Top Ten 2012 (It's Nat's Turn!)

Wow.  Is it the end of the year already?  Where did the time go?  2012 was a rough year for all of us in one way or another.  And because of that each of us went through long lasting reading funks.  But even with that funk I managed to read 78 books this year. That is high for me on a normal year so I won't complain...

As usual, I had a hard time deciding which books to include in my Top Ten of 2012.  I, of course, cheated a little by adding a few honorable mentions at the end. How I narrowed those down to only three is byond me...So here it is.  My Top Ten of 2012.  In no particular order.





The Lovers Dictionary by David Levithan - A modern love story told in single words and definitions. So many pages resonated with me and how I feel about the Executive Officer. I still go back and re-read passages.  And the best part?  David Levithan continues to define life, love and relationships through words on Twitter @loversdiction








Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson Hands down, my favorite book of the year.  Yeah, you all thought I would choose a romance, didn't you?  Well I didn't.  I chose this amazingly hilarious (and rarely serious) memoir by Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess.  I can't begin to tell you much how I laughed.  And laughed.  And laughed.  And cried a little.  And laughed some more.









Chase In Shadow by Amy Lane - Thanks to Bel, this is where my love of Amy Lane began.  This is a brutally emotional story of a young man struggling to remain in the closet while using the gay-for-pay porn industry as an outlet.  Oh don't worry.  There is definitely some happy in this story.  But first, Ms. Lane will stomp on your heart a good five or six times.  Because she's kind of awesome like that.  And apparently that's my thing since I have read about a dozen more of her books since Chase in Shadow.







Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse - This one snuck up on me.  It was nothing what I expected.  Instead it was so much more.  A brilliant dramatic comedy  that is in turn hilarious and disturbing.  As I stated in my review, C.J. Skuse should be applauded her sheer awesomeness.










Dash and Lily's Book of Dare by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - I am so happy that I read this right before Christmas.  A perfect romantic comedy that not only put me in the holiday spirit but also had me giggling well into the early hours of the morning.  I believe this has been optioned for a movie and I will be absolutely thrilled if it makes it to the big screen. AND if I can put a Dash on hold for youngest daughter, that would be most excellent.








Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry - The chemistry between Echo and Noah not only drips off this hot cover, it also drips off every single page within the book.  It was steamy.  It was angsty.  It was romantic.  And it made me cry.  A quadruple threat.  I can not wait until the companion novel, Dare You Too, is released in May 2013.

Making Promises by Amy Lane - I was instantly smitten with forever-boy (or forever-man in this case since this isn't YA and he is 30-something) Shane.  His patient pursuit of the adorably prickly and bitchy Mikhail is so understanding and loving that I just couldn't help but fall in love with him.  Also, how could I not love a book with this beautiful quote, "I cannot face you if you think I look at you and see anything less than the man you are.  I am not settling for you, I am reaching for you, and there is a difference..." 

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green - I find it impossible to discuss this book with someone that hasn't read it.  The sheer beauty and sadness of it is overwhelming.  All I will say is that John Green is a genius.  His previous stories are great but this one….well there is a reason that it has been so well received by so many.  Once you read it, check out this to answer to any and all of your questions regarding Hazel and Augustus:  http://onlyifyoufinishedtfios.tumblr.com/







Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker - So often books are about being hurt by someone else.   Melissa Walker is one of the rare authors that chose to focus on the character that did the hurting.  We all make mistakes in our lifetime.  Some of those mistakes are bigger than others.  This story was about learning to live with those mistakes and how to rebuild your life after suffering the damage you caused.  This story was beautiful and I think is a must read for teens just so they know that life does move on and it does get better.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi - This was one of the first books I read this year.  So often I will read something early in the year that I really enjoy but then it is overshadowed by something else.  In twelve months, Under The Never Sky has never swayed from my Top Ten.  This is a perfect combination of romance, fantasy and sci-fi and the second in the series will be an auto-buy for me when it is released the first week of 2013.

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

The Curiosites by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff & Boys of Summer Edited by Steve Berman - As I have mentioned numerous times, I do not like short story compilations.  This year, a number of YA authors set out to teach me a lesson.  Both The Curiosities (a collection of supernatural and horror stories) and Boys of Summer (an anthology of Gay YA shorts) proved to me that there are not only some amazing short stories out there but also a number of great authors that I can't wait to read more of.

 

 

 

 

 

Gambling Men by Amy Lane - To be honest, I could have added Amy Lane books to most of my Top Ten.  And it was REALLY difficult for me to choose between Gambling Men and Making Promises.  So this gets honorable mention. The biggest reason (besides the hilarious use of poker metaphors) is that I married a Quentin.  Yeah, that's right.  If you have read this you know to be super jealous ;-)

 

Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse

* * * * *

 

She's got it bad, and he ain't good -- he's in her garage?

