TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads. This week we get to talk about our three favorite reads of 2012…so far. Three.
Only three.
Oh, questions like these are so hard. I mean, how do you compare a romance to a dystopian? Or a funny book to an issue book? They’re all so different and so good in different ways. THE AGONY OF MAKING A CHOICE!
I’ll give it a go, but we all know I’m going to cheat and list extra books. Can we just agree to that? Good.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. You guys, her writing is phenomenal. It’s beautiful and funny and poetic. It crushed me at times and made me cry and other times it made me giggle and reread sections over and over because they were so clever. And the romance was stunning. The story was magical. The settings were incredible. And Karou, our heroine, was the best main character I’d read in quite a while. I loved this book from start to finish.
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta-What’s ridiculous is that I’ve loved every single Marchetta book and yet I wasn’t super-psyched to read Finnikin because it was a Fantasy (not usually my first choice). Holy cow, how could I have been so lame? It was beautiful and amazing like all of her other books. The characters were fantastic and the settings were so good. Everything about it was excellent. It’s a book I’d happily read again and again.
When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle– Oh, this book broke my heart into a thousand pieces. It’s a retelling of Romeo & Juliet told from Rosaline’s perspective (Romeo’s original love). I thought it was such a fresh take on the story. The characters and the dialogue were so authentic and…I keep saying this…but I was blown away by Serle’s ability to make me root against Romeo & Juliet AND to make me hope against hope for a different outcome to a story that I already knew had a tragic ending. I loved this one. Loved it.
And here’s where I’ll cheat just a teensy bit: Other books I’ve loved this year have been Pandemonium (Lauren Oliver), Shatter Me (Tahereh Mafi), Monsters of Men (Patrick Ness). And that barely scratches the surface!
Happy Friday!
YA Crush 
i cheated a little too because i read a lot of really good books this year. ~dixie
It’s impossible to pick a favorite! Never!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone really was just fantastic. Indescribably good. I haven’t read the other two, but REALLLLLY want to! I actually checked Finnikin out from the library, but didn’t get a chance to read it. Really must get it again! When You Were Mine needs to be mine… like soon!!!!
Oh if you like Romeo and Juliet, you’ll like When You Were Mine. I already feel due for a reread.
When You Were Mine Sounds really good. I never really liked Romeo so I think I might just like this 🙂
My TGIF and FF
I loved it. Most of the reviews I’ve seen have been really positive. I usually like Romeo, but he definitely upset me in this book. I didn’t dislike him, but I was hurt for Rose’s sake.
I just finished When You Were Mine this morning – and I LOVED it.
Holla!!!!!! 🙂
Holy cow, I need to read all of these!!
I think you should do it now. Forget everything else and read.
Hahaha I’m working on it! 🙂 I just got three new books from the library and went on a Kindle book buying spree. When will I have time to read all this!? LOL
These are all great picks. I LOVED Daughter of Smoke and Bone and pretty much agree with everything you said about it. And I also loved When You Were Mine. I haven’t gottten the chance to read Finnikin, but I’ve heard great things about it.
My TGIF/Follow Friday
I loved Finnikin. It’s totally different from any other Marchetta, but there is something so amazing about her writing.
I picked Shatter Me too! When You Were Mine and Daughter of Smoke and Bone are two books I definitely want to read soon
Wasn’t Shatter Me fantastic? I wasn’t expecting to love it like I did!
I loved Daughter of Smoke & Bone too – one of my favorite reads of this year too.
Can’t wait for the sequel.
Guess who quit Finnikin 70% of the way through because it was taking her an entire month to read? *sheepishly raises hand* As much as I loved Jellicoe Road and Saving Francesca, I wished I could’ve gotten into this one. I tried SO HARD. It was my first fantasy, too. BUT. I read a tweet that even if I wasn’t a fan of Finnikin that I might do better with Froi of the Exiles. So there’s that.
I totally get it! Sometimes I’m just not in the right mood. I have started Froi twice now. It’s been good, but I haven’t gotten very far. It disappeared from my Net Galley before I finished it the first time and then it was due at the library before I finished it the second time. Now I have it again. I need to let it get going because I know I’ll love it, as I always do with her books, but there have been more “summery” reads calling to me lately.