Monday, December 1, 2014

My Top Picks for the Best Books of 2014

Since we are all going to be shopping for ourselves or other book lovers on our Christmas list, I thought I'd tell you what my top picks were for the books that I read this year.

**Disclaimer** There are so many great books out there, I couldn't possibly have read them all.  This list reflects the books that I personally read this year and loved and would definitely recommend to any book lover!

My Top Historical Fiction Picks


Glimmer of Hope by Sarah Eden (see my review here)

Hope Springs by Sarah Eden (see my review here)

Safe Passage by Carla Kelly (see my review here)

As You Are by Sarah Eden (see my review here)

Saving Grace by Michele Paige Holmes (see my review here)

Becoming Lady Lockwood by Jennifer Moore (see my review here You have to scroll all the way down!)

Miss Armistead Makes Her Choice by Heidi Ashworth (see my review here)

Old West Collection (Timeless Romance Anthology) by various authors (see my review here)

Loving Lucianna by Joyce DiPastena (see my review here)


My Top Mystery/Suspense Picks


Tomorrow We Spy by Jordan McCollum (Will review it this month. So good!)

Relative Evil by Debra Erfert (see my review here) (Currently on sale for 99 cents!)

Trouble at Red Pueblo by Liz Adair (see my review here)

Fortune Cookie by Josi Kilpack (see my review here)

Heart and Soul by Lee Strauss (see my review here)


My Top Non-Fiction Picks


Focused by Noelle Pikus-Pace (see my review here)

Bad Guys of the Bible by Dennis Gaunt (will be reviewed next week. So good!)

A Christ-Centered Christmas by Emily Freeman (see my review here)

How Do I Know if I Know? by John Bytheway (see my review here)


My Top Children/Middle Grade Picks


Fairy Tale Christmas by Michael and Scott McLean (see my review here)

The Janitors series by Tyler Whitesides (see one of my reviews here)


My Top Contemporary Picks


Thirty Going On Spinster by Becky Monson (see my review here)

Fortune Cafe by Julie Wright, Heather Moore, and Melanie Jacobson (see my review here)

Summer in New York (Timeless Romance Anthology) by various authors (see my review here)

The Change by Teyla Branton (This one is romantic urban fantasy so it really should be in its own category, but I put it in Contemporary. Bear with me.)  (see my review here)


So there you have it. Would you add any books to this list? What were your favorites this year?

7 comments:

Jordan McCollum said...

Thanks, Julie!! :D

Are these all new books this year? Aside from yours, I don't know if I've read any books that actually came out this year... A lot from last year (Whitney reading) that were really good though!

Oh, I guess Dangerous by Shannon Hale (YA sci-fi) came out this year, too. I enjoyed that one. I was just thinking about it the other day.

Julie Coulter Bellon said...

I'm pretty sure almost all of them came out this year. The Change and the Janitors series started a couple of years ago, but had new books in the series come out this year. Like your I, Spy series. (Which was awesome!)

I haven't read much YA this year. Thanks for the recommendation! :)

Debra Erfert said...

Yay!!! My book made your cut!!! I'm honored, Julie.

Marsha Ward said...

Thanks for including the Old West Collection, and for your stunningly awesome review of it!

jtman9200 said...

It's strange to see that the "year's best" lists are already on their way. Another year of books have come and gone. It looks like 2014 didn't disappoint. It's interesting to see your favorite non-fiction books were almost all written by LDS Authors. http://www.pioneerbook.com

Julie Coulter Bellon said...

It does seem so crazy that 2014 is almost over! This year flew by. And like I said, this list is just from what I read this year and would personally recommend. There are a lot of great books out there, for sure! :)

Rachel Ann Nunes said...

Thanks, Julie. I'll be sure to catch some of those I haven't yet read!