Top 10 Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2012

Top 10 books I'm looking forward to in 2012 is hosted by Lisa from A Life Bound By Books and Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and co-hosted by Jamie & Patricia from Two Chicks On Books and Rachel from Fiktshun.

Top 10 Books I'm Looking Forward To in 2012

1. Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

I fell in love with Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed book and the Godly-ness. With a broken relationship towards the end of the book, I'm intrigued to see what direction the author will take her sequel towards. I'm kind of worried and excited. Be sure to add this book to your 2012 list because I'm sure you don't want to miss this darling!

2. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

A girl living in a world where everyone is reincarnated - except for one girl? A girl who was born not reincarnated? A book cover that takes your breath away? Why wouldn't this be in this list of mine? January is coming folks and I'll be reading this baby for sure!

3. Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

The cover is so pretty in pink! I adore it! With the way things ended in the fifth book, If I Die, I'm dying to get a copy of this! I want to know what will happen to Kaylee . . . Tod . . . and even Nash and the annoying Sabine.

4. False Memory by Dan Krokos

Am I the only one who sees the similarities between this book cover to Veronica Roth's Divergent cover? Only I love this cover so much more! Judging by the premise itself on Goodreads, I think this might be a favourite even before actually reading it. A girl with no memory. Sounds good. A boy who knows something about her lost memory. I'm starting to love the sound of this. A suppose "boyfriend" whom the girl can't remember loving? Um, YES PLEASE!

5. Insignia by S.J. Kincaid

I will never get tired of these thriller-esque stories. The cover is amazing first off. And then the premise with a hunky-sounding guy involving himself in the next War War III . . . I say all hail this book and I'm looking forward to reading this!

6. The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Bachelor meets Hunger Games. Okay I'm so there! I mean judging by the ever-so-beautiful cover with the most beautiful blue dress I've ever seen on a book cover, I have to say I have high hopes for this book because the author's vlogs on YouTube are freaking hilarious. Hope this will be a great read!

7. Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

First of all, the cover is uber-amazing! Secondly, with the way things ended in the first book, Anna Dressed in Blood, how could you not want the sequel? I desperately want to know what happened to Anna, what will happen to Cas . . . so many questions and so long to wait! Can't wait to get a copy of this book!

8. Tokyo Heist by Diana Renn

I'm obsessed with Tokyo. I love heist-like stories. And like me, the main character apparently has a liking of reading manga. I think I love this book already!

9. A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink

Another book by the Prophecy of the Sisters's author - Michelle Zink? Yes please. It has a gorgeous cover, an interesting premise (with murdered family, angelic descendants and angelic brothers) . . . I want this book now!

10. Black Heart by Holly Black

I'm incredibly excited for the third and final installment of the Curse Workers series and I'm very eager to find out what the future holds for Cassel.

So what 2012 books are you looking forward to?

Top 10 Book Characters in 2011

Top 10 book characters in 2011 is hosted by Lisa from A Life Bound By Books and Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and co-hosted by Jamie & Patricia from Two Chicks On Books and Rachel from Fiktshun.

Top 10 Book Characters in 2011

Again, it's seriously hard to choose my top 10 favourite book characters of 2011. So many books. So many different characters. So many favourites. Instead of listing my favourite boy characters, since I already named my favourite fictional boyfriends in my previous post, I'm going to start naming my top 10 fictional girl characters of 2011. Here we go . . .

1. Sydney from Bloodlines by Richelle Mead ~ What's not to love about Sydney Sage? Being only a supporting character in the Vampire Academy series and ending up as the main heroine, Sydney is the perfect gal to lead this new series in the right direction. While I love Rose Hathaway but I love Sydney much more because she reminds me of me and we have some things in common. On the plus side she's incredibly smart, witty, and while she seems to hide her true self from others, but she's the heroine you ought to inspire to. Her and Adrian . . . God I love their comebacks and banter.

2. Cat from One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress series) by Jeaniene Frost ~ I've loved Cat right from the very beginning of this series. She's headstrong, throws words around without a care, kicks major monster butt, and on her arm she has her gorgeous and freaking sexy vampire, Bones, who is just as badass as her. I love you Cat!

3. Kaylee from If I Die (Soul Screamers series) by Rachel Vincent ~ Our Kaylee has grown so much in these last five books and I'm proud of the young woman she's become. While she makes some bad decisions, but Kaylee always pulls through the bad times and manages to remain headstrong in making the right decision in the end. And she's hilarious and she always makes me laugh out loud!

