Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best of 2015

From Books, Audiobooks to Book Covers

Its

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best of 2015

Happy New Year! Looking back over 2015 I’m amazed at all the changes here and marvelous tales that came to our door. I’m thinking about the new reviewers we’ve added, all the wonderful books we’ve read, new authors we’ve discovered, and the way Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words has grown in this past year. Along with new reviewers, came new columns like Paul’s Paranormal Portfolio (his New Year’s edition is posted today), our Author Discovery along with all our author interviews and guest posts.

As the market for audiobooks has increased so has our reviews. Even a audiobook virgin like myself jumped into the format and found that I enjoyed it immensely. What a surprise…for me!

I hope 2016 brings a new look to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words, a few new reviewers to help us read more, listen to, review more about the thing we love…books! I hope we find more new authors to discover, and more ways in which to write about them and the writing process.

But before we move forward, we’re going to look back at the books and covers we loved best. So here are some of our favorites. Free Dreamer is traveling, and Paul was working on his Paranormal Portfolio but some of the rest of us had our lists ready. Are some of yours among them? Which ones do you think we left out? And are there new discoveries among those we love so much? Check out our Best Books and Covers of 2015 below…

From BJ:

✪Favorite Books Read in 2015:

Song of the Navigator by Astrid Amara

Captive Prince One and Two by C.S. Pascat

Burn the Sky by Jaye McKenna

Fidelity by Lia Black

Turbulence by Lyn Gala

The entire Straight Boys series by Alessandra Hazard

The entire Guardians of the Pattern series by Jaye McKenna

For Real by Alexis Hall

Control by Cordelia Kingsbridge

Winter Kill by Josh Lanyon

Give an Inch by K.D. Sarge (because it was so cute AND it was written from my prompt)

✪ Best Audiobook of 2015:

Into Deep Waters by Kaje Harper, Narrated by Kaleo Griffith

✪Favorite Covers of 2015

Ghost in the Mythe by Jaye McKenna, artist Chinchbug

For Real by Alexis Hall

Song of the Navigator by Astrid Amara

Burn the Sky by Jaye McKenna, artist Chinchbug

Leythe Blade by Jaye McKenna, artist Chinchbug
Something Like A Love Song by Becca Burton
In Discretion (Ylendrian Empire, #3) by Reesa Herberth
Neskaya (Bittersweet Dreams) by Augusta Li

I really admire original covers that are drawn or created specifically to represent that book so much more than those that just use stock photography…so here are some I love.

From Stella:

✪BEST BOOKS

Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane

The Lightning Struck heart by TJ Klune

Crossing Borders by ZA Maxfield

Get Your Shine On by Nick Wilgus

Silver Scars by Posy Roberts

Sacrati by Kate Sherwood

For Real by Alexis Hall
Played! by JL Merrow

✪BEST COVERS

Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis Hall

The Fifth Son by Blaine D Arden

Cabin Nights by Ashley John

ACID by Wulf Francu Godgluck and S. van Rooyen

The Storm before the Calm by Cate Ashwood

✪BEST AUTHOR DISCOVERIES
Family of Lies Sebastian by Sam Argent

Go On Your Own Way by Zane Riley

The Rules of Ever After by Killian B Brewer

The Union of Sun and Moon by Gus Li

The Last Yeti by Tully Vincent

In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish

From Ali

✪ Best books: These are my top 5 plus

The Subs Club by JA Rock

Darker Space by Lisa Henry

Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson

Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews

Sutphin Boulevard by Santino Hassell

Lonely Hearts by Heidi Cullinan

Crash & Burn by Abigail Roux

A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles

✪Best Short Stories:

Fawn by Nash Summers **this was probably my favorite thing I read this year in this genre

One Perfect Night by Lisa Henry

Lima Oscar Victor Echo & the Truth About Everything by Suki Fleet

Ten Simple Steps for Surviving the Apocalypse by Cari Z

Waiting for Clark by Annabeth Albert

✪ Best Covers:

Stygian by Santino Hassell

Fawn by Nash Summers

Sutphin Boulevard by Santino Hassell

Level Hands by Amy Jo Cousins

In the Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish

From Mika

✪My Favorite Books of 2015

. Sunset Park by Santino Hassell & How To Be A Normal Person by T.J. Klune. They are tied for me. I loved these books. (

Rest in any order
Conscious Decisions of the Heart by John Wiltshire
Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan
Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson
Breakaway by Avon Gale
Fish Stick Fridays by Rhys Ford
Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews
Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
Definitely Maybe, Yours by Lissa Reed
The Subs Club by J.A. Rock
Restless Spirits by Jordan L. Hawk
Down & Dirty by Rhys Ford

✪Best Covers:

Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan
Conscious Decisions of the Heart by John Wiltshire
Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson

From Sammy:

✪Best Books of 2015:

– Unwrapping Hank by Eli Easton

– Dirty Dining by E.M. Lynley

– The Wrong Man & The Right Time by Lane Hayes

– The Shearing Gun by Renae Kaye

– Slasherazzi by Daniel A. Kaine

– Where There’s Smoke & Where There’s Fire by Cari Z

– The World in His Eyes by A.J. Thomas

– The Ultimate Team by Tricia Owens

– The Biggest Scoop by Gillian St. Kevern (A YA pick!)

