Merry Christmas Friday Finds! Even More Five-star Reader Recommendations… continued!

Merry Christmas my friends!!!! I’d love to hear your Christmas Day traditions! My sister and niece are here with me today, and we will be making a whole “buffet style” food-feast. I can’t wait to start!!

But before I do, since it’s Friday, it’s time for the reader recommendation post. We’re doing a bit of a “favorite 2015 author” theme, too! And it’s not just the authors or books that have come out this year, but the favorite authors that were discovered by our fellow readers, this year.

Fabi started us on quite a fun 2015 book journey with her asking:

“Hey guuuyyys. I’ve got one for you. Who is your favorite author of 2015? Not all time fav, but year fav?

I’m leaning towards Shay Savage, but the competition is fierce.”

And now we have a ton of great tried-and-true 5-star favorites for us below! 😀

P.S. In case you are heading out for your Christmas day and still need to get something cool for someone:

➜ You can always Email an Amazon Gift Card. Or you can give the gift of a Prime Membership, too!! Both, an amazing, so useable treat!

P.S. Let me know if I’m missing any or if you loved any (from this list or elsewhere).

P.P.S. Don’t have a Kindle? No problem! Amazon offers various free Kindle apps and a free Kindle Cloud reader for any and ALL of us to use. You can either use the free Kindle App for your smartphone, tablet, AND your desktop computer (just like you’re using a Kindle, but right through your web browser <— No need to download anything!  )

JUST RELEASED!!!! SURPRISE!!! 

1. Winter Wishes by Karina Halle <— KARINA HALLE ALERT! Christmas novella JUST WENT LIVE!!
2. A Very Bad Romeo Christmas by Leisa Rayven <— BAD ROMEO NOVELLA FREE READ on WATTPAD!! The author says: “…new Ethan and Cassie scenes on Wattpad. The first two chapters of my holiday outtake are up, sweeties. One more to go.Enjoy, and happy holidays!“
   And Kelly says: “Read it people! So much beautifully drawn characters, angst and joy driven. I am throwing peanuts from my gallery in Toronto. (am I referencing “peanuts” and “gallery” correctly?) Maryse, you would love this book. Her writing is similar to Suanne Laqueur”
3. The Storm (The Storm Series Book 4) by Samantha Towle <— BAD BOY ROCK STAR ALERT!!
4. POINSETTIA by Tiffany Reisz <— TIFFANY REISZ ALERT FREE READ!!! On her website!!!! 😀 Merry Christmas! And Tiffany says: “Presenting POINSETTIA, the 2015 Original Sinners Christmas novella. My gift to you in gratitude for all you have given me.”
5. Winter Ball by Amy Lane <— M/M ROMANCE
6. Lock and Key: the Complete Series Box Set: Books 1-4 + Bonus Stories by Ranae Rose
7. Badlands by Callie Hart (thanks Theresa!!!)
8. Subordination: Chronicles of a Domme by Katie Ashley <— D/s RECENT RELEASE and it’s on supersale!! OH THAT BLURB!! Okay so she’s a Domme and she’s looking for a sub, but none of ’em do it for her, until she meets HIM at a BDSM club. “...it was just supposed to be for that one night, but an accidental encounter days later outside Club 1740’s protected walls had the two seeing each other in a different light—as simply Sophie and William, not Domme and sub. While they should have parted ways, they couldn’t. While they should never have gone back to her place, they did. And that simple mistake has a serious price for both of them.” <— WHOA! That sounds amazing!!!

FIVE-STAR READER RECOMMENDATIONS and so many are super-bargain priced!!  YAY US!!! (NOTE: bargain priced when I added them, but prices can change on Amazon, so make sure to check before you finalize your order).

