Kris & Vik Top 10 Reads of 2015 & #GIVEAWAY

Posted January 4, 2016 by Kris and Vik in Author & Series Spotlight, Book Love, Events, Giveaways, Home, Special Content & Excerpts, ♡ Reviews by Kris ❤, ❤ Reviews by Vik ♡ / 32 Comments

2015 was a stellar year for Kris & Vik Book Therapy Cafe! We are so glad that you decided to join us for another year of coffee, mancandy, giveaways and wonderful sometimes smutty good books. So many good books that it was very difficult for us to come up with our lists this year. Scroll through to read each of our lists and to enter our giveaway at the bottom of the page! 

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10. Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas

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Throne of Glass ♥ Crown of Midnight ♥ Heir of Fire ♥ Queen of Shadows

The Throne of Glass Series currently consists of the four books above. I loved the first book and was sucked in from word 1!!! According to goodreads this series is not complete. So if you are one of those people who cannot stand waiting for books you might want to hold off on getting started on this one. Book 5 according to goodreads is slated for release in September of 2016 and a sixth book is also listed.

Celaena Sardothien, when we meet her in Throne of Glass she is a lowly slave who the Crown Prince Dorian and Captain Westfall come to make an offer too. It’s an offer she can’t refuse. We learn that Celaena is a former assassin a woman of many talents, names, and power. There is romance and violence and adventure and even when you think that you know who these people are or who will end up together there is another twist and change. I really enjoyed how Maas introduces these characters and builds them in a way that you slowly become attached to them and their part in the story. Someone you loved in book one may be someone you don’t like at all in book 3. That insignificant character that came out of nowhere ends up saving the day. Those are the plot arcs that make this series addictive and why it made it on my top ten list of the year. I listened to the entire series with Audible and loved the narration.

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You can also partake in the prequel novellas that tell the stories of Celaena as an assassin. This is one badass female you definitely want to meet!!!

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“Crown of Midnight”

9. The Other Man by R.K. Lilley

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 ♥ The Other Man ♥

My 5 Bean Review

The Other Man is a standalone novel by R.K. Lilley. However, I would highly and by highly I mean just do it suggest that you read The Wild Side Series before you dive into this one. Heath, MY GOD HEATH is a beauty to behold! Enjoy that monster of a man to the very last drop.

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Suggested Reading before The Other Man…

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The Wild Side

8. GREY by E.L. James 

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GREY ♥

Fifty Shades of Grey is one of those series where you either love it or hate it. I don’t know many that are “meh” about it. I obviously love it since Grey made my list. I often times wonder if those who have such strong words against this series have actually read it. For the most part I’m finding that they have not. They just go by what others have said or what they have heard about it but I digress… Grey is book 4 in the series and it should definitely be read after you read the rest of the series. Grey is in essence book 1 told from Christians point of view. However, since a great deal of what is revealed about Christian and his life prior to Ana is done so across the first three books if you read this one first you will be spoiling the other books for yourself. I enjoyed this one greatly because to say that Christian is secretive in this series may be an understatement and getting to hear his thoughts and what he was actually feeling and not have to infer those pieces of him was great.

My 5 Bean Review

Fifty Shades of GreyFifty Shades DarkerFifty Shades Freed  

7. CODA by C.D. Reiss

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CODA ♥

My love for the Shakespeare of Smut is just GAHHH! I cannot describe and when I heard that CODA was coming I lost my shit like the rest of the lovers of the Submission Series. If you’ve met Jonathan and Monica then you know exactly what I am talking about. If you have not then I highly recommend that you delve into this complete series NOW!!! The books are short and you can easily navigate through the series with consistent reading in a few weeks time give or take depending on the time you have and your reading speed. I absolutely guarantee you will not regret it and when you get to CODA be prepared to have your ovaries explode over and over and over again it was amazeballs!!!

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My 5 Bean Review

Check Out This Awesome HardCover I Got from The Queen for Helping To Get The Word Out About CODA… 

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My 5 Bean Review of The Submission Series

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Control-Burn-Resist

Sing-CODA-Dominance

Breathe

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“Resist”

6. The Rock Chick Series by Kristen Ashley 

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The Rock Chick Series ♥

Yes, I was all kinds of tardy to this party but when this series was available in audio format and for a very discounted price I jumped on them. I loved that with this series I could listen to a book or two back to back then take a break and jump right back in. Every story had your hard corp bad ass alpha male and a lady that was either sassy as hell and ready to take on the world or that was not aware of her strength and learned it through the course of the story. I really, really, loved Luke & Ava. I want to sample that mustache like right NOW!!! The first book was also a laugh riot. Uncle Tex steals the entire damn show. He is amazing and I wish he was real so I could try some of his coffee, I would give a pinkie toe for it. LOL! One great part of being tardy is that I didn’t have to wait as long as others did for the last book which is by far my favorite!

