Best Books of 2014 - Our Favorite Reads of the Year! (#Giveaway)

With well over two hundred book reviews written and posted this year on Reading Between the Wines Book Club (and many, many more books read) we've agonized and deliberated over picking just five books for our BEST OF 2014 list. There may have been a few bottles of wine drank and one or two nails bitten during this process. But we've narrowed a list of hundreds down to one single digit and here they are.  Our favorite books of the year! Maybe some of them are your favorites as well, or perhaps they're on your TBR list and this will bump them up to the top! Others might be new to you and we hope to provide you with some new books to read in 2015! What ever books are on your list though we hope that you have had a fantastic year of reading and would like to thank you for joining us on our reading journey. We hope each and every one of you have a wonderfully blessed 2015 filled with lots of great books and of course - wine! 

Lexi: 
Yeah, I stepped away from straight romance this year and found some amazing fantasy and magical realism books! Don't get me wrong, I do love the action but need a little romance when all is said and done. Variety keeps life interesting, unless it's my wine and then I seem to keep coming back to reds. Crystal help, I need a new wine!

#1: The Mark of the Tala by Jeffe Kennedy
This book has an NA vibe woven into a lush fantasy realm with an irresistible hero.

#2: Charming by Elliott James
An Urban Fantasy packed with magical realism, mythology and paranormal beings led by a reluctant Knight Templar. You just can't go wrong!

#3: Free Agent by J. C. Nelson
Blend all the fairy tale characters together, add in humor, a mystery, some angry fae, serious heart ache and you get a great read with Free Agent.

#4: The Clockwork Wolf by Lynn Viehl
It's Steampunk! Ok, I will say a bit more. To solve this mystery they need a heroine with a spine of steel and a soft spot for the dark dangerous deathmage. And they have to avoid the rats.

#5: The Kraken King by Meljean Brook
Serial books don't work for me but this as a whole will blow you away with the rich world building and sweeping romance. The genre doesn't matter, the characters are that good.

See all of the books Lexi read this year on Goodreads!



Linda:
Every one of the following books /series read in 2014 have been great! Per Goodreads, I've read 253 books so far in 2014. Wow! One thing I must mention - The WORLD OF FAE is a series... I've enjoyed each one immensely and I've listened to each of them in 2014. Below are listed in no particular order.

1. THE WORLD OF FAE by Terry Spear
If you like to escape to magical fantasy worlds with fun romances, captivating characters and non-stop. entertaining adventure, rush to whatever bookstore you use, and buy this series now!

2. LOVE POTIONS by Michelle Pillow
Scotsmen, witches, and oodles of magic add up to FUN, FUN, FUN in this first book in Michelle's new Warlock McGregor series!!!!! This was without a doubt one of the cutest tales I've read in ages. This Scottish contemporary romance had me laughing and swooning from the very beginning and it never EVER let up until the last word. 

3. THE GODS' TRILOGY by Debra Holland
These are emotionally riveting science fiction fantasies with wonderful characters and a plot replete with romance, magic, danger, intrigue and explosive action sequences.

4. THE WINTER KING by C. L. Wilson
This was a 594 pages that kept me riveted from the beginning to the end. It is the first book I've ever read by this author and I can't wait to read another! This was truly an enthralling fantasy romance! The beautiful cover drew me to the book initially. Khamsin and Wynter are striking; The wind appears to be blowing; He is a tousled blonde and she has flowing black hair . This book is written in third person, alternating perspectives; It totally rocks as we intimately become acquainted with the perspectives of the major characters.

5. CINDERELLA SCREWED ME OVER by Cindi Madsen
This was an absolutely fantastic, highly entertaining read! I L-O-V-E-D this book! The dedication set the tone right away: I hope you learn that you don't need a Prince Charming to make all your dreams come true, but that you find one anyway.

See all of the books Linda read this year on Goodreads!



Crystal:
I had a goal this year and that was to read a few series that have been on my TBR list for-ever. Which I did, and I am so happy that I finally got to a few of them. There are still many, many more to read though and the list is continuously growing. Here are my top picks of those series and books! 

1. The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
Yes, it really did take me this long to read Outlander. And you want to know why? Because the cover was so incredible boring I thought for sure the books would be too! I have never been so happy to be so wrong! Outlander is a long, in depth, engrossing and epic story full of adventure, fantasy, romance and history. There are dark moments that will have you gripping the pages with watery eyes and light moments that will leave your heart fluttering and a smile on your face. And there isn't a more charismatic hero out there then Jamie Fraser.

2. The Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh 
If you have read ANY paranormal romance books at all then you have most likely heard the name Nalini Singh, and I was no different. After being on my TBR list for near to four years, I finally picked up my first book from the amazeningly talented author and it was Slave to Sensation. These are  wonderfully written stories, with captivating characters, and unique world-building that didn't disappoint. I am kicking myself for not starting this series sooner! Nine of the thirteen book series (so far) I rated five wine glasses (stars). 

3. The Marked Men series by Jay Crownover 
This is a new adult romance series that follows the sexy men and feisty women of a tattoo shop along with their friends and family. Full of sex, tattoos, angst and romance, I have fallen in love with each character and sub-sequential book so far! The sneaky author also slips in important life lessons that resonate through you as a reader. 

4. Hard to Come By (Hard Ink #3) by Laura Kaye
It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Laura Kaye and will gobble up any book I can get my greedy little hands on from her! This is a romantic suspense series that debuted last year, and I'm hooked on the hot, edgy, swoon-worthily alpha males of Hard Ink! This book had it all; steamy passion, thrilling action, compelling characters, and heart-warming humor. Laura Kaye is a master at weaving deep emotions with edge-of-your-seat suspense for an absolute page-turner.

5. The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12) by J.R. Ward
Y'all know I have mad love for the Brothers. Mad love. Like there is a gentleman that frequents my local grocery store that looks remarkably like I picture Vishous to look who I may or may not stalk on occasion. *ahem* Can we just keep that between us perhaps? Despite a slow start, I was totally enraptured by The King! At the beginning, I was frustrated by so many secondary story-lines getting in the way of Beth and Wrath's (which has really been common in the last half of this series), but by mid-point I was trying to read slower so the book wouldn't end! There is just no excuse why the BDB men shouldn't be on everyone's 'read' list by now, friendships depend on it. Just kidding. Maybe. March 31st, The Shadows, what-what!

There were many more books that made my Best of 2014 list, you can see them HERE or check out all of the books I've read on Goodreads! 


Fiona:
I'm going by series, since everything is series now and I can't just pick one book!

1. Marked Men series by Jay Crownover, love all the guys! 

2. Love all Reapers MC books but my favorite is Reapers Legacy by Joanna Wylde, loved Ruger and his love for Noah. 

3. Hellions series by Chelsea Camaron, Merciless Ride is my favorite. 

4. And the Nashville Series by Inglath Cooper such a sweet story and group of people can't wait for the next.

5. And my all-time, could-not-wait-to-read was Stripping Her Defenses by Jessie Lane. Partial to the series but oh well, I love it!

GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate our favorite books and our favorite readers (You!) we'd like to give one reader their choice of one book in Kindle format from our list. Kick of 2015 right with a brand new read! To enter, just be a RBtWBC follower (Follow options located on right-hand side-bar), and fill out the rafflecopter below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway