TOP 14 BOOKS OF 2014 | Listopia

Somehow, it is January of 2015...
I hated the second half of 2014 with a passion so I'm more than welcoming, but! 2014 was definitely a fantastic reading year!

I've read 64 books in total, which is incredible considering how little time I actually had to read so I'm quite happy. And since it's my first serious reading year I've read some amazing, wonderful books and I can't wait to share my favorites with you!

I tried to put these in order but honestly the top 7 can change a lot so just so you know:
Let's roll.

Goodreads

                                  #14

                        We Were Liars

Author: E. Lockhart

Genre : Contemporary

Date Released : May 13th 2014

Date Read : June 20th 2014

Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "I'm scared. I'm terrified. But somehow, I can't regret any of it.."

I don't like talking about this book so we shall move on...

Goodreads

       

                                  #13

                           City Of Glass

Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre : Urban Fantasy
Date Released : January 1st 2009
Date Read : June 9th 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars
Review Quote : "JUST I AM SO EMOTIONALLY CONFUSED RIGHT NOW" 

My Least favorite book of 2014 was City of bones, I hated that book with a burning passion but the ending was sort of intriguing so I decided I should torture myself more. City of Ashes was ok, still annoying but a hundred times better than the first one. Then, this beauty happened. 

This book was epic. It didn't focus on Clary which trust me, I LOVED. And the whole thing was really entertaining and enjoyable.

I truly wish the series ended there because I'm not too enthusiastic to pick up the next books in the series. 

Goodreads

                             #12

               The Fault In Our Stars 

Author: John Green
Genre : Contemporary
Date Released : January 10th 2012
Date Read : February 2014 *didn't have goodreads*
Rating : 5/5 Stars
Review Quote : I was dead so no quote.

I mean come on... I'm surprised this is not higher on the list though.

Goodreads

                                 #11

         The Retribution Of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin 
Genre : Paranormalish Mystery (?)
Date Released : November 4th 2014
Date Read : November 12th 2014
Rating : 4.5/5 Stars

Review Quote : Um, I wrote a review on this blog so go see that.

As I said in my review, I think the second book in the series is a better book but I enjoyed this one more for some reason or another. I'm weird.

Goodreads

                                 

                                  #10

                             Alienated

Author: Melissa Landers
Genre : Sci-Fi Romance
Date Released : February 4th 2014
Date Read : May 6th 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "I haven't really expected it to be more than an alien romance book but WOW, it is MUCH MORE than that !!"

You can tell I was very excited writing my Goodreads review because damn that thing is capitalized like no tomorrow. I can't say enough good things about this book honestly I just love it so much.

Goodreads

                             #9 

                        Rebel Belle

Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre : Urban Fantasy
Date Released : April 8th 2014
Date Read : May 3rd 2014 (?)
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : I don't why I didn't write anything but I didn't





Rebel Belle was a very pleasant surprise, I absolutely adored it and I cannot wait for the second book! I wish I put it higher on the list though.

Goodreads

                                  #8
                                 Opal

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre : Sci-Fi Romance
Date Released : December 11th 2012
Date Read : August 17th 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "I'M DEAD"

I just loved this book to pieces and I love this series and the ending of this is what the series seriously needed and I loved it a lot. Did I mention that I love this book? Well, I love it.

Goodreads

                                #7

                          Slammed

Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre : New Adult Romance
Date Released : January 5th 2012
Date Read : July 15th 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "Wow is all I have to say
Also it's booktube-a-thon so there's not enough time anyway"

Colleen Hoover has easily become one of my favorite authors if not my favorite. I just love everything. Do you hear me? Everything.

Goodreads

                                #6

                    The Book Of Ivy

Author: Amy Engel 
Genre : Dystopia, Romance
Date Released : November 11th 2014 
Date Read : December 11th 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "Oh my."

 This book though. This book. Just read it.