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“Rock Chick Revolution”

5. Making Faces by Amy Harmon

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Making Faces ♥

Making Faces is one of the first books that I read by Amy Harmon. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Everyone who loved Amy already told me that she was fantastic and that I would love her books. I definitely believe that now. I loved how dynamic the characters are in this story. I cried several times while reading and that is not an easy thing to do to me. I am not the type that loves the ugly cry books that’s definitely not my thing but when the emotion and the story are so well done and it feels genuine and true then even I will repeatedly sign up to have my heart destroyed.

My 5 Bean Review

4. A Stone In The Sea by A.L. Jackson

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A Stone In The SeaDrowning to Breathe

My 5 Bean Review

I cannot say enough about this book. I LOVED it so hard. The story takes place in Savannah, GA which is a personal favorite destination for me. After I read the book and took a trip there I couldn’t stop thinking about where things would have taken place and how awesome it would be to see the story play out in a movie. I loved Shea and her daughter who steals many scenes. I LOVED Sebastian and that he is a rock star looking for redemption. It has heat and emotion and that ending!!! READ IT NOW!!!

3. Breaking Him by R.K. Lilley 

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Breaking Him ♥

This was definitely a 5 Bean read for me. I was so excited to hear that R.K. Lilley was putting something else out this year I could have just died! Life kept getting in the way as it did with many of the books that I wanted to read this year and low and behold it came out in audio and I jumped on it!!! I had to actually stop listening to it because after I started it less than 24 hours later I was already 80% done with the book. I love the characters and the awesome development of them. When the book starts you want to be on Scarletts side because if she calls this man The Bastard and has that much hate for him then he must be awful. As the story goes on you are not so sure. We get parallel stories which whenever an author can do this and do it well I bow at their feet. I can’t imagine how difficult it is too weave together the past and the present in a way that leaves me on the edge of my seat with boring me or giving away too much too fast. This book did not have that problem at all. I kept wanting to learn more about Scarlett and Dante when they were young, I needed and wanted to know how they got to where they are now and why?!?!?! As the story goes on and secrets are revealed the book ends with one hell of a soul crushing cliff hanger but with absolute hope for Breaking Her the second book which will be on my most anticipated reads list for 2016 at the top!!! I just hope that I can get it in audio format soon after it releases as well.

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2. Amber to Ashes by Gail McHugh

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Amber to Ashes ♥

I don’t even know where to start with this one. I made my fiance drive me to Pennsylvania so that I could meet Gail McHugh and have her sign my favorite chapter. CHAPTER 18!!!!

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What I love about this book is that you think that you are walking into some sort of love triangle with a complicated girl and other than that at least I know that I didn’t expect much else. However, what you get is three dynamic characters with their own stories and motives for doing what they do. You very well may pick one guys side and then switch teams as the story unfolds… but then again maybe you won’t. Just be prepared to have your panties melted off of you and to have one heck of a book hangover trying to figure out that cliffy of an ending. If you hate cliff hangers you will want to wait for the next book at least to come out before you start. Whatever you do if you’re looking for a smutty good time with hot sex, pierced cocks, anal, a threesome, along with a gritty story line you have found your winner!!! If you’ve read Gail McHugh previously please do not think that this series is anything like her previous one you will be taken by complete surprise and possibly a bit scandalized, lol. And if you are like me and read her previous series and didn’t like it, I encourage you to still give this a try because this is totally different and written extremely well in comparison.

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“If there is such a thing as a beautiful cock… long, and thick, an indescribably perfect engorged pierced head, and veins straining beneath at least 9 rock hard inches of delectable give it to me now male flesh…” 

My 5 Bean Review 

1. The Kricket Series by Amy A. Bartol 

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Under Different Stars Sea of Stars  Darken the Stars

My 5 Bean Review

If you’ve read Amy A. Bartol then you know that she excels at paranormal romance and that she can be downright poetic with her words. If you haven’t read her well I just told you. This is a paranormal series so if that is not your thing then this will not be for you. It has tons of great Sci-fi aspects to it and descriptions that transport you there. It was fantastic in descriptions. Now for some the love story/stories is going to leave a little to be desired in that some things go down that are going to be hard for some readers to swallow. It was difficult for me as well but I have always been of the thought process that if an author can enrage me to the point where I am shaking my head while I cannot put the book down then they are doing something right. I was so annoyed and angry and yet when I really analyzed it, I got it. I love it when an author has the balls to go against the grain. The ending of Darken the Stars could have been better and I know many were upset with that which I can totally understand. I think though that we read so many books where we get all these extra books or these huge epilogues and many books especially outside of the indie world do not go like that. So I can appreciate it for what it is while recognizing that ending could have been better. Just typing about it makes me want to do a re-read!

