Favorite Books of 2011 (1)

Is it just me or were there a ton of awesomely wonderful fantabulous great books released in 2011? No, it wasn't just me. To express my immense love for the marvelous books I've read this year, I decided to start doing posts that each feature one of my favorite books if 2011. These posts will come at random times. The books that I choose to feature are in no particular order of how much I love them.

The first book that I choose is....

You can read my review here.

What did you think of this book? Leave your thoughts in comments and leave links to your review of it :)

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (REVIEW)

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Genre: YA Supernatural - Publisher: Little Brown - Publication Date: October 18, 2011 - Format: Hardcover - Pages: 528 - Source: Purchased

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending. (Goodreads.com)

Oh. My. Gosh. This book...Definitely worth the squee it received when I bought it, and definitely deserving of the Book of the Month title here at BookBreather. You know how sometimes you read a book that you know you're going to love and it ends up surpassing your expectations? Or how sometimes you read a book and you hope that it's going to be as good as the other books in the series and it ends up being better than all of them combined? Or how sometimes you read a book and you know that you could talk hours about it, fill up dozens of pages of words about it, but never properly express how amazing the content is?

Say hello to Beautiful Chaos. The third book in the Caster Chronicles was everything I hoped it would be and more. Infused with a little (and sometimes a lot) of everything I could ever ask for in a book. An original supernatural book with chill and romance and heartbreak and death and doom and friendship and family and sacrifices and mystery and marvelous, incredible, gorgeous, enticing, BEAUTIFUL chaos.

As usual, Garcia and Stohl create the most vivid scenes and world with their descriptions. When I read this book, I felt like I was picked up by a giant hand and placed in the broken town of Gatlin. Sometimes, I would look up and wonder for a minute where I was, then remember that I was only facing the cold from the ceiling fan I was too lazy to turn off, rather than the End of Days. They also created great emotion. Better than ever. I felt some sort of connection to each and every one of the characters, with the exception of John Breed who, despite everything, I still don't like.

But the rest of the characters are great. They have depth and distinct personalities, goals, desires. I am still struggling to decide which one is my favorite, because they are all so great. Ethan has a strong voice and a kind heart. If he was real, I'd want him as my boyfriend. Link is hilarious and always good for a laugh, no matter what is happening, as are the Sisters. Amma is tough and sharp, but in this book we get to see a side of her that is vulnerable and broken, just like the rest of the town. Lena infuriates me, but I still love her. Macon is awesome. Liv is sweet and smart and a lot tougher than she seems. Each of the characters have experienced major change and growth. The world may be beautifully written, but I think it is the characters that truly make the story.

I loved learning more about Sarafine. I loved seeing her struggling with the darkness, and discovering what made her into the vindictive beyotch she became. I also loved learning more about John Breed and Link's capabilities. Especially Link. Linkubus. Definitely makes me want to buy Dream Dark, which is the novella about Link. I also liked how this book carried more doom than the others. More doom and action and suspense and tension. Ethan is actually the one experiencing most of the bad things, putting all the pieces together, and falling apart.

The ending literally rendered me speechless - and bawling. It was shocking and heartbreaking and left me aching for the next book. Sure, there was one heck of a cliffhanger, but, my gosh, it was great. All in all, this is definitely on my top 10 books of 2011, probably even top 5. It was great. Amazing. Extremely close to perfect. It made me laugh, cry, gasp, and literally go, "Whaaaat!? What? What? Whaaaat!?!?!?" I loved everything about it. I don't want to wait over a year for the next one.

I don't care what other books you've read. If you haven't read Beautiful Chaos, do it now.

Amazon - B&N - Indiebound - Book Depo

Beautiful Chaos quotes

Hello, everyone! As you may know, my book of the month is Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

I haven't read the entire thing yet, but let's just say that this book is absolutely fabulous. No doubt the best in the series so far. I should be posting my review sometime soon. And, with great books come great quotes. I thought I'd share with you guys my favorite quotes from the book so far.

WARNING: THESE CONTAIN SLIGHT SPOILERS.

"I had always hoped things would change in my town, until they started changing. Now I wanted Gatlin to go back to the boring town I'd known all my life. The way things were when I hated the way things were. Back when I could see things coming, and nothing ever came." (Pg. 139)

"That was the smell - food that wasn't food. For these lives that weren't lives." (Pg. 165)

"'Yeah, she's hot, all right.' He noticed me starng at him like he was nuts. 'What? I can't call it like I see it?'
'Sarafine's the Queen of Darkness, dumbass.'
'Seen a movie lately? The Queen a Darkness is always totally hot. Third Degree Burns.'" (Pg. 191)

"I started to panic and noticed the punch table, a good fifteen feet away. That seemed like a safe distance. 'I'm going to get something to eat. Anybody want anything?'
'Nope.' Liv smiled at me like everything was fine.
'Not a thing.' Lena smiled at me like she wanted to kill me.
I escaped as quickly as I could." (Pg. 271 - 272)

"But I could hear the desperation in Link's voice. 'It's never been anyone but you.'
'What are you talking about?' She froze, but it was too late.
Link couldn't stop himself. 'Sometimes I think crazy things, like I want to be with you forever. We could live in an RV and see the world. I mean, the parts you can drive to. And you could write songs, and I could play them at gigs. Can't you see it?'" (Pg. 273 - 274 This is my favorite quote in the entire series. I cry everytime I read it. I'd travel the world with you, Linkubus.)

"Time to grow a pair of kneecaps." (Pg. 310)

"Turns out The Crucible is more about bitches than witches, as Lena would be the first to say. I was glad I waited until the end of the unit to finish reading the play. It made me hate half of Jackson Hgh, and the whole cheer squad, even more than usual." (Pg. 312)

"The afflicted girls were on one side - led by Emily Asher. Apparently, their job was to act like phonies and pretend they were possessed. Emily was a natural. They all were." (Pg. 313)

"She smiled, and I knew I would always remember this day. Like the day I found her crying in the garden at Greenbrier. There were times when I looked at her and everything stopped. When the world fell away and I knew nothing could ever come between us." (Pg. 331)

"'Dude, why does it always have to be graveyards and crypts with you? Can't we hang out somewhere that isn't full a dead bodies?'" (Pg. 363)

"'Don't be mad.' There was no guy in the world who didn't know what those words meant. She was about to give me a reason to be mad.
'I won't.' My stomach curled into a ball.
'You have to promise.' Even worse." (Pg. 383)

"He seemed more concerned about Liv than Marian, which didn't surprise me, but it still made me angry. Like just about everything that came out of his mouth." (Pg. 413)



So, there are some of my favorites. Honestly, the book is full of awesome. Everything Link says is worthy of going into this post, but I only put the majorly great ones. If you are hesitant to pick up Beautiful Chaos, don't be!

Beautiful Chaos is out!

Today is October 18....also known as the release date for Beautfoul Chaos!!

I've been waiting for this book for months and it is finally here! Happy birthday, Beautiful Chaos. I cannot wait to buy this book.

Is anybody else as excited as I am!?

Countdown to Beautiful Chaos

So, Beautiful Chaos is my Book of the Month this month, and I am sooo excited for it! I'm mkaing my dad buy it for me the day it comes out. Here's the countdown. I can't believe it's less than a week. And considering the already enormous pile of books I have to read, plus manuscripts, I know I'm in trouble when this comes out. I don't care, though. I'm going to drop everything and read it.

For the comments: Who is your favorite character in the Caster Chronicles? If you haven't read any of the books yet, do you want to?

Bye, loves!

October BOM.COM

BOM.COM is not a website. Well, actually, it might be. I don't know. You can check if you want, but that's not what it is over here at BookBreather.

BOM.COM is a new feature on the blog that means Book of the Month . Cover of the Month. Basically, I pick two books that are coming out this month. One for which I am looking the most forward to, and the other one is a book that I think has the prettiest cover!

