Hello everyone, 2013 has been a wonderful reading year for both Rachel and I, we discovered several new beautiful reads, read books which kept us up until the early hours and had some books that we just wanted to drop everything for, so that we could stay at home all day long and read. We thought the perfect way to recap our reading year was to take part in Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner's 2013 End of Year Book Survey!
1. Best Book you read in 2013?
Jasprit: Contemporary YA: Fire with Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian, Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend by Louise Rozett, Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Dystopian/ Post-Apocalyptic: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa, Angelfall by Susan Ee
Paranormal: Fire with Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian, The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
Science-fiction: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill, Parallel by Lauren Miller, The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna.
Fantasy: Fractured by Sarah Fine, Graceling by Kristin Cashore,
Rachel: Contemporary YA/NA: All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry,Dare to You by Katie McGarry, Isn't She Lovely by Lauren Layne
Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi, The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey
Paranormal: The Black Heart by Holly Black
Science-Fiction: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris, Pivot Point by Kasie West
Fantasy: Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?
Jasprit: Taken by Erin Bowman
Rachel: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, Boundless by Cynthia Hand
3. Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2013?
Jasprit: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Rachel: The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Jasprit: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Rachel: The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
Jasprit: Guards of the Shadowlands by Sarah Fine: Sanctum and Fractured.
Rachel: Love Me With Lies by Tarryn Fisher, Amour et Chocolate by Laura Florand
6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2013?
Jasprit: Lauren Miller, Sangu Mandanna, Sarah Fine, Cristin Terrill
Rachel: Laura Florand, Tarryn Fisher, Lauren Layne
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Jasprit: Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Rachel: Magic Slays (Kate Daniels #5) by Ilona Andrews, Iced (Dani O'Malley #1) by Karen Marie Moning
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
Jasprit: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Rachel: The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
9. Book you read in 2013, that you are most likely to re-read next year?
Jasprit: The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot. I love this series so much, and I'm so sad that it's come to an end, I think I will need a definite re-read of the entire series next year.
Rachel: Iced by Karen Marie Moning in prep for Burned this summer! The Chocolate Touch by Laura Florand just because I loved it sooo much! Favorite romance of the year!
10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2013?
Jasprit:
Rachel:
11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Jasprit: Heather Wells from Meg's Heather Wells series.
Rachel: Olivia from the Love Me With Lies series by Tarryn Fisher
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
Jasprit: If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin
Rachel: The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Jasprit: Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Rachel: The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher. I still think a lot about about the whole series.
14. Book that you can't believe you waited until 2013 to read?
Jasprit: Angelfall by Susan Ee. I remember all the hype that was surrounding this book when it was first released. Me being the wary reader I was decided to not jump onto the bandwagon straight away. Two years later when I finally gave this book I was simply blown away.
Rachel: Stolen by Lucy Christopher. I've always been afraid to pick it up, but I ended up loving it. I would like to see what happens years later, though!
15. Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2013?
Jasprit: “This book is a treasure; I did not suspect it would be so good when I picked it up, but now I can feel the printed words seeping through my skin and into my veins, rushing to my heart and marking it forever. I want to savour this wonder, this happening of a loving book and reading it for the first time, because the first time is always the best, and I will never read this book for the first time again” If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin
Rachel: He wanted to find that one person and just give her all of him, his heart, his head, his body. He wanted the sound and scent of her in his apartment, he wanted to be cooking with her in the kitchen, he wanted babies eventually, waking them up every two hours and leaving toys for him to trip over. ~The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand
16. Shortest and longest book you read in 2013?
Jasprit: Longest: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning (560 pages)
Shortest: Lila and Alex Short story. X-rated by Sarah Alderson (13 pages).
Rachel: Longest:The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (570 pages)
Shortest: Curran: Magic Strikes Hot Tub Scene (18 pages)
17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it?
Jasprit: There's actually two books that come to mind. First is The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa. First of all how insane was this book and then we were left with this cruel ending. And then there was Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. This totally messed with my feelings. And now there's year long waits for the next books :(
Rachel: Two books: Left Drowning by Jessica Park. I got to a scene where a character does something that ticked me off SO BAD I had to text three of my friends immediately! Long ranty texts followed with back and forth for quite sometime. Still ticks me off to think about it!! Also, Dirty Red by Tarryn Fisher. After I finished I wanted to jump up and down over all the revelations!! I read this with my book friend, Arlene and my husband, but Arlene and I finished first. We had to keep whispering in corners (we were at the Mid-Winter ALA together) about everything because my husband would've literally (maybe, lol!) killed us if we spoiled anything.
18. Favourite relationship from a book you read in 2013?
Jasprit: Warden and Paige's relationship in The Bone Season. I loved how I didn't really know what I would be getting, but the development was a great one.
Rachel: Dominique and Jaime in The Chocolate Touch by Laura Florand. They were both tender and bruised souls in need of the love each other provided. So very lovely!
