2012 Year in Review!! My top books and series of the year!
If you have any favorite reads for this year please share! 2012 has been quite a year for me. I’ve read some incredible books, some great books, some not so great books, some terrible books. But overall it contributed to read count of over 131 stories this year. It’s kind of funny because I feel like a slacker compared to some other Goodreads friends who I’ve seen read over 400+ books; one even read over 900. But good or bad, I’ll take it as a victory. Communiting to and from my job takes a good 2 hours of my day, which allows me to and dedicate most of that to reading. A broken iPod has helped quite a bit too, but Christmas kind of rectified that so I’ll have to see how my read count in 2013 compares. But in the meantime, I want to narrow things down and present my favorite urban fantasy/paranormal books of 2012.
1
Ever After ARC (The Hollows #11) by Kim Harrison
I debated listing this one because it technically doesn’t come out until 2013, but it rocked my personal socks this year, and I’m sure it will rock yours in January, so I’m going to list it.
2
All Dorina Basarab novels, including Fury’s Kiss by Karen Chance
Though I was fairly familiar with its original sister series, Cassandra “Cassie” Palmer, I was really surprised to find that I love this series infinitely more. It’s got all of the pluses, none of the annoyances. Dory is a riot, but she kicks ass too. It just pains me that it take 2 years between books.
3
Wicked as They Come (Blud #1) by Delilah S. Dawson
Early on in the year this was my favorite book. The world was new, interesting and exciting. And Criminy was awesome! I definitely can’t wait for the next book featuring him and Tish, but much like Karen Chance, this author alternates from book to book.
4
A Perfect Blood (The Hollows #10) by Kim Harrison
Yes, the Hollows takes two spots on my list. In addition to the Ever After ARC, with all of the different publications this year from Into the Woods to Blood Crime to Trouble on Reserve to Trent’s POV from the paperback of A Perfect Blood, two spots can’t be surprising. However, while good, this book wasn’t quite in the same class as Ever After, but I did love it. And like most Trenchers out there, Trent’s POV left me speechless! Oh and it’s also pretty awesome anytime I can meet Kim Harrison!
5
Kingmakers (Vampire Empire #3) by Susan and Clay Griffith
This was another fantastic finish to a wonderful trilogy. I was fortunate enough to read the ARC for this series and I loved it! If only there was more!
6
Dead Morning Sky (Experiment in Terror #3) by Karina Halle
I wanted scary and I got scary! Just a little more than I bargained for with the weird crap that was happening OFF the pages while reading it. And funny enough, there was no repeat of that peculiar activity after I was done. I have since stopped here, but there are definitely more books with Dex and Perry’s adventures. I plan to get to them after catching up with the Night Huntress series that I’m currently reading.
7
Ashes of Honor (October Daye #6) by Seanan McGuire
I read this book at a pretty difficult time. I started reading it and then I got my hands on the Ever After ARC. I was riding too much of a high for anything else to compare, including this. But in hindsight, this book rocks and I bet the next book will be my favorite of the series!
8
Tale of the Vampire Bride by Rhiannon Frater
I was gripped from beginning to end on this one. It’s not an easy read, and do not mistake this for a romance. It’s more like one of those train-wrecks that you can’t look away from. Unfortunately the sequel was nowhere near as good, but I hope this series continues eventually. I would love to read a third book if it could get back to the level of book 1.
9
Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee
I have a bit of an aversion when it comes to the Young Adult genre, but this is an exception. I LOVED this book and I often find myself wondering how long it’d be until the second book is released. That’s definitely a sign of a book worthy of this list. Even better, it’s probably the best $0.99 I’ve spent on a book!
10
Love is Fear (Valerie Dearborn #2) by Caroline Hanson
Though this trilogy arc is complete, this book is probably my favorite of the three. I finished wanting more, more, MORE!
Honorable Mentions
Iced (Dani O’Malley #1) by Karen Marie Moning – I definitely didn’t inhale this one as fast as the original Fever novels, but it did leave an impression. Honestly though, I just want more Mac and Barrons!
At Grave’s End (Night Huntress #3) by Jeaniene Frost – The review is pending right now because I wanted to post this year in review first, but I did enjoy it the most of the three novels thusfar. This series isn’t really among my favorites, but it seems to be positioning itself in the tier of series that are right below my favorites. Not a bad place to be. There’s Bones to thank for that.
