13 Favourite Books of 2013

Last year was a great year of books for me. I read lots of fantastic books and It was really hard to try to choose only thirteen. Last year I did a post which had my 12 favourite books but being as though it was 2013, this time I've chosen thirteen favourites. I've cheated a little bit and picked a series as being one book on two occasions, well they were all favourites!

Here is my list of books from last year and reviews listing them from 13 through to 1.

Number 13

The Knife of Never Letting Go & The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Number 12

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Number 11

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell

Number 10

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Number 9

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Number 8

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Number 7

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Number 6

The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do

Number 5

The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta

Number 4

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Number 3

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Number 2

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Number 1

The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

What were your favourite books from last year?

Epic storytelling at it's best!

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

Rating: 5 out of 5 hearts

418 pages

Released: September 2011

Buy it @ book depository

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

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. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

 

Review

What can I say that hasn't already been said? This is so beautifully written, I read it in about 3 sittings which could've been less but unfortunately I had to sleep and work. Laini Taylor has given a whole different take on the old fashioned feud between good and evil - Angels & demons.

Karou was such an interesting character, how can you not love someone with blue hair and able to kick anyone's butt with her mad fighting skills. She is a girl with lots of secrets, but there are also a lot of secrets going on that she doesn't know about. There's a lot of mystery shrouding Karou's birth and where she comes from. It was written really well and kept me guessing until everything was revealed.

I LOVED the backdrop of Prague - I felt like I have travelled there by the amazing way Taylor described all the different places. Anyone who has been there before may feel like they are reliving some of their moments there (sadly I've never been).

There's a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, so I have already reserved the next book at the library, The third book comes out in April next year (2014) so I won't have to wait too long to finish the trilogy -  thankfully! I'm glad I finally got round to reading this because it has lived up to all my expectations, maybe even surpassed my expectations.

On the cover

This is the cover I'm most used to seeing on the Internet, which I think is so awesome!! But I haven't actually seen it in person. I always wondered why the mask is blue but after reading I know. There are two other covers floating around that I've actually seen which is the one above and another one that looks like it has a door on the cover. All of these covers mean something to the story but I like the one of the left the best.

What I'm reading next: The Perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chboskyc

Not a star in my eyes

Dark Star (Dark Star #1) by Bethany Frenette

Rating: 2 out of 5 hearts
368 pages
Buy it @ book depository
Released: October 2012

Audrey Whitticomb has nothing to fear. Her mother is the superhero Morning Star, the most deadly crime-fighter in the Twin Cities, so it's hard for Audrey not to feel safe. That is, until she's lured into the sweet night air by something human and not human--something with talons and teeth, and a wide, scarlet smile.

Now Audrey knows the truth: her mom doesn't fight crime at night. She fights Harrowers--livid, merciless beings who were trapped Beneath eons ago. Yet some have managed to escape. And they want Audrey dead, just because of who she is: one of the Kin.

To survive, Audrey will need to sharpen the powers she has always had. When she gets close to someone, dark corners of the person's memories become her own, and she sometimes even glimpses the future. If Audrey could only get close to Patrick Tigue, a powerful Harrower masquerading as human, she could use her Knowing to discover the Harrowers' next move. But Leon, her mother's bossy, infuriatingly attractive sidekick, has other ideas. Lately, he won't let Audrey out of his sight.

When an unthinkable betrayal puts Minneapolis in terrible danger, Audrey discovers a wild, untamed power within herself. It may be the key to saving her herself, her family, and her city. Or it may be the force that destroys everything--and everyone--she loves.

Review

My first thoughts about this book were that it was going to be about superheroes, which I thought would be exciting and new as I've never read a book about a superhero before, but it wasn't. Audrey's mum is the 'superhero' with super strength who goes out into the night to fight crime with her sidekick Leon. Audrey on the other hand has the 'Knowing' which means she can read tarot cards and get certain feelings from people, sort of like a psychic.

I felt like the plot for the story was repeated over and over again. Audrey would put herself in danger, she'd get saved and then she would be given a slight bit of background information about her life. This happened so many times and it got annoying. Over and over again it would be the same pattern: in danger, gets saved, background information.

One thing I did like about this was the romance. It was fairly predictable who Audrey's love interest was, but I enjoyed reading about it because it was slow and there wasn't any kissing til right at the end which made it all the more exciting when it finally did happen.

I'd love to read a prequel story about Audrey's mum because her back story sounds cool and I'd like to read about her doing some serious butt kicking (who wouldn't really).

I think I will probably read the next one but not in any hurry as I wasn't dying to find out what happens in the next book. I'd like to see what other people thought about this too.

I received this Galley through NetGalley from Disney-Hyperion.

On the cover

This cover is awesome! I love the reflection of the buildings on the side of the building. Too bad what the cover shows you never happens in the book. 

 What I'm reading next: Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

 

Screaming for a bit more

My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3) by Rachel Vincent

Rating: 2 out 5 hearts

296 pages

Buy it @ book depository
Released: June 2010

"Kaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them.Until something does.Demon breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked. And so is someone else…"

Review

First up I have to say that the blurb on the back of the book isn't like the blurb above. Well it is but instead of saying "Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked. And so is someone else…" they actually have who that someone else is on the back!! In the book we don't actually find out who that 'someone else' is until about midway through but the back of the book has already given it away!! I was so angry because through the whole book I knew exactly who was addicted to the drug. From then on I don't really read the blurbs of series anymore because I don't want it to give away what the story might be about.

