My top fifteen favorite reads from 2016

I read so many amazing books in 2016! I wanted to put them all on this list. I tried to narrow it down to ten but I gave in to fifteen.
I can't wait to find my 2017 favorites!

What were your favorite reads last year?

(There is no particular order to these books.)

EVER THE HUNTED (Clash of Kingdoms #1) by Erin Summerill
Loved this book. Love the author.

SIX OF CROWS and CROOKED KINGDOM  (Six of Crows #1 & #2) by Leigh Bardugo
Her characters are so well developed that I mourned with them, wanted to slap them silly and loved them.

TRUTH OF EMBERS (Dragonsword #3) by Catilyn McFarland
Do you like dragons? Read this series! Do you like romance AND dragons? Read this series!

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STARS by Katherine King
I love Ms. King's writing style!

AS YOU ARE (The Jonquil Brothers #3) by Sarah M. Eden
Anything by Sarah Eden is worth your time. Especially ones about the Jonquil brothers.

DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING by Tricia Levenseller
Pirates! Romance! Yes, please!

GILDED CAGE (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic Smith
Aristocrats, magic and the dark side of both.

THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU by Lily Anderson
Taming of the Shrew meets modern day high school. Totally cute!

THE WRATH & THE DAWN (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh
Beautiful story inspired by A Thousand and One nights.

THE READER (Sea of Ink and Gold #1) by Traci Chee
A book that tells the future as you read it?

HAG-SEED: THE TEMPEST RETOLD by Margaret Atwood
A retelling of tempest in a prison. It's awesome.

 SLAVE QUEEN (An Omar Zagouri Thriller #3) By H.B. Moore
I love this series. The author goes back and forth between our time and the time of Ottoman empire. And there's lots of romance.

WILLOWKEEP by Julie Daines
Ghostly letters and love among the willows.

BEAUTY AND THE CLOCKWORK BEAST by Nancy Allen Campbell
The title sums up the story nicely.

What's your favorite writing blog?

I have a list of blogs on my review blog, The Book Addict. Every Monday I scroll through the blogs I follow and find posts to read. I call Monday my Education Day; the day I hope to learn something new or remember a tidbit I forgot. I sometimes get ideas about posts, like this one (thanks to Jordan McCollum!).
There are a few blogs I read every week. Do you find you read a certain blog every week or day? WHY? What brings you back again and again?


These five blogs catch my eye on Mondays:

Storyfix
Larry Brooks posts are sometimes lengthy but I've found they are worth the read. I have had many, many, AH-HA moments reading his posts.

Moody Writing
Interesting and in-depth posts about writing. Lots of posts on characters and how to develop them.

Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing
I like this site for two reasons: they promote and review newly release YA books and on Saturday they post the best of the week writing/promoting/trending and news.

Rachelle Gardner
Rachelle has hard hitting, awesome posts about writing and publishing.

Jami Gold
Fun, unique and helpful posts all geared to writers.

Now it's your turn. Do you have a favorite blog or website you read consistently?

Favorite first lines from reading in 2012

Did you have a very favorite book you read in 2012?  I had a few too. ;)

I already posted my favorites reads here so today I want to post my TEN favorite first lines:

"I once believed that heroes existed only in old men's fables, that evil in the world had triumphed over good, and that love--a true, unselfish, and abiding love--could only be found in a little girl's imagination." The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

"Newborn #485GA18M died on June 30, 2076 at 6:07 in the morning." Partials by Dan Wells

"It had been two months now." The Ruins of Lace by Iris Anthony

"So here's the thing about dragons: I know absolutely nothing whatsoever about them." Endlessly by Kiersten White

"I was born during the second holocaust." Enclave by Ann Aguirre

"You wouldn't think we'd have to leave Chicago to see a dead body."A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

"The king killed my canary today." Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl

"It was the smell that began to drive Thomas slightly mad." The Death Cure by James Dashner

 "My small Southern hometown is beautiful in the haunting way an aging debutante is beautiful." Hourglass by Myra McIntyre

"Nothing creates a buzz like an Executive Deluxe day planner." Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsay Leavitte