I debated a long time if I should do a year-in-review type of post and if I do it what I should include in it. Finally decided to do it and here we go. 

2015 was a great year for me both in terms of reading and blogging - I read some awesome books, discovered some amazing authors who quickly became favourites of mine, continued with familiar and well loved series. 

I've always been an adventurous reader and this continued during this year. I started reading more LGBT books, mostly mm and I'm really enjoying it. I tried historical mm (Joanna Chambers, KJ Charles) for the first time and I became a fan of it right away.

I'm reading less and less YA, though I made a return to NA (het and mm) and my faith in the subgenre was restored (Amy Jo Cousins and Sarina Bowen are to blame for this)

I focused more on my blogging and I'm really happy and proud of the way things are going. I started doing author spotlights on the blog with short interviews favourite things and some book recommendations. I'm becoming more confident as a reviewer and book blogger and I started writing for EverAfer Romance. I have more plans in this direction for the New Year, though I'm keeping quiet on them for now. I also stared doing interviews with authors (I have done only one, with Cara McKenna, and I was really nervous about it but I think it turned out great and now I'm willing to more of them in the future).

In terms of what happened during the year - there are two book events that are the highlights for me - the second edition of Queer Romance Month and the Hassell and Hall FB group being born.

I loved QRM last year, it was fun and thought-provoking and it really started this journey that I'm on now. This year the event was quieter for me, though still powerful with some awesome posts. It brought to my attention a lot of new authors I'm still to read.

H&H is my happiest place online - It's a closed group moderated by Santino Hassell and Alexis Hall and I met some fabulous people there and made some new friends. It can be both fun and serious but what it the most important is that it is free from judgement and hate unlike most of the online places latest.

What I'm hoping for in 2016 is to find some new great authors and stories, to expand my reading horizons by trying new genres/styles, to improve my reviewing style, to have more book discussions with friends and like-minded people. Most of all to just enjoying all the good books out there!

And here are the two posts where I share my favourite books of 2015 - Part I and Part II

Here is the second part of the my list of Best Books of 2015 - some queer romance, a non-romance neo-noir love story, some erotic stories, some diverse one - all books that spoke to me and made me feel involved in the characters' lives.

1. Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy - a hockey NA romance where two best friends discover their feelings for one another run deeper than friendship. I loved how this story explored bisexually, being gay (out) in professional sports and all the intensity and confusion of first (big) love. 

Review / Buy on AMZ 

2. Level Hands by Amy Jo Cousins - Off Campus series is my favoruite queer NA series and this installment spoke to me on personal level. I LOVED everything about it and wrote my most personal review of the yesr

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

3. Everything I left Unsaid by M. O'Keefe - It's a duology of contemporary erotic romance which I absolutely loved. Ms O'Keefe made my Best Books list last year too and this is even edgier, darker than the previous books of hers I have read. It's superbly written, emotional and engaging.

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

4. Badger by C. M. McKenna - This is a story unlike anything else I've read recently. A non-romance, a neo-noir story about love/lack of love and loss and pain, oh so much pain but ultimately a somewhat hopeful ending. 

Review / Buy on AMZ

5. The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev is another diverse Indian-American romance, darker and more intense than he debut novel, A Bollywood Affair which I really, really loved.

Review / Buy on AMZ

6. Enlightenment series by Joanna Chambers. This is a new-to-me author and she quickly became a favourite of mine. I'm late reading this series but they are absolutely amazing, I loved everything about them - the characters (#TeamDavid), the romance, the struggles, the social/political subplot. 

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

7. Give It All by Cara McKenna. I really enjoy Ms McKenna writing and this romantic suspense series work very well for me. Duncan is such an unlikely character for me to fall for and after meeting him in the first book I couldn't image how the romance with Raina will work out. But it was soooo good, an unforgettable couple.

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

8. The Muse by Anne Calhoune. An erotic romance, intense and powerful, playing with the stereotypes of art, inspiration, being a soldier and a rich heiress. 

Review / Buy on AMZ

9. A Fashionable Indulgence - hsitorical romance series by KJ Charles which stole my heart. Very well-searched, well-written mm historical romance that explore the possibilites for personal relationships for gay men in Regency Engladn. There is a strong emphasis on politics and social issues and Ms Charles explores in an exciting, tantalazing way the intersection between personal and political in times of change and unrest. Weirdly topical for the present, I'd say.

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

10. For Real by Alexis Hall. BDSM romance is not my thingb but I love Mr. Hall's writing and was curious what he would do with this sub-genre. Well, what he did was write a powerful, emotional story focused on the character's feelings and process of them building a relationship. It's all about the characters as two human being coping with life, finding their place in it and someone who completes them and makes them happy. Isn't this what everyone is looking for?

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe

It's this time of the year again and I'm happy to share with you my top reads of 2015. I read over 100 books and so many of them were amazing that it was not easy for me to pick the best of the best. Here is the first part of my My Top Books of 2015. You can find the second part of the list next Friday on the blog.

1. Once Upon a Rose by Laura Florand - this is the start of a new series by a favourite author and this time Ms Florand takes us on a sensual journey in the perfume industry and the rose-oil production in France. Review / Buy on AMZ

2. Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall - Alexis Hall has been my favourite author for the past two years and I love basically everything he writes. This is a quiet understate romance, rather the start of a love affair than a full-blown one but it's oh so tender, and gentle and full of hope and promise for the future. And writing is as beautiful as ever.

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe

3. Trade Me by Courtney Milan - This is the first book in contemporary romance series by Courtney Milan. It's a NA college story and I love it's diversity in terms of characters (the heroine is Chinese) and in terms of topics it explores (mental and physical illness, social differences, family relations). Book 2 is expected to come out early in 2016 and it will feature a transgender character.

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

4. Mnevermind series by Jordan Castillo Price - This is a closely connected series of speculative romantic fiction. Ms Price builds a rich, somewhat dystopian future world which feels scarily really , especially with regard to the human relations. The second book, Forget Me Not, is told entire from the POV of a hero on the autistic spectrum and it;s the most profound and powerful story and presentation I've ever read. 

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

5. Focus on Me is the second book in Megan Erickson's NA mm series, In Focus. It's an emotional, very engaging road trip story of falling in love, fighting one's demons and learning to trust others. 

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

6. Recommendation removed Sutphin Boulevard by Santino Hassell - a gritty, raw friends-to-lovers mm story which takes right in the heart of New York. I loved the realistic feel, the complex characters involved in complicated relationships (romantic, professional, family). 

Review / Buy on AMZ / ARe 

8. Truth or Beard - another laugh out comedy by my favourite Penny Reid. It's the start of the her spinoff series, Winston Brothers, and it's full of awkward and crazy and tender and fairytale romance. I'm excited to meet more of the bothers in 2016.

Review / Buy on AMZ 

9. Softer Than Steel - it's the second book in rockstar romance series with a twist by Jessica Topper. It's multilayer, multidimesional story of love and loss and moving one, it;s a soulful, romantic story which mixes music, philosophy, yoga, religion and how their intertwine with our daily lives. 

Review / Buy on AMZ 

10. Rock Hard is the second full-length novel in Nalini Singh's contemporary series, Rock Kiss. I have to admit this series is a hit or miss for me but this book is definitely one of the best of Ms Singh's I've read. It's CEO-assistant romance (ones I usually avoid) but it's really well done focusing in two people building a romantic relationship. 

Review / Buy on AMZ 

Second part of my My Best Books of 2015 comes next Friday, so stay tuned :)