End of Year Survey

The End of Year Book Survey is hosted by the lovely Jamie from the Perpetual Page-Turner! (The images that aren't book covers are also by her.)

1. Best Book You Read In 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

Contemporary: Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan AND Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Fantasy: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas AND Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor AND Eona by Alison Goodman

Sci-fi: All Our Yesterdays by Christin Terrill

Dystopian: Angelfall by Susan Ee 

Fairy Tale Stuff: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

That would most definitely be Requiem by Lauren Oliver! I was so excited for it but it was so meh. I get what she was trying to do with that ending, but it was SO OPEN. I would have liked more closure...

 3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? 

Pivot Point by Kasie West! I didn't really know what to expect but it BLEW ME AWAY and it's one of my favorites! So many unexpected things and the way both futures alternated and wove together was MAGNIFICENT. It was so awesome!

 4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?

I think Before I Fall, Crown of Midnight, Days of Blood and Starlight, Eona and Two Boys Kissing. No, I couldn't choose just one. Yes, they all happen to be mentioned above in the first question :P

 5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

Throne of Glass. The first book wasn't AMAZING, but damn did Crown of Midnight make up for that. Also, Pivot Point, because WHOA.

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

I'm definitely going to say Kasie West here. After having read and absolutely LOVED Pivot Point, I rushed to get my hands on The Distance Between Us and it didn't disappoint! I now eagerly await any and all books she will ever write. GIMME.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz. I have NO idea what genre this is, because it feels contemporary but has magical gay fish. So yeah. But I LOVED it. It was great!

 8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan. I quite literally couldn't put it down before I'd finished it. Good thing I started it on a Sunday morning! Otherwise I would've gotten no sleep, haha. Also, I keep gushing over the same books over and over again. Oh well.

 9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Cinder by Marissa Meyer, because I'm getting Scarlet soon-ish and need to refresh my memory of everything that has happened!

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

As in, just one? Please. I'm Queen Cover Lust. So here are a couple:

            

There are many more (think Splintered, Eon, etc.), but I've gotta stop now.

11. Most memorable character in 2013? 

Like, just one? HAHA, nope.Tiger Lily (Tiger Lily), Trevor (Pivot Point), Finn (All Our Yesterdays), Karou & Zuzana (Days of Blood and Starlight), Celaena, Nehemia & Chaol (Crown on Midnight), Julian (Pandemonium. Also, I know I'm the only one who preferred him over Alex, haha.), Tucker (Boundless), and many many more. I'm sure I've forgotten so many!

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, with Days of Blood and Starlight as a close second. Levithan's prose blew me away: stunning!

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013? 

Golden by Jessi Kirby. Aside from the beautiful writing, this book is really inspirational. It's thanks to this book that I decided to change my life - say yes more often, be more positive. It was a really inspirational read. 

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read? 

Angelfall by Susan Ee! It was just as good as people told me it was :D

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

Any quote from Two Boys Kissing, to be honest. I could open a random page and find something beautiful. It was THAT good.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Longest book: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling. 870 pages. This one was a re-read!

Shortest book: Raven by Lauren Oliver with 24 pages. But this is a novella. The shortest book I read is The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling (109 pages). My, aren't we Harry Potter-ish in this question?

How I did this: Went to my read books on Goodreads and sorted by page number and just looked for what I knew I read this year that was the shortest and longest.

 17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Crown of Midnight!! The twist that happened JUST before the second part of the book. OH MY GOD. I was stunned and going AHUIFHAKLNFIHFKHNGLDKNKSIN. Whoa, blew my mind. Unbelievable. And those who have read Crown of Midnight will definitely know what I'm talking about. Those who haven't: what are you waiting for??

Dangerous Girls too!! THAT ENDING. OH MY GOD. I sort of choked and screamed and then I went on Twitter and went crazy in my DMs with Melanie. Like yeah. 

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

Celaena & Nehemia (friendship, Throne of Glass). Karou & Zuzana (friendship, Daughter of Smoke and Bone). Rudy & Teeth (Officially friendhip, but I think I detected some romance in there as well. I ship it anyway :D. Teeth). Tiger Lily& Tink (friendship, Tiger Lily). Aria & Roar (friendship, Under the Never Sky).

Celaena & Chaol (romantic, Crown of Midnight). Penryn & Raffe (romantic, Angelfall). Addie & Trevor (romantic, Pivot Point). Karou & Akiva (romantic, Days of Blood and Starlight). Clara & Tucker (romantic, Boundless). Em & Finn (romantic, All Our Yesterdays)

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor!

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

Speechless by Hannah Harrington, which was recommended to me by Nara!

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

Anything YA, to be honest. I don't whether it's contemporary or fantasy that I read more this year, but it's probably one of those two!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

Again I ask you, just ONE?? No way. But pretty much all the boys listed in question 18, haha.

