Top 5 Favorite Books of 2015

As this year is coming to a close I am faced with yet again another difficult challenge; choosing my top 5 favorite books of the year. To be entirely honest, this was slightly easier this year than last because I am sad to say that I have read a lot of disappointing books in the year of 2015. With that said here are some great books that I've read:

5. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows moved around a lot on my list but eventually made #5. If you didn't already know, or if you're living under a rock, Queen of Shadows is book #4 in the Throne of Glass series. I've only just started reading this series in the beginning of the year, but it has already become one of my prime favorites in young adult fantasy. If you're looking for assassins, kick-ass heroine, sass, adventure, magic, and intricate world building then Throne of Glass is definitely for you. For such a large book I was able to fly through Queen of Shadows for the fast pace and also the familiarity. The only reason that it wasn't higher on the list, was because some of the relationships seem to develop rather, quickly which I found rather disconcerting.

4. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

You're probably wondering why this isn't higher on my list and I debated with that too. I adored Mistborn with every fiber of my soul. Brandon Sanderson paints a grim ashen landscape in which lives a street urchin named Vin, who realizes she is a Misborn, a person who when consumes various amounts of metals can exhibit various types of powers. This book is definitely an epic fantasy adventure. I love the magic system of allomancy, the cast of characters, the fight scenes that give me so much anxiety. Brandon Sanderson is a master storyteller and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up the rest of his many novels. I already have started The Well of Ascension, which is book #2 in The Final Empire trilogy and I already can tell it's going to be one of my favorites of 2016 once I get back to it.

3. The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

*Gasps at self as to why this isn't at the top of my list*

Choosing a top 5 is hard. The Mime Order comes in at #3. Why am I beginning to sound like an award show host. Anyways, if you follow me on Instagram you already know how much I am in love with this series. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, which is book #1 of what is to be a 7 book series, was one of my top reads last year. So much so that I even reread it this year before The Mime Order released. I was beyond excited to finally get this book in my hands. If you don't know what The Bone Season is about, it's honestly nothing like you've ever read before. Set in 2059 alternate London, our main character Paige Mahoney works in crime underworld for clairvoyants. Clairvoyancy has been outlawed and Paige could be killed if her ability as a Dreamwalker is ever discovered. One night she  makes a mistake and ends up kidnapped and where she is taken she soon discovers that her world was more complex than she ever imagined. The Bone Season was such a thrilling read, it was unique, though a little slow in the beginning to get you use to the world and new terms, it soon picks up the pace. The Mime Order was such a fantastic continuation of the developing events of The Bone Season. You definitely get to see Paige grow more as character and see her truly harness her abilities. Samantha Shannon really does a fantastic job of fleshing out her characters and also keeping the world building grounded. Even sitting here now I can still vividly remember the intensity of the Danse Macabre chapter, which is one my most favorite and anxiety inducing book scenes I've read all year.

2. Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Again if you follow my Instagram it comes at no surprise that this is #2 on my list. The Diviners by Libba Bray is honestly my favorite book of all time. Libba Bray is such an incredible writer. I also read Going Bovine by her this year and truly enjoyed that story as well. For those that don't know, The Diviners is about Evie O'Neill who is a diviner, her ability being that she can read objects which is to say that she can hold an object of a person and see past memories of that person and said object. This of course lands her into trouble and her parents send her away to New York City to go live with her uncle who owns an occult museum. A string a ritualistic murders begin happening around the city and the police seek out her uncle for help and Evie believes that her power can help catch the killer. There's so much more to this story, but with a dazzling and eerie setting of NYC in the 1920s, Libba Bray paints such a realistic atmosphere of not only the glitz but the truly ugly side of the 20s. Lair of Dreams is a continuation of all that and I was not disappointed even when the release date kept being pushed back. The strongest thing to this story are her characters; Evie, Sam, Jericho, Memphis, Theta, Ling, and Mabel are just characters that you can't help, but care for. I feel as if I know and can identify with these characters. Lair of Dreams still had that definite creep factor just as its predecessor, but there is just so much character development and growth in this book. You meet new characters, get more insight on old ones and just love it all the way. Strongly urge you to pick up The Diviners sometime soon. Definitely want to explore her other books in the near future.

1. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Favorite book of the year, and one of my favorite books of life. A Little Life mainly focuses on Jude St. Francis, the quiet and mysterious one out of his three friends. It catalogs their life from college well into late adulthood as Yanagihara showcases the trials and tribulations that Jude undergoes as he tries to come to terms with the severe abuse he received as a child. I posted a full review here so you can know my full thoughts, but this is a book that brought me great pain and joy. Just an overall heartbreaking and impactful story that will stay with me for quite sometime. All I can say is to just read it. And get ready to cry a lot.

