Year in a Review by Jo-Anna Walker

This year has been such a fantastic ride for every Twinsie. One of us had a baby, one of us became an author and our Twinsie family grew and grew. When Angie SJ and Angie WE asked me to join their review blog, I instantly jumped on the chance to be a part of it and then we got so big, we needed 3 more reviewers. How amazing is that? Because of all of you, we're where we are today. So for that, thank you! To each and every one of you. You all rock our socks!

Back in May of this year, I was lucky enough to meet Angie SJ and Melinda in PERSON! It was like we hung out every constantly.

I talk to these girls every single day. I love our little tightnip family and because of them, I am where I am today as a person and as an author. Thank you my Twinsie sisters!! xx

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Here are my top 10 favorite books for the last half of 2013! Do you know how hard it was to just choose 10? So here it goes.

1. I have to say that my favorite serial novel of all time is the Phoenix series by Michelle Stevens/Red Phoenix. They are just heartfelt, uplifting, heartbreaking...amazing stories all around.




2. Now number 2. This is a given since this series has my #1 book boyfriend in it. Gideon Cross. Swoon. Even the name gives me shivers. Entwined with You by Sylvia Day is one of the hottest books I have ever read!




3. Walking Disaster cause hello? It has Travis Maddox in it! #2 book boyfriend on my list of many BBF's!




4. I added these two books to my list back in the earlier months but I have to add them again. Desert Rice and Desert Flower brought me into a world I had never experienced before. It made me feel things while reading I've never felt and it made me message the author and rant and rave about how much I absolutely loved these books!!




5. Hers by Dawn Roberston. I read the blurb and was blown away! I read the book and fell in love! If you like hot, dirty, raw, real type books then this one is for you.





6. This book by far is the funniest I have ever read. I laughed so hard, I cried. Read this one for naughty dirty humor. Every time I think of it, I bust out laughing. So not cool when you're by yourself in public.




7. Okay so Angie J and Melinda and I'm not sure if any of the other twinsie's read this book but love the books by Kendall Grey. So I finally dove in and bought Strings in paperback signed and ebook. Strings by Kendall Grey is probably the dirtiest, most raw, gritty, in your face book I have ever read and I love it.




8. I've read almost 90 books this year but now that I have to choose my top ten, I can't seem to remember what I've read. Bullet was recommended to me by Angie J and I fell instantly in love. It's a long one but it's filled with so much stuff, it couldn't be written any shorter. I loved it.




9. Now I'd have to say that if you love Red Phoenix's Brie series, then you'll love the A Week with my Romanian series by Steffie Dawn. Meeting My Master (A week with my Romanian #1) has made my top ten list because it allowed me to meet a wonderful person, a wonderful author and a wonderful friend. The books are hot!




10. Epilogue by CJ Roberts...look at the cover. Need I say more?





So those are my top ten for 2013. Each book has affected me in someway or another. I can't wait for 2014 and for the awesomeness that these authors will bring us. Thank you all for your hard work and keep up the writing!! xx

Entwined with You by Sylvia Day

Book Blurb:

The worldwide phenomenon continues as Eva and Gideon face the demons of their pasts, and accept the consequences of their obsessive desires…

From the moment I first met Gideon Cross, I recognized something in him that I needed. Something I couldn’t resist. I saw the dangerous and damaged soul inside–so much like my own. I was drawn to it. I needed him as surely as I needed my heart to beat.

No one knows how much he risked for me. How much I’d been threatened, or just how dark and desperate the shadow of our pasts would become.

Entwined by our secrets, we tried to defy the odds. We made our own rules and surrendered completely to the exquisite power of possession…

Jo-Anna's Review:

 
"With my palm to the two-way mirror, I pushed back, my head pillowed on his shoulder. He wrapped my throat with his hand, gripped my hip, and thrust so hard into me that my feet left the floor." 

Ok, honestly, that scene is one of the best sex scene's I have ever read EVER! It's hot, intense, powerful, raw...WOW! That just proves right there how much Gideon Cross is HOT! 

When I started reading this book, I forgot how much I loved Gideon..ok...maybe I didn't but I did forget the dirty things he says. Wow. Can we say *swoon*?? The things he says to Eva...wow...it made me blush and that's saying something. 

Sylvia Day definitely has a way with words. The way she writes, it's like you're actually there, seeing everything that's taking place. This book has the best sex scene's out of the series so far and trust me, that's not why I loved the book but it's one of the reasons. Lol!

Through this book, you learn more about Gideon and Eva's past and their intense love for each other grows and grows. It's just...wow...I can't wait for the next book. This series is definitely a favorite of mine!

Wonderful job Sylvia Day!!

About the author:

 Sylvia Day (aka S. J. Day and Livia Dare) is the #1 New York Times and #1 international bestselling author of more than a dozen award-winning novels translated into over three dozen languages. She has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Author and her work has been honored as Amazon's Best of the Year in Romance. She has won the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award and been nominated for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA® award twice.

 

A Passion For Him by Sylvia Day

Book Blurb:

Miss Amelia Benbridge is ready to leave behind a past filled with heartbreak for a sensible marriage. Until temptation itself comes calling, with an invitation to seduction...

She Loved and Lost Him Once...

Amelia Benbridge and the Earl of Ware are the most anticipated match of the Season. Lord Ware is handsome, wealthy, and kind, and he understands that her love will always belong to her childhood sweetheart, Colin. When Colin died, Amelia believed she would never feel such passion again. But her primal reaction to the brooding stranger who approaches her at a masquerade, coaxing her into a moonlit minuet and a single, sensual kiss, proves otherwise...

Colin Mitchell knew a pairing between a peer's daughter and a gypsy stable boy was impossible. Amelia's mistaken belief in his demise afforded him the opportunity to return to her as a man of means. But time has slipped through his fingers. She is preparing to wed another, and danger prevents him from revealing the truth. Colin can only bid her a secret farewell, but he underestimates her determination to unmask her phantom admirer. A forbidden kiss leads to her ardent pursuit and a soul-scorching affair. Amelia is perfectly attuned to his every desire, every thought—and hungry for stability he can't offer her. For deception lies at the heart of their love, waiting to drive them apart once again...


Angie E's  Review:

It took me a WHILE to get into this book. First reason was this was my first HISTORICAL ROMANCE. Second reason, this was the 3^rd in a series and I didn’t know that BEFORE I chose to read it from NetGalley….I know BAD ANGIE…but it’s a HUGE pet peave of mine to not read a series in order. This could be a stand alone book EASILY but just knowing it was a series IRKED me…..Not saying it was the authors fault… NOPE I take full responsibility for NOT researching it before agreeing to the review.

Now on to the book. Once I did finally get into it (again my fault not the authors, it’s not my normal genre) I found that I enjoyed it. I liked getting the flashbacks into Amelia and Colin’s past. I loved the mystery that Sylvia creates with the “masked phantom” . The attraction between Amelia and her “masked phantom” is ignited from the very beginning of the book. It keeps you wondering for a bit WHO is this character. I didn’t like that it was revealed to early it kind of disappointed me to find out that early. BUT it didn’t hurt the story NONE. T

he internal conflicts that Amelia was struggling through was so life like and relatable. I love when I myself can FEEL the emotional turmoil the character is going through. THAT’S AN AMAZING TALENT ! The decision to either follow your head or your heart is a decision most women HAVE to make at some point in their life. I would give this book a strong 4 star review and definitely cant wait to go back and read the series from the beginning.

 

CLICK HERE

 

 



 

Reflected In You By Sylvia Day

 

I just finished Reflected In You by Sylvia Day and WOW, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, REMARKABLE, BREATHTAKING, and any other synonym. This book consumed me from the start and I was unable to put it down ( well until I was made to by screaming teenagers… UGH ) I was so happy to see that it started off LITERALLY the day after Cary’s orgy party. I was worried that it wouldn’t but was PLEASENTLY surprised. I love the HEAT between Gideon and Eva it’s always so RAW and UNINHIBITED. They are truly a passionate couple. I felt all of Eva’s pains throughout this book with all the issues surrounding Corrine , HOW Eva held it together without knocking the living SH*T out of her I’ve no idea. I’d done it when she first saw her coming out of Cross Industries. I love the trust she gives Gideon. That kind of trust is RARE…. RARE…. I repeat .. RARE to find and I’m not sure I could have been that way. In my opinion she handled it ALL very well. I love that she FIGHTS for her man at the end and confronts all HIS issues for him. I also enjoyed seeing not only Corrine brought into the mix but Brett. It was interesting to see how she re-acted to seeing him after so many years. Now on to Cary. I HOPE (hint, hint SYLIVA DAY) that he get’s his HEA. He tugs at my heart and I want to see him happy however that turns out. Last but not least most certainly not least… GIDEON CROSS……I love him, I’d have his lil cross babies, he just left me saying Christian WHO? I was confused through the first part of the book not knowing or not remembering without re-reading ( I KNOW BAD BAD ANGIE) about his past if there was any details. When he FINALLY breaks down and it comes out my heart ached for him. This part was EXTREMELY painful for me to read as a sexual abuse survivor but with all books that deal with this subject I always find that I LEARN something and take something away from the scene. BACK TO GIDEON.. I love his dominant personality and his drive to keep his loved ones safe. He amazes me with his determination. He has truly showed Eva in this book to what extent he loves her and will go for her to keep her safe and his forever. *sigh* . I’m excited for the next installment of the Crossfire Trilogy. Can’t wait to see where everyone ends up and how things work out. However sad I will be to see Gideon and Eva’s story come to an end I’m sure Sylvia Day will NOT disappoint us.