Reader Favorites – Pia’s Best of 2017 List

OMG. This one went missing in my crazy email account (I guess it’s really true that Gmail sends legitimate stuff to spam). GASP!!! I almost missed this one. And now I’m wondering what else I’ve missed? In this case, I was lucky enough to randomly scroll through the junk pile and find THIS gem in there!!

A TOP TWENTY LIST OF PIA’S BEST OF THE BEST!!!! Oh I can’t WAIT to play in this one! 😉

So, yes… it’s late, but better late than never! And anyway, I know there are a few in our book world that still have their Christmas tree up, so it’s still plenty close to our “New Year” celebration, right? We’re still on time. 😛

P.S. THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU PIA!!!

P.S. You can get to know more of Pia’s favorites with these lists:

• Reader Favorites – Pia’s Top Five Reads for 2015
• Reader Favorites – Pia’s Top 10 book list of 2016

And now… Pia’s Best of 2017 List:

All the way from Denmark this is my Best of 2017 list.
My New Years resolution for 2017 was to do something about my tbr list which keeps getting longer and longer. It is so frustrating to have all these awesome books with not enough time to read. I guess everyone can relate to this ☺  Of course I have read new releases during the year, but I have been a good girl  and  kept to my resolution most of the time.
But I have had a great reading year with so many 5 star books. My list is probably a walk down memory lane for most of you. I want to apologise in advance, because it is a long list.

1. Mia Asher – Arsen. A broken love story.

“Now I know why you had to make a list of What to Read After Arsen, Maryse. That epilogue destroyed me. All the way through the book I felt her struggle and kind of understood why she did what she did.  Even though it was so emotional I was happy with the way things turned out UNTIL THAT EPILOGUE. Ugh I hated it. It makes sense why it’s  called a broken love story. It left me broken and I still feel that way.”

2. R.K. Lilley – Bad Things, Rock Bottom and Lovely Trigger.

“I knew I was in for a rollercoaster ride when I started Bad Things, but it still took me by surprise.

Despite all the things that happend, Tristan is high on my list of ultimate book boyfriends.”

3. Renee Carlino – Wish You Were Here: A Novel.

“Renee Carlino is one of my favorite authors so of course I had to read this when it released in 2017. It is such a lovely story.

I read it during a holiday in november, and sitting by the pool it was a struggle not to give in for a full blown ugly cry. The beach towel muffled my sobs and never have I been more grateful for a pair of sunglasses.”

4. Elle Kennedy – The Deal, The Mistake and The Score.

“Book 1 was my favorite with book 3 close behind.
I still need to read book 4. Reading these books were so much fun and whats not to like with that hockey team ☺”

5. Sawyer Bennett –Uncivilized and Love: Uncivilized: An Uncivilized Novella.

“I think these are the only Sawyer Bennett books I have ever read and I really don’t understant why.

Just thinking about Uncivilized makes me all hot and breathless. Think about a dominant alpha male and Zach instantly comes to your mind.  I definitely need to read more Sawyer Bennett books”

6. Leylah Attar – Mists of The Serengeti.

“No surprise here because I think this one is in all the Best of 2017 list that I have read. It is such a beautiful story and the writing is amazing. I still have the feeling that I have actually been to Tanzania in Africa due to the way every little detail is described to perfection.”

7. Lilah Pace – Asking for It and Begging for It.

“Ever since reading your review of Asking for it Maryse, it has been on top of my tbr. However it took me a couple of years to read it, and I really wish that I had read them both a long time ago.

Writing this list I just realised that Lilah Pace has written a novella – Asking for More. I 1-clicked it right away and it must be my next read.”

8. K.L.Kreig – Black Swan Affair.

“A love triangle but not the typical one. This one is more an emotional love triangle than a physical.

Ever since reading Thoughtless I have been drawn to these kind of books, and I have read a lot of them.

Black Swan Affair is not the only book of this kind on my 2017 list, but it is completely different from the others, and I simply loved it.”

