End of 2012 Book Survey

This survey was created by The Perpetual Page - Turner, and I know that I'm more than a week late, but hey... I get credit for doing it. Right?

I may skip a few questions here and there because unfortunately, I didn't read as much as I wish I had this year and I can't just name every book I've read for every question. :-P

Anyways, here we go.

1. Best book you read in 2012?
   Wow. It's hard to pick just one. And even with the 4 that I think are tied for first, there are a bunch more that could be right up there with them. But right now I'm going to have to go with Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, Forever by Maggie Stiefvater, So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev, and Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry.

2. Best series you discovered in 2012?
   Well, not necessarily that I discovered it, but I didn't start reading it until this year. But I read book one in The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck and even though the main character is irritatingly ridiculous at times, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the series. Although I can tell by reviews written by other people that it's going to infuriate me almost as much as book one did.

3. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?
   Hmmm... this one is probably an easy one. There are LOTS of gorgeous (and some not so gorgeous but equally as awesome) covers... but I'd have to say that it's a tie between Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore and Mark of Betrayal by A.M. Hudson.

4. Most memorable character in 2012?
   Hands down, Cole St. Clair from the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater.  He was my hero from the moment I finished Linger and I loved him even more in Forever. It also helps that I adore listening to this man narrate his part. ::cough:: Wow. Dan Bittner is just.... ::sigh:: I may also have to go with Jason Knight from The Dark Secret Series. He had a rough start in the series but he completely redeemed himself and he's just wonderful.

Moving on...

5. 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!
   Oh geez. This one isn't steamy or anything like that. But War Horse by Michael Morpurgo literally had me so frustrated I threw my book across the room. It was basically one of those "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" type of books and I just felt SO bad for that poor horse and the good people involved with him (just the good people... the bad ones can go and.... ::ahem:: nevermind). I'm the type of person where if I watch a movie and a person dies, it's sad. But if I'm watching a movie and an animal gets hurt or dies.... it ruins my WHOLE week. And I'm sobbing like an idiot.

6. Favorite relationship from a book in 2012?
   Ooh ooh. Nate and Bertie from the Theatre Illuminata trilogy by Lisa Mantchev. I love Nate. He's a strong and handsome pirate who's completely smitten with Bertie. And Bertie is a strong and independent woman who has a heart the size of the world. They balance each other out nicely and he gets her. And he's a pirate. Did I mention that?

That's about all I think I'm gonna answer for now. I know it's only 6 questions, but I figure that's enough. And again, sorry I'm late. But better late than never! Word. Now get to reading!

Review - Mark of Betrayal by A.M. Hudson

A love so strong fire and torture could not break it. A heart so pure neither death nor hate could taint it. But, left alone in a world of lies and secrets, Ara will find herself down the road of treachery, walking very dangerous ground, while those closest to her fight to keep her safe from dangers unseen.

The boundaries between friends and enemies will blur, and the return of an old friend will see Ara crossing a line she can never return from.

Mark of Betrayal is book four in the Dark Secret Series by A.M. Hudson. And true to its predecessors it was better than the book before it.

Book four in the series brings about the re-appearance of my favorite character (why he's my favorite, I'm not 100% sure, I just know that he is), Jason Knight. Now, don't get me wrong, I like David and all. And I know he loves Ara. But the more I learn about him, the more I wish that it was Jason that Ara was in love with. Despite his monstrous start in the series, he redeemed himself (as weird as that sounds considering WHAT he did). And I find him to be incredibly sweet and endearing and just heart breakingly vulnerable and beautiful.

Ara is true to form in this book. One minute you want to shake her and yell at her to grow the heck up. The next minute you're on her side yelling at other people to back off and give her some credit. She's relatively new to this whole world that she's been thrown in to and she wasn't technically a mature adult when she was "normal" let alone now that she's a Lilithian monarch. There should be some kind of learning curve for the poor girl. But on the other hand, she does definitely act overly childish in a lot of situations and has a tendency to throw tantrums.

This novel seems to be one where you never really know who you can trust. You know who you WANT to trust. You know who was the good guy before and who was the bad guy. But in this book there's a big old monkey wrench thrown in to the mix and now everything is all backwards and you don't know who's Ara's friend and who's Ara's enemy anymore.

I can't wait for the next book in the series. Can't wait for more of Jason and the Lilithian History that we're learning about. Can't wait to see what happens to a "smaller" group of vampires. ::cough:: I'm excited to see where the story goes. If you haven't already started reading, I suggest you pick up book one, Tears of the Broken, and check it out!