Top 3, Best Books, Of 2009

So seeing as it's only fifteen minutes away till 2010, I decided to put my top 3 best books of 2009. Then On January 1st, I'll post the contest & and I'll all the books I'll try to read during 2010. So anyways, these 3 books that I picked are books that I thought were the best of 2009 and left a strong impact. They made me think about them weeks after, I read them. One of the books I haven't reviewed yet. Anyways here they're.

1

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

This book was probably the most fastest paste book I read this year. I finished it in less then a day, and I never got bored of it. From the prologue, to the biology scene, and to the end you're hook. You never stop, you just can't help it. Also Patch is probably the best YA male lead & YA bad boy of the year. I mean you can't help to fall in love with him. Nora is very lucky. I'm very excited to read, Crescendo. When it comes out. Check out my review here!!!

2Fallen By Lauren Kate

Ok, I haven't reviewed this one yet and here's why. See I won this book from: Kate!! But it hasn't arrived yet, so you may be asking: Then how can she say it's one of the top 3 books of 2009? Well, my mom bought me this for Christmas. She must have forgotten me mentioning that I had won it. So on Christmas morning, waking up to find this under the tree, I was to tempted and read it. Like Hush, Hush; I finished this within a day. There a few things that I disliked about it, but overall I loved it and can't wait for, Torment it's sequel. The review will be up soon, but I'm going to wait unti I recieved the copy that I had won first.

3Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Do I really need to explain why this is on the list??? It's absolutely amazing!!! There's no other word for it. Check out my review here! And my interview with the authors, here!!!

The Silver Blade Contest

Author: Sally Gardner
Publisher: Dial; 1 edition
Pages: 368
Summary: A stirring tale of magic and revolution- fans of The Red Necklace won't want to miss it.The year is 1794. With his beloved Sido safely in England and the Reign of Terror at its height, mysterious Yann returns to revolutionary France to smuggle out aristocratic refugees who will otherwise face the guillotine. But while the two are apart, YannÂ’s Gypsy origins prejudice SidoÂ’s guardian against their marriage, thwarting their longed-for reunion. When Sido is kidnapped under strange circumstances, however, Yann must use all his strength and courage to outwit the evil Count Kalliovski, rescue Sido, and help save all of France.

As she did in The Red Necklace and the award-winning I, Coriander, Sally Gardner spins an epic tale that combines a vivid sense of history, characters full of Dickensian drama and fascination, and a sizzling adventure with touches of magic and romance.

So if you don't already know, one of my favorite books is The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner. Which just recently has been licensed to be made into a movie. The Silver Blade is it's sequel. If you want you can read the review here!
I do recommend anyone who wants to read this series, to read the first book first.

Anyways seeing as it's New Years & Christmas Holiday, what better way to celebrate then receiving a gift. So this is one of my gifts to one, lucky, winner. This contest is international. It will be open til, January 17th,2010.

Stay tuned, for later today I will be having a second contest. The next book is more well known and I know many people have it on there wish list. Also in about two weeks from now, I will have a Third Contest. That contest I will be giving away a book that I really,really love and I know that it's been getting positive feedback from the book blogging community.

So anyways, fill out the form and Good Luck :)

All The Books I Reviewed In 2009

2009 has been amazing year and I think it's time I look back at all the books I reviewed since April (when I started book blogging). I'm not going to post the reviews her, just the cover & name. To check out the reviews then click reviews on the navigation bar (beneath the header) and it will give you a list of reviews and the links. It's currently 6:45A.M here, so my next "Count Down To 2010" Post will be at 10A.M !!! Ok , enjoy :)

A Great & Terrible Beauty By Libba Bray &

Beastly By Alex Flinn

Blue Moon (The Immortals Series #2) By Alyson Noel & Beautiful Creatures By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Boys that Bite (A Blood Coven Novel) By Mari Mancusi & Cathy's Key By Sean Stewart/Jordan Weisman

Cathy's Ring By Sean Stewart & Jordan Weisman & Devil's Kiss By Sarwat Chadda

Evermore (The Immortal Series #1) By Alyson Noel & Evernight By Claudia Gray

Fate By Jennifer Lynn Barnes & Hold Still By Nina Lacour

Hush Hush By Becca Fitzpatrick & Immortal By Gillian Shields

Invisible Lines By Mary Amato & Marked (House Of Night Novel #1) by P.C & Kristin Cast

