Books I Loved, But Did Not Review

Recently, I managed to read some books which I really liked but couldn't review. Since they were novels I enjoyed alot, I thought it'd be good to share a few of them with you, just in case you were looking for some new books to read!

1. Anna Dressed In Blood (Anna, #1) by Kendare Blake

 
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

This book might sound gory and creepy-and it is! But don't let that put you off, because I'm a scaredy-cat myself and I still managed to enjoy Anna Dressed In Blood. I was a bit hesitant when I saw that it was written from a male's POV, but Cas was really a likeable and decent protagonist. If you're looking for something unique, pick up this book ASAP-do not get scared off by the cover!

2. All These Things I've Done (Birthright, #1) by Gabrielle Zevin

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family. Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I've Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and the fantastic.

All These Things I've Done is definitely one of my favourite dystopian novels so far, and I'm looking forward to reading its sequel. Anya was a tough heroine who impressed me with her loyalty and grit! I like how it doesn't show a drastically different society that is difficult to imagine, but rather, a believable and realistic future world. I can't think of life without chocolate, but one can actually foresee crime rates rising.

3. Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention
Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling...

When you first read the blurb, Shut Out might seem overly-centered on sex. But fortunately, it turned out to be alot sweeter and alot less preachy that I'd imagined! I really, really enjoyed the romance between Lissa and Cash, who has to be the most perfect guy ever (sigh...) Overall, I think I liked this much more than The DUFF, Kody Keplinger's debut novel, and I'm waiting excitedly for what she'll bring to us in future.

4. Supernaturally (Paranormalcy, #2) by Kiersten White

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees. But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.
So much for normal.


I LOVED Paranormalcy, so I was already anticipating Supernaturally like crazy! It wasn't as good as the first book, but then again, few sequels are. I like how the story didn't feel like a "filler", which is what many second-books-in-a-trilogy can sometimes come across as. If you haven't read Paranormalcy, you need to start now :) The third book in the series already has a gorgeous cover!

Other notable mentions:

5. Half-Blood (Covenant, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
6. Hunting Lila (Lila, #1) by Sarah Alderson (I actually read this a long time ago. Loved it!)