Happy Birthday to my Blog!

It’s hard to believe, but on July 26, 2015, my blog will officially be one year old. Happy birthday little guy! Or girl. I haven’t really decided on that one yet. A lot has happened over the past year. To date, I have written 146 posts, and gained about 2,200 followers. In addition, almost half of those book review posts were author requests. I’ve loved many of the novels I’ve featured, and I’ve hated others. My review style has changed quite dramatically since last July, but one thing seems to have remained the same. I’m having just as much fun writing these posts as I did when I first started a year ago.

I’ve tried to think of the best way to commemorate the very first birthday of my blog. Honestly, I think a bottle of champagne is in order for later. But as for what I’d like to share with all of you, I thought it’d be fun to look back on which posts you seem to have enjoyed the most. Enjoy the top 5 most popular posts from this last year. And for all of you wondering what would be a great gift for you to give my blog on it’s first birthday, here it is: spread the word! Share my blog with just one person you know. Oh, and don’t forget to keep coming back for more!

TOP 5 POSTS ON ROMANCE NOVELS FOR THE BEACH

1. Both Sides of Love by Kimberly Wenzler

I first posted this review 8 months ago, and since then I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve mentioned it in other blog posts for it’s superior writing style, emotional story line, and phenomenal characters. Honestly, I’m not surprised that this was the post with the most reader views, as it was hands down the best book I read last year. As you all know, I read a ton of romance novels, and after a while many of them can start to blend together. However, Both Sides of Love is one of those rarely unique stories that you simply don’t forget. It’s definitely an emotional read, and heartbreaking at times, but I can’t recommend it enough.

2. Brother’s Keeper by Elizabeth Finn

Honestly, I’m kind of surprised that this was the second most popular post on my blog. I sort of pride myself on inserting a bit of comedy into all of my reviews, but this one wasn’t really that funny. It was definitely a good read, but it also dealt with the rather difficult subject matter of abuse. But hey! Don’t let me stop you from reading it.

3 The Unloched Series by Savage Rose

This was without a doubt the post I had the most fun writing from this past year. Hell, I still crack up whenever I go back and read it for the thousandth time. I had never read a novel categorized as “monster erotica” before, and I definitely haven’t encountered another one since. It’s also one of the longest posts I’ve ever written, but that’s just because I had so much to say! I mean, how exactly do you write a short post about a book where the female heroine has sex with the Loch Ness monster? How, I ask ya?! Whenever I make the decision to reveal to one of my friends that I write this crazy blog, this is usually the first post I’ll share with them. I like to think it’ll at least make you smile, or maybe giggle like a schoolgirl.

4. Why I Could Never Date Christian Grey

This is a much more recent post, at only 2 months old, but it’s already gained a lot of traction. I have a feeling by this time next year it will be even higher up on my list of most popular posts. Maybe I’ll have to do a throwback when the second movie comes out. This is also one of my personal favorites, mainly because it is just so unbelievably ridiculous. The blogosphere is filled with people who are 50 Shades of Grey haters, or defenders, so I decided to take a more laid back and comedic approach to the film/book. Sure, I got a few digs in there, but I feel like by using the fact that Christian has pencils with his name on them as a reason for why he is unfit for dating, it sort of reminds people to not take things so seriously. Just have fun with it!

5. Stalker Theme: Male vs. Female

Sometimes I really have to give myself a kick in the butt to come up with the creative energy necessary to write a book review, but believe it or not there’s something which is a lot harder to do. Come up with subject matter for my own personal posts! In retrospect, it’s easy to just spew my opinions out there about a book I read, but to actually come up with content for a post based on my own observations of themes and particularities across books can be a real challenge. This was one such post, and it definitely took some time to orchestrate, not to mention make my inner thoughts coherent to others.It’s not particularly easy to discuss stalkers at length without sounding like one yourself.

WELL THERE YA GO!

i don’t know about all of you, but I’m in the mood to celebrate. Happy Birthday Romance Novels for the Beach! Let’s do it again next year.