Hootie's Top Ten Books of 2012

This is really hard for me to narrow down my looooong list of books but here are my tippy top favorites! 

 10. The book I love to hate! This book broke me down in ways I wasn't prepared for. The first book INHALE (Free on Amazon) was so amazing and different I was hooked from the start. Even though I was crushed it's the book I can't stop thinking about no matter how hard I try.

 9. Ah Jude and Lucy. These lovable fuck-ups give me heart palpitations and tummy flutters at the same time! I am actually scared for the third book in the series because the first 2 put a strain on my fat clogged heart.

 8. Funny? Check! Steamy? Check! This was a fun and entertaining read that only got better as the story progressed. The first attempt in this new genre for Courtney Cole is a huge hit! From botched Waxing episodes to tea bags this shit will have you rolling and swooning constantly.

 7. Fate is the spin off to the beloved Moreno brothers series by Elizabeth Reyes. This made my list because I am so deeply in love with those sexy bastards! This book picks up where Making You Mine, the last in the Moreno Bros. series left off filling in the blanks of Vinnie and Rose's love story. I thought Sal Moreno stole my heart in Making You Mine but I was wrong because when I started reading this book it didn't take long for me to fall completely in love with Vinnie! 

 6. In the Band by Jean Haus is very close to my heart because like Riley the main character, I too was a drummer in high school! The story was awesome and the romance between the main characters fogged up my glasses even though I don't wear glasses. 

 5. If you haven't read this book yet, then you are seriously missing out! This was one of the most refreshing and captivating books I have read. The style of writing was so different and the poetry made me remember my own poetry roots from back in the day. "Our love will always be eternal, like an unwanted popcorn kernel" BAM! How ya like them apples?

 4. What is air? I will forever be grateful to my Jersey girl on twitter who FORCED me to read this series! If you haven't experienced the magic that is The Black Dagger Brotherhood, I feel sorry for you! This series is such an interesting take on vampires and after the vaginal secretion that is Twilight we all need a manly, sexy Vampire to pant for. Whether it be Wrath, Rhage, Zadist, Phury, Vishous or Tohrment you just can't go wrong! This book broke my heart, then set the pieces on fire until there was nothing but ash. Then with that ash was molded a new heart that beats stronger in my chest! I recommend you start with book one then get to this one!

 3. Some books take you by surprise. Ten Tiny Breaths is one of those books. I was so wrapped up in the story I don't remember much from the 24 hours I was locked in my room reading it. I am just glad I don't have kids because they would have been eating garbage and sugar packets. You know you are reading a good book when you are feeling everything right along with the characters. When they hurt you hurt etc..

 2. Have you ever laughed so hard you did one of these things: Pissed yourself, Spewed Coke from your nose or Pulled a muscle in your back?

If not then you need to read this book. I guarantee one if not all of these things will happen when you do. This book was absolutely hilarious and charming and will keep you in stitches for days after.

 1. I have a feeling this book will take the top spot on almost every list out there. Easily one of the best books I know I will ever read this story captured my heart at the beginning. The depth of emotion runs deep with both main characters and gets so deeply rooted into your heart there is no way you will forget it. There are two different covers for this book and I chose this one because of the symbolism of the pennies on the front. I absolutely loved this book and the last two words uttered in the story have been echoing in my heart and head for weeks after. 

There are a few that are just as good that made my Honorable Mention List:

GIVEAWAY: The Sea Of Tranquility by Katja Millay

OK listen up PEOPLE! I am sure you have been hearing the buzz about this book being amazing, wonderful and emotionally  fulfilling. Well it's all true!! I can tell you first hand this book totally stole my heart, broke it and then healed it all within the 2 days I was glued to it. You can find my full review HERE. This book easily took the #1 spot on my top Ten of 2012 list and Katja Millay announced today that the Galley's are now ready!!! It hasn't been released in print yet but there are a few Galley's available to Giveaway and we get to give one away!!!!

I KNOW! WE ARE JUST AS EXCITED AS YOU!!! This Giveaway is only for US RESIDENTS at this time and the entry form will be posted below. The book will be sent directly from the Publisher so the Winner will be contacted and will have 48 hours to respond or we will have to pick another winner so DON'T MISS OUT! 

About the Author:

I grew up in Florida where I spent my time hiding from the sun. Then I moved to NYC where I attended film school at NYU and spent my time hiding from the rats. I was a high school film production/screenwriting teacher in a former life and now I sit at my kitchen table writing stories and ignoring the frightening mountain of laundry threatening to overtake my home. The Sea of Tranquility is my first novel.

 


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The Sea Of Tranquility by Katja Millay Review

Synopsis:

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shape shifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Full of rage and without a purpose, former pianist Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone discovering her past and to make the boy who took everything from her pay.

