The Best of 2019: Lexi's Top Reads of the Year

The New Year is almost here and we're sharing our favorite books of 2019! Here are Lexi’s favorite reads from the year, did any of her picks make your list?

Historical Fiction: THE HUNTRESS was another fabulous read by Kate Quinn. A post WWII novel that follows two women that were on opposite sides of the war.

The Huntress

by Kate Quinn

Paperback, 530 pages

Published February 26th, 2019 by William Morrow 

Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When she is stranded behind enemy lines, Nina becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, and only Nina’s bravery and cunning will keep her alive.

Transformed by the horrors he witnessed from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials, British war correspondent Ian Graham has become a Nazi hunter. Yet one target eludes him: a vicious predator known as the Huntress. To find her, the fierce, disciplined investigator joins forces with the only witness to escape the Huntress alive: the brazen, cocksure Nina. But a shared secret could derail their mission unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.

Growing up in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes homes with a new fiancée, Jordan is thrilled. But there is something disconcerting about the soft-spoken German widow. Certain that danger is lurking, Jordan begins to delve into her new stepmother’s past—only to discover that there are mysteries buried deep in her family . . . secrets that may threaten all Jordan holds dear.

In this immersive, heart-wrenching story, Kate Quinn illuminates the consequences of war on individual lives, and the price we pay to seek justice and truth.

AMAZON

#Interview with Olivia Drake of Forever My Duke

For those of us obsessed with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, boy do we have a book for you! FOREVER MY DUKE is about a duke who falls for an American beauty. Excited? We sure are! So join us in welcoming, Olivia Drake!

Thanks so much for inviting me.  There’s nothing better than books + wine!


As unlikely as it is for a royal to wed a foreign commoner, it happens! And what great fodder for a novel. Your Natalie isn’t concerned with titles and pompous boys, she has a school to open. But every little girl dreams of being a princess, right? Did Natalie ever fantasize about crowns and gowns when she was a little girl?

Quite the contrary, she’s always had a dislike of British high society.  You see, as the daughter of an English immigrant, Natalie grew up hearing her father criticize the nobility.  Being a very independent woman, she prefers America’s system of equality over England’s class hierarchy.  When she must travel to England to deliver an orphaned six-year-old boy to his relatives, the last thing on her mind is marrying a duke.  Likewise, Hadrian already has a blue-blooded bride picked out when he finds himself captivated by the upstart American.  Both Natalie and Hadrian have preconceptions about each other that must be overcome in order for love to win in the end.

The Best of 2019 : Crystal's Top Reads of the Year

The New Year is just around the corner and we're sharing our favorite books of 2019! Here are my favorite reads from the year, did any of mine make your list?

I'm pretty sure that this was the most anticipated book of the series and boy did it deliver! It was an all-consuming tale steeped in love, violence, friendship, and the unknown. I couldn't put it down! Find out more in my REVIEW.

Archangel's War
(Guild Hunter #12)
by Nalini Singh
Mass Market Paperback, 471 pages
Published September 24th 2019 by Berkley
ISBN0451491661

Wings of silver. Wings of blue. Mortal heart. Broken dreams. Shatter. Shatter. Shatter. A sundering. A grave. I see the end. I see. . .

The world is in chaos as the power surge of the Cascade rises to a devastating crescendo. In furiously resisting its attempts to turn Elena into a vessel for Raphael’s power, Elena and her archangel are irrevocably changed. . .far beyond the prophecy of a cursed Ancient.

At the same time, violent and eerie events around the world threaten to wipe out entire populations. And in the Archangel Lijuan’s former territory, an unnatural fog weaves through the land, leaving only a bone-chilling silence in its wake. Soon it becomes clear that even the archangels are not immune to this deadly evil. This time, even the combined power of the Cadre may not be enough. . .

This war could end them all.

AMAZON

A dark past, a daring adventure, and an unimaginable allure. Kerrigan Byrne doesn't pull any punches in this must-read historical romance!

The Best of 2019 : Linda's Top 10 Picks for the Year

The New Year is just around the corner and we're sharing our favorite books of 2019! Did any of Linda's all-time favorite reads of the year make your list?!

The Remington Medical series by Kimberly Kincaid

AMAZON | REVIEWS

 I honestly can’t pick just one book from this contemporary romance series that combines addictive medical drama with plenty of emotional, steamy times.  Each had me laughing and swiping tears. 