Morganville Vampire Series (Book 1-4 Review) By Rachel Caine & Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

The Secret Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel: The Alchemyst By Micheal Scott & Betrayed (House Of Nights Novel #2) By P.C & Kristin Cast

The Skeleton Creek By Patrick Carman & Stargazer (Evernight #2) By Claudia Gray

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain & The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner

The Silver Blade By Sally Gardner & The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening & The Struggle by L.J Smith

Vampire Kisses: Royal Blood By Ellen Schreiber
& Wicked Lovely By Melissa Marr

Wings by Aprilynne Pike & Wondrous Strange By Lesley Livingston

In 2009, From April, I reviewed 33 books. Of Course I read a bit more in 2009, just didn't review some books. In 2010 I hope to double that and complete my LONG TBR list. Later today, I will show you a pile of the TBR list. I want to complete that, and a lot of 2010 books. Including the debut author challenge. Stay Tuned for the next post is the 1st contest of the day. Till next time, yours truly:

Let The Count Down to 2010 Begin!!!!

Let the count down begin! Seeing as this is New Years Eve in Canada, I decided to spend the whole day dedicating it to "Let the Count Down Begin for 2010". Throughout today I will have numerous posts. Post such as: All The Books I reviewed in 2009, The top 3 best books of 2009, 2 contests, books I'll probably be reviewing in 2010 *this includes the debut author challenge*, and last but not least a Happy New Years post when the clock at my home strikes midnight and it becomes 2010.

So keep checking back throughout the day, for this will be a eventful one!!! Yours Truly,

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain review #30

Author: Bree Despain
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pages: 384
Rating:
Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.
The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.
The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul.

What happens when you put the pastor's daughter, a bad boy, and a good brother together? You get a story that takes the prodigal son myth and gives it a supernatural spin. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I think it's pretty creative. Bree Despain gives her own myth/history/story line of the supernatural beings in the book. Now you must be thinking, Well that must be a complicated book! But guess what, it isn't. The author is able to mange that, not make it complicated, and it's understandable. Which is very nice, and easy for readers. The book is fast pasted, is easy to imagine, and a fun read. It's interesting to see how appearances can easily be deceived in this book. I mean one example of this is, everyone outside of Divine family think that the Divine's are a perfect, holy family. But really inside it's become very corrupt and they're having a hard time maintaining there role of a Pastor family. Which shows you shouldn't believe everything you see.

The book will definitely make readers dying for more, but it isn't a cliffhanger. Also everything that confuses you through the book will be nicely explained at the end, which is perfect. Bree Despain writing style is clear, easy to understand and imagine, and definitely realistic. I give props to her for this being her debut novel, seeing as this book was truly divine.

The Characters are very life-like and there motives and actions are understandable and very realistic. Though I felt that the emotion in the book was lacking, of course everything that was happening made sense. But when something happen to a character you wouldn't feel what the character would feel. Another thing that annoyed me was one of Grace's personality traits. This might just be me, but I felt that Grace was a bit closed minded. I mean she believed things to easily, and wouldn't change her mind until you practically shove the information in her face. Which made me, as a reader, a bit angry with her. But I think it's also might be very reasonable, seeing as she grew up in a family where she was taught to tell the truth and her family would tell her the truth as well. Which sort of taught her that believing the first thing she heard was the truth. But Grace also doesn't believe in the rumors everyone spreads about her at school, which could make this debatable. If your confused by this last little paragraph, your not alone. I understand what I'm trying to say in my head, but it's not coming out well on blog paper.

The Last thing that confused me was the whole Gabriel thing. It was explained in the end, but it still left me thinking. If you haven't read the book then your probably going to find this little rant confusing. I understand that she read the letter many times, but does that mean she read it earlier? So when they kept talking about going to see Gabriel, she knew because of the letter. Or she didn't? My oh my!!!

So now I'm going to talk about Daniel, and how much I loved him. He was very frustrated throughout the book, but as readers you cannot help but fall in love with him. Not much more to say then that.

