Before we get to my Top 5, a note:
As with any "Best Of" list, this is a highly subjective selection, limited by my own tastes and time. I read over 245 books this year, but not all of them came out in 2018, which limits the group further. Nevertheless, this was a hard list to compile!

With that said, here are five books that had significant meaning or impact for me this year. I've also tossed in a few runners up and non-romance picks at the end, because I read a lot of good stuff this year. A lot.

Elizabeth Hoyt's latest historical romance is reminiscent of the best of her Maiden Lane series, but with a feminist bent. Hoyt's heroines have always been the intellectual equal of her heroes, but in this, the hero takes a backseat as the Freya works to solve a mystery and save women on both an individual basis and on a political basis.

Is there a better time of year for novellas and short stories? This round of mini-reviews is a exercise in clear-the-TBR, with a forced proximity (snowed-in!) collection, a dirty m/m novelette, a m/f Little Mermaid retelling and a sweet f/f mermaid story.

Since most of the Christmas romance I read is on the "fluffy" side, I decided to ramp up the angst and try out one of Harlequin's DARE line. While it wasn't overtly Christmassy, it does start shortly before Christmas one year and extend through the next Christmas. Christmas is sort of in the background, which is totally fine, but if that's not what you're looking for, perhaps not the choice for you.

So, what is the book about, if not Christmas? Well, it's about a sexy rich man who can't sleep, and the therapist who's supposed to fix him. Now, before you get squicked out, it's important to note that she never actually becomes his therapist. That's a professional line they both realize won't work once their physical attraction takes hold. So after two unofficial meetings, they start sleeping together and the idea of a therapist-patient relationship is never actualized. This would have been a dealbreaker for me, and I'm SO GLAD it was handled well.

I'm going to pause here for a content warning:
Domestic violence is discussed in this book as it's an integral part of the heroine's backstory. I mention it the review that follows.

The story is set in London, but the hero, Noah, is Australian. He grew up in the foster system, but abuse isn't part of his backstory, just a lack of unconditional love. Holly is a single mom who left a long-term abusive relationship after her ex tried to kill her while she was pregnant. He's in prison for a very long time now, so that's not an issue in this story. The ex's mother has a very good relationship with Holly's daughter, and watches her overnight on weekends.

As the story unfolds, Holly and Noah's physical relationship, which is full of enthusiastic and repeated consent, turns into something emotional. Holly eventually realizes that she can't go any further with Noah unless he addresses the issues he's trying to ignore. She asks him to see a therapist she recommends, and they agree to an unofficial "therapy" session in which she'll try to get him to realize what's really bothering him. This leads to the Big Bad Moment, as you might expect.

What comes next, however, is what saved the book for me. Noah doesn't just "grovel." Holly doesn't magically fix him. Noah puts in the work for nearly a year and they slowly reconnect, without the sex they were using as a distraction. It's quite lovely, honestly. I really appreciated that Connelly took that sort of care with mental health in this book.

All in all, it's a steamy story that doesn't fall for the traps that a lot of "edgy" romances dealing with abuse and mental health do. I'll definitely be reading more from Connelly in the future.

The post title pretty much says it all, but yeah! We're on Patreon!

This book was recommended to me by one of Harlequin's publicists when I inquired about another title, so I was skeptical. It's the third in a series about Dallas Billionaires and by an author I'd never tried, so I wasn't sure how jumping into the series with this book would go.

It's been a little over a year since I converted Love in Panels from a comics-only site to an all-things-romance site. It's been a tumultuous year in the world of romance publishing, with publishers and major blogs closing, trademark battles, and the ever-present issues of marginalization and cruddy rep. It's also been a year full of amazing books, new friendships, and a community that gives me hope and laughs when it feels like my country is burning down around me.

You may have noticed that we've become rather fond of Jae's books here at Love in Panels. Margrethe reviewed Perfect Rhythm, and I've covered Just for Show and her latest, Paper Love. Naturally, I had some questions! Jae was gracious enough to answer them for us.

The latest volume of Cleis's Best Women's Erotica of the Year series is big and bold and immensely satisfying. This collection is as diverse as it is exciting - familiar and new, kinky and sweet, fierce and tender - and filled with women from across the spectrum of life's experiences. It's a good thing the book is long, because each story leaves you hungry for more. 

Harlequin is having a big sale on a ton of their ebooks today! $1.99 each on Kindle and there are a ton to choose from.