Death of Darkness by Dianne Duvall

The Best of 2019 : Kimberly's Top 10 Contemporary and Historical Romances of the Year

The New Year is just around the corner and we're sharing our favorite books of 2019! Did any of Kimberly's favorite reads make your list?!

Top Ten Contemporary Romances 


1.

Fix Her Up
(Hot & Hammered #1)
by Tessa Bailey 
ebook, 400 pages
Published June 11th 2019 by Avon
ISBN0062872842

Georgette Castle’s family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven’t taken her seriously since. Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World... whatever that means.

Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?)
Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.)
Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)
Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!)

Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite?

Travis Ford was major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there's Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her...

REVIEW | AMAZON

Read an #Excerpt from Love By Chance: Based On the Hallmark Channel Original Movie by Kacy Cross + #Giveaway

Love By Chance: Based On the Hallmark Channel Original Movie
by Kacy Cross
Kindle Edition
Published December 26th 2019 by Hallmark Publishing
ASINB07VJ9JYPK

She thinks meeting him must’ve been fate.
It wasn’t.

Claire, a pastry chef struggling to make her restaurant succeed, is too busy to pursue romance. That doesn’t stop her loving but meddling mother, Helen, from setting her up on dates. Even after Helen promises to stop her matchmaking efforts, she can’t help herself. She convinces Eric, a pediatrician, to meet Claire at a gallery event.


Eric and Claire feel an immediate connection, and their meeting becomes a magical first date. But the longer Eric and Claire see each other, the less comfortable Eric feels about hiding the fact that Claire’s mom set them up. Meanwhile, Claire loves to talk about how she trusts Eric, and how they met by chance. How will she react to the truth?

AMAZON | B&N 

🍷🍷.5 #Review of Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis

 

Title:  Wrapped Up in You
Series:  Heartbreaker Bay #8
Author: Jill Shalvis
Format: Paperback/eBook, 387 pages
Publication: Sept. 24, 2019 by Avon
ASIN:     B07H4Z9Q8M   
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: Edelweiss
Reviewer: Kimberly
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

It’s love. Trust me.

After a lifetime on the move, Ivy Snow is an expert in all things temporary—schools, friends, and way too many Mr. Wrongs. Now that she owns a successful taco truck in San Francisco and an apartment to call home, Ivy’s reinvented life is on solid ground. And she’s guarded against anything that can rock it. Like the realities of a past she’s worked hard to cover up. And especially Kel O’Donnell. Too hot not to set off alarms, he screams temporary. If only his whispers weren’t so delightfully naughty and irresistible.

Kel, an Idaho sheriff and ranch owner, is on vacay, but Ivy’s a spicy reason to give his short-terms plans a second thought. Best of all, she’s a tonic for his untrusting heart, burned once and still in repair. But when Ivy’s past intrudes on a perfect romance, Kel fears that everything she’s told him has been a perfect lie. Now, if only Ivy’s willing to share, Kel will fight for a true love story.

Kimberly's Thoughts:
Ivy has been on her own since she was sixteen but lately, she wants to put some roots down. She's slowly starting to warm up to her group of friends and the new guy Kel, is catching her eye.
Kel is on leave from his job as a sheriff after being betrayed by one of his cops. When his cousin introduces him to Ivy, he's instantly attracted to her and her spicy tacos.
Ivy and Kel have family drama and they're both scared to open up but they just can't stay away from each other.

12 Days of Christmas #Giveaway : Day 12 Gift Card to Book Retailer of Choice!

To celebrate the holidays and you, our fabulous readers, we're hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! Every day until Christmas you can find a new giveaway just for you, so check back daily! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🎁

Day 12: We've reached the end of our 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways, we hope that we were able to give our readers some holiday cheer! On this last day, we are giving away a $10 gift card of your choice to either Amazon (digital), Barnes and Noble (digital), or Books-a-Million (physical). All of us here are Reading Between the Wines Book Club wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Happy #BookBirthday to Trouble After Dark by Marie Force

Trouble After Dark
(Gansett Island #19)
by Marie Force
Kindle Edition
Published December 24th 2019 by HTJB, Inc.
ASINB07YYRKZLY

The last place in the world he wants to be is on Gansett Island…
Deacon Taylor stepped up for a friend and got himself thrown in jail, and when he’s given a choice of felony charges or leaving town with his police chief brother Blaine, he chooses the latter, consigning himself to a summer under his annoying older brother’s supervision.