I thought the story was ok but I wasn't ever dying to find out what was going to happen next. The idea of humans inhaling demon's breath as a drug is really cool but the ending let me down a little bit. Mostly the book was a bit forgetful. Trying to write the review now is hard as I can't remember how I felt about the characters or the story. There was one thing that disturbed me was when Nash told Kaylee what the demon did to her and also what Nash had to give up to the demon, I got really upset for Kaylee and felt for her during those moments.

Otherwise I think it was an ok read but I'm just really disappointed. I think I'd still like to read the rest of the series but I'll wait a while before I get the next one. 

On the cover

Every cover I've seen so far from this series has a girl dancing in a pretty dress on the front and always a different colour. To me it looks like this is a book about Ballet not demons and drugs. A friend was visiting and I asked her what she thought the book was about just by looking at the cover and she said something about soul keepers.... seems like I know nothing about covers.

What I'm reading next: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Completely Spellbound

Spellbound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins
Rating: 4 out of 5
327 pages
Buy it @ book depository

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?





Review: I'm sad that we're at the end of a fun & magical series. I can remember the feeling I had when I read 'Hex Hall' (the first in the series), it was amazement. I hadn't read anything like it, since then I have but you never forget your first. As always with a series there was a huge cliffhanger at the end of the second book and left you dying to find out what happened to everyone after the fire.

Sophie is back with lots of spunk and spunks in tow. As with SO many teenage series there's always a love triangle and this one is hard for me because I like both the guys involved. There's sweet Cal and funny boy Archer. Which one, which one?! I'll let you read to find out.

Some of my favourite characters are back and some new characters are introduced. The thing I love best about these books is the characters banter with each other. Sophie seems to make bad situations funny because of her comebacks and comments.

I was so upset at one stage towards the end but Hawkins seems to have made it all better in the end.
I decided to give this only 4 out of 5 stars because it wasn't as flawless as the previous two. I thought that it felt rushed and I hate to say it because I love this series, but after all this time wondering about why someone had created demons it was a tiny little let down to find out who was behind it all.

And finally I have to say thank you to Hawkins for writing this series, I have enjoyed reading about Sophie and the rest of the characters. *Sigh* there's no more, but I feel happy with the ending.

If you would like to read my review of Hex Hall click here and for my review of Demon Glass click here

On the cover: Is that Sophie on the front cover? I didn't even realise she looked like that. She's really pretty, no wonder she had two guys chasing her. I can't complain about this cover because I like it!

What I'm reading next: The traitor in the tunnel by Y.S. Lee

Do you have a favourite book series? 

Why hello there pretty book

City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments #5)

By Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Jace is now a servant of evil, bound for all eternity to Sebastian. Only a small band of Shadowhunters believe he can be saved. To do this they must defy the Clave. And they must act without Clary. For Calry is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace's soul. Clary is willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?






Review: What can I say about City of Lost Souls. I really wish it hadn’t taken me soooo long to read this because it was really awesome! At the time I was reading this I had lots of nights out and weekends away so I couldn’t snuggle down and enjoy this in a long stint. It didn’t help when each chapter of the book were on average 30 pages! So once I finished one chapter I would get distracted and not pick up the book for another few days. I really enjoy the Mortal Instruments series and this one didn’t let me down. It picks up right where we left off in book Four and takes you on a swoony ride. My My there was so much swoon in this book, we don’t have only one couple to swoon along with but four! There was so much going on (which was a good thing) with so many storylines to follow. They all intertwine with each other so well and keep the fast pace of the story exciting. I think the more and more I read this series the more and more I like Clary as a female character. I haven’t always had such a strong connection to her from the other books but something happened for me in this. I think all the moments she had with Sebastian, and what she was standing up for really pushed her into “Awesome character” for me. I also like Simon a lot more in this one compared to four, I kind of hated when he was turned into a Vampire and now he’s gotten to terms with what he is, not a monster and I like that. Oh and I love all the references to her Infernal Devices series, If you are planning on reading book 4 & 5 of The Mortal Instruments seres without first reading her Infernal Devices series – don’t! There’s some things that you will get better if you read the Infernal Devices first. I can’t go past saying “damn that’s a cliffhanger of an ending”! Cassandra Clare has done a fantastic job with this book, I can not wait to see what adventure I’m taken on next.

On the cover: Awesome is an understatement for this cover. It's truly beautiful! Unfortunetly you cant see how pretty it looks with the above picture. The parts on their bodies that look like they are shiny, they really are shiny! If I hadn't read the first few books, I would still pick this up because its looks really interesting. Also, Clary actually does wear a red dress similar to that in the story so it does show what to expect inside. Oh how I wish this guy on the cover was playing Jace in the movie instead of the actor who is. This is guy is dreamy....

What I'm reading next: Witch & Wizard {Graphic Novel} by James Patterson

What do you think of the cover? Would you read this book based on it's cover?