Ok, due to my slacker-pants-ness on the last couple months of 2011 I have not posted full reviews on any of the books below. But I couldn't let them go by having missed out on their 15 minutes of blog fame! All of the books below deserve a [Ten - Amazing! Loved it. Read it now!] rating.
(listed in no particular order since they are all amazing!)
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
I can't say much about this book without spoiling it. But lets just say that I loved it. I waited for the library to have a copy before reading this one and immediately after I finished it I had to purchase one for myself to keep. It was that good. I loved the writing style, the characterization, the world building, the complicated plot - ALL OF IT! I can't wait for book two and have a strange urge to dye my hair blue.
The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning,
The Awakening, The Reckoning)
I read all three of these books in quick succession. Lucky for me I didn't start the series until they were all complete, how anyone else who read them as they were published survived I do not know! The story has action, mystery, strong characterization and a great - slow - romance. Love love love.
The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer,
Monsters of Men)
Wow. WOW. That is about all I can say for these books. Talk about an emotional dystopian roller-coaster. I chewed through these books in just a few days - and got very little sleep. I could not put them down. It was an intense and heartbreaking struggle, but so worth it. Once again, I don't want to say much to avoid spoilers, but this series put Patrick Ness on the top of my author watch list. He writes it - I buy it. Talk about cliffhanger endings - how people survived waiting for the next books I will never know. Lucky me again for waiting to start a series until after they are all published! Be ready with the second novel at your fingertips before you start the first books!
The Codex Alera Series by Jim Butcher
This was such a good series! I loved how the characters grow and mature throughout the series. Butcher is a fabulous author and I loved every second of these action/adventure/fantasy/everything novels! I enjoyed that each book came to a good conclusion on their individual plot-lines, but still continued to build on the overall story arc until the very end. The only flaw that I found in this series is that they ended. I want to more! I *heart* Tavi. Just sayin. I plan to have this entire collection of novels sitting right next to my Harry Potter collection on the shelf someday.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
This was another lovely novel by Maggie Stiefvater. I love her writing style. The emotion she manages to create in her characters just sucks me right in. With alternating points of view between Puck and Sean you quickly get pulled into an different reality that is hard to let go of on the last page. I would happily read hundreds of pages more... so here's hoping that someday Maggie decides to go back to the world of this stand alone novel. *prettyplease*
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
Why I waited so long to read this one I will never know. This book was awesome! It managed to keep up with the action and pace of the first two novels, while still bringing the overall story arc to a nice conclusion. Secrets are revealed and worlds are changed. I loved it! Once again, I would love to read more - but I was perfectly happy with the conclusion of this series. Such a great YA steampunk series to read - if you haven't started it yet, go do it!
Red Glove by Holly Black
Oh Cassel. What twisted webs we weave. After the ending of White Cat I wasn't sure what was going to go down in this book, but I was not disappointed at all by Red Glove. Such a good book! Just about anything I could say would be spoilery, so lets just say that this series continues to be awesome.
A World Without Heroes (Beyonders #1) by Brandon Mull
This was such a fun read! A great start to a new fantasy series. The book was really dialogue dense – lots of speaking! It didn't have a lot filler and description, which kept everything fast paced. The story was long and the plot was complicated, with great characterization. I loved it. I have never read the Fablehaven series, but if this book is an example of Brandon's writing I will be adding it to the top of my list! I can't wait for the second book to come out in March!
Bayou Moon (The Edge #2) by Ilona Andrews
I haven't read a book by Ilona Andrews that I didn't like, but I think this one is my very favorite of all. I LOVED this book. Strong family bonds, an angsty-orphaned-changeling love interest and lots of homegrown magic. What's not to like?! I also loved the page count. Most of this genre of book just seem so short, but this one was a comfy 447 pages, and even then I didn't want it to end. Yay for awesome books!
All of these books are fabulous and deserve their time in spotlight - so if they sound like something you might be interested in, go check them out. Now!
I've decided to join a mini-book challenge. This challenge only lasts three months (Feb 1 - April 30, 2012) and is hosted by LaToyaLiterally! The Borrowed Book Challenge is all about borrowing books from your local library and supporting them in whichever way you can. 
