Jaci Burton, a favorite author and blogger around here, shares 12 highlights from 2007…
Don’t forget to catch Jaci’s new release:
Riding Wild, coming 5 Feb 2008
I was actually excited to be able to DO some reading this year, something I normally haven’t made much time for with my heinous writing schedule. But this year I vowed to read and read a lot more than I had been doing in prior years. And I was really successful at it.
Here are what I consider the highlights of some authors that, if you haven’t looked at, you really should.
Jaci’s 12 Author Highlights from 2007
1. Jackie Kessler. Wicked naughty and fun urban fantasy. Start with Hells Belles (Hell on Earth, Book 1). Jezebel is the funniest succubus I’ve encountered in years. Love her. I want to go shopping with Jezebel.
2. Richelle Mead. Succubus Blues (The Georgina Kincaid Series, Book 1) – another very funny, engaging urban fantasy about a succubus. Very different kind of story from Kessler’s Hells Belles, though. Try them both!
3. Meljean Brook. If you haven’t read her Guardians series yet, you’ve missed out on some of the best paranormal writing in years. Rich, lush, sink into a chair and get lost for hours, days, weeks. I want to be Meljean when I grow up.
4. Nalini Singh. Her Psy-Changeling series is wonderful. Wickedly smart, sensuous, with characters you fall in love with. I eagerly anticipate each installment of the series.
5. Colleen Gleason. The Gardella Vampire Chronicles – Historical and vampires. Buffy in the Regency period. Beautifully written, compelling storyline, and a heroine you come to love and she grows and changes from book to book. I love this series because it’s so unique.
6. Lara Adrian. Her Midnight Breed series is rich with romance and some of the sexiest men I’ve ever read. And her heroines equal the heroes in internal strength. Ignore the comparisons to J.R. Ward. Lara’s series is unique. I lose myself in each story and can’t put them down.
7. Sydney Croft. The writing duo of Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler have created a hot, sexy and compelling paranormal erotic romance series with a distinctive world and some of the most erotic love scenes I’ve ever read. Start with Riding The Storm (ACRO Series, Book 1). The second book in the series, Unleashing the Storm, releases Feb 26, 2008. You don’t want to miss this.
8. Kristan Higgins. Some of the best romantic comedy I’ve read in years! She has two books out, neither are connected stories. Titles are Fools Rush In and Catch of the Day. Funny, warmhearted and really feel good reads. You think contemporary romance is dead? It’s not. It’s alive and breathing and in these books.
9. J. D. Robb. Yeah. I’m only one of the last people on the planet to get started on her In Death series. (Okay, I think Sybil is too.). And it’s totally Angie’s fault that I started, since she’s been badgering me for two years to read this series. I finally caved because I hate being left out of anything. So far, three done, 900 to go. Slow down, Nora. I’m working at catching up! (These books freaking rock! But they’re killing my deadlines.)
10. Lora Leigh. Her Bound Hearts ménage series is my absolute favorite and I celebrated the return of it this year with Forbidden Pleasure (Bound Hearts, Book 8 ). Hot, sexy alpha men and the women who adore them. It’s like crack and I’m helpless to resist. Love love love this series and Lora is a master at writing erotic romance.
11. Harlequin/Silhouette Category books. Okay, so I’m generalizing. But Blaze, Presents, Desires, you name it. My deadlines are hell sometimes, and that means I need quick, short reads. Category rocks my world for this. I can sit down and read a book in a day or two. Love it! Love Harlequin for giving me this.
12. Julie Kenner. I’m cheating. I read her demon hunting soccer mom before this year, but I still love the series. Demons Are Forever: Confessions of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom (Book 3) released in 2007. Carpe Demon (Book 1) and California Demon (Book 2) came before it. Very funny Buffy-grows-up-gets-married-and-has-kids kind of storyline. One of my favorites and I drool for the next installment. 
So readers, who tripped your trigger this year?
