March Top 5

Wow, guys, I totally missed the end of the month AND the first of April. Time definitely goes way too fast, especially when you're busy and/or not paying attention. But I definitely fell in love a few times this month and these five books were the best of those loves.

1. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

I still can't believe it took me so long to read this book. It completely passed all my expectations and I just fell in so deeply with these characters. Read my full review here.

2. 17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma

I can't praise Nova Ren Suma enough. She's a brilliant writer and this story is beautiful and haunting. I attempted to put into words how I feel about this book, and you can read that here.

3. My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi

I totally devoured this book and came away feeling deeply depressed and uplifted at the same time. It's a weird emotion, but I think I like it. It was just an impressive novel that I think everyone could learn something from. Check out my review here.

4. A Touch Menacing by Leah Clifford

Ahhhh, the end of the Touch series. SO bittersweet, but ultimately a great ending. Looking forward to the dark, twisties that Leah will come up with next. Read my review here.

5. Golden by Jessi Kirby

I love Jessi Kirby and Robert Frost is definitely one of my favorite poets, so this was definitely a win. I'll have a review up soon!

What were your top reads in March?  

For Darkness Shows the Stars - Diana Peterfreund

Synopsis: It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.
Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.
But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.
Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

I'm so mad at myself for not reading this book sooner. It was one of my most anticipated releases last year and I had it on pre-order for months, but for some reason I kept putting other books ahead of it. I'm to say that it has something to do with the serendipity of things that come to you when you need them, and I think at this time I really needed this book. It's so beautifully and brillantly written, I hardly noticed when reality faded and I was brought to this incredibly world that's so bleak and lovely at the same time. A couple weeks after reading it, I still feel as though I'm being lit up from the inside from all the hope, strength and wisdom that came from reading Elliot and Kai's story.

Persuasion is actually my favorite Jane Austen, probably because it's her most cynical - while still being completely heartwarming. It wasn't just the characters and the general plot that Peterfreund adopted, but she managed to capture that same tone and feeling I got when I read Persuasion. I also love the way she worked in the navy and twisted it to fit this dystopian world she's created. The navy in this case are actually shipbuilders who are all about innovation and exploration.

Which brings me to the dystopian world. The dystopian twist was the part I was most nervous about, but it's pulled of spectacularly. It's this fabulous mixture of a future world that has come to view technology and progression as a sin, so it resembles a few different versions of our past. It kind of envisioned it as a colonial Haiti, with a mixture of the new world exploration feeling of naval exploration from Christopher Columbus's time. It took a little bit to figure out all the terminolgy but the social hierarchy is very familiar. But utlitmately I am just amazed by it because it has that romantic feeling of the past, while still containing horrors like slavery.

Then there's Elliot and Kai. Their relationship is so complicated. It's complicated by their history and by their separation in class. They're raised with a different view of the world - Elliot is part of the elite ruling class, even though she works so hard to keep her estate running. Kai is from a lower class, but he goes out and makes something of himself. Their past relationship is wonderfully told through letters, which bothered me at first and then I realized how Jane Austen that was to tell part of the story though letters, and as their story progresses in the present it gets richer and more intense as you learn more about their past. Everything about these two is so intense because they're so right for each other, they're clearly not communicating properly, and they're both so stubborn that I really did find myself tensed up, anticipating their interactions.

This book went straight to my heart and it's not going anywhere. I love this book like a Jane Austen novel, it's one you go back to when you need a little bit of faith or reason to hope, or you need the feeling of loving someone so much it almost hurts. I can't stress enough how beautiful this book is and I have high hopes that Across a Star-Swept Sea will be just as fabulous.

Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Want to Start

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is: Top Ten Series I'd Like to Start but Haven't Yet


1. The Lux Series by Jennifer Armentrout
2. Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
4. Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

5. The Newsoul Series by Jodi Meadows
6. Pure by Julianna Baggott

7. Abandon Trilogy by Meg Cabot
8. Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

9. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
10. Darkness Rising by Kelley Armstrong

I Love Dark YA Blogfest and Giveaway Winner

This is the last day of the I Love Dark YA Blogfest, hosted by YAtopia. Which is sad. This has been a fun month. But today we are all looking ahead to the dark YA book we are most anticipating (of course I can't pick just one...) so if you need some books for your TBR lists, today is a good day to hop (you can find the list of participants by clicking the I Love Dark YA picture here to the left). 






Here are just a few of the Dark YA books coming out that I can't wait for:

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Synopsis: A girl and a vampire fall madly in love... The girl's best friend is deeply unimpressed.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Synopsis: Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction. 
As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions. 
They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY.

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
Release Date: June 12, 2012 
Synopsis: Generations ago, a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.
Eighteen-year-old Luddite Elliot North has always known her place in this caste system. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. But now the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress and threatening Luddite control; Elliot’s estate is floundering; and she’s forced to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliott wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she abandoned him.
But Elliot soon discovers her childhood friend carries a secret—-one that could change the society in which they live…or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she has lost him forever.
Inspired by Jane Austen’s PERSUASION, FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

2012 is going to be an incredible year for books - and these are just a few that I'm really excited about. But I want to know what you're looking forward to! Leave me a comment with what you're anticipating (I'm fishing for TBR suggestions here! - Not because I need them, but because I want them)

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And finally - the winner of the Dark YA giveaway is:

Sarah!

I've sent an email (make sure you check your spam folder) so get back to me within the next 48 hours with your book choice. Can't wait to see what book you choose!