My Top Five Tearjerker Books

Listen to this as you read this post because FUCKING JANIS! And tears and shit…

So I’ve been talking far and wide (and by far and wide I mean on Facebook) lately about books that make you cry. And as the President of the Literary Masochist’s Association of America, you know that I love books that will tear out my black little heart, toss it into a wood chipper, and set fire to the pieces. So I’ve decided to list for you my Top Five tearjerker books of all time.  Hold on to your hankies, girls!!

5. Tempted by Megan Hart

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I fucking LOVE Megan Hart. This woman could write a takeout menu, and I would buy it in both eBook and paperback. She was one of the first authors who taught me that I don’t need, or even necessarily WANT, a happily-ever-after.

Tempted introduces us to Alex Kennedy (a favorite character of mine), flawed, beautiful, wanting to be loved. Childhood friend of James, he blows into town after a long absence and becomes the houseguest of James and his wife, Anne. Lines are blurred, boundaries are crossed, before we know it, we’re knee-deep in an intense polyamorous relationship.

What starts as sex grows into love. But can you fully commit your heart to two different people?

Sometimes we have to admit that what we want isn’t the best thing for us.

Hart writes a sweet, depressing, sexy, heartbreaking story. I’ve heard complaints that the ending of this book was too abrupt. For me, that was the beauty of it. A stolen summer, gone with the turn of the tide, and you’re left to pick up the pieces of your broken heart.

 

4. Flawed by Kate Avelynn

This book. Dear lord above, THIS BOOK! I’m fairly certain I dehydrated from all the tears I shed over this book.

Sarah and James are brother and sister, living with an abusive father. James sacrifices and bears the brunt of their father’s abuse to protect his sister. All he asks for in return is her love. Sam is James’ best friend, and Sarah has had a thing for him for years. As Sam and Sarah’s relationship progresses, he learns her secrets, and he wants nothing more than to save the girl he loves.

James feels he has a claim on Sarah, and we learn that he’s becoming unstable, and the love he wants from Sarah isn’t the kind of love a sister is prepared to give her brother.

With an ending that shocked  the socks right off my feet, I was left in a daze, sobbing while holding on to my Kindle. This was the first time that the husband got concerned and tried to come to my rescue. Now if he notices me crying while holding the Kindle, he just rolls his eyes and shakes his head. He’s probably better off.

3. Every Rose by Lynetta Halat

I’m sure by now that you’ve read my 5-hankie review of Every Rose, well, because I’m fascinating and entertaining and you hang on my every word, right? RIGHT?!!?!?

It’s a beautiful story with such real characters. Characters with damaged pasts trying hard to do the right thing, characters trying to make something of their lives and move on from the ugliness of the past.

Michael knew he’d marry Lorraina before they even formally met. Continuously friend-zoned, his declarations of love and devotion make me positively mushy inside.

Every emotion was wrenched from my begrimed little soul over the course of this book.  The ending does leave you with a hopefully-ever-after, but not until after bleeding your heart dry.

And then…AND THEN!!!  I come to find out that my beloved Michael is a real person, and a good portion of things in this book ACTUALLY HAPPENED! I read this book 118 days ago. That’s 2,832 hours. 169,920 minutes. I still am not recovered.

 

2. Stealing Harper by Molly McAdams

WARNING: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, read this book until after you have read Taking Chances. Seriously. Don’t do it. If you do, do not come to me crying because you didn’t understand stuff and now the book is ruined for you. I warned your ass.

My deep and abiding love for Chase Grayson is no secret. He’s one of my favorite characters of all time. Hell, my Kindle is named for him! (It’s legal name is Kellan Chase Grey.) This book is the same story from Taking Chances, but it’s told from Chase’s POV. I know some people don’t necessarily care for the alternate-POV-same-story novel, but I LOVE them!

This book takes “the event that shall not be named” from Taking Chances, and makes it 1000% more personal, and therefore, 10000000000% more soul-destroying. Seriously.Soul.Destroying. I still can’t even THINK about the end of this book without tearing up, and the last line of this book is BURNED into my brain. Read it along with Molly’s scene-by-scene playlist, and I swear on Nutella, your heart will shatter. If it doesn’t, you should seek medical attention immediately, because you are clearly one of the walking dead.

 

1. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

I have never been so emotionally traumatized at the hands of a book before. Before you read this one, be aware it DOES deal with some sticky subject matter. This isn’t a book for everyone.

Lochan and Maya are brother and sister, best friends, and due to a pair of absentee, alcoholic, and pretty much worthless parents, these teenagers are the parental unit for their three younger brothers and sisters. Because of the unusual nature of their family and their relationship, they don’t really seem like brother and sister, and it eventually blossoms into something more.

I know. I KNOW.

But Tabitha is such a gifted writer, that their relationship doesn’t seem all that squicky. They try to fight their growing love, and I won’t even lie, I was rooting for them to take the younger ones away, and live their own, slightly twisted, happily-ever-after. Shame me if you must.

Naturally, things can’t work out that way, and their secret love does indeed have devastating consequences. Cue me, staring wide-eyed at my Kindle, YELLING, “No, no, no, no, NO!” This book made me cry like no other. Even when my first dog, Bow-Wow, got Parvo and got put to sleep, I didn’t cry as much as I did with this book. (That could be a lie, I was like 4, so I don’t really remember…but I digress….) I actually started crying again days later, just thinking about this book. Do yourself a favor and READ IT.

So that’s it, folks. My Top Five Tearjerkers. What are some books that made you cry all the tears?

Excuse me while I go find some vodka now…

 

Feature Photo Credit: A National Acrobat on Flickr