Smugglivus 2010 Guest Blogger: Angie of Angieville

Welcome to Smugglivus 2010: Day 37

Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors, bloggers and publishers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2010, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2011.

Who: The Wonderful Angie of Angieville: blogging friend, book pusher, the one responsible for many of our book-discoveries and all together nice person.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you the fabulous Angie!

So great to be back for Smugglivus this year! It seems to get bigger and better every time and I’m tickled to be part of the incredible lineup. It’s been a hectic end of the year, but it would be the same without a little celebration of the most awesome books, characters, and covers of the year. As has become my wont, I’ve put together my little list of awards and am giving them out to my favorites of 2010:

Best Performance by a Heroine in a Recurring Role: Kate Daniels for Magic Bleeds and Mercy Thompson for Silver Borne

Had to go with a tie here, guys, because I honestly can’t choose between them. They both kicked some serious tail this year in their respective books. Saving themselves, taking guns to fistfights, holding off shape shifter packs singlehandedly, and charming the pants off their respective territorial mates. Quite simply, they rock and I can’t get enough of them.

Best Character Transformation: Peeta for Mockingjay

Because apparently it took Evil Peeta for me to get on board. I’m dead serious. The boy with the bread won me over the minute he went for her throat.

Best Debut Performance by a Heroine in a Leading Role: Lennie for The Sky is Everywhere

Because she gets dealt a truly lousy hand in life and fumbles everything so badly you’re not sure she’ll ever resurface. And then. Somehow. She survives. She chooses hope, and life, and Joe Fontaine. Good choice, girl.

Best Kiss: Alan and Mae for The Demon’s Covenant

I don’t even want them to end up together and this kiss still tops my list no question! It’s to do with the glasses, methinks. And the gun. And all that pent-up bookish longing. Mm-hm.

Best Debut Performance by a Hero in a Ridiculously Charming Role: Étienne St. Clair for Anna and the French Kiss

Is it just me or did it seem like this was the year of the Nice Guys? Well, this nice guy tops my list. With the accent, the ugly knit hat, and the way he falls in love with our Anna.

Best Retelling: Jane by April Lindner

Note-perfect modern retelling of Jane Eyre, featuring Mr. Rochester as a rock star. It lived up to every expectation I had. And then some.

Best Performance by an Antihero in a Tall, Dark, and Brooding Role: Irial for “Stopping Time”

I may have a wee bit of a problem when it comes to the former Dark Lord. My love for Irial (and Niall) is deep and wide and full of shadows. If you haven’t checked out this gem of a short story in the Wicked Lovely verse, now is the time.

Best Villain: Erra for Magic Bleeds

The woman trails plagues and pestilence in her wake. She’s older than Babylon and twice as powerful and her sole purpose in life is to destroy her own niece. Not your average Auntie. Watching her spar with Kate was fraught with tension and awesome.

Best Performance by a Hero in a Recurring Role: Nicholas Brisbane for Dark Road to Darjeeling

I can’t help myself with this one. This 19th century private inquiry agent does things to me. He’s the real deal and I love watching him grind his teeth at Julia and love her all in a single breath.

Best Series Finale: Suzanne Collins for Mockingjay

Because it had people clapping and howling, weeping and gnashing their teeth. In short, they were engaging with the story in visceral ways. As for me, I loved it. It came through for me in every way that mattered. And I was Team Gale, so that is saying something. Bravo!

Best Packaging: Poppy for Jane

I simply had to own my own finished copy the day it came out. With the bold pink lettering and the misty moors and the deckled edge pages. So pretty. So pretty on my shelf.

Best Author Pimping: My friend Michelle from See Michelle Read for slapping a copy of Garden Spells in my hand and kick starting my love affair with all things Sarah Addison Allen. Three books down and I am absolutely charmed with her sweet brand of magical realism. Every one of her books is a perfect comfort read.

And last but not least . . .

My 2010 Must Be Mine List is long and enticing.

Here are my top ten most anticipated titles (in order of publication):

Warped by Maurissa Guibord

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Entwined by Heather Dixon

The Demon’s Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

Nightspell by Leah Cypess

A companion novel to this year’s Mistwood, this one is set in the same world but follows a girl who enters a land of ghosts to save her younger sister.

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

Graveminder by Melissa Marr