End of Year Survey

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)

Secret by Brigid Kemmerer; This book was so absolutely perfect. It broke my heart into different pieces and then tried to mend it but it was just everything I had wanted and hoped it to be. If you haven’t read this story yet, you really need to.

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

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini; I love The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns so as soon as I heard about his newest book, I knew I HAD to read it. So I was extremely disappointed – mostly in myself – when I really struggled to read and like this book.

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

Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani; In all honesty, I had no expectations on this book. Intisar was a new author for me and I couldn’t really remember the Grimm tale it was being adapted from but as soon as I read the first sentence I was hooked. Intisar’s writing was incredibly beautiful and compelling and I was just truly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book.

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

Geek Girl by Holly Smale; I read this book fairly late in the year but as soon as I did, I have continuously been pushing it on people.

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

The Geek Girl Series; I really kicked myself for waiting so long to read this series but now I’ve discovered it, I’ll be reading every book that comes out because I know that Holly has an incredible talent.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

Rainbow Rowell; And this is REALLY new. Like… I started reading her.. .TWO DAYS AGO. And I haven’t even finished the book but I already love her style and her voice and her characters and cannot wait to read more of her work.

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

Walk Away With Me by Darby Davenport; I normally don’t read novella’s, I used to think that there was no way to pull you into the story and make you fall in love with the characters in such a short amount of words. But then I read Walk Away With Me and all my thoughts and opinions on novella’s blew out of the window.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill; This book was just incredible and one that I really did struggle to set aside so that I could get on with other things. It was full of heart-stopping action, beautiful writing, and scenes that simply cut into your gut and spilled blood everywhere. A book I would always recommend.

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

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell; I may not have finished this book but I can see myself returning to this book time and time again. I completely and utterly GET the main character. I understand her in so many ways and the story is jarring and real and emotional and I can just see myself returning to it.

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

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake; It’s just so dark and I love the combination of the dark with the red. It’s very appealing and eye-catching. If I hadn’t already read Anna Dressed in Blood, I would have been drawn to this book on the cover alone.

11. Most memorable character in 2013?

I couldn’t just pick one. I couldn’t. So I decided to choose every character in the Elemental series. And Harriet Manners. And Jack Samsonite. And Logan. And Rachel. And Cath. And.. and.. and… Okay, I’ll stop.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

Into the Shadows of Blackbirds by Cat Winters; Seriously amazing and gorgeous writing that I just fell in love with and I really think you should read it to get an idea of what I’m talking about!

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

Lockwood & Co; The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud; As soon as I had finished the last page of this book, I knew I had read something that had affected me greatly. It made my fingers itch to write their own words. It had me coming up with an idea for a video (which I’m still in the process of making), and some fanfiction, as well as inspiring me for my own original fiction as well. It was an incredible book that you should definitely read if you haven’t!

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

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead; And I loved it so much I went and bought the next three books in the series… and guess what? I have yet to read them! *hangs head in shame*

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

From Deception by C. J. Redwine;

I swallow the automatic protest that rises to my lips. Once upon a time, I told Oliver everything. Told Dad almost everything. And I’d like to think if my mother had live, I’d have shared almost everything with her, too. Maybe that’s what love is. Giving others the power to hurt you and trusting that they’ll use it to heal you instead.
Stepping forward, he cups my face in his calloused palms and says, “I know you aren’t okay. How could you be? I’m not okay either. But hiding from it isn’t going to solve it.”
Something hot and painful thobs inside my chest. “Nothing’s going to solve it, Logan. I can’t…”
“You can’t what?”
“I can’t be strong enough to face this.”

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest; Fearless by Brigid Kemmerer; 59 pages
Longest; Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl; 563 pages

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!

The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa; Oh my! The ending of this book had me reeling and dying to confer with someone. I am now sitting here thinking that I never actually did, which is a shame. I need to talk about what we think will happen next!!

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

Adam and Nick from Secret by Brigid Kemmerer; They were sooo good together and I just loved how the relationship was so unstable and unsure to begin with as they were both hiding things and keeping secrets they thought they needed to keep. I just love this couple so much and cannot wait to read more of them – or even just to read them again!

