End of Year Survey: Part 1

I'm really excited today to participate in the End of Year Survey put together by the fabulous Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. I always have so much fun reading friends and fellow bloggers' favorite book lists around this time of year, so I thought I would hop aboard this Train of Win and give the survey a try. 

It's a shockingly hard survey to fill out. I've read innumerable amazing books this year, so it was crazy difficult to call out only a handful. Also, my memory is more sieve than steel trap, so it may or may not have taken me several hours to go back through my review list and figure out what books would fit into which category. Well done me ;-)

This is a fairly lengthy survey, so I decided to split it into two parts with the second one posting tomorrow along with the list of books that got a 4.5 or 5  from me in 2013. Without further ado, I give you some of my favorite books of the year!

• • • • • • • • • • •

Best Book You Read In 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

Contemporary YA: Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

Contemporary NA: True by Erin McCarthy

Dystopian: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill is a close second. (Both of these books span genres, but I'm tucking them into this one for the purposes of this survey.)

Historical Fiction: The Madman’s Daughter (yes, this is a bit of a stretch for this genre ;)

Paranormal: Iced by Karen Marie Moning

Science Fiction: Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris and These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.

Fantasy: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas and Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Romance: Kinked by Thea Harrison

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

Taken by Erin Bowman. I’m a sucker for a stunning cover (as so many book lovers are), so I had very high hopes for this one after seeing its gorgeous cover. Unfortunately, it didn’t work quite as well for me as I’d hoped.

Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?

Impostor by Susanne Winnacker and Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most?

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon and Iced by Karen Marie Moning

Best series you discovered in 2013?

The Guards of the Shadowlands by Sarah Fine

Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

So many! Sarah Fine, Samantha Shannon, Kasie West, Cristin Terrill, Erin McCarthy, A.C. Gaughen, Mindee Arnett, and Cora Carmack.

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

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas. For a while now I’ve told myself that fantasy is not the genre for me, but multiple times this year I’ve proven myself wrong and I couldn’t be happier about it!

Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

Iced by Karen Marie Moning. If I didn’t need my hands to work, I would have Ryodan in a death grip 24/7.

Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon or Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. Both have sequels that should be releasing in 2014 (hopefully on The Bone Season anyway, I know it's book one of seven), and I will gladly re-read both of these to make sure I remember everything I need to before tackling the newest installment!

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke. I also absolutely ADORED this book.

Most memorable character in 2013?

Ryodan from Iced
Warden from The Bone Season
Sturmhond from Siege and Storm

Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. This book was just so beautifully atmospheric, it had a dark hypnotic quality that left me completely mesmerized.

Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?

This answer is a bit of a surprise for me, but I’m going to go with Endless by Jessica Shirvington. The Violet Eden Chapters and I got along very poorly in the beginning, but with each book my love for the series has grown, and Endless absolutely ripped my heart out and stomped on it. It makes me a bit of a masochist, but I loved every second of it.

Days of Blood and Starlight and Sanctum/Fractured would be on this list as well.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?

I’m going to change this question a little bit to be “Books I still can’t believe I haven’t read given it’s 2013”

Anything by Gayle Forman (I KNOW!)
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

I fail this question. I never highlight or mark quotes or passages, so I honestly don’t have one.

Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Shortest (not counting novellas): Neptune’s Tears by Susan Waggoner
(218 pages)

Longest: Lover at Last by J.R. Ward (597 pages)

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!

Pretty much the entirety of Iced. It’s a conversation starter for sure. Also, the ending of Fractured *falls down dead*

Part two will be up tomorrow!

Super Six Sunday: Bad Bookish Boyfriends

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each one in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is bad bookish boyfriends, something those of you who read this blog with any frequency know is all-too perfect a topic for me. The hard part of course comes in narrowing this list down to only six–rather than say, one hundred–bad bookish boyfriends. *shakes fist at the Bookworms for limiting me so!* MY LOVE FOR FICTIONAL MEN CANNOT BE CONTAINED IN SUCH A MANNER! I have so very much to give you see, but I endeavored to adhere to the rules of this feature and picked only a handful. *exasperated sigh*

In order to help me compile this list, I narrowed the topic further and chose men who walk a fine line between hero and anti-hero, often saying or doing things that make me want to revoke their candidacy for Fictional Love of Jenny's Life, but yet I find them all the more interesting for their deep, and sometimes very dark, flaws.

1. RYODAN

The Fever Series (adult urban fantasy)

I know. I talk about him a lot. There's just so much to say! He has layers, my friends, LAYERS UPON LAYERS and I adore him. I'll spare you my fawning all over him because I already did that in a previous post, but suffice to say he pretty much owns the term badass and skates the line between someone I love and someone I could easily hate so very, very expertly. I need Burned in my hands as soon as physically possible.

First book in the entire series: Darkfever

First book in Dani's series in which Ryodan is a major player: Iced

2. KAIDAN ROWE

The Sweet Trilogy (paranormal YA)

Okay, like Ryodan, I may have mentioned Kaidan a time or two on this blog. Or possibly 23849203394 times, but that's completely beside the point. The point is Kaidan is the son of the Duke (think demon) of Lust, and he won me over the minute he came on page in Sweet Evil. He's more than just a bad boy who happens to ooze sex appeal; underneath the sharp wit, the British accent, and the devil-may-care attitude lies a young man stuck in a situation he's powerless to change, and he has perhaps more fear in him than he does cocky swagger if you take the time to really look, something very few actually do. If you couldn't tell already, I'll let you in on a little secret: I love him.

