A Few of My Favorite Things...

    So, like most writers, I am addicted to reading. This said, I think if I had to give up reading for whatever reason, I might die.

     Well, not actually, but I would have a mental breakdown and cry for days...weeks.
     Because this addiction of mine is a well-known fact amongst my friends and family, I was recently asked what is my favorite book.
     Oh, boy.
     Every avid reader knows that choosing a favorite book is like choosing a favorite child - it's sometimes impossible. So, I had to answer with the most coherent and intelligent answer I could come up with:
     "I don't know."
     But, that question go me thinking. If I had to pick 10 books to be my favorites, what would they be? (I chose ten and not give because give was narrowing it down too much for me). I also picked these because some of these titles might not be familiar to you.
     I guess you could say these are my favorite ebooks.
     If you read the synopsis (thank you, Goodreads) and decided you would be interested in the book, click on the title and it will take you to the site where you can purchase the book.
     So, without further ado, here is my list of my most favoritest bookses in all forever (not in any particular order - except that Listed should come first):

WINNERS:

Listed by Noelle Adams

A marriage of convenience has never been like this.

Just before her eighteenth birthday, the doctors tell Emily she has three months to live. Not much time to complete the bucket list she's had since she was twelve. The first item is the hardest--"Get married"--so she turns to the only man she knows who can help.

Paul, a barely reformed bad boy, has inherited a fortune from his mother, but his life is defined by his conflicted relationship with his father--a white-collar, organized-crime boss who, thanks to Paul, is being brought up on federal charges. Without Emily's testimony, his father might walk, so Paul agrees to her unconventional proposal. He'll be her husband for her last three months.

They agree that she'll testify against his father and he'll help her complete her bucket list. It's not supposed to be a true marriage. No consummation. No future. No love.

No love.

She's supposed to die, after all, and love might not be enough.

*Recommended for readers over 17*

Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker

The future changes in the BLINK of an eye...or does it?

Seth Borders isn't your average graduate student. For starters, he has one of the world's highest IQs. Now he's suddenly struck by an incredible power--the ability to see multiple potential futures.

Still reeling from this inexplicable gift, Seth stumbles upon a beautiful woman named Miriam. Unknown to Seth, Miriam is a Saudi Arabian princess who has fled her veiled existence to escape a forced marriage of unimaginable consequences. Cultures collide as they're thrown together and forced to run from an unstoppable force determined to kidnap or kill Miriam.

Seth's mysterious ability helps them avoid capture once, then twice. But with no sleep, a fugitive princess by his side, hit men a heartbeat away, and a massive manhunt steadily closing in, evasion becomes impossible.

An intoxicating tale set amidst the shifting sands of the Middle East and the back roads of America, Blink of an Eye engages issues as ancient as the earth itself...and as current as today's headlines.

Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

A chance encounter in the dark leads eighteen-year-old Daniel and the girl who stumbles across him to profess their love for each other. But this love comes with conditions: they agree it will only last one hour and it will only be make-believe.

When their hour is up and the girl rushes off like Cinderella, Daniel tries to convince himself that what happened between them only seemed perfect because they were pretending it was perfect. Moments like that with girls like her don’t happen outside of fairytales.

One year and one bad relationship later, his disbelief in insta-love is stripped away the day he meets Six: a girl with a strange name and an even stranger personality. Daniel soon realizes the way he pretended to feel about Cinderella and the way he really feels about Six may not be so different after all. Especially when the two loves of his life end up being one in the same.

Unfortunately for Daniel, finding Cinderella doesn’t guarantee their happily ever after…it only further threatens it.

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

*Recommended for readers over 17*

Me and Timothy Cooper by Suzanne D. Williams

Seventeen-year-old Taylor Lawton has a crush on Timothy Cooper, a boy at her school, and as crushes go, things are normal. He ignores her. She doesn’t speak to him. Until their English teacher, Mrs. Walker puts them on a project together.

A turn of fate then throws them both for a loop. For an entire week, they will stay beneath the same roof. Will this be too much togetherness? What will Taylor do with Timothy’s painful secret?

A light novella with a touching storyline, this tale is enjoyable for both young adults and grown-ups alike.

Carter Reed by Tijan

Emma decided to skip the gym and went home early. It was the last easy decision she made because she found her roommate being raped by her boyfriend. She had two choices. Call the cops and be killed by his family’s mafia connections or kill him first and hope to survive. There was no choice to her. She killed the bastard first and went to the one person who could protect her. Carter Reed. He’s a weapon for the rivaling mafia family, but he’s also Emma’s secret. Not only was he best friends with her brother, but she’s the reason he became that weapon in the first place.

