Best of 2018: The Emoji Files, Part III – The WOW Awards

It’s time for Part III of my Best of 2018 series The Emoji Files, and today I’m bringing you The WOW Awards. There are a few ways a book can make it onto my WOW list. The obvious one is plot twists and surprises (hello, Thirst of Steel and No Less Days in particular!) or high intensity and adrenaline (also Thirst of Steel, but don’t forget Wait For Me and My Hands Came Away Red). Others wowed me because of the topics they dealt with and the way they made me think (again, No Less Days, but also pretty much every other book on this list I haven’t mentioned yet!)

So, if you’re wanting to be wowed by your next read, look no further!

Best of 2018: The Emoji Files, Part II – Got Me in the Feels

Welcome to the second post in my “Best of 2018” series—a series I’ve dubbed The Emoji Files, since I’ve grouped my favourite reads according to their emotional impact.

The first post in my Emoji Files series was The Swoony Awards, so if you missed that, make sure you check it out here. But today, I’m going to be giving you the books that got me in the feels. These are the books that made me cry or really pulled me into the characters’ struggles—often both! Abuse, loss, marital strain, and infidelity are issues for some characters, while others are contending with the unique challenges and sacrifices associated with war time. In all cases, you’re guaranteed a read that will engage the emotions.

NOTE: Some tissues may be harmed during the reading of these novels.

Top Ten Tuesday – Best of 2018: The Emoji Files, Part I – The Swoony Awards

Happy new year, reader friends! As this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is Best Reads of 2018, I’m combining today’s TTT post with the first of my annual “Best of 2018” posts. I was going to do this series last week, but . . . life! So you’re getting it this week instead!

Last year I created what I dubbed “The Emoji Files”—a series of “Best of” posts presenting my favourite reads based on the emotions they inspired when I read them. And it was so much fun, I’m doing it again—starting with The Swoony Awards. So grab your fainting couch and check out which books had me reclining with a swoon and a smile.

Firethorn (Ronie Kendig) – Review

~ About the Book ~

Former Marine and current Nightshade team member Griffin “Legend” Riddell is comfortable. So comfortable he never sees the set up that lands him in a maximum security prison, charged with murder. How can he prove his innocence behind bars?

Covert operative Kazi Faron is tasked with reassembling Nightshade—the black ops team someone dissected. Breaking Griffin out of a federal penitentiary amid explosive confusion may turn out to be her last assignment. What will it take to convince the fugitive that whoever set him up has also dissected the Nightshade team? As Kazi and Griffin race to rescue the others and discover the traitor, love begins to awaken in their hearts.

First Line Friday – 28 December 2018 – Firethorn (Ronie Kendig)

Welcome to First Line Friday, hosted by Hoarding Books! Can you believe it’s the last First Line Friday for 2018? And I’m definitely going out with a bang with today’s choice: Firethorn by Ronie Kendig. This is book four in Ronie’s Discarded Heroes series, which she’s updated and rereleased over the last 18 months or so, and what a finale to the series!

Mind Games (Nancy Mehl) – Review

~ About the Book ~

Kaely Quinn’s talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she’s demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis.

When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely’s, the reporter’s ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem’s predictions, the threat is undeniable, and the FBI sends Special Agent Noah Hunter to St. Louis. 

Initially resentful of the assignment, Noah is surprised at how quickly his respect for Kaely grows, despite her oddities. But with a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else–including Kaely herself–is killed.

Weekend Book Buzz – 22/23 December 2018

Welcome to the Weekend Book Buzz! And the last edition of the Weekend Book Buzz for 2018!

I’m going to take this opportunity to wish all my lovely readers a merry Christmas and pray that you will have a safe and blessed time with friends and family as we celebrate the birth of Christ.

Before I go, I’m going to share a little video you may not have seen if you don’t follow me on Facebook. (*ahem* hint, hint 😉 ) Due to popular demand (and a healthy amount of fascination with my Australian accent!), I did a live reading of “An Aussie Night Before Christmas” by Yvonne Morrison a couple of days ago. It’s a fun Australian twist on the classic poem, and I hope you enjoy it! And there’s a handy little glossary in the comments in case some of the vocabulary has you puzzled!

Mark of the Raven (Morgan L. Busse) – Review

~ About the Book ~

Lady Selene is the heir to the Great House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dreamwalking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person’s dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires. For the last hundred years, the Ravenwood women have used their gift of dreaming for hire to gather information or to assassinate.

As she discovers her family’s dark secret, Selene is torn between upholding her family’s legacy–a legacy that supports her people–or seeking the true reason behind her family’s gift.

Her dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations, but who will also bring about the downfall of her own house.

One path holds glory and power, and will solidify her position as Lady of Ravenwood. The other path holds shame and execution. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price for the path chosen?

First Line Friday – 21 December 2018 – An Aussie Night Before Christmas (Yvonne Morrison)

Welcome to First Line Friday, hosted by Hoarding Books! Can you believe it’s the last Friday before Christmas? That being the case, I have a special Aussie themed Christmas book for you this Friday: An Aussie Night Before Christmas by Yvonne Morrison.

Katie & Rel’s Novel Gift Guide

It’s the Thursday before Christmas . . . and if you’re anything like me, you’re scrambling to get those last few (or more) presents bought in time for Christmas!

That’s where this post comes in! The lovely Rel (from Relz Reviewz) and I have teamed up, drawing on our *muffled and indistinct number* years’ reading experience to put together a list of some of our top recommendations for the readers in your life, no matter what they’re looking for in a book. (And yes, we could have listed many more, but we had to draw the line somewhere!)

Romance and adventure, danger and excitement, laughter and tears—they’re all to be found in Katie & Rel’s Novel Gift Guide!

You can learn more about any of these books by clicking on the cover! Have fun, and merry Christmas! 🙂