Jen in Bookland

Wow, 2017 has been a great year for reading. I found a lot of new to me authors that I now love, lots of great books from authors I already loved, just a lot of great reads. As always it was difficult to choose just 20 favorite reads from this past year that were my favorite reads. There were so many I loved I really had to narrow it down to one per author or I never would have been able to choose 20. So without further ado my top 20 books of 2017 - you can click the title to go to my full review - in no particular order. They are all amazing. The Radium Girls  by Kate Moore This was definitely my favorite non-fiction book I have read. I don't read a lot of non-fiction, I don't come across that many that pique my interest, but  The Radium Girls  was fantastic. Horrific what happened to these poor women, but I did learn a lot from this book and they did accomplish what they wanted - to help others even though they were dying.  Beard in Mind  by Penny R

Now available on Amazon.com *  Amazon.de *  Goodreads Synopsis: What happens when you can't get over the past? It's been two years. Zoe has moved on. She's got a great teaching job in Boston, friends, and the sweetest boyfriend. She shouldn't still be thinking about the man who turned her life upside down two winters ago... Trouble is, he's staring at her from across the bookstore. Review:  If you have read Somewhere Warm then you got to see the beginning of Zoe and Evan. When I saw the author was writing another novella with these two I was super excited to start reading. I mean what happened nex?  Someplace Secret is the continuation of their story. And I loved it! Maybe even more than the first one. Oh Evan and Zoe were so hot together! Zoe left Evan two years ago. Things were hot and great between them, but then she left. She had to get back to her life. She tries not to think about what happened between them as she has moved on. She has a boyf

Available on Amazon.com *  Amazon.de *  Goodreads Synopsis: Starr Media Second-Assistant Survival Guide 1. Don't call your hot boss the antichrist to his face. 2. Don't stare at hot boss's, um, package or his full sleeve of tattoos. (No. Really. Stop!) 3. Don't get on the malicious first assistant's bad side. 4. Don't forget to memorize the 300-page employee manual. 5. If you value your cashmere, steer clear of boss’s dog. 6. Boss’s dimples are lust-inducing. Do. Not. Give. In. 7. “The elevator ate your clothes” is not a valid excuse for showing up to important meetings half dressed. 8. Don't break seven of the rules within the first week of employment if you, ya know, are in dire need of money to support your sick mom. 9. Whatever you do, don’t fall for the boss. See rule eight about sick mom. 10. Never forget the rules. Review: The Rule Book was such a great read! I loved Lainey and Brogan and it was so much fun (and funny!

Available on Amazon.com *  Amazon.de *  Goodreads Synopsis: What if you fell for your best friend’s ex—the one that had made her life a living hell? All Zoe had to do was pick up a box of her best friend Haley's things from Haley's brooding ex-husband, Evan. She didn't expect her car to get hit by a snowplow. She didn't expect for the icy Maine blizzard to start early. She didn't expect to be stuck inside Evan's warm cabin—alone with him—on New Year's Eve. And, most of all, she didn't expect to come undone by the heat in Evan's eyes. Review: Somewhere Warm was a cute read. Zoe is in a bind. She has gone to pick up a box of her best friend Haley's stuff from her terrible ex-husband. She knows all about him. How mean Evan was and how horrible he was to Haley. She just wants to get there, get her stuff, and get to Haley's new years eve party. Only a snowplow hits her car stranding her with Evan. What is Zoe to do when thing

Available on Amazon.com *  Amazon.de *  Goodreads Synopsis: When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires. Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay wit

Available on Amazon.com *  Amazon.de *  Goodreads Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author, Stephanie Rowe, unveils her heartwarming new Mystic Island series, where love always finds a way in this enchanting coastal Maine community. In Wrapped Up In You, can a moonlight kiss from twelve years ago heal two hearts that no longer believe in love? Haunted by his tragic past, Cole Charbonneau has returned to Mystic Island to sever the final ties to the place he once loved so dearly. His only goal is to walk away forever, until a woman from his past winds up on his doorstep, needing from him the one thing he can't give. After a heartless betrayal by those she trusted dearly, Willow Morgan has escaped to Mystic Island, hoping the magic of an island Christmas will heal the emptiness in her heart. The last thing she wants is love, but Mystic Island has its own plans for her…and they include a kiss she'd almost forgotten and the devastatingly handsome business mogul who

Available on Amazon.com *  Amazon.de *  Goodreads Synopsis: USA Today and New York Times bestselling author, Wendy Higgins, brings you the gripping, sensual conclusion to her apocalyptic trilogy. Amber Tate never dreamed their heart-wrenching escape from the enemy’s attack would lead them to the most beautiful place she’s ever seen, marred by one ugly fact; it’s under enemy control. Like everywhere else in the world, Elmendorf military base in Alaska has been captured, and it’s time to take it back—all of it—one base, one city at a time. After losing so much, Amber clings to the only precious person she has left, and vows to sacrifice everything to help save the Earth. Remy Haines is a lover, not a fighter, so when she finds herself in enemy territory, expected to feign allegiance while gathering intel for the rebel cause, she’s never been more out of her element. Tensions only increase when her feelings for Jacob “Tater” Tate won’t go away, and the enemy’s leader takes an i

Available on Amazon.com *  Amazon.de *  Goodreads Synopsis: Being on the run in the desert means food and sanctuary are hard to come by, but Amber Tate and her crew are not about to give up. Not after having so many of the things they love brutally ripped from them by an unknown enemy who sent their world into the apocalypse. Survival takes precedence, but once safe shelter is found, their guards fall and the emotions they’ve been holding in are finally released. Anger, insecurities...lust. In their tight quarters, Amber, Rylen, Tater, and Remy can't escape it. The past must be faced, and passions run even stronger in the darkest of times. In the midst of unrest, their worlds are rocked again when they discover the truth about the war that’s ruined their lives. They thought finding out the enemy's identity would give them the edge; instead it’s revealed terrifying dangers they never thought possible. Review: Man somehow Unrest was even worse than Unknown . At le

Available on Amazon.com *  Amazon.de *  Goodreads Synopsis: Amber Tate believes the worst thing she’ll suffer in life is dealing with the unrequited love she feels for her brother’s best friend, Rylen Fite. She also believes war is something unfortunate that happens places far, far away from her rural Nevada town. She’s wrong on both counts. When an unknown organization meticulously bombs major cities in the United States and across the globe, a trickle-down effect spreads to remaining towns at an alarming speed—everything from food and water sources to technology and communications are compromised. Without leadership, the nation is split between paralysis and panic, but Amber isn’t one to hide or watch helplessly. She’s determined to put her nursing skills to use, despite the danger, even if it means working alongside the man she can never have. In this first installment of NY Times bestselling author, Wendy Higgins’s debut New Adult series, a frighteningly realistic apocal