2013 Rewind!

Okay, pretties, it's the 2013 rewind, when I look at the books I read in 2013 and pick my faves. I don't think I read as much as I wanted to, 33 books, but I read more than I did in 2012. I call that a good year! I also read a couple of books that I'm not counting, since I haven't reviewed them (with an exception, but I'll get to that later), but they'll go in the 2014 bucket.

Let's go! Did one of your favorites make my list??

Covers
I picked my favorite covers...which was hard to limit myself!

Hottest

Yeah, don't think I have to say anything here...the cover speaks for itself.












Creepiest

Hooded, dangerous-looking guy in black-and-white. Love it!












Eye-catching

Love that blue color...it's eye-catching.











Best of...everything

Everything about this cover draws me in: the colors, the layout, the light, the shadows.











Adult Fantasy - Indie
In this category, indie includes not only self-published authors, but those authors published by small press publishers. There are some rockin' books in this category, so never, ever sell an indie book short just because it's indie. There's a lot of untapped talent out there.

#3
Crux, by Julie Reece

Loved the characters, loved the pace, loved the Viking mythology thrown in, which is new and refreshing. Moved forward at a good pace. Couple of sub plots that I'm not sure were needed. Couple loose ends, which I'd like to have seen tied up at the end. Couple of surprises, but some things were predicable (hard to fool us savvy reads *all* the time, ya know).






#2
Slow Boat to Purgatory, by Vernon Baker

An incredibly well-written fantasy. There is a story within a story within a story, which was quite well crafted. I read the back page, about the author, and it's his first book. The fact that this is his first book is just plain wow-some.








And at #1...

Dead of Eve, by Pam Godwin

The story is gritty and real, devastatingly sad yet profoundly happy. You love the characters; Evie is strong and tough and loving and kinda bad-ass. You can't help but love the 3 men who come into her life, her 3 guardians. Each one serves a clear-cut purpose, and it all ties together in the end. They are there to help guide her through her trials and tribulations, help her become the woman she needs to be...for all of humanity.







Young Adult Fantasy - Traditional

What this category really comes down to for me is memorable characters and/or outrageous imagination.

#3
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor

Karou is a great character, vivid, real, like-able. The author weaves in such a creative, imaginative world right alongside our own. You can feel, hear and see things seeping from the pages. And there's Akiva. Mm mm mm. Beautiful angel, in all the right ways except his personality. He's hard and cold and distant and absolutely yum. It's wonderful to see that exterior begin to crack as he clashes with Karou. The ending is epic. A twisted betrayal that unfurls like the sails of a boat as the wind picks up. The story follows a strong undercurrent of secrets and lies of a past that isn't what it seemed, and that comes back to haunt both Karou and Akiva. It's an ending that will have your mouth dropping open.




#2

Under the Never Sky, Veronica Rossi

A YA dystopian novel that really rocks the boat. You have fear, violence, secrets, betrayals and uber sexy guys. A perfect setting for a perfect (energy) storm. The start of this book is creepy. The guys are creepy, and you can just feel the tension under their daring foray into the off-limits dome, you just know something is up with these guys and it ain't gonna be pretty. It wasn't. It was scary. I was scared for Aria, our main character. The plot moves forward *most* of the time, with enough twists to give you whiplash. I like me some twists. I like to say, "Dude, didn't see that coming!" There's a couple of nice moments just like that in this book.





And at #1...

Enclave, by Ann Aguirre

Where to start? How about the beginning. The book starts off with the dramatic living situation of the people living 'down under' (and that's down under the earth...not Australia). It's dark. It's dank. It's crowded. No one lives past 25. There are strict rules. No loving, no learning (except what's absolutely needed), no real living. Just doing your job that you've been assigned, listening to the elders, and not breaking the rules. Of course, *someone* has to break the rules! A must-read for any dystopian fan.

Young Adult Fantasy - Indie

Young Adult fantasy indie writers really shine, and they are well-deserved.

#3
Don't Fear the Reaper, by Michelle Muto

I loved the tension and interaction between the characters. I thought the pacing was excellent. Keely's motivation throughout was clear, and she pretty much stuck to her guns. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't learn of Daniel's past...why he is what he is and what his motivations were. And was the ending a tad predictable? Perhaps a little. There were one or 2 things that did catch me by surprise, and all the little trails wound around the story and tied together in the end.







