Top Ten Tuesday: You're Just My Type

As always, this feature is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! 

This week's category was really hard for me, but I succeeded in narrowing it down to ten books (though I may have cheated by making a series of book into "one" book). You can click on the titles to see my reviews!

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

This book has managed to top many of my lists for this year. It is just that amazing/brilliant/awesome and I love it so much! I recommend it to everyone (and try to shove it into people's faces when I find out they haven't read it yet). I fell in love with the dystopian world Veronica Roth created, as well as the characters of Four and Tris! My only problem when it came to this book? Learning I'd have to wait a while for the next installment in the series, Insurgent.

2. The Hunger Games // Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

This is probably my favorite series I discovered in 2011 - and just in time too, since the movie is coming out next year. I didn't want to read this one at first, since I thought I wouldn't enjoy dystopians or novels about children having to kill children in a mad Survivor-type game. But I was proven utterly wrong when I finally found time to crack open The Hunger Games - from the moment I finished the first chapter, I just had to know what happened next.

(You'll probably notice that I didn't include Mockingjay. Though I did read it quickly and find it as fast-paced and exciting as the other two, I didn't like it as much. Therefore, I didn't include it.)

3. The Lost Hero // Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

I'm a Riordan fan, and have been ever since my cousin Carmela introduced me to the Percy Jackson series. While I do recommend Percy Jackson and The Kane Chronicles, it is officially The Heroes of Olympus that has become my favorite series from him.  I enjoy the meld between the real world and Greek mythology, and I love all the characters I've gotten to meet so far in this new series (some old favorites and some entirely new ones). I cannot wait to see where this is going to lead!

4.  Secrets of a Summer Night // It Happened One Autumn // Devil in Winter // Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas

I don't remember exactly where or when I heard about this series, but I do know that I LOVE it. I'm a big fan of historical romances, and Lisa Kleypas came up with an interesting twist when she gave us the Wallflowers.  Their friendship is admirable, their heroes are swoon-worthy and it was just so easy to fall in love and devour these novels.  My special favorite is Devil in Winter, which most of you can understand if you've read all four novels.

5. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake // Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord // Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean

This is the second set of historical romances that I fell in love with this year. Sarah MacLean has a brilliant command of storytelling, romance, wit and humor. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the characters she'd created, as well as all the crazy adventures and shenanigans that occurred in her novels. I found myself laughing, crying, scolding and repeating the entire process over and over again. In the end, I always found myself satisfied and happy.  My special favorite of the series is Eleven Scandals.

6. Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett

This novel was an unexpected, but very sweet surprise. I had requested and received it via NetGalley (and it was probably one of the first that I had received approval for), and found myself reading it on my plane trip to Miami.  The story started off slow, but ended up becoming surprisingly gripping and interesting towards the middle.  I found myself rooting for the two main characters, and enjoying the way that the story was written.  I was extremely happy to be part of the blog tour for this one, as I really enjoyed it and want others to know about this great book!

7. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

This is another book I requested and received via NetGalley, and it blew me away! I read through it quickly and I really enjoyed it.  The timeline for the events in the book was pretty short, but I thought it lasted long enough to introduce an interesting set of characters, tell a great story and really just get the reader to fall in love with it all.  This book had me gushing and giddy after reading it, and I know a lot of my blogger friends agree!

8. Lola & The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

I haven't posted my official review for this book yet, but it will be going up by the end of this week. But if you were a fan of Anna and the French Kiss, then you'll definitely like this second novel! It tells a completely different story, one of this amazingly quirky character named Lola and a shy, endearing and nerdy boy who lives next door to her named Cricket.  The book took me on an emotional journey while I read it - I laughed, I cried, I swore, I pounded on the book, I punched a fist in the air in victory. 

9. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I haven't posted my official review for this book yet; it'll probably go up early in 2012.  I'm a huge Maggie Stiefvater fan though, and this book is another one of her fantastic creations. Maggie Stiefvater is an incredible writer. She manages to convey such crystal clear images with her words - and that talent makes itself clear in The Scorpio Races.

10. Eon/Eona by Alison Goodman

I haven't posted my official review for these books yet; it'll probably go up early in 2012. I can't believe I only discovered the greatness of these two novels now; they're brilliantly written, gripping and had me completely invested in the story and the characters.  I can't wait to gush about this one in my review (but hopefully do that coherently).

I loved so many other books too, but these are definitely my favorites of the year.

Since there were so many other books I considered including, see some honorable mentions below:

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

What are your favorite reads of 2011?