Goodreads

                             #5

              The Winner's Curse

Author: Marie Rutkoski
Genre : Fantasy, Historical Fiction Romance
Date Released : March 4th 2014
Date Read : November 26th 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "HOLY SHIT I HAVE NEVER SHIPPED TWO PEOPLE SO HARD BEFORE"

Man, this book was a bucket of surprises. First of all, I couldn't see the romance working at all. I actually thought she might change the love interest in future books, but NO. This was a beautifully written book with slow burn romance and complex politics.

Goodreads

                               #4

                 Crown Of Midnight  

Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre : High Fantasy 
Date Released : August 27th 2013
Date Read : November 1st 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "PERFECTION."

Chaol Westfall.

Goodreads

                                 #3 

                             Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genre : Contemporary
Date Released : September 10th 2013
Date Read : March 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars
Review Quote : None, Speechless basically.

This book is my life. I don't know if it is my favorite from Rainbow Rowell but It was my first novel I read from her so I put this one. It just has a very special place in my heart and I adore it.

Also, Levi.

Goodreads

                               

                               #2

                        Never Fade 

Author: Alexandra Bracken
Genre : Sci-Fi, Dystopia
Date Released : October 15th 2013
Date Read : October 10th 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "I refuse to even talk to anyone until In The Afterlight is in my hands thank you very much. Also, Alexandra Bracken... Please stop giving me panic attacks, please and thank you"

Everything was perfect, enough said.

ARE YOU READY FOR #1 ??? ARE YOU ???

Goodreads

                             #1
                    Ruin & Rising


Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre : High Fantasy
Date Released : June 17th 2014
Date Read : August 3rd 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : "I loved the developed relationships between all the characters in this book, all of them were very dear to me, very close to my heart. I cried so many times and I'm crying at this very moment because an amazing trilogy just ended, also the ending of the actual book (not the After section) killed me and just sliced my heart into two pieces."


Talking about this book hurts me. This book put me into a two month reading slump...

***

WAIT. There's an another #1 !!

Goodreads

                                 #1
                          Divergent 



Author: Veronica Roth 
Genre : Dystopia
Date Released : February 28th 2012
Date Read : March 2014
Rating : 5/5 Stars

Review Quote : None.





With favorites here I meant the whole series. The Divergent trilogy is my favorite trilogy so far because it's so dear to my heart and I have an emotional attachment to the whole series and that's why it's on #1.



THAT IS IT. 
That actually took forever.
Let's all hope for a great year in 2015!!

The Retribution Of Mara Dyer | Book Review

Title: The Retribution Of Mara Dyer
Series: (Mara Dyer #3)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Genre: Mystery, Paranormal
Publication Date: November 4th 2014
Format: ebook

Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.
There is.

She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.

She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.
Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.

Retribution has arrived.

(Spoilers down there!!)

So a couple of days ago, I've read The Retribution Of Mara Dyer.

This was me on the 12th of November:

"I don't know how to feel about this... I love the ending but there's too much loose strings. I just wish there were more information, it was almost rushed. I was like freaking out with happiness and then literally ten minutes later it kind of dawned on me.
I'm in shock right now so I'll get back to you when I'm more... together."

And this is me, being 'together'.



Let's talk about the cover. (Yes, I am stalling, shut up.) 

I love the Mara Dyer covers so much but I think this one is my favorite. Because the colors are gorgeous, and don't you think it kind of makes a pattern? 
The first book: Noah trying to fix Mara.
The Second Book: Them Being separated.
And both of them were in the dark but then, the third book is like a sun rise lighting with them holding on to each other. *squeals* 

I love that dress, I have to say.

Okay.. ya'll ready for the real review now? Let's do it.

So Mara Dyer took on a science fiction turn in this book and I quite enjoyed that. I felt like it added realism to the story. I almost believed it is real when I finished it.
I loved this book to ruins. The twists and turns were too much and the writing was absolutely captivating, I couldn't put it down. 

Somethings really fucked with my mind, and Mara scared the crap out of me. She practically became a blood lusting murderer and that was like the most creepiest thing ever. No. To be honest, I think the creepiest part was when she cut her stomach, Oh my God. I felt it in my guts. It hurt. 

Also, the pregnancy thing... I kept closing the book because I was just too damn scared to know if she's pregnant or not. When she was like 'get them out' I was just like holy shit what the fuck is living in there. I was very much relieved when I found out they were only pills. Bloody hell Michelle.

