List Maniac: Best of 2012

Hello, everybody!! So another year comes to an end and here is the list of the books I loved the most in 2012. Please not that it's not only about books first published in 2012, but about the books I first read in 2012 regardless of year of publication. 

As always these are just my personal opinions, let me know about your favorite reads in comments. 

Let's start with the Runner Ups - I loved these books but for some reason or another, they didn't crack the top ten.

Courtney Milan's The Governess Affair was a great historical novella and probably the best historical read I encountered all year. Persuade Me by Juliet Archer is a modern take on Persuasion, the characters aren't perfect and they make bad choices but their love prevails! 

The Princess of Iowa was a surprise of a book, that sucked me in for almost 400 pages, also found one of the best quotes ever about sisters. The Goddess Girls Series keeps on being adorable, fun and awesome. 

Welcome Caller, This is Chloe is a fun book touching on some not so fun subjects and a winner all around. Lisa T. Bergen's Waterfall was the launch of a pretty good series about time travel and it had some hunky Italian guys.

Now, For the Top 9 - I loved all of these books basically in equal measure so here they come in no particular order!

Her Best Worst Mistake was my introduction to Sarah Mayberry's writing and I'm really glad for it because I have found her to be an awesome author, but honestly I loved Violet and Martin, two people who on the surface couldn't be more different but deep down they have a lot of common ground and have to work a bit for their happy-ending (you know, because he was engaged to her best friend, and up until that engagement went caput, they didn't much like each other). 

Forgotten by Catherine McKenzie had such an interesting premise: a woman named Emma goes on a trip and isn't heard of for months, so when she finally returns home is to find that everyone thinks she's dead, most of them have moved on, and she now needs to make a new life for herself. There is a hunky photographer and Emma has such a good best friend. I would have loved a bit more romance but I enjoyed the story so much and I kept thinking about it for weeks after I finished reading the book. 

Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi was a bit unusual for me, it takes place int he Ozark Mountains and the hero suffered oxygen deprivation when he was born so as a result he's "simple minded". When I first got this book recommendation  I wasn't sure how the author was going to pull it off but she totally did and I loved Jesse Best. The heroine, Althea, was harder to like at times but she won me over because she realized how wonderful Jesse was on her own.

Anne of Green Gables was that book that I always meant to read but never got around doing it, so one day I just picked up the Audiobook and went for it. I fell in love with it. From the very start Anne's imagination caught me and didn't let me go until the end, and now I can't believe it took me so long to get to it. Anne is such a wonderful character, I loved getting lost in her world and I can't wait to go back again. 

Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer was another huge surprise for me. It tells the story of a girl in the eighties who has a lot of stuff to deal with - the recent death of her mother and her father's marriage to a woman who hates her - and ends up becoming friends and working for this gay couple at their flower shop. It was so well done, even the miss-information Apron had at the beginning rang true, and I loved how she learned to see beyond that. I'm still not sure whats up with the nautical theme of the cover and title, though.

Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald has the perfect title because that's what the book is all about. Sadie has been in love with her friend Garrett Delaney for years, to the point she dropped all other friends and interests that didn't align with Garrett's, but when he goes away for the summer and she's forced to re-evaluate her life, she starts to see how asymmetric their relationship is and decides to do something about it. And I loved Sadie for it. 

The Gorgon in the Gully by the incomparable Melina Marchetta tells the story of Danny Griggs - Jonah Griggs' little brother - as he struggles to face his fears. It's a short book, aimed toward younger readers but I loved Danny and his friends so much. At first I only got it because I wanted to see a different side to Jonah, but seriously, Danny is awesome. 

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John was another book I had for a long time but I didn't get to read it until earlier this year, and it turned out to be wonderful. The story about a Piper, a deaf girl who manages a rock band was awesome and I slowly fell in love with almost everyone in the band. I loved the bond that forms between Piper, Kallie and Tash (the girls of the band). And Piper's finally coming to terms to her family and them learning to comunicate with each other was lovely. 

Getting Caught by Mandy Hubbard and Cyn Balog was such a fun book to read, about two former best friends who keep trying to out-prank each other. A lot of their animosity comes from misunderstandings, but they are well handled and I liked seeing them go for the practical jokes in their war. Plus the ultimate realization that there is something between being best friends and hating each-other's guts. 

Now!! For the Top Spot! the book I loved the most this year... I made a little video for it :

So, check it out: 

Sorry for the crappy quality, I don't know what happened this time. My pick was The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy. 

Well, that's me! Let me know what books you loved this year in the comments!

Also, check out Small's Blog for more Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom awesomeness.