December 21, 2015

Since we know you're super busy hanging your tinsel, planning your NYE plans and collecting various Star Wars paraphernalia like you're a kid again (Yoda PEZ, Tatooine snow globes, Chewbacca jumpsuits, etc.), we won't take up too much of your time. Really, we just want to say: May your holidays be as pleasant, relaxing and stress-free as you always hope them to be.

In typical holiday fashion, we're looking back on our year with fond memories. It was nearly a year ago that Paula Hawkins mesmerized us all with THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, and now we're looking forward to the movie, slated for release in October 2016 and starring Emily Blunt and Justin Theroux. In early February, we gave you a roundup of all the ways to celebrate Valentine's Day on your own. We will forever tell you: Love thyself, the 11th commandment (wink wink). By mid-February, we couldn't get enough of the movie adaptation of FIFTY SHADES. Our love for Christian Grey may have died down slightly since then (no thanks to a lackluster performance from Jamie Dornan and an ill-advised Twitter fiasco #AskELJames), but we've stayed #loyal to Beyonce, Ellie Goulding, and all of the hits that came out of it.

The annual awards season kept us on our toes for the cold winter, and, like every other year, we couldn't wait for daylight savings time to show us the light. The spring trucked on with a few flings and some major movie letdowns, but mostly because we were saving up all of our excitement for Mad Max. We also participated in some spring cleaning hype (hi, Marie Kondo!), and got you on board with Matzoh Pinterest boards. We talked about 21st-century fairy tales (i.e. Nicholas Sparks) and patiently awaited the arrival of the royal baby girl. In May, we told you all the best "M" things happening that month and had a moment with celebrity biographies. BEA got our panties in a twist in June, and we also happened to kind of, sort of meet Julianne Moore, #NBD. We fell hard for Matt and Ben of the stage, no matter how far from Broadway we had to wander to find them. At the end of June, we celebrated our two-year co-writing anniversary (it's not too late to send gifts). In July, we learned how to tell when it's time to walk away --- from bad things and good.

We pretty much lost August to #BachelorInParadise mania.

In September we fished our wish with a hot fall TV lineup. The Emmys were a highlight, and a culmination of all our TV- and Samberg-love. As the temps cooled in October, we had our big Pumpkin Spice rebrand of 2015, and also reminisced about all the books that terrified us as kids. Halloween '15 came and went, and we slept like babies with some Greek food in our bellies. We woke up, though, to catch some movies in November, and also tell you a thing or two about what's good out there. We were thankful for lots of things on Thanksgiving, but mostly for Kanye's pre-presidential campaign. We can see clearly now that he's going to take it all the way in 2020. We wrapped things up with an on-point guide for giving books to all the people on your list.

Instead of our standard bi-weekly book recommendations, we wanted to share our top reads of the year:

Nikki: THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins
It may have taken her an oddly long time to finish it --- it kind of became a running office joke --- but she was busy (see above). In the end, though, it was worth it. Now she can't stop talking about the movie.

Emily: A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
Game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones game of thrones. Also Jon Snow.

Whether we follow the "new year, new you" motto, one thing is certain: You can't change a man.

Remember to buckle your seatbelt, and may the #force be with you during these holidays! Can't wait to see you in the new year. In the meantime, you can look at our faces in the photo above. Nikki is R2-D2 and Emily is C-3PO.

5 Things We’re Obsessed With at This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. Star Wars
2. Star Wars
3. Star Wars
4. Star Wars
5. Star Wars

Nicole Sherman (Nicole@bookreporter.com) + Emily Hoenig (Emily@bookreporter.com)

 

While the contest portion of the Holiday Bundle of Cheer feature is over, we strongly advise still checking out the books...because THEY'RE GREAT, and they make for excellent reads over the season! Click on the titles below to read more about each, and click here to see if you were one of five lucky winners!

• 50 WAYS TO LOSE YOUR GLASSES by Warby Parker
• AFTER THE CRASH by Michel Bussi
• RIDERS by Veronica Rossi
• SHOPAHOLIC TO THE RESCUE by Sophie Kinsella
• WHY NOT ME? by Mindy Kaling

Millionaire video-game creator Lincoln West has a dark and tragic past. The sought-after bachelor lives by a rigid schedule and a single rule --- one relationship per year, lasting no more than two months --- until a brash beauty dredges up long-buried emotions.

A reformed party girl, Jessie Kay Dillon is determined to walk the straight and narrow. But her love-hate sizzle with West is just too irresistible. They can't be near each other without tearing off their clothes, but the last thing she needs is to be his next two-month dump. Will she become the one exception? Because as any former girl-gone-wild knows: rules are made to be broken.

