Pages

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I read in 2016



Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish.
This week's TTT is Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2016!

Okay I know its been forever since I did a TTT but I had to do the best of '16! So in no particular order here we go..

1. Bounty by Kristen Ashley
I totally begged for an ARC of this book and I loved it so hard. I've said it before and I'll say it again—I love Kristen Ashley books. I re-read all of her books once a year and yeah. Give me more KA.

2. Spiral of Need and Force of Temptation by Suzanne Wright
 
Two books in The Mercury Pack series released this year and I loved them. Suzanne Wright is one of those authors that I can read whatever mood I'm in and I know I'll love it.

3. Idol and Managed by Kristen Callihan
 
I waited until Managed was released to read this series and I was so mad at myself for waiting! I loved it! And I've had a serious lack of hot rockstar reads lately so this was the perfect start to the VIP series.

4. Beyond Ruin, Beyond Ecstasy and Beyond Surrender by Kit Rocha
  
The three final books in the Beyond series were released this year (holy crap what!) and I loved them all. I may or may not have cried a bit when I finished Beyond Surrender because this is one of my all-time favorite series forever and ever but the authors are writing another series in this crazy world they created. Looking forward to Ashwin in 2017!

5. Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis
This one isn't actually out until 2017 but I snagged an ARC (lucky me!) and totally fell in love with Archer. So I'm cheating! Seriously though, I call dibs on him Jill!! Hoping there are more books to come in this series!

6. Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh
Yessssss. I binged this series last year, or early this year I forget, and I was kicking myself for waiting so damn long to read them. They are amazing and I want this series to have 50 more books, deal Nalini?

7. Addicted by Elle Kennedy
It's no secret I love me some post-apocalyptic books and Elle totally killed it with her first book in this series Claimed. Addicted was amazing and I haven't gotten a chance to read Ruled yet—which I read is the last book in the series noooooooo!—but definitely one of my favorites!

8. Beard Science by Penny Reid
I love me some Penny Reid—it's no secret. I totally fell in love with Cletus and I've heard whisperings we may get more of him and Jennifer! If you haven't read this series YOU NEED TO.

9. The Saint, The King, The Virgin and The Queen by Tiffany Reisz
   
Okay, I know the final book in this series came out in 2015 but I couldn't bring myself to read it because I didn't want this series to end. Tiffany Reisz books grab your soul and squeeze. Hard. One of the most well written series I've ever read.

10. Royally Screwed by Emma Chase
Give me Emma Chase books or give me death! For real though her books are always so good with a mixture of humor and romance and just look at that cover. LOOK AT THAT COVER. I need to go buy this in paperback asap. But if you're looking for male POV books Emma Chase slays.

Review: Beyond Surrender by Kit Rocha


She’s the heart of O’Kane liquor.

For years, Nessa has been focused on work. She keeps the whiskey—and the money—flowing, and life is sweet. Sure, she’s tired of being everyone’s baby sister, and she longs for a man who can stand up to her overprotective O’Kane brothers. But she never thought she’d meet him in the middle of a war.

He’s the brains of the revolution.

War is all Ryder knows. He was raised with one goal: to ensure the sectors’ successful rebellion against Eden. His father and his mentor both died for freedom, and nothing will stop him from securing their legacies with victory. He doesn’t have time for distractions—especially beautiful, impulsive ones like Nessa.


Opposites don’t just attract, they combust. Together, Nessa and Ryder have a chance for something more than the lives they’ve always known. But this is war—deadly, bloody war—and the only way to happily-ever-after is straight through Eden.

Buy Links

*This review will have spoilers for the previous books in the series, but not so much for Beyond Surrender.

“War was war, after all. The same story, repeated for tens of thousands of years. Some who fought lived and others died, and you never knew which you were destined to be.”

I've been sitting here trying to come up with the words to describe how much I loved this book. And I can't. I read Beyond Shame 5 months after it was released. I've been stalking the heck out of these authors ever since. I couldn't wait for Beyond Control. Then I couldn't wait for Beyond Pain, so on and so on.There are very few authors that as soon as their books are released (or if I can get an early copy) I have to read straight away. Kit Rocha is most definitely one of them. We've gone through Jasper & Noelle and Lex & Dallas and Bren & Six etc. Every book, every novella, every extra scene I got to read I gobbled up the first chance I got. But not this one. I waited about a week to start it because I wasn't ready to say goodbye. But once I started, I couldn't stop.

“She was going to die. Just fucking implode. Here lies Nessa, perished from sexual frustration-induced cardiac arrest.”

Nessa has been a constant in the Beyond series, everybody's favorite little sister who loves to paint her nails and get all the dirty details on everybody's sex life. She's been burned once before and is determined not to make that mistake again, so instead of getting close to anyone she soaks up, maybe a little jealously, the passion going on around her. We also have Ryder. Sexy, sexy Ryder. The new leader of Sector Five and Jim Jernigan's successor. His whole life has been leading up to this war that he's been preparing for most of his life.

“He was just standing there, smiling, cradling her like a princess—but that wasn't why she kissed him. Nessa had been pampered and petted like a princess her whole damn life.
No one had ever invited her to build bombs with them before. That was why she kissed him.”

This book was freaking wild. Wild. We didn't get as much sexy-times as say Beyond Shame BUT that in no way means this book wasn't as good. I mean the war is finally here, shit is going down, people are dying and as much as people cling to each other in times of despair, life isn't as fun as it used to be. We get a ton of alternate POVs *YAY* and a lot of insight into characters we haven't met yet—and some that we're dying to read their stories (I'm looking at you Ashwin). I don't know if I'll ever forgive these authors for what happened in Chapter 17 but I get why it had to happen. Even if I didn't like it. Damn it I'm crying again.

“They'd fight and they'd win or they'd fight and they'd die, but one way or another, there was a time in the near future where none of them would have to worry about Eden anymore.”

Anyways, I loved this book. It made me want to go back and re-read the whole entire series again. Which I probably will do before Ashwin comes out. This book definitely isn't rainbows and butterflies—people on both sides die all because Eden couldn't contain their greed.

“That's their real mistake, you know. I'd pretty much reached a point where I liked my life just like it was. Fighting and fucking and not worrying about what happened beyond my sector. I was content, and they could have let me be content.”
But they hadn't, and now it was too late.” 
—Dallas

Thank God Kit Rocha is continuing writing in this world, moving over to Sector One. I want to thank Kit Rocha for writing this series, which is one of, if not my most favorite series of all time. I fell in love with their writing. I fell in love with the characters they created. I can't wait to see what the hell they come up with next. 

O'Kane for life!

*An advanced copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

If you want a little tease—you can read the first two chapters on the authors website here!

Series Links

Beyond Shame Beyond ControlBeyond Pain
Beyond Temptation Beyond JealousyBeyond Solitude
Beyond Addiction (Temporary Cover) Beyond PossessionBeyond Innocence (Temporary Cover)Beyond RuinBeyond Book #8 Beyond Book Nine
Beyond HEA: Beyond Denial Closed DoorsBlank Canvas

About the Authors
Kit Rocha is the pseudonym for co-writing team Donna Herren and Bree Bridges. After penning dozens of paranormal novels, novellas and stories as Moira Rogers, they branched out into gritty, sexy dystopian romance. 

The series has appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, and was honored with a 2013 RT Reviewer’s Choice award. Find out more at kitrocha.com, or sign up to be notified of their next release at bit.ly/kit-rocha-updates

Author Links