Twinsie Tenise’s Top 5
Wow! I read so many amazing books in 2021. Now comes the hard part. Picking a top 5 from everything I’ve read since July. As any reader knows, narrowing down your top favorites is a rather difficult task.
These 5 stood out to me. They all had me engaged from start to finish. They are all books that I have and will continue to recommend to others. In no particular order, I give you my Top 5 reads from July-December 2021.
Both men had pretty much given up on finding their forever, but fate was just waiting for the right time.
Charlie moves to small-town Briarton with plans to live his quiet life as a writer. He’s resigned himself to being alone and isn’t expecting anything different from his new home. But a coffee mix-up brings him face-to-face with a man Charlie had decided didn’t really exist.
Nixon is grateful for a new job in a new town. He’s ready to leave the past in the past and settle down. He’s not actively looking for a relationship—that’s never worked out for him before—but he can’t deny the instant connection he has with his newest patient’s nephew.
Is it too late for Charlie and Nix to find their happily ever after? Or will they accept fate’s gift and allow themselves a love they thought they’d never find?
**Perfect Timing is a steamy, M/M romance with an introverted, demisexual writer and a big, soft teddy bear of a nurse trying to navigate a love they’ve always dreamed of but most definitely weren’t expecting.**
Warning: This book is not for the faint of heart. If you deal with triggers, please read this book with caution.
Material consists of adult content and BDSM.
I was sent away for protection.
Pulled from a world and forced into another, I lost myself on the way.
No emotion. Only walls to hide feelings that were now masked behind a barrier.
Matteo Santos opened my eyes. He helped me see through the darkness that consumed my soul. He breathed life into my lungs, gripping my heart until it beat again.
With a darkness of his own, it haunted him, turning him into a beautiful Master of seduction and pain.
Through trust and love, we would battle our pasts together.
Before they took control…completely.
“Not everything is as it seems.” ~ Beautiful Pain
She needed peace, not murder. He wanted love but found danger. Will a talented pair of investigators live to see their romance bloom?
Forensic photographer Faith Day can’t forget her tortured past. And returning to her hometown to help care for her nephew means rebuilding all she’s lost. But her brave plans shatter when her best friend is suspected of her own husband’s brutal slaying…
FBI Special Agent Luke Justice never rests until the culprits are caught. But when a violent case touches the life of the woman he loves, he can’t help but make it personal. And with a second investigation into a vicious prison gang diverting all his attention, he fears he’ll struggle to protect her from the killer’s disturbing taunts.
Discovering an ominous photo of herself at the crime scene, Faith is terrified the murderer is someone she knows. And when Luke uncovers a sinister connection to Faith, he suspects they’re all being lured into a lethal trap.
Can Luke and Faith stop the slaughter before they join the body count?
Secret is in the Bones is the beguiling third tale in the Paynes Creek Thriller romantic suspense series. If you like deadly twists, devious psychopaths, and against-all-odds chemistry, then you’ll adore Heather Sunseri’s fast-paced story.
Buy Secret is in the Bones to free the innocent today!
Life and a dismal last name are the only two things Beyah Grim’s parents ever gave her. After carving her path all on her own, Beyah is well on her way to bigger and better things, thanks to no one but herself.
With only two short months separating her from the future she’s built and the past she desperately wants to leave behind, an unexpected death leaves Beyah with no place to go during the interim. Forced to reach out to her last resort, Beyah has to spend the remainder of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she barely knows. Beyah’s plan is to keep her head down and let the summer slip by seamlessly, but her new neighbor Samson throws a wrench in that plan.
Samson and Beyah have nothing in common on the surface.
She comes from a life of poverty and neglect; he comes from a family of wealth and privilege. But one thing they do have in common is that they’re both drawn to sad things. Which means they’re drawn to each other. With an almost immediate connection too intense for them to continue denying, Beyah and Samson agree to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling. What Beyah doesn’t realize is that a rip current is coming, and it’s about to drag her heart out to sea.
Seeing isn’t always believing.
Trapped by her past trauma, Macy McCall worked with a variety of therapists and medications- most yielding minimal results. Her newest doctor, Daniel Yates, helps bring forth her biggest breakthroughs and she believes she can see the light at the end of a very dark and scary tunnel. With a boyfriend and a good job, she enjoys her blooming independence.
Then she sees her.
The woman that looks exactly like her.
This mirror image plagues her life in a way that she would never have expected. And when it all unravels, she won’t be the only one left wondering what is real and what is imagined.