First book in the series: Sweet Evil

3. COLE

The Everneath Series (paranormal YA)

Oh, Cole. What a tangled web you weave my friend. Though Cole plays second fiddle to primary love interest Jack in this series, he remains the far more intriguing of the two (but my love for Jack is still epic!), his motivations for every action always shrouded in an untold number of mysteries, and just when I think I have a handle on the man he is, he cracks a sinister smile and laughs right in my face for being so dense. He is both kind and cruel, genuine and devious, and I simply cannot wait to see where things go with him in the third installment of this series.

First book in the series: Everneath

4. GREYFRIAR

Vampire Empire Series (adult urban fantasy/steampunk)

This trilogy completely and unexpectedly blew me away when I first picked it up a couple years ago, the world a welcome yet devastating return to a time when vampires were not the stuff of romance novels, but rather the monstrous killing machines of legend. The Greyfriar is one who hunts them, but as things unfolded in the first book I quickly realized the mask he wears hides far more than just his features from the world, and once I got a peek at what was underneath, I had to know everything there was to know. Like the others on this list he sometimes straddles the line between black and white, though he proves again and again that gray is a far more attractive and addictive color.

First book in the series: The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire)

5. PHOENIX

The Violet Eden Chapters (paranormal YA)

Phoenix has led me on a merry dance through this series (though like Cole, he is not the primary love interest, that honor falls to Lincoln). In one book I despise him and everything he is, but then in the next book he shows a completely new side to himself that has my fingers turning from claws that would slice him open to clutching digits that would pull him closer and never let him go. He can be brutal and plays a mean emotional game with Violet and Lincoln, but in the rare moments when his guard drops he shines brighter than any other character, and the glutton for punishment in me never fails to rejoice when he makes an appearance on page.

First book in the series: Embrace

6. RAPHAEL

The Guild Hunter Series (adult paranormal Romance)

Ooooo Raphael, you are a sexy bastard. I am an enormous fan of all things Nalini Singh, and though you've probably seen me gush most often about my love of alpha wolf Hawke from her Psy-Changeling series (YOU'RE STILL MY FIRST LOVE HAWKE!), I absolutely adore her Guild Hunter series as well. In these books we get to spend time with Raphael, the archangel of New York, a man who is all power and steel and immortality, and who time has hardened and shaped into someone unyielding and unrelenting. He is perhaps the most alpha of all Nalini's many alpha men, but when Elena enters his life we have the pleasure of watching the rigidity of him start to ever-so-slightly relax (though not much mind you), giving but the barest of inches before his archangel superiority snaps back into place. He's infuriating and intoxicating and if you've yet to meet him, you're missing out.

First book in the series: Angels' Blood

Super Six Sunday: Killer Endings

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each one in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is killer endings, an aspect of various book series with which I have a love/hate relationship. I understand the purpose of cliffhangers and don't deny they do their job in making me chomp at the bit for the next book, but I die a little each time I come across one because my poor heart gets so invested in the stories and characters that I give myself a stress-induced ulcer when they're left hurt or in trouble and I'm forced wait to find out if they're okay. *sobs*

Below are some of the endings tore my heart out and stomped on it, or otherwise had me screaming and swearing at the top of my lungs when I reached the last page, and though I admit to disliking endings where my beloved characters are in mortal peril, I loved each of these books!

DREAMFEVER (Fever Series #4)

This book has quite possibly the most brutal ending I've ever come across. I cried. I yelled obscenities. I stared blankly at the last sentence for an absurd length of time willing more chapters to magically appear and fix everything that just happened. What made this ending even more soul-scarring you ask? The fact that the next book, Shadowfever, didn't come out for 17 months after this book released. 17 MONTHS! *falls down dead* The wait was excruciating, but Shadowfever blew me away and entirely made up for it, so I almost forgive KMM for what she put me through with Dreamfever. Almost ;-)

DEITY (Covenant Series #3)

Deity doesn't end in quite as cruel a fashion as Dreamfever, but it's one of those endings that forced a "please, no" past my lips as the far-reaching implications and ramifications of what takes place settled like a lead weight in my gut. While I was of course dying to read Apollyon as soon as I could get my hands on it, the ending of this book also had me dreading cracking the spine of the next one, knowing my bubble of delusion wherein Alex and Aiden are happy and together and in love was going to be heart-breakingly popped. I do so love this series though, and cannot wait for Sentinel to finally bring Alex's story full circle.

THE RAVEN BOYS

Okay. So the ending of The Raven Boys isn't exactly on par with the other books on this list in terms of the emotional flaying it inflicts, but it has one of the most bizarre and befuddling parting lines I've read, and I therefore felt it earned itself a spot. Confession: I flip to the back of a book and read the ending first probably 75% of the time. I need to know what's going to happen alright? I CAN'T HELP IT! I flipped straight to the back of this one, read the last line and thought to myself "Self, I can't wait to figure out what that means" before returning to the front and reading straight through. Well, as it turns out, the line I'd read initially didn't make any more sense to me after reading the story in its entirety than it had when I read it out of context, and I need to hurry up and get a hold of Dream Thieves so it can hopefully explain things to me.

INFINITE DAYS

I absolutely LOVED this book. It turns the typical vampire story on its head a bit as the protagonist turns from vampire to human rather than human to vampire. I have to be pretty invested in a story to cry (obviously), and typically crying takes place later in a book after I've had time to really get attached to the characters. With this book though? I was crying inside of the first 30 pages as my beloved Rhode wrapped himself around my heart and refused to let go. My emotions evened out after that until the very end when former vampire Lenah saw fit to slice me into emotional confetti once more. So good.