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“Under Different Stars”

 

 

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10. Dream a Little Dream (Silber Trilogy) by Kerstin Gier

Reading Order Dream a Little Dream || Dream On

This was the year that I got more into YA reads. Dream a Little Dream is an interesting paranormal trilogy that is translated from German. That means while the rest of the series is out already the English translation to the series is lagging so I cry… OFTEN because I should have taken German in HS/College years. Who knew! The story revolves around Liv who magically stumbles into a dream of her almost step-brother & new classmates hotties who rule the school and make all the girl swoon… a dream that is not a dream but a get together for a few the few chosen classmates. The story line is full of twists and imaginative quirks on top of a fun dialogue full of humor!

“Liv, stop it!” hissed Mia. “You look like a lovelorn sheep!”
I gave a start. “As bad as that? Oh, that’s terrible.” I added – and I was to regret it in the course of the day – “If you see me looking like that again, give me a nudge or throw something at me. Promise?”
“With pleasure,” said Mia, and three hours later, because she always kept her promises, I was black and blue around the ribs and had been hit by assorted flying objects: several chestnuts, a spoon, and a blueberry muffin.

9. The Conspiracy of Us (Series) by Maggie Hall

Reading Order

The Conspiracy of Us || Map of Fates || Untitled Book 3

This was another great YA find for me. The story was very much reminiscent of Da Vinci Code meets Princess Diaries meets lots of (as you can deduce form the title) conspiracy. It is a fast paced, full of mysteries and action in a semi-Dystopian YA setting. Think power, think secrets, think high society, think secrets that make or break the world, think you should pick this up to read before book 2 comes out in March.

8. Dirty English by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Full REVIEW

Modern day love story inspired by Pride & Prejudice! Need I say more??? Ilsa took the concept of what we love in a classic and put a modern day spin to it. Check out my full review for more details!

“Love is a knife that cuts out your heart piece by piece, feeding it to the boy you love.”

7. Seducing Destiny (The Fae Chronicles) by Amelia Hutchins

Full REVIEW

Reading Order

Fighting Destiny || Taunting Destiny || Escaping Destiny || Seducing Destiny

Spin-Off: A Demon’s Dark Embrace (Elite Guards Series)

It has been a long wait for the next chapter in Ryder & Syn’s story. This book really hits it with many new revelations and evolution’s, particularly Syn’s growth and self discovery and becoming what she can be. This year Amelia also released her spin off series that focuses on our Favorite Demon…and all I have to say is it’s about TIME! WHEEEEEE!!!

6. Reaper’s Fall (Reapers MC Series) by Joanne Wylde

#PaintMeLikeAnOldLady – Full REVIEW

     

This was the year that body painting was a major turn on… a biker artist who knows how to bring the hotness love to the max! On top of it all Joanna FINALLY gave me the story line that I love… if you know me at all you know what it is… “bang bang… 9 month later…”

5. The Virgin (The Original Sinners Series) by Tiffany Reisz

   

   

“If you saw the crowd I used to run with…let’s just say we put the original in original sin.”

The series is now wrapped up and it’s a bittersweet good-bye. I am delaying reading the last one as it is tough to say goodbye to this Kinky Gang. If you haven’t read the series yet you MUST! It is full of kink and characters that you wish were real… but then again I am almost afraid to conceptualize them in RL world. Good-bye… Good-bye… Good-bye… *sob*

4. Deanna Madden Series by A. R. Torre

Deanna Madden Series

Reading OrderThe Girl in 6E (A Deanna Madden Novel Book 1) || Do Not Disturb (A Deanna Madden Novel Book 2) || If You Dare (A Deanna Madden Novel Book 3)

This series BLEW. MY. MIND since the beginning. The series skates a very thin line between wrong and sexy and suspenseful thriller. It is full on erotica gone Dexter gone the best read you can not miss. Although technically each book is a standalone I wouldn’t recommend to read it as such. The main characters and the story develops over time but each book does have a different story to tell as our MC – Deanna struggles with her homicidal personality.

