I'm favorite reads of 2014

I read over 140 books in 2014. One hundred and forty! That's an all time high for me. And will probably be the record forever. Out of those books, I've picked my top ten favorite reads (in no particular order). 

What were your favorite reads of this year?

UNRAVELED: A TALE OF TRUE LOVE by Julie Daines
Folklore, romance and magical shoes. What girl can pass up magical shoes? Oh! And a prince!

ELEVATED by Elana Johnson
I loved this book and not just because my daughter is on the cover. I wish I could write in verse in a way that grabbed readers and pulled them into a story that made them think about it long after they shut the book.

LEGEND by Marie Lu
Why did it take me so long to read this series? Why? Fast paced, intriguing, suspenseful, I had a hard time putting this book down and getting back to reality.

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Kasie West
I loved the characters. I loved the setting. I loved the romance.

CLICKOLOGIE: Elevating Your Photography From Beginning to Pro by Erin Summerill
Awesome book on bettering your photography. From how to pose, to using light to equipment. Loved it.

NOAH'S RAINY DAY by Sandra Brannan
I have not read any books by this author, but I might start now. Here is the opening line:
"The good news is I think I broke my leg. The bad news is I don't know if anyone at school would ever believe how it happened. Or worse, I'm not sure it anyone will ever figure out how I got here."

THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski
It's been a while since I've read a book with such a unique world and history.

OUTLINING YOUR NOVEL: MAP YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS by K. M. Weiland
I'm a total pantser and editing is hard! I wanted to try outlining and this book helped see that I can outline.

THE LANGUAGE OF RECOVERY by Gordon Bruin
This is a great, short, informative book for anyone who knows someone with an addiction.

THE ORCHARD by Krista Lynne Jensen
I love PERSUASION by Jane Austen. So I couldn't help but love this book.

UNRAVELED: A TRUE LOVE STORY by Julie Daines

"It's thoroughly researched, expertly crafted, and it will sweep you off your feet with its beauty." -UCW 

When sickness swept through Bronwen’s family, it took the life of her father, brother, and sister, and left her permanently crippled. On the stormy eve of her sixteenth birthday, a faerie-witch gifts her a pair of enchanted shoes. Bronwen slips them on and is healed--but only when the shoes are on her feet. Her grace and beauty catches the eye of the king’s son--Urien, a handsome young man who prides himself on having everything perfect. 

When Rhys, an old acquaintance and Captain of the Guard, recognizes Bronwen, he threatens to tell Urien her secret. Desperate to keep her deformity hidden and not to lose the love of handsome Urien, Bronwen quickly finds herself tangled in a web of lies and deceit. After all, she can't wear the shoes forever.

This story has so much to offer: folklore, romance and magical shoes. What girl can pass up magical shoes? Not poor, crippled Bronwyn. When she is given the opportunity to wear shoes that will make her withered legs straight, she takes it. Only, the shoes came from a faerie witch.
Bronwyn travels to court where she is noticed, and sought after, by the prince. But she also catches the eye of a male friend from her village who knows she is crippled. Will he keep her secret? Will she be able to keep the magical shoes a secret from the prince? And can Bronwyn maintain her integrity while trying to figure out what her heart already knows?
While I wanted to throttle Bronwyn for not be truthful, I felt her pain and cheered her on until the end.
Julie has produced another fantastic book that draws in the reader quickly and thoroughly.

5 STARS

How to Embrace Your Inner Hotness: An Inside-out Approach to a Lasting makeover ~ Book Review

Your outward appearance might make the first impression, but sixty seconds later, when that first impression is ancient history, it's your inner beauty that needs to shine! If you want to be truly hot, this book will show you exactly how, including the following: 

• Why you need to stop buying in to a cultural concept of beauty 
• How to transform the way you see and present yourself, inside and out 
• How to discover the secrets to the right look for you 
• Why different isn't bad—it's your key to hotness 
• How to choose happiness now, no matter your current situation 
• How to leave pain in the past 
• How to figure out what you really want 
• How to stop letting other people define your worth, potential, and purpose 
• How to find the right man and have the hottest marriage imaginable! 
• What it means to be "enough" (and it's not what you think!) 

