The Vagabonds Pick their Favourite Books of 2008

2008 was a fabulous year of books, some first books, some continuations in series, some new series, some re-releases of old favourites. We all found favourite books to add to our DIK piles and some of them may even have made it into our top 10 piles. Here around the Vagabond Camp, we sat around the campfire on Boxing Day and talked about our favourite books, new releases or old, from this year. Today we’re sharing with you our favourite books we read in the year 2008.

Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

He’s the ultimate bad boy. Hardy Cates. He seemed the ultimate unredeemable anti-hero after his stunt in Sugar Daddy, but that Mayne-esque bad boyness still brought hope to my heart after rooting for him in Sugar Daddy. I was absolutely thrilled when I learned that LK was writing his story in Blue-Eyed Devil.

She’s the emotionally-damaged, fearful heroine. I often get a bit piqued with the over-tragic heroine–even when said heroine may have been the one to put herself in the damaging situation–and Haven Travis definitely has the potential to be that. She rebels against her father’s constraints and marries the wrong man. Naturally, she comes to regret this decision and after a rather messy divorce finds herself back in the family circle.

Although so much tragedy in one character and how that tragedy continually affects her relationships with both her family and her own hero (Hardy) might make her into a rather aggravating, constantly miserable character unable to move beyond her own bitterness to find happiness and fulfillment, what Lisa Kleypas manages to accomplish in the construction of Haven and Hardy’s story is a beautiful melding of damaged people finding repair in each other. Not in money, not in sexual fulfillment, and maybe not in the assumption that the other person will fix your life, but in the hope that love will fill the holes and mend the heart.

*sigh*

Blue-Eyed Devil, hands down, is the best book I read in 2008. I read it cover to cover in two sittings (and it took 2 days because I knew I had to sleep at some point ) and then read it again. This will be a book that I will read a thousand times over for the amazing story of love in it. Lisa Kleypas simultaneously constructs a heartwarming and heartwrenching story of a hero who learns humility and a heroine who learns to be strong in her darkest moments, and shows us the trust in love and the other person at the very core of finding an HEA.

And through it all, she reminds us that love conquers all!

Élodie

Last Dance at Jitterbug Lounge by Pamela Morsi

I confess that I’m cheating a bit with my selection. This book is not, strictly speaking, a romance. Even the tag “women’s fiction” doesn’t work because the double focus of the novel is the life of Jack “Bud” Dempsey Crabtree, a World War II veteran and his wife Geri, and the troubled marriage of his grandson and namesake. But the book has strong romantic elements and I shelved it with my other Morsi keepers, some of the best American historicals ever written.

From the gorgeous cover to the final word, I loved this book. How many books are both historical and contemporary? The first time I read it, I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up til the wee hours to finish it. It made me smile, it made me cry, and it made me think. The second time I read it, I read more slowly, taking time to savor the rich layers of Morsi’s characterization and to marvel at the extraordinary ordinary stories she creates and weaves together. I read it a third time because the characters were haunting me. The only thing I don’t like about this book is that it failed to receive the attention it deserves. Maybe some astute producer will see the potential for a movie, and the book will be given a second life.

Janga

The Perils of Pleasure by Julie Anne Long

I’ve got to admit that when I heard Julie Anne Long was moving to Avon I was a little nervous. Sometimes a move from one publisher to another changes writers. Doesn’t matter how good the new editor is, or how fabulous the deal was, sometimes changing publishers can mean the difference between an auto-buy and a library book. I should have known better. Julie Anne Long is too good for a mere change in publishers to dim her writing light.

From it’s jaw-dropping opening, to it’s satisfying-sigh inducing last line, The Perils of Pleasure is one of the most perfect road romances ever. I can’t tell too much of the how or why Colin and Maddy are on the run without giving away too much plot, but what I can tell is that these two are made for each other. And as they move inexorably toward their much-deserved HEA, it is utterly delightful to watch these two grow and change for the better as a result of their love for one another.

Funny, sexy, beautifully-written, character-driven romance at it’s best, POP has stayed with me all year. And I’ve read a LOT of books since this one.

And still brings a goofy grin to my face every time I think about it.

Isn’t that was a great romance is all about?

Manda

 The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne

 I don’t like historicals that feature spies. I’m pretty open minded as a romance readers – I can deal with secret babies, virgin widows, and even amnesia in the right mood – but books about historical spies leave me cold. So even though everyone I know was raving about Joanna Bourne’s debut, a small secret part of me was sure I wasn’t going to like it. I might appreciate it on an objective level, but there was no chance of it winning my heart. 

And yet it did. The reason I’ve never enjoyed historical spy stories is because I’d never read one like this. Espionage isn’t its high concept or a subplot to amplify the external conflict. The characters are spies in every thought, word, and action. The Napoleonic wars aren’t just an exciting and convenient backdrop – the story is tightly woven into that particular moment in history. And there are stakes – huge, changing-the course-of-history, life-or-death stakes. Not to mention twists, turns, and surprises that kept me turning page after page.

And the romance? An exquisite blend of internal and external conflict that’s upped with ever simmering scene of sexual tension. Such that the only thing I wanted more than to see them save the day was to see them find their HEA. 

Lindsey

What was your favorite read of 2008?