“But you don’t know the depravity of my mind. You don’t know the thoughts I struggle with, what I fight to contain.”

3. Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino

This was my first read by the author and when I finished the book I had a serious case of the weepies and book withdrawal. To get myself out of it I just had to keep on reading Renee’s other works. This was a beautiful second chance romance that hit close to heart as the story revolved around NYC and a couple who fall in love in the dorms of NYU. Renee’s fiction is so well written that it almost crosses into non-fiction.

“The present is our own. The right-this-second, the here-and-now, this moment before the next, is ours for the taking. It’s the only free gift the universe has to offer. The past doesn’t belong to us anymore, and the future is just a fantasy, never guaranteed. But the present is ours to own. The only way we can realize that fantasy is if we embrace the now.”

2. The Slayer (Untamed Hearts Series) by Kele Moon

Reading Order

The Viper || The Slayer || The Enforcer

This series yet again my top 10 list. Yup! That’s right! I am a huge fan of Kele’s writing and specifically all that has come out of Garnet especially the long awaited mystery of Chuito and Alaine. We got a preview of them and their forbidden romance in Original Battered Hearts Series. With the spin-off promising to be darker and edgier it does not disappoint. I guarantee you want to be following this series into 2016. I have got a preview of the upcoming Enforcer book and folks… YOU …. NEED… TO BE… READING… THIS!

1. Charley Davidson Series by Darynda Jones

Darynda Jones Collage

Reading Order First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson Book 1)  ||  Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson Book 2)  ||  Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson Book 3)  ||  Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (Charley Davidson Book 4)  ||  Fifth Grave Past the Light (Charley Davidson Book 5)  ||     Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson Book 6)  ||  Seventh Grave and No Body (Charley Davidson Book 7) || Eighth Grave After Dark (Charley Davidson Book 8) ||  The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson Series Book 9)

On top of being my #1 read of this year this was my BINGE obsession for the 2015 as well. I did the whole series back to back as an audiobook and it was the best… however I have hit the end of all the released books and now I’m crawling out of my skin waiting for book 9 – The Dirt on the Ninth Grave to be release on January 12 (countdown is on!)! The story line, the humor, the shenanigans of all the characters is pure awesomeness. Darynda created a truly complex and imaginative universe of Son of Satan falling in love with a Reincarnated Reaper. The comedy, the action is what you need in your life if not as an audiobook (which I recommend… HIGHLY) but as a read for sure!

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32 responses to “Kris & Vik Top 10 Reads of 2015 & #GIVEAWAY

  1. My most fav read of 2015 was Paper swan by Leylah Attar and indebted by pepper winters.
    Most anticipated is – one with you by Sylvia day , sun and suffer by pepper winters , hidden bodies by Caroline Kepnes and book 3 of nine minutes series and Hush by e k Blair. So I can read this series.
    I hate cliffies so I buy books but read them only when series is complete.

    • Kris and Vik

      That’s a great list! Also looking forward to Sylvia Day’s book… ye cliffies suck
      Thanks for following! – Vik

  2. Jennifer Taylor

    It’s hard to pick a favorite book I read in 2015. My top 3 favorites would be Slammed By: Colleen Hoover. Red Hill By: Jamie McGuire. After By: Anna Todd.
    The book I’m looking forward to the most in 2016 is Furious Rush By: S.C. Stephens.

  3. Tiffany Johnson

    I became obsessed with Sarah J Maas this year and Crown of Midnight was my #1 read of the year…it was fan-freaking-tastic!

  4. My favorite read of 2015, well, the two of them, Finding Master Right and Playing Hard to Master by Sparrow Beckett and in two weeks, To Have and to Master, the third in the series.

  5. Betul E.

    The Paper Swan by Leylah Attar, Dirty Promises by Karina Halle, Souls Unfractured by Tillie Cole and Lev by Belle Aurora!

  6. Maria

    LEV is really good. Final Debt almost killed me-lol. AL Jackson Series was awesome and looking forward to more for her crew. Rock Chicks rule and so does Kristen Ashley!!

  7. Diana Doan

    Favorite read of 2015 was November 9 by Colleen Hoover. Most anticipated read of 2016 is Aced by K. Bromberg! 🙂

  8. Irma

    Everything by Tillie Cole, Corrupt by Penelope Douglas and King/Tyrant/Lawless by TM Frazier and The Deal/The MIstake by Elle Kennedy.

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