UNTIL I DIE (Revenants #2)

While this second installment was a bit rockier for me than the first, the ending took me completely by surprise and left me feeling stripped bare as I sprinted to the computer to see when the third and final book would be coming out. Logically, I knew what happened would likely be remedied in the next book, but my heart didn't seem to understand logic at all and promptly stopped working for a beat or two. Emotional stability fail.

THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER (Mara Dyer #2)

Oh, Michelle Hodkin. What a brilliant dispenser of pain you are. This series is strange and twisted and a confusing jumble of "what the hell is going on?" that works so beautifully well that I will be able to read these books over and over again and learn something new each time. The ending of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was a jaw-dropper, but the ending of Evolution is more of a punch to the gut, one that sent me reeling and raving and looking around for anyone who might listen, willingly or otherwise, as I tried to get all my thoughts in order by speaking them aloud. Can it be time for Retribution already?

Super Six Sunday: Kick-Ass Heroines

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is kick-ass heroines, and there's nothing I love more (aside from romance, of course) than a girl who can take care of herself and fight side by side with the best of them. Most of the women I've picked have a supernatural ability to aid them in their general badassery, but what I love about all of them is the fact that even without their various gifts or abilities, every one of these ladies would place herself smack dab in the middle of a fight regardless, ready to protect those she loves with whatever of herself it's necessary to give in order to do so. If you haven't yet met any of the women below, I can't recommend their stories enough!

GIN BLANCO

The Elemental Assassin Series by Jennifer Estep • Adult Urban Fantasy

Spider's Bite •  Web of Lies • Venom •  Tangled Threads • Spider's Revenge • By A Thread • Widow's Web • Deadly Sting • Heart of Venom

I met Gin long before I started this blog, and while her cool calm as she wielded her knives and inflicted lethal damage as assassin The Spider was initially a bit of a challenge to see past in the first book, once I really settled into the series she quickly became a woman I couldn't help but adore. She's as selfless as they come (almost to a fault at times), always putting the physical safety and emotional happiness of everyone around her ahead of her own, thereby making her both someone you wouldn't want to meet on the street late at night and someone you can't help but want to hug.

DANI O'MALLEY

The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning • Adult Urban Fantasy

Darkfever • Bloodfever • Faefever • Dreamfever • Shadowfever • Iced

(Iced is technically book 6 in the Fever series, but it's the first that features Dani as a protagonist rather than a supporting character. I recommend starting with book one, Darkfever, though, as Iced contains major spoilers for books that come before it)

After my fangirl post a couple weeks back, I'm sure it's no surprise to most of you to see Dani's name on this list. Though she's only fourteen, Dani can quite literally run circles around anyone who tries to challenge her, including quite possibly the baddest supernatural alpha men in fiction, Barrons and Ryodan. Not only is she a force to be reckoned with, but she approaches the death she faces each and every day with a beautiful sense of humor, convinced if she's going to meet her end it's going to be with a smile on her face and laughter in the air.

DEUCE

The Razorland Series by Ann Aguirre • Post-Apocalyptic Young Adult

Enclave • Outpost • Horde

Deuce is the epitome of a fighter; as close to fearless as they come and completely capable of defending herself and others against the daily threat of the Freaks. She's also one of those young women who has no agenda and plays no games, her utter innocence and sweet naivete when it comes to her relationship with Fade making her a desirable combination of strength and vulnerability. I don't want to say too much more about her as I'll be gushing all over this series in a few weeks when I host Ann as part of the Authors Are Rockstars tour, but suffice to say Deuce is a personal favorite of mine.

ALICE BELL

The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter • Paranormal Young Adult

Alice in Zombieland • Through the Zombie Glass

I'm a huge Gena Showalter fan in general, and her books always have a wonderful blend of action, romantic tension and laugh-out-loud humor. Ali is a young woman who has suffered unimaginable loss, but she possesses a fierce determination and a will to survive that simply won't let her wallow in the pit of despair she quite frankly deserves. She's not always the strongest fighter, but she's eager to learn and she holds her own against the the snark, the disdain, and the overwhelmingly strong personalities of her fellow zombie hunters.

ALINA STARKOV

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo • Young Adult/Fantasy

Shadow and Bone • Siege and Storm

I think most people who've read this series would agree that Alina personifies everything we might consider to be badass. She has an ability that shocks and scares her with its power, and in the blink of an eye she finds herself trying to navigate a completely different world from everything she's known previously. People fear her, fawn all over her, love her and hate her, but she gracefully bears every burden laid across her young shoulders, becoming more gorgeously regal and awe-inspiring as the series continues.

ELISA

The Fire and Thorns Series by Rae Carson • Young Adult/Fantasy

The Girl of Fire and Thorns • The Crown of Embers • The Bitter Kingdom

Elisa and I got off to a rocky start. Book one, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, is split into three parts, and for nearly the entirety of the first part, I couldn't connect to Elisa at all. She's what could be described as pleasantly plump, and for the first third of book one she constantly bemoans her weight yet imbibes in all sorts of pastries and the like, and she hardly has any confidence as a result of her own negative self-image. As soon as part two hits however, Elisa starts to blossom, forced to toss aside all her weight issues and focus on surviving in a brutal world, and throughout the remainder of the series she continues to grow as both a woman and a leader until she's completely unrecognizable from the girl we first met. Like Ali above, she's not always the most skilled fighter in hand to hand combat, but her strength lies in her compassion and her decision-making, which more than compensate for any of her physical shortcomings in battle.

