Top 15 Books from 2015!!!

I realize this 2015 has already been over for about a month but I really wanted to do one of these! These are my top fifteen favorite books from 2015! I also grouped some series books if I read and loved all of them!

15. Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

      This was one book that surprised me, it isn't very well known and it was a topic (military school) that I had never really read before. I found it to be realistic and it also dealt with certain topics in a way that I found really great.

14. The Martian by Andy Weir

      I love sci-fi and the humor in The Martian was so fantastic, I also learned a lot about science! It was so awesome to see the survival methods and how hard we will fight to survive when we are faced with that situation.

13. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

      I love books that incorporate Ancient Roman facts and the brutality of this book is what made me take a deeper interest, as that's often glossed over. What truly made me fall in love with this book though is the character development that the main character Laia went through. It was so gradual but after finishing the book and then looking back at the beginning it's an incredible transformation.

12. Young Elites/Rose Society by Marie Lu

      I did not like Marie Lu's Legend series, so this series took me by such a surprise with how dark and incredible it turned out to be. It kept me so enraptured throughout both books. I found it to be unique in where it is going, which is something I love finding in series.

11. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

      Having been the first nonfiction book that I actually enjoyed, this story amazed me in so many ways and changed my outlook on many things.

10. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

      I loved the book as I was reading through it and then the end just solidified the fact that it would be one of my all time favorite books. Twists and turns are what I love to see.

9. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

      George R.R. Martin is just a genius, even though I hate him at times. The world in these books has just become so alive in my imagination with the combination of the books and the tv show. It's so rare to find one of those series where the characters feel so real in my life. Maybe my favorite books I read this year, but it will always be in my top favorites with how incredible it is.

8. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

      This is one of my favorite series and while I did not enjoy Queen of Shadows as much as I did Heir of Fire, I'm so in love with all of the characters and their character development and the magic of this world that it was still one of my favorites.

7. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

      Sarah and Susan's friendship makes me life, so seeing it exist in a high fantasy book with action and them being badasses just made it all the better. I'm also a big fan of friendships in books, because I don't think romance ever needs to be the main purpose in books and so that helped me fall in love with the book even more.

6. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

      One of my favorite historical fiction authors and this book was so incredibly emotional and hopeful and sad all at the same time. I felt so many emotions throughout this book and saw so many different stories. I loved it so much because it also showed me how many stories go untold and unknown. Her author's note was also just so great with her talking about her purpose for the book, which made me love it so much more.

5. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

      The first book in this series and I am already addicted, I can see it going in such incredible places and the hot faeries aren't such a bad thing either. I loved all of the characters and I am so excited for the next one.

4. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

      One of the most emotional books I have ever read. I cried so hard, but I loved it so much. It just showed me how everyone goes through things and some people are able to get through it and others aren't. It also made me want to go out and experience some of the weird things around me.

3. Red Rising/Golden Son by Pierce Brown

      World building is incredible and the characters are so complex. I don't think I can describe why this series made it to be number 3, but I just fell in love with the series so much.

2. The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain

      I try and get all my friends to read this book, but it's so hard! It's really short too! My advice is to forget what you've read of Mark Twain and of Huckleberry Finn because I never really liked that book either. Which is why many people haven't read The Mysterious Stranger. This novella is from the end of Mark Twain's life when he becomes a lot more cynical. Which is why it's about an angel named Satan visiting earth. Literally so mind-blowing and has changed my perspective on everything.

And finally, my favorite book that I read in 2015...

1. City of Thieves by David Benioff

      This book wasn't the one that my cry the most or connect the most with the characters or be amazed by the character development. Instead, it's less than 300 pages about two young men during the Siege of Leningrad who must search for a dozen eggs to avoid being executed for looting and desertion. Somehow this book brought me to their time period and the dangers they faced by everything and how unfair everything was. It was filled with humor and terror and it's only after looking back on the books I read in 2015 that I realize this one was the best. While I often hear Catcher in the Rye being described as one of the best coming of age stories, I find City of Thieves to top them all.

Carry On Review

Warning! There will be a lot of spoilers!

Many of us know Rainbow Rowell as the writer of a lot of emotional books that deal with things not addressed by too many authors. This makes her a well loved author by many since she is always successful in talking about issues and making them relatable. My favorite book of hers was Fangirl. Which is why I was so excited when I heard about Carry On, the true story of the world that Cath wrote fanfiction about. Baz and Simon are roommates at Watford School of Magicks and also nemeses. It's Simon's duty to take down the Insidious Humdrum, but he is a little occupied dealing with his roommate who he thinks is a vampire.

I loved Fangirl because it reminded me a lot about Harry Potter and how it has inspired so many in being fangirls or fanboys of their own and into writing their own fanfiction. It was understandable to me in this book on how she replaced Harry Potter with her own version of a magical world. However, I ended up thinking that maybe Rainbow Rowell took it a little too far with the writing of Carry On.

Before I get to the Harry Potter aspect, I want to talk about the characters. I loved it as I was reading it, I thought the different story lines were great and how the characters had good and bad aspects of them. I also really liked the relationship between Baz and Simon, at first. I think it's great that Simon was bisexual, but it was also a very abrupt transition. Simon hated Baz for years and never showed an ounce of affection or attraction to him, except for an obsession on if he's up to something evil. As soon as they get together I love their relationship, but I also feel like it may have been used as a plot device to appeal to people. I just thought it was extremely fanfiction like, when people ship characters together that aren't together in canon. This might just be me, but I didn't think they would be together, until they were if that makes sense. To try and explain this thought process more (sorry if I'm rambling), as soon as they did get together, I loved them and thought they were great. In my opinion their relationship from before didn't flow perfectly into their relationship after. I also didn't realize this until I started looking back. Despite this, I still think it's really important to have gay characters in books, especially as main characters. So that is one reason I enjoyed this book, but I just feel like it could have been done a little better to make more sense. Now onto how Rainbow Rowell used Harry Potter!

