Best Books of 2014

Hi guys, since I missed the Top Ten Tuesday topic of this I decided to just do a regular post. Here are my top ten favorite books that I read in 2014. It was really hard to narrow this down because while I didn't read a lot of books this year I read a lot of good ones. 

They are in no particular order.

1. Mistborn and The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

I'm counting these as one since they are in the same series (Its not cheating, I swear!!).

2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

This book was just so relateable and beautifully written, I just fell in love with it

3. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Even though this book disappointed me a little bit because it focused more on the love story instead of the rebellion I still loved it because the love story was amazing! I love a good love story and this was a great love story!

4. The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

This book broke my heart so many times and I was an emotional mess when I was reading it.This is a huge book and I thought I would take forever to finish it but I got so invested in it that I read the whole thing in 2 1/5 days. 

5. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

This was such a great start to this series! It didn't have any of the usually first book problems, the writing was breathtaking, and I got so invested in the characters (even the "bad" ones). I just love this book!!

6. Just One Day and Just One Year by Gayle Forman

I am also counting these as two, not only because they are a series, but also because they kind of tell the same story but in different POVs so it counts as one, right? 

This is one of the few contemporary stories that I not only liked but loved!

7. The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Even though this book was a little predictable and I thought it was way to short, it was still a great ending to a beloved series. 

8. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

I know this is just a collection of short stories, but it felt like one single story so I'm counting it as one book.

9. Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen

Just as good as the first one, maybe even better. The writing is so good that I felt like I was actually in the story and at one point I forgot I was reading it and wasn't inside the story. 

10. Ignite me by Tahereh Mafi

Even though this book had a lot of holes and problems in it I still loved it! I love this series so much and this book was great in my biased opinion. 

~Honorable mentions~

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Cruel Beauty by Roseamund Hodge

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 

What were your favorite books you read in 2014?

Happy 2015 reading 

Top Ten Tuesday (52)

 

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Goals/Resolutions For 2015 -- bookish, blogging or otherwise!

~Blogging~

1. Comment more

I know I say this every year, but I still want to put this on the list because it's true. I am horrible at commenting and commenting back to comments and I really want to change that in 2015. I am determined!!

2. Write more Predictions and Hopes

These are my favorite posts to write and I write so few of them. I don't know why, but in 2015 I want to write more of them, at least twice a month.

3. Write more discussions

I also love writing these and its been so long since I've posted one that it isn't funny. I love discussing things with you guys and I want to do it more often.

4. Visit more new blogs.

I feel like this year I visited very little new blogs and I'm ashamed at that. So in 2015 I want to visit and get to know more bloggers. 

~Bookish~

1. Read all of Brandon Sanderson's books

Brandon Sanderson is one of my all time favorite authors and I've only read half of his books. So, in 2015 I resolve to read the rest of them, new and old releases. This might be difficult to do because the ones I haven't read from him are the really long ones and it might take me forever to read just one of those, let alone all of them.

2. Read 100 books

This is a really low pressured goal because I say this every year and if I don't make it to a 100 books I don't care that much. I picked a 100 books just because it sounded nice, I don't beat myself  up that much to make this goal.

3. Finish more goddamn series!

I am really good at starting series but horrible at finishing them. I have way to many open series and I really want to finish must if not some of them. 

  

~Life~

1. Learn to play the guitar 

I've been wanting to learn how to play the guitar for years and years but never actually doing anything to learn. But this year, this year I am going to learn it goddammit!! I don't need to play good, I just want to learn how to play.

What are your goals for 2015?

Happy reading

I'm Back (I mean it this time)

Hey guys, remember how in my last post I was saying I was back? Remember how that was posted that  more then a month ago and I never posted anything after that? (I'm ashamed!!) Well, I'm back and I'm really excited to start blogging again!

I'm really sorry I've been on a break so long, but not really. 

I posted my last post in the middle of NanoWrimo with all the intentions to keep blogging, not every day, but at least once a week and not only posting but keeping up with all of you guys and your blogs and I failed miserably at that. NaNoWriMo took up my life because I was bound and determined to win (which I did, Yay!!) and then December hit and for whatever reason I did not feel ready to go back to blogging. I don't know why because I wasn't even that busy, I had some school stuff and the holiday season but I still had a lot of free time on my hands.