Those are just a handful of my favorite kick-ass heroines, who would top your list?

Super Six Sunday: Love Stories

Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday, a new feature from the fabulous ladies at Bewitched Bookworms, has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously.

This week's topic is love stories, and given how much I love romance, it's both an awesome and a terrible prompt for me. Awesome because there are so many amazing love stories out there that have made me swoon, and terrible because it was nearly impossible to narrow it down to just six. I had to limit the topic even further in my head in order to choose books, so I went with love stories that feature really strong heroines, emotionally and physically, who aren't afraid to challenge the men in their lives. I think all six of the below women push buttons, question, and frustrate their men, but they are also loyal, powerful in their own ways, and are absolute equal partners in the relationship. Love them.

KISS OF SNOW (Psy-Changeling #10)

Nalini Singh • Adult Paranormal Romance

Nalini Singh is one of my very favorite authors, and her Psy-Changeling paranormal romance series has been one I've been obsessed with for years. We meet Hawke and Sienna in book one, but it takes another 8 books–yes eight, I died a little inside when each book that released wasn't theirs–before they finally get together. To be fair, they need all that time as Sienna is significantly younger than Hawke, but their journey in this book is one I've taken with them over and over again and will continue to do so for years to come.

DARKFEVER (Fever Series)

Karen Marie Moning • Adult Urban Fantasy

I'm sure many of you have heard the word Barrons uttered (or exhaled on a shaky breath full of longing) even if you haven't yet read this series. Jericho Barrons is not your typical romance hero. He's often neither romantic nor heroic. He's downright cruel at times and the force of his personality can be overwhelming. It's as easy to hate him as it is to love him, but Mac holds her own and never takes a step back when he takes a threatening step forward. Instead, she meets him with a step of her own, and the two of them fight, taunt, argue and then explode romantically as the series continues, and I just can't recommend their story enough. It's definitely NOT a conventional love story in any way, and that's part of what I like so much about the two of them.

TRUE

Erin McCarthy • Contemporary New Adult

True came to be in my hands just at the moment when the New Adult genre got to be at its most frustrating for me, the angst and drama of the relationships starting to test my patience and grate on my nerves, but then along came Rory. Rory wouldn't know how to play a game romantically with a guy if someone gave her a series of directions to review beforehand, and her honesty with everything she's feeling quickly led her to the top of my favorite heroines list. Tyler is a bit more cliched - a bad boy with a difficult past, but he's not nearly as superficial as labeling him a bad boy makes him seem, and I couldn't have loved him with Rory any more if I'd tried.

FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS

Diana Peterfreund • Young Adult/Dystopian

This story is one of the most romantic stories I've read where the hero and heroine don't even do so much as kiss on page. Elliot and Kai are all tension and hurt, dancing around one another as they search desperately in each other for the person they knew when they were younger, but whereas Kai takes his opportunities to land his emotional punches, Elliot always pulls hers, earning my respect and her place on this list. Despite all the lingering pain between them, there are such beautiful moments in this tale, and I always look forward to going back and spending time with Elliot an Kai on a re-read.

UNRAVELING

Elizabeth Norris • Paranormal Young Adult/SciFi

Unraveling is one of those books that took me by complete surprise, the blurb initially one that held no interest for me, but when I was lucky enough to get a review copy I decided I might as well give it a try. I fell in love with Janelle on nearly the first page, her sense of humor and low tolerance for the petty games of the popular crowd winning me over immediately. When Ben enters the picture there is no swooning (except on my part), and their relationship is one of tentative friendship and wary attraction for a long time before it becomes something much more heartwarming.

ANGELFALL

Susan Ee • Paranormal Young Adult

Like Unraveling, Angelfall was a complete surprise for me, a story I entered into not really knowing what to expect but I quickly found myself blown away. Penryn is fiercely protective of her younger sister, and when she gets taken, embarks on a long and terrifying journey with the dubious help of wingless angel Raffe to find her again. I loved everything about this book and the relationship between Penryn and Raffe, the antagonism and distrust between them ever-so slowly fading to leave genuine affection in its place. Again, a bit darker and less traditional of a love story, but strikingly memorable and beautiful just the same.

Those are six of my very favorites, what love story would top your list?

Fangirling: A Discussion and Update on ICED/BURNED by Karen Marie Moning

I've been thinking a lot lately about the blog and what kinds of posts I can integrate into my standard reviews and interviews to keep things interesting and fun, and when participating in Super Six Sunday last week an idea came to me. It was a prompt about authors we'd like to meet, and given Karen Marie Moning is at the top of my list I rambled on a bit about how much I love her (there are also pictures of a strikingly beautiful and half-naked Stuart Reardon, aka Ryodan), which in turn sparked a renewed interest in Iced.

I thought of more things I'd like to say about Iced that didn't make it into my review. Things about Dani. And Ryodan. And Dani and Ryodan together. The desire to talk about, question, theorize and otherwise fangirl all over this book led me to this post (and maybe feature, we'll see how it goes). We all have a book or a series we're madly in love with, right? One that when we see it on someone's to-be-read pile or catch wind of a Twitter conversation wherein people are considering starting it we respond with encouragement that includes an excessive use of all caps and exclamation points (and likely animated hand gestures and squealing as well). One we try and force on friends and family even if they're completely uninterested in reading it because it's quite frankly irrelevant whether or not they WANT to, they simply MUST read it. They're all "I'm not sure this is the book for me" and we're all "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU SAY RIGHT NOW, STOP WASTING TIME DENYING THE INEVITABLE AND READ." We suddenly turn into a stern parent to their irritated youth, replying with only "because I said so" when they ask why they're being forced asked to read this book.

