2012 End of Year Book Survey

Hi! It's that time of the year again - the End of Year Book Survey hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner! I participated in it last year, as well, and it was a lot of fun.

1. Best book(s) you read in 2012?
The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness, The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, Blood Red Road by Moira Young, and Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. I loved these books for pretty much the same reason: while they were all emotionally taxing books, the payoff was SO worth it - gorgeous writing, unforgettable characters, and truly powerful messages are present in all three.

Worst book read in 2012:
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James - I read this book on a dare... I mean, what can I say that hasn't already been said? Never have I done so much eye-rolling while reading before. And as for the egotistical and misogynistic sadist, Christian Grey? I would rather make out with a Dementor.

2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
I thought I was going to love Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin and Black City by Elizabeth Richards (probably based on the covers, not going to lie), but the characters annoyed the crap out of me.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?
No one does surprise twists like Beth Revis in her Across the Universe Trilogy.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?
Probably the Chaos Walking Trilogy and The Casual Vacancy.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor and the Dust Lands Trilogy by Moira Young. Can't believe I didn't read these sooner!

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?
Ditto: Laini Taylor and Moira Young.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
I ventured into the world of contemporary issue books with What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton... and actually really loved it and its emotional impact. Ditto to The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, which I am reading now.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?
Blood Red Road by Moira Young! Did not want that book to end.

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I don't have any planned at the moment, but if I do I will probably reread books whose sequels are coming out next year to reacquaint myself with the story.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

I'm all for gorgeous, distinctive fonts, a hint of the setting, and no characters on my covers!

11. Most memorable character in 2012?
Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - I just adored him, his awkwardness, his sensitivity, and his thoughtfulness.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?
Same as my answer for Best Books of 2012: the Chaos Walking Trilogy, The Casual Vacancy, Blood Red Road, and Days of Blood and Starlight - That's why I loved them so!

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. This book made me feel ALL THE FEELINGS and really made me rethink how I view certain things and people. It was an excellent social commentary. And I am still reeling from that ending.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
Blood Red Road by Moira Young and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

15. Favourite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?
"We accept the love we think we deserve." - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

16. Shortest and Longest Book You Read In 2012?
Shortest: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (213 Pages)
Longest: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (608 Pages)

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
Days of Blood and Starlight had a lot of those!

18. Favourite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc)?
Well, Maddie and Verity from Code Name Verity obviously! What a beautiful poignant friendship they had. Also, the friendship between Krystal Weedon and Sukhvinder Jawanda from The Casual Vacancy comes to mind for some reason. It was such an unexpected friendship, and yet, a powerful one.

19. Favourite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously?
The last two books in the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness (I read the first one in 2011) and The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else?
Okay, I'm starting to sound like a broken record here, but you get the idea: the Chaos Walking Trilogy, Blood Red Road, the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy.

Looking Ahead...
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Also, I really need to read John Green's books and Melina Marchetta's...

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?
I'm definitely looking forward to some hotly anticipated sequels: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis, Requiem by Lauren Oliver, Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, and Divergent #3 by Veronica Roth, among others.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2013?
Well, I hope to return to school in 2013 (I am applying to grad school to get my Master's Degree at the moment), so I have no doubt that my reading and blogging will go down in amount for the latter half of 2013 if I am accepted, but I do hope to keep up a good pace despite that. Also, I think I said this last year as well and it didn't really happen, but I would like to not get so caught up in the newest, hottest releases of 2013 and completely forget about the books I had sworn I'd read before. There are a ton of older books on my TBR that need some love, too!

Review: Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2) by Laini Taylor

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: November 6, 2012
Pages: 528
Source: For Review from Hachette Book Group Canada
Rating: 5 Stars

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.
In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.
While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.
But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

In short: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor was not an easy, light read - but it was absolutely a meaningful and powerful one.

Oof. Days of Blood and Starlight was not an easy read by any means. It took me a fair bit longer to get through than a book of its size would normally take (and it's quite a thick book as is). Now that's not to say that I didn't LOVE this book because as you can see by my 5 Star rating, I absolutely did, but it was emotionally draining and HEAVY. But the good kind of emotionally draining and heavy. The kind that is meaningful and worthwhile and powerful - a lot like my favourite non-HP series, Chaos Walking, which also contained some pretty serious themes involving the side-effects of war.

So yes, while Days of Blood and Starlight is not a book that you can easily breeze through, it was SO worth it. There are several reasons why it took me a while to work my way through the text: it's partly because there are a lot of different POVs in this book to keep track of (and some of these perspectives are from previously unknown characters), partly because Laini Taylor weaves these deliciously complex sentences that you just want to read over and over again, and partly because of the aforementioned dark and heavy subject matter. But I don't want people to assume that because this book was so long, the pacing must have been slow, because I don't feel that's the case - I was never bored while reading Days of Blood and Starlight. Just as with its predecessor, I was ENTHRALLED.

And as much as I enjoyed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I have to say that I loved Days of Blood and Starlight even more, which is something that rarely happens to me with sequels in trilogies. This is because I was not a huge fan of the romance in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which I felt was a little superficial and not developed enough. This was not an issue with Days of Blood and Starlight, but I won't say why so as to avoid spoilers. Let's just say I was completely satisfied with Karou's new realization and attitude - she admits how rash she was in her prior decisions and that alone is enough to get me to consider going back and rerating Daughter of Smoke and Bone as 5 Stars rather than 4.

And speaking of Karou - for I have not given her nearly as much love in this review yet as she deserves - she is AWESOME. Oh Karou. Poor Karou! She has to deal with so much in this story, some real difficult situations, and for a lot of these situations, she's alone with no one on her side. And it made me sad because she is such a wonderful person and she deserves happiness! But she does not break; she hardens and endures. She does what she can for the survival of the chimaera. And thankfully she does get to see some of her friends again and it was such a relief! The inclusion of Zuzanna and Mik, especially, was a welcome one as they provided some much needed light-hearted hilarity among so much darkness.

Overall, Days of Blood and Starlight was definitely one of my favourite reads of 2012 and Laini Taylor has secured her place as one of my favourite authors. I can't get over what a talented wordsmith she is! I am in awe of her beyond beautiful writing, her ability at crafting complex plotlines and surprise twists, and her brilliantly insane creativity. Read this series!

Previously, my review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Other Reviews:
For What It's Worth
Nori's Closet
Wishful Thinking

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