1. Onyx, Opal, and Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Daemon... sigh. My book boyfriend. I don't care that he's 18 years old and an alien. If you haven't read these books yet, do it! They aren't expensive, and are a fantastically additive series. I also love that Armentrout has branched out to tell you bits of this story from the Arum's point of view in her book, Obsession.
2. Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson
This book was such a cool take on the werewolf mythos. Jessica is a private invesigator (and former cop) who comes from a family of werewolves and is used to the supernatural - but only men are werewolves. That is, until Jessica has a really bad night and wakes up naked in the woods... there are a few more books in this series as well, but they are so expensive for ebooks (I don't get why ebooks are $3 more than the paperbacks!).
3. Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Oh my, did this series ever tear me apart. Maas has created the most well-thought out fantasy worlds in a long time, and I still find myself thinking about the books from time to time, trying to puzzle out what is actually happening with the magic. Celaena is a teenage assassin who is rescued from the sure death of the salt mines only to be forced to compete in a death match to see who will become the King's champion. There are a few prequel novellas in this series that fill out Celaena's pre-salt mine days that I need to read.
4. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
I had come across Brosh's blog a year or two ago on a friend's suggestion to read her posts about depression, and was so incredibly touched. Such a sad subject, but she makes you see the stark humor and pathos in depression. Don't sit down to read this book unless you have a few hours to go through it and laugh yourself silly and cry yourself dry. I would recommend getting the hardcover or paperback versions of this book rather than the ebook because of the cartoon drawings.
5. Dead Spots and Trail of Dead by Melissa F. Olson
I came across these books while I was on vacation this year - I had been storing up a few Kindle deals of the day to read in Canada, and the first book was one of those. Scarlett is a null, meaning anything supernatural cancels out around her - and she is so rare there is only about 5 people with her ability in the world. And she works as the clean up person for the triad of supernaturals - the vampires, werewolves, and witches. The whole story had a neat set up - why she works for the supernaturals, and where each of them came from. The mystery in the story was very interesting, too - so much so that I picked up the 2nd book at full price as soon as I finished the first one.
6. Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews
I have to say up front that I do not like the artwork in the new cover. All of a sudden it makes Kate look 10 years younger than she is! Okay, petty comment aside, this is definitely a series that gets better and better with every book. I cried, I laughed - and one of my favorite scenes in any book I read this year was Curran throwing a tantrum and tossing boulders at a mountain to vent his frustration with Kate. I like how these books are treating Kate and Curran's evolving relationship in a real fashion - nothing is ever absolutely perfect and relationships need work - and happily ever afters are nonsense.
7. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
I shouldn't have been surprised that I liked this book so much - I went through a faerie phase a few years back, and read Black's Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside - three novels that definitely put Tinkerbell out of your mind completely. Tana lives in a world where vampires are very much a reality - and there are ghettos called 'Coldtowns' where the vampires and hanger-ons are kept walled in, and on 24 hour satellite feed where people can see everything that is happening. Tana woke up from a 'sundown' party - where people lock themselves in at night to party in safety - to find everyone but herself, her ex-boyfriend, and a chained-up vampire slaughtered. They go on a roadtrip to the nearest Coldtown to her ex can sweat out the virus - I don't want to spoil it - but I loved this book. I had to gush about it to Andrew afterward! Tana was such a resolute heroine and I loved her thought processes.
8. Wait For You - J. Lynn
Cam... another sigh. As you can see from the cover, J. Lynn is a nom de plume for Jennifer L. Armentrout when she write her New Adult books. I loved the interplay between the two leads in this book, and the scenes between Avery and Cam were so hot. It was very interesting and sad to read Avery's backstory - she was a victim of a sexual assault, and her whole town and even her family had made it out to be her fault because of who the aggressor was.
9. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
This is a series I get completely lost in. Days of Blood and Starlight is the sequel to last year's Daughter of Smoke and Bone (another one of my year-end favorites). The book continues with Karou's story, and goes into so much more detail of the conflict between the angels and chimera. I also loved that Karou's friends, Zusana and Mik, have a much larger part in this story (and even have a novella of their own that I haven't read yet - Night of Cake and Puppets!). The conclusion to this series, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, comes out this spring and I cannot wait.
10. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Shatter me did exactly that. I was first attracted to this series by the cool artwork on all of the covers, but I was blown away by the story. I will admit to being really confused by the story in the beginning, thinking that there was something wrong with the formatting of my ebook because there were so many lines where the text was struck-through - it took me a few pages to realize that was Juliette was redacting her thoughts. This is a dystopian story where we have basically poisoned the world, and the absolute power in power is a scary thing. There are a few sequels and novellas to this series I haven't read and am quite eager to read.
Wow. It was hard to choose these books! There are a few others I couldn't bear to leave out, even though they didn't make the top 10 - so I urge you to check out these ones as well!
Honorable Mentions:
Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Among the Nameless Stars by Diana Peterfreund
A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang
Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
Faking It by Cora Carmack
Ever After by Kim Harrison
Fragments by Dan Wells My Unexpected Forever by Heidi McLaughlin
1 comment:
My kiddo is not a reader except for manga, but she begged for the Hyperbole book so got that for her. Maybe I'll read it when she is done.
Post a Comment