Happy Holidays, everyone!
Continuing from Part 1, this is Jamie's year-in-review book survey, which all things considered, is pretty awesome! Jamie definitely asks the tough questions. I was practically sweating doing part 1! This is part 2, and tomorrow I'll have part 3 (the final portion) up. This is a lot of fun so be sure to link me to YOUR survey and link up at Jamie's site!
11. Most memorable character in 2012?
Okay truth: I read about SO MANY amazing characters - both heroines and heroes - in 2012. It's impossible to pick just one, but as I'm thinking back, one does stand out, and that's Rachel from Defiance by C.J. Redwine. Rachel is one of THE strongest, most resilient heroines I've ever read about - she's up there with Katniss. That girl endured SO much and just kept going. I really, really admire her.
Other characters I loved, and will NEVER forget about: Aria from Under the Never Sky, Kaleb from Timepiece by Myra McEntire, Alina from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Gyver from Send Me A Sign by Tiffany Schmidt.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?
Leaving out 2013 galleys I read, probably The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg. Jess's way with words is just beyond description. Her style is heart-felt and elegant, without being too poetic to be straight-forward. I NEEDED this book when I read it, and it has such healing power!
Other books that were in the running: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson for the gorgeous prose, Send Me A Sign by Tiffany Schmidt for making me cry so many times with the messages of hope, and The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna for being just so creative and beautiful!
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?
No question here - that goes to Send Me A Sign by Tiffany Schmidt. I heard about it, added it to my TBR, and then honestly didn't think much about it for awhile, since I was buried under review books. Time came closer to its release, and I saw it on NetGalley. I hesitated to read Send Me A Sign because it's about a teen dealing with cancer, but oh my gosh. It was BEAUTIFUL. It was amazing. I cried so much reading it, but looking back, I'm SO SO glad I read Tiffany's book. It resonated so deeply with me - made me remember my grandparents, before cancer took them, and made me really LOVE the characters. If you'd like to know more about this book, you can read my review here, or see me reading from it here.
Other honorable mentions: Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone. I could go on and on about how many reasons I loved this book but I'll just link to my review, and to this tweet from Tamara.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
Anna and the French Kiss! I felt like the last person in existence who hadn't read this one, so I finally picked up my copy in February and read it in one day, according to Goodreads. I think that's true! And since I never actually got around to posting my Goodreads review, you can see my thoughts here, but to make it simple: BEST BOOK EVER. I'm glad I read it when I did, because by the time I got to Lola, I was on the beach in Florida and read it in the sunshine with waves as the background. I'm going back to Florida in May of this year so I maaaaay buy Isla and take it with me then!
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?
Whatever burned between us was just as bright, just as undeniable. The moment our lips met, I knew with pure and piercing certainty that I would have waited for him forever. - Shadow and Bone
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?
Longest: The Diviners by Libba Bray at 592 pages. I was intimidated by its size, but once I started it, I didn't even notice. It was THAT good.
Shortest: Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi at only 97 pages (in e-book form.) But just because this was short does NOT mean it wasn't emotional and powerful! It swayed me to Team Warner (and Unravel Me only cemented that.)
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!
Ummm, shoot, again, I'm trying to leave out 2013 galleys (because UH HOLY HOTNESS IN UNRAVEL ME). Probably...most of the scenes between Anna and Kai in Sweet Evil. *fans self*
18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Okay now this one just isn't fair. There were SO MANY relationships that I thought were well done. My FAVORITE romantic relationship was Mal/Alina from Shadow and Bone (though that is also under the friendship category.)
Other favorite romantic relationships: Kyle/Mac from Hemlock, Gyver/Mia from Send Me A Sign, Bennett/Anna from Time Between Us, Kai/Anna from Sweet Evil, Aiden/Alex from Deity, and Logan/Rachel from Defiance. Oh! And Harlin/Charlotte from A Want So Wicked.
My favorite friendship (GAH SUCH A HARD QUESTION) was probably Perry and Roar from Under the Never Sky. I fell HARD for Roar, and I enjoyed his interactions with Perry. Other friendship I liked: Kami and Angela from Unspoken, Jordan and Henry from Catching Jordan, and Haven and Dante from Illuminate.
19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously
The good/bad thing about 2012 was that almost all the authors I read were debut authors. So I don't have a lot to choose from here, but I'm going to go with Stealing Parker by Miranda Keneally. It was actually BETTER than Catching Jordan!
20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
The blogging community at large has recommended a LOT to me this year. I heard about several books from WoW posts, or by signing up for ARC tours, and even from publishers. Hmmm. And I am terrible at remembering who talked about which books! I think I'm going to go with Starling by Lesley Livingston because I was able to read it thanks to Anna at Literary Exploration, who a) talked it up to me and b) loaned me her ARC!
Feel free to add your answers for any of these questions OR link me to your "best of" post! And watch for part 3 (blogging questions) tomorrow!
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