1) "Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi: In all honesty, I didn't have all that high of expectations for this book. I mean, we knew little about this book for the longest time, aside from the fact that it was written by a debut author and that the cover was under lock-and-key (remember when all of the ARC covers said something along the lines of "Cover Art to be Revealed"?). But then I read it and fell completely head over heels for it- from Juliette and her realness, to Adam and his all around swoon-worthiness, to Warner, perhaps the best "bad" character I have ever read of before.
I have no complaints about this book my only complaint is that I am going to have to wait a year for a sequel.
2) "If I Die" by Rachel Vincent: I must be honest, I am quite surprised by how much I loved this book. While I am a die-hard fan of Rachel's "Shifters" series I have always been kinda iffy with her "Soul Screamers" series- the first two books didn't do much for me, the third and fourth books were quite a bit better IMO, but this book, the fifth book? Everything I could have asked for and more! I don't think that there was anything about this book that I didn't like.
3) "Defiance" by Lili St. Crow: In my opinion Dru-Girl was by far the most bad-ass in this book than we have ever seen her before. I loved the introduction of new characters in this book and I loved seeing how all of the old characters have really grown and matured- becoming the people that they were destined to be. But most of all? I loved Ash. "BANG!"
4) "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver: In all honesty, the first time I read this book I was not a fan. I thought that it was too similar Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" trilogy. But for a long time after reading this book (months) I couldn't stop thinking about it (I recall even dreaming about it- I was that far entranced by it), so I went out and bought it and reread it and realized how wrong I had initially been. While YA dystopian novels typically follow the same sort of storyline (ie. a girl is living in a world that she thinks is perfect, a rebellious boy comes along and opens her eyes, they fall in love, they try to escape their society or change it and the boy ends of suffering the consequences), this book was able to enrapture me in a way that none of those other dystopians were able to.
5) "Lola and the Boy Next Door" by Stephanie Perkins: I had been a bit of a book rut when I picked up this book and let me tell you, it was able to pick me out of that rut in a way that I am convinced no other book would have been able to do. While the storyline may not have been as good as "Anna and the French Kiss", I LOVED the characters- especially Cricket. I literally had a HUGE smile on my face the entire time I read this book.
6) "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead: I never liked Adrian in Richelle's "Vampire Academy" series, so imagine my surprise when I read this book and I fall in love with him- ditto with Sydney, she just wasn't a likeable character in VA IMO. I am not going to lie though, my most favourite part of this entire book was the last line of this book when it was revealed that one of my most favourite characters of all time was going to play a part in the next book in the series.
7) "Here" by Denise Grover Swank: For everyone out there who refuses to read self-published books, I pity you. Seriously. You are missing out on one of the best books I have ever read in some time. Everything about this book made me happy- from the main character, Julia, who is so relateable and likeable, to Evan, a boy not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, to Reece, the bad boy who will sweep you off of your feet, to the fast-paced and engaging plot. I
highly recommend it to fans of Lauren Oliver's "Delirium", Julie Karr's "XVI" or Ally Condie's "Matched".
8) "Altered" by Kimberly Montague: Again, don't knock this book because it is self-published. This book possess one of the most swoon-worthy boys I have ever had the pleasure of reading before. Furthermore, this book actually contained parents within it and memorable ones at that (there are few, if any, YA books nowadays that have the teen characters parents in it IMO). This book has the perfect combination of romance and sci-fi.
9) "Obsidian" by Jennifer L. Armentrout: If all YA books are like this, I will never need to read an adult PNR/UF again- the sexual tension between Daemon and Katy? Wow. Furthermore, it doesn't hurt that the premise of this book is so entirely unique! Seriously, can you think of another YA book that is about aliens? I sure as heck can't!
10) "Clockwork Prince" by Cassandra Clare: I am not going to lie, "Clockwork Angel", the first book in Cassie's "Infernal Devices" series didn't do much for me. I felt that the characters weren't all that unique- that Tessa, Jem, and Will were basically Clary, Jace, and Simon from her "Mortal Instruments" series and I just found that I liked the setting of "Mortal Instruments" more than "Infernal Devices" (which I admit, I found strange- who wouldn't prefer England over New York?). But then I read this book. And it changed everything. In all honesty, I think that I like this book more than half of her "Mortal Instruments" books (her "Mortal Instruments" series which has been my most favourite book series for close to five years now). I can honestly not say enough good things about this book (and legitimately have no complaints about it)- I need "Clockwork Princess" NOW!
3) Reese ("Here" by Denise Grover Swank): While Reese was actually only a secondary character in this book I couldn't help but fall for him. The best comparison that I can make to Reese is "The Vampire Diaries" (the TV show, not the books). Evan, the main character of this book is like Stefan- very much a hopeless romantic, sappy, and the likes of, whereas Reese, like Damon Salvatore, very much has a 'devil-may-care' attitude (and he gets bonus points for being a computer geek).