I'm not sorry that I stopped blogging for such a long time, because this is my hobby and I didn't want to do it. I don't want this blog to ever feel like a job, a chore, so when I wasn't in the mood to post anything I didn't force myself to. I wasn't going to force myself to do something just because I feel like I should do it. So, I am not sorry that I haven't been posting, what I am sorry for is not keeping up with you guys and your blogs. I consider a lot of you as friends and I feel really bad that I never went on your blogs to see how you're doing and to read your post and I'm sorry. But I am back now and I am trying to catch up.

So basically I'm really sorry that I've been away from the blogoshpere for so long, but I'm not sorry I took a break.

Happy Reading

Broken Computer Announcement

Hey guys, you know how earlier this month I said I was not taking a break this month? I said that with total confidence, but then my computer broke and for a while it seemed I lost all of my NaNoWriMo words. However, I was able to save everything from my old computer and was able to borrow another computer to write, although that computer could not connect to the internet. So, I've been unable to go on the internet until today and that's why I haven't posted anything in a week or commented on any posts. 

I will be continuing on my regular schedule starting tomorrow. 

Happy reading

 

I'm Doing NanoWrimo

If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is it is the National Novel Writing Month. During November writers try to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. You can sign up to participate and track your status at NaNoWriMo.

This post is just me telling you that things at the blog are going to slow down a bit. I don't want to stop posting things entirely because last year I did that and it took forever to start posting things regularly after that and I don't want to deal with that. However, even though I am going to try to post at least once a week, I don't know how successful I will be at it. 

This also means that commenting and visiting other blogs will slow down as well. I am really sad about this, but it is what it is.

If you are participating in NaNoWriMo add me as a buddy my screen name is Kimmy with Notes.

 Happy reading

Harry Potter Re-read Along

Hello peoples! I was just browsing the blogosphere and I came across this brilliant Harry Potter Re-Read Along over at Book Journey . You can sigh up HERE . 

This is, as you guessed it, a Harry Potter series Re-read along. It is five months long, giving you plenty of time to read the whole series. Here's the reading time for each book and I know this post is a little late, but I still really want to participate.

Nov 1 – Nov. 16 – The Sorcerer’s Stone

Nov 17 – Dec. 6th – Chamber Of Secrets

Dec. 7 – Dec. 29th –  The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Dec 30th – Jan 20th – The Goblet Of Fire

Jan. 21st – Feb 13th – Order Of The Phoenix

Feb. 14th – March 7th – The Half Blood Prince

March 8th – March 31st – The Deathly Hallows

This Read Along is really cool because you can chose a house, or be sorted into one, and by participating in posts and commenting you can gain house points to help your house win. You are also sorted into years based on how many books you've already read in the series. 

I am a Hufflepuff

I am also a Seven Year

Are you doing this Read Along?

Happy reading

October Wrap-Up

October was a mixed month for me. I was not in a reading slump, nor did I get into one. I'm counting that as an accomplishment because it was a busy freaking month. School just seemed to speed up and there were so many assignments due throughout the month that I barely had time to read. However, I did manage to read four books and I am proud of that. 

I will not be making a November TBR because I don't plan on reading a lot and since I"m probably only going to read 2 books I want to have my options open.

Books Read: 4 

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson| 4 Butterflies 

Going to Far by Jennifer Echols| 4 Butterflies

The Young Elites by Marie Lu| 4 Butterflies

The Darkest Minds Alexandra Bracken| 4 Butterflies 

Reviews: 4 

Opposition  by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Just One Night by Gayle Forman 

Burned by Ellen Hopkins 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Book of the Month:

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

This was such a freaking amazing book!

How did you do in October?
Happy November reading!

Predictions and Hopes (6) Mortal Heart

My Review of Grave Mercy: Here

My Review of Dark Triumph: Here

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
Release Date: November 4th

Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has..

I love this Historical Fiction/ Assassin series and I can't wait for this one to release! To be honest I don't have a lot of theories on what is going to happen in this book. The summary is really kind of vague on what happens besides Annith leaving so that doesn't really help me. And since we as readers haven't really seen a lot of Annith in this series before this I don't have a feel for her character and I can't say what her decisions will be.

The one thing that I think will happen is that Annith helps the Duchess, whether knowingly or unknowingly. I believe this will happen because the Duchess's story is the plot that connects all of the books and I think the author will stick with that aspect.

