Top 10 of 2013- Day 1 Top 10 books of 2013 and a Giveaway!

Yay welcome to day 1 of our Top 10 of 2013 event! We're so happy that you all are participating with us! 2013 was a strange year for me. I've only read 75 books as of today. I hit a huge reading slump during the summer and didn't read anything in July or August. But after the slump I cam back with a vengeance lol I caught up to my goodreads challenge pretty quickly. The people at Goodreads have a cool Your Year of Books when you sign up for the challenge. If you want to see all the books I read this year go HERE!

So today’s topic is Best Books I've Read in 2013 (Doesn't have to be released in 2013, just a book you've read in 2013). And I had a hell of a time narrowing it down to just 10 so there are a few honorable mentions added to this list. If you want to know anything about the books I chose just click on the title and it’ll take you to the Goodreads page!

And make sure to stop by my co-hosts sites Fiktshun and Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for their lists! Oh and make sure to sign up with the linky to share your lists! And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!Details are at the end of this post!

Monday, December 23rd - Best Books I've Read in 2013 (Doesn't have to be released in 2013, just a book you've read in 2013)

1. Splintered by AG Howard. This was my favorite of the year hands down!!!!!

2. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson. This series is on my all-time favorite list! Rae is an amazing writer and Hector will definitely make my forever book boyfriends list!

3. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. Freaking fantastic book!!!!! Definitely think it’s better than the first I has a new love peeps! Strumhuond!!!!!!!!!!

4. The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd. Megan’s storytelling is amazing and dark and twisted and she also ramps up the creep out factor! There’s also 2 hot boys to choose from!

5. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. It was awesome, amazeballs, mind-blowing!!!! Loved Warner ooh and Kenji!

6. The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell. An amazing High Fantasy make sure to grab this one!

7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. Even better than Cinder and Wolf and Thorne stole my heart away from Kai!

8. These Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman. I just finished this one on December 18^th and I already had my list set and ready to go! But I HAD to move one down to the honorable mentions because this book was EPIC!!!! I can’t wait for book 2!!!!

9. In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters.  One of the best ghost stories I’ve ever read! And I loved that it was set in San Diego during World War 1 and the Spanish influenza outbreak. It was creepy and awesome! Oh and I fell for my first ghost Stephen!

10. The Beautiful and The Cursed by Page Morgan. It’s historical paranormal with gargoyles and one of the best books I read hand down in 2013!

Honorable Mentions

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins. Kaidan Rowe is just too sexy for words and he made me melt into a puddle of goo in this one!

Gold by Talia Vance. I beta’d this for Talia and OMG it is better than Silver!!!! All you team Austin girls get ready to swoon :D

Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I love Jennifer’s books and even though I was sad to see the series end Sentinel was the perfect ending!

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa. Loved this one! Love all of Julie’s books! I also have a new found fondness for Jackal.

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas. A High Fantasy part of the time and a historical Fantasy the other part. This one reminded me of Harry Potter a bit just with older characters and trust me you will all fall for Titus :D

Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi.  Another one that was as awesome as the first and this one had more Roar so I was a happy girl!

Fragments by Dan Wells. I will freely admit I wasn’t the hugest fan of the first book. The second in this series though was awesome and I can’t wait to read the finale!

Did any of my favorites make your list? Fill out the linky and let me know! And good luck with the giveaway :) 

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Blog Tour- THE BITTER KINGDOM by Rae Carson and a Giveaway!

Hey y'all! Today is an awesome day! Not only do I get to help my dear friend Rae and her wonderful book THE BITTER KINGDOM; she has an awesome guest post about the love of my life Hector! I am so excited to share this with you! Also there is an amazing giveaway!

Title: The Bitter Kingdom (Girl of Fire and Thorns #3)

Author: Rae Carson

Pub. Date: August 27, 2013

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Pages:448

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

Now on to the awesome post! 

If Hector Lived on Earth in 2013

Hector has been magically transported from Joya d'Arena to modern day Earth. (Hey, it could happen…) So, what does he think of our world and his new life?

Hector's celebrity crush:

Adele. He has a thing for gorgeous, powerful, full-figured women. (Runner-up: Beyoncé)

Top Destination Vacation:

Sonoma County, California. He loves to go wine-tasting. The rolling vineyards and rugged, tidepool-ridden coastline remind him of his childhood home.

Favorite book:

Architecture: Form, Space, and Order by Francis D.K. Ching. He's a nerd, okay?

Favorite movie:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Hector is quite moved by the themes of friendship and self-sacrifice in this last HP installment.

Hobbies:

Basketball, rock-climbing, AutoCAD design, reading (especially nonfiction).

Favorite TV Show:

He tried to watch Game of Thrones, but he had a bit of a PTSD reaction to some of the memory-inciting violence. So he prefers The Walking Dead, which is still action-adventure but more escapist for him. He thinks zombies are hilarious.

