Armchair BEA: Best of 2012 SO FAR and Giveaway!

I'm combining today's giveaway and best of 2012 post. I'm going to talk about my favorite books so far this year and then I'll give away one of them!

So let's start with the absolutely stunning debut of Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky. Absolutely brilliant - dystopia mixed with fantasy mixed with adventure mixed with Perry, add a strong heroine and squeeze in a few cannibals and some acid rain and you have yourself a fabulous book. It also helps that the writing is flawless.

This has also been an incredible year for contemporaries - four of my favorites are contemps. The first is the lyrical Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. The writing is exceptional and the story is so wonderful. It's a great, artistic book. And then of course, Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard. Amazing. Makes me want to drop everything and just be a global wanderer. Then there's M. Molly Backes debut, The Princesses of Iowa. I wasn't expecting a lot from this book and it totally shook my foundation. I've been pushing it on to everyone I can - especially my high school English teacher friends. I haven't reviewed it yet, but Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols, out in July, is another superb Echols novel. Her books are always quick to be my favorites and Such a Rush is second only to Going Too Far in my heart.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers. Assassin nuns. 'Nuff said.

I've always loved Robin Hood stories, but Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen is my new favorite. Will Scarlet will never be a man in my mind ever again. And that portrayal of Robin is pretty dang dreamy. \

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (which happens to be hitting shelves today) is high fantasy at its best. This book was so beautiful and so vivid. It's hard to believe that this world doesn't exist somewhere.

Finally, this is a year for the second book. Lots of sequels out - some have lived up to the first book - but these two surpassed the introduction and have earned their place in my favorites. The first is Timepiece by Myra McEntire. I loved Emerson's voice in Hourglass so I was worried about the POV switch. But that risk just made this series unique and that much stronger. Finally, Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver was an exceptional sequel. Delirium was good, not great. Pandemonium was superb.

OH and let's not forget The Selection by Kiera Cass. I may or may not be mildly obsessed with this book...

So there you go. My top books of 2012 so far. Now, I'll be giving away one of these books - if you win, you get to choose. Any listed above are up for grabs. Must be 13 to enter and it's international as long as Book Depository ships to you. This is going to be a quick contest and it will be closed to entries at 12:01 AM on Sunday, June 10. I'll contact the winner by email. Winner must respond within 48 hours or I wil choose a new winner.

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Timepiece - Myra McEntire

Synopsis: A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...
Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?
Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results. 
Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...
 (From Goodreads)

I was wary about reading from Kaleb’s point of view. I love Emerson so much, and she was the perfect narrator. She was spunky, nosy, and just a little tough ball of love.  Even so, I did have a soft spot for Kaleb in Hourglass, so I was really curious what little quirks and hidden soft spots he would reveal. While he’s certainly not Emerson, and I really missed the Emerson-Michael inside info – it was great to see different sides of the Hourglass and to get to know the ins and outs of other characters.

It was definitely interesting to see Emerson from this point of view – to see what others think about her. But what was really great, was getting to know Lily better. Even though I still feel like she’s a tough shell to crack, I like that her history and her personality get a chance to shine through.

Two more things I loved about this installment in the trilogy: one, the rips are getting stronger and more frequent, suggesting that the past is overtaking the present. It’s both a reminder that the past is always there, always with us, operating in the same space – but not to dwell on it too much or it will completely take over.

The second is that this book is where things start getting complicated. Adults are involved now, of course, setting up their own obstacles. I love it when adults are screwing things up and the kids have to jump in and save the day. Halfway through the book my only reaction was, curiouser and curiouser… and by the end I was so confused, in the best way possible. Everything seems so tangled, which leads nicely into the next book. New key players are introduced in this book, and it’s impossible to know who to trust – even with Kaleb’s built in lie detector abilities.

Finally – just want to throw in a word for the villain (I won’t say who in case you haven’t read Hourglass – which if you haven’t – you need to drop everything and read it now) who is one of the worst (which means best) characters I’ve come across in a long time. His lack of boundaries and his penchant for stealing memories and messing with realities makes me so uneasy, so uncomfortable that adds intensity and urgency to the story. 

Myra really upped her game in this second book. She took a huge risk in altering the point of view in the second book and it definitely paid off. This series is already one of my favorites and it just keeps getting better. I'm so excited to see what curveball Myra throws at us with the third book - I can only imagine it's going to be extraordinary. 

Secondary Character Saturday (5)

I've started a new weekly post here and I'd love for you to join me. Saturdays are now dedicated to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles. If you'd like to create a SCS post leave your link in the comments and I'll check it out!

Today it's all about

Kaleb from the Hourglass Series

I loved Kaleb in Hourglass. I mean, I love Michael and all, but there were moments where I felt like Emerson would have been perfectly happy with Kaleb. He's the ultimate third point in a love triangle. Hot, troubled, a little bit bad - but underneath all of his armor he's sweet and wounded. Heck, that's not just the perfect point in a triangle, that's most girls' dream.

Even better, the boy is an empath. Somehow, knowing he feels everything that everyone around him is feeling, almost makes the reader empathetic to. He's the connection to the emotion in the story. Kaleb is able to figure out what Emerson is feeling before she will admit to it. But, being Kaleb, he plays this out to his advantage making everything much more intense.

Thankfully, this is one of those special cases where a secondary character comes to the front and becomes a hero. I was a little bit worried about the switch in POVs between books, but man alive Kaleb rises in Timepiece. I'm so incredibly happy that he gets his own book and we get to see a bit of what goes on behind the front he puts up for everyone. He is a rare character that we get to the way he works in other stories and we get to see his story as well.