Aussie YA Secret Santa Blog Hop

Christmas presents under a tree

Aussie YA Bloggers Secret Santa Blog Hop
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This year I’ve joined in on an awesome Secret Santa and blog hop run by Aussie YA Bloggers. I’m super exicted to be included because, well…who doesn’t like recieving books in the mail! Plus, there’s the wrapping and I looooove wrapping things.

What are your top 5 favourite books this year?

A lot of what I read this year falls under the category of ‘brain candy’, but there were a few standout reads.

  1. Magic Bites by Illona Andrews was fantastic. I started off reading expecting an bog standard urban fantasy and was delighted when it turned out to be anything but.
  2. Starship’s Mage by Glynn Stewart. I loved the way Stewart blended magic and real world physics that make a future world that almost seemed possible.
  3. Dead in the Water by Hailey Edwards is another urban fantasy that surprised me. It wasn’t all about the romance, which was refreshing, and it was really well written.
  4. Grave Visions by Kalayna Price. I was hanging out for this book for three years and I was not disappointed! It’s one of the few series I read as ebooks but would consider getting the paperbacks as well, just because.
  5. The Mayfair Moon by JA Redmerski. I finally got to read this one! It wasn’t available for about a year while it Redmerski was having it reedited and for all of that time I haunted Amazon, checking to see when it would be available again.

What are your top 5 favourite Aussie YA books this year?

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I didn’t read a lot of Australian fiction this year, although what I did read was great and it was YA.

  1. UnEarthed by Rebecca Bloomer is a sci-fi set on Mars. It’s great and has a nice twist on the typical teen romance. My only niggle is that it’s too short! I want more.
  2. Asena Blessed by Tracy M Joyce. Awesome epic fantasy with wolves, magic and women who kick butt. ‘Nuff said.

How did you go with your Goodreads challenge?

Not so well. This year I upped my goal to 70 books, which, a few years ago wouldn’t have been a problem, but ever since I started writing full-time I just don’t read as much. This year, I’ll be lucky to read 60.

What is your favourite blogging moment of 2016?

My antiheroine interview series! I love antiheroines (heroines who subvert the traits of the classic hero) and I just don’t think that there are enough of them out there. Sure, we have a heap of antiheroes such as Sherlock, Ironman and Han Solo, but you have to search harder for their female counterparts.

Interviewing other authors about why they’ve chosen to write antiheroines, what makes a good one and how they contribute to the reading culture was a lot of fun.

What are your blogging goals for 2017?

To blog more consistently. I’m planning on doing more interviews with authors and readers about select topics, such as what makes a strong female character, racial diversity in fiction and representations of the disabled. Really, any topic that I think we can learn something new about.

What books are you looking forward to in 2017?

  1. Grave Ransom by Kalayna Price
  2. The Aztlanian by Brandon Sanderson
  3. The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams

What is your favourite thing about the Aussie YA community?

Everyone is so friendly that I don’t feel weird about taking part in events even though I’m not a dedicated blogger (yet  I’m working on it). Plus, any community that runs a Secret Santa has to be awesome!

Leave 3 clues for your santee below!

  1. You thumped your Goodreads challenge twice over
  2. Your Goodreads shelves have funny, descriptive titles
  3. Your pet’s name rhymes with ‘jaw’

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog hop!



Featured image courtesy of SimplyPanda. Used with a Creative Commons license.

4 thoughts on “Aussie YA Secret Santa Blog Hop

  1. Oooh I love your blog design – anything that features space has been mesmerised 😀 I think you did a great job on your GRs reading challenge, despite the challenges of writing full time! Hopefully you can meet your 2017 goals 🙂

    Thanks for joining in on SS this year – hope you had fun! x

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