The Fever series in general is one of those series for me, but Iced in particular is a standout in the middle of a spectacular series. What I like most about it is the fact that it inspires conversation. This is not a book you read and then can't think of anything to say about it afterwards. Oh no. When you reach the end you only have nothing to say because there's so much to say you don't even know where to start. You may have good things to say. You may not. But you'll want to to talk to someone about this book, and that's, for me, what makes it so fun.

So, this post is going to be me highlighting for you what I loved so much about Iced, and what worked so well for me when parts of this story didn't work at all for many a reader, and my hope is at the end of it you'll leave a comment agreeing or disagreeing with my take or, if you haven't read it, adding it to your list just because I've made you curious.

• • • • • • • • • •

TEAM RYODAN

I think perhaps the most controversial aspect and the main cause of the love/hate divide between readers of this book is the young age of its protagonist. Dani is 14, but this is in no way, shape or form a young adult novel. Below are the reasons Dani's young age and the presence of two very sexual, very alpha men and one soon-to-be alpha man in her life wasn't as uncomfortable for me as it was for some.

1. Dani's world is not our world. Sure, Iced is contemporary in terms of time, set in the here and now rather than being historical or futuristic, but this world is not governed by the rules and regulations of our reality and even if it was, the supernatural inhabitants of Dublin would disregard them, bend them, break them, and otherwise do as they please. Ryodan and company exist outside the confines of laws and morality as we know them today, therefore trying to make them fit into what our current society deems as acceptable or appropriate is going to end in nothing but frustration.

2. Dani both is and is not 14. Technically she's been alive for 14 years, but hers was not a protected, comfortable childhood where she was granted the time to simply be happy and healthy and young. She's been fighting monsters, human and otherwise, her entire life, seeing and experiencing the type of darkness that irrevocably changes and alters, ultimately forcing her to shed the skin of a child and adopt the armor of an adult. There's still an unquestionable innocence about her though, making her a rather beautiful blend of youth and experience.

3. This is not a romance. Yes, there are three men that feature very prominently in Dani's life, but aside from a bit of innuendo here and there from some of Ryodan's men, there is absolutely nothing, in my opinion, inappropriate about Ryodan or Dancer's behavior with regard to Dani. Christian is a bit of another story, but he's, and I say this with complete and utter fondness, batshit crazy. He's absolutely hilarious, appalling, and terrifying at the same time, so he gets a bit of a pass for his stray thought or two because he's going through a rather spectacular transition from human to death-by-sex fae. (KMM addresses this issue particularly well on her Facebook page)

4. Ryodan. Team Ryodan for the win. Now many of you are going to read this and go "Um, Jenny? How can you be ANY team when the girl is 14? That's beyond inappropriate." Yes, wanting Ryodan for Dani as she is in Iced is inappropriate, but I want Ryodan for Dani down the line. For me, he's her endgame just as Barrons was for Mac, but as I said before, there's absolutely nothing romantic between them in this first (or 6th depending on how you look at it) book. Ryodan does claim Dani as his own from the beginning, not in a sexual way though, but rather as a tool; something he needs to achieve the goals he's set for himself and he's absolutely nothing if not ambitious and opportunistic. She's valuable–a petite source of strength in a world where strength is the only remaining form of currency–and Ryodan keeps valuable things close to him.

5. Ryodan is not pining for Dani. He would never pine. Pine isn't even in his vocabulary. He's not patiently embracing celibacy and waiting for her to mature so he can seduce her as soon as she comes of age. That would be creepy. Instead, it's made very clear to us just how much Ryodan is NOT waiting for Dani in any romantic way, but what does exist between them is the promise of what could be in the future. We can see in Dani the type of woman she will become, and we already know the type of man Ryodan is, so the appeal for me in a Ryodan/Dani pairing is not rooted in the present with Iced, but in what Karen has in store for us in Burned and Flayed.

So, what do you guys think? Agree/disagree? Rooting for Dancer instead of Ryodan? Simply can't get past Dani's age? I'd love to know what you think in the comments! And if you haven't read Iced, I'd love to know what book or series you feel as though you can never say too much about.

• • • • • • • • • •

There have been some recent changes with regard to the next book in the series, Burned, so I wanted to end this post with some of the information I've found whilst trolling the internet for any crumbs to help tide me over until it's finally in my hands. I discovered a post on KMM's Facebook page a few days ago with some delicious tidbits, and then yesterday–thanks to Mandi at Smexy Books– I found a link to fantastic recap of a recent KMM Q+A courtesy of A Bitch, A Blog and A Bookshelf, which you can read in its entirety here. I've listed highlights from both Q+A finds below.

• The release date for Burned has been moved back from January 2014 to April 2014. When asked why, Karen had this to say:

"I won’t put a book out until I’m satisfied I’ve written it the best way possible.  I’m currently exploring two different ways of continuing the series. Previously I told you there would be three books (ICED, BURNED and FLAYED) in the Dani series followed by two Mac & Barrons books. I may be combining the next four books (BURNED, FLAYED and the untitled M&B books) into two."

• One of the most pressing questions for readers (myself included) is if Dani is going to be older in the next book. The answers in both Q+A sessions allude to Dani being 17 in Burned, though not right away.