I loved every part of The Retribution. Sometimes it felt like a road-trip book and I enjoyed that so much. But... I have issues.

Let's Talk Characters first:

Jamie: 

He made all of it a hundred times lighter and I couldn't help but love him. His jokes are always on point. (The Hunger Games reference killed me.) Although, I must say, I couldn't imagine Jamie at all. I was confused on his color (just for imaging purposes) which I ended up knowing at like the last 3 pages of the book. I was also confused on his sexuality (also, just for imaging purposes) which I also confirmed at the ending. And his height, oh his height. I couldn't at all imagine how tall is he compared to Mara and she describes it differently every time. I wanted to pull my hair out.
He's one of the best sidekicks (If not counted as a main character) I've ever read about. He's such a loyal friend and I'm happy he was there for Mara.

Stella:

Not really much to say, she did add a lot to the book and I really liked her. She was brave and I admired her for that. I don't blame her for leaving, she did have a point so yeah.


The Original Mara (lol see what I did there?):

We got to see her every time Mara passed out, which is A LOT. Her story was so interesting and even though Mara was seeing all of the memories it felt like a different voice. I am so sad that was her fate.


Abel Lukumi/Armin Lenaurd / Abraham / Alexander / Alim /Arthur /Abdul /Aldis/ Alton/ Alonzo /Aloysius/ The Professor *Heavy Breathing*:

That son of a bitch. breaking girls' hearts. Killing people's children. I know why he did it, ok? But it's still annoying and it pisses me off so fucking much. It's like he knew everything from the fucking beginning and he's just like 'nope, you got to find out yourself.' 
They could've died you bloody asshole!

Noah :

LOL DO WE EVEN SEE THE KID? Noah was not present for more than 70% of the book, which surprisingly, wasn't so bad. What am I supposed to say about Noah? I love him and he's bae. He obviously has problems but really, don't we all?


 Mara:

Ah, Mara...
Mara is a great main character. Really scary. Really creepy, but really great. I felt like she went head-on with her problems and she didn't need any savior. She saved her own life, she's definitely been through a lot and I couldn't help but tear up on the conversations she had before her death scene and I also teared up when she was walking with Jamie and she said that people would think they're normal while their laugh is a bit bitter. Her and I have a connection that I won't ever be able to explain.

*And now for the things I'm skeptical about*

Okay, don't get me wrong, the ending is so nice and happy and I would've loved it if I had gotten more information about the other stuff. Did you put that sex scene in there so we would be distracted? Because it pretty much worked *giggles* best scene ever.

Oh my God I'm swooning all over again... 

OKAY FOCUS.

There were so many loosed strings and almost... plot holes I guess? 

What the hell happened to David? Did he just like fucking give up? Was he just like 'ah, blimey. They'll never listen to me anyways *shrugs and moves on*' ? 

And Jamie's vomiting? why was that happening? Was that a diagnose of the gene that I've missed?

Where the fuck did Stella go? I mean, if she's really out there she must've died. I'm just saying.

Weren't we supposed to- Oh, I don't know- maybe, know what Mara's decision was? Did she wear the necklace? THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT YOU KNOW. 

I think we all understand that the relationship Noah and Mara are having might end literally two days after the book ends which I guess can happen to everyone but knowing it... feels different. Feels sad. That's why I thought the ending was deceiving.

What were the pills inside of her? And what was with all the mirror talking thing? Mara tried a couple of times to talk to her reflection but she never spoke back. Was it hallucinations? It couldn't have been.

Did Noah actually live because she wished so?

Jude said she manifested. That's huge! And we don't even know what happens after that.

So many questions with no answers.

I'm secretly hoping this is a Selection case where they'll see how much it sells and decide on making a fourth book. It probably isn't, though.

I feel like Michelle Hodkin explained herself in the last page which said:

"... It isn't horror, even though parts of it are horrifying. It isn't science fiction because the science and the story are real... This is a love story. Twisted and messy. Flawed and screwed up. But it's ours. It's us. I don't know how our story will end, but I know how it will start. I pick up my pen and begin to write."

