Eliza's Favourite Reads of 2014.

When it comes to my favourite reads of 2014, if you follow me on Goodreads you may notice that they are not necessarily reads I have rated 5 Stars. So how can my favourite read not be 5 Stars? Well, because of the noted pleasurable experience i’ve had reading them, even if I don't agree with all the decisions my Heroes or Heroines make. 

As a reader I like to be surprised, I enjoy when a book sneaks up on me. I like to be swept away in the story and read about characters that I either feel like I could be friends with in real life, have real admiration for or have/do overcome adversity. And on top of that I love the romance to be believable, palpable and the characters to have a genuine connection.

My favourites are based purely on my my personal reading experience and I hope that you may find a couple of your favourites on here too or if nothing else a new book to add to your pile. 

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Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan 

When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.

Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.

" I think love is a concept, and each person has an individual word for what sums it up for them. My word for love is Bree."

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Finding Dandelion by Lex Martin

When soccer all-star Jax Avery collides with Dani Hart on his twenty-first birthday, their connection is instantaneous and explosive. For the first time in years, Jax isn’t interested in his usual hit-it and quit-it approach.

But Dani knows better. Allowing herself a night to be carefree and feel the intensity of their attraction won’t change anything when it comes to dealing with a player. So when Jax doesn’t recognize Dani the next time he sees her, it shouldn’t be a total shock. The fact that he’s her new roommate's brother? That’s a shock.

Dani doesn’t regret that night with Jax, just the need to lie about it. Since her roommate has made it clear what she thinks about her brother’s “type” of girl, the last thing Dani wants is to admit what happened. 

Jax knows he’s walking a fine line on the soccer team. One more misstep and he’s off the roster, his plans to go pro be damned. Except he can’t seem to care. About anything… except for the one girl who keeps invading his dreams.

Despite Jax’s fuzzy memory of his hot hookup with his sister’s friend, he can’t stay away from her, even if it means breaking his own rules. But there are bigger forces at work–realities that can end Dani’s college career and lies that can tear them apart. 

Jax realizes what he’s losing if Dani walks away, but will he sacrifice his future to be with her? And will she let him if he does?

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Drawn to You by Serena Grey

He thinks she’s a hooker.

She thinks she’s in love with someone else.

After one memorable night, Rachel Foster cannot stop thinking about sexy billionaire hotelier Landon Court, and the way his touch set her body on fire. But as far as she knows, she’s never going to see him again, and that’s okay, because she’d rather not risk falling for him anyway.

For Landon, one night is not enough. He wants Rachel, and he’s not prepared to back down. He always gets what he wants, and she will not be an exception.

Unable to resist her attraction to Landon, Rachel decides to give him what he wants, but on her own terms. 

One week. Just sex. No commitment.

What happens when love is not allowed, but everything else is?

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Flawed by Francette Phal

"You are this beautiful thing I want to destroy."

Blood. 

That's the only memory he carries from a childhood he does not remember. And now it is all he knows. Blood is his life.

Knox Bishop has done a lot of horrible things, all at the command of the man who holds his leash. It's a matter of loyalty for him. Allegiance to the man who saved his life when he was a child. So he goes where he is needed and does what he is told. He tortures. He kills. He kills. He tortures. It is an unrelenting cycle that he constantly craves and can never quite satisfy.

Until her.

Eighteen year old Lacey Barnes distributes her assets to fund her dreams. Medical school is the end game and she is determined to get there by any means necessary. But a family member's careless mistake derails her plans and now she must pay a price in order to save him. 

She goes to Knox willingly offering him the only valuable thing she has. Herself. In doing so he allows her into his world, a world she quickly realizes is void of any light and hope for escape is utterly elusive. But escape is something she finds that she no longer wants. 

"He lays a path of pleasure laced agony for me to follow and I do. Stupidly I follow him down the blinding darkness of his euphoric hell."

Disclaimer: This is book is intended for mature audiences (18+) due to description of violence and sexual situations.

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Sweet Fall by Tillie Cole

We all have secrets.

Secrets well buried.

Until we find the one soul who makes the burden of such secrets just that little bit easier to bear.

Lexington "Lexi" Hart is a senior at the University of Alabama. Surrounded by her best friends, her loving family and having fulfilled her life-long dream of making the Crimson Tide cheer squad, everything is going exactly as she always dreamed it would. But beneath her happy exterior, demons lurk, threatening to jeopardize everything Lexi has worked to achieve. When events in her life become too much to cope with, Lexi finds herself spiraling down into the realm of her biggest fear. Lexi falls hard, victim once again to the only thing that can destroy her and, on the way, finds herself falling straight into the dangerous tattooed arms of a guy from the wrong side of the tracks.

