It's that time of the year again where we discuss our highlights of 2013 and anticipations of 2014, in bookish speak, obviously! Last year I participated in the End of the Year Survey by The Perpetual Page Turner and had so much fun writing the post and narrowing down the books, so here I am again sharing all these great and no so great reads of 2013!
1. Best Books of 2013
I skipped the Top Ten Tuesday meme this month, so I decided why not share 10 of my favorite reads of 2013. This is the hardest question in this survey, but I tried not to cheat. Well other than picking 10 instead of one :)
2. Book I was excited about and thought would love, but didn't
Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown. Reading this book felt like I was expecting a rich, dark Belgian chocolate, but got Cadbury in return. You know, the meh feeling. I gave it 3 stars, not bad considering all the way worse books I've read this year, but my high expectation killed any chance it had.
3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book
Without a doubt, this title goes to Seducing The Enemy by Noelle Adams. It sounded like a very average/repetitive storyline with a love/hate romance, but the feels it gave me from the first page.....NO WORDS!!! I loved this book so hardcore and probably bored everyone by recommending it again and again :D
4. Most recommended book
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell!!!!!! It was the best fucking awesome book I've ever read in my life and I still (and will always) shamelessly recommend it to everyone! This book is a must for any book lover!
5. Best Series discovered
Okay, I have to cheat in this one, I can't pick one out of the two. My favorite new series this year were Legend by Marie Lu and Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.
6. Favorite new author
Unfair! How can I name one? The first one that pops in my mind is Rainbow Rowell and Colleen Hoover, but I would love to mention a few other remarkable new authors I discovered: Emily Murdoch, Jessica Verdi, Lauren Miller, Cristin Terrill, Marie Lu, KA Tucker, Veronica Rossi, Jennifer E. Smith, Noelle Adams, Kendare Blake, J.M. Darhower and Sangu Mandanna. That wasn't that long, right?
7. Best Book that was out of my comfort zone or new genre
It's sad to say that I didn't step out of my comfort zone this year, I can't think of a single book or genre that wasn't me. Well I did try a sort of non-romantic dystopian (that should be a genre!), The 5th Wave by Rich Yancey, but didn't really like it. So no thank you. I love a bit of romance in my every read.
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book
I recently finishing Striking Distance by Pamela Clare and that was one heck of an addicting read. I couldn't even take a break and relax because the story was that good! Fans of romantic suspense should definitely try out I-Teams series.
9. Book that I might re-read next year.
I'm not a re-reader unless it's a Jeaniene Frost book (I love Bones! Can't get enough of him!), so I would say none. Maybe 4-5 years down the road, I might pick up Eleanor and Park again.
10. Favorite book cover!
This book is sort of on hold, so being partially read, it counts! I love this cover! It is stunningly designed and on the whole, tells the story pretty accurately.
11. Most memorable character
Warner in Unravel Me! Chapter 62!!!! Need I say anything else ;) Other than the sexy bits, Warner is a very complicated character and no-matter how negative/ruthless he's been in his life, you can't help but sympathize with him over his background. #TeamWarnerFTW12. Most beautifully written book
Eleanor and Park is clearly winning every title. But if I had to pick another book, it would most definitely be If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch.13. Book that had the greatest impact on me
This is a recent one. I would say Striking Distance by Pamela Clare had the greatest impact on me because of the message it delivered. It taught me not to judge people over someone else action and sometimes we forget that.14. Books I can't believe I waited until 2013 to read
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn! I read this book on Christmas and I can't even tell you how good it was! It felt like every line, every scene was full of laughter; the Grandma Got Run over by the Reindeer movie: Hilarious!, the shrilly Lily: No words!, Bomer: Awesome character!, Crimson Alert: Bit far fetched but fun nonetheless!, and Dash himself: Best Character Ever!15. Favorite Quote/Passage from a book I read
I don't highlight or take notes during my reads, so I don't have any specific passage or quote marked, but Eleanor and Park was full of awesome monologue and if I could, I would've picked something from there. But a remember a scene at the end of If You Find Me that always gets me in tears-- Our MC goes back to the woods and read a sign there which said: If You Find Me, take me home. *Cue tears*16. Shortest and Longest Book Read
Shortest: The Party by Katie Ashley (44 pages). Prequel novella to The Proposition and The Proposal.Longest: Insurgent by Veronica Roth (525 pages) and no I don't plan on reading Allegiant anytime soon. Or how about never!