Honorable Mentions

Here are books that I also really enjoyed, but didn't make it into my top 5 list. In no particular order.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

This is most likely my #6 choice. Finally got around to reading all the Raven Cycle books this year and truly enjoyed them, which I was surprised because I absolutely hated The Shiver trilogy by this author. I love Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah and all their friendships and ley lines adventures make me somewhat nostalgic and I wish I could jump inside this book and be apart of that magic.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

This year I reread Cinder this year I can finally continue on with this series. I managed to continue on with Scarlet, Cress, and then the novella Fairest and really loved them all. Still have yet to read Winter. If you're looking for scifi, adventure, funny and lovable characters then you should definitely give this series a try.

The Winner's Curse & The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Reread The Winner's Curse this year so I could finally get around to The Winner's Crime because I have previous forgotten almost everything. Utterly in love with these books, I'm not even big on books that mainly focus on romance, but I can't help but love Arin and Kestrel and root for them the whole way through. The Winner's Curse is about Kestrel, the general's daughter, who one day purchases a slave, Arin at an auction. The more Kestrel begins to spend time around him, the more she begins to fall for him, unbeknownst to her that he harbors a secret, one that can change the course of her life forever. I'm beyond thrilled for The Winner's Kiss to release. Even more thrilled that they decided to keep the hardcover to match the originals. The Winner's Crime was even better than the first. I just wished that these books would have been longer because some of the scenes do seem to happen very quickly.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Another Libba Bray book what a shocker. Even though this won the Printz Award I feel as if this definitely is her most underrated book in the shadow of The Diviners, The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, and Beauty Queens. This book is definite whimsical and wacky and truly played on my mind when I read it. 16 year old Cameron discovers he has mad cow disease, which is a spongy deformation of the brain and spinal cord which causes ataxia, hallucinations, memory loss and eventually death. While in the hospital Cameron gets visited by a punk angel, who he thinks is a hallucination, who then tells him that there is a cure if he looks for it. He then sets off on a adventure with his dwarf friend, a talking lawn-gnome and vague ideas of where to find this cure. This book is definitely weird, trust me it got really weird at times, but I strangely loved it. Libba Bray is such a gifted storyteller and I love the way she can mix so much humor with tragedy and despair of a teenage boy who is just trying to find himself. Would of course recommend Going Bovine, if you're in the mood for a great road trip book.

So many new releases of my favorite books in 2016. Looking forward to a new reading year and to progress forward in these various series. Wishing you a fantastic 2016 reading year.

Top 5 Wednesday: Books You're Thankful For

In accordance to tomorrow being Thanksgiving, this Top 5 Wednesday is all about books you're thankful for. I have to admit that this took a bit of deliberating as I'm thankful for all the books I've read, whether I love it or hate because they all teach me something in end. Here's what made the list:

5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments, as cheesy as it sounds, is a series dear to my heart. I remember picking up City of Bones my freshmen year of high-school. A usual awkward transition was even made more so by my heightened social anxiety and overall awkwardness. I found solace in the school library and decided to pick this up do to the buzz around the movie. I immediately fell in love with Cassandra Clare's Shadow World. Her humor is like none other, and I felt a strong connection to these characters, even more so in the Infernal Devices. Even though some of the TMI characters aren't my favorite in the world this fandom is one of my favorites.

4.  I Am The Messenger & The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Yes, I know this is going to be more than 5, but I couldn't choose between these books because I am thankful for both of them. I Am The Messenger is a usually underrated book in the shadow of The Book Thief, but I read this one first. I Am The Messenger is the story of an underage cabdriver, Ed Kennedy, who when accidentally stops a bank robbery, begins to receive mysterious playing cards, one by one in the mail. Ed Kennedy is now the messenger, chosen to to help those in his town who are in need or hurting. This book went beyond my expectations, it taught me a lot about human kindness, selfishness, and moral ambiguity. Even years later this story still stays with me. Also The Book Thief, which I proclaim to be a modern classic. This book is told through the unique point of view of Death, who catalogs the life of Liesel Meminger, aka The Book Thief, as she lives with her foster parents in Nazi Germany, and soon harbors a Jew in their basement. This book no doubt made me cry, probably the most I cried during a book. Markus Zusak has such a distinct way of writing that entrances you, even when Death foreshadows events to happen later on in the book, I still found myself shocked when they happened. This is a definitive must read for everyone. I don't care how old or what genre you prefer, this definitely must make it on everyone's shelves.

