by Kay | Dec 28, 2011 | List-o-pia |
I’ll be honest, 2011 wasn’t the best year for me book-wise. For starters, I only managed to get through 63 books this year. While that looks like a lot, it means there a loads of books that I didn’t manage to get through – mostly ARCS, sorry publishers! Out of those 63 books, I only gave five a 5 star review. In other words, only 8% of the books I read this year did I consider excellent. Now compare that to 2010, where I gave nine books 5 stars. Five vs. nine! Isn’t that just depressing?
That said, there have been some truly standout novels this year. Some of them had been on my TBR pile for years while some were from brand-new authors. Here’s how they break down genre-wise: 3 Dystopian YA, 2 Adult Fantasy, 2 YA Urban Fantasy, 1 Adult Urban Fantasy, 1 Literary Fiction, and 1 YA Science Fiction. They’re a diverse bunch of books, but they are all worth a read! (Click on the titles to read my reviews.)
Top Ten Books of 2011
A Game of Thrones should really count as 3 books, considering it is big enough to double as a weapon! If you’ve somehow missed all the buzz about the HBO series based on this book, you’ve obviously been hiding under a rock. It is fantastic. Read the book, watch the show, go to a convention!
Patricia Briggs writes amazing books and Cry Wolf was no exception. I absolutely loved how the novel jumped between different characters, and wow what a plot. A-MA-ZING.
Yep, The Hunger Games. It took me forever to get to this book but it was ludicrously amazing. I even got my mother to read it (she adored it, btw!). Catching Fire and Mokingjay were just good and OK, but they did not detract from the brilliance of this book.
Moloka’i is unlike all the other books on this list – it’s historical literary fiction! But wow, is it ever extraordinary. Even if you don’t usually read this type of book, I would give it a shot.
Do not be fooled by the cover of Academy 7, this is YA science fiction at its very best. The only, only issue I had with this book? It was too bloody short! Moooore, Anne Osterlund. More!
Pure is kinda a cheat for this list. The book doesn’t come out until 2012 but I couldn’t help but add it to my list. While it isn’t perfect, it was one of the most terrifying YA novels I have ever read.
Temeraire! What a fantastic book! Dragons and Napoleon and magical magical writing. Read it!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone was probably one of the most unique YA books I’ve ever read. I am so very, very glad that it has gotten the praise it deserves. Oh, and Laini? Awesome awesome pink-haired lady.
I was afraid to read The Gathering, as I adored Kelley’s Darkest Powers trilogy and everyone knows that sequels never live up to the original! The only exceptions being The Godfather II and… The Gathering! This book was every bit amazing.
Ann Aguirre’s Enclave lived up to everything I expected from it. And I expected a hell of a lot. Her Sirantha Jax series is a fantastic read, so I hoped and prayed that her venture into YA would be just as great . It was – it really was!
by Kay | Dec 22, 2011 | Deals and Freebies |
I’ve recently joined the 21st century and bought myself a Kindle (read this post to find out why I finally gave in). It seems I’ve joined the club just in time to take advantage of some fantastic digital exclusives!
Here are a few short stories and anthologies that are only available as e-books – you’ll recognise the authors as some of the very best in YA fiction. They are absolute musts for fans, even those of you who don’t have an e-book reader should consider getting them!
Hana by Lauren Oliver
UK readers / US readers
This short story takes place in the Delirium verse, and tells the tale of Lena’s best-friend Hana. According to the publishers, “there’s a shocking twist to her tale that will leave you with your heart in your mouth”. Sounds good to me! I’ve already got it on my Kindle and cannot wait to get to it!
Hana is only available in eBook and, for a limited time only, is just 99p! You can also make a really neat Lauren Oliver themed Christmas decoration that uses text from Hana. Check it out here!
Darkest Powers Bonus Pack by Kelley Armstrong
UK readers / US readers
Kelley is a fan’s dream author. Why? Because she just keeps on giving! She’s released three online novellas set in her Darkest Powers verse, and is currently in the process of writing a fourth (read it here). Unfortunately, these stories have just become non-free – but all three are available for your Kindle for just 72p! They are fantastic and well worth it – I’ve bought them even though I had downloaded the free pdf versions! Read my reviews of two of the stories: Divided and Dangerous.
The First Time Anthology edited by Jessica Verday
UK readers / US Readers: B&N – Amazon
The First Time Anthology is solely available as an e-book, but features a tonne of YA authors you’ll recognise from printed works, including: Cyn Balog, Teri Hall, Heidi R. Kling, Saundra Mitchell, Jackson Pearce, Carrie Ryan, Kristina Springer, and Jessica Verday. In 25 stories, the authors explore firsts: first loves, first kisses, first zombie slayings, etc.
I’ll admit that I am not quite running out to get this anthology, mostly because I already have so many anthologies I need to get to! Still, it sounds fab.
by Kay | Dec 16, 2011 | Cover Alert, News |
Eep! I always get excited when a new cover comes out for Kelley Armstrong’s books – but this one is especially exciting. Everyone, take a look at the UK cover of The Calling!
The Calling by Kelley Armstrong – Goodreads
Maya Delaney’s paw-print birthmark is the sign of what she truly is – a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly anyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents including local bad boy Rafe, with whom she shares a dangerous, powerful secret. Now, Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. After a terrifying helicopter crash, they find themselves stranded in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home. But can Maya really trust her friends? And can she learn how to control the frightening new gift she has discovered before it controls her?
