Best 11 novels of 2011

Have I mentioned that lists are HARD?! This was possibly my hardest to narrow down, because there are so many amazing novels I've read this year. So I first limited it to just 2011 releases, not 2010 novels I was too slack to read until this year and realised 'Holy Etienne St Clair, that was BRILLIANT.'

Without further ado, these are my top 11 novels of 2011...... but there's TONS more books and amazing authors I've discovered and gaspworthy characters that - alright, let's just get on with it:


Divergent by Veronica Roth
Released: May 3rd 2011 by HarperCollins
Goodreads / My Review

I reread soon after I finished, which is impressive for me because my TBR has gone crazy this year and rereading is a thing of the past. It's such an addictive, explosive novel with jaw-dropping action, twists and one of the most well-developed romances in YA. FOUR AND TRIS! <3



 
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Released: September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown
Goodreads / My Review

This book.... I.... it.... the.. you see..... IT LEFT ME SPEECHLESS. It has one of the most stunning, richly explored world building I have ever had the joy of reading. And the romance is nothing less than breathtaking. There are no other words except: hello. *SWOON*

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Released: December 2011 by Murdoch Books Australia
Goodreads / My Review

This was released in 2011 in Australia, hence why it's here. But WOW, Veronica. The world building is so fascinating and uniquely different for both characters. The characters themselves will rip your heart out of your chest, because it belongs to them now, not you. PERRY!!!!!!! You beautiful, savage, tender boy. Can I keep you?

 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Released: September 27th by Simon & Schuster
Goodreads / My Review

Ahh, crap. Excuse the mess. I forgot to clean up from the first time I read this when it blew my mind into a billion pieces. This was such a WTF? OMG! novel. It was painful to set it down for a chapter. AND HOLY HELL, NOAH SHAW. One of the sexiest guys to come out of YA this year. Some girls *COUGH*SONIA*COUGH*KATHY*COUGH* delude themselves into thinking he's theirs. They amuse me.

 
The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
Released: October 26th by Harlequin TEEN
Goodreads / My Review

Oh, Julie Kagawa. You know a way to a girls heart. Then you attack it; blow after blow after blow, but you're smiling and laughing and joking while doing it, so impossible to hate you. That's what The Iron Knight was. Beautifully painful and hopeful and heart-wrenching and heart-warming and oh my gosh, what an amazing ending to the series.

 

Legend by Marie Lu
Released:  November 29th 2011 by Penguin

Goodreads / My Review

BADASS. This is the kind of book that shows why I love dystopian novels. Government secrets and betrayals. Pulse-pounding action and a thrilling journey with two main characters who are equals in strength. I grew so invested in both Day and June, I did not want their story to end!

 


Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake
Released: August 30th by Tor Teen

Goodreads / My Review

Deliciously creepy. Kendare Blake did not shy away from the horror and gore, but buried at it's heart is a story so tragic and heartbreaking and tender and violent. She kept me hanging on every word, wide-eyed as we uncovered Anna's story. I adored the thrills, I adored the characters and I adored the budding relationship between a terrifying ghost and the boy on a mission to [re]kill her.

Forgotten by Cat Patrick
Released: June 7th 2011 by Little, Brown / Hardie Grant AU

Goodreads / My Review

Such a beautifully written story with one of the most unique premises I've come across. A girl who remembers her future, but forgets the past. Cat pulled it off spectacularly. And the romance? HOLY SWEETNESS. Luke and London are so freaking adorable it hurts <3

 


Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Released: August 23rd by Penguin

Goodreads / My Review

ADRIAN IVASHKOV. That is all. I'm a HUGE fan of the Vampire Academy series and Richelle Mead did not disappoint in the spin-off! Sure, Sydney is no Rose. But she's compelling in her own unique way and I may have even liked this more than the first book in the VA series! And how on earth was it possible for Adrian to be even MORE awesome? Because it happened.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Released:  February 1st by HarperTeen / Hodder Australia
Goodreads / My Review

Lauren Oliver kills me. Whether it's her beautiful prose, her unique stories, endearing characters or those terrible cliffhangers THAT MAKE ME WANT TO JUMP OFF THE DAMN CLIFF. Either way, she's fast become one of my favourite authors. Delirium was such a breathtaking novel where she really captures the beauty of love <3

 

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
Released: September 29th by Random House
Goodreads / My Review

Zombies are possibly the sweetest creatures ever. Well, some of them. Lia has completely reinvented everything you thought you knew about zombies and crafted a futuristic world of zomibilicious fun and steampunk genius. I loved this!!! Fiesty, spirited heroine and a beautiful, rotting love interest who is - wait for it - HAPPY. He doesn't brood! Dearly Departed brims with action, danger, romance and the most delightful cast of characters, both living and undead.


Gah, this was possibly the hardest list to write!! Because there are so many more amazing novels I want to list, like The Scorpio Races, Shatter Me, Hunting Lila, Waterfall, Blood Song, Lola and the Boy Next Door... the list goes on! And I only used that 'woe is me' line just so I could slip a few more titles in there. Hehe.

What were your favourite novels of 2011?

Sorry Internet Explorer viewers, this list drove me insane because blogger wouldn't code things right. So you might be seeing things that look a little more dodgy than in firefox.