OK... this isn't a straight-up review post. It's rather my BEST READS of 2014 from the world of Indie Publishing. There's a little bit of everything on this post, so there should be something for everyone to love. I tried to pick an assortment of work so there would be a something to appeal to everyone. I read over 150 books last year, but these were my favorite reads for 2014...
| My Number 1 Recommended Romance read is Smoldered by Rachel Blaufeld. If you are looking for something delightfully and wickedly unexpected, this is the book for you. I absolutely love the style of the story-telling and how unlikely her hero and heroine are, and that she made me love Asher and Natalie... Review: Stylistically fresh and complex. Marvelously done. Rachel was sweet enough to allow me the honor of reading an advance copy. I absolutely loved this book. It was stylistically fresh and complex, and exceptionally well done. I don't like spoilers, so none contained, but I can say the first person point of view in a 360 view is both challenging and extremely difficult to do well, and Rachel hit it out of the park. A gritty and raw love story about real people, with real problems, overcoming real challenges with a wonderful old school romance happily ever after made the journey of Smoldered both engaging and delightfully. I can't wait for the next book. The unique voice and the unique assembly of characters, makes Smoldered a book I definitely recommend. Marvelously done, Rachel. I loved it.   My favorite new author of 2014, Fabiola Francisco, for her book Perfectly Imperfect. My predication for breakthrough Indie 2015. I absolutely love how she crafts and tells a story. She is an amazingly talented author for one so new, and I'm sittng back in 2015 and fully expecting this girl to rock the world with her releases. Review: This is a debut novel that is fantastic in every way. Nothing makes me smile like a cowboy hero with a heart of gold. This debut novel is a delightful old school style romance with the sizzle turned up, giving a page turning freshness to the contemporary novel and tossing in a cowboy in a perfectly balanced blend of genres: contemporary romance and cowboy romance. It has everything romance readers crave. Conflict~a girl troubled and unable to trust. Hope~a hero who is to good to let go of. Mistakes~girl running and trying to ruin her life. Triumph~girl realizing there is no place to run. It takes the traditional theme of "love conquers all" and wraps it in a story unique and new for our modern times. Reminding us of the age old standard of why we love the romance novel: the journey to find love and a life partner is a universal quest, regardless of past, human weakness, errors and doubts. This is a beautifully written story that left me all smile at the end. New themes in the classic tradition of the romance novel. This is not one of those stale been there read that kind of novels. I would highly recommend this book. Bravo. Well done.  The most stylistically originol Romance novel of 2014 Fifteen Weekends by Christy Pastore. I love all things pulp fiction, the craft, the design, and this book pulled me in that way from the beginning. The 360 view of 3 women and how their love lives played off on each other to tell one message. A marvelous read. Review:Pastore weaves together the lives and loves of three woman and their very different alpha men to paint a steamy portrait of the, Very unique stylistic choice and it works. Part Pulp Fiction and part Six Degrees of Separation, Pastore weaves together the lives and loves of three woman and their very different alpha men to paint a steamy portrait of the complexities of modern love. The book deals surprisingly well with balancing such very different issues with relationships and combining them all into a continuously overlapping story enables the characters and the issues to play off of each other so that the single stories become a larger more meaningful story. An excellent debut novel and a worthy read. |  My number 1 Indie read-non-romance... The Coolest Way to Kill Yourself by Nicholas Tanek You can tell when a story is told from the heart and with honesty. That's what drew me into Nicholas's book from the start. It is an unexpected, gritty and emotional read that will keep you turning the pages until you are done. A wonderful novel full of some simple truths about how who we are is reflected in our choices and sexuality. Review: I am in awe with the brilliance and honest writing voice in this book. One of the best Indie books of 2014, December 11, 2014 I am in awe with the brilliant and honest writing voice in this book. Nicholas had me at the first page. It is a journey unexpected, a journey worth doing and one that pulled me through an entire range of emotions: laughter, sadness, anxiousness and surprise. I cannot comment enough on how perfectly this story is told, without embellishment, in simple honesty and from the heart. I have long been fascinated by how we expression ourselves and our unique experiences through addiction and sexuality, and this book provides a remarkable study on the connection of who we are, what we've lived, where we go, and our mental and sexual being. This book is a remarkable expression of one mans humanity and history revealed through life choices and sexuality. The writing style and tone reminded me a bit of Janathan Frazen~if you are fan of his crisp, clean style, you'll love this book~ and that is the brilliance of how this tale is told. Another person might have over played the revolutions, or spent endless hours apologizing for their life in fear that the reader might miss what the author is sharing. There is none of that in this book. It adds to its poignancy and allows the reader to fully engage with the author intends to share. I don't usually read non-romance novels, and this is my first peer review of a non-romance novel, but I would have say this is definitely among the best Indie books I've read in 2014, and I highly recommend it. Particularly to other authors of the romance genre because if you are just writing only about the acts of sexuality you've missed the point sexuality. Magnificently done, Nicholas. I'm still immersed in the story you shared.  Best Rocker book of 2014... LOVE WITH EVERY BEAT by KL Shandwick....Sorry KL, while Gibson's Legac is marvelous read, my heart still belongs to Alfie. I've been known to write a rocker book or 2 or 3 or...OK...10, but absolutely love the way this story is told. And you know I do have a soft-spot in my heart for the troubled bad boy with a heart of gold. Review: The opposite of death is desire...and that's Alfie Black., The opposite of death is desire...and that's Alfie Black. A man tortured by his past, submerged in loss, filled with drive and longing, lost in responsibility and captive of true love and burning desire for Lily. These star crossed lovers take you on a journey filled with hungry and loss, anxiousness, anger and joy. A complicated and beautifully written story. The characters live, breathe and tear out each others heart on the pages until true love finds its rightful course and the reader is completely lost in the magnificent journey of Alfie and Lily. I loved, loved, loved this book. I loved it so much, I have to go back and start at the beginning and read the other three books. I so want to know what goes on in Lily's head. A magnificent novel by a new rising talent. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves love. Summary: I've read so much amazing work this year from the world of Indie Publishing. I can't list every book, and there are so many worthy reads. Support an Indie Author. We work to bring you the reads you want the way you want! |
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