•  There's been a lot of speculation and suggestion that Ryodan might be Dani's father given the similarities in their abilities. Personally, this squicks me out since I'm rooting for Ryodan in a romantic capacity and discovering he's her father would likely scar me for life. Luckily, Karen's response to the "is Ryodan Dani's father" question was an emphatic no. A no so emphatic in fact it was repeated two additional times.

• • • SPOILER • • •

• Jo and Ryodan's relationship is another hot-button topic for readers (mostly those readers like me who are hoping for a Dani/Ryodan romance in the future to rival that of Mac and Barrons). When asked about it, Karen said this:

"Can I please not be nailed to stand-alone romance novel clichés from the 90’s?  (Which I love to read by the way.) Really, is Ryodan the kind of…whatever he is….that would in any way be governed by them?  And Jo—who among you wouldn’t walk up those stairs if you got his nod?  She’s completely frank about knowing that she’s never going to keep him. She’s making a memory.

Transformation is what I find fascinating and emotionally stirring about life.  It’s what we become, how we become it, what happens when we think we’ve got nothing left inside us then stumble across some inner beast we didn’t even know was crouching in there that can rise to any occasion. No, Jo isn’t in Ryodan’s league and maybe Ryodan is currently being a jackass.  Those are starting points. Just like Darkfever was a starting point.  I haven’t forgotten that many people demanded I stop writing that new “horrible” series immediately, because they hated Mac and thought JZB was old and unattractive.

I’m glad I didn’t listen.  I hope you are, too."

Super Six Sunday: Authors I've Met/Want to Meet

I'm really excited today to be participating in a new feature put together by the fabulous ladies over at Bewitched Bookworms! Inspired by Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and The Bookish, Super Six Sunday has different book-related topics each week and asks participants to address each topic in the form of a list of six. Obviously. This week, the focus is on authors I've met or would like to meet, so below are just a handful of the authors who turn me into an utter fangirl at the mere mention of their names!

KATIE MCGARRY

(Pushing the Limits/Dare You To)

I first met Katie when she came to Columbus for a YA author panel at my local bookstore, and even while hyperventilating with excitement, I still managed to plaster a smile on my face and carry on what I hope was a coherent conversation. I don't remember it all that well, it's just a haze of happiness really, but I'm pretty sure I didn't scar her for life. A couple months later I had the pleasure of meeting up with her again for dinner while in NYC for BEA, and I fell in love with her even more. She's adorable and funny and I just need to stop talking before I embarrass myself ;-)

 (Pushy, Me, Katie, Julie Kagawa, and Danny)

JULIE KAGAWA

(The Iron Fae/Blood of Eden Series)

Dinner with Katie at BEA included Julie Kagawa, a happy surprise addition I had no idea was joining us. It's for the best I didn't know she was coming ahead of time as then I didn't have as much time to stress about being cool, so aside from a brief flustered moment I was able to rise above my awkwardness and not just stare at Julie with a dreamy expression on my face. The whole dinner was simply one giant win and definitely not something I will ever forget.

MICHELLE HODKIN

(The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer)

I unfortunately don't have a picture with Michelle, but I was lucky enough to meet her for lunch at BEA last year, and had one of those surreal moments where I looked around me and realized I was sitting in Bryant Park with my mom, my mother in law, Melissa from I Swim for Oceans and Michelle Hodkin, just chatting away with the author of one of my very favorite series. Thankfully I was able to say more than "I love Noah" to her, but I'm pretty sure it still came out of my mouth a time or two. Or four. Whichever.

ALLY CARTER

(Heist Society/Gallagher Girls series)

I wrote a whole big blog post about my time with Ally Carter here if you're so inclined to read it, but meeting her definitely deserves another mention! At the request of the fantastic people at Disney-Hyperion, I was asked to attend Ally's signing in Cincinnati and come a half hour or so early for a blogger-author meet and greet. Due to a misunderstanding on my part, I arrived under the impression it would be a group of bloggers meeting with Ally, but when I got there it was just me (and my mother in law who I drag to all bookish events). Me and Ally. Ally and Me. Alone in the corner of a bookstore. I had zero questions prepared, but Ally was so incredibly personable and easy going that I was able to shake off my initial shock and enjoy the fact that I had her all to myself for nearly a half hour.

J.R. WARD
(The Black Dagger Brotherhood)

I actually met J.R. Ward before I started the blog, but I'd been a longtime fan of her Black Dagger Brotherhood series and nearly fell out of my seat with excitement when I saw she was going to be in Columbus for the RT Convention a few years back. I'm obsessed with this series. Obsessed. I took my mother in law (of course) with me to get copies of Lover Mine (my favorite of the series) signed for me and my mom who lives out of town. We were allowed to bring our own books to the signing, so I was holding both copies as we approached the table to buy our tickets.

When purchasing our tickets, the woman informed me that J.R. was only signing one book per person. I nodded that I understood and figured I was good to go because I had two books and there were two of us there. Win. The woman at the door collecting the tickets noticed I was holding two copies of Lover Mine and once again told me that J.R. Ward was only signing one book per person. I blinked this time, looked at Cathy, looked at the two books in my hand and smiled at the woman to indicate all was well. Awesome. I went straight for J.R.'s line once I was in, and upon arriving at the back the woman trying to keep things under control looked at the books in my hands and said what you ask? You guessed it, apparently J.R. Ward was only signing one book per person. I DID NOT KNOW THAT! I finally just gave up and handed a copy to Cathy and we sat down and waited.