I adore the UK covers of the Darkness Rising series: I love how fierce the girls on the cover are; I love how the cover artists don’t shy away from using a full face; I love the inclusion of the woods and wildlife. Love love love. My only issue with this cover is with the girl… she just looks a bit too Anglo. Which is odd considering how very non-Anglo the cover model of The Gathering was. Perhaps this is supposed to be a different character? Or perhaps they still plan on changing the model? This is clearly a preliminary cover (those editing lines can still be seen) so they may still make adjustments… but besides the model, I really do adore this cover!
Read my OMG-this-book-is-amazing review of The Gathering here!
by Kay | Oct 13, 2011 | Weekly Feature |
Booking through Thursday: If you could get a sequel for any book, what would it be?
I love this question because – usually – I complain bitterly about the quantity of sequels out there. My fellow YA and UF fans know exactly what I mean when I say that most books never die. They recycle the same material over and over and over again until you’ve forgotten why you ever liked the book in the first place.
But there are some fabulous books out there that I would totally read the sequel to… if only they existed. Most recently, Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund. I just finished it a few weeks ago and was heartbroken to hear it had no sequel. It’s a fantastic YA Science Fiction novel (read my review here). Hell, I could read a companion novel set in this verse, and I’d be in love.
I would also read absolutely anything set in the Darkest Powers verse by Kelley Armstrong. While I realise that I have been rather blessed in this respect (the series are 3 novels, 4 short stories, and an entire spin-off trilogy), I would love love love to read another Chloe Saunders book. Now, if possible. *waits*
And on a literary fiction note, I would love a sequel to Run by Ann Patchett. It was one of my favourite reads back in 2009 and lately I’ve been thinking about the characters. What are they up to now, I wonder…
by Kay | Jul 13, 2011 | Reviews |
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld #1
Published by Orbit
Pages: 448
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased myself
Add to Goodreads
Rating: Elena Michaels is your regular twenty-first-century girl: self-assured, smart and fighting fit. She also just happens to be the only female werewolf in the world...
It has some good points. When she walks down a dark alleyway, she's the scary one. But now her Pack - the one she abandoned so that she could live a normal life - are in trouble, and they need her help. Is she willing to risk her life to help the ex-lover who betrayed her by turning her into a werewolf in the first place? And, more to the point, does she have a choice?
Thoughts: I’ve had Bitten on my shelves for a couple of years now and, despite my ardent love for Kelley Armstrong, I had trouble picking it up. This was partly because I had heard so many good things about the book but – if I’m completely honest – it had more to do with the book itself. Because for all the great reviews out there, there were also a number of reviews that were highly critical of Clay, one of the central characters. And after reading the summary of Bitten, I couldn’t blame them. This man chose to infect the love-of-his-life against her will… how could I ever like him?
So that was my main worry going into Bitten… but in the end, my read trouble was with Elena. While I could readily accept her leaving Clay after what he had done – she never really did. Instead she kinda strung him along… and that’s just not nice. The only thing that made me forgive her was the fact that she is monstrously screwed up. She was orphaned at a young age, sexually and emotionally abused growing up, and then turned into a werewolf against her will. These aren’t the sorts of experiences that leave you unscarred. But still, given that Bitten takes place 10 years after she was bitten, I think Elena had been given enough time to get her act sorted out.
Clay, on the other hand, was fantastic. I mean, I wouldn’t actually want to meet the man out of fear for my life, but I still adored him. I had heard him described as an older version of Derek (from her Darkest Powers series) – and that’d be correct with one amendment: Clay has no “human” conscience. He doesn’t do things because they are the right thing to do, instead he’ll do whatever he must in order to protect his pack. That includes the disemboweling of innocents (no, that doesn’t happen in Bitten, but I would never put it past him).
As you might have imagined, there is an insane amount of violence in this book. Usually, I’m all on board with blood and guts in my UF, but there was one scene of needless violence that really bothered me. I get that they are werewolves and that, in their wolf form, they’ll kill pretty much anything if it threatens them. But when Elena killed a dog while she was human, and neither she nor Clay felt the slightest bit of remorse? I was so so so not ok with that. Killing out of necessity I understand, but when they killed the dog out of convenience it just seemed… out of character.
And despite my issues with Elena and her somewhat-homicidal habits (Derek and Chloe need to stay far far away from the pack if they are still like this), I still enjoyed Bitten. It kept me up well past my bedtime; I was thinking about these characters while I wasn’t reading. And I think Stolen will be much better… Bitten was written as a stand-alone novel, and I truly believe it would have been a different (more enjoyable) book if Kelley Armstrong had written it knowing there’d be a sequel.
Bottom line? Kelley Armstrong is a fantastic author and her Otherworld verse is one I can’t wait to read more about. But is this her best book? Well… she can do better.
Favourite Quote:
The glowing ember shot into the sky, arced, then came tumbling down, end over end like a falling star. I glanced down at Clay. He was watching the sparkler and grinning with as much childlike joy as I´d felt, dancing around the grove with my fairy wand. I looked back up at the light, closed my eyes, and made my wish.
I wished I knew what I wanted.
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