Sandra @ My Fiction Nook

Into This River I Drown - Tj Klune: I still do not have sufficient words to describe what this book did to me. It's a story of love and loss, of bone-wrenching grief, of pain and suffering, but also of hope and survival. it gutted me, and I've never cried as much reading a book as I did with this one. I beg you to read it.

Omorphi - C. Kennedy: There be trigger warnings for somewhat detailed accounts of abuse, but if you can deal, this book paints a picture of such pure love, determination and a bond so strong, it took my breath away. Tears flowed freely, but I also rejoiced in the perseverance and hope C. Kennedy painted with his words. 

Capture & Surrender - L.A. Witt/Aleksandr Voinov: From the Market Garden Series. I expected a somewhat gritty romance, with bunches of kinky sex, but was hit out of left field with a book about pain and loss, grief and resignation. And love. With snarky, witty humor, the author duo painted a picture of a man past his prime who finds exactly what he didn't know he needed. 

Salvage - Con Riley: You probably see a theme emerging here by now. Yes, I read a bunch of sad books that made me cry, but even here, there is so much love to be found. Love between a father and son, both stubborn and blinded by past mistakes; love between a man who has lost and is clinging to what is left, yet slowly reaching out, and a man who is lost himself, fighting to keep what's left of his family together. Love between a brother and his sister, and crushing guilt that keeps him from letting her go. It was perfection in written words, and the images Con Riley painted with her words were so utterly brilliant that I was left in awe upon the book's ending. 

Slide - Garrett Leigh: The sobfest continued with this book about two men who are good for each other, but also make huge mistakes and wrong assumptions. It's about a man's journey to find the truth about himself, and struggling against fear and depression. It's about a love so fragile that it can't help but fail when it's needed most, and yet a love so strong that it finds its way out of the darkness into the light. 

When You Were Pixels - J.A.G.: Set in a futuristic city of towers and sewers, new author Julio-Alexi Genao slew me with his short (and free) story about Antho, who first sees and then rescues an assassin come to the tower for reasons unknown. The writing this wordsmith put onto the page is so good, it made me weep. Each sentence is carefully crafted, each paragraph, each sequence of events so brilliantly put together that you can't help but be awed by the emotions they evoke. And yes, I cried all the tears at the end.

Nor Iron Bars A Cage - Kaje Harper: A fantastic fantasy story written for free by this fabulous author, it takes you deep inside the mind of a man who's lived in fear for years, but who, with the help of an amazing friend and eventual lover, slowly comes out of his shell to find strength he didn't know he had. At the climax of the story, I feared for them both because by that point I knew that neither would be happy without the other ever again. Beautiful imagery painted with brilliant words by an author I hadn't read before but who's made me a big fan of her work. 

Sex & Violence - Carrie Mesrobian: Almost brutal in its depiction of a young man nearly destroyed by violence, this book painted a realistic and unapologetic picture of teenagers and their sexual exploits, and yet also produced a slew of excellent points culminating in my declaring this book required High School reading. 

Exotic Music of the Belly Dancer - Brian Sweany:  The opening paragraph had me in stitches, and I expected a book about the sexual exploits of a teenager in the 80s (hello, memories), but what I got instead was a carefully crafted book with an ending that I never saw coming. It was wonderfully irreverent in some cases, perfectly realistic in others, and it kept me glued to the pages until the end. I cannot wait for this author's next book. 

The S-Word - Chelsea Pitcher: Reviews varied with this book, but it made my top list because of the message it sent. Again, this book should probably be required High School reading. It's thought-provoking, and while the writing may be a little choppy, it fits perfectly with the mindset of the protagonist and totally worked for me.

So there you have it. What were your top books of 2013?