So one of my goals this year was to start this blog and be a super star about it but then life got crazy! So this is an update as well as a favorite lists of books thus far this year. :]
#1: I am no longer in Rhode Island. I am in grand NYC with a summer job and looking to see where the world will take me next. This impromptu move happened in the middle of May and I've been here for about a month now and it feels just like when I was in university (also crazy that was a year ago) so it just feels like I never left even though I was gone for an actual year. So happy to be back though!
#2: Somehow in all of this hubbaloo I've managed to read 46 books so far this year! 3 of them were E-Novellas (so fun btw) P.S. How are we already half way through the year; it's insane! So I looked at my Goodreads and I am going to give some of my favorites.
Favorites of 2014 thus far:
1. Ask The Passengers by A.S. King- I've never identified so much with a main character, definitely a new favorite book and author. I loved that Astrid did not want to be put in a box because there is so much more to a person than who they love.
2. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell- I adored Fangirl and Eleanor and Park as many worldwide but this one is the one that really stuck with me. I loved Lincoln and just way with the emails and the narration just felt so special. It has one of my favorite new lines since I am February child: "I was born in February, but I come alive in October."
3. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz- Making the top three of favorites so far is this wonderful story about friendship and family. Gosh, I love these boys and I so identified with many things they spoke about in regards to their family. There's so many pressures that come with any family and with my crazy Spanish speaking family, it's no different. It just felt great to be able to identify with these two.
4. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson- I will forever read anything LHA writes because I think she's brilliant and this story laced with so much emotion is one for the record books. Hayley's story is heartbreaking in that you feel yourself just stepping into her shoes and dealing with her father going through PTSD right along with her. Her point of view, her narration was just chilling and breathtaking. I do not have enough accolades for this book. A must read.
5. Vicious by V.E Schwab- I feel like I've been one of Queen Victoria's loyal followers for ages now but I only discovered her this year thanks to Regan (peruseproject on Youtube) and I'm so glad I have. Victor and Eli have made me question about what is good and bad because when it comes down to it they have some very twisted ways of looking at the world. After lots of thinking, I did end up siding with Victor but picking a side in this crazy feud feels wrong in a way which is how I know that this book is oh so right.
Honorable mentions: The Archived and The Unbound by Queen V are also flawless books set in such an intriguing world. I can't wait to get more of the Mackenzie and Wesley story and see where their adventures take them next.
6. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn- I'd of course heard this book being talked about for ages and I was never super intrigued by it until I just couldn't stop hearing about it especially with the movie coming out so I buddy read it with my lovely friend Winston and that added so much fun to this psychotic novel. Amy is literally my queen. She is so conniving and just great. Every action that takes place in this book had me on the edge of my bed and I could not stop until I got to that OMG ending. I am sort of ambivalent about the movie, it looks to focused on Nick but I will still tune in to see how they adapt this.
7. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesyle Walton- As soon as I saw Rosianna's (missxrojas on Youtube) review on this book, I knew I was going to be ordering it from the library. This is just such a lovely story that is full of beautiful and bittersweet moments. The lyrical writing style along with the magical and whimsical feel of this story made this story feel totally realistic, and kept me so invested in the lives of these wonderful women. Emilienne, Vivienne and Ava were all very different and I felt that I got to know them and care for them through the pages of this story.
8. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira- This has been compared to Perks many times over and I am one of those people that think that this just stands on its own as just a beautiful story. Laurel is giving the assignment to write a letter to a dead person and this letter format makes this book so unique and I loved it. I loved listening to some of the music of the people she was writing to while I was reading because it just made it such a special experience. This book definitely deals with some heavy topics and it made me go through a rollercoaster of emotion, from angry to sad. Laurel's growth and self discovery is not an easy one, it never is, right? I'm glad to have read it and learned from it. Favorite quote:"And maybe what growing up really means is knowing that you don't have to be just a character, going whichever way the story says. It's knowing you could be the author instead."
9.We Were Liars by E. Lockhart- This is a recent read. It's been two weeks and I still can't wrap my head around this beautiful and tragic story. I took my time with it and I remember my jaw dropping when I got the the last part. This is one book that definitely got a lot of hype and is definitely worth every bit of it. Even if you think you guess the ending, the way this story is written is just something every reader should experience.
10. Lastly, one of my goals this year was to finish some series but of course I've been introduced to some good ones along the way. I got to finish The Selection series by Kiera Cass with the wonderful end to the trilogy, The One. Gosh, getting to finally read what happens with America and Maxon and that entire world just makes me a happy one. Definitely one of my favorite series now.
I also gave into the hype that is the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi and the last of the trilogy is my all time favorite ending of a trilogy ever and that's saying something. Ignite Me made such a happy human. Warner. That is all. Juliette finally being the badass bitch I wanted her to be aka the reason I sat through all her whining. Just yes. I wasn't as in love with the writing style as everyone else was but overall I enjoyed it.
Across The Universe by Beth Revis- Elder drives me crazy but I am so intrigued by this world and I'm about to get my hands on that last two of this trilogy and I can't wait to see what happens with Amy and Godspeed.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner- I'm all about space books apparently this year and this story just sucked me in and kept me. Lilac and Tarver are in hyperspace for goodness sakes! The world has not been fully developed and while I dislike that each upcoming book have different main characters, it makes for an interesting setup and more people to get emotionally invested in. It reminds me of Stephanie Perkins in that her characters make cameos in the other books after Anna and The French Kiss. It's great and I can't wait to hear even a little bit about the first two we meet and get more clues about this mysterious universe everyone is in.
Cress by Marissa Meyer- Of course, this has to be mentioned. Cinder is brilliant. I still don't know how to feel about Scarlet but Wolf is lovely and now we meet Cress and she's super cool and seeing the world through her eyes for the first time is just great. I'm so excited about Winter; the snippet we get about who she is was brilliant!
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo- The book world would not shut up about this book series either and since I'd owned it for a couple of months I finally gave it a read and oh man what a world this is! The Grishas are super intriguing and I can't wait to read Siege and Storm since the last in the trilogy comes out soon. Perfect timing, me!
Perfect Ruin by Lauren Destefano- I had first been introduced to Lauren with the Wither series which was a hit or miss for readers. I enjoyed the world so much and the ending still sticks out to me. With The Internment Chronicles, this new world we're introduced to is just above ours on this floating city and I was hooked. The end of this book sets up so many possibilities as to where this will and the sequel sounds amazing and I can't wait to see where the characters are taken and how warped the world is in the series.
Last but not least, The Program by Suzanne Young is one book I still cannot stop thinking about since I read back in March. Suzanne set up such an amazing world in which suicide has gotten to such a level that a program has been installed to erase memories and it's like creating these happy robots. I was so invested in Sloane's story and I have been planning on getting my hands on The Treatment since I found out there was a sequel.
So there it is folks. My list of favorites thus far. I have read some great books so far this year and there's another 6 months to read some more great material. Let me know your thoughts on any of these if you've read them and feel free to recommend some of your favorites this year!
P.S. I promise not to let 3 months past until my next blog post. <3
-Betty