#2
Obsidian, by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Loved the characters, loved the writing, loved the friction between Katy and Daemon, loved the story! The voice in the book just pulls you in. Katy is a nice character, a good girl who's also spunky and alive and doesn't take any lip...she also doesn't like being told what to do. My kind of girl! The only thing keeping this book from being #1, were the Twilighty moments. There were quite a few.







And at #1...

Breed of Innocence, by Lanie Jordan

Jade is 16 and sassy and sarcastic and strong. She's endearing in the nobody-loves-me kind of way, and oh my gosh, funny as hell. I rarely chuckle out loud when reading, but found myself doing that here and there. Sometimes I'd go back and re-read something just for the thrill of re-reading it again, it was that good. The author's writing style had that sumthin-sumthin that just appealed to me right from the start. I gobbled every word, sentence, paragraph, page.







Adult General - Indie
This general category is a pot-luck, filled with contemporary, mystery, suspense, thriller, horror. I don't read enough in each of these genres to expand on each one separately. And despite that, only one book made the list in this category.

And at #1...

Dirty Business, by Tracy Sharp

I love this sassy, cussing, slightly damaged main character, Leah. She's not perfect, has faults, and does things she knows she's not supposed to. But what's redeeming is that she knows she's slightly damaged and does things she's not supposed to and tries to fix herself. The characters are well-developed and three-dimensional. Even the sub-characters have, well, character.









Young Adult General - Traditional
I don't read a whole lot in this category, but what I read, I liked! Golly, I should read more in this genre.

And at #1...

Game (The sequel to I Hunt Killers), by Barry Lyga

Okay, so I fell in love with this author and Jasper in book one, and the love just continues to grow. The character continues his internal battles of what he is or isn't or might be or might not be. He's so afraid of triggering the "thing" that will turn him into his dad, that he doesn't allow himself to be a normal kid. What if that one thing is the trigger that will make him snap? How can he be sure? What I didn't like? The ending. I mean really. There are so many loose ends that I just want the next book NOW. You got short hairs? You won't after this ending, cuz you'll be hanging by them!

Best of Booked Up 2012

Well, it's the last day of 2012, and I thought I'd take some time today to look back at what I've read over the year, and lay out my top picks of the year. I've read some genres more than others, so some genres will be limited to one 'the best of', while others may have up to 5 books rockin' the charts. I don't know, maybe there will be a tie or 2!

So, pretties, let's skip down the long and winding road through 2012. Did your favorite book make my list?

 Adult Fantasy - Traditional
I read some very good books in this category, The Lords of the Underworld, by Gena Showalter, had the most well-written, creative, and unique story-lines. There are so many books in this series, that I'm still reading, but all of my favorite adult fantasy books this year have come from this series. So, how to pin down to the top 3? Hard, I know. Nothing was like reading the first book in the series and knowing you just hit on something really special (which technically I read in 2011, so that doesn't count). So it really comes down to personal favorites, because each book features a different character, one of the Lords of the Underworld, and new characters that interact with that Lord.

(3) The Darkest Whisper, LOTU #4, features Sabin, the Keeper of Doubt. Even though I'd hardly noticed Sabin in earlier books, this particular book featured Gwen, a Harpie, and I quickly signed up for Team Harpy. This book had so many twists and turns I had mental whiplash.

(2) The Darkest Lie, LOTU #6, features Gideon, the Keeper of Lies. Gideon was another under-the-radar Lord...he was that goofy guy in the corner that never made any sense, because everything he said was a lie. In this book, the whole lying thing was endearing, adorable, and downright funny. Gideon quickly became one of my favorite Lords.

(1) The Darkest Surrender, LOTU #, features Sabin, Keeper of Defeat and comes in at my #1.

 I really didn't like Strider in earlier books, mainly because of his demon. See, Strider can't lose at anything, which makes him cocky and arrogant. Didn't think I was going to like his book, and I loved his book. A lot of that probably had to do with the harpies...yeah, the book is loaded with harpies, and in fact, might be more about the harpies than Sabin. Harpies are strong, confident, tough, beautiful, sarcastic and just a whole lot of fun. I gobbled this book to see how on Earth things were going to come together, and it was indeed, wholly satisfying.

