Twelve favorite books from 2012

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. - Oscar Wilde

Laura Levine's DEATH OF A NEIGHBORHOOD WITCH:

Halloween is just around the corner, and between cauldrons of candy and a deliciously cute new neighbour, Jaine Austen is struggling to resist her sweet tooth. But this year, her once humdrum neighbourhood seems to be handing out more tricks than treats.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.

Sabrina Jeffries' 'TWAS THE NIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS:   

Pierce Waverly, the Earl of Devonmont, has been estranged from his mother for most of his life. When his mother’s new companion, Mrs. Camilla Stuart, writes to tell him that his mother is seriously ill, he goes home. But when he learns that the lovely widow tricked him in order to effect a holiday reconciliation, he refuses to stay—unless she meets his “terms.” 

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link. 

The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read. - Abraham Lincoln

Megan Mulry's A ROYAL PAIN:  

Smart, ambitious, and career driven, Bronte Talbot started following British royalty in the gossip mags only to annoy her intellectual father. But her fascination has turned into a not-so-secret guilty pleasure. When she starts dating a charming British doctoral student, she teases him unmercifully about the latest scandals of his royal countrymen, only to find out—to her horror!!—that she's been having a fling with the nineteenth Duke of Northrop, and now he wants to make her...a duchess?

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.

Hester Browne's THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS:  

She’s a green-fingered gardener. He’s a blue-blooded banker. Can the Queen of Spades really make it work with the Prince of Diamonds?

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link. 

You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me. - C.S. Lewis 

Jill Mansell's A WALK IN THE PARK:

Lara Carson left her family and boyfriend Flynn eighteen years ago without a word to anyone. Why has no one heard from her since? Does it mean anything that she's suddenly reappeared in Bath just in time for her ex–best friend Evie's wedding? And what about Flynn? Even the most eagle–eyed observer can't tell whether he's happy to see her, or just stunned.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link. 

Susanna Kearsley's THE SHADOWY HORSES:

Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - Saint Augustine

Toni Anderson's DARK WATERS:

Known as the Graveyard of the Pacific, Barkley Sound is notorious for surging swells with the power to pull helpless victims into its merciless abyss…

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link. 

Anne Elizabeth's A SEAL AT HEART:

Being a Navy SEAL means everything to John "Red Jack" Roaker, but a mission gone wrong has left his buddy dead, his memory spotty, and his world turned upside down. His career as a SEAL is threatened unless Dr. Laurie Smith's unconventional methods of therapy can help him.

I posted my review on Goodreads at this link.

You cannot open a book without learning something. - Confucius

Heather Snow's SWEET DECEPTION:

Lady criminologist, Miss Emma Wallingford, unknowingly finds herself tangled in the dangerous final mission of Lord Derick Aveline, a spy who also happens to be her long lost first love. But when deception, however sweet, is the name of the game, no one can be trusted. And every love--and every life--is at risk.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.

Victoria Alexander's MY WICKED LITTLE LIES:

Evelyn Hadley-Attwater has it all—a genteel Victoria life replete with loving husband, ball gowns and elegant parties. No one, including the man she married, suspects that she was once “Eve”, a spy for England’s most enigmatic intelligence agency. Summoned for one final assignment, the excitement of her former life and memories of her mysterious, flirtatious boss “Sir” prove too tempting . . .

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.

There is no friend as loyal as a book. - Ernest Hemingway

Cathy Maxwell's LYON'S BRIDE (Book 1 in the Chattan Curse series):

They call him Lord Lyon, proud, determined-- and cursed. He is in need of a bride, but if he falls in love, he dies. His fervent hope is that by marrying-- and having a son--without love, perhaps he can break the curse's chains forever.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link.

Cathy Maxwell's THE SCOTTISH WITCH (Book 2 in the Chattan Curse series):

Harry Chattan is fighting for his family. For two hundred years the Chattan men have been destroyed by love . . . and now he's come to Scotland on the hunt for a witch to break the curse. Instead he finds himself bewitched by Portia. Harry has vowed to fight the demons that torture him.

I posted my five star review on Goodreads at this link. 

What are your favorite books from 2012?    I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash to one randomly selected commenter.  Comments are open through Saturday, January 5, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 6.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

Come back on Monday, December 31, when I share other bloggers' favorite books from 2012!