Anyways that all I have to say, until next time this is:

WOW: Waiting On Wednesday (The Body Finder By Kimberly Derting)

The Body Finders

Author: Kimberly Derting

Publisher: Harper Collins
Will Be Release on: March 16th, 2010
Bio: Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world…and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.
Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer…and becoming his prey herself. (Bio from A Book Odyssey)

What isn't there to like in this bio? It sounds mysterious, supernatural, and there is romance. Some of my favorite things all mix together and what do you get? Another awesome-sounding book. Now all I got to do is wait til March,16th. I can do it .....yes I can!! We can do it!!!

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme created by Jill @ Breaking The Spines

Hold Still by Nina Lacour Review #29

Author: Nina Lacour
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 304
Rating:
An arresting story about starting over after a friend’s suicide, from a breakthrough new voice in YA fiction.

Dear Caitlin, there are so many things that i want so badly to tell you but i just can’t.

Devastating, hopeful, hopeless, playful . . . in words and illustrations, Ingrid left behind a painful farewell in her journal for Caitlin. Now Caitlin is left alone, by loss and by choice, struggling to find renewed hope in the wake of her best friend’s suicide. With the help of family and newfound friends, Caitlin will encounter first love, broaden her horizons, and start to realize that true friendship didn’t die with Ingrid. And the journal which once seemed only to chronicle Ingrid’s descent into depression, becomes the tool by which Caitlin once again reaches out to all those who loved Ingrid—and Caitlin herself

(Thanks To Lauren @Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf !!! For if it wasn't for her contest, I would never have been able to read this book :) }

What I thought...is it one of the most emotional, realistic books, I have ever read. Nina Lacour is one of those authors who takes something really realistic and takes that situation and twists it outside the box, and shows the reader another point of view that we don't really see when thinking of that problem. For example is shows loss, change, and a new beginning. It shows people that life might really suck, but not always and to stick it out.
The story is beautifully written, it shows both Ingrid's and Caitlin personalities through artwork that the book has, and is very affective. It also has Ingrid's journal entries. I promise that this is a tearjerker. An interesting thing that I noticed about the book is the first part (while Caitlin is suffering with depression and loss) is really slow, but once Caitlin begins to make lots of new friendships and is more happier the book goes faster. Which makes it more impacting because usually when you lose someone (according to my mother) your whole life seems to go slower. Another intriguing thing about the book is when you take the book cover off, the actual book is green right! Well on that green book is a bird, and if you read the book you'll know that Ingrid's (the best friend that commited suicide) journal has a bird on it. So it feels like Ingrid's journal, and that is a big part of the story. Also it shows Caitlin sadness and acceptance of loss through seasons in the book. I don't really have much to say, but that I highly recommend this to anyone. It's one of those stories that when read, you know that if something bad is happening in your life it'll be ok. You won't be able to read this one sitting, seeing as at times it's just to hard to read.
What I thought could of been improved..... I thought the ending could of been improved. It wasn't terrible or anything, just not how I imagine it to end. I also would of like to know more of Henry's story. I felt that was kind of cut short.
In All.... A well done book, that is highly recommended to everyone.

Teaser Tuesday - All My Current Reads

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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So seeing as I'm currently reading 5 books, I decided to only give you a teaser of 3 that I'm reading. I'm not giving you a teaser of Shadowland by Alyson noel & Mieradome by Kate Hegarty. So anyways, please enjoy :)
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Hold Still By Nina Lacour

"I hear Katie saying, all importantly, 'Henry's mom is the real estate agent who was the house they bought, and she told Henry that the family was nice but just not the kind of people who belong in our community.' 'I heard she's a lesbian,' Meghan says. To judge by her tone, she might as well be saying, I hear she digs garbage from trash cans and eats it. (From Page.35)

The Dark Divine By Bree Despain

"I wouldn't have known what it felt like to be wanted and then get ripped out of the only warm, loving place I'd ever had. Things would have gone on like in the past, and my own mother wouldn't have had to choose between that monster and me." (On Page.240)

Cat Royal: Cat O' Nine Tails By Julia Golding

"Damn and blast him! It took only a few turns for me to realize that he was good --- too good. He had an instinctive grace so there was nothing to mock. Dancing as well as elocution lessons -- he was doing the gentleman thing properly." (On Page.37)