Adult Fantasy - Indie
In this category, indie includes not only self-published authors, but those authors published by small press publishers. There are some rockin' books in this category, so never, ever sell an indie book short just because it's indie. There's a lot of untapped talent out there.

(1) On the Edge, by Ilona Andrews. Solid writing, great characters, and a believable world, called the Edge, between worlds of magic and non-magic. While the plot was a little predictable, the book was totally enjoyable.


(2) Reaper of Sorrows, by James A. West. This is a gritty story of men and war and betrayal. It is non-stop action, a long list of betrayals, and very solid writing with a strong plot.

And coming in at #1....

(1) Betrayal's Shadow, by K.H. LeMoyne. This book is solid. It has action, great characters, romance, sex, torture, good and evil. The characters are believable, the plot is well-rounded, motivations are clear. It has an ensnaring, delicious character named Turen that will leave you longing to jump into the pages and touch him. If you haven't hopped on the KH LeMoyne train, I suggest you do. 

Adult General - Indie
This general category is a pot-luck, filled with contemporary, mystery, suspense, thriller, horror. I don't read enough in each of these genres to expand on each one separately. And despite that, only one book made the list in this category.

Life of the Party, by Christine Anderson. This is a gritty look at addiction, how it ravages your life, your soul, and even those who love you. The only draw-back to this book was the length, which to me was a little long, but captivating none-the-less.







Adult General - Traditional
Nothing made the list for me. My skirt was inadequately blown.


Young Adult Fantasy - Traditional

This is a very tough category for me, as I did read a lot of good YA books this year. So what it really comes down to for me is memorable characters and/or outrageous imagination. I couldn't limit myself to 3. Sorry.

(5) Poison Princess, by Kresley Cole. Another story featuring an apocalyptic event, but what's unique about this story is how the characters are tarot cards come to life, set on a plane where they have to battle each other in this new world where nothing grows. Very interesting. What leaves this in the bottom 5 is that the 2 main characters, Evie and Jackson, are absolutely horrible to each other at times. It was frustratingly over the top. Is that how kids treat each other these days? Maybe. Do we want to read about it in our characters? Nope. Jackson's Cajun accent, however, is undeniably sexy and well worth the read.

(4) Sweet Evil, by Wendy Higgins. Okay, this is the teen version of the Lords of the Underworld. Same premise, except with teens. I loved it, full of sexy bad boys, lots of tension and romance and fraught with vice and temptation. There was just something a little abrupt about the ending.

(3) The Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3), by Julie Kagawa. While I seriously enjoyed the first book in this series, I read it in 2011 so can't count it. Ash, the Winter Fey Prince, is by far one of my most favorite of characters in YA fantasy. What I loved about The Iron Queen most, though, is the growth, strength and conviction of Meghan as she sacrifices much to be a Queen she doesn't want to be.

(2) Divergent, by Veronica Roth. This dystopian novel shows a world that's divided into 5 factions (honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness and intelligence). The factions work together to create a well-run society. Ms. Roth has created a realistic world where our main character, Tris, leaves her family to live with another faction. But in this perfectly-run society, there are those who are still greedy and power-hungry and will stop at nothing, including genocide, to get what they want.

And, by a close call, the #1 pick is:

(1) City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare. We have demon hunters in this book, which are descendants of the Nephilim. I have a soft spot for fallen angels to begin with, and this book doesn't fail to deliver on action and intrigue and mystery. The best thing about this book is the didn't-see-*that*-coming ending. It was one hell of a twist!

Young Adult Fantasy - Indie

Young Adult fantasy indie writers really shine, and they are well-deserved.

(3) The Demon's Apprentice, by Ben Reeder. This book rocked. The characters have depth and are well-drawn, motivations are clear. The plot is well-paced, with excellent tension in all the right places. The bad guys are bad, the good guys good, and our main character is stuck in a gray world where a good guy can do bad things. I absolutely loved that. I had a little trouble following ages and spent too much time trying to figure out what age our character was, and I thought the sister wasn't portrayed realistically for her age.

