a-thon, I might hold off with finalizing my stats until the 31st.

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The year’s not over with yet, but with the holidays coming up and a list of things I still want to do (top ten list, challenge wrap-ups, goals for 2012, etc.), I thought I’d post this now and do a follow-up later, if needed. Plus, if I never get around to writing all the reviews, at least I have one post I can refer to.  The books are listed in the order in which they were read.

5 Stars

Buffalo West Wing (Hyzy, Julie) {16 Jan 11}
Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil (Karpyshyn, Drew) {6 Feb 11}
Unchained (Ashwood, Sharon) {26 Feb 11}
Queen of Shadows (Sylvan, Dianne) {14 Mar 11}
Song of Scarabaeus (Creasy, Sara) {23 Mar 11}
The Hunger Games (Collins, Suzanne) {6 Apr 11}
Visions of Heat (Singh, Nalini) {12 May 11}
Magic Lost Trouble Found (Shearin, Lisa) {21 May 11}
Caressed by Ice (Singh, Nalini) {22 May 11}
Mine to Possess (Singh, Nalini) {24 May 11}
Magic Slays (Andrews, Ilona) {1 Jun 11}
Renegade Angel (Castle, Kendra Leigh) {6 Jun 11}
Frostbound (Ashwood, Sharon) {13 Jun 11}
Red Heat (Bruhns, Nina) {22 Jun 11}}
Touched by an Alien (Koch, Gini) {30 Jun 11}
Dragon Bound (Harrison, Thea) {2 Jul 11}
Storm’s Heart (Harrison, Thea) {5 Aug 11}
Branded by Fire (Singh, Nalini) {15 Aug 11}
Tiger Eye (Liu, Marjorie M.) {4 Sep 11}
Blaze of Memory (Singh, Nalina) {18 Sep 11}
Bonds of Justice (Singh, Nalini) {23 Oct 11}

4 Stars

Black Wings (Henry, Christina) {4 Jan 11}
Blood Spells (Andersen, Jessica) {20 Feb 11}
Whisper Kiss (Cooke, Deborah {28 Feb 11}
Paying the Virgin’s Price (Merrill, Christine) {12 Mar 11}
Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Vaughn, Carrie) {19 Mar 11}
A Taste of Magic (Madison, Tracy) {31 Mar 11}
Bound by Shadow (Windsor, Anna) {11 Apr 11}
Darkness Dawns (Duvall, Dianne) {17 Apr 11}
Visions of Magic (Hastings, Regan) {24 Apr 11}
Beyond the Night (Ware, Joss) {29 Apr 11}
Secret Society Girl (Peterfreund, Diana) {1 May 11}
Halfway to the Grave (Frost, Jeaniene) {9 May 11}
Just the Sexiest Man Alive (James, Julie) {2 Jun 11}
Master of None (Bateman, Sonya) {5 Jun 11}
Stormwalker (James, Allyson) {11 June 11}
Cold as Ice (Stuart, Anne) {4 Jul 11}
Sylvester (Heyer, Georgette) {10 Jul 11}
Kiss of Midnight (Adrian, Lara) {25 Jul 11}
Marked (Naughton, Elisabeth) {31 Jul 11}
Hostage to Pleasure (Singh, Nalini) {8 Aug 11}
Blood Bound (Briggs, Patricia) {13 Aug 11}
Heiress in Love (Brooke, Christina) {20 Aug 11}
A Regimental Murder (Gardner, Ashley) {27 Aug 11}
Kindling the Moon (Bennett, Jenn) {2 Sep 11}
Kiss of Crimson (Adrian, Lara) {8 Sep 11}
His Majesty’s Dragon (Novik, Naomi) {17 Sep 11}
Murder with Puffins (Andrews, Donna) {20 Sep 11}
Sins of the Angels (Poitevin, Linda) {30 Sep 11}
The Brain and the Beauty (Eliot, Betsy) {6 Oct 11}
Shadow Kin (Scott, M. J.) {8 Oct 11}
Flying Blind (Cooke, Deborah) {11 Oct 11}
Black Night (Henry, Christina) {29 Oct 11}

