Lovecats' favourite reads of 2016 (so far...)

We thought we'd share some stand out book love today!

Asking an avid reader what is their favourite book is liking asking a parent which is their favourite child...too hard!!! But some of the lovecats have managed to narrow down their faves of the year so far.  Here's hoping you'll get some great suggestions to add to your TBR shelf/pile, and maybe try some new authors.

Annie West

I can’t pick a favourite read for the year so instead am choosing the one that stood out as being so completely different from anything else I’ve been reading (and thank you to the fellow authors and readers who suggested it). ‘Rivers of London’ by Ben Aaronovitch is a cross between ‘The Bill’ and ‘Harry Potter’ with a lot of lovely wit and humour thrown in. The plot is fantastic (in both senses) so if you don’t like a touch of make believe, don’t pick it up. I found myself swept away by the story, the characters and the tension and have now enjoyed the later books in this series too. 







Sue Mackay

I'm a huge fan of Kristin Hannah. She just keeps getting better and better.

This is a story a girl and the family who befriended her, and the tragedy that came from that. Told through two people's POV it is unputdownable.











Stefanie London

Mine has been Melt Into You by Roni Loren this is not only my fave book of the year so far but hands down my favourite erotic romance series of all time. It's sexy, emotional and beautifully written. Can't praise it highly enough!










Amy Andrews

My stand out find this year has been Eve Dangerfield – a Melbourne author.

Locked Box is awesome












Helen Lacey

My favorite book so far this year is Neighbor Dearest by Penelope Ward. Love it! Fast and sexy and the hero was divine. Great chemistry between the two lead characters.











Bronwyn Jameson

My favourite recent read is The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (single title contemporary romance, first book, Australian author, although the book is set in an anonymous American city.)  It’s first person with only the heroine's viewpoint, and not knowing what was going on in the hero’s head worked beautifully for this story.  Lucy and Joshua are competitive co-workers at a publishing house; their relationship is antagonistic (understatement!); their banter is a thing of beauty.  I loved the writing, the fresh take on office romance, the love-hate dynamic, and the conflict resolution. 






Kandy Shepherd

One of my favourite reads this year is Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)  It’s a crime story not a romance. But author has created two quirky, memorable characters in private investigator Cormoran Strike and his sidekick Robin Ellacott. Over the three books (so far) in the series, a romance of the type when the reader really wants for them to get together is building. I initially resisted these books (book one, The Cuckoo’s Calling and book two The Silkworm) because of the hype about the author’s attempt at anonymity. But once tried, like the Harry Potter books, they immediately became addictive.



Yvonne Lindsay

My standout book so far this year has been Linda Howard’s, Troublemaker. Linda Howard has been an autobuy author of mine for many years and her heroes are just so larger than life and so intensely perfect for her heroines that her books are an absolute pleasure to read. It’s rare for me to be able to suspend my inner author voice when I’m reading a book, y’know, the one that is sometimes prompted to think, “Hmm, I wouldn’t have written that line that way,” but with this book I could simply be a reader and enjoy someone else’s hard work for a change.

What have been your standout reads so far this year?

Yikes! Only 27 sleeps!

Well wow, it's my turn to blog today and I'm sorry to say I'm a little late getting to it.

There was me thinking I was organised and up to date...apologies!

It seems as if there's no escape- everyone I meet is asking if I'm ready for Christmas...er, no.
I drove past a hairdresser's today and the sign proudly told me we only had 27 sleeps. I'm completely and utterly unprepared. Like...nothing.

Idling away an hour today (I had to be out of the house because we were having it sprayed for insects) in a book shop I saw some interesting books that I wanted to buy and that got me to thinking about some of the good books I've read recently...

Books are always very handy for Christmas presents so I hoped we could share some good ones-not necessarily romance- that we've read this year? Series are always good--get hooked on one book and you're sorted for your next few books too!

For anyone: I'm currently reading Career Of Evil by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) which is the 3rd in the Cormoran Strike detective series. I love the way Galbraith writes so fluidly and with a lot of description. These detective books are like old fashioned cosy, mysteries. They all feature an enigmatic detective (Cormoran) ands woman sidekick, Robin. Their relationship develops slowly through the three books as they work together to solve murder cases. the first one was about a famous actress who had been found, allegedly having fallen from a balcony. The second was about a crazed author and his publishing company/agent..and this third one taxes the intrepid two as they try to work out who has sent them a severed leg through the mail (ugh)...why, who it belongs to and who did the chopping!

For men: My husband is reading Book Four in the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series.  The Girl In The Spiders Web was 'ghost' written, as Stieg Larsson died having only completed half of it. The Doc reckons it's a little slow to star with (I seem to remember all the books from the series were like that)...but a quarter of the way through he's thoroughly enjoying it. All four of these books set out to solve murders with the girl with the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomqvist.





For romance lovers: I've just finished reading Sarah Morgan's Puffin Island series which I absolutely adored... 3 best friends find love on an island in Maine. *Le sigh*... As always Morgan writes with heart and emotion and her stories are always fun. First Time In Forever is the first book in the series and features Emily who is hiding from the media as she takes her newly acquired charge, niece to Puffin Island so she can learn how to be a parent...falling in love with local Ryan is not part of the plan. 2nd book, Some Kind of Wonderful features a second chance romance between pilot Zach and archaeologist Brittany. 3rd book, Christmas Ever After features jewellery designer Skylar and TV documentary heart throb Alec--who hate each other on first sight.


For Writers: Word Menu is a fabulous book for any writer where word reference is organised by subject matter. This means if you're writing about a soldier- just look up the word soldier and every word associated with a soldier is all under one section. makes life a LOT easier.







May I also be so bold as to recommend two cheeky stocking fillers??  Both out on Dec 1st we have the Hot Christmas Nights boxset...7 amazing stories by your very own Love Cat authors...

Plus, Her Doctor's Secret Proposal which is part of the Midwives-On-Call at Christmas series... both by yours truly.









Any suggestions for Christmas gifts / books?