1. Tryst: A Sexual Education Novel by S. L. Jennings <— Grey 5-starred this one!! “Tryst by S. L. Jennings 5 stars! Loved it! Not a cliffhanger, kind if built off Taint, if you’ve read that, but not necessary to have read it, just mentioned a couple characters in passing. Hot smut, smart, witty dialogue, pretzel tummy, gut twisting angst, kept my attention all afternoon when I had a ton of other stuff I should have been doing… *oopsie…*”
2. Radiance (Wraith Kings Book 1) by Grace Draven <— MichelleS says: “Favorite author of 2015? I’m going to say it’s a tie between Grace Draven and Lauren Gilley. I was so impressed with Radiance that I will pay attention to what she writes. And LG is like my new KA. I love all her books so far. They are on my radar as of 2015.”
3. Fearless: The Complete Novel (Dartmoor Book 1) by Lauren Gilley <— and here is MichelleS’s other favorite!
4. Naked in Death (In Death, Book 1) by J.D. Robb <— Debbie LOVES this series! “I fell in love with this series just after JD Robb (Nora Roberts) started writing them. I started collecting every one I could find in hard cover, the only books I have never given away, and if someone wants to borrow them I make sure they give them right back! Now I have them on my kindle and am finally willing to part with my old friends in hard cover. I sit impatiently waiting for the new books to come out. Everyone knows once I start reading a JD Robb book DON’T BOThER ME! One of the things I love is each book is stand alone but is best read in order. Even got my adult sons to read them too.”
5. Lord of the Fading Lands (The Tairen Soul Book 1) by C.L. Wilson <— Tessa says: “*blinks* I’m going through this year five star, and realized that there is a series that DEFINITELY should be recommended that is out of Maryse’s comfort zone. Tairen Soul series by CL Wilson. One of the best recommendations I’ve had, ever. I have to add that to my top five stars of the year. Just, wow.” and MichelleS agrees!!! “Just popped in and saw Tairen Soul mentioned, so you know my ears are going to perk up. Best. Series. Ever. Hands down. Would recommend it to anyone. Would love a spinoff series for the twins.” and Young agrees! “I second both Tessa, Michelle, and MichelleS. Maryse and everyone who haven’t read yet. Please read Tairen Soul series, or Warprize. Both were AMAZING and the best I’ve ever read!! The world building in the stories is top notch. You won’t be sorry 
6. Warprize (Chronicles of the Warlands Book 1) by Elizabeth Vaughan <— Here is the other one Young went crazy for!
7. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass series Book 1) by Sarah J Maas <— And here is Tessa’s other favorite find” and this one is on super-sale right now!!
8. Kulti by Mariana Zapata <— Niki’s favorite “2015 author” is “…Mariana Zapata….Kulti will always be in my top reads!!! And she gave me a great Christmas present today on her FB page with a blurb from her next book due out at the end of February!!! Squeeee!!!”
9. True North (The True Series Book 1) by Liora Blake <— And Theresa chooses these! “New author – as in 2015 debut might be Liora Blake. The author above was really good. Aly Martinez, Karina Halle and alessandra Torre all had good years I thought.”
10. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell <— bev’s choice! “Rainbow Rowell. E&P was like the second book I read this year. I tried to read another book but put it down to read her Attachments. Then mid year read Fangirl and Landline back to back. Then Carry On last month. So, yeah she was the audience the author for me this year. Closest I’ve come to a glom in a long while.”
11. Shanna by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss <— Sue adores this one! “My favorite most coveted book the first romance novel I ever bought. Do you remember Shanna by Kathleen E. Woodwiss? That’s it. It’s lead to a lifetime of love, angst, a little kink, and hours of entertainment!”
12. Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane <— M/M ROMANCE Teri loves these! “It’s really hard to pick but my top two 5 star reads of 2015 are Beneath The Stain by Amy Lane-a gut wrenching heart breaking yet super romantic m/m read and…”
13. Where Sea Meets Sky: A Novel by Karina Halle <— Teri’s 5-stars continued… “Where Sea Meets Sky by Karina Halle- an amazingly descriptive romantic adventure across the New Zealand countryside with Karinas trademark edgy heroine.
14. Sunset Park (Five Boroughs) by Santino Hassell <— M/M ROMANCE that fabi LOVED!!! “I finished the Sunset Park in, like, a day because I couldn’t put it down. I’m not sure I got any work done today at all. I’m in a total book fog. This next one needs to either blow it out of the park or be cute and funny. It’s really hard to read that next book after finishing an awesome one.”
15. Mona Lisa Awakening (A Novel of the Monere) by Sunny <— Ela RE-READS THESE and says: ” I truly loved The Mona Lisa or Children of the Moon series by Sunny….very different PNR… I stalked her site too and emailed with her last year; she said she wanted to continue the series but had other priorities but eventually would continue! OMG I reread those books so many times soooooooooooooooooooo good and the sexy times so good!” and Michelle agrees with Ela! “Oh Ela I LOVED The Children of the Moon books too! No one ever mentions them so you got me all excited  I stalked her site for so long hoping she would write more books but it looks like that is not happening.”
16. Love Hurts (Caged Love Book 1) by Mandi Beck <— Lauren found us this one!! “Love Hurts (Caged Love book 1) by Mandi Beck is FREE for a limited time only!!!!! Favorite book of the year hands down!!!!”
17. Promise Me Once by Paige Weaver <— Kat found us this super-sale! “On sale… Read the first two books about different characters and loved them.”