And an upcoming release in 2016 that I had the pleasure of beta reading:

– Thorns & Fangs by Gillian St. Kevern

From Melanie

For me there were so many. You really had to look no further than our best book of the month to see that. Its especially hard in a year where favorite series came to a finish. Those were so tough on the heart. But so were so many others. I laughed with these characters and boy, did I cry. Sometimes, I did both at the same time. Looking at you Renae Kaye and John Inman!

Alex Beecroft and Alexis Hall almost deserve their own section. Beecroft’s Trowchester Blues was a trilogy so marvelous it was illuminating. And Alexis Hall? His words flow with a lyricism and magic that make reading his stories a privilege.

John Wiltshire’s excellent series More Heat Than The Sun starts off with one of my favorite books of 2015, Conscious Decisions of the Heart (also Best Cover). Heidi Cullinan’s Minnesota Christmas trilogy which ends with my favorite story of them all, Eden Winter’s Diversion series (be still my heart) got a new installment that I’ve read several times, see? I can go on and on. And I haven’t even talked about Astrid Amara who is on several of the other reviewers lists!

✪Best Books

The Shearing Gun by Renae Kaye
Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall

Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis Hall
Conscious Decisions of the Heart by John Wiltshire
Holding Out for a Fairy Tale (Least Likely Partnership #2) by A.J. Thomas
My Magical Palace by Kunal Mukherjee
Blue Eyed Stranger (Trowchester Blues #2) by Alex Beecroft
Trowchester Blues (Trowchester Blues, #1) by Alex Beecroft
Blue Steel Chain (Trowchester Blues, #3) by Alex Beecroft

Blowing Off Steam by Joy Lynn Fielding
Redemption (Diversion #5) by Eden Winters
Tigers on the Run (Tigers and Devils #3) by Sean Kennedy
A Solitary Man by Shira Anthony and Aisling Mancy
Where the Grass is Greener (Seeds of Tyrone #2) by Debbie McGowan and Raine O’Tierney
Winter Wonderland (Minnesota Christmas #3) by Heidi Cullinan *loved them all

******************************

(Humor & Pathos Division)

Shawn’s Law by Renae Kaye
Coming Back by John Inman
You Are The Reason by Renae Kaye

***********************

Four of Club series by Parker Williams (Pulp Friction 2015)
Jack of Spades series by Lee Brazil
King of Hearts series by Havan Fellows

******************************

Series Ending:

Truth & Tenderness (Faith, Love, & Devotion, #6) by Tere Michaels

Forging the Future (Change of Heart, #5) by Mary Calmes
Cherish the Land (Lang Downs #5) by Ariel Tachna

Running with the Wind by Shira Anthony (trilogy)

Red Dirt Heart 4 by N.R. Walker (yes, I know there was a Christmas story this year but this really finished the series)

Best Audiobook

Hell For The Company (Brimstone #1) by Angel Martinez, Narrator Vance Bastian

Best Covers:

Theory Unproven by Lillian Francis, artist Meredith Russell
Conscious Decisions of the Heart by John Wiltshire
Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall, artist Simone
Blowing Off Steam by Joy Lynn Fielding

Sand and Ruin and Gold by Alexis Hall, artist Simone
Forging the Future (Change of Heart #5) by Mary Calmes, cover art by Anne Cain
Running with the Wind by Shira Anthony, cover by Anne Cain, All the Covers of the Mermen of Ea series, artist Anne Cain
Snowman by Isabelle Rowan, artist Garrett Leigh

Shawn’s Law by Renae Kay, Paul Richmond artist
Something Like A Love Song by Becca Burton, unknown artist
Chasing the Swallows by John Inman, artist Maria Fanning
First Comes Marriage by Shira Anthony, artist Paul Richmond

The Sub Club by J.A. Rock, artist Kanaxa
My Magical Palace by Kunal Mukherjee, artist unknown
Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton, artist L.C. Chase
Trowchester Blues trilogy by Alex Beecroft, artist Lou Harper

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best of 2015

From Books, Audiobooks to Book Covers

Its

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Best of 2015