Julia Lawry used the last of her resources to come to Gansett for her sister Katie’s wedding and has no idea how she’s going to get back to Texas to clean up the mess she left behind. Another relationship has ended in dramatic fashion, and she’s put herself on a “dick diet,” swearing off men who use and discard her.

When Deacon talks Julia into taking off with him during her sister’s wedding, neither of them can know how that wild ride on his motorcycle will be the start of the most important journey either of them will ever take.

Another summer on Gansett Island is heating up, and love is in the air!

AMAZON | B&N

12 Days of Christmas #Giveaway : Day 11 Johanna Lindsey

To celebrate the holidays and you, our fabulous readers, we're hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! Every day until Christmas you can find a new giveaway just for you, so check back daily! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🎁

Day 11: I was so saddened to wake up this morning to the news of Johanna Lindsey's passing. Her books were among one of the first historical romances that I read as a teenager. My favorite tale of hers will forever be Angel. To celebrate the life and talent of Johanna Lindsey, today we're giving away a single title of hers via Amazon Kindle valued at $7.99 or below. There are so many wonderful books to choose from!

AMAZON

🍷🍷🍷🍷.5 #Review of Dragon Fire by Juliette Cross

 

Title: Dragon Fire
Series: Vale of Stars #3
Author: Juliette Cross
Format: Kindle Edition, 219 pages
Published: April 30th 2019 (Amazon Digital Services LLC)
ISBN: ASIN: B07NBGSNHY
Links: Goodreads | Amazon
Reviewer: Linda
Source: Author
Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 Wine Glasses

Wounded, with a target still on his back, Kieren Moonring has been hiding in the last place his Morgon enemies might find him. In the human convent on the southern shores of Primus, his body heals quickly, but hs soul is broken.

While Sister Liana tends to the recovering Morgon man hiding in their convent, she can't stop or disguise her growing attraction. What disturbs her more is that he begins to uncover her past that is best kept buried.

Kieren fears his old enemies will find him, and then Liana. When his greatest fear comes true and she becomes their next mark...bloody hell, if he won’t murder the whole world to keep her safe.

Linda's Thoughts:
“I’d slay the whole world to keep you safe.”

12 Days of Christmas #Giveaway : Day 10 The Billionaire in Boots by Julia London

To celebrate the holidays and you, our fabulous readers, we're hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! Every day until Christmas you can find a new giveaway just for you, so check back daily! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🎁

Day 10: We're giving away an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of The Billionaire in Boots by Julia London - Coming March 3, 2020!


The Billionaire in Boots
(Princes of Texas #3)
by Julia London
Paperback, 368 pages
Expected publication: March 3rd 2020 by Berkley Books
ISBN0451492390

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia London delivers a sexy new contemporary western, where a lonesome rancher and a no-nonsense cowgirl learn that you don't choose who you fall for--love lassos you....

As the firstborn son, it's been drilled into Nick that he is the heir apparent to the Prince family empire. But cattle ranching has never been his true passion. Nick wants to be a pilot. However, when his father dies, leaving Nick to clean up the mess, he knows he must do his duty before following his heart.

Charlotte Bailey can't believe that Nick is back to run the ranch. As the office manager, she knows it's her responsibility to help him. If only he wasn't so brooding and cranky--and so hot it's a wonder his chaps don't melt right off him. But when sparks fly between them, she's adamant about staying away from a cowboy on his way out the door.

Nick knows the ranch's pretty, smart, and capable office manager is off-limits, but he needs her. And working in such close proximity to Charlotte every day is making Nick crazy. She smells good, she looks good, she makes him laugh, but most of all she makes him want to stay.... 

AMAZON

12 Days of Christmas #Giveaway : Day 9 Engaged to the Earl by Lisa Berne

To celebrate the holidays and you, our fabulous readers, we're hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! Every day until Christmas you can find a new giveaway just for you, so check back daily! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🎁

Day 9: We're giving away an ARC (Uncorrected Proof) of Engaged to the Earl by Lisa Berne   - Coming February 25, 2020!



Engaged to the Earl
(The Penhallow Dynasty #4)
by Lisa Berne
ebook, 384 pages
Expected publication: February 25th 2020 by Avon
ISBN0062852361

A spirited debutante—a brash adventurer—the perfect fiancé—and good intentions gone terribly, deliciously bad. The Penhallow Dynasty continues in this sparkling Regency romp!

