Highlights of my reading year so far (Part One)

I've finally got my groove back as reader (please, don't go away again!). I have read more books so far this year than all of 2012 (a really sad reading blip, last year was)

I was trying to make a top ten list, but there were just too many books I want to shout out about. And I suck at making decisions. So I am just here chatting about some books I really enjoyed reading so far this year.

And I'll be back on Sunday with my TOP SIX* reads so far of 2013

*None of my top six are mentioned in this post

Contemporary YA recommendations

Mini reviews of The Reece Malcolm List, Falling For You and Love & Leftovers

Review of The Book of Broken Hearts

I mentioned how much I was looking forward to Meet Me At The River and I've now read it and loved it and plan to review it before release date. Nina de Gramont is such an amazing writer, I love what she does with prose and how real her characters feel.

Series I am into

Boundless was not my favourite instalment, but I have loved the series as a whole and enjoyed reading the final book with my good buddy, Nic (from Irresistible Reads). If you haven't yet started on the Unearthly series, now is a great time to come on board (you can read all three in a row! Lots of fun and angst and gorgeous writing and humour and heartache and swoon in those pages).

I am loving Tessa Afshar, who, after reading her second historical novel, is up there with Francine Rivers for me. Very much recommended to anyone who enjoys Christian (or historical) fiction.

The 5th Wave was an absorbing read and one of my fave YA dpost-apocalyptic novels in a while.

And Prodigy! LOVED! Love Marie Lu's series. Love June and Day and am immensely excited that the third book is coming out this year! (mini review of Prodigy here)


Surprisingly liked a lot
I hope this category does not sound condescending ;)

The Best Man
I enjoy Kristan Higgins books in that breezy, cruise-y, chick-lit way. The Best Man is, IMO, her best book so far. It has taken me from being a casual fan of hers to really hanging out for whatever she writes next. It even had me teary in parts, and there was real swoon. If you haven't read her yet, I'd start with this one <3

Sweet Damage
I struggle a little with psychological thrillers. I want to like them more than I actually do. I picked up Sweet Damage and was hooked by the second page: gorgeous, evocative writing (in parts reminding me of Kirsty Eagar), an effortlessly likeable Aussie male protag, gothick-y and twisty plot (I did not guess the reveal), above all this book does what it's genre should do best: sucks you in and keeps you up all night. James knows how to plot and how to keep those pages turning. 4am finish for me <3

Between The Lives
I did not read Jessica Shirvington's paranormal series (not my genre, guys) and I wasn't sure if Between The Lives would be my thing. I read it over one holiday weekend on the Gold Coast and it was perfect holiday reading. Breezy and compelling. The writing is so effortless it's like the pages just turned themselves. I love what she did with her premise, it felt unique and fresh (note: some characters/scenarios were a little 2D/cliche, but that did not distract from my overall enjoyment). New fan here :)

Aussie YA I've really enjoyed

My review of The Accident

Reviews of I'll Tell You Mine, Life in Outer Space, and Run

My review of Girl Defective

I've mentioned all five of these on here before. I like that all these are contemporary, but they are all vastly different in tone/subject/style. Still in awe of our Aussie YA talent here -- there's always something different, and of high calibre.

Reading outside my comfort zone/guilty pleasures

I can't not mention a new-to-me author who brought me many hours of fun/swoon/guilty pleasure. I had this rough and depressing patch of illness and I couldn't concentrate on my regular books and Kleypas' books truly brought me solace in complete escapism from my pain.

I had not read in this genre before and always assumed it wasn't for me. But Lisa Kleypas is just so much fun. She writes the best romantic tension/antagonistic romances full of swoon and sexytimes. Here's my fave three of hers that I've read.

(Mini review of Then Came You here)

I'll be back tomorrow with my Top Six Favourites of 2013 so far :)

Have you read any of these books? Planning to?

Aussie YA Mini Reviews (Pip Harry, Melissa Kiel and Tim Sinclair)

 

I'll Tell You Mine by Pip Harry

I love the way Harry writes: fresh, with a lot of energy and soul. Her teen voice (and teen characters) felt so authentic and the story rang true. It also features boarding schools and mother/daughter relationships -- which are definite draw cards for me. 

I found myself liking Kate a lot more as the book went on (at the beginning she was a lot for me to take in. I am not normally drawn to darker/more edgy work, or girls acting out. But this book was so much more than that -- and I really felt Harry did an incredible job with Kate's character arc and with nailing the intensity of teenage feelings and relationships). 

I also found that the second half of the book was unputdownable -- by then I was very much drawn into Kate's world and wanted everything to work out okay for her <3 I love how the plot took me places I did not anticipate. Pip Harry has a fantastic voice for YA and I'm looking forward to reading more of Harry's work (Hopefully there will be another book soon!). 

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Kiel

Guys, this book was just so much fun and incredibly heartfelt.  Addictive and smiley and one of those books where you want to be absorbed into the pages and hang out with the characters. It felt like watching the perfect teenage movie, a rom-com with plenty of humour, with an offbeat romance and the best pop culture references ever. 

I was grinning from the first page (always a good sign!) and pretty much grinned and sighed my whole way through. I loved Sam as a narrator, a serious contender for a new fave male protag.

This book is perfect company for rainy days and sunny afternoons and cold winter nights (okay, pretty much for any occasion...). 

One tiny little observation -- for an Aussie YA novel, it felt American in parts (the schooling system, and the characters sometimes seemed more out of an imported book. Although this does not detract from the awesomeness, it's just an observation on the Aussie vibe -- or lack thereof). Plus, the cover is winning -- gorgeous. I'm planning on gifting this to a few friends -- I definitely recommend it :)

Run by Tim Sinclair

Wow. Tim Sinclair's debut verse novel on parkour is really something else. For starters, it's everything I like my verse novels to be: that delicious exploration of words and rhythm (not rhyme) and experimentation in typography variation. It's a visual masterpiece with so many pages set out in a unique and arresting format. Truly stunning, the pages are an artwork. There's an energy to the writing that drives it forward, at the same time, the words are put together so carefully that you have to stop and let the moment linger, before pushing ahead for more. 

I can honestly say I have never read a book like it: the subject (so much action and thrills and paranoia and also this whole underground world I had no idea about). It's exhilarating and vivid -- I found myself being tempted by parkour, (haha, I can't even walk down stairs without tripping over imaginary cracks).  I loved the Sydney setting and the relationships and the adrenalin in this book. 

Finely crafted, Sinclair breathes so much life into this book. I have seen not a lot about Run out there and I truly hope it gets the attention it deserves.  

PLUS: This book trailer is incredibly watch-able and well done. 

(I watched it before reading and it really helped me visualise the whole parkour thing)

Title links go to goodreads - add these! I recommend them all (I gave all of them 4 stars). I continue to be impressed by the quality and diversity of Aussie YA novels. So much goodness out there.

Have you read any of these?

Are you curious?

Hope your day is going super swell!

xo Nomes