4. Puck from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater ~ This girl, Puck, is the bravest chick I know in young adult books. With some people bringing her down and thinking she's a girl with too much to lose, Puck only proves to them and to herself that she can do anything she puts her mind to and she definitely earns this #4 spot!

5. Karou from Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor ~ Karou has so many likable qualities about her and some of them I can relate to. She's a tough girl dealing with many complications in her life and she's very artistic which gives her another added bonus!

6. Bridget from Possess by Gretchen McNeil ~ I freaking love Bridget! She has a smart-mouth, is incredibly strong for a teenager and she definitely knows how to kick demons down to the curb without them getting to her first. I admire her deeply.

7. Juliette from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi ~ The Juliette you meet at the beginning of the novel may be vulnerable and naive about the world around her, but the Juliette you meet after she learns things about the outside world as well as the evil things in it, she then turns out to be so strong and tough-skinned, and now the world is in fear of her. Love her to bits!

8. Rhine from Wither by Lauren DeStefano ~ Rhine faces so many blocks on the road and sometimes you wouldn't be surprised if she just . . . gave up. But this heroine doesn't - not at all. She knows her situation is dire and that she may not escape it, but nothing stops her to think outside the box because she has hope on her side of things.

9. Tessa from Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices series) by Cassandra Clare ~ Tessa is such a great heroine for a young adult novel. She can be a little too proper for her own young lady-like ways and can be a little naive about things (especially to romantic feelings), but with her love of books to her love of both Will and Jem, it's no wonder why she ended up on my list of favourite heroines. In Clockwork Prince, Tessa's character has much more depth to her character than I realized and we love this new brave side of her.

10. Tris (Beatrice) from Divergent by Veronica Roth ~ Tris started off as a weak character because all of her life, she had lived in a sheltered community and had never done anything daring until she chooses and enters the Dauntless faction. And I like this newly transformed brave Tris.

So who is your favourite book character of 2011?

Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2011

Top 10 Book Boyfriends is hosted by Lisa from A Life Bound by Books and Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and co-hosted by Jamie & Patricia from Two Chicks on Books and Rachel from Fiktshun.

Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2011

I have so many books and so many of them contain my favourite 'lover-boys' of all time. Seriously I have a lot on my list! But who are my favourite for this year? Again this is hard to list only ten of them but I managed to do so. Anyway here's the list . . .

1. Jem (James) from Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices series)

Okay before you get snappy at me . . . I love Will as well but Jem has really upstepped his game in Clockwork Prince and I'm always on his side, even though at times I'm on Will's. But Jem, sweet, sweet Jem. If you haven't read my Clockwork Prince book review, then thank god you haven't because there's so much emotion I have for this guy! Team Jem forever and ever, and ever!

2. Jay from Desires of the Dead (The Body Finder series)

Jay is the sweetest and the most supportive boyfriend on the fictional boy planet! He's the guy best friend to the main character, Violet, and he's totally boyfriend material through my eyes. He says all the right things, he says the most super sweetest things a boy could ever say, and for once, he's a guy who really cares about his girlfriend, while still treating her as his best friend which I love most about Jay!

3. Adam from Shatter Me

Adam is just about everything you want in a love interest. I want my own Adam! He's sweet, fiercely protective, knows how to treat a girl special, and he says everything you wished a boy like him would whisper in your ear! He's got my heart!

4. Alex from Hunting Lila

Alex . . . Alex . . . Alex. He's smart, sexy, protective when needed, and did I mention that he's super hot in his own super-military-sort-of-way? Yup this guy is one fine man and he's definitely 'the man' to mention in my book boyfriends blog post!

5. Adrian from Bloodlines

Adrian isn't exactly 'boyfriend material' but he certainly knows how to swoon the ladies. Like in the much beloved series Vampire Academy, in this new spin-off series, Adrian wins hearts yet again with his witty comebacks and with his sweet, sincere comments where a lot of the characters are generally suprised by . . . because he really does care behind his fascade of the sometimes-crazy and the sometimes-drunk. And we love him for it!

6. Ash from The Iron Knight (Iron Fey series)

How can Ash NOT appear on my top 10 book boyfriends? I mean, Ash is a Prince. Check. He's insanely hot. Check. He's willing to do anything to be with the girl of his dreams. Check. And he says all the right things . . . check. We love you Ash, we truly do!

7. Tod from If I Die (Soul Screamers series)

In this series, I used to love Nash and he would totally be in my list but . . . he's done things that are pretty unforgivable which gives his older brother, Tod, the rightful place of being my #7 favourite book boyfriend of 2011. Tod has always been supportive with his friends and family - even with his brother's now-to-be ex-girlfriend, Kaylee, whom he deeply cares about. I just love this grim reaper!