Christopher Beck came striding into a glamorous London drawing-room and can’t believe his eyes. The last time he’d seen Gwendolyn Penhallow, she was a dreamy, strong-willed girl with a wild imagination, and now she’s a beautiful and beguiling young lady... who’s engaged to Society’s darling, the Earl of Westenbury. Christopher had fled England to seek adventure elsewhere. Has he found it here, too—the most delightful adventure of his life?

Gwendolyn is sure she’s betrothed to the most wonderful man in the world. But then, shockingly, Christopher Beck shows up. Nobody has heard from him in years—and not only he is very much alive, he’s also sinfully attractive, blithely unconventional, and disturbingly fun to be with. Which wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that she’s, well, promised to another. And just what on earth is she going to do about it?

AMAZON

12 Days of Christmas #Giveaway : Day 8 Books-A-Million Gift Card

To celebrate the holidays and you, our fabulous readers, we're hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! Every day until Christmas you can find a new giveaway just for you, so check back daily! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🎁

Day 8: We're giving away a $5 Books-A-Million Gift Card!

🍷🍷🍷 #Review of An Alaskan Christmas by Jennifer Snow

 

Title:  An Alaskan Christmas
Series:  Wild River #1
Author: Jennifer Snow
Format: Paperback/eBook, 384pages
Publication: Sept. 24, 2019 by HQN
ASIN:    B07L5NHVFQ 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3 out of 5 Wine Glasses
                   

In Alaska, it’s always a white Christmas—but the sparks flying between two reunited friends could turn it red-hot…

If there’s one gift Erika Sheraton does not want for Christmas, it’s a vacation. Ordered to take time off, the workaholic surgeon reluctantly trades in her scrubs for a ski suit and heads to Wild River, Alaska. Her friend Cassie owns a tour company that offers adventures to fit every visitor. But nothing compares to the adrenaline rush Erika feels on being reunited with Cassie’s brother, Reed Reynolds.

Gone is the buttoned-up girl Reed remembers. His sister’s best friend has blossomed into a strong, skilled, confident woman. She’s exactly what his search-and-rescue team needs—and everything he didn’t know he craved. The gulf between his life in Wild River and her big-city career is wide. But it’s no match for a desire powerful enough to melt two stubborn hearts…

Kimberly's Thoughts:
Erika is a workaholic surgeon and when her father, who is also her boss, forces a two week vacation on her before an important clinical trial she is set to lead, she's not happy. Deciding to try and reconnect with her childhood bestfriend Cassie, she heads up to her hometown of Wild River.
Reed was always intrigued by his younger sister's friend Erika but she's even more stuck-up than she used to be, until he has to help her and his sister get home after a couple of drinks. Having her help on his Search and Rescue crew has brought them together but circumstances and secrets could keep them apart.

12 Days of Christmas #Giveaway : Day 7 Sweet Talkin' Lover by Tracey Livesay

To celebrate the holidays and you, our fabulous readers, we're hosting a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! Every day until Christmas you can find a new giveaway just for you, so check back daily! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🎁

Day 7: We're giving away an early copy of Sweet Talkin' Lover (Girls Trip #1) by Tracey Livesay   - Releasing December 30th!


Sweet Talkin' Lover
(Girls Trip #1)
by Tracey Livesay 
Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 384 pages
Expected publication: December 30th 2019 by Avon
ASINB07RDKH9C7

Tracey Livesay delivers the first novel in her sexy new series about lifelong friends and unforgettable love stories.

When everything is on the line,
surrendering completely to love is your only choice…

Marketing manager Caila Harris knows that the road to success in the beauty industry doesn’t allow for detours. She’s forsaken any trace of a social life, working 24/7 to ensure her next promotion. When grief over her grandfather’s death leads to several catastrophic decisions, Caila gets one final chance to prove herself: shut down an unprofitable factory in a small Southern town. But as soon as she arrives in Bradleton, she meets one outsized problem: the town’s gorgeous mayor.

Wyatt Bradley isn’t thrilled about his nickname, Mayor McHottie. He’s even less happy to learn that his town might be losing its biggest employer. If he has to, he’ll use some sneaky tactics to get Caila on his side. Yet even as he’s hoping she’ll fall for Bradleton, he’s falling too—right into a combustible affair that shakes them both with its intensity.

Two stubborn people, torn between loyalty, ambition, and attraction. But when you’re willing to give it your all, there’s no limit to how far love can take you…

AMAZON