Imperfect Women would love to welcome Jen to our team. She is an avid reader and clearly is passionate about her hobby. We look forward to hearing more from her in the future.
By Jen
I have always enjoyed reading. After having kids I sort of fell off the reading wagon. My sister forced me to read the Twilight series and I loved it but still didn’t really get back into it again until she gave me the 50 Shades of Grey books. I had never read books like that before. They were amazing and I read them each twice. I found myself searching out other books in that genre which led me to find a world of indie self-published authors who are writing amazing books! I’ve become a book addict. The fact that I can buy a book with one click on Amazon has only encouraged my addiction. You don’t have to have an actual Kindle to read these. Most cell phones have free kindle apps that you can download and read from – that’s what I do.
I’ve come to realize that I am not alone in my one-click-addiction. There are Facebook pages, blogs and websites dedicated to promoting hot, cheap and sometimes free books. Here are a few of my favorites that I check daily:
What to read after Fifty (50) Shades of Grey
I’ve compiled a list of some novels that I’ve read over the last few months that really stood out to me. I hope you enjoy them just as much as I did!!
~Mo
The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski
This was one of the best books I’ve read. It made me laugh. It was a little steamy (nothing too graphic). It made me bawl my freaking face off. And it made me happy. This book would make an excellent movie! This is a must read!
Jessica recently announced that there will be a sequel to this called The Edge of Always. I am so freaking excited!
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
If you’ve read any of Colleen Hoovers other books then you know she’s an excellent writer. Hopeless just further proves that this lady has talent! I was hooked on Hopeless from the first paragraph. I thought I had the story figured out about half way through. Boy was I wrong. Instead I got smacked upside the head with a twist I didn’t see coming. It made my brain freeze, my heart skip a beat and gave me goose bumps. I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know how it ended. And the hits still kept coming. But the whole time, the characters felt real. The story didn’t seem fake or contrived. It all felt like it fit together and was something that could have happened in real life. And the ending was perfectly imperfect… just like real life.
Colleen also has two other books that are fantastic called Slammed and Point of Retreat. I highly recommend these as well!
The Opportunist (Love me with Lies #1) by Tarryn Fisher
Originally, I wasn’t going to read this book. Something about the cover and the description just didn’t entice me. But the other reviews had me intrigued so after a few times of seeing this book being promoted on Facebook I decided to get it. I’m so glad that I did. I love that Tarryn can make you feel like you’re inside the mind of the character. Olivia is a messed up chick but Caleb… well, I can’t spoil it. You’ll have to read it.
Dirty Red (Love me with Lies #2) by Tarryn Fisher
Dirty Red is the sequel to The Opportunist. The main character’s name is Leah. I’ve never hated a book character more than I hate Leah. I want to do her harm because she’s such a despicable human being. After having said that, I LOVED this book. Tarryn really has a way of writing characters that crawl into your soul. She’s writing a 3rd book in this series and I can’t wait!
Taking Chances by Molly McAdams
Such a heartbreaking story but so well written. This book made me bawl like a baby for a good hour. I’m an emotional person and I allow myself to get sucked in to a story and this definitely sucked me and tugged at my heart strings. I’m a huge Molly McAdams fan after this book!
Wallbanger by Alice Clayton
First of all… the title of this book cracks me up but it’s so fitting to the story. Once you read it, you’ll understand. Alice Clayton has a wicked sense of humor! I loved both of the lead characters. They felt real to me. I love when I read a book and I can imagine that the story could really happen. This is one of those stories. This book was funny. Not just ha-ha funny but bust-a-gut funny. It was also a bit steamy and even those parts were funny sometimes. It’s on my list to read again.
Take This Regret by A.L. Jackson
I literally bawled my way through this book from the very beginning. I could feel the torment that Christian felt. He was haunted by his choices and the author made sure you could feel it in your bones. Elizabeth’s hurt and broken self esteem jumped off the page. You could just feel how screwed up she was and it broke my heart. Be prepared with a box of tissues and a chunk of time when you read this because you won’t be able to put it down.
Pulled by A.L. Jackson
Prepare to be gutted. I’ve never read a book before where two characters are so tormented and destined to be together and have to go through so much tragedy just to try to be together. I don’t want to give it away but you won’t regret taking the time to read this book. It’s amazing.
You can purchase all of the above books on Amazon.
About the Author:
Jen loves to read. She can’t stop herself. It’s become an obsession. She is in love with her husband, kids, iced coffee and books. Jen lives in beautiful Colorado but is originally from the West Coast.
jen@imperfectwomen.com
Hey Mo, thanks for the ideas.
I love to read but I always feel out of the loop as to what to choose.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Thanks for the great article. I too love to read so always looking for good reviews. I’ve wrote all your selections down, will have to give them a try.
I just got done reading a series of books from Bella Andre (The Sullivian Family)
Love stories about a Family of eight Children.
