The Best Reads of 2013

With 2013 drawing to a close, I thought I'd join the band wagon and share with you guys, my best reads of 2013! So here are my top ten (10) reads, and my pitiful reasons why you should read them!

10. Endless by Amanda Gray, 3.5 Stars

It was a good read, but it has a lot of loose ends and wholes. It really needs a sequel.

 

9. Chantress by Amy Butler Greenfield, 3.5 stars

 

 

The Chantress world was a really interesting one for me, and was really unique. I even reviewed this for my school newspaper :)

 

8. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, 3.5 stars

 



I love this series, and I love the way Taylor is going with this, but Karou was not my favourite in this novel. But you should read this series- it's totally worth the 500+ pages :D

7. The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan, 4 stars



Forbidden romance, magical powers, a curse, family ties , secret organizations, GARGOYLES, and Paris. Need I say more?

6. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher, 4 stars

 

This book was very steam punk-esque to me (I've never even read that genre yet). And it had a living prision. This book was, in a word, bad-ass!
5. Yesterday by C.K Kelly Martin, 4 stars



Imagine if your life was a lie. Imagine that you aren't from your present time period. What if I told you that this was your reality? Welcome to Freya's life, where nothing is as it seems... And it takes place in Canada. That should be the selling point right there :D

4. The Prophecy by Erin Albert, 4 stars

Abandoned as a baby and taken away to end the war between two warring countries. Just a day in the life of Layla Givens. But more she resists, the more involved she becomes. Totally loved this book, shipped the characters so hard, but then Erin Albert had to Moffat me. But it is TOTALLY worth the read.

3. Crewel by Gennifer Albin, 4.5 stars



There's a world above ours, and it was created to end all suffering. But when 16 year old Adelice is chosen to be a Spinster, she learns that her world isn't as safe as she thought it was... READ IT! Or I will go all Cormac on you! Don't get it? Well, read the book!

2. Belladonna by Fiona Paul, 4.5 stars



Belladonna is the sequel to Venom, by Fiona Paul. It's set in Italy, and is full of mystery, murder, adventure, swoon worthy guys, and of course, a secret organization obsessed with life. This book was an amazing read, I waited TWO MONTHS after its release to get it... only to lose it a month later. NOTE: When you buy this book, cherish it with ALL of your life.

1. United We Spy by Ally Carter, 5 stars


AND SO WE MADE IT TO NUMBER ONE! WOOOH! United We Spy was my Best Read of 2013. I had such a hard time reading and reviewing this book because I just couldn't part with the series. I started reading the Gallagher Girls series when I was in the SEVENTH grade- that was over 5 years ago guys! I grew up with Cammie, Bex, Macey, Liz, Zach, Rachel Morgan, Abby, Solomon, and the Gallagher Academy, that I just didn't want it to end. But alas, it did. And I loved it, even if I didn't read the wedding scene because I'm from Canada if the ending was bitter sweet for me. The series came along way from being a story about a teenage girl attending a spy school who falls in love with a civillian to an action-packed, international intrigue filled story. If you haven't read the Gallagher Girls series yet, you should. It's worth it. If this isn't for you, give it to your daughters, nieces, cousins, friends, husbands, boyfriends, mothers, dads, brothers, sisters, and spread the word about the Gallagher Girls!

So that's it for me! Any of these books part of your best of 2013 list? Any of these books interest you? Comment or tweet me @missyallydums97 :D

AND come back tomorrow for a SPECIAL announcement regarding my first ever giveaway!

Review: Endless by Amanda Grey

 

Author: Amanda Gray
Pages: 384 pages
Release Date: October 8th, 2013
Publisher: Month9Books
Recieved From: NetGalley
Edition: Ebook

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Jenny Kramer knows she isn't normal. After all, not everybody can see the past lives of people around them.

When she befriends Ben Daulton, resident new boy, the pair stumble on an old music box with instructions for “mesmerization” and discover they may have more in common than they thought. Like a past life.

Using the instructions in the music box, Ben and Jenny share a dream that transports them to Romanov Russia and leads them to believe they have been there together before. But they weren't alone. Nikolai, the mysterious young man Jenny has been seeing in her own dreams was there, too. When Nikolai appears next door, Jenny is forced to acknowledge that he has travelled through time and space to find her. Doing so means he has defied the laws of time, and the Order, an ominous organization tasked with keeping people in the correct time, is determined to send him back.

While Ben, Jenny and Nikolai race against the clock - and the Order - Jenny and Nikolai discover a link that joins them in life - and beyond death.

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There are only three ways to describe this book: fast-paced, action packed, and beautifully written.

 

Endless is about a girl named Jenny who leads a normal life- except for the fact she can see a person's memories. She hides it from the world, until she and her friend, Tiffany, take part in a seance and she learns that knowning other people's memories are the least of her worries. She starts to have dreams about a man, and slowly, he isn't a dream any longer... Thankfully, Jenny has her friend Tiffany, and Ben, the son of her father's newest client to help her figure everything out.

 

I chose to read Endless because I am a HUGE history freak, and Time-Travel and the whole notion of reincarnation have always been intersting for me (it's why I love Doctor Who so much, and why Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn is one of my all-time favourite books).

 

I loved how Amanda wove the story of Jenny, Nikolai and Ben together from both the present and the past- it worked beautifully, and kept the plot interesting. I loved how there was so much going on with the characters, but I just didn't like how we didn't get much world-building.

 

We got to see a lot of pre-revolutionary Russia (since the three main characters ARE from that time), but we didn't get a chance to really know the Order, Jenny's mom (I'm pretty sure we never learn her name), and Time-travelling. Yes, we got a lot of information about all of that from Nikolai, Jenny's mom's friend and such, but I felt like half the time, it was just there. Yes, it made the story good; yes, it made the characters have a connection. But the majority of the time, I felt like it wasn't brought up enough times nor was it developed the way I wanted it to be. I felt like it was just overshadowed by the romance half the time (not that it's a bad thing or anything).

 

Regardless, the book was amazing! I enjoyed it alot! The BIG problem I had? THE LOOSE ENDS! The story ends with a good resolution, but there is SO MUCH MORE story to be told! After I finished I was really happy, but then got really sad since I couldn't find a sequel anywhere!

 

I want to know more! I want to read more!

 

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars!

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