Top Ten Books I've read in 2012

Hi everyone :) I'm part of the Top Ten of  2012 event co-hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun, Lisa from A Life Bound By Books, Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic, Jaime from Two Chicks on Books  and  Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads.

Each deay from December 24 to December 28, the participating bloggers post and link up their top ten of a certain topic. I'm really glad they allowed for multiple categories and a few honorable mentions, otherwise I'd have a very tough time choosing! I've read sooo many amazing books this year :) I've ordered mine into paranormal / fantasy books and contemporaries. The list is about books we read in 2012, even if they came out earlier.

 Paranormal / Fantasy:

Days of Blood and Starlight, by Laini Taylor
I read both DoBaS and Daugher of Smoke and Bone in 2012, but I think the second book was even better than the first. It doesn't really matter though, because I absolutely adored both! The writing is just phenomenal :)

The Lux Series, by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I'm just putting them both together here. Yes, I'm a little cheater :P If you made me pick though... gah. I don't know. I loved Onyx and seeing Katy come into her was awesome, but I think I liked Obsidian just a tiny bit better ^^ I'm really curious for Opal, I'll have to get it soon.

Enshadowed, by Kelly Creagh
I waited a whole agonizing year for this book to come out and it was worth every single second! Soooo good! I love Varen. He's hands down my favorite book boyfriend. And Isobel grew so much during this novel! The lore. The Poe aspect. The beautiful, beautiful writing. I need more! You can read my review here if you're interested :)

Something Strange & Deadly, by Susan Dennard
My first zombie novel, and I loved it sooo much! I mean I kind of knew it would be great, but it was just so much more than I had expected! The historical aspect was phenomenal, and I loved the dynamics between Daniel and Eleanor ^^

Dearly, Departed, by Lia Habel
Yes, another zombie book. I think I always pick the steampunk zombie books that aren't the usual zombie apocalypse book. I've never read one of those, and I doubt that I'd like them, but I was blown away by this one! The world building is amazing, and Bram totally made me believe in a zombie love interest! And despite the gore, it was a fun read too :)

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
I don't know why it took me so long to read this book. It was soooo beautiful! I felt completely pulled into the world of the cirque des rêves and my mind still goes there quite often. This book is so well-structure and thought out! It made me laugh and cry and feel pretty much the whole emotional spectrum.

Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake
A year late to the party, but I read this in the summer really quickly. I love Cas' voice! Can't wait for Girl of Nightmares to come out in paperback so I can finally buy it and they'll match. I'm really curious about what will happen!

The Soul Screamers series, by Rachel Vincent
Yup, I'm cheating again and just putting the whole series there. I read it all between January and June. Then I read more of Rachel Vincent's books. I'd love to list them, too, but that might be going a bit far with the rule-bending. I love Tod and Kaylee and Sabine. If I had to pick a single favorite from the series it would be If I Die.

Black Heart, by Holly Black
I love Holly Black. All her books. She is such a courageous writer! The Curse Workers Trilogy is a masterpiece, and this was the perfect conclusion! I'm really sad there won't be more Cassel and Lila stories, but I like where it left off. Doesn't mean my heart wasn't broken on the way through the book. Definitely worth the pain, though!

The Shadow Society, by Marie Rutkoski
I requested this on NetGalley on a whim and never expected to love it quite as much as I did! What a unique idea, and what a wonderful heroine! And my favorite poem played quite an important role in it :)

Contemporary:

Notes from the Blender, by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin
I laughed so much when I read this book, and still it was about serious matters, too! I loved both Declan and Neilly, and getting their separate perspectives of the same events was awesome. Also, the authors actually GET Declan's perspective and know what they're talking about with his music etc.! I read it in a day.

Pushing the Limits, by Katie McGarry
I loved Echo and Noah! A wonderful book, again with dual perspective. They're chemistry is off the charts, and they make a great team. The tough issues both characters are dealing with were well-handled.

The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
This was the first contemporary I read this year. The first one I'd read in many years! I stuck firmly to fantasy for like half a decade (probably more) before that. I picked it up on a whim at the bookstore because I liked the cover. Then I saw that it was about a girl from the foster system, and it played in San Francisco. The first few sentences pulled me in, so I bought it. Then it was on my shelf for almost half a year. Then I read it, and my heart opened, I hurt, I cried, I was happy. It's a tough book, but a truly beautiful one.

Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
This isn't something I would have bought if I hadn't read so many awesome reviews. I picked it when I won my first giveaway. It was such a fun, engaging read! I'm always scared there will be too much drama in contemporaries. I hate drama. But it wasn't too much in this one, and realistically handled. I really need to get Lola and the Boy Next Door soon!