I hope somewhere along the way Annith crosses paths with Ismae and Sybella and they help her. Annith has left the convent and so has Ismea and Sybella, so I think they can help her decide if she wants to go back or not and I want to see them interact as friends. Also I want to see how Sybella and Beast are doing because the ending of Dark Triumph left a lot to wonder about.

What I am really excited to read in this book is to see what.....trait Annith is. Ismae was Mercy, Sybella was Justice and so I'm curious on what Annith is. I have absolutely no idea what it could be, what trait follows the pattern? Vengence maybe, but Sybella's story kind of followed that one, so what could Annith be? If you have any clue comment because it's fun to guess about it.




What do you think will happen in this book?
Happy reading

Harry Potter Moment (3)

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! To get more information or upcoming topics click Here

Could you ever double as a spy like Snape?

First off, I love this topic!!

Second off, oh god no.  I think it takes a certain type of person to do that and I am not that type. Snape did horrible things to prove himself to Voldermort and did them without Voldermort, or anyone else for that matter, realizing he was a double agent. To do that I think you need strong motivation, be very good at hiding your emotions, and be good at shouldering a great deal of pain and guilt. I am an open book. I am not good at hiding my emotions for long periods of time, heck I'm bad at hiding my emotions for short periods of time. So, I wouldn't be able to hid my feelings and honest reactions to things/Voldemort.

 Also it would ruin whatever relationships I had. My family would hate me, my friends would hate me, my whole generation would hate me until the end when/if they figure out I was a double agent and I don't think I could take that kind of hatred from my family. And if I died they would feel so guilty about treating me the way they did and I don't want anyone I love to feel that for the rest of their lives.

If I was in his position ,with no family of friends *sob sob*, I might want to do it, might feel that I would have to do it, but my emotions would give me away in ten seconds flat. 

What you be able to do it?

Happy Reading

Review: Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Grade: 4.5 Butterflies
Series: Lux #5 (Conclusion)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: Paperback, 534 pages (in actuality it's 352 since the paperback also has Shadows in it)

This has major spoilers for the first four books, Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, & Origin. Don't read any farther if you haven't read the first four books in this series.

Goodreads summary

Katy knows the world changed the night the Luxen came.

She can't believe Daemon welcomed his race or stood by as his kind threatened to obliterate every last human and hybrid on Earth. But the lines between good and bad have blurred, and love has become an emotion that could destroy her—could destroy them all.

Daemon will do anything to save those he loves, even if it means betrayal.

They must team with an unlikely enemy if there is any chance of surviving the invasion. But when it quickly becomes impossible to tell friend from foe, and the world is crumbling around them, they may lose everything— even what they cherish most—to ensure the survival of their friends…and mankind.

War has come to Earth. And no matter the outcome, the future will never be the same for those left standing.

It is no secret that the Lux series has been one of my all time favorite on-going series since the first book released. I have loved every book so far in the series. I have eagerly devoured each book, reading long into the night to see what happens to my beloved characters. I have accepted the flaws and loved the good parts. So, I was both devastated and eager for the last book to release. I was also very nervous for it's release, I really wanted the final book to be epic. It was, it really was!

This book starts out two days after the event of Origin and goes from there. This book was a rollercoaster ride of emotions (yes someone dies) and plot twists with really fast pace. I was kept on the edge of my set from begining to end! What I really loved about this plot was that it felt like an adventure book. The plot never stayed in one direction for very long. The characters would be in one setting doing one thing and then BAM! Something happens that changes the course of the book, but the plot would still keep it's underlying focus. This makes the plot sound really jumbled up, but it wasn't. The author wrote it in such a way that it felt like a rollercoaster. The plot was zumming forward, taking twists and turns, but the cars never change rollercoasters or anything; you are still on the same ride.

The characters were, as usual, great!! I love Katy, Daemon, Dee, Luc, and Archer. They were just as likable as in the other books; they were very realistic, and I loved them so much!! On that note, the romance was amazing! Jennifer L. Armentrout knows how to write a romance, sexy and/or cute. Katy and Daemon are just so cute together! When they are together you can practically see their chemistry and how much they love each other. There was this one scene with Daemon holding Katy and just reflecting on how he will always fight for her and I was struck with how real their love feels to me. I can't convince myself that their love isn't real.