The signing itself was only scheduled to be I think 3 hours, and it was glaringly apparent at the 2.5 hour mark that she wasn't going to get through everyone in her line before time was up. Instead of getting up and leaving after 3 hours though, she stayed and made sure every single person that was in her line got their book signed. The people regulating the line wouldn't allow her to take pictures with anyone (understandable, there were a ton of people there), but J.R. made a point to talk to everyone instead of simply signing her book with her head down and then moving on to the next person. She was fantastic.

• • • • • • • • • •

I decided to use my sixth spot for an author I desperately want to meet (aside from Wendy Higgins who knows I adore her and am counting down the minutes until we're finally at the same event and I can hug her). This is likely someone I will never have the chance to meet unless I attend FeverCon, but I dream of coming face to face with the woman who gave me Barrons and Ryodan.

KAREN MARIE MONING

(The Fever Series)

If any of you haven't read the Fever series, I beg you to drop what you're doing and run to the nearest bookstore to pick up all 6 books (technically book 6, Iced, is a spinoff, but they need to be read in order). She writes alpha men like no one else, and I, like untold numbers of others, fell madly in love with Jericho Barrons. He's a complete a-hole, but there is something about him that's indescribably magnetic and I've read the Fever books more times that I care to admit. Even if you end up not liking him or the books, I guarantee you will walk away with strong feelings about the man.

More recently (with the release of Iced), I fell hard for Ryodan. Ryodan is in the Fever series, but he's a smaller secondary character, and is quite frankly overshadowed by all that is Barrons, but in Iced he's very much the alpha among alphas. Karen sometimes teasers her readers on her Facebook fan page with pictures of beautiful men who fans think fit the image of Barrons and Ryodan she's created in our heads. Not too long ago she posted some pictures of a model by the name of Stuart Reardon who many fans thought embodied Ryodan. I feel the need to share some of these pictures with you, as they will no doubt inspire you to pick up the books and will definitely make you want to meet the woman who wrote his character. You're welcome in advance ;-)

(photo by Gilles Crofta Photography)

(photo by Kemuel Valdes)

(photo by Kemuel Valdes)

Review: Iced

ICED
Fever Series #6/Dani O'Malley #1
Karen Marie Moning
Adult Urban Fantasy
495 pages
Delacorte Press
Available Now
Purchased copy

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.

Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.

MY THOUGHTS
With Iced, Ms. Moning has proved yet again how truly gifted a storyteller she is, crafting a world and characters with so many facets we know we'll never see them all no matter how many books she writes or how deeply she lets us delve, the gears in our minds frantically turning to keep track of subtle clues and nuances we know will come into play as Dani's journey continues to unfold. There is many a reader whom will likely pick up Iced and find it less palatable than the first five books of her Fever series, Dani's young age and the multitude of men who have her on their radar perhaps pushing a boundary some may feel uncomfortable edging close to (though in my opinion, Dani's age is handled perfectly), but without a doubt this story will inspire conversation, and Ms. Moning makes it nearly impossible to reach the end of one of her books without having so many thoughts we can do nothing else but find the first available person and allow our theories to spill from our mouths before we choke on their numbers.

As mentioned previously, some readers may shy away from this book given Dani is only fourteen and part of the appeal of the previous five books set in this world is the undeniable and combustible sexual tension thrumming between Mac and Jericho Barrons, leaving many of us to wonder how Dani's youth will affect the dynamic between her, Ryodan and Christian. What's important to understand prior to reading is that this series, despite its teenage protagonist, is in no way a young adult novel. Dani's world is violent and bleak and Ms. Moning rarely pulls her punches, throwing down a gauntlet for her characters and readers at every possibly opportunity. She then waits to see if we're all brave enough to pick it up, testing us to see if we're able to face that which challenges, that which hurts, and that which makes us question. While it's true Dani is fourteen in terms of years, she's far older in terms of life experience, her solitary existence forcing her to emotionally age far faster than any young woman should have to, and she continues to prove to us again and again in Iced just how capable she is of surviving whatever is thrown her way.

Ryodan proves to be as enigmatic a man as Barrons, but for all their similarities, Ms. Moning does an absolutely stunning job of carefully and meticulously outlining their fundamental differences; the power and blunt personalities both men share beautifully overshadowed by the more subtle variations of their characters. Ryodan pushes Dani, is at times downright cruel, and often has us wondering if we've made the same mistake we've watched other women make with both him and Barrons – projecting the men we want them to be onto the men they actually are, thereby losing ourselves a bit in a dangerous illusion that promises nothing but pain if we can't shake ourselves loose of the naivety of hope. Just as we start to question ourselves when it comes to Ryodan however, Ms. Moning masterfully shows us a tiny patch of softness (soft being a relative term); a miniscule chink in the armor of an immaculately outfitted labyrinthine mystery encased in flesh and blood, and we latch onto it like the desperate and greedy readers we are, reveling in our small victory even as we gear up for the next battle of discovery.

Overall, Iced is a stunning continuation of the Fever world, Dani's dark history and intimate knowledge of the many pains life has to offer an intriguing contrast to Mac's penchant for pastel colors and her initial bumbling naivete. Dani is knowledgeable and skilled, and while her young years at times surface in the form of attitude, we can't really begrudge her her youthful outbursts given the dire situations she repeatedly finds herself in. Looking forward we can only guess how Dan's life will change as she ages, the number of theories we have increasing exponentially the longer we think about this first installment, and we find upon closing the back cover that the only drawback is the sure-to-be unbearable wait for book two.