17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It?
So many! First of all, Chapter 62!!!! Then the epilogue of Champion and "the scene that shall not be mentioned" from Allegiant. Even though I haven't read Allegiant, it was easy to find out what had caused an uproar in the bookish world.18. Favorite relationship from a book
Roar and Perry from Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky series! Their friendship is so precious and I look forward to their scene more than Perry and Aria's.19. Favorite book I read in 2013 from an author I've read previously
Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost! Vlad! Vlad! Vlad! No other words needed.20. Best book of 2013 that I read solely from someones recommendation
Sins and Needle by Karina Hale! I hadn't heard of this book until Giselle from Xpresso Reads did a fabulous review on it, and I know she doesn't read much NA, so I had to check out. Turned out I really loved this book. Thanks Giselle!21. Genre I read most from
Do I even have to say it? Starts with a C and ends with a Y :)22. Newest fictional crush from a book I read this year
Day from Legend series and Rush from Too Far series! One is the kind of guy I want to marry and other is the kind I want as a boy toy.23. Best Debuts of 2013
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch, My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi, The Collector by Victoria Scott, Parallel by Lauren Miller and Shadows by Paula Weston.24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book
Under the Never Sky and Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi. It is one of the most beautifully created and detailed world I've ever read after Immortal After Dark by Kresley Cole. Kudos to the author for a job exceptionally well done.25. Book that was the most fun to read
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West! Caymen was such a fun character, her presence alone made this book a treat to read.26. Book that made me cry or nearly cry
Striking Distance by Pamela Clare. The situation out MC had to go through was so horrible and seeing her return to her old self and gain her confidence back was a downpour of tears. Every scene, every memory made me cry, but it would be inhuman not to. Or maybe I'm just a sensitive person.
27. Books I read this year that I think got overlooked
My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi. I didn't know which book to pick, so I went over to Goodreads to check out the review number of the books I loved this year and I was stunned to see the lower number for one! Why?!? This is one of the best book I've read, not only was it an eye opener (atleast for me) regarding HIV and it's emotional effects, My Life After Now had a great fathers-daughter relationship in the entire YA. If you haven't read this book, you should!1. New favorite book blog I discovered this year
Again, so many! But the ones I visit everyday are The Reader's Den, The Readdicts, Supernatural Snark, Love is not a Triangle, Little Pieces of Imagination and Readers in Wonderland.2. Favorite review I wrote
Golden by Jessi Kirby and Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins! Writing their review was a challenge because both these stories are so close to my heart and I didn't think I could justice them with my review, but I tried.3. Best bookish discovery
This site called Recaptains is the best! I don't like to reread, but that becomes a problem when I'm reading a sequel and can't remember what happened in the first book. That's when this handy dandy website comes in rescue. Though in all honestly, sometimes I just go there and read spoilers of books I find interesting. Now that's a habit I need to get rid of!4. Did you complete any reading challenges?
I failed in some but surprising I did manage to finish most of them. More detail is on the Challenge page above, but to recap quickly--Completed: Debut Author Challenge, TBR Pile RC, New Adult RC, YA Contemporary RC, End of the series RC, Reading Romances and Goodreads Challenge.
Failed: Why Buy the cow RC
1. Book I didn't get to read this year, but will be my number 1 priority next year
I think it's high time I read The Fault in our Stars by John Green, so that will be my number 1 priority. Hopefully by the end of January, I would've read this book.2. Books I'm most anticipating next year.
For a list, you can look at my Dying To Read section in the sidebar, but if I had to pick 1 book, it would be Up From the Grave by Jeaniene Frost. Not only because it's by my favorite author, but this installment is the last of Cat and Bones. I'm going to miss them so bad :(3. 2014 Debut I'm most anticipating
Ooh, hard one! But I would say Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. Can never go wrong with a beauty and the beast retelling.4. Series ending I'm most anticipating in 2014.
Up From the Grave by Jeaniene Frost! You know I'm going to cry reading that book. Also, how can I forget Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi! I need to know what happens with Warner!Phew! That was harder than I thought, but it was a ton of fun too!
Did we get any same answers? Let me know!