Best of 2011

2011 was a pretty fantastic reading year for me, so I thought I would do a best of 2011 list. The books on this list are not limited to ones that were published in 2011. Instead, all the books on this list are picked from the novels I read this year.

You know it's a good reading year when you find it hard to narrow down your favorites to just 10 books and even harder to find 10 books to fill up your worst list. That's the main reason why I'm not doing a worst list this year, like I have done in the past for this blog. With that said, here my top ten books read in 2011.

10 Best Books Read in 2011

10. In high school I was a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and Spike was among one of my favorite characters. So it comes as no real surprise at how much I loved this book. Its pretty clear that the hero, Bones, is based off of Spike from BtVS. However, Frost gave him enough original traits that the novel doesn't read like bad fan fiction. It also works well, because the world that Frost built isn't meant to resemble Sunnydale. Click Here to see full review.

9. Contemporary Romance author Julie James was the amazing find this year. After reading "Just the Sexiest Man Alive" I glommed her entire back-list immediately. Out of all her other books though, this is the one that stuck out the most to me. Taylor is a no non-sense lawyer who is intent on her career and gets pretty angry when she's forced to cater to Hollywood's Sexiest Man Alive. She becomes livid when said sexiest man blows her off after she had to completely rearrange her schedule for him. Taylor has a serious backbone and I loved her for it. She's not intimidated by the hero and doesn't back down from confrontations with him. Seriously if you haven't checked out a Julie James book yet, do it now. Click Here to see full review.

8. I have a deep affection for magic realism novels and this one hit all the right chords. I remember reading this book and thinking "This is what the book version of 'Practical Magic' should've been like." Claire Waverly has her life neatly laid out for herself. She has a good career and an aunt she loves talking to. So if she occasionally gets lonely, its not too bad. After all, its better to be feel a little lonesome every once in a while than to get attached to someone only to have them leave you. Its a lesson she learned well in her childhood. But things get mixed up when her wild sister re-enters her life needing help and the chance to start over. This was just a really wonderful story. Claire and her sister's slow transformation and growth was underscored with small threads of magic that just made this story... enchanting.

7. This is one of those books that, after I finished it, I sat there wondering "How in the hell hasn't this series gotten more attention?" Wilks has that gritty writing style that I loved in the early Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton. Wilks has created a world where paranormal creatures are known about to the general public, but there's a lot of animosity and deeply seated prejudices held between humans and non-humans. Throughout the novel there's a lot of political tension surrounding a bill that, if it passes, will allow non-humans equal rights. I loved that Wilks integrated so much tension stemming from these outside forces into this novel. I also really liked that she didn't confine prejudices and ambivalent feelings to the "evil" or supporting characters. A lot of the main characters carried some deeply seated prejudices, which made it really interesting to watch them struggle and grow as the story progressed. If you liked the early Anita Blake series, definitely check this series out. Click Here to see full review.

6. This novel was my introduction to steampunk and I loved every minute of it. The world Carriger has built up here is really fascinating. Steampunk with werewolves and vampires trying to fit in with the London ton? Yes, please! The heroine, Alexia Tarabotti, was the real show stealer though. Alexia is soulless. This means she's a rare and feared member of the paranormal community, because she can negate any supernatural creature's power by just touching them. What really made her a great character though is how practical and witty she is. The book opens with Alexia berating a vampire, who is attacking her, for being rude and interrupting her meal. Alexia really reminded me of Amelia Peabody from Elizabeth Peters' books. There's also a really sweet romance threaded throughout the narrative between Alexia and London's werewolf alpha. Click Here to view full review.

5. Out of all the books I read this year this was the one that surprised me the most with just how much I enjoyed it. I picked it up on a recommendation from a professor and couldn't put it back down. This is going to be an epic trilogy. My only complaint is having to wait a year in-between the books. While researching at the Oxford library, Diana Bishop, slowly notices an abundance of supernatural creatures roaming about the library near her. They seem to watching and waiting for her to do something. Even though she doesn't know what. Slowly Diana finds herself in the midst of a brewing war between vampires, witches, and demons. Like I said, this was a pretty epic novel. The atmosphere and the work that went into the mythology in the storyline was pretty impressive. I can't wait to see where Harkness takes this trilogy.

4. This series by Singh is really blowing me away. I haven't given any of the books in this series under a 5 star rating yet. Elena is hunter-born, which means that she was born with the power to track vampires. She uses this ability to capture vampires who have gone rogue from their Angels' and return them for a fee. This ability is put to the test when the arch-angel of New York hires her for a hunt she probably won't live through. The world Singh has built here is just awesome. Angels rule the world, but they're not the cherubic do-gooders of mythology. They're pretty brutal and have nothing to do with religion. They make and control vampires, who then live as indentured servants to them for 100 years. Elena is a kick ass heroine. She's a strong leading character who's confident in her abilities, but insecure about letting too many people get close. She's also pretty messed up from her a traumatizing childhood experience. Just love this series. If you haven't read this yet, pick it up.

3. I'm a huge fan of Ms. Armstrong's urban fantasy books, but I went into this one with a bit of trepidation. An assassin/mystery-ish book? I wasn't sure I'd be able to get into it. But, of course, I should've had more faith in Armstrong. This book sucked me in left me salivating for the next in the series. Nadia Stafford is an ex-cop turned hit-man. After ruining her career as a cop, due to a bad decision, Nadia fell into the assassin business to make ends meet. She's particular about the cases she takes, because of this most would call her a vigilante. So, when she's presented the chance to take down a serial killer cutting a swath through the East coast, she jumps at the chance. Like I said, I loved this book. Nadia was a pretty awesome heroine and I loved her complicated relationship with her mentor. So far, there's only two books in this series, but Ms. Armstrong said that she plans on writing at least one more in order to tie up loose ends. I really, really hope she does. Click Here to see full review.

2. I adore this series by Marjorie M. Liu. This installment in the series, however, was incredible. It was more intense than some of the other books and had me sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. The heroine, Rikki, is a virus hunter who has been called down to the Congo to investigate an outbreak that has been killing off entire villages. While investigating the virus, Rikki becomes the target of an organization who wants her for the information she has. This forces Rikki into fleeing through the Congo's jungle with two men, Eddie and Amiri, who claim they were hired to keep her safe. This was definitely a thriller. The scenes involving Rikki hiding and running in the jungle with Amiri and Eddie were creepy and intense. Seriously, read this one now. Click Here to read full review.

1. Brigg's Alpha and Omega series is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. The slowly evolving relationship between Anna and Charles is just so touching. Anna, the heroine, was heavily abused by her previous pack. Even after being rescued by the merrick and his son, Charles, she's extremely leery around other werewolves. This includes Charles, who is her mate. Charles, for his part, is trying his best to make Anna comfortable and earn her trust. However, a spurt of recent attacks near their home forces them into an investigation and hunt. I adore that the romantic relationship in this story doesn't hinge on a love triangle and instead focuses on Charles and Anna dealing with their own demons. The mystery surrounding the attacks and action of the two of them hunting the perpetrator through the snowy woods is just awesome. If you like Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series you'll love this one.