Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Favorite Beginnings/Endings in Books

Best Beginnings:

1. Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1), by Richelle Mead -  The first time Rose sees Dimitri out the window of her apartment - at the time, just a dark, very tall shadow - she's really scared of him. When she meets him on the street a little while later, she tries to fight him. Stupid, but brave, is what Dimitri says. Even this early on in the series, you can tell that there is some sort of connection between Rose and Dimitri.

2. Apollyon (Covenant Series #4), by Jennifer L. Armentrout - After the crazy cliffhanger at the end of Deity (Covenant Series #3) and the events of the novella Elixir (Covenant Series #3.5), I don't think I've ever been more excited to get my hands on a book. And, it did not disappoint. The first 50 pages were explosive and exciting and oh so emotional. I loved every single word.

3. Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1), by Susan Dennard - I had no idea that Something Strange and Deadly had zombies in it. I picked it up because it was steampunk, which I love. Then, I cracked open the cover and read the first two sentences:  "Dead!" a woman screamed. "It's the Dead!" You had me at Dead.

4. Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1), by Jeaniene Frost - I approach most urban fantasy novels with an amount of trepidation. I've found that I either love them or hate them. It became apparent from the very beginning of Halfway to the Grave, that I was going to LOVE this book. I mean, it begins with our heroine dressed to the nines scoping out the bar she's in for a vampire - any vampire - that she can kill. Finally, her eyes light on... Bones. She walks up to him and utters the fateful words that started an epic love story:  "Want to fuck?" Poetry, my friends. Pure poetry.

Epic Endings:

5. Opal (Lux #3), by Jennifer L. Armentrout - After the ARCs hit the blogosphere, I kept hearing about the nutso cliffhanger at the end Opal. I mean, fans were going into orbit, saying they were gutted and lying in heaps of weeping goo at what happened at the end. To a point, they were right. It was a great cliffhanger. And it has been really hard, long wait.But, honestly, the cliffhanger is what made Opal great. So, while some bemoaned Jennifer Armentrout for shredding them, I applaud her for writing an incredible ending to a great book.

6. Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices #3), by Cassandra Clare - I don't think I've ever cried more while reading a book then I did when I read Clockwork Princess. This was the final book in the Infernal Devices series, and was full of awesome. It was also full of many poignant moments and some really hard goodbyes. I cannot imagine a better end to this series than the one that Clare presented us with as we wrapped up the stories of Tessa, Will and Jem.

7. Walking Disaster (Beautiful Disaster #2), by Jamie McGuire - Say what you will about Jamie McGuire's tale of Travis and Abby - it certainly was epic. I didn't even know how much I wanted more after I reached the end of Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful Disaster #1) until I got it at the end of Walking Disaster. If their getting together was good, and their wedding was satisfying, the epilogue at the end of Walking Disaster was the absolute icing on this amazing cake. Seeing Travis in that role was the best part of this story.

8. Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades of Gray #3), by E. L. James - While we're on the subject of kick ass epilogues, my list can't be complete without mentioning the ending of Christian and Ana's story. This couple went through so much to be together. They endured potential compatibility issues, evil exes, damaging pasts - so many factors that should've driven them apart permanently. The epilogue, however, proves that anything can be overcome if you want to badly enough.

9. Off Limits (Off Series #2), by Sawyer Bennett - Off Limits was one of the best new adult books I've read this year. Nix was just such an incredible character. And Emily was everything I'm looking for in a heroine. Their story was engrossing and captivating. As is usually the case, at a point in the story, they split up due to misunderstandings and good intentions and stupid decisions. Which made the inevitable reunion that much sweeter. And, that ending - oh my. There's just something about a big, strong hardened war hero becoming soft at the thought of the girl he loves having his baby. Butter. I was like melted butter all over the floor.

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7), by J. K. Rowling - It was a long journey to get Harry to his final showdown with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. But, wow - what a showdown it was. The final battle, not just between Harry and Voldemort, but between all the good guys and the bad guys, was nothing short of epic. Once Harry faked his death, I was riveted to my book and absolutely could not put it down. Down to the last words which took us many years into Harry's future, this book put an exclamation point on his whole story and left me with a book hangover like none other.