The Breakaway, by Michelle Davidson Argyle
I finished this one yesterday but I just had to add it to the list! The issue of kidnapping, Stockholm Syndrome, and abusive / dependent relationships was really well-handled, in my opinion. I think I would have acted different from Naomi on quite a few occasions, but I could see where she was coming from and why she did what she did. My review will be up in February as part of the blog tour for the sequel.

Manhattan Transfer, by John Dos Passos
The only non-YA book I've got here. It's a classic, and the writing style takes a while to get used to, but then I found it hard to put down! There are dozens of characters, some of whom never show up again, but there are also reoccurring ones and I loved following the development and intersections of their lives over the years. It covers New York history from the 1890s to the mid1920s.

I didn't manage to come up with ten contemporaries. As I said, I'm new to the genre. There were a few more that I read and enjoyed but I didn't really feel like putting them into my top ten just to fill it up.

Here are a few other amazing books I read this year though. Some of them it was really hard to pit against each other and I wish I could have featured them on my list!

Honorable mentions:

Click the covers to get to Goodreads

What do you think of my list, and which ones made it onto yours? Tell me in the comments!

Tomorrow, I'll choose my top ten favorite covers of 2012. It'll be agony >.<

Review: Before I Wake, by Rachel Vincent + 2 GIVEAWAYS (INT)

I was so excited for this book! I was glad that I didn’t read If I Die before late May, so I only had to wait for about a month… Also, I won a signed copy of If I Die in the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge hosted by Fiktshun (yay!), so I am GIVING AWAY my unsigned copy (perfect condition, no bends/broken spine) AS WELL as a copy of Before I Wake to two lucky winners! So if you haven’t read If I Die, this is your chance to win it and catch up with the series :) You might want to skip my review for BIW though…

Check the bottom of this post for more information on the giveaways.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR IF I DIE

goodreads

Published June 26, 2012 by Harlequin Teen

Paperback, 339 pages

Blurb from goodreads:

I died on a Thursday-killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it. The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school...

Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend.

But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life...

Review (no spoilers for BIW):

The ending of If I Die marked a turning point in this series. What would happen after Kaylee’s death and reanimation was anyone’s guess, but saving souls from being stolen and sold on the hellion blackmarket definitely sounded like her kind of job. However, it was also clear that experiencing and remembering her own murder, killing her math teacher (no matter how evil he was), and the Afterlife would change her and her relationships with her friends, family, and boyfriend.

Kaylee feels very disconnected from everyone around her, especially late at night when no one else is up. Everyday life and school seem pointless when she will never age, never graduate, never go to college or have kids. She also has trouble to stay visible and corporeal – especially at school. The circumstances of what to the rest of the world was her almost-death are mysterious enough to attract a lot of media attention as well as unwanted gawking and questioning by her fellow students. Her new popularity is awful to her and makes her want to disappear – which makes it hard for her not to do just that…

In addition to that, Thane the rogue reaper is back and stealing souls once more – and Kaylee now has the job to stop him by reclaiming them with the help of Luca the Necromancer (and Sophie’s new boyfriend). Of course, Thane in the real world means Avari is back at his scheming… and the consequences for humanity should he succeed are worse than ever before. Talk about raising the stakes. You thought possessing Kaylee’s friends was bad? You have no idea…

Then there is, of course, the Tod-Kaylee-Nash-Sabine love-knot. And it is still… knotty. Nash is still furious about Kaylee framing him for murder. However, Tod and Kaylee’s relationship is absolutely beautiful. I love how they interact with one another, and I promise you scenes that will make you fan yourself with your bookmark and dry your eyes with your sleeves.

The plot in this installment of the series unravels wonderfully and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s very very hard to put down. Also, I would not have thought it was possible to cram so much plot and drama and heartbreak into the last two dozen or so pages. Kaylee’s trials in If I Die could never have prepared her for this, and I cannot wait to see how it all turns out in With All My Soul, the last novel in the series. I thought that If I Die was hard to top, but Rachel Vincent definitely did it with Before I Wake!

Personal thoughts (SPOILERS AHEAD):

*sigh* Kaylee and Tod… seriously one of my favorite couples ever. And all that without being mushy-gushy super-sweet! Because that kind of stuff makes me gag… but here it’s just sincere. It’s realistic. It’s bloody, and desperate, and tender, and perfect. Not to mention hot. I loved all the scenes of them together. Tod finds the perfect words. And I love the snark of course (also Sabine’s).

I was really worried about Kaylee at the beginning because her state of mind read like depression. I don’t know what I expected and it actually makes sense the way it is in the book, but I was unprepared for the effect that the afterlife and facing eternity would have on her. Just because she didn’t die (well, not for very long) her problems are not solved all of a sudden. She still has her soul. Avari still wants it. And he knows just how to make her suffer…

I expected Avari-problems, but I never thought he’d find a way to actually cross over and wear the skin of the people Kaylee lost (people she thinks she failed) in a mockery of resurrection. I never expected Avari to make Kaylee ‘kill’ him/them over and over and over with her hellion-forged dagger. It was nauseating. The thought that someone could just pick one of your friends, kill them, then wear them like a suit…

And then Alec… oh god. I actually thought something was off. But there was no way Kaylee could have known. Still – she was the one who killed him, and I don’t know how she will ever deal with that… on another note, I really liked Avari’s speech about what he has planned for Kaylee. It was beautifully written, and I wouldn’t have expected such almost poetic thoughts from a hellion.

While I had an inkling about Alec, I was completely caught by surprise when it comes to Emma. When she died, I just… it was too awful. I was so glad that she now lives on in Lydia, but I can’t imagine that she’ll be thrilled about having a different body, and having to share it (from what I understood anyway). Did Lydia’s siphon abilities survive and transfer to Emma?

Also, there are still the unresolved plot strands about Emma’s sister who is pregnant with Beck’s baby. That is sure to come up again. In addition, I am still wondering why Kaylee’s mother’s lifespan ended after only 13 years. Why did Thane pick Kaylee in the first place all those years ago? I would love to know more about the older banshee generation…

Time to bring my rambling thoughts to a close. I absolutely loved Before I Wake! It had me guessing, and hurting, and scheming, and laughing, and missing tram stops while I was reading. I cannot wait to read With All My Soul to see how the larger, overall arc of this series turns out! I really have no idea how it could end, how to bring closure to it. But I’m sure Rachel Vincent has it all figured out ;)

Have you read BIW? What were your reactions? Comments make me happy :)

Now on to the giveaways!

Rules:

• Giveaway ends on July 16, 12:01 a.m. (EST)
• One entry per person. I will check the IP addresses and multiple entries will be deleted.
• You must be 13 or older.
• Since I am just starting out as a blogger, I require you to follow me in some way. I might make this optional in later giveaways.
• The BIW giveaway is INTERNATIONAL as long as The Book Depository ships to you.
• The IID giveaway is restricted to Europe, the US and Canada because I will have to ship this copy myself.
• I will contact the winners by email. If they do not respond within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner.

Good luck, and feel free to spread the word! If something doesn’t work or you have questions, tell me in the comments. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: If I Die, by Rachel Vincent

Another post which was part of the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge hosted by Fiktshun.

Sigh. I finished this one about three weeks before I wrote this post back in June and I wish I had posted the review when it was still fresher on my mind… though it still very much is. But this is a difficult book to review, because it’s almost impossible to say anything interesting and engaging about it without MAJOR spoilers. So my review will be short and I’ll talk more about my thoughts and feelings.

From the back of the book:

goodreads

The entire school’s talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee’s no ordinary high-school junior. She’s a banshee – she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee

Yeah – it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee’s going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend’s needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck… before he discovers they aren’t quite human, either.

But Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Review:

This book is heartbreaking – and it changes EVERYTHING. Seriously, this one’s an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end. I wanted to read it all in one go, but alas, there are things like work and university classes…

There’s no rest for Kaylee and her friends. After quite a few of her teachers died, their posts are being filled – and one of the teachers is inhumanly attractive. An incubus. Not just that, but an incubus who would do anything to procreate… even if it means impregnating teenage girls.

But Kaylee has her own problems. The situation with Nash is still not quite sorted out when a new – and quite final – problem arises. Kaylee’s lifespan, borrowed from her mother, is running out in a few days. And it isn’t possible to make the trade for someone else’s life a second time. This time, she really will die. Even if her father would be ready to sacrifice himself for her.

If you are going to die in six days, what do you do? How far do you go, and with whom? Is forgiving your boyfriend only because you are going to die anyway a good idea? Do morally right and wrong choices even still matter in this situation? Is there any way at all Kaylee’s life can be saved? Can Kaylee find a way to stop her incubus math teacher and save her best friend before she dies?

As if all that weren’t enough, Kaylee also has her assigned reaper breathing down her neck and taunting her because he has a personal interest in her death.

And then there is Tod… and his name must put an end to the spoiler-free review.

BEYOND THIS LINE LIES SPOILERY GOODNESS