January Top 5

Every month I pick out the top five books I read that month. This month was completely full of awesome books - both new releases and older books. You can see the whole list of books I read by clicking on my "Read in 2012" tab. I read so much this month and this list was a little difficult to generate. A couple, like Under the Never Sky, were no-brainers, but others had to beat out competition. So here's my top five, most awesome reads from January.

1. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

I finished this book almost a week ago and I haven't been able to read. It was that amazing. I was afraid it would be disappointing after it was so hyped up, but it exceeded every expectation I had. If it wasn't only January and if I wasn't an optimist, I'd say this is the best book I'll read all year.

2. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

A heartbreaking end to a heartbreaking series. I'm going to miss Calla and the pack so much. Check out my review here. 

3. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

I didn't really know a lot going into this book, but it looked adorable. Plus, I'll probably pick up any book with an English boy. Anyways this turned out to be so wonderful. It had great literary layers that I didn't expect. Read my review here. 

4. Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

I finally got around to reading Angelfire and it was fabulous. I had so many Buffy flashbacks while reading this book, so naturally I freaking loved it. Ellie is like a ninja and then she has the angel version of Batman to back her up. How do you not love that? Read my review here.

5. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

I just wish I was friends with Clara. And Tucker. And even Christian. I have so much love for these characters - they kind of are friends (she says without trying to sound like she doesn't have real friends...I do, I swear). I laughed and sobbed my way through this book and I can't wait to see what the future holds for Clara. Read my review here. 

And because I can't help myself: the Honorable Mention:

Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Just because it made me so happy. 

What were your top reads this month? 

Hallowed - Cynthia Hand

Synopsis: For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.
Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning. (From Goodreads)


This series just keeps getting better. I love how things start out seeming so simple and then suddenly you realize that you only know about this small part in a whole tangle of mess that seems impossible. Unearthly seemed so simple compared to Hallowed and I'm assuming that it's only going to get worse from here. And I love it!


Clara totally makes this series. She's the perfect heroine - because she isn't perfect. She lies, she's a little self-centered, she has tunnel vision in some cases - plus she acts, thinks, and thinks like a normal teenage girl. She sneaks out of the house, gets caught in places she shouldn't be. And what is so great, is that even though she becomes more powerful and more in tune to who she is as an angel and a supernatural being - she still stays that normal teenage girl. She's so grounded and it makes her more of a best friend, than an intimidatingly unapproachable heroine. 


Of course, Tucker, is a huge part of this awesomeness of these books. So perfect. Although, I hate to admit it, but Christian actually (very surprisingly) gave him a run for his money at moments. Plus, I love the new characters that pop up in this book as well, and I can't wait to see more of them. 


If you read Unearthly keep going. Hallowed lives up to its hype. It's every bit as good as the first book, if not actually better. It's hard to tell, because I think they're both pretty exceptional. I will say that this book is a little more heartbreaking though. I think I cried through half of it - so, just a warning, you may want to be prepared. You know, maybe try not to read it in public. 

Unearthly - Cynthia Hand

Synopsis: When Clara Gardner learns she’s part angel, her entire life changes. She now has a purpose, a specific task she was put on this earth to accomplish, except she doesn’t know what it is. Her visions of a raging forest fire and a mysterious boy lead her to a new high school in a new town but provide no clear instruction. As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she’d have to make—between the boy in her vision and the boy in her life, between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. . . . When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?


I was a little worried going into this book that the angel thing would start to get old - there have been a lot of angel books this year - but this was so wonderful and so different from other angel books, different from other paranormal books, that my fears went away after the first chapter. Not to mention, this is the closest to an actual angel that anyone has seemed to come - at least the angels in my imagination. This was just one of the things I loved about Unearthly. All the characters were wonderful, vivid, and worth loving. The storyline was great, and despite the synopsis and the visions that predicted the end of the book, I was always pleasantly surprised at the turns the plot would  take. And as far as book boys go, Clara is a lucky, lucky girl/angel.


This was a fresh take because Clara was the paranormal being and the people who became close to her had to figure out who she was. They were in the dark, not her. Generally, it seems that most books spend a lot of time making the protagonist try to figure out what type of paranormals they are dealing with. Clara, instead, has to find a human in a pile of humans, with only clues from her heaven-sent visions. Then try to figure him out. Which, in some ways, is harder than trying to match symptoms to the paranormal creature. 


Plus, you have the girl who's sent to save the boy. WHAT? Yeah, that's right. Girl power. So Clara is sent to save Christian, who's great and all, but then there's Tucker. Both boys are so different, but are so great. I loved them both, although I have to say that if this series doesn't go the way I want it to, I might cry.


Hallowed, the second book in the series is out on January 17th and I will be jumping all over that as soon as I can. I don't know why I waited so long to read Unearthly, but I won't be making that mistake with the second one. And I'm not going to keep reading this series because I'm dying to know where the story is going (although I desperately want to know) I'm going to keep reading because I love all these characters so much and I'm not ready to let them go. I'll follow them anywhere.