Today has been set aside by Armchair BEA 2012 to be
the Giveaway Day. Unfortunately, I do not have a giveaway to announce, so I am
posting a list of my favorite books of the last twelve months. So far this year
I have been very lucky because about a third of the books that I have read and
reviewed have proven to be excellent.
There are links to other peoples' answers here.
There are links to other peoples' answers here.
The 5
Star Reviews
The books that really stood out from the rest were:
If you have not read this Science Fiction title yet,
I strongly suggest that you do. The film version was well done, but did not
come close to the power of the book itself. Ms Collins is yet another author
writing for Young Adults who can satisfy any reader with her work.
This Fantasy title is great fun with a wonderful set
of colorful characters and a convoluted heist plot. Plus there is a sport that
involves outwitting jumping sharks!
This is the book that persuaded me to start this
blog: it was THAT good. It is a work of Magical Realism, full of amazing
characters, each of whom I could read about for a very long time. I was
enraptured and enthralled as the story carried me a long and was genuinely
bereft when I reached the end.
Although they are from three different genres, each
of these books was near perfect in my opinion. They were all well written and
entertaining. The authors created realistic and intriguing worlds filled with
well-drawn characters that held my attention and sympathy. More importantly,
each book drew me in so successfully that I was disappointed when I reached
their conclusions and I wanted to read more.
The 4.5
Star Reviews
A Fantasy set in a dystopian society that is very
entertaining and thrilling and has one of the most unique magic systems that I
have come across.
The Parasol Protectorate Books by Gail Carriger: Soulless Changeless Blameless
This series of Paranormal Romance novels is set in a
Steampunk version of Victorian England, with vampires, werewolves, ghosts,
parasols, truly hideous hats and treacle tart.
This is the first book in one of my favorite Urban
Fantasy series. The books are worth it for the wonder that is Jenks: he is one
of my favorite characters, ever.
In the past I would avoid straight Romance books
because of some unfortunately bad experiences with trashy novels when I was a
teenager. However, this was a wonderful read and I thoroughly recommend it to
anyone else who is wary of the stereotypical bodice-rippers.
This is the second Magical Realism title from the
author of Garden Spells. In my opinion it is not quite as good as her first
title, although I would still recommend it.
These two are both thought-provoking Science Fiction
/ Fantasy titles that I recommend if you want something to make you think about
how modern society functions.
I've been meaning to read something by Sarah Addison Allen...definitely on my TBR list for this year.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog title!
Here's
MY ARMCHAIR BEA POST
I haven't heard of many of these. I do plan on reading The Lies of Locke Lamora eventually.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is a Hunger Games fan-atic. She keeps wanting me to read them. So I will. :).
ReplyDeleteI love the name of your blog!!
Great Choices. Beyond The Hunger Games, I haven't read any of these yet.
ReplyDeleteLOVE Garden Spells! And I was interested in Lies of Locke Lamora... and yay for The Hunger Games - For reals, awesome list!
ReplyDeleteOoh I really loved the Lies of Locke Lamora too! Someone once suggested a movie of it with Johnny Depp as Locke, and now I can't get that out of my head lol.
ReplyDeleteHere's my list!
I like the idea of Johnny as Locke . . . but I could watch him read the telephone directory! :D
ReplyDeleteI loved Garden Spells SO much: I have lost count of how many copies I have sent to people as gifts. Strangely it was unanimously adored by all the ladies in my book group, and we rarely agree on anything! :D
ReplyDeleteGarden Spells is a wonderful read with amazing characters: I recommend it whole heartedly! :)
ReplyDeleteThey are from several different genres because some are books from my book group, whilst others are my personal selections. They are all very good though! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved The Hunger Games & I've heard good things about The Parasol Protectorate Books.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great BEA-filled week!~Christina (and the other Book Hookup Litbrarians)The Book Hookup's Best of 2012
Garden Spells was excellent. I enjoyed it much more than The Peach Keeper, for a magical realism book. I still have The Sugar Queen waiting to read, as I've heard good things about it from others. Someone talked me into Soulless when it was featured for the Nook not long ago. I think I will have to add Mistborn to my list- I love dystopians and fantasy.
ReplyDeleteI've only read Soulless so far but it was one of my picks as well
ReplyDeleteGarden Spells is one of those special reads, the kind of book that stays with us long after the last page is turned.
ReplyDeleteGail Carriger's books are very funny, with lots of snarky humor: I would thoroughly recommend them! :)
ReplyDeleteI will be reading The Peach Keeper over the weekend I hope, so I find it interesting that you preferred Garden Spells, because my book club unanimously preferred that one to The Sugar Queen. However, I have read reviews that say the reverse, so it could simply be a case of which one you read first.
ReplyDeleteSoulless is funny and snarky: think Jane Austen with less politeness. Mistborn was a very interesting read and worth it just for the magic system.
Ms Carriger's voice is so wonderfully snarky, isn't it? She has me chuckling all the way through.
ReplyDeleteSo true: I want books about all the characters in that book because they were all so real! :)
ReplyDeleteI do love me some snark. Sounds even better for Soulless.
ReplyDeleteFor SAA, differences might be what you prefer. I prefer the magical realism side of her books more the contemporary romantic or chick lit aspect, and I thought The Peach Keeper was light on the magical realism, especially when compared to Garden Spells and that fantastic apple tree. I would love that apple tree.
So would I: I loved how she could take an 'inanimate' object and make it into a character. :)
ReplyDeleteI have Garden Spells, but I think someone borrowed it like a year ago and hasn't returned it. :( I really want to read it still though. I should look into that...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely: it is too good a book for someone to borrow it permanently! :O
ReplyDeleteThe Hunger Games was one of the first dystopian novels I ever read and I'll always appreciate it for introducing me to that genre.
ReplyDeleteIt is not exactly a happy genre but it can provide some interesting commentary on modern life, which is why I like it. :)
ReplyDelete