Top Books of 2009

I was going to list my Top 10 Books of 2009 but everytime I finished, I'd think of another book I loved. Plus, it was really hard for me to decide which books I liked better to put them in order - the only two I was positive about was my Top 2. So, I'm going to list my Top 2 books with a bunch of honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R.J. Anderson

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

After the Moment by Garrett Freymann-Weyr

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick



My Second Favorite Book of 2009:

Willow by Julia Hoban
Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year- old Willow’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy —one sensitive, soulful boy—discovers Willow’s secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the “safe” world Willow has created for herself upside down.
Told in an extraordinary fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl’s struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy’s refusal to give up on her.



And, drumroll please, my favorite book of 2009 and possibly of all-time is....

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert
Kara hasn't been back to Oak Park since the end of junior year, when a heroin overdose nearly killed her and sirens heralded her exit. Four years later, she returns to face the music. Her life changed forever back in high school: her family disintegrated, she ran around with a whole new crowd of friends, she partied a little too hard, and she fell in love with gorgeous bad-boy Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park....
Amid the music, the booze, the drugs, and the drama, her friends filled a notebook with heartbreakingly honest confessions of the moments that defined and shattered their young lives. Now, finally, Kara is ready to write her own.

AOM Contest: The Dark Divine Swag

To celebrate the last few days of having Bree Despain as Author of the Month, we're holding the very first contest here on Blogger.

Since it seems like everyone has a copy of The Dark Divine already, I've decided to switch things up and offer up some Dark Divine Swag!

Each winner will receive 5 Dark Divine stickers, 5 Dark Divine bookmarks, and 1 bottle of Dark Divine nailpolish.

The number of winners will be determined by how many people enter but there will be at least 2 winners.

To enter:

+1 leave a comment on this post with your email
+1 for already being a follower
+1 for commenting on the guest blog

This will be a quick contest so be sure to enter by January 1st.
+1 for commenting on my review

Stats and Review Policy

I began Harmony Book Reviews on Wordpress on January 21st, 2008. I blogged there until I switched to blogger at the end of 2009. On Wordpress, I averaged 152 hits a day, with 385 hits a day being my highest. I made 438 posts which received over 3,500 comments. I also had approximately 165 followers via Google Reader.

As of January 2011, I have 211 followers via Google Reader and 216 followers on the blog.

Review Policy:

Please note I ONLY review YA and picture books, as well as the occassional MG.

If you’re interested in having me review your book, please send an email to harmonybookreviews[at]yahoo[dot]com with the summary and any other information you feel I should have. I will look into the book and if it’s something that catches my interest, I will reply back with my address. However, I do NOT guarantee a review.

Once I recieve the book, it will go onto my shelf, which is organized by month of release date. I attempt to read every book during it’s release month but I do have a life outside of this blog and sometimes it keeps me very busy.

When I do get around reading a book, I go by the fifty-page rule. If I’m not hooked by page 50, I put the book down and move onto another. That means, of course, that there will be no review for that book.

Interviews, Guestblogs, Etc.

Besides reviews, I am also happy to host interview, guest blogs, and contests for an author. However, I will only do this when I also have the book to review. I don’t want to promote a book I don’t like.

If there is anything else that the author would like to do, I am generally happy to help.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: harmonybookreviews[at]yahoo[dot]com.

New blog!

I've finally made the switch from my old Wordpress to this blogger. I'm still working on getting everything set up but I do have a lot of contests and posts coming so be sure to follow now!