2014 has been probably one of the best years I've ever had for reading. I am very glad that I started the blog because it was one of the best things I've ever done. I've discovered so many new authors and books and I've met the most lovely bookish people.  I'm already excited to see what 2015 is going to bring. But first, here are the books that had that something special, that have stayed with me long after reading them and that have shone during this year.

10. Desperately Ever After by Laura Kenyon
 

I am a huge fan of Disney and well, fairy tale princesses in general so when I read the blurb of this book I knew it was my kind of book. But wow! I loved it. Laura Kenyon brings the well known princesses to a contemporany fairy tale version of NYC and continues their story ten years later. A real winner.

9. Waiting for Prince Harry by Aven Ellis

8. Love Like the Movies by Victoria Van Tiem

7. One Hundred Proposals by Holly Martin

Holly writes the most romantic stories. I loved The Guestbook and I completely adored One Hundred Proposals. Her stories always have that special thing that makes you get lost in them and hug your kindle when you are done. Beautifully written and with some of the best locations of the planet, this is a story you don't want to miss.

6. What a Girl Wants by Lindsey Kelk

5. One Step Closer to You by Alice Peterson









4. The Judas Scar by Amanda Jennings

3. The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern

With The Year I Met You Cecelia has made me fall in love with her all over again. I might even dare to say that it is, for me, the best novel she has written so far.

She has written a thoughtful, captivating and uplifting story that captured me from the first page. I also was quite surprised to see that the second person narrative she uses when she talks about one of the characters worked so well. 

A true tale of friendship and not judging before knowing that I will be re-reading really soon.

Author Geralyn Corcillo has given a new title and a new cover to her book. I think this new image fits the story perfectly, have a look at the fab new cover:

I loved the relationship between Lisa and Jack. When she agreed to be his undercover test dummy I knew that these two were going to hit it off. But what a story they live! Full of up and downs, insecurities, adrenaline-fuelled sex, lies and maybe love? You will be very surprised with the ending! And what an ending! I can truly say that I enjoyed this book till the last page!

Geralyn Corcillo will now be part of my top chick lit writers. You don't want to miss this sassy crazy romance! You are in for a treat and lots of laughs for sure! 

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Blurb: A thoughtful, captivating and ultimately uplifting novel from this uniquely talented author

Jasmine know two things: one, she loves her vulnerable sister unconditionally, and will fight to the death to protect her from anyone who upsets her. Two, she's only ever been good at one thing – her job helping business start-ups.

So when she’s sacked and put on gardening leave, Jasmine realises that she has nothing else to fill her life. Insomnia keeps her staring out of her bedroom window, and she finds herself watching the antics of her neighbour, shock jock Matt, with more than a casual eye. Matt is also taking a forced leave of absence from work, after one of his controversial chat shows went too far…

Jasmine has every reason to dislike Matt, and the feeling appears to be mutual. But not everything is as it seems, and soon Jasmine and Matt are forced to think again…

Review: I fell in love with Cecelia's writing with P.S. I Love You many years ago. It instantly became one of my all time favourite books and then I loved Where Rainbows End (which is now going to become a movie with the title Love, Rosie) but after that I read a couple more of her books that didn't convince me and I felt a bit out of love with Cecelia. I actually haven't read yet her previous book How to Fall in Love. But I instantly liked the sound of The Year I Met You and the cover caught my attention so I decided to give it a try, and I am really glad that I did because I might even dare to say that this one, for me, is Cecelia's best and has become an all time favourite that I will be re-reading soon.

What I think captured me from this book is that it's not a love story, it's the story of Jasmine, who has been fired and has to wait a year before she can be hired again, and Matt, who has been suspended from his famous radio show for going too far. They live on the same street and even if they don't know each other in person, Jasmine knows very well who he is. She can't help but spying his every move from her window. Especially every night when he arrives late and drunk, way too drunk, and starts banging on the door like a crazy man. When they find themselves in quite a similar situation, they start to see each other more, and talk more. From here, Cecelia could have started a love story, they falling in love and saving each other from themselves but that's not the case. Jasmine and Matt share a quite parallel path during a year and with each month they start seeing the other with a different eye but also seeing themselves with a different eye. They help each other without even realising and their friendship becomes their pillar.