I felt like she was sending a message that said that all of our questions weren't the point. A love story is what it was all along.

Which made me change my rating on the first book from four to five. My main objection on the first book is that it was a love story more than a creepy book. And now I realize it was a love story, after all.

Overall, I really loved The Retribution and I rated it 4.75 just for the sake of my questions.

Look how cute *O*

The Heir by Kiera Cass ?? | Discussion

A while ago, I was Instagraming. Ya know, just casually scrolling down my timeline. & I see this picture of The Selection trilogy by Kiera Cass. The person who posted it is all like 'I love this trilogy I can't wait for the fourth book!!'

*insert disappointed laugh* I was like, honey. It's a trilogy... As in 3 books. 

But then! I scroll down more and all the comments were agreeing with the post.

'Am I wrong?' I remember singing.

So I google it, like everything in life & apparently! There is a fourth book! A fifth one too!

Now, I don't know if that's good news or bad... I've read the whole trilogy & I did think the ending of The One was happily ever after, but very vague. Open, if you will. 

But obviously I was okay with that since it was that kind of a book. 

To be honest, I'm so fucking done with America Singer and her bullshit and if I can I would stay away from her for the rest of my life. 
Some people said they tolerated America for Maxon. Problem is,
I hate Maxon too... 

And now everybody hates me.


The Heir is coming out May 5th 2015 (see what they did there?) and before I go into details about it. A little announcement for all the people who haven't read the whole trilogy and don't want to be spoiled:
Before The Heir comes out, there's going to be two novellas coming our way. And those are:
-The Queen (December 2014) which talks about Queen Amberly & this one... I'm really pumped about! She's one of my favorite characters I want to see her story!
-The Favorite (A paperback bind up of The Queen & The Favorite: early 2015) OK I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE I JUST CANNOT. But I do suggest you don't look into who it's about if you haven't read the whole trilogy because... Just don't dude.

Ok, I'm going to talk spoilery things now so if you haven't read The One stop reading.

I'm serious.


Begone.


Dude, it's not funny.


Now that they're gone...

As we all know, in The One America and Prince Maxon happily got married and by default, they're will need to produce an heir... 
Soooo, they had a baby. 

Question is: Boy or girl??
 And the answer to that is....

BOTH.

Yup, that's right! they had twins! I don't know why that's so exciting to me but it just is.

The Heir is about the baby girl, which is alarming... 
What if she's a replica of her mother...

BUT GUYS. The Heir revolves around her selection!! I didn't see that one coming. I guess I just thought they'll just stop doing the selection thing but I guess not...

I guess I do have high expectations because this is bound to be less dramatic than America's story. 'Why?' you say? 
Because,
1-There's no evil king.
2-They're a bunch of guys instead of girls 

LET'S HOLD THAT THOUGHT FOR A SECOND.

Instead of having 35 whiny scheming screaming fighting girls, we get 35 hot guys. 
I'm just saying.

 Recently, we got a synopsis and a cover, so let's discuss those.

Synopsis:

"Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon’s heart. Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own. Eadlyn doesn’t expect her Selection to be anything like her parents’ fairy-tale love story. But as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she always thought."

Let's go sentence by sentence shall we?

"Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won Prince Maxon’s heart."
 -Twenty years! so I guess America is now, what... 36? Maths.

"Now the time has come for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own."
 -Eadlyn? Really...? ugh the names in these books... 

"Eadlyn doesn’t expect her Selection to be anything like her parents’ fairy-tale love story."
-Excuse me??? 'Fairy-tale love story'?? Honey. Whatever story you were told, it was a bloody lie.
*scoffs* fairy tale she says...
 
"But as the competition begins, she may discover that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she always thought."
 -That's vague as hell. I'm anxious...

And Finally, the cover:

 
It's cute. it really is. It's my favorite out all of them. But, I still think they should've gone with green. Green matches better with the rest of the series.

Oh well, what can we do..

And those are my thoughts on The Heir! Let me know what you think down below I'd love to hear!! thanks for reading you lil cute face.

you're welcome.