I also read the Twilight series, 50 Shades of Grey, The Hunger Games and my favorite, Harry Potter!!! I will read anything I get my hands on. I go to alot of garage sales and pick up paperbacks cheap but I really love my Kindle Fire, so easy to download a book in a second..
Great post Mo 🙂
Love all the suggestions!
BTW – Welcome to the dark side 😉 We have chocolate!
Mo, so thrilled that you shared your reviews with us. I am going to have to make some time to get started on you list. Thanks My Friend 🙂
I have to agree with you Mo about the one-click buys. I am also a reader, and I got away from it when I got busy with raising a family. I would go through periods of reading, but I am the type that can’t put a book down when I read. What I love about the e-readers is that you can take the “book” anywhere and it is so small and convenient to have.
I went through a pile of titles on Scientology, Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Book Store, freebies by Willa Cather, The Rosary, and The Bookseller.
I downloaded a few of the free books by indie writers when I got my first Kindle. I had bad luck. I found myself editing the books and it got annoying. There is a reason people pay editors and I didn’t want to be doing it for writers who were churning out a crapfest of lousy books and novellas just for the $1.00/download they were getting. I gave up.
LOL PP!!
Awesome post! Hope this becomes a regular feature on IW. I really need to start reading again!
Pam, I hope you enjoy the reads. Let me know what you think of them when you’re done!
Pie, you know I heart chocolate!
Ann, I have run across some books that weren’t edited and it did take away from the story. Rule by Jay Crownover comes to mind. Excellent story but wasn’t edited – at all! She didn’t think anyone was going to read her book so she didn’t bother. Well, turned out her book was a hit and people loved it but the editing is what everyone complained about. She ended up having it edited and re-released the book. She just a lady in Denver who loves to tell a story.
The book is cheap, $1.99. If you’re an amazon prime member you can read it for free.
http://www.amazon.com/Rule-ebook/dp/B00AV8725C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361248317&sr=8-1&keywords=rule+jay+crownover
Thanks Jodie. 🙂
Great to “meet” a fellow reader! I wish I had a Kindle Fire so I could download all those awesome free books on Amazon.
WOw! Thanks for all the great places to look for new books!
Shelly, this is the great thing about amazon – you don’t need an actual Kindle! If you have a smart phone you can download the kindle ap for free and read your books from your phone. If that won’t work for you, Amazon also has a “cloud reader” so you could read your books on your PC/laptop.
Susan,
You’re welcome… I hope you find some great things to read!
interesting, i miss reading a good book. I guess i have been hooked up with the blog and facebook.
I am a reading addict too! I keep hearing about the Shades of Gray books, and cannot wait to read them! Thanks for the list of those other books as well! A lot to look forward to reading!
I have been a bookworm ever since I came in second place in a reading contest in first grade. lol. My mom knew the worst punishment she could inflict on me as a kid was to take my books!
I love to read so much, and have been very attached to my Kindle Fire since I got it for Christmas. I love being able to have an entire library on there at once.
I’m reading War and Peace now. It’s definitely challenging but it’s interesting as well.
Mo,
Thanks for the suggestions, too many free reads to choose from, as my kindle is always full. Will have to check out your finds.
these look like good reads! thanks for sharing the list.
If anyone has read anything they loved, feel free to share!
Mo- this is great!!! Another avenue for me to (hassle) ask you for my next book to read!!! Haha I have been reading whatever you read for quite some time. Only makes sense that you share it with others.
I have to agree on all the book recommendation. Except for the last two- they will be my next reads.
Mary!!! So great to see you here. I’m glad you’ve liked the ones you’ve read so far. Let me know what you think of the others!
I am a book addict from way back when!! I still don’t have a kindle or a phone where I can get that app–but that does not stop me from reading up a storm!!
Michelle, I know some of the authors I mentioned have been signed and you’ll be able to buy them in the store. 🙂
Tarryn Fisher posted a sneak peak of Thief, love me with lies #3 here:
http://www.maryse.net/news/tarryn-fishers-thief-teaser-caleb.html#more-29301
I don’t know when she’s going to release it but I can’t freaking wait!!
Mo, thank you for sharing your love of reading with us. I will check out the titles you suggested, although I have a stack of both physical books and “wish list” books I’m waiting to download.
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I haven’t delved too deeply into self-published books, but I did want to state again how much I loved “On the Island” by Tracey Garvis Graves. One of my favorite books of the last several years. I read it thanks to IW’s Jodie (is this the same Jodie who left comment no. 8?). Waving hi!
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Anyway, I hope to see more topics on reading and literature and I hope to contribute some to IW myself.
Glad to read that you got into reading again.
Good ideas–I love to read!
I really want to read Dirty Red now!
Thanks for stopping by Wayne, Kara and Elizabeth!
Elizabeth, I hope you do… You won’t be disappointed!
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover is on sale for $. 99 at amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AQ3K8IU?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links