-Click here to see the New Release Spotlight feature.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt from the book.
-Click here to read more about the author.
-Click here for Gena Showalter's website.
-Click here for Gena Showalter's Facebook.
-Click here for Gena Showalter's Twitter.
-Click here for Gena Showalter's Instagram.

ASHLEY BELL by Dean Koontz (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by Suzy Jackson
Bibi Blair is a fierce, funny, dauntless young woman --- whose doctor says she has one year to live. Her sudden recovery astonishes medical science. An enigmatic woman convinces Bibi that she escaped death so that she can save someone else. Someone named Ashley Bell. But save her from what? And who is Ashley Bell? Where is she? Bibi’s obsession with finding Ashley sends her on the run from threats both mystical and worldly, including a rich and charismatic cult leader with terrifying ambitions. Reviewed by Roz Shea.

BRADY VS. MANNING: The Untold Story of the Rivalry That Transformed the NFL by Gary Myers (Sports)
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are perhaps the two greatest quarterbacks of all time. But what do they actually think of each other? What are they like behind closed doors and in the locker room, and how does that influence their careers? Veteran NFL correspondent Gary Myers tackles this subject from every angle and with unprecedented access and insight, drawing on a huge number of never-before-heard interviews with Brady and Manning, their coaches, their families, and those who have played with them and against them. Reviewed by Miriam Tuliao.

IT’S. NICE. OUTSIDE. by Jim Kokoris (Fiction)
John Nichols, his ex-wife Mary, and their three children are held together by love and humor, as well as the spiky parts of sisterly competition and a difficult baby brother. John and Mary have devoted themselves to caregiving, and John especially finds himself caught in the tension between being a parent and being true to himself. So when a new challenge comes their way in the wake of a road trip and wedding plans, the family bonds are stretched and tested. Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller.

THE LAST WITNESS: A Detective Daley Thriller by Denzil Meyrick (Thriller)
James Machie was a man with a genius for violence, his criminal empire spreading beyond Glasgow into the UK and mainland Europe. Fortunately, Machie is dead, assassinated in the back of a prison ambulance following his trial and conviction. But now, five years later, he is apparently back from the grave, set on avenging himself on those who brought him down. At the top of his list is his previous associate, Frank MacDougall, who, unbeknownst to D.C.I. Jim Daley, is living under protection on his lochside patch, the small Scottish town of Kinloch. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

PARADISE CITY by Elizabeth Day (Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Alison Reid
Howard Pink is a wildly successful businessman still struggling to cope 15 years after his 19-year-old daughter disappeared. Beatrice Kizza fled persecution from Uganda where homosexuality is illegal; she now works as a maid at a hotel Howard frequents. Esme Reade, an ambitious staff reporter for a Sunday tabloid, is desperate to get the Howard Pink interview for which all London reporters froth at the mouths. Carol Hetherington, a widow who keeps an eye on her neighbors' actions, makes an astonishing discovery. These four disparate characters find themselves linked together in PARADISE CITY. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

RED LINE: A Detective Matt Sinclair Mystery by Brian Thiem (Mystery)
Audiobook available, narrated by Johnny Heller
When a teenager from a wealthy suburb outside of Oakland, CA is dumped at an inner city bus stop, homicide detective Matt Sinclair catches the case. It’s his first since being bumped to desk duty for a bust that went south…fast. With few leads and plenty of attention, it’s the worst kind of case to help him get back up to speed. And it only gets worse as the bodies start to pile up --- first at the same bus bench, then around the city. Unable to link the victims to each other, the killer is just getting started. Time is running out on Sinclair’s career, not to mention the people closest to him. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE VERDICT by Nick Stone (Legal Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by David Thorpe
Terry Flynt is a struggling legal clerk, desperately trying to get promoted. And then he is given the biggest opportunity of his career: to help defend a millionaire accused of murdering a woman in his hotel suite. The only problem is that the accused man, Vernon James, turns out to be not only someone he knows, but someone he loathes. This case could potentially make Terry's career, but how can he defend a former friend who betrayed him so badly? Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.

WINTER: Book Four of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (Young Adult Fiction, Fairy Tale, Fantasy)
Winter despises her stepmother, Queen Levana, and knows that she won't approve of her feelings for her childhood friend, the handsome palace guard Jacin. But Winter isn't as weak as Queen Levana believes her to be and has been undermining her wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long. Reviewed by Isabel C., Teen Board member.