"I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me..."

Gonna have to face it: Jody's addicted to Jackson Gatlin, frontman of The Regulators, and after her best bud Mac scores tickets, she's front and center at his sold-out concert. But when she gets mashed in the moshpit and bodysurfs backstage, she's got more than a mild concussion to deal with. By the next morning, the strung-out rock star is coming down in her garage. Jody -- oops -- kind of kidnapped him. By accident. With a Curly Wurly candy bar. And now he doesn't want to leave.
defrrrrrrr-0xs/pd
It's a rock-star abduction worthy of an MTV reality series...but who got punk'd?! (GoodReads)

 

Doesn’t the above summary make you think this will be a silly light hearted read?  I sure thought so.  I was expecting some hilariously ridiculous misunderstanding between two people that looks like a kidnapping but really isn’t one.  Boy was I wrong.  Sure, our rock star, Jackson, is so wasted and high that he mistakes the Curly Wurly Jodie is trying to offer him for a knife.  But our heroine, Jodie, realizes his mistake right away and instead of correcting him, she recognizes an “opportunity” and ACTUALLY kidnaps him.  Which I guess could be silly had she been a fun and silly character (Stephanie Plum comes to mind) but she isn’t.  She is a teen in a bad place and she does this bad thing that left me completely flummoxed. 

 

We learn a few things early on in this story.  One, Jodie’s granddad was one of the funniest free spirits ever.  Two, Jodie is very insecure and has a penchant for making really bad decisions.  She is also unhealthily obsessed with her favorite band The Regulators and their lead singer, Jackson Gatlin.  And three, if it wasn’t for her best friend Mac (Mackenzie), Jodie would be even more of a mess (if that’s even possible).  

When Jodie decides to liven up Granddad’s wake, her mom rips up her ticket to the Regulators concert.  Jodie runs away and moves into the spare room behind the pub owned by Mac’s parents.  Being the amazing friend he is, Mac gives Jodie his ticket and drives her to the concert.  A concert that should have been an epic one time chance to see her hero in the flesh becomes a series of disasters that ultimately land her in a makeshift triage room.  When a very high Jackson makes an unexpected appearance and speaks to Jodie personally, a misunderstanding between them gives Jodie the idea to kidnap the love of her life and take her home with her.  What starts out as a thoughtless crime ends up being a lesson in life, reality and love for Jodie and her hero, Jackson. 

This book just wasn’t what I was expecting.  I was in the mood for light hearted and silly.   And I was disappointed.  So disappointed that I sent a message to my fellow Bibliojunkies bitching about it.  I even considered putting it aside to read something else.  But I decide to move forward and keep reading.  

And in the end…as much as I tried to resist liking this book and as disappointed as I was in the beginning (simply because it wasn’t what I was expecting)…I caved.   At every turn of the page I became more and more sucked in.  It was as if C.J. Skuse was saying, “You WILL read this and you WILL like it!”   

I surrender, Ms. Skuse, I surrender.  I read it.  And not only did I like it, I LOVED it.  And when I say I loved it, I mean that Rockoholic has a guaranteed spot on my Top 10 of 2012.  So there you go.  Thank you for giving me a brilliant dramatic novel (with admittedly hilarious moments) that I had no choice but to embrace.  That was very sneaky of you, dear author.  I applaud your sheer awesomeness.

 

Nat

Waiting on Wednesday (38)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that highlights future releases that we are excitedly anticipating.

By C.J. Skuse
Publication Date: November 1, 2012

She's got it bad, and he ain't good -- he's in her garage?
Gonna have to face it: Jody's addicted to Jackson Gatlin, frontman of The Regulators, and after her best bud Mac scores tickets, she's front and center at his sold-out concert. But when she gets mashed in the moshpit, loses her precious moon rock, and bodysurfs backstage, she ends up with more than a mild concussion to deal with. By the next morning, the strung-out rock star is coming down in her garage. Jody -- oops -- kind of kidnapped him. By accident. And now he doesn't want to leave.
It's a rock-star abduction worthy of an MTV reality series . . . but who got punk'd?

By Jill Shalvis
Publication Date: November 6, 2012

After a tragic stint in the National Guards, Adam Connelly returns to Idaho and to Belle Haven, the animal shelter he owns with his brothers. All Adam wants is to be alone. Then he opens the door to the past—the woman whose heart he once broke. Still gorgeous, still tough-as-nails, but this time, unusually vulnerable.

Holly Reid learned the hard way to never depend on a man for anything. Now, of all men, it’s the last one she wants to see, and the only one she needs. Her father has gone missing in the Bitterroot Mountains and she could use someone with tracking skills to help find him.

For Holly and Adam, each with their ghosts, a trek this desperate, this unpredictable, and this intimate, will have its share of risks—including opening their hearts one more time.(