(2) Touch, by Jus Accardo. At last, a YA book with a believable YA heroine. She's not perfect, not a great student, is sarcastic, likes to party and have fun, and you know what? It was so refreshing. Perfection is, shall I say it? Boring! No offense to those straight A students out there, but naughty is much more entertaining. In this book we have a group of super-power peeps, evil adults who want to take over the world, and a whole lotta intrigue and action. And our main guy kills with a single touch, hence the title. But there is one girl who doesn't croak at his touch, so natch, he latches on to her. I would, too.

And the #1 pick of this incredibly talented pool of authors....

(1) Rapture, by Phillip W. Simpson. 

Okay, so Sam, our main character, is, well, a demon. But despite the bad karma of his birth, Sam wants so badly to be a good, kind,normal kid. The problem is, he's not. The portrayal of Sam is so well-written, so heart-wrenching and gut-wrenching at the same time, you have no choice but to be pulled in to his story and feel for him. You like him. You want things to be different for him. You want him to succeed. And don't let the religious premise of the book lead you into thinking this is a heavy-handed-preaching-religious-platform kind of book...it's not. Secular audiences will enjoy this book just as much as the Christian audience will.

Young Adult General - Indie

(2) I Am Not A Serial Killer, by Dan Wells. The premise of this book is chilling, and the characters realistic, the setting utterly believable. You have a kid who knows he's a sociopath, his doctor knows he's a sociopath, his family knows he's a sociopath. But what what John knows best is that he doesn't want to become a serial killer. He's got all the signs; instead of letting his psyche choose his path, he takes matters into his own hands and sets rules for himself, rules that he hopes will stop him from becoming a serial killer. What keeps this book on the bottom of the list is that John is, well, not all that likeable. It's kind of hard to root for him because he doesn't really feel anything for anyone deep down, he's just going through the motions, because of course, he's just not normal.

And my #1 choice in this category:

(1) Fix by Force, by Jason Warne

This book is not an action-packed, on-the-edge-of-your-seat action thriller. It's an introspective look at a bullied loner's downward spiral into aggression and addiction. It highlights the lengths some kids will go to to fix themselves so that they can fit in with the crowd. This story takes an in-depth look at how one teenager, Spencer, views his life, his family, and himself. He carries the emotional baggage from childhood through adolescence, seeing only what he thinks everyone else must see. No matter how hard he tries to fix himself, the image in the mirror never changes. It takes a series of traumatic events before Spencer can shatter that image and see what's been reflecting back at him all along. It's a gripping read, and probably all-too-real in today's world that focuses on sports and the win, win, win attitude of adults forced upon our younger generation.


Young Adult General - Traditional

(3) Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson. An amazing look into the psyche of a teenage girl who falls into the anorexia trap. The writing is just short of brilliant as the reader is immersed into the twisted thought process of a girl who is literally withering away.

(2) The Christopher Killer, by Alane Ferguson. 17 year old Cameryn Mahoney wants to be a forensic pathologist. Living in a teeny town in the mountains of Colorado, she doesn't get to see much in the way murders and forensics, even with her dad being the county coroner. So Cameryn learns what she can by studying her books. Until a new deputy comes to town, and the Christopher Killer drops a body right at the town's doorstep. This forensic mystery is rock-solid. Solid characters, solid plot, solid writing, and solid details regarding the science of forensics. There was just a little too much time describing the forensic lab processes. But what really pushes this read to the #2 spot is Ms. Ferguson's ability to write suspenseful tension. Wow! The writing keeps you on the edge of your seat.


And the #1 spot in this category and, dare I say it? Perhaps my favorite read over-all in the year 2012:

(1) I Hunt Killers, by Barry Lyga.


Wow. This book is, shall I say it? A killer of a book. If you think it's about death and gore and horror, it's not. It's a psychological case study of a kid who tries so hard to not be what he thinks the world thinks he is going to grow up to be, and trying so damn hard to be a decent human being, but ends up internally questioning his every thought and motive 24/7. It was brilliant. The title indicates there is more Jasper Dent to come. God, I hope so.