All 17 year-old Josh Bennett wants is to build furniture and be left alone, and everyone allows it because it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t exist. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, a hot mess of a girl who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. The more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he may ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a slow-building, character-driven romance about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Please Note: This book contains mature content including profanity, drug/alcohol use, and sexual situations/language

Hootie says: 

I'm not entirely sure how to describe the best book I know I will ever read. I always hear about how books changed people, and thought it was bullshit. I no longer think it's bullshit. I won't be using my usual Gif's and funny pictures in this review because for once a book has left me almost utterly speechless. I am just existing right now but I will try to explain what this book is about. Just know that nothing I say will accurately describe how this book will affect you.

17 year old Nastya Kashnikov is a very broken young girl who is still coming to terms with something very tragic that happened to her when she was 15. This event has changed her from the once beautiful, happy child into a dark and angry person and when she remembers what happened she stops talking all together. The silence is killing her family so she leaves to live with her aunt because she just can't see the looks of disappointment on their faces anymore. Moving 2 hours from the place it all happened should help the stares and the knowing looks Nastya is used to getting. The rumors and gossip about the way she dresses is nothing, it's the knowing eyes she can't take. She is just an anonymous blip on the radar and she wants it that way. When she sees a boy sitting across the courtyard one day, completely cut off from the other kids she can't help but notice how alone he is and wonders what is it about him that keeps people away. Enter Josh Bennett! This boy is just as broken as Nastya having lost everyone he loves, he just wants to be left alone. Most of the kids do except his longtime best friend Drew Leighton. When Nastya gets the heel of her shoe caught on the sidewalk and a group of girls start in on her about her appearance Josh steps in to help making sure later that she knows he won't help again. To clear her mind of all the things weighing her down she runs nightly as a way to exhaust herself so she can sleep and in order to stave off the nightmares that haunt her she writes it all down in notebooks so it won't have any power over her dreams. One night while out running she gets lost and ends up unbeknownst to her at Joshs' house. From that night on she comes to his garage and watches him work never saying a word. He does his best to get her to leave him alone but after a while becomes dependant on her company. Throughout the story Nastya and Josh become close, she eventually opens up to him and speaks after going 2 years without a word to anyone. Josh slowly opens up to her about his loss but all she ever gives away are cryptic hints that drive him crazy because he doesn't really want to know but at the same time he does. Nastya agrees to let a fellow student draw her for his art class which will inadvertently bring her face to face with her past and become the catalyst to this amazing story.

I have never felt so speechless before and anyone who knows me, knows that is nearly impossible. This is probably the most beautiful story I will ever read simply because of the profound effect it is having on me 24 hours later. I can think about nothing else but this story and I hope that never changes. This book killed me then healed me, it broke me then pieced me back together, it dropped me and caught me. There is no way to put my feelings into a box because I ran the gamut of emotions during this book. When I started it, I wasn't sure I was going to like it because I wanted to know what happened to this girl to make her this way and you don't find out immediately, you find out in small bits. I soon realized I was chained to my couch unmoving while the world around me kept turning but I was mesmerized by this beautiful and tragic story. This girl who was once the town jewel known for her talent on the piano will steal your heart the more you get to know her. I didn't realize I was getting so emotionally attached to these characters until things between them started to get intense. The book is slow building but it's much better that way because you get to know Nastya and Josh better the more in depth it goes. Josh Bennett both made me love him and hate him throughout this book. At times he came across as a jerk and other times he was so amazing it was hard to be mad for long. These two broken people come to depend on each other and help heal their emotional scars. The supporting characters amazed me! Drew Leighton starts off as this douche bag, with his sexual innuendos towards Nastya but once you get to the heart of why he is this way another crevasse opens up in your heart making room for him. Clay Whitaker where do I even start. His character may be supporting but he plays a big part in bringing this story to it's head. He is a very talented artist and draws Nastya in a way she doesn't see herself anymore. He is able to capture her the way she was before the tragic event that turned her into who she is today. There are 2 things I will never look at in the same way because of this book and they are:

Pennies and Pearl buttons.

The moment in the story where the pennies come in was such a sweet beautiful moment that represented hope for both Josh and Nastya. Watching her slowly start to hope again was magical. Watching her dare to dream again made me feel a nervous elation hoping that nothing else would cause her pain ever again.

The pearl buttons to me, come to mean innocence lost. Two major scenes in this book feature the pearl buttons and both scenes choked me up and had tears in my eyes. It takes a very emotional book to make me shed actual tears and while I may get misty eyed about certain stories I was full out crying this time. During a particular scene I started to come undone and thankfully my best friend Globug chose that moment to call and check on me because she knows when I am not on twitter much during the day that means a book has consumed me. Everything is The Sea Of Tranquility and nothing hurts. If this book can reach inside my once blackened, broken heart and bring out emotions in me I have buried, then I know it will touch you in the same way. The whole book was incredibly beautiful and the last two words spoken will echo in your heart and mind for a long time. I'll never be the same after reading this book and I wouldn't want to be. 

(Arc Provided By Netgalley)

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