8. Joshua from Hereafter

There are so many great boyfriends in YA books - that's the honest truth. But for young Joshua here, he's such a great boy who deserves to be here at the #8 spot. He's so understanding about things the human mind would freak out about and he does everything that makes you sway and swoon over. I love you Joshua!

9. Cricket from Lola and the Boy Next Door

Cricket is the sweetest thing ever! He's gorgeous. He's funny. He's geeky. He's . . . everything you could possibly want and die for in a boyfriend. There's nothing he could do wrong in this book and I want him all to myself.

10. Noah from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Okay, okay . . . Noah isn't exactly 'boyfriend material' and he's definitely not the type to get yourself involved with and bring home to your father. Noah isn't a good guy. That's the truth. But we don't care right? Because I don't. Love him or hate him, deep down inside this sexy-gorgeous-british-bad-boy-who-continues-to-be-the-sexiest-thing-ever, Noah is a great boyfriend when it comes to him loving Mara. It's a chemistry-driven relationship and when you forget some of his faults of being a 'player' . . . when it comes down to it he's super funny and when he truly cares for someone - like really cares for them - he's there to care and we love him deeply for being that way! Even when he's being a bad boy. Wink wink.

So who are your favourite fictional boyfriends?

Have any others apart from the ones I've mentioned?

Top 10 Book Covers of 2011

Top 10 book covers is hosted by Lisa from A Life Bound by Books and Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and co-hosted by Jamie from Two Chicks on Books and Rachel from Fiktshun.

Top 10 Book Covers of 2011

Much like my other post with my favourite top 10 books that I've read in 2011, this again was very hard to choose from, especially between the millions of books I have here with me. I mean, for this year, there was quite a lot of fantastic reads with fantastic book covers! But anyway here's my list going by the exact order . . .

1. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Even before the book was released, along with the cover image, I remember coming across this photograph on the internet and then . . . it happened to be this book's cover. As you can imagine, I was very excited because I LOVE this photo. It's kind of romantic, haunting and not to mention very beautiful in its artistic way. It's by far my favourite book cover of 2011 and definitely earns the #1 spot!

2. Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass is one of the most original book covers I've ever come across. Not only does it look beautiful in person, but it serves relevance to the storyline itself and it reminds me a lot of the movie Inception, which is another bonus. Just . . . LOVE IT! The purple wallpaper, the upside-down-ness and how the girls hair is flowing . . . it's absolutely beautiful!

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent is a great dystopian book but its cover is one of the things I love most about it. You have the city on the bottom (basically the setting of the book), you have the fiery fire symbol (for those who'd read the book will know its purpose), and you have a great font that would entice the reader's eye. What's not to love about it?

4. Possess by Gretchen McNeil

I love everything about this particular book cover. It's one of the reasons why I bought the book in hardcover - which is so beautiful and shiny in person. While I love the font and the cover model representing the main heroine of the story, but what really captured me was the trees and the forest-like branches overlapping the model's face . . . such a brilliant idea! Not to mention creepy!

5. Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Great story. Great cover! When I first got introduced to this cover, I'm happy to say it was love at first sight. You have a cover model whom looks exactly like the main character pictured inside my head and it's breathtaking when you see the book in person. I'm sure many readers thought this one was a beauty!

6. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

This blew me away! Don't let this small image disappoint you because the real book cover that you see in hand is absolutely beautiful and shiny. Honestly, this is a great book cover. There's not too much colour to distract you, there's a pretty cover model with a striking and fierce personality about her, and a great font to catch your eye! It's perfect!

7. The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Some people may find this cover lacking outstanding colour, but I think it's just what the book needs and just what I love in a book cover. There might not be bright yellows or calming blues and greens, but the black makes me want to read this book because 1) I love black and 2) because the 'depressing' colour serves somewhat 'purpose' to the storyline as it too is a depressing environment but one that is an awesome read and cover!

8. Legend by Marie Lu

I was reading many comments regarding this book cover. Some people absolutely loved it while others thought it was the 'boring' kind. But I love it. It doesn't matter about colour, just as long as it interests you in some way, shape or form. And I believe it does. Your main focus is the symbol and the title underneath - one that really hits you! Love it so much and it represents the dystopian element so well!

9. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

This book cover - like all of Stiefvater's book covers - is one of the best I've seen around. It's simple but effective and what's not to love? You have a girl on a horse (one without a cover model which is a nice change) and I love the golden fancy font!

