2012 End of Year Book Survey

The End of Year Book Survey is brought to us by Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner

1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want)

Contemporary (YA): Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Post-apocalyptic (YA): Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Paranormal (YA): Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Historical Fiction (YA): Scarlet by AC Gaughen

Fairytale retelling (YA): Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Fantasy (YA): Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Contemporary romance (Adult): A Scottish Ferry Tale by Nancy Volkers

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Everyone was raving about this one but I gave up after 115 pages because I was almost bored to tears. I might attempt to go back to it someday, but it’s not high on my list of priorities. 

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?

The Princesses of Iowa by M. Molly Backes and Don’t You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire. I was expecting light, maybe kinda fluffy reads, but they both had surprising depth, and quickly grabbed hold of my heart.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick - I feel like I’ve talked endlessly about these three books.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

By this point I doubt anyone will be surprised to hear me say the Under the Never Sky trilogy (I’ve read books 1 and 2, plus the novella).

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

Veronica Rossi, Katie McGarry, Huntley Fitzpatrick, AG Howard, Miranda Kenneally, Abbi Glines, AC Gaughen, Laini Taylor

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers. I’m still not exactly comfortable with post-apocalyptic books, and I’d never read a zombie book before (and really had no desire to), but I’d heard such good things about it (plus Courtney is Canadian, and I just found out recently that we’re actually from the same town, which is crazy awesome), but I loved it. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all, and it shattered my heart into a million pieces. 

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

Under the Never Sky and Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Splintered by AG Howard

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:

Splintered by AG Howard. I loved this book so much I wanted to reread it as soon as I was finished and that hasn’t happened to me for years (I think it’s only ever happened with Harry Potter, and if you know me at all, you’ll know that’s saying A LOT). I got an egalley of it but I’ve preordered it (another first) because I know I’ll read it again.

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

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Splintered by AG Howard, Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood, Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock, Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard, Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

11. Most memorable character in 2012?

This is probably the only no-brainer question for me: Roar from Under the Never Sky, Roar and Liv, and Through the Ever Night. I’ve never loved a secondary character so much. Without a doubt, he’s one of my favourite characters EVER. Complex, loyal, funny, sweet, sexy - I absolutely adore him.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab, and Splintered by AG Howard

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?

There were quite a few books this year that shattered my heart and made me think about life, family, love, etc. The first that comes to mind is Tiger Lily - it gave me such a bittersweet feeling between the unique POV, the behaviour of the characters, and the things that happened...it was beautiful and heartbreaking and haunting. 

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. It came out in 2009 and I’d heard of it before but just read it this year. It was amazing...another book that shattered my heart (that seemed to be a theme this year).

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?

"To love someone was not what she had expected. It was like falling from somewhere high up and breaking in half, and only one person having the secret to the puzzle of putting her back together." ~ Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, page 169

"She knew how to put one foot in front of the other even when every step hurt. And she knew there was pain in the journey, but there was also great beauty." ~ Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, page 350

  

"I knew my heart weren't never too sure 'bout many things, but if I ever could, I wanted it to be sure for Rob. That way when his heart stumbled, I could be sure for both of us." ~ Scarlet by AC Gaughen, page 113

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?

Shortest: Roar and Liv by Veronica Rossi (62 pages)

Longest: 50 Shades of Grey by EL James (514 pages)

7. 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!

Scarlet by AC Gaughen. I literally gasped, then started to laugh and cry at the same time. Thank god I was reading the book as part of a read-along and could email my co-host/one of my best online friends and talk to her about it!

 

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

Aria and Perry (romance), Aria and Roar (friendship), and Perry and Roar (friendship/bromance) from Under the Never Sky, Roar and Liv, and Through the Ever Night. They are three of my favourite characters ever, and the interactions between them made me laugh, cry, swoon, fall in love, etc. 

Runners-up: Jase and Samantha from My Life Next Door and Noah and Echo from Pushing the Limits. AMAZING romances. *swoons*

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - I just read this one and I can’t believe I waited so long (although I explain why I did wait so long in my review).

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard, recommended to me by my awesome friend Molli from Once Upon a Prologue

~Looking Ahead...

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor - I had to have it as soon as it came out, but it’s so huge I knew I wouldn’t have time to read it if I wanted to complete my GoodReads challenge!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, Hemlock #2 by Kathleen Peacock (these first two don't have covers yet), The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen, Dare You To by Katie McGarry,  A Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard, and This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E Smith

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2013?

I hope to have even more fun than I did in 2012 (hard to believe that’s possible!). I want to keep reading great books, discovering new authors, talking about those books and authors with all of you, meeting fantastic people, and interacting with authors and publishers. I want to come up with fun, fresh content, new features, and lots of reviews, and hopefully keep people coming back for more. I'm really, really excited about 2013! :-)

Thank you all for making 2012 such an awesome year! <3

What are some of your favourite books of 2012? If you did this survey or any sort of wrap-up post, feel free to leave links in the comments, and I'll be sure to visit you back! 

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