But Jasmine and Matt's story wouldn't be so special without the secondary characters. I loved Jasmine's sister, Heather. She has Down's Syndrome and Jasmine is overly protective of her. I think Cecelia made an exhaustive work of research with her as we see her as woman who yearns for independence and is not afraid to ask for it even if her family is not ready to let her fly. She adds a unique touch to the story and makes you think a lot. And then there are the neighbours in the residential street, mainly pensioners. The retired doctor who lived next to Jasmine was always the voice of reason with both of them and Mr. Malone who lived on the other side of Jasmine made me shed a tear when he was reading to his wife on their garden whe she no longer could. A true love story.

Cecelia writes a story about friendship and support, about not judging before knowing and about life. I trully loved this book and will stay with me for a long while. I fell in love with Cecelia's writing again, with her special way with words that transported me to that residential street where Jasmine and Matt struggled to find meaning in life and made me reconsider the term friendship. 

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If you haven’t seen the movie, you’re totally missing out. If you have, and you love it as much as me, I’d love to know what your favorite scene is. Hit me up on facebook and we can chat all things Christmas Vacation.

 

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Webpage: www.annabrooksauthor.com
Make Me Forget on Amazon.

Today I am very excited to welcome Katja, the fantastic blogger behind Cautious to my blog. She is going to talk about her Christmas Favourites. Have a look at the gorgeous pics! Katja, all yours: 

So… My favourites of Christmas, huh? Oh my, where to start? I’m the kind of girl who loooooves Christmas. I loved this holiday as a child and I still do as an adult. It’s cosy, magical and lovely and every other nice feeling you can imagine. It’s the best kind of holiday a year in my opinion. 

Because of that I couldn’t decide which topic to go for so therefor I’m giving you a little all-round Christmas favourites tour. You get five favourites for one’s price, that’s a catch you know! ;) 

Christmas calendars

 My mom is the kind of woman who never wants anything for Christmas. A couple of years ago I took her by her word and didn’t give her anything. Instead I gave her a Christmas calendar with 24 small presents, one for each day before Christmas. She was both surprised and exciting and just like that it became a tradition. She makes one for me and I make one for her. The only rule is that it has to be something nice you actually want and something you can use. It’s a pretty nice tradition and I love that I can open a new thing every day. My cat does too; sometimes she gets snacks and food in that way. Lol. 

Christmas cookies 

I don’t care how old I grow. I love Christmas cookies and they HAVE to be the exact same every year. You don’t mess with Christmas cookies, I’m just saying. It’s actually kind of funny because back when I was a kid we didn’t do a lot of baking at Christmas. I started that as an adult and now it’s a tradition that I can’t change. Every year a friend of mine is visiting and then we use a whole day together baking Christmas cookies and talking. When we are done we share the cookies and have both Christmas snacks and a nice day to remember. Some of my favourites are vanilla-flavoured cookies like the ones at the first picture. The second picture is oatmeal and cocoa snacks and they are my friend’s favourites every year. :) 

Christmas reading 

I love to read and yeah; I read all year. But at Christmas there’s something different to it. The feeling you get when you are sitting with a blanket, candles lightened up, hot chocolate in your favourite cup and Christmas cookies on the plate - And a great book in your hands. I love that feeling. Last year I re-read The Hunger Games and read Dash and Lily’s book of dares during the holiday. I haven’t decided what to read this year but maybe some ARC’s from NetGalley. That would be a nice way to spend the spare time. 

Christmas gifts

 Can you actually make a favourite list about Christmas and not mention the gifts? Of course I love the Christmas gifts too. I love spending time finding the perfect gift for someone else and usually I’m pretty good at it too. I like to spend time wrapping them nicely and beautifully. I don’t care if you are “going to open it and threw out the paper” in my head it’s still has to look nice before you’re opening it. And I switch theme every year. ;) And yes; of course I love to get presents too. A lot of families I know have decided not to give Christmas gifts for adults. I would really hate that, I love getting and giving those gifts. Adult or not. 

