Best books ~ 2011

It is so hard to pick a best of books for the different categories this year since I have read some awesome books. I will do my best. If you have read any of my favorites or any that you would like to suggest to me, feel free to hit up the comments section below. You can pick up any of these titles by clicking on the cover art (I linked to buy sites to help you out.)

Best of 2011 YA Dystopian

Possession by Elana Johnson

This book inspired me. The writing in it is simply delicious and the characters are so likeable... It reminded me of Madeline L'Engle in it's style. Loved this book and cannot WAIT till the second book, Surrender, comes out. You can read my blog here on it. You can find info about picking it up here.


Runners up: None. This book was AWESOME




Best of paranormal YA

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones captured our family this year and we were driven to pick up the whole series including the newly released City of Fallen Angels. We cannot WAIT for the next in this series. You can read my review of the series here.



Runners Up: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (I forgot to review it but loved this book. You can read part of my opinion here.), The Marked Series by PC and Kristen Cast


Best YA Fairytale with a Modern Twist

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Another one I forgot to review but brilliant. This book was a companion to Pearce's amazing Sisters Red and it didn't let us down in the least. I am looking forward to Purity and Fathomless... Future works by this fun and fresh author.

Runners Up: None. Loved this book






Best Romantic Comedy

My One and Only by Kristan Higgins


I have Until There was You on my kindle and have to read it as well but I love this authors style. I literally snarfed coffee all over my computer reading her. I cried. Awesome.


Runner Up: The Real Housewives of Olympus by Saranna DeWylde (you can read my review here.)




Best MM erotic

Upon Midnight by Buffy Christopher

This sexy little book inspired me to dare a little more in my own writing. And she wrote more of them. *fans self* Awesome.


Runners up: None. When it comes to sexy m/m action, I liked this.







Best action sequence in a sexy romp

The Path to Freedom by Lisa Pietsch

Sarah Stevens is kicked out of the military and dumped by her boyfriend. She manages to go to fatcamp, learn to kick ass and meet some very sexy men on her journey to becoming a weapon herself. This book had a little bit of everything. If you are looking for a sexy and yet fun ride, this book is your ticket to intrigue. Awesome.


Runners Up: Again, I am a runners up fail. This book was great.




Okay, those are the ones that stick out in my memory. I think I shall start doing this quarterly since I have a terrible memory and I am sure I am missing some fantastic books that I read this year...

What books moved you? What is your top list for books to read? Let me know :)

Happy writing! (Or reading as the case may be...)

ARC Giveaway!!!

Just in case you don't know what an ARC is, it's an advanced reader copy. Meaning that you can't buy this book yet. And you want to. But you may not have to...

Awesome author of Possession, which I have blogged about because it blew me away, is holding a giveaway of The Near Witch. I will repost what she had so you can see what I am so excited about :

Today, I give you an ARC of THE NEAR WITCH by Victoria Schwab. I loved this book, and I'll be featuring it during Bookanista Thursday very soon. Just believe me when I say you want it. Badly.

Here's a bit about it, since you might not know, since it's not out yet: The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

To enter:
1. Leave a comment here by 10 PM Mountain time. (1 entry) Yes, it's that easy.*And by here I mean on Elana's blog... not mine. Sorry!
2. Blog about this contest TODAY. (I am not doing twitter or facebook or Google+ or anything else. A blog post. You will get 1 entry for the blog post.)

That's all. I'm not doing a Google form or anything. Winners will be drawn from the comments of this post, and if you blogged about it, say so(!) so I can count you for 2 entries, okay?

Okay. The winner will be announced on Monday.

Exciting, right? So enter today and if any of you read The Near Witch, let me know when you do what you think. I think it looks amazing, based on what I have seen and look forward to getting a copy!

Possession available now!!

Possession is available now and in celebration, I am reposting my review of this AWESOME book!! If you haven't preordered it, read about it. Seriously awesome book!!

Having been a fan of Madeleine L'Engle and gobbled up her books when I was younger, I was amazed to find what seemed to be a voice similar to hers. While capturing a very modern and fresh spin on YA Dystopian fiction, this story still had that eerie feel that L'Engle was so good at creating.

Vi, the snarky and fiercely independent lead character in this stunning work, is tossed around in a sea of lies and control freaks. Rebelling against the control and trying to see through the lies, she wants to find a way to live outside what society has planned for her. Teenage girls, so easily pressured by what the world expects of them and what the media determines to be correct behavior/dress, will hopefully be inspired by this headstrong heroine.

To balance out Vi's fears and desire to break from her predetermined mold, Johnson created a hero who was equally willing to challenge the expectations put upon their people. I won't give any spoilers but I will say he was the kind of hero that made you want them to work it out while he appalled you by his occasional flipping of sides and abandonment of Vi.

All in all, the characters worked well together. The world building was exquisite and detailed making it very believable. I couldn't put it down and was actually irritated when my real life got in the way of me finding out what would happen next. I hope that this book will receive the acclaim it deserves as I found it fascinating. I will be reading it to my kids in the near future and know it is one of those books that won't gather dust as I am sure I will be rereading it often.

Order it here.

Review of Possession

Having been a fan of Madeleine L'Engle and gobbled up her books when I was younger, I was amazed to find what seemed to be a voice similar to hers. While capturing a very modern and fresh spin on YA Dystopian fiction, this story still had that eerie feel that L'Engle was so good at creating.

Vi, the snarky and fiercely independent lead character in this stunning work, is tossed around in a sea of lies and control freaks. Rebelling against the control and trying to see through the lies, she wants to find a way to live outside what society has planned for her. Teenage girls, so easily pressured by what the world expects of them and what the media determines to be correct behavior/dress, will hopefully be inspired by this headstrong heroine.

To balance out Vi's fears and desire to break from her predetermined mold, Johnson created a hero who was equally willing to challenge the expectations put upon their people. I won't give any spoilers but I will say he was the kind of hero that made you want them to work it out while he appalled you by his occasional flipping of sides and abandonment of Vi.

All in all, the characters worked well together. The world building was exquisite and detailed making it very believable. I couldn't put it down and was actually irritated when my real life got in the way of me finding out what would happen next. I hope that this book will receive the acclaim it deserves as I found it fascinating. I will be reading it to my kids in the near future and know it is one of those books that won't gather dust as I am sure I will be rereading it often.

Preorder it here.