3. Mistwood by Leah Cypress

Another book that I'm extremely thankful for. Mistwood by Leah Cypress is a very underrated book. This is a standalone fantasy novel that follows Isabel, an immortal Shifter who transform into animal form, wind, or mist. She is bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna, and when all is well she retreats to the Mistwood. It isn't until the Prince comes into the forest in search of her protection, only to find that she remembers nothing about her role. I cannot recall much else from his book due to the fact that I read this over five years ago. This was the first fantasy book I've ever read, which ended up happening because I stumbled upon the cover in the library and really loved it. Mistwood really was the gateway to discovering my love of fantasy books. The whole air of magic has always captivated me since then and is why fantasy still remains my favorite genre til this day. I definitely recommend you give this book a try. There is also a companion book to this called Nightspell, but focuses on another character.

2. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

It wouldn't be proper to not mention this book. I was always an avid reader before Twilight, but at that time I was mostly reading middle grade, classics, and the occasional literary book. Twilight opened the door of young-adult to me, a genre I never really knew existed before. I still could remember checking these out from my school library and binge reading them during class. (Many times the teacher would take the book from me until the end of class and one time I got detention.) Now that I'm older I know its not the most well-written book out there, and I was never really fond of the characters to begin with, but Twilight really has made Young-Adult what it is today, and I applaud that. Forever thankful for this book and Stephanie Meyer.

1. D.W. The Picky Eater by Marc Brown

No doubt in my mind that this book would reign as the #1 book that I'm thankful for. This is the book that started it all, the first book I've ever read. I was almost four when my kindergarten teacher took our whole class to the school library. I've never been in  library before so I was immediately bewitched by the amount of shelves and books inside. The librarian pointed me towards a shelf filled with Marc Brown books and I randomly choose this one and it was the greatest moment of my life. I could remember relating to D.W. so easily since I too was a picky eater as a child. When I went back to the library I was starving for more. I began to check out two Marc Brown books at a time and soon read all the Arthur books on the shelf by him at least 3 times each. I was hooked. Marc Brown has great way of telling the mostly simplistic stories with beautiful illustrations. Even after I began watching the Arthur Show on TV I was still fascinated by these books. I honestly don't know where I would be had I not read this book. After this I was always in the library looking for something to read. This is why I always have immense amount of respect for libraries and librarians for helping me find solace in something I've never read before. Many people's first love was Harry Potter, but mine were Marc Brown's Arthur books and I will be forever indebted to him.

I hope you're all having a great Thanksgiving and stay safe over this holiday weekend. Happy Reading! 

Top 5 Wednesday: Books That Feature Traveling

Another day, another Wednesday. This weeks topic of Top 5 Wednesday is: Books That Feature Traveling. Truth be told that I had a hard time choosing 5 books because many of the books I read take place in one general area. But nonetheless, I found some that I really enjoyed. Let's get right into this.

5. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead is by far my favorite Vampire Academy book and that is all because of where it takes place; Russia. I loved that we got to take a break from St. Vladimir's for awhile and go into the outside world. Mead's descriptions in this book are so vivid and beautiful that at times I felt that I was in Russia right alongside Rose. I think the traveling aspect of this book is so important because Rose ends up meeting some new characters along the way that really impact her life, and afterwards the entire trip changes her as a person. I wasn't too keen on this book series in the beginning, because Lissa was a really annoying character throughout, but the entertaining dialogue, and Rose's sassy narration made this series highly addicting.

4. Heist Society by Ally Carter

If I didn't have so many awesome choices, then Heist Society by Ally Carter wold have made the top of my list. For those of you who do not know, Heist Society in simple terms is Ocean's Eleven for teens. This book follows fifth-teen year old Kat Bishop, who grew up in a family of con-men and thieves. In the beginning of the novel she gets kicked out of the boarding school that she conned her way into. Her friend Hale, tells her that her father, has been accused of stealing a painting of a powerful mobster, who wants it returned in a matter of weeks. Kat, who wants to clear her father's name assembly's a crew to steal back the painting they believe has been hidden somewhere; in one of the most secure museum in the world.

This books has espionage, humor, family matters, and the romance isn't shoved in your face as the case in many YA books. I definitely recommend this trilogy to everyone, it is highly underrated but wonderfully entertaining.

3. Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Another underrated book that I absolutely love. I kid you not Libba Bray cannot write a bad book. For those of you who haven't heard of this book Going Bovine is about 15 year-old Cameron who just wants to get through high-school, but then gets diagnosed with mad-cow disease, and knows he is going to die. He is then visited by a punk-rock angel, who tells him there is a cure if he's willing to search for it. Cameron then sets off on a road-trip with a talking garden gnome, dwarf friend and insanity ensues. Let me be the first to tell you that this book is quite weird, but there is so much humor and depth into this novel. I loved the road-trip aspect of this book immensely, because it was entirely different from anything I read before. Half the time you're figuring out whether certain scenes or real or part of Cameron's hallucinations and that's only half the fun. I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for some humor, but also a bit of depth and reality.

2. Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Many times I hear of people talking about Gayle's first novel If I Stay, but rarely this one. In my opinion Just One Day is leagues ahead of If I Stay. This novel follows Allison Healy who lives a pretty structured life, that is until she agrees upon visiting Paris for just one day, with the free-spirited Willem, who she just met on her trip abroad. A large portion of this novel centers around that just one day in Paris and boy did this book blow my mind away. I wasn't a huge fan of Willem's character, but I was of Allison's. The way Gayle Forman forms her character arc was absolutely beautiful. I loved the descriptions of Paris, and everyday life in a city where most people focus on the tourist attractions. This books is not only about love, and travel, but also about finding yourself and this book left me so inspired. I still need to pick up the companion novel, Just One Year, but really looking forward to it.

1. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

And finally my number one pick, and a book that holds a very special place in my heart, The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan. Actually I count both the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series for this one. These books are just one epic adventure after another. There's so much rich story and traveling adventures in each of these books that I don't even know where to begin with. The road-trips in these books are so well fleshed out and described, that you can't help but feel you're right alongside these demigods on their epic quests. 

The characters are phenomenal, don't get me started on Percabeth. There is also so much to be learned from these books, I myself and many others learned a lot of Greek mythology while reading this, which has become something that I now absolutely love. If you haven't read this series then you must have been living under a rock, but definitely go out and give this a try. It is a common misconception that this book series can only be enjoyed by children, but there are many adults who love this book just as well.

Top 5 Wednesday: Books You Wanted to Start Yesterday

Now is the time I sit down and finally do this. Over the course of the past months of vigorously watching booktube videos like there is no tomorrow, I came across something I really wanted to do. Top 5 Wednesday, a weekly video update where you showcase your top 5 books of the specific topic that week, which was created by a You-tuber I adore GingerReadsLainey. This weeks topic is Books You Wanted to Start Yesterday, which is fairly easy topic to me because I am a professional slacker when it comes to keeping up with series. Here are my Top 5:

5. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer makes it to number 5 on my list because for some strange reason I have yet to purchase this book. Let's ignore the fact that I have already bought Cress & Fairest as you can see from my instagram. I've read Cinder back in 2014 and really loved it. The way Marissa Meyer writes her characters and her world build-up is incredible. From what I've heard, each book just gets better and better.

4. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes inevitably makes it onto my list because every time I see it at Barnes and Nobles or at the library I'm like: 

This is one of those books where I hear literally everyone and their mother rave about. From what I know it's a young adult high fantasy book following multiple perspectives that inevitable cross into each others lives. The other two books, Rebel Spring and Gathering Darkness are already out so once I get my hands on it you can bet I will be marathoning these. Can we just admire these absolutely stunning covers for a second: 

3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

*Crawls into a hole and hides* I honestly feel like the only person who hasn't read this trilogy. I didn't really feel like purchasing it so I went to my town library and they didn't have it. My school library has Unravel Me but not the first book. They checked nearby libraries and none of them had it. Once my school library finally got it, someone checked it out then lost it. 

They finally got a new copy, but some has already checked it out. (No surprise there.) I'm pretty sure the universe doesn't want me to read this book. I downloaded the e-book and only read 20 pages, but so far I like it. Still waiting to get that physical copy so I can continue. Yes I am that weird person that puts off reading a book even though she has an ebook of it just so she can read it in physical form. But that's only sometimes. Another main reason I want to read this is because I adore Tahereh. Have you seen her instagram, it's flawless.

2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

I had a hard time deciding between my number two and number one pick. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is definitely high on my tbr list. This year I have been trying to get back into favorite genre which is high fantasy. Last year I branched out and read a large diversity of genres, especially contemporary that I realized I was neglecting my favorite. So far I caught up on the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas and currently on the second book of the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, and I love both. I know very little about the Name of the Wind, but I really want to go into it that way. What I really want to do this year is expand my knowledge of adult high-fantasy books, and this will be a great addition to that.

1. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

The number one book that I wanted to start yesterday will have to be Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I don't want to sound repetitive, but all I hear about this book is amazing things. I hear great things about the romance, the plot, the writing style, and also that it's a very underrated book makes me want to check it out even more. I'm not a big fan on YA dystopia, many of them are quite repetitive and boring. But I am definitely looking forward to reading this one sometime this year.