Smugglivus Smugglivus Guest Blogger

Smugglivus 2012 Guest Blogger: Janice of Janicu’s Book Blog

Welcome to Smugglivus 2012! Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2012, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2013.

Who: Janice, of the SF blog Janicu’s Book Blog. Janice is a fellow booknerd, writing reviews as a speculative fiction romantic and a sophomore Smugglivus guest.

Please give it up for the lovely Janice, everyone!

Thanks to the Book Smugglers for inviting me to the Smugglivus celebrations for a second year! 2012 was a tough year for me in regards to reading (busy times at work messing with my brain’s ability to concentrate), but I did get some good reads in. And I discovered 5 books that knocked me off my socks and automatically got added to my “Best of 2012” list. Here they are, in the order that I found them:

A Girl Like You by Gemma Burgess

A Girl Like You is a contemporary romance that has one of those bad boy player types who gets redeemed. And it has a friends to lovers theme. It also opens in such a way that suggests that the bad boy player type is a complete asshat. Please keep reading and don’t let that turn you off. This is a story of Abigail, who is not quite confident at the dating game, but she becomes buddies with Robert (they share a flat), and he’s a charmer who knows how the game is played and is willing to tell Abigail what to do. Although there is some level of expectation here that this story lives up to, it doesn’t really go about it in the way you’d expect. What I liked about this one is the portrayal of friendships of young twenty-something Londoners, who go out to bars and parties and everyone knows everyone else. This was about friendship as well as about romance. Robert has broken a few hearts but to Abigail he’s someone who never judges and is always there. I think there was some depth in the way friendship is portrayed in this story that balances out the expected fun bits of your usual chick lit. I was SO invested in this romance because of it.

Recommended for: Chick lit/Contemporary Romance readers who like a balance of fun and depth, who like the friends to lovers trope, and who can reserve judgement of a hero’s checkered past.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

This is probably on a lot of people’s best of 2012 lists, but I think it’s also one of those books where the less you know the better. If you haven’t read this book, and you haven’t read any reviews yet, then good, go and read this one without having a clue what it’s about. That might be best. I really loved this one and for every review where someone didn’t quite love it and they refer to expectations because of previous reviews, I feel something of a pang. If you’ve already read a review, well forget all about it and then read this.

Recommended for: Fans of girls who have adventures. Anyone with a best friend.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

This book. Often I have trouble recommending books to people because there’s always some caveat over whether someone will like a story. Maybe I’m not sure the voice will go over very well with everyone, or maybe the pace is for the more patient reader, or maybe there’s a sex scene I am not sure everyone will like very much. But Seraphina I actually felt rather confident about recommending this early on. I was telling everyone about this at BEA all the way back in June. I was just that excited. I think it’s because it combines the familiar (fantasy set in a medieval world, a castle and dragons) with the unexpected (dragons who don’t like all the emotions they’re suddenly flooded with when they shapeshift into human form, a heroine with a terrible secret, and a mysterious death). Seraphina is also narrator that I connected with – she doesn’t want attention, but she has something about her that shines. Maybe it’s her inner chutzpah.

Recommended for: Anyone who is a fan of Robin McKinley, Megan Whalen Turner, Diana Wynne Jones and authors of that ilk. Yes, I said it.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

I have never read a Sarah Rees Brennan book before Unspoken, despite being told to do so by certain people who always turn out to be right. Anyway, I gave Unspoken a try and I loved it. In a nutshell this is about Kami, the type of girl who is full of energy and bulldozes everyone around her into joining her in her madcap plans. Plans that often involve being nosy in the pursuit of the Truth, which is very important in Kami’s quest to be an investigative journalist. To put a twist in this, Kami also has an imaginary friend who has spoken to her all her life. Except he turns out to be real. And he turns out to be one of the Lynburns, a mysterious family that founded her town, and the focus of Kami’s newest search for Truth. And in the meantime, there are creepy screams coming from the woods.

What a fresh combination of humor and Gothic mystery. I wasn’t expecting to, but I ended up really enjoying this story, and I think the thing that tipped me over to full on love of this book is the portrayal of the relationships between characters. They were well drawn and they were not pat. I particularly loved complexity of the relationship between Kami and the not-so-imaginary-boy-in-her-head. Oh the tasty insecurity! Extra points for a main character that’s quarter-Japanese.

Recommended for: Fans of contemporary YA and humorous banter who have patience for build-up of suspense. If you’re also familiar with Gothic romance tropes, you’ll have fun.

Ashes of Honor by Seanan Mcguire

Perhaps I need to just cut and paste my commentary in last year’s Smugglivus post about Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series over here. I swear, every year, I love this series more. This is a series where each book just builds upon the last, adding layers of insight into the mystery of the main character’s life. This would be October Daye, a half-human, half-fae changeling who lives in San Fransisco and helps people with murders and kidnappings that are fae-related. This sounds like many other urban fantasies out there, but trust me, there is something delicious about the combination of great world building, reader bread-crumbs, and the torturous wait to see if October finally gets together with potential love-interest Tybalt. This is a series where secondary characters grow on you too. Well, Ashes of Honor is the latest book, and my head practically exploded reading this one. I don’t do GIFs, but if I did, there is some “THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER” GIF that would do here.