And for AUDIOBOOK LVERS

1. For those going on a road trip soon, or maybe you’ve got some projects that require both hands this weekend but still allows you to “listen”… check out the free audible trial + 2 free ebooks deal —>
2. AND! Here’s the fun-tool again! —> Find out which of YOUR Kindle books are available as AUDIOBOOKS AT A BARGAIN-PRICE!<—Audiobooks for ebook super-sale prices. I’m thrilled with that, and what’s fun is you can flip flop from reading it, to listening to it without losing your spot… This thing is so cool (Amazon calls it “Matchmaker“)! It’s an Amazon feature, that scans your Kindle books and will list all of the ones you have that are also available as an audiobook at a discounted price (not normal audiobook prices). This way, you can switch back and forth, seamlessly between your ebooks and your audiobooks. VERY COOL! (This is the “Whispersync” thingie).
3. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas <— fabi is starting this one! “I’m starting A Court of Thorns and Roses tomorrow. I’ve had it on Kindle forever, but I just bought the Audible version so I’ll start listening tomorrow on my drive to work.”

PRE-ORDERS (next week’s)

1. Break Even by Lisa De Jong – December 27th 2015
2. Hooked by Love (Bellevue Bullies Series Book 3) by Toni Aleo – December 28th 2015
3. THE ARRANGEMENT 21 (THE FERRO FAMILY) by H.M. Ward – December 28th 2015
4. Walk of Shame by Andrea Smith – December 28th 2015
5. Dirty Pleasures (The Dirty Billionaire Trilogy Book 2) by Meghan March – December 29th 2015
6. Kill Without Mercy (Ares Security Book 1) by Alexandra Ivy – December 29th 2015
7. Sway by Melanie Stanford – December 29th 2015
8. Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer – December 29th 2015
9. Untouchable Darkness (The Dark Ones Saga Book 2) by Rachel Van Dyken – December 29th 2015
10. Who We Were – by Kelly Elliott – December 29th 2015
11. Iron & Bone (Lock & Key Book 3) by Cat Porter – December 29th 2015
12. Thicker Than Water by by Brigid Kemmerer – December 29th 2015
13. First Touch: A Novel (A First and Last Novel) by Laurelin Paige  December 29th 2015
14. Redemption by Kate Douglas – December 29th 2015
15. For the First Time: Twenty-One Brand New Stories of First Love by Alessandre Torre, Kim Karr, Jen Frederick, Alexa Riley, Lynda Chance, Sarah Castille, Nina Lane, CJ Roberts, Anna Zaires, Nikki Sloane, Cynthia Sax, Avery Aster, Pam Godwin, Skye Warren, Julia Sykes, Cynthia Rayne, Jenika Snow, Debra Presley, Shoshanna Evers, Tamsen Parker, and Nina Levine! – January 12th 2016