Top Ten Tuesday -- Favorites of 2011

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week -- Top Ten Favorite Books I Read in 2011 (be sure to enter my top two  giveaway)

I have read a lot of incredible books this year. Though I enjoyed most of them, there are a few that definitely stood out and made the list of favorites. Like I've said before, I am a favorites type of person. I love to claim something as the best or my favorite. And there are a few books that I read in 2011 that I constantly tell people to read and claim were some of my favorite books not only of 2011 but ever. 

To make my favorites list the book has to provide the following reactions:

1. The blank eyed stare while you are out to dinner. You are too busy worrying about whether Sean Kendrick gets to keep his horse, or if Anna and St. Clair will ever get together. Thus, normal conversation just is not important or possible. 

2. Dreams. Emotional, physical, and beautiful dreams that you are flying on a hoverboard with Zane or fighting the Strigoi alongside Dimitry. 

3. Curse words muttered in public. "No (add curse word here). That did not just happen."

4. Tears (also had in public) -- one drop or a full on flood. 

and...

5. That feeling of can't eat, can't sleep, can't think or do anything else. All you want is to live inside of the pages of the book and absorb every bit of the adventure. 

So...my top ten books read in 2011 are...

10. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

The first half of this book was slow. But the second half -- ugh, it penetrated the walls of my heart. I've never looked back. Public tears. Public curses. 

9. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I think what I love most about this book is how unique it is. It was exciting and refreshing. And definitely falls into the blank stared category. While out to dinner, I finally had to say, "sorry, I just zoned out for a moment while I escaped into this amazing book I am about to finish."

8. The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

I liked The Forest of Hands and Teeth, the first book in this series. And it ends with a "What the?" But this one begins with a "what the?" It held me captive the whole time as I raced away from the zombies and fell in love. 

7. Divergent by Veronica Roth

This was probably the book I was most excited for this year. It did not disappoint. It is thrilling and the main character, Tris, has an original voice. 

6. Crossed by Ally Condie

This book is on the slow side, but I still loved it. It wasn't an adrenaline pumping adventure but an emotional one. And sometimes those make your heart beat even faster.

5. Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Sophie Mercer is adorable, funny and relatable. Archer Cross is adorable, funny and hot. The two combined lead to a really fun adventure. 

4. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

I really liked Uglies. But when Zane -- pretty, wide-eyed, and rebellious Zane -- enters the book, I could not get enough. Such a fun and imaginative series. 

3. The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

This six book series could occupy spots 3-8 with how much I love all of them. So, I decided to just count it as one amazing book. It is seriously the most addictive series I have read. And you have to read it all. At first, I thought it would be a long, tedious adventure. But no. It is one of the most thrilling book adventures I have ever read. 

2. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (click here to enter my GIVEAWAY!)

This is at number two for so many reasons. The characters -- beautiful, rich, and emotional. The plot -- exciting, heartfelt, and unique. The horses -- thrilling. I love this book. And of all the books I read this year, this is one I would recommend to everyone. Can't eat, can't sleep, obsessed with this book favorite.

and...

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (click here to enter my GIVEAWAY!)

One name -- Etienne St. Clair. Stephanie Perkins knows how to weave an adorable story about young love. She creates the best tension, the most adorable characters, and some of the greatest lines. I love everything about this book. 

What are your top ten favorite books read in 2011?

Please let me know so I can read them too!

(Enter my giveaway! Ends January 7 @ 12:00 p.m. CST)

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

by Laini Taylor

Hardcover, US, 

418 pages

Published September 27th 2011 

by Little, Brown & Company

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 one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored 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? (Goodreads summary)

I really enjoyed this book. An exceptional amount actually. It possesses all of the elements I look for in a novel. A young girl (Karou) searching for answers and the truth behind who she is--a path of self discovery. A young man (Akiva) who is not quite human but is entirely swoon worthy. A forbidden romance. Rich characters. And a quick paced plot. These are all elements that make it great, but it is the uniqueness that makes it fantastic.

I love a good young adult novel as much as the next person (well, I suppose I should say the next person who likes young adult novels), but there are times when they can fall into the category of seen before. Don't get me wrong, even if seen before, they can still be great. However, when I encounter a book that is not like the seen before, it is refreshing and sets itself apart. This book is similar in essence but so different in actuality.

 

It is set in Prague, which that alone sets the stage with completely different props. And as I have had the pleasure of visiting Prague, I felt like I could accurately envision Karou's world. Except, Prague is just the starting point. We are taken to many different locations that are richly described. And though they were places I have never been, I still felt like I could see them, hear the noise, and smell the scene. 

Then there is the story. It starts off on an interesting foot--a drawing class and mysterious wishing stones--and continues down that path until the last gripping page. I wasn't bored for a moment. And come page 250 (when you read it, you will understand what I mean) it became torture to have to put it down. As I read mostly on my commute to and from work, I actually found myself wishing for extra el stops so I could keep reading. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone tells the story of a battle between creatures called Chimaera (who I imagine look something like this handomse fella from Pan's Labyrinthe) and the Seraphim (who I imagine looking uneartlhy beautiful). Laini Taylor portrays them in a way that veers away from your typical good verse evil, heaven verse hell. We are given two sides to a war where we are unsure who to root for and who to blame. This is the main question we face along side Karou as she discovers who she is and where she has come from. (And falls in love--of course.) 

The story is unique, complex, and fascinating. The world that is created takes time to understand, but is worth soaking up every last detail. It isn't a quick read. There is no skimming the pages of this one. The beautiful descriptions and even times hilarious remarks are worth the time. And, there is no guessing what is going to happen.  At times, it is obvious that was what was destined to happen, but the obvious doesn't matter, what is on the page does.

From the characters, to the voice, to the setting, to the world building, this is a book worth reading. I fell in love with this bizarre book and its abnormal characters. It is definitely an adventure worth going on. Be prepared for your heart to race, hands to sweat, your mind to spin and your heart to swoon. 

Pack light, it is quite the journey.