The thing he loves most about our world:

Guns. Even better than the bow and arrow for long-distance defense! He took his first gun (a used Winchester Model 1895 rifle) completely apart and put it back together again, just to see how it worked. He NEVER keeps it loaded.

The thing he hates most about our world:

Corrupt politicians.

Hector's favorite songs:

-When thinking of the events of The Crown of Embers: Too Close by Alex Clare

-When thinking of the events of The Bitter Kingdom: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You by Bryan Adams. Why yes, this IS the cheesiest song ever written. But can you blame a guy who is *that much* in love?

So there you have it. Hector in our world. Hmmm, maybe this would make a good sit-com. We could call it New Boy. Or Modern Guard. The Hector Diaries? Okay, you're right, that's a really bad idea. :)

NO IT'S NOT!!!! I WANT TO BE IN THE SITCOM TOO LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by today Rae!

Rae Carson is the award-winning author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns Trilogy. She was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author for Fall 2011 and was a finalist for the Morris, Cybils, and Andre Norton Awards. Her first novel was named to ALA's Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list.

Rae lives in Ohio with her husband, novelist C.C. Finlay, two stepsons, and two very naughty kitties. She is hard at work on her next trilogy.

Website /Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

A signed set of the complete trilogy. US Only

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Make sure to check out the rest of the Tour Schedule for more amazing posts!

8/19/2013- Ivy Book Bindings- Guest Post

8/20/2013- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Interview

8/21/2013- Refracted Light Reviews- Review

8/22/2013- A Backwards Story- Review

8/23/2013- The Starry-Eyed Revue- Interview

8/26/2013- Candace's Book Blog- Review

8/27/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

8/28/2013- Citrus Reads- Review

8/29/2013- Hobbitsies- Interview

8/30/2013- Fiktshun- Guest Post

Giveaway- Spreading the love The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Ok so today I had some awesomeness dropped into my mailbox! Only thing is I  already have a copy of this awesome book and I've already read it! THE BITTER KINGDOM is the perfect ending to Rae Carson’s The Girl of Fire and Thorns series! So I want to give this copy away to a fan of this series. 

And the coolest part? 

Rae has offered to sign it so I will be shipping this lovely off to her and she will send you your book! So fill out the Rafflecopter form the only requirement is that you have to have read the first 2 books and to prove it we’re asking a trivia question! The giveaway is US/Canada Only.

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Swoon Thursday (3)- The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Ok so you said you’d like me to keep doing Swoon Thursdays and I am here to please! Thanks to the lovely ladies at YA Bound for this awesome meme! I love being able to share swoon-worthy snippet with you!

So this week I’ve decided to share swoon-worthy scenes from one of the books I’ve read over the past week! This book was the perfect finale and I know you all will be dying to get your hands on it after this passage!

THE BITTER KINGDOM by Rae Carson

This series is one of my absolute favorites and the ending was perfect but bittersweet. I will miss all of these characters and this world! One of my top 5 book boyfriends comes from this series and that’s why I needed to share a little bit of Hector and Elisa with you!

He lifts his head and considers me thoughtfully. Then he tips up my chin with his thumb and kisses me again—a sweeter, gentler kiss that feels like sun breaking through the clouds.

The pit of my stomach buzzes as I press my forehead into his chest, saying, “I told you that you would kiss me again.”

He laughs. “It’s the ‘and more’ part I remember most vividly.” He gently pushes me away, putting a safe cushion of distance between us. He grabs my hands and lifts them to his lips. “When we reach Bassajuan, maybe I can get you to myself for a while.”

The earth tilts a little.

“In the meantime,” he adds. “I really should teach you how to care for tack. I find myself in need of a distraction.”

I grin. “Good idea.”

So what did you think? Does this make you want to add it to you TBR? I’d love to hear what you think!

Dying to Read (19)- The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Hey y’all thanks for stopping by to see my Dying to Read post and of course as always I have to give credit to the lovely Jill over at Breaking the Spine for the Waiting on Wednesday Meme!

This week the book I’m dying to read is The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson!!!!! I’m seriously in need of this book I am super in love with this series and after the end of The Crown of Embers I was about ready to kill Rae! Hector is my number #1 book boyfriend and I love Elisa too J

The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3)

Rae Carson

Release Date: August 27, 2013

Hardcover: 400 pages

Publisher: Greenwillow Books (Harper)

ISBN: 0062026542

Goodreads

Amazon/Barnes& Noble/The Book Depository

There’s not a blurb yet but Rae said this over on her website….

“I’m so excited to share the final chapter of Elisa’s story. Things get CrAzY in book 3. Notice the ICE and SNOW and PINE TREES? Those are not-subtle hints about what happens.”

And I say I NEEDS MOAR HECTOR!!! *Sighs*

So what do you think? Will you be adding this to your pile? What are you dying to read this week?