Now on to the things that I wish were better. The first was the dual POV. Katy and Daemon's POVs had slight differences to them, but not enough to know who's POV it is just by reading a few sentences. This was a little disappointing, but I"ve been thinking about this and I think it's because of how alike Daemon and Katy were. They are both sassy and sarcastic, which are two aspects that really shine in dual POVs. So I don't think the author had that much wiggle room to really distinguish between POV without changing, even slightly, a character, which would have annoyed me even more.

The biggest problem that is really just a minor one, is how short this book was. This is me both not wanting the series to end and me wanting more to this plot. Jennifer L. Armentrout could have added another 100 pages and it would have made it all the better!! I just felt that this book went to fast, it was set in a week or so time span, especially for such a series situation. -Slight Spoiler Section-I wish the 'war' part lasted longer and there were more fights. This invasion was set up to be such a series thing, and at first the author showed us the death and pain the Lux created, but then glossed over it. I just wish a 100 pages, or even 50, were added before the Arum part so this invasion/war felt more like a war. I'm not saying the Lux's defeat felt easy, it just was to soon for that defeat. -End-

This was a great conclusion to this lovable series! I am so sad to see this series go and to finish this review, because if I finish this review I will be accepting that one of my favorite series it over. The open end gives me hope that She'll make a spin off series 15 years later in the world, but I am still sad. I am going to miss reading about Katy and Daemon's life and seeing their relationship grow. I'm going to miss reading about the Luxan and the Arum. I'm going to miss being in this world.

This book got...

4.5 Butterflies

Beautiful, this is a great book. 

Happy Reading

Harry Potter Moment (2)

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! To get more information or upcoming topics click Here

If there was one thing you could change about Harry Potter, what would it be?

Can I give it more books? Is that an option? If it is I would give it a prequel series about his parents. 

If not I would give Ginny more screen time, both in the movie and the books. I know she was really ignored in the movies and even though she was kind of prominent in the books I still want more of her. She was just so kick-butt and a great female character! It would be a bonus if it was more of her and Harry.

That's my Harry Potter moment, what was yours?

Happy reading

Harry Potter Moment (1)

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! To get more information or upcoming topics click Here

I've finally done this guys, I've finally made this post. I've been meaning to make a Harry Potter Moment of the Week post for about 3 months now and I've finally done it!

This weeks topic is----
Where would you live as a witch/wizard? (With muggles, magical surrounding etc.)

I would like to live kind of where the Weasley's lived with the Burrow. I would want to live where I didn't have that many neighbors, but was close to the wizarding world and the muggle world. Basically on middle ground so it wouldn't be hard to be among fellow wizards or muggles. 

Where would you live?

Happy Reading

Review: Just One Night by Gayle Forman

Grade: 4.5 Butterflies

Series: Just One Day #2.5

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Speak

Pages: E-book 40 pages

Goodreads Summary

After spending one life-changing day in Paris with laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter, sheltered American good girl Allyson “Lulu” Healey discovered her new lover had disappeared without a trace. Just One Day followed Allyson’s quest to reunite with Willem; Just One Year chronicled the pair’s year apart from Willem’s perspective. Now, back together at last, this delectable e-novella reveals the couple’s final chapter.

This was such an outstanding conclusion to this beautiful story! This was a little short, but it conveyed all that it needed to and it gave the readers closure for the story. It was just as beautifully written as the first two books were and it was just so great to read what happens after Willem opens the door!

This was written in so many POV's. The perspective of the story changed about every other paragraph and it was in third person POV. This annoyed me a little at first, I just wanted a clear story with all the answers I needed with only Allyson's and Willem's POV. However, as I got into this story I really appreciated this. I feel that since it was written in this format it gave a big-picture type of tone to this conclusion. It showed us what Willem and Allyson were thinking, but also what Kate, Dee, Broodje, and a bunch of other people were thinking. This showed the reader the impact Willem and Allyson's story had on other people instead of just themselves. I think that really gave a luster to this conclusion.

Also, this format never got to for away from Allyson's and Willem's POV. When something happened and the readers wanted to know what Allyon and Willem were thinking it would show us. The writer knew that while giving us all these other people POVs would give it this great tone she shouldn't stray from Allyson and Willem. She gave us their POVs then any other person and the last five or so pages were just from their POV.

This was such a great conclusion to this outstanding story! It gave the readers closure for the story while still leaving it open enough to give the impression of continuing on. It was just so well written and a great novella! The format is weird at first, but it really adds to the overall effectiveness of this novella.

This book got...

4.5 Butterflies

Beautiful, this is a great book. 

Happy reading