23. Best 2013 debut you read?

Pivot Point by Kasie West (duh).

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?

Days of Blood and Starlight and Under the Never Sky and Eona.

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?

Hands down Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas. SO MUCH FUN YOU GUYS. 

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

Me Since You by Laura Wiess. I am not a book cryer: I do not cry over books. But damn did this book bring me close to it. Seriously. Ouch.

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

Outcast by Adrienne Kress. It was such a pleasant suprise - it was REALLY good - and I've heard almost nobody talking about it. Which is a shame. Also Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson because it's so beautiful and so few people have read it ;_;

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer! 

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart because I've heard nothing but good things about it! And On the Fence. And and and...

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I honestly have no idea, haha. I don't know what's debut and what isn't, so...

 4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor because WHOA it's the end already! I can't wait for this one!! And Split Second by Kasie West!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In 2014?

Uh, finish a couple of series and complete my Goodreads goal! Which will probably be 120 books. This year I did it, so it should be possible, yes? :D

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! 

Random Number Survey

So I saw this survey at Pretty Deadly Reviews, who saw it at Harley Bear Book Blog! The rules are pretty simple, so if you want to join me:

1. Pick a number!

keep in mind how many books you have. If you only have one bookshelf, it may be best if you choose a number between 1 and 10. I myself don't have very much physical books, so I'm doing this one with the books on my e-reader: those are plenty, haha!

2. Go to your bookshelf and count that many books until you reach your number.

Then answer the question for that book!

3. Count the same number from where you left off,

and then answer that question. There are 15 questions total, but you're free to add more!

4. Repeat until you're finished!

I used random.org to pick a number and it chose 14!

1. What do you think of the cover?

Well, it's a bit sad that this question got paired with a novella, haha. This cover doesn't exactly rock my socks off, but I think it's nice enough, especially for a novella. It fits well with the covers of the series, but it's a bit dark: I would've liked a bit more color.

2. Write a review in 140 characters or less

Born At Midnight by C.C. Hunter: Terrible. More slut-shaming than you could ever believe, I hate the main character, and pretty much everyone actually.

3. How or where did you get this book?

Crash by Nicole Williams: I bought it online. (shocker, I know)

4. Who is your favourite character from this book?

Destined by Aprilynne Pike: Um. I actually have no idea (I can't remember the cast that well). Okay, I give up. Sorry, no idea.

5. Recommend this book to a fellow blogger who would really like it.

Entwined by Heather Dixon: I think Mel from The Daily Prophecy would like this, since it's a fairy tale retelling! She's probably already read it, though :P

6. How long ago did you read this book?

Fever by Lauren DeStefano: It was somewhere this year, I think, but that's all I remember!

7. Name your favorite scene from this book.

Green Rider by Kristen Britain: I actually haven't read this one yet, haha. So can't answer! 

8. Open up to page 87 and share a quote (no spoilers!)

Betrayed by P.C. Cast: Oh dear. Do you really want me to? Well, I looked, and there's absolutely nothing to share. Seriously, the whole page consists of a conversation that doesn't make sense out of context, but I'll give you this gem *cough cough*:

"We'd make dorky terrorists."

9. How did you hear about or discover this book?

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead: I didn't hear about this one, tbh. I knew it was coming because it's part of a series! I first discovered that Bloodlines existed through Goodreads, though.

10. If you could redesign this cover, what would you do?

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa:

I don't know what I would do, but I wouldn't make it like this, that's for sure. Seriosuly. Half-naked dude with weird blue stripes on his chest in an abandoned forest? I think we can do better, thank you.

11. Name your least favorite character in this book.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: Uh oh. Maybe I should say Snow, but he sort of intruiges me. Maybe the leader of District 13 whose name I've forgotten? (Shame on me. Should totally reread.)

12. Fill in the blanks: If you like ___ then you would probably like ___.

Oh dear. I'm so bad at this! If you like Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver you would probably like Before I Fall because it's Oliver's best book (in my opinion), haha. They're nothing alike, I just suck at this.

13. Name one cool thing about this book.

The Selection by Kiera Cass: The cover! It's so pretteh, even if the content isn't. These covers are so pretty and dress-lusty (that's totally a word).

14. Where is this set, and would you ever want to visit this world/place?

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff: It's set in a sort of fantasy/dystopian Japan (I think. Not sure anymore). I would want to visit because OMG Buuruu! But I wouldn't because it seems a very deadly and harsh place.

15. Who is this dedicated to?

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa: "For Nick, Brandon and Villis. May we continue to beat those dead horses into the ground."

Annnd that's it! I hope you had fun, because I certainly did! I love filling in these kind of surveys (or any sort of bookish survey), so if you know another one, please tell me! If you want to do this one as well, you should totally leave me a link so I can check it out. 

Happy day, guys, may it be filled with books!

Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.