It's the start of a whole new year! It's time to set a new reading goal, and the new releases of the year are coming our way! But before I can move on to all things new, I first have my top 9 of 2015 to share with you all.
A top 9 is a little bit strange, most people do top 10s or a top 15 (or whatever the year is at that time). But I decided to go for a top 9 because the other books in my top whatever were just other books from the same series. If you read my previous post, you'll know I read all the Throne of Glass books that are currently out, and most of them would've made my top 15... Now that would've been quite boring to read about.
Looking at my top 9, when you see a book that's part of a series or trilogy, most likely I love all of it and not just this one book :)
Just looking at a picture of these spines makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Gosh, I really love these series (already), and I'm sure many will agree with me.
The books in that stack are in no particular order, and if I'm going to be really honest; there is none. Sure there's a book or two that really stood out, but mainly these are just the 9 books I loved the absolute most. I loved them all for different reasons, and they're all so different, I can't really compare them. But if I had to put them in some kind of order, it'd be something like this:
1. An Ember in the Ashes.
2. Queen of Shadows.
3. Falling Kingdoms.
4. Fangirl.
5. Shadow and Bone.
6. Vampire Academy.
7. Red Queen.
8. Cress.
9. Angelfall.
Yes, that'd be it, I think. Just know that I enjoyed reading these books an awful lot, and I look forward to continuing reading the series (if it's a series at all).
Now, I'll explain a little bit more in depth why I loved these books so much. Sit back and relax, get a cup of tea and a snack because this will be a long one.
Keep in mind that, as I mentioned earlier, these are not in the top-9-order.
But for some reason, I found myself browsing GoodReads one day, stumbled upon VA once again and read some reviews. The people who liked it seemed to really enjoy it, and I found myself wanting to know more. I did what I never normally do: I watched the film adaptation. I wasn't amazing, but I enjoyed it. Deciding that books are pretty much always better than their movie counterparts, I ordered the first book. I completely devoured it and picked up the next one and loved that too! I currently own 5/6 VA books, so I foresee a happy future where I catch up with this over-the-top, but highly entertaining series!
Up next, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. This was one of my last reads of the year. Some time ago, I believe it was November still, I purchased Six of Crows. I'd heard you don't need to read the Grisha trilogy to understand it, and there are only a few, small references throughout the book that you pick up on if you read that trilogy. I was glad, because I didn't feel like "having to read" yet another trilogy, before being able to start Six of Crows. However, I didn't start SoC right away, and in the meantime a local bookstore suddenly stocked up on Grisha books. I felt myself gravitating towards them every time I walked through the doors. Eventually, I decided to give it a shot. This was after reading the synopsis on the back, taking a sneak peek at the map, and then reading the first page. ...I wanted more! I liked it straight away. The Grisha are so interesting and intriguing. The most intriguing of all being the Darkling. I can't wait to get to know him better. Everyone always lists him as one of their favourite Villains, and having read the first book, I'm starting to understand why! I certainly look forward to reading Siege and Storm, which my boyfriend got me for Christmas. I'm excited to see where this story goes and what the Darkling will do next.
Moving on to Angelfall by Susan Ee. What can I say.. This was something else entirely. I never thought I'd be the girl who enjoyed reading a book about Angels, or Fallen Angels even, but hey, I'm the girl who enjoyed reading a book about Angels.
This post-apocalyptic world is honestly so scary because it seems so real at times. Most of the characters are just normal people who survived a disaster and are now living in a world where there's no government, no healthcare, no anything. The fact that there are Angels thrown into the mix is a little bit soothing because they make it seem less likely to ever happen. Angelfall is really fun because it's so different from everything else I read this year. It's also a lot more gory and gross than other books, particularly towards the end of the novel. Another big plus: Raffe. Writing his name now has made me wonder why I haven't finished this trilogy yet!
I've become friends with a few people on bookstagram this year and I trust their opinions, and Leah's definitely one of them. Especially after Fangirl. Because yes, I eventually picked it up, and yes, I loved it! I laughed out loud at times, I cried, I was able to relate so much to Cath; it just was an overall amazing experience. I will certainly reread this in the future, if I'm ever uncertain of what to read next and I need something that'll warm my heart.
(In case you are wondering, I also bought Carry On, and I will read that one soon!)
Up next is Cress by Marissa Meyer. In a previous blogpost I mentioned I discovered the Lunar Chronicles this year, and in my My Year in Books post you can see I read Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress this year. I didn't like Scarlet as much as I liked Cinder, but then came Cress, and she made everything better. I'm loving this series so much, and even though I don't want it to end, I am now reading Winter. Cress, however, is one of my favourite characters in this big cast, and with her came another favourite; Captain Carswell Thorne! He's hilarious! The much needed comic relief of this series (along with Iko!). I'm excited to see how their stories come to an end in Winter, which I'll most likely adore even more, but for now, Cress is my favourite!
Up next is Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas. Anyone who follows me on Instagram or knows me in real life, knows I am obsessed with this series. I won't spoil anything, even though I'm certain most people know about the 'big thing' about the main character. Just know that she's my favourite, no matter what people call her. Even though she's an assassin, and I aspire to be a teacher, I can relate to her so much. She's the girly-girl who can also kick ass, she's a reader, she loves animals. I could go on fangirling over her forever. And then I haven't even mentioned Rowan, Aedion, Manon, Lysandra, Dorian and Chaol, and all the other reasons to love this series! It has grown so much since Throne of Glass, and I cannot wait to see what's in store for my favourite cast of characters!
Red Queen got some very mixed reviews from readers when it came out at the beginning of last year. It's biggest flaw according to the critics? Being a big mixture of other stories and therefore being unoriginal. While I can see why people say this, and I would probably agree if I'd read the things it's been compared to, but I still loved it. And with me many more people. Like many of them, I loved the plot twist and the betrayal in this, and I don't care what the critics have to say! Personally, I cannot wait for Glass Sword!
Last but not least because it was my number 1 read this year, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. On GoodReads I simply wrote "I'll write a review when I'm able to talk". Let me tell you, there's still no review, and that's not because I forgot about it. Every time I think about this book, I still can't put into words what I think and feel, and I'm still pretty damn amazed that this is a debut novel. I just don't know what to say, so I'll just end this post the same way I ended my GoodReads 'review': Holy Chiz, read this book!
So that's it. This was my top 9 of the year 2015.
I'd love to know if you read any of these? What did you think?
What does your top 3 (or 5, or 10) look like?
Love,
Sharon
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