*Recommended for readers over 18*

Unseen Messages by Pepper Winters

"Instincts are what keep us safe from fate. Ignoring them can change your life forever."

Fame and fortune arrived overnight and after months on the road with her singing tour, all Estelle craves is peace. Tired and ready for paradise, she travels to Fiji to recuperate.

Stubborn and surly, Galloway is avoided by most--which is exactly the way he likes it. However, he's done spending his life in regret and hopes to find redemption in the tropical wilderness.

Together, they board the flight that changes their fate forever. Crash landing on a deserted island, they not only have to figure out how to survive with no skills and daily dangers--learning how to fish, find water, and build shelter--but also inherit two children who look to them to keep them alive.

However, staying alive might be the least of Galloway and Estelle's problems. As days creep to months and rescue doesn't find them, their desire for each other ignites.

They started as strangers.

They grew to be friends.

They fought the desire to be lovers.

Lust can be the most beautiful thing. But, Love the most rewarding.

Very Bad Things by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Born into a life of privilege and secrets, Nora Blakely has everything any nineteen-year-old girl could desire. She’s an accomplished pianist, a Texas beauty queen, and on her way to Princeton after high school. She’s perfect...

Leaving behind her million-dollar mansion and Jimmy Choos, she becomes a girl hell-bent on pushing the limits with alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex. 

Then she meets her soulmate. But he doesn’t want her.

When it comes to girls, twenty-five-year-old Leo Tate has one rule: never fall in love. His gym and his brother are all he cares about... until he meets Nora. He resists the pull of their attraction, hung up on their six year age difference.

As they struggle to stay away from each other, secrets will be revealed, tempers will flare, and hearts will be broken.

Welcome to Briarcrest Academy... where sometimes, the best things in life are Very Bad Things. 

*Recommended for readers over 18 years of age*

Chasing McCree by J. C. Isabella

Briar Thompson had it all. The right clothes, the right friends, the right car. Being popular was all that mattered. Her parents were rich and treated like royalty throughout the community. She thought her senior year of high school was going perfectly, until the night her drink was spiked at a party by one of her so called friends. 

That was the night she met Chase McCree. 

Chase wanted to go back to Montana. To the ranch and the wild, wide blue sky that went on forever. He wanted nothing to do with flashy cars or spoiled rich kids. But he found himself head over boots for the quirky cheerleader who turned her back on her social status. She befriended him when no one else would. 

Shunned and hurt by the people who were once her friends, Briar flees with Chase to his family ranch in Montana. There she discovers another world, and apart of herself she never knew. 

The cowboy wasn’t like anyone she’d ever met. The cheerleader wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met. Apart their lives didn’t seem to make sense, but together, they were chasing forever.

Falling for Hadie by Komal Kant

Sometimes there is a single moment that changes your life forever.”

Hadie Swinton is giving up on boys.

After a disastrous relationship, she is convinced that all males are the same—arrogant, self-assured, and complete jerks.

Lincoln Bracks is giving up on his old life.

After moving to a new town to escape the problems plaguing him, he is set against ever getting close to anyone again.

When Hadie and Lincoln’s worlds collide, their intrigue for one another leads them to open up to each other against their better judgment. Despite the attraction that is pulling them together, insecurities, secrets, and shattered hopes stand in the way of them ever being together.

At a time when darkness consumes their lives, Hadie and Lincoln learn that hope and love can still be found in the most unlikely place.

*Recommended for mature readers aged 17+ due to language and sexual content

Honorable Mentioned:

The following is probably in the top three of my favorite story and probably most of you have never heard of it. However, it is a story, not a book, as it has never been published and probably never will be. I believe it to be Tijan's best work, so it breaks my heart that this story will never have a spine and sit on a shelf. This said, it can only be found on Fiction Press or Tijan's website under WIPS and Free Reads. Because this is not a published book, there is also, sadly, no cover. Someday, I hope to convince Tijan to publish it. Until then, I'll give you the link to read it online if you so choose.

Sentiment Lost by Tijan Meyers

Some survive. Some protect. And some have hope.
Maya went in search of Jace to help bring down the cartel that destroyed not only her brother's life, but hers as well. The only problem? No one had ever been able to find Jace. But, when Maya does manage to find him, she finds him - and herself - deeper than she realized.

*Recommended for readers 18+*