We all experience loss and pain when our lives don't end up looking like we dreamed they would. Professional beauty expert and speaker Leta Greene looked that in the face and made a choice. Happiness and permanent hotness followed. Yours can too, right now, as Leta shares how to create the life and look you want in 15 simple steps—a transformation that will make you irresistibly, and lastingly, hot!

Amazon

My review:

I enjoyed reading this self-help book, full of humor and helpful ideas. This book is a fun, quick read that can be read again and again. Personal stories help me internalize the concepts and Ms. Greene adds some for every chapter. I also think challenges help drive home ideas and every chapter ends with a "hotness" challenge. Very worth the read.

OLD WEST COLLECTION (A Timeless Romance Anthology)

A TIMELESS ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY: OLD WEST COLLECTION: Readers will love this collection of six historical western novellas, all with one thing in common: Romance.

In BREAK A LEG, a charming story by two-time Rita Award winner Carla Kelly, hospital steward Colm Callahan is ready to move away from army life at Fort Laramie. His only regret is leaving behind exotic Ozzie Washington, easily the prettiest woman on the post. As a maid to the lieutenant colonel's wife, Ozzie is no wilting flower when it comes to hard work. When the post surgeon leaves for an extended week, Colm must handle several medical emergencies on his own. He pleads for Ozzie's help at the hospital. While they spend long days and nights working together, Colm, a shy man, realizes he can't hide the truth of his feelings for Ozzie. He needs a little help, though. Enter from stage left, Lysander Locke, Shakespeare tragedian on his way to Deadwood.

THE SOLDIER'S HEART, an enchanting novella by Sarah M. Eden, follows Gregory Reeves has fallen in love with a woman he's never met. Her brother's dying wish is that Gregory checks on his family, and after the war, Gregory is only too happy to meet the woman he's been dreaming about. Helene mistakes him for a hired hand and sets him to work immediately. As time passes, Gregory finds it more and more difficult to reveal his true connection to her family, fearing that a woman who loathes liars will turn her disapproval on him.

HIDDEN SPRING is an enthralling novella by Liz Adair, in which Susannah Brown is just getting her life back together after becoming a widow. She still misses Wesley with a fierce longing, but when she meets his half-brother, Douglas, she learns her heart is not completely dormant. Over the next several weeks, Douglas helps Susannah with repairs on her small ranch in exchange for supper. The exchange becomes more and more meaningful as Susannah realizes that Douglas might be the one to finally heal her heart.

THE SILVER MINE BACHELOR, by Heather B. Moore, is a sweet romance between an unlikely pair. Lydia Stone has a checklist for men who qualify as the eligible bachelors in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado. Her new boss, Mr. Erik Dawson, is about to be struck off the list when she sees him coming out of the town brothel. Lydia doesn't know that Erik Dawson's sister has been living the brothel lifestyle for years, and he's set on redeeming her soul. When Lydia discovers Erik's secrets, she learns that life is not as black and white as she thinks.

In Annette Lyon's delightful story, THE SWEETEST TASTE, Della Stafford hates being a farm girl in the tiny town of Shelley, Idaho. She'll do anything to live in a big city and experience real city life. Her only regret is that she'd have to leave Joseph behind, the young man who makes her heart flutter. But she's convinced that moving away is for the best; her dreams and Joseph's dreams are too dissimilar. Then Della takes a job as a maid in Los Angeles and must face the truth that what she thought would make her happy and what really will are totally different things.

In the captivating novella, FAITH AND THE FOREMAN by Marsha Ward, Faith Bannister is forced to travel west to earn a living as a school mistress in Arizona Territory. Faith soon learns that living the frontier lifestyle of a single woman has many harsh challenges. But when she meets Slim McHenry, she discovers that life doesn't have to be so lonely. Unfortunately the dangerous Rance Hunter stands between her and Slim, and she must act with courage before everything is lost.

I didn't know I was a closet lover of western romance but I am! If a good, sweet, tender romantic cowboy is what you enjoy reading about (and wishing there were more of them in the world), then you will want to buy this collection
And if you've read any of these ladies books and loved them, you know you're going to love this collection.Each story is unique and will keep you reading long past bedtime.. 
A good, clean read that won't make your grandma blush. 

