Best Book of the Year Awards ~ Best Paranormal Book!

Title: The Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Vol. 1: Phantom
Creator: L. J. Smith
Release Date: October 25th 2011
Published By: HarperTeen
Page Amount: 416 pages, hardcover

I love this series, as I have said many times. And mostly because of my love for one of the characters. (I know that L. J. Smith didn't write these, but I just have to read them to finish the series and if she writes her own ending to the series I will read that too). I absolutely love Damon Salvatore. He is one of my favorite characters of all time. From the first time that I read about him in the first Vampire Diaries' books to now, I love him. He has many different dimensions to him. And he does bad and good things; I just find him such an intriguing character. Then there is his love for Elena, which is so easy to see, and he even develops to care for the rest of her friends and to care for his brother, again. So, really, I guess that my love of this series comes down to my love for Damon Salvatore. Personally, I give this one 5 stars! (Although I am likely biased because of Damon). 

Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Diaries-Hunters-Phantom/dp/B00A3ZRP32/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388511407&sr=1-16&keywords=the+vampire+diaries

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hunters-gregory-marshall-smith/1104885401?ean=9780062017697 

L. J. Smith's Website: http://ljanesmith.net/ 

<3 Amanda Leigh

Best Book of the Year Awards ~ Best Adult Book!

Title: Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman
Release Date: March 17th 2009 (first published 1996)
Published By: HarperCollins e-books
Page Amount: 275 pages, e-book

I read more adult books this year than I usually do. (I'm reading The Help right now and if I were done these two books would be duking it out for this award).  They were all good, there wasn't one that I didn't like, this one just made the top of my list. However, I can't say too much without spoiling it for you. It is a fantasy novel. The concept was unlike anything that I have ever read before. But it was so well executed that while reading I found myself completely immersed in the world and believing what was happening. I think that this also had a lot to do with the characters. They were wonderfully done. Richard Mayhew, Door, the Marquis de Carabas, Hunter. They all had their own distinctive personalities that made them so real. You would get to know the character and think to yourself "Oh, that is something that they would do." and I think that it is wonderful when that happens; when you know the characters this well. I couldn't find one thing wrong with this book. I gave it 5 stars! You can see my full review here: http://girlwithapenandadream.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-neverwhere-by-neil-gaiman.html

Amazon Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Neverwhere-A-Novel-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0060557818/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388245543&sr=8-1&keywords=neverwhere

Barnes and Noble Buy Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/neverwhere-neil-gaiman/1100109136?ean=9780380789016

Neil Gaiman's Website: http://neilgaiman.com/

<3 Amanda Leigh

Best Book of the Year Awards ~ Best Middle Grade Book!

 

Title: Love That Dog

Author: Sharon Creech

Release Date: 2001

Published By: HarperCollins

Page Amount: 106 pages, Paperback

This was a hard decision. It was between this and a non-fiction middle grade book that I read this year about Balto. But I just had to pick this one. I've actually read this book before; it was my favorite book in 7th grade. I saw it at Barnes and Noble and couldn't resist picking it up. I read it the next day. I love the format of this book. It's told in verse. The class is doing a unit on poetry and the book is written as little poems to the main character's teacher. It is just an absolutely charming story and it does have a few sad moments. There is also a very exciting moment at the end. I think that it is great that this book introduces younger readers to poetry. In the back of this book there is a section that has some of the poems that Miss Stretchberry mentions throughout the book. So, for all of these reasons, I think that this a wonderful middle grade book. I gave this 5 stars and you can see my full review here: http://girlwithapenandadream.blogspot.com/2013/09/book-review-love-that-dog-by-sharon.html

Amazon Paperback Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Love-That-Dog-Sharon-Creech/dp/0064409597/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388244173&sr=1-1&keywords=love+that+dog

Barnes and Noble Paperback Buy Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-that-dog-sharon-creech/1100185957?ean=9780064409599

Sharon Creech's Website: http://sharoncreech.com/

<3 Amanda Leigh

Best Book of the Year Awards ~ Best Romance Book!

I discovered a new blog, These Pretty Words (http://theseprettywords.com/) and over on their blog they were doing Best of 2013 Awards. I thought that this was a great idea and decided to do my own awards. I've come up with four awards and today's is: Best Romance of the Year!

 

Title: Taste the Heat (Love and Games #1)
Author: Rachel Harris
Release Date: July 8th, 2013
Published By: Entangled Bliss
Page Amount: 191 pages, e-book

I have been a fan of Rachel Harris for a while now and this is the first book by her that I have read. I don't read many books that are exclusively romance books. Usually, they aren't my favorite type of books but I found myself thoroughly enjoying this read. It didn't read like "formula-romance" to me and I found myself connecting with the characters. The fact that food was largely involved probably had something to do with that (I love to cook and one of the main characters is a chef). I also found the male protagonist to be a wonderful character. And seeing him as a father figure made him all the more wonderful. This romance also had a lot of heart which I thoroughly enjoyed. something else that I enjoyed was that there were real issues in this book. The characters weren't perfect but they were perfect for each other and you find yourself routing for them. I would highly recommend this to any romance fans and anyone who wants to give the romance genre a try! I gave this 4 stars and you can see my full review here: http://girlwithapenandadream.blogspot.com/2013/09/book-review-taste-heat-by-rachel-harris.html

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Heat-Games-Novel-Entangled-ebook/dp/B00DFFMYZ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1388168294&sr=1-1&keywords=taste+the+heat

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taste-the-heat-rachel-harris/1116060985?ean=9781622660940&itm=1&usri=taste+the+heat

Rachel's Harris' Website: http://www.rachelharriswrites.com/ 

<3 Amanda Leigh