Trigger Warning: This book deals with the topic of mental illness & trauma with mentions of abuse and self-harm/suicide.
Perfect Timing- Goodreads
Beautiful Pain- Goodreads
Secret is in the Bones- Goodreads
Heart Bones- Goodreads
Neurosis- Goodreads
Perfect Timing- Amazon
Beautiful Pain- Amazon
Secret in the Bones- Amazon
Heart Bones- Amazon
Neurosis- Amazon
Reviews by Twinsie Tenise
Perfect Timing by: A.D. Ellis
Charlie moves to Briarton to write. He has deadlines to meet and the small town is the perfect place for peace and quiet. Charlie is single and not looking to mingle. He is caring for his elderly uncle and writing and is content with that.
Nixon just bought a house in Briarton. He is working as a nurse for the local Dr’s office. Just like Charlie, he’s not exactly looking for a relationship.
You know the saying- The One for you will show up when you least expect it?
Well let’s just say both of these men are blindsided by the instant connection they feel for one another and they aren’t sure how to deal with this revelation.
I read the first book in this series, thinking it was a standalone. I will just say I’m so happy it wasn’t. I love the little town of Briarton and these 2 men were great additions. And don’t even get me started on Charlie’s Uncle Otto. That man and his meddling added the perfect amount of humor to the story.
Beautiful Pain by: JM Walker
Normally, when reading a book from an Authors backlist, I would be mad at myself for not reading said book sooner. Not this time. I’m not going to feel bad, because experiencing this book for the first time is something special. I’m just glad to experience it now. Better late than never.
It took me about a week to read Beautiful Pain. It did not take so long because I wasn’t into the book– actually its the complete opposite– I wanted to take my time with this one. Slowly savoring all of the delicious words. Trying to make the book last just a little bit longer because I wasn’t ready to let them go.
I’m so in love with this book, the plot, the characters. I just wanted to reach into the book and squeeze both of the main characters and be there for them to vent their problems. To tell them that everything will be alright. Matteo and Mae both had lots of deep seated issues. Two severely broken people who needed one another to breathe. To live. To heal. My heart is so full of love for this book. I can honestly say, without a doubt, it is THE BEST book I’ve read this year and will be hard for any book to top it.
Secret in the Bones (Paynes Creek book 3) by: Heather Sunsuri
Bad things are happening in Paynes Creek and half the town seems to be blaming one person. But things aren’t always as they seem and they are pointing fingers in the wrong direction.
Luke has felt something for Faith since the first time he laid eyes on her. But will those feelings ever be reciprocated?
Faith left town a year ago but something horrible has brought her back to Paynes Creek and to Luke. Will Faith give Luke a chance this time? Or will she leave and never look back?
Just like with all of the other books in this series, the author kept me guessing. Secret is in the Bones was a fast paced, page turner that had me engaged from the very first page. It is a love story wrapped in a murder mystery and I loved every minute of it. This is book 3 in the series and it’s very important you start with book 1, Death is in the Details, or you will not understand what is going on in this book.
Heart Bones by: Colleen Hoover
From a young age, Beyah refuses to become a victim of circumstance. She is only 19 years old and brave af! I loved everything about her character.
Samson was quite the conundrum. Just when I thought I had him figured out. BAM! Another layer.
I could not get enough of the 2 of them together. They may be opposites on the surface but Beyah and Samson’s attraction was immediate and only intensified as the days of summer passed. A summer both of them wish would never end. The end of summer means goodbye and neither of them are quite ready to utter that word.
I loved every single page of this book. I wanted to read fast, yet I never wanted the book to end. It was absolutely flipping phenomenal!
| I had to take a second to collect my thoughts after finishing Neurosis before trying to compose a review. I have been on a major psychological thriller kick lately so when I was given a copy of this book, I started it immediately and finished it quickly. And let me tell you– it’s definitely in my top 3 for psychological thrillers and I’ve read a TON of them lately.
Macy has had a rough life and suffers from severe PTSD. Things are going as good as they can in her life at the moment. But that is all about to change and it will have an effect of every person in Macy’s life. I will say no more because this is a book that you should go into with minimal information so you can experience all the twist and turns for yourself. I had many what the what moments while reading this book. It had me constantly guessing. Then just when I thought I had things figured out, I would turn the page and find out I was way off! Neurosis is a bingeworthy read. I loved every single page and I look forward to reading what Amy comes up with next. |
