Top 10 of 2012: Best Debuts

This event is co-hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun, Lisa from A Life Bound By Books, Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic, Jaime from Two Chicks on Books and Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads.

BEST DEBUTS OF 2012

Most of the books here were published this year but there are some that were published years ago and I had only just read them this year. Nevertheless, they were all amazing.

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Reivew: Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha (1)
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Release Date: 05 June 2012
Date Read: September 2012
Rating: ★★★★★

I find it really hard to write coherent reviews for books I adored. I don't know why. But I'll try.

Shadow and Bone was utterly captivating. The prologue was a real hooker for me. I knew then that I was going to give the book at least 4 stars. I love that kind of writing style and the my interest was piqued with the mention of these orphaned children.

Alina Starkov holds incredible power that she had no knowledge of. She never fit in, not in the orphanage, not in the First Army where she serves as a mapmaker. The only time she feels comfortable is when she's with her best friend, Mal. But even Mal has started to spend less time around her, suddenly popular with his looks and tracker skills. One day, Alina's regiment is attacked crossing the Fold by terrifying flesh-eating monsters. Mal is about to be killed, and without knowing it, Alina saves him and the rest of the regiment. Her true powers shows itself, revealing Alina to be one of the most important and powerful Grisha the kingdom, Ravka, will ever see. As a result, she is swept up and taken  away to the Royal Court, where she must train and hone her powers to be the saviour Ravka desperately needs. She will discover secrets surrounding the ancient Grisha and the Darkling.

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Library Loot (1)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

I used to use the In My Mailbox meme, but since all the books I get are from the library, I figured Library Loot was more appropriate.

This week, I checked out:

• The Girl Who Circumnavigated the Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente; with illustrations by Ana Juan
• Stolen - Lucy Christopher
• Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo
• The Kill Order - James Dashner
• Above - Leah Bobet
• Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
• The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan
• The Moon Dwellers - David Estes
• Peter and the Starcatchers - Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson; illustrations by Greg Call
• The Rise of Nine - Pittacus Lore
• The Iron Daughter - Julie Kagawa
• The Immortal Rules - Julie Kagawa

Look at all these titles! They have really varied genres and I'm going to have fun. I've got a lot to go through but now is not really the best time for all these books to come. My mock exams are coming up. I need to revise. Hopefully I finish all of them.

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