Are you tired of reading 2008 wrap-up lists yet?? Too bad! Read on, suckers gentle readers.

My top 10 books I read in 2008 (in no particular order): 

	Heart Fate (Celta’s HeartMates, Book 7) by Robin D. Owens Fantasy romance released by Berkley Trade Sep 2008 A series that just keeps getting better and better!
	Flat-out Sexy by Erin McCarthy Contemporary romance released by Berkley Sensation Nov 2008 Sweet, sexy, fun read! The internet buzz sucked me in and I’m glad. )
	Innocent In Death by J.D. Robb Futuristic romantic suspense released by Berkley Aug 2007I purposely keep myself behind in this series but I’m catching up – oh noes! I must pace myself better.
	Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1) by Larissa Ione Paranormal romance released by Forever Jun 2008 An excellent start to a new series! With a looonnngggg wait between books one and two. However, books two and three will be out back-to-back. Yay!
	Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair Sci-Fi romance released by Bantam Oct 2005  Sully! Does anything else need to be said? I didn’t think so.
	Grimspace by Ann Aguirre Sci-fi romance released by Ace Feb 2008
	A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley Historical romance released by Signet Apr 2008 I love the Mallorens and this was one secret I was glad to see revealed.
	At the Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker Historical romance released by Avon May 2008An excellent Avon debut! Ms. Parker’s website says she is working on the sequel.
	Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James Contemporary romance released by Berkley Oct 2008 More online buzz I couldn’t ignore and another excellent debut.
	With Every Breath by Lynn Kurland Fantasy time-travel romance released by Jove May 2008One of my very favorite authors! She doesn’t get the attention she deserves, says me.

A side note – I have got to change my rating system, dang it all. I suppose I’ll go back to numbers. I always have too many books with the same rating and then I can’t sort them properly.

Honorable Mention:

	Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English Mysteries – yup, I read them all in 08…I can haz moar, plzkthx?
	J.L. Langley’s Englor Series – just so fab!

Sandy M’s review of Heart Fate (Celta’s HeartMates, Book 7) by Robin D. Owens
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley Trade 2 Sep 08

Wow, after finishing this seventh book in the HeartMates series, I’m certainly sorry I haven’t read any of the others before it. This world Ms. Owens has created is simply wonderfully fascinating and beautifully written.

I fell in love with Tinne right away. He is tossed into hell when his wife wants a divorce. She no longer loves him and being with him causes too much pain when she remembers the loss of their child the year before. Tinne has also suffered due to that loss, but he’d had hopes they could put their lives back together.

Not only is he losing his wife, but the stain of scandal will follow him and his family for the rest of their lives. There hasn’t been a divorce in a FirstFamily for nearly a century. And even though during the rigorous testing Tinne must go through before his marriage is judged permanently broken he realizes his love for his wife died sometime ago, he still mourns this second loss. Once it’s over, however, he discovers his HeartMate, the one he lost years before to another man, is missing. He pulls from deep within himself that still-alive bond he shares with her and finds her nearly in his backyard. Not wanting to marry again, Tinne finds the friendship he shares with his HeartMate just what he needs. And just what she needs. He gives her that one thing to help her make sure she will never be at the mercy of a man’s brutality ever again.

Lahsin is one of those heroines you love reading about. She’s finally taking her life into her own hands after having been given, at age fourteen, to a man who has consistently beaten and raped her both physically and mentally during three years of marriage. Coming into her Second Passage at seventeen, she will become more powerful and also be considered an adult, which will allow her to repudiate her link to her beast of a husband. So she hightails it out his life and finds peace in a rundown but lovely garden where she can heal and start a new life. She’s an intelligent woman who can think on her feet, is sensitive to others even after all she’s endured. When she meets Tinne she knows he’s going through his own hurt and turmoil and a friendship between them is forged. She gains a new confidence when he teaches her to defend herself. All is right with her world when she is able to trust Tinne, even to the point of making love with him, something between men and women she never knew existed.

In between all of these happenings in this book, what I loved best is all those little paranormal extras we’re given. This is a society that, although descendants of Earth, has developed the power of the mind and can do things with the snap of a thought, communicate telepathically with each other, with animals, even their homes, can transport themselves from one place to another, and a host of other psychic delights.

The only thing I wanted more of was Tinne’s and Lahshin’s love to blossom sooner, but I understand why that didn’t happen. They both had so much to deal with and they had to learn how to trust again, albeit for different reasons. Usually when you read about heartmates it’s a love that is inherent, a love that can’t be denied and has to be acknowledged immediately. Both Tinne and Lahsin have been hurt too badly and love took longer to grow between them, despite the bond that links them together.

I thought that with seven books in the series I might be lost too much to really enjoy it, but that didn’t happen. There’s a couple of things that I didn’t totally understand, but that did nothing to take away from the story or the writing in this book.

Grade: A+

Summary:

With Lahsin D’Yew’s husband giving chase after she runs from an abusive marriage, she finds sanctuary in a secret garden, where she meets Tinne Holly. Though he is her HeartMate, he cannot tell her, and her troubled past prevents her from trusting any man. Pretending to find her by chance, Tinne helps her through her Second Passage. But when the truth is revealed, can she forgive his deception, and learn to trust in her destiny?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: