Favourites Category Books of 2013

I did a post about a month ago about my favourite single title romances of 2013, and at the time I said I'd be doing a post about my favourite category books soon. Well, this is that post! :)

When I started looking through my bookshelves to see what I'd read in 2013, I realised I hadn't read as many category books as I usually do. Which means I'd like to read a heap more in 2014, so please, give me your recommendations in the comments to start me off!

As with the last post, this list isn't limited to books published in 2013, just ones I read last year.

1. Last Chance Proposal, by Barbara DeLeo
The hero of this book, Cy, is all that's good about heroes, and his little boy, Jonty is adorable and heart-breaking. The setting is strongly New Zealand, which added gorgeously to the story's flavour. This book made me happy-sigh.

2. Doukakis's Apprentice, by Sarah Morgan
 This book came with a lot of buzz, so I was a bit wary, but I loved it. The heroine was quirky, fun and brave, and she helped the hero change his life for the better. I can see why it won a Rita!

3. Flirting With Danger, by Claire Baxter
Loved that the hero and heroine were both firefighters. Loved the journey they both took. Loved the flirty dialogue. Loved it so much, in fact, that I gave it a cover quote. :)
 

4. The Billionaire's Bridal Bid, by Emily McKay
This book came out in 2011, but I only got around to reading it this year. It's a reunion story where the hero is a geek (how cool is that?) and the heroine runs a diner. Can't tell you how much I loved this book!

5. How To Mend A Broken Heart, by Amy Andrews
It came out in 2o12, but I was lucky enough to grab a copy at a book signing a bit later. I love that the hero and heroine in this book are a bit older than average romance characters - they tried marriage once and it ended in tragedy. Their journey of healing and finding each other again is incredibly intense.

Bonus Book: I'd just started Nikki Logan's Slow Dance With The Sheriff when my Rita judging package arrived, so I haven't finished it yet, but I can't wait to get back to it!

So tell me, what other good category books did you read in 2013? I'm ready and waiting for recommendations!

Prize pack winners announced!



This week the LoveCats hosted a party to welcome our newest LoveCat DownUnder: Claire Baxter. Thanks to those of you who dropped by and joined the fun!

As promised, we've drawn two winners from amongst those who left a comment and they've each won a terrific collection of gifts. They are:

GINGER ROBERTS

and

MARISKA

Congratulations, ladies! Here is what you've won:

Ginger will receive:
'From Duty to Daddy' from Sue Mackay,
A cosmetic bag from Yvonne Lindsay,
'Last Chance Proposal' from Barbara DeLeo,
A surprise gift from Louisa George,
A signed book of the winner's choice from Annie West,
'The Redemption of Rico D'Angelo' from Michelle Douglas,
A book of the winner's choice from Sharon Archer,
An ebook of 'Taming the Tycoon' by Amy Andrews,
An ebook of 'Flirting with Danger' from Claire Baxter (Amazon or Kobo),
A book of the winner's choice from Rachel Bailey,
Something sweet from Bronwyn Jameson,
A backlist book from Helen Lacey, and
An ebook of 'The Billionaire's Pursuit of Love' from Jennifer St George.

One of Claire's hand made necklaces

Mariska will receive:'How to Resist a Heartbreaker' by Louisa George,
A book of the winner's choice from Rachel Bailey,
An ebook of 'The Billionaire's Pursuit of Love' from Jennifer St George,
A backlist book from Helen Lacey,
A surprise gift from Barbara DeLeo,
A signed book of the winner's choice by Annie West,
A manicure set in a kitty-cat case from Michelle Douglas,
'From Duty to Daddy' from Sue Mackay,
A book of the winner's choice from Yvonne Lindsay,
Harlequin Australia's Valentine's Day Collection from Bronwyn Jameson,
A book of the winner's choice from Sharon Archer,
A personally-made charm necklace from Claire Baxter, and
An ebook of 'Holding Out for a Hero' from Amy Andrews.

To claim your prizes, just email Annie West, our party coordinator, at annie(at)annie-west(dot)com and tell her your postal address and, where the prize includes a book of your choice by an author, the name of the book you choose (you can find them listed on the author websites).

Lazy Random Monday

It's a public holiday here in Australia today (Australia Day) so I'm feeling a little lazy. My laziness manifests itself in many ways, one of them being the urge to stay in bed and read all day but its my turn to blog so in the spirit of laziness I thought I'd throw together  some random not-necessarily-connected thoughts.

***edited to add - had trouble loading this yesterday so its now Tuesday but somewhere in the world its still Monday so I'm sticking with it :-) ***

Warning - rambling ahead!!!




When I was a kid one of the most entertaining things to do at a party was to find the Cheezel bowl and decorate my fingers with Cheezel rings. Not quite doable these days with adult fingers but still no less fun!








Have you heard I've been involved in writing a The Bold and the Beautiful novella? Its a joint project between PanMac/Momentum and the Bell people with 8 all up coming out this year. The first two are released tomorrow - digitally on a global scale but can be bought in paperback here in Oz. The covers give me a happy sigh - sprinkled with star dust or what??







Its my sister's birthday today. She's the last of us to turn 40! I think if she wasn't so busy and exhausted all the time with her young brood she'd be a little freaked out by it. I found her these amazing glass tea-light holders that are beautifully hand-painted and I know she's going to adore them. Doncha just love it when you *know* you've bought the perfect gift?













A fellow Harlequin author friend of mine - the fab Anna Cleary - and myself are launching a new project this week. After years of giving advice/critique to people on their unpublished books we've decided to go into the manuscript assessment business. Word Witchery is now officially open for business and although we're taking all genre fiction we're specialising in romance (category romance in particular) so if you know anyone who's after some help and is interested in having an appraisal done before sending their manuscript off then send them our way :-)   www.wordwitchery.com.au

We have bats. Yes, bats - not rats (although we've also had them in the past too!) In our gum tree. Yes, our gum tree!! I don't understand it but they screech and carry on at night (right outside my bloody window) and then in the morning there's a whole pile of leaf matter/debris at the bottom of the tree. It's flowering at the moment so maybe that's what attracts them but I really wish they'd find a nice cave or fruit tree somewhere and fly away for good! Plus, bats just plain creep me out!







Talking of bats - I raised 2 fruit bats myself. These ones don't creep me out :-)

I'm 12k in on my new writing project. I should be more like 16-18. Sigh.....


 







My daughter jumped out of a plane - a perfectly good plane - a few weeks ago. Why??!!






 Anyone else have some random information they'd like to share - just for the hell of it?