Rating: 5/5

Shadowfever Winner!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my Shadowfever giveaway, Random.org picked a number and the winner is:

CATHY

Congratulations Cathy, I hope you love this book as much as I did! Don't forget that each stop on this blog tour offers a new opportunity to win a copy of Shadowfever, so be sure and check out the other participating blogs so you can read their reviews and enter their giveaways as well!

Review+Giveaway: Shadowfever

SHADOWFEVER (Fever Series #5)
Karen Marie Moning
Urban Fantasy
594 Pages
Delacorte Press
Available Now
Received via TLC Book Tours for review

This review contains NO spoilers.

THE STORY
MacKayla Lane used to have a pretty simple life. She was pretty. Boys always liked her. She had a home, loving parents, and a best friend in her sister Alina. Then, with no warning, Alina was brutally taken from her, leaving behind only a cryptic message that changed Mac's life forever.

Now, having been in Dublin, Ireland for months trying to determine who killed her sister and forced into an uneasy alliance with the mysterious Jericho Barrons, Mac is no longer that pretty southern girl. She knows darkness and she knows pain. And as she finds herself more deeply immersed in the world of the fae and the hunt for the Sinsar Dubh, her life is more complicated and dangerous than ever.

She thought she knew what side she was on. She thought she'd already experienced the worst pain and loss a person can endure. She thought her sister was the one who mattered most. She was wrong. On all counts. Questions abound, blackness hovers ominously at every turn, and the young woman with a love for all things pink finds herself a key player in the most epic of battles in the conclusion to this stunning series.

MY THOUGHTS
The Fever Series is extraordinarily aptly named, inciting a burn in us from the very first page that increases in intensity with each subsequent book until it culminates in a finale that sends our hearts up in flames as we lose ourselves in the all-consuming visceral awareness of Mac and Barrons, and the palpable, complicated friction between them. Our body temperature ratchets up with every wordless communication they exchange and every careful avoidance of physical contact until sweat beads on our skin in a conditioned physiological response to seeing their two names side by side in inky blackness, just as the pages practically smoke as a result of the speed with which we're flipping them in our haste to know every last detail of this spectacular fantasy. This story is passion and fire, pain and loss, and vengeance and forgiveness, reaching out with invisible fingers to wrap our hearts in an unyielding grip as it promises not necessarily a tale of joy and hope, but rather one of addicting darkness. Part of the appeal is an end that has the potential to deny us the happiness we seek, keeping our feelings in constant flux as we consider the possibility we may arrive at the last page with the hope of finding our emotional wounds stitched together and healing, only to discover a mere tourniquet awaits to help slow the bleeding.

Mac is a character who begins her journey as a young girl of sunshine and warmth, content with being pretty and blond as she revels in pastel colors and other superficial trivialities. What she becomes is a woman of substance, fundamentally altered by the trials we experience vicariously by her side, watching in shock, awe, and incomprehensible pain as she is emotionally eviscerated, physically beaten, and almost completely stripped of all her comforting and recognizable attributes. Though her story is dark and she at times makes decisions with a flawed logic that results in yet another mental or physical scar, she always manages to maintain a death grip on that rainbow girl we met four books prior, and we hold tight to that remnant as the black and crimson of Dublin's battle with the fey comes in various forms to render us both monochromatic.

A man and character who utterly defies definition, Jericho Barrons has us melting at his feet despite the fierce independence of which we think ourselves so capable the moment he opens his mouth and overwhelms us with intensity of his presence. He is a man who embodies qualities that should unnerve us, emanating an unforgettable and predatory sexual ferocity as well as a confidence and intelligence that is neither assumed nor learned, but is part of his very makeup. Though we may struggle and attempt an ultimately futile resistance, we find ourselves drawn into the inexplicable force field he projects–consumed, owned, and shockingly addicted to a complete enigma. This is a man we know virtually nothing about despite having read four novels of which he is a main character, and every tidbit of information we are given in this final installment only serves to further increase our hunger for knowledge–thrusting us into a perpetual cycle of information gathering and seeking from which we have no desire to escape if it means we get to linger a few more moments in his company. In this last book we learn more about him that we ever have before, and we drink in the new facets of a man that has haunted us greedily, quenching a thirst years in the making.

A simple review can never adequately describe Shadowfever, words on a page being spectacularly poor substitutes for the strength of feeling and broad emotional spectrum captured between its covers. Ms. Moning is more than a storyteller, her characters far more tangible than fictional beings could ever be thought to be, and she has created a world of infinite complexity that openly challenges us, dares us to experience it and remain only a passive observer, and then yanks us in with a shocking brute strength as it subjects us to the sharpest of pains sparsely interspersed with the warmest of joys. Enter into this final piece of the puzzle with a first-aid kit at the ready, as Ms. Moning is a master at inflicting wounds designed to injure but not kill, and she subjects both her characters and us to numerous events that leave indelible marks on the soft flesh of our hearts. Despite the pain, we revel in the emotional injuries, honored to be privy to a book capable of having such a remarkable effect.

Rating: 5/5

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the fabulous people at Random House and TLC Book Tours, I have a copy of Shadowfever to give away to one very lucky commenter. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run through midnight EST on February 14th after which time a winner will be chosen and announced on the blog.

Each stop on this blog tour offers a new opportunity to win a copy of Shadowfever, so be sure and check out the other participating blogs so you can read their reviews and enter their giveaways as well! Good luck everyone!