Spending time with my family 

The last thing on the list is spending time with my family. I love our tradition around Christmas Eve. I don’t know how Christmas is at your place but in Denmark everything happens the evening of the 24th. Every year we are meeting late afternoon while the food is in the oven and we just chill and relax. Everyone is bringing something for the table (my job is to bring cookies and snacks) and it’s just really cosy and relaxed all evening. We don’t have any children left in my family so we use a lot of time around the table and it’s just really fin and nice to spend this time together. :) 

Have a very merry Christmas everybody! 

Xoxo  

Katja, www.cautiuos.dk

Today I am very excited to welcome Emma , the fantastic blogger behind Star Crossed Reviews to my blog. She is going to talk about her favourite Christmas food and also about Christmas books. Have a look at the gorgeous pics! Emma, all yours: 

So what are my Christmas Favourites. Well firstly food…well mostly cake. I LOVE Christmas Cake and am known to eat large quantities of it every year. I made one last year and it was delish, so much better than the stores, it was a lot of effort though. I also love mince pies, especially if they are warm and covered in cold custard. It has to be cold. Yule log is also a favourite of mine, I am a not so secret chocoholic. I also love those little sausages wrapped in bacon. When I was little me and my brothers would fight over them. I also love the turkey, the stuffing the roasties, the whole shebang really.  

The other thing I love about Christmas apart from the decorations, the songs and the general happier feeling you get is Christmas Books. You get these books with beautiful snowy covers and you want to just curl up by a fire and read all evening. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but I am a sucker for a pretty book. Some of my favourite Christmas covers are I heart Christmas by Lindsey Kelk, Just for Christmas by Scarlett Bailey and Christmas in the Snow by Karen Swan.

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Blurb: Sydney Strauss is obsessed with food.

Not just with eating it - though she loves that too - but with writing about it as an aspiring cookery reporter. But food journalism jobs are more coveted than cupcakes, and so Sydney is stuck working for one of TV's biggest egomaniacs - until she's left scrambling for shifts at the local farmers' market.

Selling muffins at the Wild Yeast Bakery is hardly going to make her the next Nigella. But soon Sydney is writing the market's weekly newsletter, and her quirky stories gain attention from a prominent food columnist. After years of being left on the shelf, she's even dating again. And then Sydney gets a shot at the story, one that could either make her career or burn it to a cinder - along with her relationship and her reputation.

*First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*  

Review: The Stall of Second Chances is a really well thought story with more depth than I first expected. I think the title works really well because a great part of the book is about believing in yourself and take all the chances to be happier, better and fight for your dreams. But also about owning your own mistakes and forgiving other's mistakes. For example, the guy Sydney meets screwed up big time in the past and everyone judges him by this, so it was very interesting to read about Sydney's reaction when she finds out about it all and how she sees it all whe she also finds herself in a, let's say, not moral situation. 

Another big part of the story revolves around food. I really like stories with descriptions of delish food and Dana certainly is an expert in that topic. I was drooling with all the descriptions of muffins, bread, cookies... and with all the salty food too. And what a pleasant surprise when I saw that at the end of the book there are some recipes to some key food in the story. I can't wait to try some of them!

I found this story highly entertaining, it surprised me more than once with its unexpected plot twists and I found myself quite hooked, especially on the last half as the first one was a bit slow. I must say that for me it has the perfect combination of love, secrets, food and family drama. Plus, it was great to read about Washington, DC. I haven't read a lot of novels set in this city and it's one of those cities full of amazing places that I'd love to visit.

Rating: 

Today I am very excited to welcome Simona, the fantastic blogger behind Sky's Book Corner to my blog. She is going to talk about her Christmas tradition and also about a very special memory. Have a look at the gorgeous pics! Simona, all yours: