January 11, 2013

Top 10 Books of 2012

As you guys know, I like to do this kind of stuff in the new year! It’s fun to remember the great books from the old year!

So my TOP ten list is compiled of the books I’ve read in 2012. Now I know that I didn’t read all of the latest books that released for the year, but they were some good ones regardless!

***This top ten list is in no particular order and only one author can be picked per spot.***


Awry (The Archers of Avalon, #2)

Awry (The Archer’s of Avalon, Book 2) by Chelsea Fine

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

Sometimes love is meant to be. But sometimes...love is the death of you....

Seventeen-year-old Scarlet has just died. Only, dying isn't unusual for a girl under a centuries old curse that left her semi-immortal. (more)

Now I read both book 1 and 2 this year, and yes they were both amazing! However Awry completely captured my heart with the romance, developing it in the past and future. This series is a complete addiction! The characters, mythology, and those killer cliffhangers just keep feeding the book beast!

If you wanted action and mystery. If you want sweet—real—romance this is the book for you!

Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, Book 1) by Kresley Cole

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

She could save the world—or destroy it.

Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux. (more)

Now I read both of Cole’s PNR adult releases this year and I was so positive that one of them would make it onto this list. Yet, when I read the first few pages of Cole’s debut YA I knew this was . . . AWESOME! No, really. I sat down for an hour to read and ended up reading until I was done.

It combines a fantastic dystopian world, with the best parts of Cole’s romance formula, for an amazing read! What’s stranger is that I think this book makes for a more adult read from Cole—writing wise.

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1) The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, Book 1) by Julie Kagawa

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. (more)

The Immortal Rules was my second dystopian read this year, and it rocked! I loved the harsh world, and the even harsher vampires. I loved that they were monsters, and Kagawa wasn’t going to mask it. It’s gritty and scary, and the romance is intense . . .

The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Charlie Madigan, #3)The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Charlie Madigan, Book 1) by Kelly Gay

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

To save her sister, she must stop a silent killer. . . .

Protecting Atlanta from the off-world criminals of Underground is tough enough, but now Detective Charlie Madigan and her siren partner, Hank, learn that the addicts of the offworld drug ash have begun taking their own lives. Ash makes humans the perfect vessels for possession, and something or someone is leading them to their deaths. (more)

This series is just amazing. Each time I read one I think, “Gay can’t possibly out do the last one!” Somehow she does, every time.  The world feels so real, and the character development doesn’t feel forced. It just goes . . . and . . . well leaves me wordless.

Isle of Night (The Watchers, #1)Isle of Night (The Watchers, Book 1) by Veronica Wolff

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

Is life offering fewer and fewer options? Then join the dead.
When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she's whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. (more)

It’s been a while since I read a YA vampire book that made me remember why I loved the genre so much. The instance Annelise is lured onto that airplane I was captivated. The Watchers is a heady mix of The Hunger Games, Vampire Academy, and pure craziness!

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Book 1)by Laini Taylor

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low. (more)

I tried to avoid this book. The cover drew me in and I just knew that I would be disappointed, the summary was too vague. However, all my Goodreads pals were giving it glowing wowzas!

Well, I can tell you guys that this book is pure original. It starts out as a mysterious UF with some deep secrets, the next thing I know Taylor is making incredible mythology and a Epic Fantasy world that just blew my mind socks!

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs (Jane Jameson, #1)Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs (Jane Jameson, Book 1) by Molly Harper

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed twenty-five dollars in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead.  (more)

Finally! A paranormal romance funny that actually makes me laugh. The first book is my favorite, once I finished it I tore through this series as fast as I could. More for sentimental reasons. The others books are just as incredible. Harper doesn’t just rely on funny situations to keep the laughs and fun rolling, this woman is clever! Her brand of sarcasm mixed with genuine smarts it just amazing.

Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1)Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, Book 1) by Seanan McGuire

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

October "Toby" Daye, a changeling who is half human and half fae, has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the Faerie world, retreating to a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, the Faerie world has other ideas...  (more)

No. This is not the most amazing series out there—at least as far as I’ve gotten—the second book actually wasn’t as good as the first book for me. But the world! Oh, the world that McGuire has created is amazing! Her Fae are . . . the best ones I’ve read. The modern world and the Fae world mix beautifully! Even if the stories were awful I would feel compelled by the mythology alone.

However, McGuire has created a unique world with a cast of characters that I actually like.

Necromancing the Stone (Necromancer, #2)Necromancing the Stone (Necromancer, Book 1) by Lish McBride

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

With the defeat of the evil Douglas behind him, Sam LaCroix is getting used to his new life. Okay, so he hadn’t exactly planned on being a powerful necromancer with a seat on the local magical council and a capricious werewolf sort-of-girlfriend, but things are going fine, right? (more)

This series took my mind by storm. Again many Goodreads friends kept posting amazing things, and even amazing quotes from this book. This books is smart, dark, and simply enchanting. In the end I just have to say read these books! Because this one is probably the closet I’ve ever come to actually saying it was my favorite read of the year.

A Perfect Blood (The Hollows, #10)A Perfect Blood (The Hollows, Book 10) by Kim Harrison

Grab it: Goodreads | Amazon

A Perfect Blood

Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the I.S. and FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth: a human hate group is trying to create its own demons to destroy all Inderlanders, and to do so, it needs her blood. (more)

This was not the strongest book in The Hollows series, but it was another one of those turning points.

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