Best Books This Year (So Far)

I saw this post on some other blogs and I really liked them, so here's my version! I just came back from a lovely week on Rhodes, so I'm rested and have read some amazing books. But deciding what books I thought were the best this year was pretty hard. I totally love Goodreads for giving me a nice overview of all my reads and ratings. So I stared at all those pictures (68 so far!) and tried to make up my mind. 
And here's what came out:

1. Glitch by Heather Anastasiu (review)
I finished this book just before I left for my holiday and I haven't stopped thinking about it. This is one of the books you HAVE to read this year!

2. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
The most amazing thing about this book is the writing style. Just for that you have to read this book. It's one of a kind. 


3. I Heart London by Lindsey Kelk
I read this book on Rhodes and it's definitely the best Chick Lit I've read this year. This books makes you laugh!


4. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Dystopians are totally hot right now and this might be one of the hottest! I thought it was amazing. 

5. Bunheads by Sophie Flack
Another one of my vacation reads. I love books about dancing and this is one of the best I've ever read. 


6. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (review)
Why didn't I read this sooner?! When am I going to learn?


7. The Curse Girl by Kate Avery Ellison (review)
An amazing retelling of Beauty and The Beast. One of the books that really took me by surprise!

8. Stealing Phoenix by Joss Stirling (review)
I love this series. The world setting is just so good. It makes me feel happy. 


9. A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton (review)
I love books about witches and this is a very good one! I'm going to start in the second book soon!


10. Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier
The third book in this series already got published in Dutch and let me tell you: it's a perfect ending. This books makes you laugh out loud!


What are the best books you've read this year?

Review A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

Title: A Witch in Winter

Author: Ruth Warburton 

Published: January 5th, 2012 (Hodder Children's Books)

Pages: 346
Source: bought

Series: Winter Trilogy #1
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her – but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.

As with many of my books I bought this title a while ago and it just set there on my TBR pile. With the second book (which is published today!) on the way I decided to finally read it. Why didn't I read this sooner?! Once I started reading it was hard to stop (but I had to, work and all). I absolutely loved Ruth Warburton's writing style. The first chapter wasn't all that exciting, it's mainly about Anna moving into her new house with her dad, but even then I just couldn't stop. It's not without reason that the writing style is one of the most important things of a book for me, but this book proved it once more. 

Luckily it didn't end with the writing style, because the story was great too! Anna is a lovable character. She doesn't know she's a witch until after she enchants Seth. But there is even more to her than that, because the most important witch clan takes an interest in her. And this is why I can't wait for the second book because it's not clear why exactly at the end of the first book.
I didn't really know what to think of Seth. When Anna first arrives at school she's warned against him, but he turns out to be a pretty nice guy. He starts acting weird when Anna enchants him and until the end I didn't know if he was sincere. Hopefully we'll find out in the second book! 


The story was nice and I really liked it. It's not really fast paced, but I didn't mind that at all. Everything happens in the right time. Sometimes I have this feelings that things are rushed or too slow, but there was a nice balance in this story. Apart from that I just love books about witches and I think there are way too many good books about them. A great debut novel! 

Upcoming (7)

In Upcoming I talk about the books that I will review on this blog. So you know what you can expect here in the upcoming days. 

Review Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. 
Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Review A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her – but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Next week

At this moment I can't say what reviews will go up next week. I'm waiting on some books I have ordered, but I'm not sure when they will arrive and if I can read and review them for next week. But there will be some reviews. 

Last week

And here the posts which were posted last week. 

* Top Ten Tuesday: Ten characters who remind me of myself

* Waiting on Wednesday: A Witch in Love by Ruth Warburton

* Review Between by Jessica Warman
* Cover Reveal (1)
* Feature and Follow

* Review Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

* June in books

Hope to see you soon!

Upcoming (6)

In Upcoming I talk about the books that I will review on this blog. So you know what you can expect here in the upcoming days / weeks. I hope you enjoy it!

This week

Review of Between by Jessica Warman

Elizabeth Valchar-pretty, popular, and perfect-wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family's yacht, where she'd been celebrating with her six closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she finds will change everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and everything in between. As Liz begins to unravel the circumstances surrounding her birthday night, she will find that no one around her, least of all Liz herself, was perfect-or innocent. Critically acclaimed author Jessica Warman brings readers along on a roller-coaster ride of a mystery, one that is also a heartbreaking character study, a touching romance, and ultimately a hopeful tale of redemption, love, and letting go.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Review of Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.
Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.

Synsopsis from Goodreads

Next week

Review of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies was one of the first dystopian young adults and it's really good. 

Review of A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

With A Witch in Love coming next week, this review is for the readers out there who haven't read the first.

Hope to see you soon!