Thursday, September 13, 2012

Blogoversary Day 5: Favorite Reads

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It’s day 5!! I hope you guys are all enjoying my celebration week. It’s been super hectic for me with this event and my Xpresso Design launch so I’ve been a bit absent from the blogoverse, but I will be back to my full glory soon! 😉 So today I’m going to list my top 20 books that I’ve read since starting my blog, and some extra honorable mentions which are other 5-star reads that I couldn’t leave out.

Top 20 Books of My First Blogging Year
Note: These are in no particular order. I tried to make it listed and it’s just too hard! IT’S TOO HARD!! >.<


My review

One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up.

My review

When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

My review

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Maggie has spent her life caring for her alcoholic mother. A task that has left her heavily burdened and alone. Before long, her mother’s health takes a turn for the worst, sending Maggie’s life into a tale-spin.

My review

Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

My review

As the survivors continue to seek stability in their lives, forces both inside and outside the fort walls move them toward a final, climactic conflict between the living and the dead. Jenni, Katie and the others discover that they are not alone, that there is another enclave of survivors whose leaders plan to take over the fort.

My review

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. That’s fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when four cloaked horsemen capture Lugh, Saba’s world is shattered, and she embarks on a quest to get him back. 

They all see Jordan as one of the guys, and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there’s a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team… and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.

Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color.

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she’s part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do.

My review

One summer chasing tornadoes could finally change Jane’s life for the better… Seventeen-year-old Jane McAllister can’t quite admit her mother’s alcoholism is spiraling dangerously out of control until she drives drunk, nearly killing them and Jane’s best friend.

My review

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home. Except there’s something off with Kale…

My review

Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her entire life within the towering walls of steel. She yearns for a life away from the overcrowded streets, rolling blackouts, and food shortages, but there is no hope for anyone as long as the Inferi Scourge howl outside the high walls.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night

My review coming in October

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

My review

Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

Other honorable mentions:
Hushed by Kelley York, Radiate by Marley Gibson, Spark by Brigid Kemmerer, Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown, The Deepest Cut by JA Templeton, Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti, Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, The Tale of the Vampire Bride by Rhiannon Frater
Giveaway
Today’s giveaway from authors that you have seen in the list above and books that I promise are fabulous! Mike Mullin, Lara Zielin, and Sherry Gammon have generously offered some pretties for giveaway.

Up for grabs:

     
   

-One hardcover copy of The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin (US)
-One hardcover copy of The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin (US)
-One signed ARC of Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin (US)
-One paperback of Souls in Peril by Sherry Gammon (US)
-One paperback of Unlovable by Sherry Gammon + swag (US)

Giveaway details

There will be three winners (one per author). Thanks so much to these fabulous authors for this giveaway opportunity!
Day 5 giveaways end on September 27th, 2012
All are open to US addresses only
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

37 Responses to “Blogoversary Day 5: Favorite Reads”

  1. PinkPolkaDotMichelle

    The cover for Unlovable is awesome! How have I never come across this before?? I love that you have This is Not a Test on your list… Courtney Summers is my fave! Pushing the Limits is one of my favorites too!

    The rest of the them are on my TBR list or look a little too scary for me (I’m kind of a baby… Feed especially looks nightmare giving!!)

  2. Alba

    Daughter of Smoke & Bone
    ASHFALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I couldn’t agree more, well, at least on those 2…
    As for the rest
    T_________________________________T
    <3333
    Happy blogoversary girl!! I’m so freaking excited I got to ‘meet’ you here >.<
    Sorry for my rambling and freaking out comments… When it comes to books I seriously can’t contain myself.
    But here’s for more years to come!!
    And VLOGS!!!!!!!
    Aren’t they fun to make? hehehe

    ~hugs~

  3. Danny

    Lol, I think the first 5 books are book on my TBR pile but.. books I haven’t read yet! Must pick them up 🙂 There are some amazing books and Daughter of Smoke and Bones was phenomenal! 🙂

  4. Aylee

    Ah, excellent. I love top lists like this – it helps me plan out what books I should be adding to my tbr and what books I should be reading sooner, rather than later! Ack, I’ve actually only read two on this list so far (Ashfall and Blood Red Road) so I’ve got a ways to go! Thanks so much for the recs, Giselle!

  8. Amy

    Awesome list!! I have a lot of those same favorites!! There are a few of those that I really need to read too. (Like This is Not A Test, ugh! I even pre-ordered it and then it took forever to come in and I didn’t have time to read it.) Seriously, we are totally soulmates. I loved all of the books that I read out of your list!!

  9. Christina

    I liked/loved all of these on your list that I’ve read except for Crewel. At least we agree on the most important ones mostly!

    YES, I AM SO GLAD FEED IS ON THERE!!! HELL YES!

  19. Jenea Whittington

    Happy Blogoversary!!! You have read some really awesome books. Some I haven’t seen either. I will certainly have to check out Brightest Kind Of Dark and Unlovable. Thank you for a great giveaway.

  20. Jenn@OwlReadIt

    You have so many great books on this list! I loved Pushing the Limits, Girl of Nightmare and Hemlock! I want to read the rest of the ones in your list! I have Unearthly and Daughter of Smoke and Bone just waiting to be read.

    Seriously, great list!

  21. Kristin @ My ParaHangover

    I’m glad you’re so busy with the start-up of your design company!!!! YAY!!

    Thanks for sharing your top reads of the last year! It’s really great to see books that aren’t the “mainstream” loves 🙂 Plus it reminds to double check and make sure these are on my TBR (my Goodreads is an absolute mess!)

    Congratulations, again, on your new company and Happy Blogoversary!

  22. Jessi (Geo)

    Sadly, I haven’t read most of your faves 🙁
    But Smoke & Bone and Hemlock were AMAZING…and This is Not a Test was the best zombie book I’ve read (ok, so I’ve only read that and Forest of Hands and Teeth so I fail anyway). I really want to read Siege and Ashfall, hopefully in the near future. There were a couple others I added to my TBR pile, too. Thanks for sharing your favorites Giselle 🙂

  24. Camille Picott

    Ooh, love the top 20 list! There are actually 3 books on that list that you inspired me to read: As the World Dies, Anna Dressed in Blood (working on Girl of My Nightmares soon) and This is Not a Test. Thanks for sharing all your great reviews!

  25. Alexa

    I’m really enjoying your posts this week! This is particularly awesome, as I get to see which books really caught your fancy. Thanks for sharing!

  26. Shooting Stars Mag

    I just did my review of This is Not a Test, which I KNOW, everyone has reviewed…but it was amazing and I included two songs that I felt fit the book. You’ve read some great things. There are a few on your list I really want to read soon.

    -Lauren

  27. Sarah (saz101)

    DAHDFAJKDFH. SO MANY AMAZING BOOKS. Hemlock is my favorite Paranormal of the year, and Daughter of Smoke & Bone is one of my favorite books of ALL TIME.

    I LOVE THE LIST! &HEARTS;

  37. Susan

    This is Not a a Test is one of my favorite reads this year. It’s just BEAUTIFUL. I also loved The Daughter of Smoke and Bone. What a ride! And my sister loved Hemlock. She says it is a real hidden gem.

    Happy Blogoversary! Your site is beautiful! 🙂