3 Stars

The Painted Lady (Metzger, Barbara) {10 Jan 11}
Not Without Her Family (Andrews, Beth) {24 Jan 11}
The Lord and Wayward Lady (Allen, Louise) {30 Jan 11}
Persecuted (Childs, Lisa) {27 Mar 11}
Hot Mama (Estep, Jennifer) {15 Apr 11}
Darkfire Kiss (Cooke, Deborah) {29 May 11}
Jedi Twilight (Reaves, Michael) {17 Jul 11}
Pride Mates (Ashley, Jennifer) {24 Aug 11}
Passions of a Wicked Earl (Heath, Lorraine) {24 Sep 11}
Viper Moon (Roland, Lee) {29 Sep 11}
Serpent’s Kiss (Harrison, Thea) {6 Nov 11}

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This time last year, I knew that the move would have a significant impact on my reading.  I just didn’t think it would be this bad.  Not counting the audiobooks, or the Jane Austen re-reads, I read a grand total of 20 books in 2010.  To get an idea of how bad this is, I’ve listed the previous years’ stats.  The good news?  No DNFs (I’ve put aside the holiday book I was attempting to read, but I plan to pick it up again):

• 2010: 20 (plus 8 re-reads/audiobooks=28)
• 2009: 36 (plus 14 DNF and 3 short stories = 53)
• 2008: 46 (plus 8 DNF = 54)
• 2007: 50* (plus 6 more DNFs=56)
• 2006: 52* *

* = This number includes 3 re-reads and 2 DNFs
* * = Started keeping stats in February. Includes 3 re-reads and 11 DNFs

As you can see, I haven’t been very consistent on how I keep stats. The funny thing is, I thought I was doing a pretty good job back in ’06 and ’07. I have Powerpoint slides. With graphs. And pie charts.

Anyway . . . my point is that, even with books that were Did Not Finish, I averaged 3 to 4 books a month.  I’m hoping that I can get back to amount — not counting the audiobooks.

“Speaking” of which . . .
This fall, I rediscovered the joy of audiobooks.  Not that I really ever lost it (for the last three years, I lived in with my parents and my mother loves the Harry Potter audiobooks –  she plays them constantly).  Of the six audiobooks I’ve listened to, five were checked out of the library.  I own a few, and I’ll read them in 2011, for the audio challenges I signed up for.

Time for more stats.  . .

• Total pages read (including audiobooks):  8,720 * * *
• Total audiobook time: 44 hrs, 28 mins
• Audiobook “pages” only: 1,597
• Paper pages: 7,123
• New-to-me authors: 6
• New-to-me series: 3
• Books published in 2010: 10

* * * = Compared to the 11,649 pages in 2009, and that was without the DNF books

Challenges:
The wrap-up posts are still pending (and so are some of the reviews), but I don’t need to them to know that I had a dismal year. Even so, it hasn’t prevented me from signing up for challenges hosted by various GoodReads groups (and one from Shelfari). Those tended to be mostly short-term challenges and I haven’t done so hot with them either. I’ve learned that short-term challenges aren’t for me, unless they’re something like a featured author — read a book of your choice written by that month’s featured author. That’s how I came to read Patricia Briggs. In January, I’m trying a featured book challenge.

The lack of success in 2010 also hasn’t prevented me from signing up for 2011 challenges. I really like the type that give the reader the option of different levels. I noticed a lot more of the hosts were doing that this year. I’m glad. I don’t know if I would have signed up for half of them if they all required 12+ books.

So just how badly did I do in 2010? Of the seventeen challenges hosted on personal blogs, two end in 2011 and three are perpetual. I’ve  successfully completed only three. They are:

• Pub 2010
• Romance Reading Challenge
• Holiday Reading Challenge

Yeah. Let’s not dwell on that.

Moving along . . .

Final Update on 2010 Goals:
Back in April, I did an initial “check in” regarding the goals I set in January 2010. Let’s see how it all panned out:

• Get back to reading Star Wars novels — In 2009, I did not read a single book. I have a huge backlist of the novels. UPDATE: read one in April! Final: Mostly fail. I read only one.
• Try to read more than one Georgette Heyer this year — I bought a few of her mysteries, so maybe I read one of each (romances and mysteries) Final:  FAIL. I read only one.
• Finish the backlog of last year’s reviews — I have several left to do. I posted one earlier today, here, with a new format. I’m going to try using this new format for all reviews. UPDATE: I was making progress with this until recently. Final: Good news! 2009 reviews are caught up! YAY!!
  