Fire Baptized (Habitat #1) by Kenya Wright – I inhaled this book as well. This fresh take on the urban fantasy genre was just what I needed at the time and unlike some series where the sequels don’t measure up, its sequel certainly did and I look forward to book 3!
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion – I enjoyed this book quite a bit, as well as the movie. It presented a different take on the genre that I found refreshing.
A Blood Seduction (Vamp City #1) by Pamela Palmer – an alternate Washington, DC gets some bonus points! This book introduced a pretty intriguing world. I read it in a day and enjoyed it, so that’s why it gets a mention. Just beware that this isn’t true romance. If you go in with those expectations you’ll likely be disappointed.
The Fire Lord’s Lover (The Elven Lords #1) by Kathryne Kennedy – I read this particular book in one day and I loved the world building and build up to the eventual romance. Unfortunately the sequels never really struck the same chord.
So all in all it’s been a good year! This blog has been good to me. YOU guys have been good to me. And I hope 2013 is even better!! The great thing about books is that there’s something for everybody. I wish you all a very Happy New Year!
Ashes of Honor (October Daye #6) – A must read for fans of the series.
Ashes of Honor, Book 6 in the October Daye series, takes place about a year after One Salt Sea. Toby has loved, lost, and is now trying to get back to normalcy. Of course, in Toby’s world “normalcy” includes solving cases and facing danger head on. And those who love her most fear that her luck could run out.
She takes on a case for Etienne to find his teenaged daughter, Chelsea, a changeling whose been kept a secret from Etienne for all of these years. However, without her father’s tutelage to harness her powers, she inadvertently wreaks havoc on Faerie, and Toby and her friends are at the front lines to help.
This was a great book for character development. Being the cat lover that I am, I was particularly interested in the politics surrounding the Court of Cats and their growing disdain for Tybalt’s decisions. Toby and Tybalt have always had a complicated relationship, so the consequences have caught up and everything plays out accordingly. Romance or no, I find the books are always better when he’s gracing the pages, and this time there was a satisfying dose of him.
The adventure to find Chelsea was a little flat for me, though it ended well. I think Seanan McGuire has created an amazing world, so to go from the previous book where we took a trip to the Undersea where we could see Toby in all of her mermaid glory and compare their politics to land fae, this wasn’t quite as interesting for me.
Toby gets banged around a LOT here. Having self-generating abilities has its pluses, but I feel like at least a quarter of the chapters end with Toby passing out or getting knocked out, which came off as a bit too repetitive.
Even still, it’s a quality read and a very important installment to the series. It’s probably my favorite at this point. I always appreciate a series that gets better with age.
Late Eclipses (October Daye #4) – It’s like night and…daye! Reading October in October!
This marks my first review of Seanan McGuire’s popular series. Normally I prefer to review every book after I read it; however, for this series it was super difficult to become invested early on. I got through the first three quickly to keep my enthusiasm up for the series. But since I read them quickly I didn’t think I could write a proper review. But due to the high acclaim that the later books have received I decided to push through, and that turned out to be a good decision.
October “Toby” Daye, our favorite half-human, half-fae, is just a magnet for trouble. She means well, but when it comes to Faerie politics, nothing is cut and dry. She earns knighthood, an unprecedented achievement for a changeling since their kind are all but shunned when it comes to the fae community. So there is definitely an ulterior motive involved…perhaps the perfect scenario to make Toby public enemy number 1 after a number of grave incidents happen to those closest to her.
This is far and away the best book of the series so far. it’s the most emotionally charged book yet where loyalties are cemented, secrets are revealed, and the action is steady. Everything is a close call, keeping the suspense high. I really didn’t know what to expect from page to page for the majority of the book. We find out who Toby’s friends really are and just how far they are willing to go to protect her. Her friends aren’t perfect, but they’re honorable.
I finally found myself really starting to like the side characters. My favorite supporting characters are Tybalt, the Luidaeg, Connor, and May. Being the cat person that I am, I do wish Tybalt would get more page time. Though not my favorite, I do like Sylvester and sympathized with him quite a bit. Everyone is coming into their own, and more than willing to prove their worth. The character development is pretty compelling, especially when it comes to Toby and May. The mythology involving the plethora of fairie species evolves quite a bit, expanding the world even more. They are more vulnerable than we think and I’m interested in seeing where things will go next.
It’s not the first series to have a slow beginning. My favorite series, The Hollows, is the same way (though I became invested faster). I am glad that I stuck through it though because it’s definitely one of the best that urban fantasy has to offer. Book 1 to book 4 is literally like night and…daye.