Austin Carillo, starting Wide Receiver for the Alabama Crimson Tide, must get picked in this year's NFL draft. He needs it. His brothers need it. Most importantly, his mother desperately needs it. Brought up in a world where the poor are forgotten, the sick are left to fend for themselves and no hero miraculously appears to pull you out of hell, Austin had no other choice but to make a living on the wrong side of the law—until football offered Austin the break to get his life back on track. But when a family tragedy drags him back into the clutches of the gang he believed he had left far behind, Austin finds himself falling. Falling back into criminal ways and falling deep into a suffocating darkness. Until a troubled yet kindred spirit stumbles across his path, where Austin quickly finds he is falling for a young woman, a young woman who might just have the power to save him from his worst enemy: himself.

Can two troubled souls find a lasting peace together? Or will they finally succumb to the demons threatening to destroy them?

New Adult/Contemporary Romance novel—contains adult content, sexual situations and mature topics. Suited for ages 18 and up.

“I’m lost without you. I can’t breathe without you. Without you here, all I can do is fall.”

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Awaken (A Spiral of Bliss Novel) by Nina Lane

“I love that you love me, professor.”

“I love loving you, beauty.”

Since their intense, passionate beginning, Professor Dean West and his wife Olivia have fought dark secrets and betrayal in order to save their marriage. Now reeling in the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Liv and Dean are driven further apart by a vindictive threat to Dean’s career.

Struggling to stand on her own for the first time in years, Liv is determined to defend her husband and prove herself. Then an unexpected letter dredges up old insecurities and endangers Liv’s newfound independence. As Dean fights for his professional life, he is forced to confront his worst fear when he discovers that he can’t protect his beloved wife from her own painful past.

“You and me, professor.”

“You and me, beauty.” 

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Collateral (Blood & Roses Series) by Callie Hart

With Lacey missing and everything falling apart, Sloane and Zeth will do everything they can to get her back. If that includes facing off against Charlie Holsan, the DEA, and anyone else who gets in their way, then so be it.

Faced with heartbreak, danger, and the increasing need to protect the ones he loves, Zeth Mayfair is finally realizing what it means to have a family. With her fears coming full circle, Sloane must learn that forgiveness is the only way to move forward.

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Black Lies by Alessandra Torre

Brant: 

Became a tech billionaire by his twentieth birthday. Has been in a relationship with me for 3 years.

Has proposed 4 times. Been rejected 4 times.

Lee: 

Cuts grass when he’s not banging housewives. Good with his hands, his mouth, and his cock. Has been pursued relentlessly by me for almost 2 years, whether he knows it or not.

Go ahead. Judge me. You have no idea what my love entails.

If you think you’ve heard this story before, trust me – you haven’t.

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Entangle by Veronica Larsen

It starts small.

His smoky blue eyes strike hers until the air between them flickers.

Her whispered suggestion blows the spark into a flame.

A guarded heart. A relentless pursuit.

An insatiable chemistry that yields to a torrid affair.

Alexis Stone 

I've told myself I'm happy long enough to believe that lie. But I'm not happy, I'm just comfortable.

Every aspect of my life is under my control. From my thriving company to the heart I keep under lock and key. I make sure of this because the alternative is simply unacceptable. 

But nothing shakes you out of your comfort zone quite like witnessing your husband go off to marry someone else.

I tried to do things the right way. I wore the big white dress and rode off with Prince Charming. Then Charming changed his mind. Now I'm left to face the truth. I haven't moved on, not because I'm not over my ex but because I've been too scared of what's next for me.

Enter Leo; A gorgeous, blue-eyed specimen of a man. He's tenacious in a way that stirs my desires alive for the first time in years. He also happens to be my newest employee. I know. It's a bad idea. I just can't bring myself to care. Besides, one good time should be enough to get my past out of my system. 

Nothing could prepare me for Leo. Nothing could prepare me for the relentless force that would plow into my life in more ways than one, trying to get me to move the walls I've built up high. 

Every single time I've let someone in my life they've cracked me wide open. There's no way in hell that's happening again. I tell myself all I want is to keep things between Leo and I as casual as possible.

Then again, I do lie to myself a lot.

**NOTE: Entangle is a steamy and angsty read. It contains sexually explicit content.

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Taut: The Ford Book by J.A. Huss

Ford Aston is known for many things. Being an emotionless, messed up bastard, a freakishly smart social outcast, and a cold, domineering master who keeps "pets" instead of girlfriends.

And after Rook broke his heart, he plans to keep it that way.

Ashleigh is known for nothing, and that's exactly what she's got going for her. She's broke, stranded in the mountains with a three month old baby, and Ford Aston is screwing with her head.

Big. Time.

And she plans to mess with his right back.

It's a coy game at first, filled with flirting, and innuendo--but Ford soon realizes something is not quite right with Ashleigh. In fact, something is seriously, seriously wrong and the closer they get to their final destination, the closer Ford gets to the truth.

One night of devastation, self-loathing, and emptiness turns into the best thing that ever happened to Ford Aston. But one day of in-your-face reality threatens Ashleigh's whole existence.

“You’re a weird guy, Ford.”

“Tell me something new, Ashleigh.”