19. Favourite book you read in 2013 from an author you've read previously?
Jasprit: The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
Rachel: Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
20. Best book you read in 2013 that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else?
Jasprit: The Gathering Dark by Leigh Bardugo
Rachel: The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand (Keertana @Ivy Book Bindings, thank you!)
The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher (Arlene @Winterhaven Books)
21. Genre you read the most from in 2013?
Jasprit: Contemporary YA.
Rachel: Contemporary romance NA/Adult.
22. Newest fictional book crush from a book you read in 2013?
Jasprit: Raffe from Angelfall.
Rachel: Dominique from The Chocolate Touch, Ryodan from Iced by Karen Marie Moning
23. Best 2013 debut you read?
Jasprit: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Rachel: The Opportunisty by Tarryn Fisher, Pivot Point by Kasie West, Isn't She Lovely by Lauren Layne
24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
Jasprit: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon or Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
Rachel: On the Edge by Ilona Andrews, The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan
25. Book that was the most fun to read in 2013?
Jasprit: Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend or The Bride wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot.
Rachel: How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
26. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2013?
Jasprit: If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin
Rachel: The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher, Left Drowning by Jessica Park
27. Book you read in 2013 that you think got overlooked this year or when it came out?
Jasprit: You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle. This book definitely deserves so much praise, it was different to what I was expecting, but also provided us with a great journey with the characters.
Rachel: All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry. The story was surprisingly good with a romance filled with longing and a mystery that kept you guessing. The second personal narrative made it stand out for me even more!
1. New favourite blog you discovered in 2013.
Jasprit: Lauren Love is not a Triangle, Siiri at Little Pieces of Imagination.
Rachel: Tanja & Glass at Ja čitam, a ti Aman at Enticed by Books, Siiri at Little Pieces of Imagination
2. Best event you participated in?
Jasprit: I was actually able to attend some incredible author events this year. Including meeting Sarah J. Maas, Samantha Shannon, Leila Sales and Sarra Manning.
Rachel: I'm pretty fortunate as a lot of authors blow through the Los Angeles area, so I was lucky enough to see Richelle Mead again for the release of Gameboard of the Gods, which was all kinds of fun. The Summer Lovin' Tour featuring Sarah Ockler, Jessi Kirby, Morgan Matson, Shannon Messenger, Kimberly Derting, and Suzanne Young back in May of this year was a laugh a minute! I got beaned in the head by candy (thrown by said authors) for answering book questions correctly. What more could you want from a signing?!
3. Best moment of book blogging/ your book life in 2013?
Jasprit: Having some of of my favourite authors acknowledge a review I've written of one of their books.
Thanks so much to @jaskaur11 for the cute review of The Bride Wore Size 12!
http://t.co/vjI77aVQzK
— Meg Cabot (@megcabot) October 12, 2013
And getting to know some really fabulous and generous authors and bloggers. A special shout out to Sarah Alderson, Sam, Maja, Siiri, Nick, Jenny, Jess and Melissa. (Sorry if I've forgotten anyone else).
Rachel: Going to the Mid-Winter ALA in Seattle and then the main event ALA in Chicago were both super fun! Kid in a candy store, I tell you! Also, I got to hang out with some of my best book friends and all we did was gossip books *heaven*. Having a quote from my review listed in a couple of books was awfully nice as well! Interacting with our awesome bloggy friends, as Jasprit mentioned above is always a highlight to me! My go to girls: Jenny, Andrea, Keertana, Maja, Siiri, Glass, Tanja, Nick, Sam, and Aman. I always know I'm going to have a laugh, and add way too many books to my TBR when I visit their sites! But also, weed some out through their helpful and insightful comments and reviews.
1. One Book you didn't get to in 2013, but will be your number one priority in 2014.
Jasprit: Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty. I've lost count from the number of times I've been planning to read this book and just not got around to it. 2014 for sure!
Rachel: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
2. Book you are most anticipating for 2014 (non-debut)
Jasprit: Shimmer by Paula Weston, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski.
Rachel: Burned by Karen Marie Moning (Here I come Ryodan! Jenny, prepare!), Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Cycle #3 (no title yet) by Maggie Stiefvater
3. 2014 debut you are most anticipating?
Jasprit: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy, Pointe by Brandy Colbert.
Rachel: I seriously can't come up with one! My mind is totally blank for this category!
4. Series ending you are most anticipating in 2014?
Jasprit: Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han, The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa and Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor
Rachel: Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi, although, I may have to hurt someone upon finishing depending on how the love triangle resolves *sigh*, Oblivion (Nevermore #3) by Kelly Creagh, Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins: This is another one I'm nervous about. All the date extensions make me a little nervous.
We hope that you all had a wonderful reading year too! We will be back in the New Year with lots more reviews and fun posts. Happy New Year!