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As I have stated in the Reading Slump post, recently I have been stuck in a pretty good reading slump. However I still have read enough books this year to have a top 5 and I am getting out of my reading slump slowly, since writing the reading slump post I have read 4 books which is awesome. In this post I wanted to cover my top 5 so far this year, two of these are in paperback and the others are e-books. I also wanted to elaborate on my favorite genre and why it is my favorite. So, let's dive in!
Set on You by Amy Lea (Paperback)
I loved this book. Seeing a plus-sized woman being the main character is definitely something that you don't see all the time and I love to see it.
Curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen built her career shattering gym stereotypes and mostly ignoring the trolls. After her recent breakup, she has little stamina left for men, instead finding solace in the gym – her place of power and positivity.
Enter firefighter Scott Ritchie, the smug new gym patron who routinely steals her favorite squat rack. Sparks fly as these ultra-competitive foes battle for gym domination. But after a series of escalating jabs, the last thing they expect is to run into each other at their grandparents' engagement party.
In the lead-up to their grandparents' wedding, Crystal discovers there’s a soft heart under Scott’s muscled exterior. Bonding over family, fitness, and cheesy pick-up lines, they just might have found her swolemate. But when a photo of them goes viral, savage internet trolls put their budding relationship to the ultimate test of strength.
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace (Paperback)
This book was so good. I heard mixed reviews about this book some people loved it while others hated it. I have to say that I loved it, it was cheesy in some parts but I think all romance books are cheesy to a point.
Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.
Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.
But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.
Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?
Carnage Island by Lexi C. Foss (E-book)
This book is an Omegaverse Reverse Harem, definitely one of my top book subgenres for sure. It was so good that I wish it was longer or even that there was another book to make it a series.
Welcome to Carnage Island.
Home of brutal chaos.
Blood and tears.
And nefarious schemes.
A half-breed.
A reject.
A wolf without a mate.
My family doesn’t want me.
My Alpha disowned me.
And my mate rejected me.
So I’ve just been given a new pack assignment.
Carnage Island.
Home to the worst of wolf kind.
Vicious claws. Cruel beasts. Wicked deeds.
I’m not one of them.
But I’m not a Nantahala Wolf either.
I’m something distinctly other: an Omega trapped in an Alpha’s skin.
One step toward my fate, and all the males turn their heads.
I’m fresh meat.
Property to be claimed.
Hide-and-seek is now a game of life and death.
With claws and teeth.
And malice and pain.
Only the strongest will survive.
Enter at your own peril.
A Touch of Summer by Nichole Rose (E-book)
Right now Nichole Rose is definitely one of my favorite authors. I love that all the female main characters are plus-sized women and they all end up with men that absolutely adore them. This book was super sweet and I loved it.
To keep his ray of sunshine in his life, he'll lay it all on the line.
Dominic
Summer Daniels is everything I ever dreamed about finding and more.
She stole my heart the minute I set eyes on her, but I'm her boss.
Trying to keep things professional between us when I want to claim her as my own is hard.
I thought keeping her at a distance would keep me from losing her altogether.
Now I might lose her anyway.
Forget that.
I'm not giving up my sunshine.
Summer
Dominic Alessi is the best man I've ever met. He's also the best boss I've ever had.
I thought we were friends. I hoped we would become more.
And then he pulled away.
Working beside him every day when I dream about him every night is killing me.
I want love and a family, but he doesn't feel the same way about me.
At least I didn't think he did…until I accidentally told him how I really feel.
Oh my goodness. What did I just do?
Falling Hard by Nichole Rose (E-book)
Another Nichole Rose book, another amazing story. I loved this one as well.
He's a mystery she can't wait to solve.
Stella
Once upon a time, Adrian Kane was a football legend.
He now owns a small newspaper and writes romance novels.
He never leaves his little slice of paradise.
He's a mystery I'm dying to solve.
I'm an annoyance he'd rather forget.
Until I show up at his place during a fierce storm and fall right into his arms.
Now, my job isn't the only thing on the line.
My heart is too.
Adrian
Stella Quinn is relentless in her quest to get me to talk.
She's also a curvy goddess I can't get off my mind.
She wants to share my sad story with the world.
I'd rather forget it ever happened.
Before she turned up on my doorstep, I thought I wanted her to leave.
Now I have to convince her to stay.
My past didn't kill me, but losing her will.
And in a town like Spring, Florida, there's always another man waiting to step in.
They can't have this one. She's mine.
My Favorite Genre & Why
My favorite genre is Romance, now that being said there are numerous subgenres within the romance category, at least in my opinion there are. I will read historical romance (Johanna Lindsay, Lynsay Sands, Tessa Dare, etc.), Dark Romance (think Mafia Romance, Bully Romance, etc.), Reverse Harem (like Den of Vipers, Diver's Heart, and many others), Plus Size FMC (usually anything by Nichole Rose, Amy Lea has a few, and I'm sure there are others I haven't found yet), Fantasy Romance, Supernatural Romance (like shifter romance, omegaverse romance, etc.). The reason that I love romance books so much is because I love happy endings. In Nichole Rose's books, I love seeing that the women never let the men run over them and they really hold their own. I've really been leaning toward the Plus-sized FMC books because I find it empowering to read a story about someone who actually shares the same characteristics as me (i.e. being plus-sized). Books are a way for me to escape reality (like they are for most readers), they let me immerse myself in a life that I don't know if I will ever experience.