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Publication date: October 18, 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

 

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

 

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

There are multiple reasons that I selected BEAUTIFUL CHAOS as my October Book of the Month, many of which I cannot even put into words. When I bought BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, the first book in the Caster Chronicles, I bought it because it was on sale and I had a limited amount of money left on my Barnes and Noble gift certificate. What I didn't expect was to fall in love with the intricate world of Casters, tunnels, and southern history. These two ladies know how to write and the dark tone and originality of their stories immediately captured me. I picked this book for everything that it is. This series has been fantastic so far and I have no doubt that these ladies will exceed my expectations with the next installment. I'm buying this book the day it comes out.

On the Fringe by Coutney King Walker

Publication date: October 19, 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal

Claire is struggling to overcome the murder of her childhood friend and secret crush, Daniel. Everyone else seems to be moving on with their lives, but she's still trying to cope. The fact that she finds herself alone and drowning on her 16th birthday isn't helping.

Neither is thinking she sees Daniel's face in murky water as she mysteriously resurfaces. But something happened during those four and a half minutes that will make her realize it was not just her imagination.

As Claire and Daniel try to grasp a possible reconnection, other grudge-holding beings have plans of their own. Now, the two of them have to decide if their fleeting relationship is worth the possibility of Claire being trapped on the fringe forever.

Beautifully told, On the Fringe intertwines fresh ideas about devotion, revenge, and the consequences that come with life and death.

My reasons for picking ON THE FRINGE as my October Cover of the Month are slightly less passionate than my reasons for picking my Book of the Month. I had never even heard of this book until I searched what books were being released in October, 2011. But for some reason, my eyes were inexplicably drawn to this cover. It's strange. I love the way the sun is shining through the water, the contrast of the colors, the way the bubbles are rising from the girls mouth. I suppose I love the simplicity of it.

That's what I picked for October. What do you think? Do you disagree with my selections? Agree? Do you have better selections? I'd like to hear them!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme from The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic:

Top Ten Sequels I'm Dying To Read

(Even though some of these books are actually the fourth or fifth in a series.)

• The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead. Has anyone noticed that I have a slight obsession with Richelle Mead? No? I do. For good reason, too. Anyways...The Golden Lily is the sequel to Bloodlines. *Swoons! If you haven't read Bloodlines, then I have no idea what you are waiting for! And if you have....THAT ENDING! I shall say no more so that I do not spoil it for my dear readers, but how could you NOT want to read the sequel after that?
• Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. Need I even say more? Cassandra Clare is a literary genius. MY OPINION, PEOPLE. Don't hate! I love her and her work. A lot of people are wary of The Infernal Devices books, but I swear to you that if you like The Mortal Instruments, Will and Tessa and Jem will not disappoint!
• Insurgent by Veronica Roth. One word, four letters: Four. Nom nom nom. He is yummy, and reason enough to crave Insurgent. But, if he isn't convincing enough...HAVE YOU FUGGIN READ DIVERGENT?
• Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. I know I'm a little late to hop on this bandwagon, but better late than never, right?
• The Calling by Kelley Armstrong. I love Kelley's young adult work! I've yet to pick up one of her adult series, but I will do that. She always has fun narrators and unique plots.
• Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. This series is so beautiful and original. I love it!
• Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick. Patch! Ahhh! I can't help but go a little fan girl when I think of him. And with the ending from Crescendo, I am desperate for more!
• Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton. I feel like this series is off to a great start. I'm excited to learn more about the characters, delve deeper into the forbidden romance, and see more of Ellie's past!
• Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins. For reasons, I'd advise you go find my review for Demonglass.
• City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare. MORE CASSIE! I swear, one of my goals in life is to meet her and get a book signed by her. Jace Jace Jace. Holy Hell Balls, I need more Jace!

There are so many more I want to read, these were just the first ones I could think of! They are in no particular order, by the way. So, what sequels are you just DYING to read?