10. Reckoning by Lili St. Crow

Like all of Crow's Strange Angels books, I love their covers and their cover models. This model is exactly whom I pictured to be Dru and she's definitely - on this book cover - captured to feisty essence of Dru's personality! It's my favourite Strange Angels cover!

So what's your favourite book cover?

Any other book covers you care to comment on?

Top 10 Books I've Read In 2011

Top 10 books is hosted by Lisa from A Life Bound by Books and Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and co-hosted by Jamie & Patricia from Two Chicks on Books and Rachel Fiktshun.

Top 10 Books I've Read in 2011

Gee whiz. I found it very hard when I created this list because there were so many great reads that I've read this year but, in any case, I managed to narrow it down to 10 picks. So here I present to you my top 10 books for 2011 - in this order.

1. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Goodreads / Review

After reading this book . . . I'm still in tears over it. Over Will. Over Jem. Over EVERYTHING! There's so much emotion and depth in this novel, and I'm pleased to say it's my #1 favourite book of 2011 and it lived up to my high expectations! Plus it was the best novel Cassandra Clare has written - by far - and it contains a fantastic set of characters and the best love triangle EVER! This is my obsession and if you read my review . . . let me say one thing and one thing only - DEAL WITH IT! hehe. Team Jem forever. I love Will but Team Jem.

2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Goodreads / Review

I was practically married to Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series and was rather 'involved' with the characters like no other series. But since my favourite series ended with Last Sacrifice, I had to move on, let go and love another. Clearly Bloodlines is my new lover. What shocked me the most was that I loved this book more than the very first VA book . . . who would've thought, right? Not to mention I loved Sydney's character more than Rose considering I could connect with her on a personal level. Then there's Adrian . . . nuff said. This book rocked!

3. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Goodreads / Review

Twilight is so over. Let's put Starcrossed on the pedestal everybody. Seriously THIS book is what Twilight should've been. Remove the sparkling vampires and insert some Godly-like mythology and you're going to have a blast. Josephine Angelini I bow down to you and to this book because I lovvveeeeeeedddd it. How does she write an epic adventure like this one - and write it so greatly too?

4. If I Die by Rachel Vincent

Goodreads / Review

Rachel Vincent is like . . . my favourite author! I love her books - especially her adult books - but I love her young adult Soul Screamers series and if you haven't already read the books . . . THEN READ THEM IMMEDIATELY! While the other books in this series are awesome, but this one would have to be my favourite so far! Kaylee . . . Nash . . . Todd . . . I love you!

5. The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

Goodreads / Review

I've been a long-time fan of Kittredge's adult books and yet again, she'd made me fall in love with her very first young adult novel. This author can WRITE! The Iron Thorn is a steampunk-like world (think Alice in Wonderland but with faeries and engines) but full of awesomeness - with fun and lovable characters to the damn right interesting and fantastical world that will take your breath away . . . I truly LOVED this novel! Demand the sequel!

6. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Goodreads / Review

Seriously? For real? How can this book NOT be in my Top 10 list for 2011!? With hints of the TV show Supernatural, this book is everything you want in a horror young adult story. You have Cas who is the supernatural hunter that will always win your heart, not to mention the bloody Anna who will grab you by the heart and toss you into all sorts of emotions. These characters are to die for and Kendare Blake is a genius! For reals!

7. A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

Goodreads / Review

For this year, I'm very happy to say this is a really unique book and it surprised me in many ways I didn't think were possible. I love the cover. I love the author. I love the story. But most of all I love the characters! Charlotte's tale was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time and don't forget her boyfriend, Harlin, who is so ever swoon-worthy. And of course, there's the cliffhanger which was absolutely perfect and I'm seriously dying here to get my hands on a copy of the sequel. Expecting big and great things from this author!

8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Goodreads / Review

All I can say is . . . this book will BLOW your mind into pieces! IT WAS FANTASTIC and considering I don't read too many adult books . . . this one totally cut it for me. With a magical circus where nothing is what it seems, I'm sure a lot of readers had this down as one of their favourite 2011 books. Look out for big things from this author! And no, my praises aren't because of us sharing our first name.

9. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads / Review

What can I honestly say about Cinder without fan-galing? This book is by far my favourite fairytale retelling! The characters were so human and every bit of the book was fantastic, not to mention there's a hot prince! ;)

10. Red Glove by Holly Black

Goodreads / Review

I don't know about you guys but I just love Holly Black's Curse Workers series! There's just something about crime and mobsters that gets to me and of course there's that hot guy Cassel, who is one of the best boy characters I've ever read. He's so . . . dreamy. He's not a good guy but he has heart and I love him deeply for it!

So what are your favourite reads of 2011?