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

Secret by Brigid Kemmerer; This was a no-brainer for me. I have loved Brigid Kemmerer since I first read Elemental. Her writing is inspiring and her books just keep getting better and better and this one was her best so far. Alongside Breathless, this book was just fantastic.

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

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell; And I love, love, love it.

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

Paranormal & Fantasy

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

Tristian from Ferryman by Claire McFall; It may have taken me a while to warm up to him but as soon as I did, I just loved him.

23. Best 2013 debut you read?

Splintered by A. G. Howard; This book was so good that I kicked myself for how long it took me to read. It was vivid and imaginative, dark, and creepy and it had such an amazing and twisted plot. I just found it very difficult to put this book down – except when it started giving me nightmares!

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

Splintered by A. G. Howard; For many of the reasons above. The world in this book was detailed so well that you could just imagine it and it was creepy and daunting and made you want to hide away under the covers. It was such a marvellous world that I cannot wait to dive back into with Unhinged.

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

One Seriously Messed Up Week in the Otherwise Mundane and Uneventful Life of Jack Samsonite by Tom Clempson; I was honestly giggling like a little girl the whole way through this book. It was absolutely hilarious and I just loved the book so much!

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

Deception by C. J. Redwine; Essentially I cry during almost every book I read, I like to cry when reading as it makes me feel alive. But this book near destroyed me. I was crying so bad I couldn’t see the words and I had a major headache. I also cried long after the book finished. It was a perfect book.

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

Into the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters; I don’t know many people who have read this book and I don’t think it got well seen here in the UK but it should have been because it is a stunning book. Seriously, amazing.

Book Blogging/Reading Life 2013

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013?

Queen of Contemporary; I can’t believe that I’ve only just stumbled onto Lucy’s blog this year. I think it is incredible and she is such an inspiration.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2013?

Easy by Tammara Webber; I struggled with this question but I feel this review got the most responses of people wanting to read it so this wins. Have you read it yet?

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

Reading Habits… er… Quirks; I struggled to choose this too, I was contemplating between a few but finally decided on this one. If you don’t yet know what my habits and quirks are, go read this post!

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?

I couldn’t possible decide on just one. There are so many out there and I KNOW I’ll forget something as a year is a LONG time so I’m skipping this question, sorry y’all.

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

This is also too hard. I’m not sure if I could choose one, they’re all as awesome as the next. But most likely I would choose the Random House Blogger Event with Amy McCullogh and Jonathan Stroud. It was a great event and so lovely getting to know other bloggers and the authors better. But really, all the events I go to are amazing!

6. Best moment of book blogging/your book life in 2013?

There’s been quite a lot of awesome moments this year but I’m going to have to say my favourite moment was meeting Caroline (my mind boggles still that I only met her in february), Debbie, Caitlin, Stacey, Jess and Kerrie. This bloggers have become incredibly close friends of mine and 2013 wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good without them.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

Ignoring my giveaway-only posts, the post with both the highest views and comments was; Announcement; Netgalley November.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

There are a few I’d love to have a little more love but I decided on; My Story; Moving to WordPress from Blogger; because I feel that this post should be really helpful.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I discovered the bookshop in Salt Mill in Bradford and it was SO pretty and cute and I loved it. Unfortunately, it’s really far away and I may not get to use it very often but it is really a grand bookstore and it’s indie which is ten times better!

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I got very bad at keeping an eye on how well I was doing on my reading challenges (and is why I’m not signing up for any next year), but I do believe I completed;

British Books Challenge
Witches and Witchcraft Challenge
Mystery/Crime Challenge
Genre Variety Challenge

Looking Forward

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

The rest of the Vampire Academy series!

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

Unhinged by A. G. Howard; So, so, so excited for this one! I’ll be starting it VERY soon.

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Trouble by Non Pratt; Seriously, seriously, seriously!! Cannot wait to read this one!

4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?

The Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer; I’m actually getting a little teary-eyed thinking that it will all be over soon but I’m also SUPER EXCITED to read it. But seriously, the last book is called Sacrifice, and that in itself has tears hiding behind my eyes. I’m going to be crushed, I’m sure of it. But in a GOOD way!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?

I want to read more of the books I already own so that my ratio of books read to own is ten times better! (Which also means to cut down from requesting books!)