• Finish re-posting the “lost posts” from the last time I tanked the blog — Yeah, that’s still not done. Final: Did a few and the rest are in the draft folder. Save for Bloggiesta.
• Fix, again, the Author Index — goes in hand with the above. Final: Save for Bloggiesta
• Track number of pages read — includes remembering to annotate the page # I stop at when I decide a book is DNF. UPDATE: Yes!! Final: YAY!! Kept it up!
• Try to read more than one “In Death” books — I will never get caught up with this one if I don’t Final: FAIL
• Use my Sony Reader more — I bought it mainly to stash books/short stories for the time of the move. Final: FAIL. I’m just not an e-book person
• Look at my “books read” list from 2006-2008 and see if there’s a author I’ve been meaning to read again — and do so. Final: Mostly fail. I did read a short story by Gayle Wilson in the Christmas anthology, but I didn’t conscientiously make that choice. I also listened to the audiobook version of a Stephanie Rowe novel I’d already read. Not planned either.
• Do not get behind on 2010 reviews — even if it means not working on a 2009 backlogged one UPDATE: I was doing so good there for awhile. Final: *sigh* FAIL!

Wow. Only two goals met. Since I chose to defer the two “Tanking of the Blog 2009″ projects for Bloggiesta, I gave myself a pass on those.  I could have finished them over Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Top Ten:
Considering how few books I read this year, that would be half the list! I’ll have to come up with something else. I would love to do something clever again, something like this or this.   Whatever I decide, it’s a topic for another day and another post.

And on That Note:
So, that’s that.  Time to get all those pesky “incomplete challenge” posts out of the way, decide if there’s anything else I want to sign up for (on the fence about a few), and start “my goals for 2011″ post.  May I do better in 2011.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading,

Another non-reading month for me.  Most of the remaining challenges ended incomplete.  I’m cutting back on the number of challenges for 2010.  I will be moving in July.  Below is a list of the challenge I plan to participate in.  I haven’t signed up for all of the yet.  I’ve labeled them NEW.

I posted two backlogged reviews and I have nine left to do.

Just out of curiosity, I tallied up the number of pages I read this year, not counting the DNF.  I read 11,649 pages.  Three chunky books I read this year  accounted for 1,374 of those pages.  Based on total, it looks like I average between 900 and 1,000 pages a month.  For 2010, I think I will start track ing that monthly.

The backlogged reviews posted:

• The Wallflower (Jan Freed)
• Skykeepers (Jessica Andersen)

What’s still pending:

• The Maverick’s Greek Island Mistress
• Duel of Hearts
• Line of Scrimmage
• On the Edge
• Time Raiders: The Seduction (Cindy Dees)(Nocturne Bite)
• Kiss of Fate
• For the Love of Pete
• Three Bags Full
• “Falling for Anthony” (Meljean Brook), Hot Spell(anthology)

Below is my status regarding the various challenges.

Challenges Completed this month:
A Year of Readers

Incomplete (Ended in December):
Harlequin/Silhouette Romance
What’s in a Name 2
1st in Series
2nds Challenge
A-Z Challenge (Authors)

2009-2010 Challenges:
101 Fantasy Challenge: 0/6
Countdown 2010: 6/55
Harry Potter: 0/7
Random Reading: 1/12
Winter Holiday Reading: 0/?

2010 Challenges:
Contemporary Romance: 0/10  <— NEW
Harlequin/Silhouette: 0/6  <— NEW
“In Death” Challenge: 0/?? < — NEW
New Author: 0/20
Pub 2010: 0/10 <— NEW
Romance Reading: 0/5  <— NEW
What’s in a Name 3: 0/6 <— NEW
Year of the Historical: 0/12

Perpetual Challenges
Georgette Heyer:

~~ & ~~

Total (Month): 0
Grand Total (Year):36