Top Ten Books I Read in 2011

 Top Ten Tuesday is a Meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This was an insanely hard list to write for me having read over two hundred and fifty books this year. Of course not all of them were new releases; in fact, most of them weren't. So my list is made up of exactly what the title says, the top ten books I READ this year, not necessarily a top ten of what was released this year.

(1) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor -The second that I had finished reading this book I knew it was the best that I had read this year. I knew nothing was going to top it. DoS&B was the absolute best fantasy I've read in a long time.

(2) The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson - This book absolutely blew me away. I had seen it around a few times but hadn't given it much attention until I saw it available as a bargain book on Amazon, for a few bucks I was more than willing to give it a shot. It was beyond worth what I paid for. It really makes you think and Jenna was just an amazing narrator.

(3) Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken - From my review: "I have no complaints; this story was amazing! The quote on the cover said that I would want to put it right up their with my Tamora Pierce novels and those by Kristin Cashore and it is so right. This is a must read for fantasy fans; and I'll add to the Tamora Pierce and Kristin Cashore recommendation in saying that if you loved Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith you'll likely fall for this tale as well."

(4) Divergent by Veronica Roth - WOW. I know everyone is all about the Hunger Games right now what with the movie coming out and all, and the fact that it was a pretty awesome dystopian series that really got the fad going...and all of that is true. The Hunger Games was an awesome book...but Divergent is just made of win. One of the absolute best dystopians I read this year.

(5) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - I know a lot of bloggers/readers have had issues choosing between Anna and Lola but there was just no competition for me. While I did love Lola I absolutely LOVED Anna. And St. Clair. Oh St. Clair.

(6) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare - I've been a huge fan of Cassie since my cousin introduced me to TMI series. And than Cassie published Internal Devices and omgwtfbbq it was amazing! I fell in love with Clockwork Angel and thought there was no replacing it, CA was her best work and that was that. And than I read Clockwork Prince which left it's predeccesors in it's dust. Tessa, Will, Jem and the rest of the cast are just amazing and some of my absolute favorites in YA.

(7) The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan - My BF is a huge zombie fan and I'll readily admit I wasn't...until I found Carrie Ryan. Now I'm a total convert and totally in love with this book which as of right now, haven't gotten the third one yet, is my favorite in the series.

(8) The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa - This was a really hard choice and I almost just cheated and put down the entire Iron Fey series. Can you blame me? BEST FEY SERIES EVER. But ultimately I decided on The Iron Queen as my absolute favorite despite the fact that the remarkably hot prince of ice is the narrator of The Iron Knight and I'm totally Team Ash. From my review: "The best possible recommendation I can give for this book being amazing is that it brought tears to my eyes. This entire series packs an emotional punch but it was The Iron Queen that finally did me in". 

(9) Enclave by Ann Aguirre - From my review: "What started out as a crush due to a video game turned into a full-fledged love affair with the book itself. I was lost in this book from the first page on, I can't believe how fast it flew by once I had the time to truly invest in it. There was literally never a dull moment for me in this book; the action was crazy intense and the threat of it almost always present."

(10) Wildefire by Karsten Knight - I cheerfully blame Fiktshun for this one hundred percent. I first saw this book on her blog, read all her gushing about the amazingness that was Wildefire and was lucky enough to win an ARC from her, which I promptly devoured upon arrival. SHE WAS NOT KIDDING. The ending, oh the ending.

HONORARY MENTIONS: 
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
Sleepers by Megg Jensen
Brighid's Quest & Elphame's Choice by P.C. Cast
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
Flying Blind by Deborah Cooke
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab