Book Blitzes/Promo Posts

Samantha Durante’s Top Books of 2012!

Please welcome Samantha Durante! She’s the author of Stitch, which I reviewed last month. Now she’s on a blog tour, promoting her book and sharing some awesome facts about herself with all of you! Plus she brought along a wonderful giveaway.

So please enjoy the post below and don’t forget to comment!





Samantha’s Top Books of 2012

Hi everyone!
Today I wanted to share with you a list of the best books I’ve read this year. Except… I have a confession to make. Given my schedule writing Stitch, planning my wedding, managing my business, and tending to a very demanding TV schedule (I’m sure you don’t want to miss an episode of Vampire Diaries, either!), I have not made as much time to read this year as I normally would.
I did go on a reading binge for about two weeks after I finished the first draft of Stitch, to catch up on YA sci-fi/fantasy that had come out in the past couple years (while trying to forget my own book so that I could come back to revise it with fresh eyes). And during that binge, I read A LOT of fantastic stuff – Divergent, Delirium, The Maze Runner, Shiver, Graceling, City of Bones, Uglies, Unwind. But you guys have probably read all that already, right?
So instead of writing about the best books I’ve read this year, I decided I would share some of the selections from my to-be-read list that I’m most looking forward to, since that list included more recent releases which you may not have gotten to yet. So here goes! My top 15 most anticipated books right now:

1. Here (On the Otherside #1) by Denise Grover Swank. This was mentioned in one of the reviews about Stitch and it sounded like it had a similar twist (which means, of course, that it would be right up my alley). AND it’s by an indie author like me! Gotta give props to indie authors!

2. Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park. This is a contemporary YA novel, again by an independent author, and it’s getting rave reviews. Plus, I emailed Jessica Park when I was first starting to plan my blog tour and she was kind enough to email me back right away with some advice, so she’s awesome and I couldn’t wait to support her!


3-6. SEQUEL MANIA: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, Insurgent by Veronica Roth, Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. Following up on my reading binge earlier this year, these are the sequels that I’ve already loaded on my Kindle and am dying to read.

7-9. The Fifty Shades series by E. L. James. Why? Because everyone needs a little smutty romance sometimes.

10-12. Congo, Sphere, and The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. I’m a HUGE fan of Jurassic Park, so my fiancé’s brother got me these three as a birthday gift and I’m looking forward to finally cracking them open. I particularly love how well-researched and believable Crichton makes his science fiction (I still don’t understand why scientists can’t just engineer dinosaurs like they do in Jurassic Park!), so I’m looking forward to seeing how he works his magic in these other stories.

13. Frost (The Frost Chronicles #1) by Kate Avery Ellison. First off, THAT COVER! It’s gorgeous, and I can’t help myself, I’m a sucker for a pretty cover. Plus, I saw this one recommended on a lot of blogs that are on the Stitch tour. Sounded to me like a mix of the beyond-the-wall aspect of Game of Thrones plus maybe something like the twist from M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, which to me would make for a pretty solid story.





14. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer. Again, gorgeous cover, I’ve been seeing it everywhere, and I want it.












15. Pure (Pure #1) by Julianna Baggott. This is another one where the cover grabbed me after seeing it all over blogs, plus I love a good post-apocalyptic/dystopian story and this one seemed to fit the bill. 

And that’s my top 15 TBR! I’d love to know what other people are eager to read, so if you guys have any suggestions, leave them in the comments! And thanks again to Jessica for hosting Stitch!
**********

Looking forward to reading Stitch? Lucky for you, there are 3 copies up for grabs! Giveaway is linked below! To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway