The Twelve Day of Christmas: 8 books that surprised me in 2011

Good morning everybody! I'm here today with a list of the eight books that surprised me the most in 2011, as day five of my Twelve Days of Christmas feature. As always, feel free to join in - just let me know so I can give you a shout out!

1. Unearthly - Cynthia Hand

This one was so much better than I expected! It was one of the first books I read on my Kindle and I'd convinced myself it was going to be nothing more than a run of the mill paranormal romance that I wouldn't enjoy. Well, I was seriously wrong about that. I loved everything about Unearthly and already have Hallowed pre-ordered!


2. Divergent - Veronica Roth

I was so sure that I wasn't going to enjoy Divergent so I avoided it for the best part of 2011. From what I'd heard about it I'd decided it was a Hunger Games rip off that I definitely wasn't going to like. I know, how wrong was I? After the lovely Jesse at Books4Teens sent me a spare copy I dove in and realised the error of my ways!


3. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

Confession: the first time I tried to read The Knife of Never Letting Go I ended up putting it down after about 100 pages. Why? I have absolutely no frigging idea. I just didn't quite get into the story. Madness, I know. I tried it again a few months later and was addicted - I flew through the series and am now and converted Patrick Ness fan girl. How did it take me so long to see the light?!


4. Beautiful Malice - Rebecca James

For reasons completely unknown I was so sure this one was about vampires and, as such, had avoided it for a while. I picked up a copy a long time ago but left it sitting on my shelf until the lovely Vicki from Heaven, Hell and Purgatory told me I'd love it if I liked Choker (which I did, big time). Thankfully, I took Vicki's advice and gave it a go. I'm so pleased I did and I seriously loved this book. It's contemporary, it's a little edgy and it's ever so screwed up - perfect!


5. The Goddess Test - Aimee Carter

I had massively high hopes for The Goddess Test and was sure I would love it. Unfortunately I didn't, at all. The story really let me down and I just couldn't connect with any of the characters.


6. Very LeFreak - Rachel Cohn

Oh, Very LeFreak... I'd been desperate to read this one since it first came out and I finally cracked and ordered it in from the US. However, I was completely disappointed and really, really didn't enjoy it, which is such a shame as I think it has so much potential. Boo.


7. The Long Weekend - Savita Kalhan

Wow - this one came completely out of nowhere and instantly became one of my most memorable books of the year, for all the right reasons. It's shocking, it'll twist your heart with every page and it's absolutely unmissable.


8. Vicious Little Darlings - Katherine Easer

I was so sure this one was about werewolves and that made me reluctant to try it. I'm still not sure why, I guess because there's a moon on the front cover. However, it's actually a wicked little contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

*

So which books surprised you (for good or bad reasons) in 2011? Let me know!