Fifty Shades Darker (E. L. James)

★★★

"There's joy in my helplessness, joy in the surrender to him, and to know that he can lose himself in me the way he wants to.  I can do this.  He takes me to those dark places, places I didn't know existed, and together we fill them with blinding light."

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

★★★

"Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me.  Perhaps I've spent too long in the company of my literary romantic heroes, and consequently my ideals and expectations are far too high."

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

★★★★

"Before Mamah came over to Germany, Mattie had said to her, 'What will you do if Frank returns to his wife?  You'll have nothing.'  But Mamah felt now that if that came to be, she had more than nothing.  She had whatever it was inside herself that made her survive.  The past few months had boiled her down to her very essence.  All the rest, it seemed, had just floated away.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

★★★★

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not.  Make it your strength.  Then it can never be your weakness.  Armour yourself in it and it will never be used to hurt you."

This epic fantasy novel is the first book in the A Song of Fire and Ice serious.  Set in a world where anything can happen, winter is coming and everything the characters know and love is about to change.  When the king dies unexpectedly, a battle for the iron throne begins.

I have always really enjoyed fantasy books (especially in my pre-teenage years), but I haven't started a fantasy serious for a long time.  Maybe because I have so many other books to read and multi-volume sets take so much time!  I wanted to read it before I watched the serious on HBO, so I figured I would give it a try.  Anyways, I really enjoyed this book!  I loved all of the complex characters and seeing their lives intertwine throughout the story.  This is the only volume of the series that I have read so far, but I'm almost done with the third season of the HBO show and it's amazing...I can't wait catch up on the show and read the rest of the books!

Checkout the amazing HBO series here.

This book was #5 on my top ten list of 2012.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

★★★★

"She says there are stories everywhere and that people who wait for the right one to come along before setting pen to paper end up with very empty pages."

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

★★★★★

"The wheel of fortune tells us that we all only want victory.  We all want to triumph.  But we all have to learn to endure what comes.  We have to learn to treat misfortune and great fortune with indifference.  That is wisdom."

This is Philippa Gregory's third novel in the Cousins' War books.  The serious centers around women in the England's War of the Roses and this book tells the story of Jacquette, Duchess of Luxembourg.

Philippa Gregory is one of my favorite historical fiction authors.  I first fell in love with her wonderful story telling of the Tudor court when I read "The Other Boleyn Girl" and have been reading her looks religiously ever since.  I love her ability to bring history to life and center on many of history's lesser known female characters.  The Cousins' War series tells of a not as popular, but still just as exciting and scandalous time in England's royal history.

This book was #6 on my top ten list of 2012.

A Secret Kept by Tatiana Rosnay

★★★

"Knowing would never bring my father back.  Knowing would never make the grieving any easier.  Knowing would never make death easier."