Recommended for: Urban Fantasy readers that like a series where story arcs develop over several books.

Books I’m highly anticipating in 2013:

Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre – steampunk buddy-cop type story written by Ann Aguirre and her husband? I’ll have some of that.

Emilie and the Hollow World by Martha Wells – I tried Martha Wells thanks to recommendations here at Smugglivus from Kristen of Fantasy Cafe, and I am a fan now. Very excited to try out a YA from this author.

A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn – New Deanna Raybourn is reason enough, but also, “the story of Delilah Drummond, a scandalous flapper who journeys to Kenya in 1923 in search of adventure” — sounds good to me.

The Pirate’s Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke – Loved the first book, The Assassin’s Curse, cannot wait for the second book. This series has assassins and pirates in it. Nuf said.

Love Irresistibly by Julie James – I’m going to say the same thing I did last year here: I am not a romantic suspense kinda girl, but I will read Julie James’ romantic suspense.

Thank you for having me over Smugglers, and a Happy Smugglivus to all!

Thank you, Janice!

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15 Comments

  • Elaine
    December 15, 2012 at 12:45 am

    “Anyone with a best friend.”
    So, so true. After I read Code Name Verity I wanted to call my best friend and thank her for sticking with me all these years.

  • mclicious
    December 15, 2012 at 9:52 am

    Okay, after so many people raving about it, I think I finally need to read Unspoken!

  • Kristen
    December 15, 2012 at 11:22 am

    What is it about 2012? It wasn’t a great reading year for me for similar reasons with concentration, and I didn’t read nearly as many books as usual.

    Reading Ashes of Honor definitely inspired that “This is the best thing ever!” reaction. I kept stopping to tell my husband how awesome it was, and then I reread parts of it when reviewing it and did the same thing all over again!

    I really must get my copy of Seraphina off the shelf and read it. It sounds so good and the list of authors whose fans should read it contains authors I love!

    The series coming out from Martha Wells next year looks great. I’m so glad you also enjoyed her Raksura books! 🙂

  • Smugglivus 2012 | Janicu's Book Blog
    December 15, 2012 at 11:28 am

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  • Angie
    December 15, 2012 at 1:35 pm

    Lol. You said it. I love it when you say it.

    I resolve to make progress in the October Daye series in 2013. For you.

  • Liz
    December 15, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    I’m always happy to see more October Daye love. Ashes of Honor is my favorite entry in the series so far — I could not stop telling my friends about how happy this book made me.

    I can’t wait for the next Julie James! She does such a good job with banter between her characters.

    It definitely looks like I need to go read Seraphina.

  • Christina
    December 15, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    I agree with so many books on your list! Code Name Verity = LOVE. Ashes of Honor was also fantastic — the best Toby Daye book yet! Seraphina is already on the TBR list, but it looks like I should definitely bump it up. Bronze Gods looks great, and I have Love Irresistibly on my Amazon wishlist as we speak. 🙂

  • Lisa (starmetal oak)
    December 15, 2012 at 6:51 pm

    Great picks! I particularly can’t wait to read Seraphina. I have it on my reading pile; maybe I will get a chance over the holidays?

  • janicu
    December 15, 2012 at 8:54 pm

    @Elaine – Me too. 🙂

    @mclicious – I think you do too.

    @Kristen – I know, 2012 was not great with the concentration, but I think things will be less bad in 2013 for me. *crosses fingers*. YES, I need to get around to writing a review, but the last October Daye has caused a lot of fangirling in my house. Really the best one yet. Really. And I’m so glad I started reading Martha Wells – thank you for the rec on that one.

    @Angie Gasp – you will read more October Daye? This pleases me greatly.

    @Liz – Ashes of Honor made me ridiculously gleeful. Thank goodness I had another blogger to email about it. It was quite the exchange. Yup, it is the banter in the Julie James books that I love too.

    @Christina – 🙂 We have good taste.

    @Lisa – Yay! I hope you like it.

  • Chachic
    December 16, 2012 at 8:06 am

    Yay Janice! I’ve read three of the books in your list and felt pretty much the same way you did about them. I really want to read A Girl Like You because of your recommendation. I still haven’t fallen in love with Toby Daye but I’m still willing to give the series a try, I’m just not sure when I’ll get to read the third book. Can’t wait for Julie James’ next book as well.

  • janicu
    December 16, 2012 at 9:03 am

    @Chachic – It’s alright if you never fall in love with Toby Daye. After book 2 is usually the time, so I’m not sure if book 3 will tip you over. I’m just happy you gave the first couple a try. On the other hand, if you WANT to keep reading.. I am not adverse to this. 😉

  • Holly
    December 16, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    I really need to try The October Daye series, don’t I? I’m happy to see Unspoken on this list. It’s on mine too.

  • melissa @ 1lbr
    December 17, 2012 at 9:27 am

    Been meaning to read Seraphina anyway, but with those read-alike authors, it’s moved to top of my list! Yeah!

  • Anna Weber | Literary Strategist
    December 20, 2012 at 11:15 am

    First… I am jealous over the time you have to read – for pleasure – and write reviews! I love, however, that I am consumed with assisting authors with getting their works written, published and promoted so you can read them!

    Will keep checking here to pick up where I missed out! Happy Holidays. A

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