9. Emma Scott – Full Tilt and All In.

“Full Tilt broke my heart and I almost didn’t read All In, because what could possibly happened that would make it all right again. But I did and I’m so happy I kept reading.

This story is so beautiful – heartwrenching as well – but overall just a very beautiful  and a very emotional story.”

10. Ella James – Sloth: A Standalone Forbidden Romance.

“I have been drawn to this book for years due to the blurb. Had a feeling what it was about, but not in a million years did I expect the story to go as it did.
It is definitely one of the best books of the year.”

11. L.A. Casey – DOMINIC (Slater Brothers Book 1).
Sidenote from Maryse: Pia’s initial reader reaction that she posted on the blog:”...have had it on my book shelf for three years, and I really don’t understand why it has taken me so long to start this book. I LOVE IT. I really love the bully part of the book, which kind of scares me, as I despise bullies. But these kind of books are new to me, and I would love som recommendations for other great bully books – please ”

“I don’t think I have read a bully book before Donimic and I went in completely blind. I have mixed feelings about loving it as much as I did, but it was so much fun.”

12. Mia Sheridan – Ramsay.

“All Mia Sheridan books are great and Ramsey didn’t disappoint.

Look at the cover and tell me if this isn’t a fine looking man. God, he is so hot. How he struggled from having nothing to be a wealthy powerful man just made me love him even more.”

13. Santino Hassell – Illegal Contact (The Barons).

“The best m/m read of the year, and I’m so looking forward to reading the next in the series.”

14. Nikki Sloane – Sordid and Torrid.

“I have read every single Nikki Sloane book and loved them all. These two are very different from her Blindfold Club series as they are mafia books. I haven’t read mafia books before as I’m a bit reluctant to dive into books with too much angst. But when these were released I just had to give it a try – and I loved them.

On top of this Nikki Sloane is the queen of steamy romance, which isn’t a bad thing either ☺”

15. Katy Evans – Womanizer.

“In some ways very similar to Bossmann but still totally different. I read it in one day, and loved it from start to end.”

16. Tijan – Hate To Love You.

“My first Tijan book but definitely not the last. Reading this made me think of The Deal, but still it was so different. Where The Deal was so fun this one had a lot of angst too.

I had a hard time letting this one go after I finished it.”

17. Vi Keeland – Bossman. Sidenote from Maryse: Pia’s initial reader reaction that she posted on the blog: “What a great read and I couldn’t stay quite because I laughed so much during the first 20%. Highly recommend this one.“

“I love Vi Keeland and reading Bossman was so much fun. It started out as a rom com, but got more serious along the way.
However when I think about this book it is all the funny moments that stand out and what made it a 5 star read for me.”

18. Keri Lake –Backfire (A Vigilantes Novel). Sidenote from Maryse: Pia’s initial reader reaction that she posted on the blog: “...holy moly what a scary and angsty read. I thought that Ricochet was bad, but add another 50% of all the scary stuff, and you have Backfire. But a 5 star read for sure – just like Ricochet.”

“I read Ricochet (A Vigilantes Novel) in 2016 and loved it. Of course I had to read Backfire, which is connected to Ricochet, but can be read as a standalone.

It was just as angsty and nail biting as Ricochet.”

19. Kate Stewart – Drive.

“I cannot say anything about this book that hasn’t been said before on your Best of 2017 lists. I love this book and in my opinion it had the perfect ending.

I have loved Kate Stewart ever since reading Room 212.
After I finished Drive I started another Kate Stewart book – Sexual Awakenings. It is so much more than what the title  is implying. I had a hard time deciding which of the two Kate Stewart books I should put on this list.”

20. Penelope Douglas – Punk 57.

“A book about two pen pals had me curious from the start. They were so good for each other – on paper, but the reality was a completely different story. I loved that especially Misha was far from perfect. We saw their struggles, their mistakes and insecurities.

This book stands out in the best possible ways and is an all time favorite of mine.”