Saturday, December 1, 2012

Melissa's Favorites of 2012

Do you know how hard it is to put a number cap on favorites?  I read 141 books so far this year so this is going to be hard a shit! So I'm not gonna do it (in my super fast, sly kinda whisper voice). I'm just going to list all of my favorites from 2012 and that will be that. I really don't even think I can list them in a numerical order, I would feel so guilty picking some over the others, so to make it easy on myself I will just list them in alphabetical order...lol. Oh, and since it's only December, keep in mind this list is subject to grow, lol.

How to Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie DeBartolo- Written in her wonderfully honest, edgy, passionate and often hilarious voice, Tiffanie DeBartolo tells the story of Eliza Caelum, a young music journalist, and Paul Hudson, a talented songwriter and lead singer of the band Bananafish. Eliza's reverence for rock is equaled only by Paul's, and the two fall wildly in love.

When Bananafish is signed by a big corporate label, and Paul is on his way to becoming a major rock star, Eliza must make a heartbreaking decision that leads to Paul's sudden disappearance and a surprise knock-your-socks-off ending.


This book played with my emotions in more than on way. This book literally ripped my screaming heart out, threw it against the wall, spit on it a few good times and then stomped on it before placing it back in my chest. YES! This is probably the most intense book of all time for me.


Lying Season (EIT #4) by Karina Halle- Ama­teur ghost-hunter Perry Palomino has bat­tled ghosts, fought off skin­walk­ers and skirted the fine line between life and death. But can she sur­vive bunk­ing down in Seat­tle for a week with her partner (and man she secretly loves) Dex and his perfect girl­friend, Jennifer? And can she do so while being tor­mented by a mali­cious spirit from Dex’s increas­ingly shady past? With love and life in the bal­ance, Perry must dis­cover the truth among the lies or risk los­ing every­thing she's ever cared about.

If you have read the EIT series, then you know why this one made it to the list! It was almost what we had all been waiting for! Honestly, all of the EIT books should be on the list but that wouldn't be much of a mixed favorites list would it, lol.

The Dex Files (EIT #5.7) by Karina Halle-The Dex-Files is a compilation novel that accompanies the Experiment in Terror Series and is not to be-read as a stand-alone. In the Dex-Files we find a variety of scenes and chapters from the enigmatic Dex Foray's POV from books #1-6 in the series. Some of these scenes have been previously published, albeit from Perry's POV, while other scenes are completely new.

Ahh, EIT from the POV of Dex! My one and only Dex! Could it get any better...hell no! There was no way this could not be on my list. Dex is tied for my number one spot of my book boyfriends of 2012.



Slammed by Colleen Hoover-Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope. Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

Beautifully written! Heart wrenching and perfection. This book taught me so many things. For one, I learned what a slam is and I swear before I die, I will be attending one.


Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover- Hardships and heartache brought them together…now it will tear them apart.

Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.’


I didn't think this list would consist of multiple books of one series, but it's impossible for it not to. Point of Retreat is hands down better than Slammed and I LOVED Slammed! Everything that we loved about Slammed is intensified in Point of Retreat. The emotions are raw and the story is so enticing.


Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire- Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.


This is the book that brought back my passion for reading. If you are stuck in a reading rut, read BD and you are sure to pull right out of it!


The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay- Full of rage and without a purpose, former pianist Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone discovering her past and to make the boy who took everything from her pay.

All 17 year-old Josh Bennett wants is to build furniture and be left alone, and everyone allows it because it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t exist. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, a hot mess of a girl who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. The more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he may ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a slow-building, character-driven romance about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.


I'm pretty sure I would have hated myself had I not read this book and later found out how wonderful it was. Don't be that person. Friends don't let friends pass up awesome books, lol.


The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski- I'm not even going to give you a snippet of this book. Just read it! I went into it blind because everyone was ranting and raving about it and I think that was for the best. I didn't read any reviews and I didn't read the synopsis. I just started reading and I was able to enjoy every moment of the book with the element of surprise. That is just what this book needs, for everyone to go in blindly to get the full affect. It was beautiful and passionate. A book for dreamers.



Ember by Jessica Sorensen- What if you knew when someone was going to die?

For seventeen-year-old Ember, life is death. With a simple touch, she knows when someone will die. It’s her curse and the reason she secludes herself from the world. The only person who knows her secret is her best friend Raven.

Then she meets Asher Morgan. He’s gorgeous, mysterious, and is the only person Ember can't sense death from. So when he pushes into her life, she doesn’t mind.

But when unexplained deaths start to haunt her town, Ember starts questioning why she can’t sense Asher's death and what he may be hiding.


Jessica Sorensen has been a big influence on my reading for 2012. I have read all of her books and I swear, they should all be on this list, but I have selected on the top of the top. But if you read the 2 on my list and enjoy them, I hight recommend you read all of her others. She is a writting genius.


 The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen- Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.

Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.

Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.

Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.

This is part of Jessica's adult contemporary collection. That is what I love about her, she can write paranormal books, YA books and adult contemporary. She is a writer of many colors. She is fabulous.


Thoughtless Series by S.C. Stephens- For almost two years now, Kiera's boyfriend, Denny, has been everything she's ever wanted: loving, tender and endlessly devoted to her. When they head off to a new city to start their lives together, Denny at his dream job and Kiera at a top-notch university, everything seems perfect. Then an unforeseen obligation forces the happy couple apart.

Feeling lonely, confused, and in need of comfort, Kiera turns to an unexpected source – a local rock star named Kellan Kyle. At first, he's purely a friend that she can lean on, but as her loneliness grows, so does their relationship. And then one night everything changes...and none of them will ever be the same.


I barely got any sleep for 2 days while reading the 2 books of this series! I know the 3rd book will be on my favorites for 2013. I obsessed over thise series and still obsess over Kellan, I really don't like sharing him with the other book junkies out there, but it seems I don't have much of a choice, lol. We are all a little Kellan crazy.


Crash by Nicole Williams- Southpointe High is the last place Lucy wanted to wind up her senior year of school. Right up until she stumbles into Jude Ryder, a guy whose name has become its own verb, and synonymous with trouble. He's got a rap sheet that runs longer than a senior thesis, has had his name sighed, shouted, and cursed by more women than Lucy dares to ask, and lives at the local boys home where disturbed seems to be the status quo for the residents. Lucy had a stable at best, quirky at worst, upbringing. She lives for wearing the satin down on her ballet shoes, has her sights set on Juilliard, and has been careful to keep trouble out of her life. Up until now.

Jude's everything she needs to stay away from if she wants to separate her past from her future. Staying away, she's about to find out, is the only thing she's incapable of.

For Lucy Larson and Jude Ryder, love's about to become the thing that tears them apart.


I have not been able to get Jude Ryder out of my mind since I read this book! The chucks on the cover of this book is what pulled me in, the love I have for the characters is what put them on this list.



Related Posts:
How to Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie DeBartolo
Lying Season (Experiment in Terror #4) by Karina Halle
Slammed by Colleen Hoover
Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski
Ember by Jessica Sorensen
The Secret of Ella and Micah by Jessica Sorensen

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