I read some other wonderful books this year but which were published before (in some cases, well before) 2014 and some which were published on audio for the first time in 2014. I felt they deserved a mention. In no particular order:
Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand by Carla Kelly. I read this one because my friend Merrian sent it to me and because I was on a plane and needed a non-ebook to read during take-off and landing. I’ve been in a bit of a historical romance slump but this was a delightful surprise. I was inspired to then buy a whole pile of other Carla Kelly books (all of which currently languish on my TBR – the vast majority of books I buy do that. Don’t worry Carla Kelly books, you have some awesome company in there.)
The Girlfriend by Abigail Barnette. I read The Boss and was surprised and blown away by it. Because it doesn’t end on a happy romantic note I needed to read on to The Girlfriend immediately. This book was even stronger and it had the required happy ending to cap it all off. Loads of angst and emotion and feels but good writing and engaging characters.
Bellwether by Connie Willis, narrated by Kate Reading This book only has a very mild romance but it was such fun and very well narrated. A fabulous trip back to the joys of the 1990s.
The Caldwell Ghost (The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal #1) and Butterflies (The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximall #2) – I’ve put these together because while they are separate stories, they involve the same romantic pair and they are short. That seems like a good enough reason for me. Butterflies was chilling and I will never look at the pretty monarchs in quite the same way again and the The Caldwell Ghost had one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve ever read.
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, narrated by Kate Reading. I read this book years ago but was delighted when it was released on audio. The narrator was the perfect choice for the book and as long as you can get past the over-reading of the author letter at the front, the book itself is magnificent. (Ms. Reading also performed His At Night by Sherry Thomas later in the year and it was another wonderful read which very nearly made this list also).