OUTLINING YOUR NOVEL by K.M. Weiland

I think it's worth a writers time to read books on their craft and polish up on skills. Some books and advice don't work for you and that's 100% okay. Others hit you and change the way you write. 

This book came at a time when I really needed to figure out how to outline better. You see, I'm a pantser. I can write fast. For NaNo last year, I wrote 44,000 words in a weekend. Basically, I won NaNo in a week. 

But the editing and revising are killing me! I'm all over the place. I wanted to try outlining to see if I could clean up my story enough that my critique group wasn't scratching their heads trying to figure out where the story was going and what the inciting incident was and what my characters goals are.

Phew.

So I thought I'd give this book a try. I can outline and still pants. 

I hope it works. I'll try and remember to report on my progress when the book I've outlined (contemporary romance) goes through my critique group. 

Until then, what books do you recommend?

Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success will: 

Help you choose the right type of outline for you
Guide you in brainstorming plot ideas
Aid you in discovering your characters
Show you how to structure your scenes
Explain how to format your finished outline
Instruct you in how to use your outline
Reveal the benefits:
Ensures cohesion and balance
Prevents dead-end ideas
Provides foreshadowing
Offers assurance and motivation
Dispel misconceptions:
Requires formal formatting
Limits creativity
Robs the joy of discovery
Takes too much time
Even if you're certain outlining isn't for you, the book offers all kinds of important tips on plot, structure, and character. Includes exclusive interviews with Larry Brooks, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Lisa Grace, Dan L. Hays, Jody Hedlund, Carolyn Kaufman, Becky Levine, Roz Morris, John Robinson, and Aggie Villanueva, answering important questions:

Can you describe your outlining process?
What is the greatest benefit of outlining?
What is the biggest potential pitfall of outlining?
Do you recommend "pantsing" for certain situations and outlining for others?
What's the most important contributing factor to a successful outline?

I'm a total pantser when it comes to writing. I have written seven books and the editing is so painful! But outlining always threw me off. I felt like my creativity was being stifled. Until I read this book. I used the methods to outline a story I had started and was struggling with and I was happily surprised at how it turned out. Now I have to write the story but I'm confident that using my outline will make writing and editing this story much easier.

5 STARS

Busy summer where my muse ran away

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

What do you do?

Play. 

Sleep in.

Read.

Go to the pool.

Be lazy.

Read.

Set goals to write.

Clean the house.

Go camping.

Get the carpets cleaned.

Read some more.

Play pickleball.

Take walks and pictures of sunsets.

And get no writing done. Sheesh. I can not get my proverbial writing feet under me. I really don't want to open a word document and get to work. So what have I been doing? 

I sent a few short stories to my critique group. 

I'm working on outlines for two stories.

I've sent out FORTY query letters. I had a lot of request to look at my story. 

I had a lot of rejections too. 

I didn't think the rejections would affect me like they have. I don't want to write anymore. I don't want to edit. 

My muse has run away. 

She will come back. She has before. She just needs to lick her wounds and beef up her sensitivity then she will come back brimming with excitement and ready to get to work.

During this waiting period I am getting a TON of reading done. I've read 94 books so far this year! I've read some great books that I'll start posting. 

How is your summer? What are you doing?

Summer Book Trek! How many books can you ready in July?

My writing has been off. I mean, really off. As in I haven't wanted to write or edit. My muse has abandoned me. This is what happens when a writer sends out full manuscripts with the hope of it finding a home and then the dream is dashed. But I keep submitting. What else am I going to do? 

Submit and read.

That's what I've been doing for the last two months. Submit and read.

So I'm going to take the Summer Book Trek challenge and read some more books in July. And now that I've actually set that goal, my muse is going to show up at the front door and I won't want to read. 

On to happier topics. 

Karlene is running her annual Summer Book Trek. Here is the link if you want to join and win books!

My July reading list:

The Princess Sisters by Stacy Lynn Carrol

All Fall Down by Julie Bellon

The Kindling by Braden Bell

Paranoia by J.R. Johanssen

I do have other books ready to go for July but I don't think any of the authors are LDS (mostly from netgalley):

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien

Shadows by Paula Weston

The City by Dean Koontz

Hopeless by Coleen Hoover  yuck

What books are you going to read in July?