After I finished the book, I ended up thinking there was a line that might have been crossed. Harry Potter is sacred in the world of books, at least to me. It's hard to express my feelings on this, because I'm sure Rainbow Rowell meant no disrespect. However, I enjoyed her incorporation of Harry Potter in Fangirl, because it was more respectful in my opinion. Except now Carry On kind of completely rewrote it into an entire book this time. I also felt like this was more for the profit. After seeing how much people loved Fangirl and the references to Harry Potter as Simon Snow, she decides to write a book all about it. I know she says she and many others wanted to know what happened to Simon and Baz, but the book also ended up very anti-climatic in my opinion. Baz and Simon end up together, as hinted by Cath's fanfiction. Then, the Insidious Humdrum ended up barely even doing anything. Looking back on the book, I don't see much of a point of it. It was great while I was reading it, but now I don't feel much of anything for it. This kind of makes me sad because I enjoyed it a lot while I was reading it. However, Harry Potter is a million times better to me and this book could never in a million years replace it for me. And to me, I see it as an attempt to replace Harry Potter. It may be a stand alone, but why was it necessary for her to make this into an entire book? I would have been fine with it being kept in Fangirl. Now, it's a little ruined to me. It may not be intended to be disrespectful, but that's how I see it.

Many people will say that means all fanfiction is disrespectful then. I don't agree with that. I see this as fanfiction turned into a book purely for profit. At least with Fifty Shades of Grey, it was nearly unrecognizable as Twilight fanfiction. But I saw way too much of Harry Potter and not enough originality in Carry On.

Don't get me wrong, I love the lgbtq representation and I feel bad that I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would, but all I see the now is the book having no real point. I always feel bad when I don't like a book because I know authors put in a lot of effort into their books, which I have loads of respect for. I also know a lot of people will disagree with my review, but this is just my opinion on it. I won't hate on people for loving all the things I didn't like.

College Update!

I am so sorry! I feel awful using it is an excuse but I started college this year and these first few months have been crazy busy trying to get used to this new routine! I am from the Chicago area and now go to school near Philadelphia so it's been an adjustment! While I will admit that I took a break from reading :/ I have been recently reading again and now I'm just trying to get back in the habit of reviewing! It also sucks that I only have so many books with me here and the vast majority of my books are back home :( I really miss them! I'm hoping to get some reviews up again soon! So try and stay tuned!

In the meantime here's a picture of my dorm room! My side is on the right!

The Darkest Minds Review

When a mysterious disease kills the majority of America's children, it changes the ones who survive. Something that caused Ruby's parents to lock her in the garage and send her to a brutal government rehabilitation camp on the morning of her tenth birthday. The children who survive have strange abilities. There's the blues who are telekinetic, the yellows who control electricity, the greens who are more intelligent than average, and the oranges who can control minds. Now, Ruby is sixteen and finally escapes the camp. She joins a group of other kids who are trying to find East River, a safe haven for kids like them. There's Liam, who quickly falls for her, but she can't allow herself to get close to someone again. When they reach the camp, it is more than originally believed and they aren't safe yet.

The Darkest Minds is a really highly rated book on Goodreads and I'd been meaning to read it for so long and I finally got to it. I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was very well written and I was definitely left wanting the next book. However, I don't think it was incredible. A really common problem I have with books is love interests. I don't know why, but it's usually what holds me back in books. They're usually unconvincing in my mind and I was just never convinced in this book again. I think I have a thing for the darker guys and Liam was too optimistic for me and trying too hard to be the perfect guy in my opinion. I know loads of people who love him though so don't let my feelings turn you away!

While The Darkest Minds was written first, I had read The Young Elites first and so I was strongly reminded of this other book as I was reading. There was a widespread disease and the ones who survived gained powers. I enjoyed The Young Elites more, because of how much darker it was. I absolutely loved that book, so this one just wasn't as great in my opinion.

I found the ending to be fantastic though, and I hope the next books don't make the series too light and have too much of a happy ending. I honestly think the only really happy endings I can handle are ones in realistic fiction. That's when I enjoy the cutesy romance stuff. I'm trying to think about my feelings for Ruby, the main character, and I feel really bad for her. She's gone through a lot and was completely isolated from boys for so long, that I can see her falling for the first cute nice boy she sees. For once I'm kind of hoping for a love triangle in the next books, because I want her to realize there's more to the world than just Liam. A series that did this amazingly was Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.

All in all, this book was really good, despite my problems. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars and I will read the sequel, but I hope it will be darker and better.

Ice Like Fire Review

Just a warning! You probably shouldn't read this review if you haven't read Snow Like Ashes! That book was awesome so you should definitely read that!!!!

Sara Raasch's Ice Like Fire is the sequel to Snow Like Ashes. A few months after the Winterians have been freed and back in their kingdom, Cordell has them mining to pay back their debts. This caused the lost chasm of magic, a powerful but dangerous source, to be discovered. Theron wants to use this magic to stand against threats such as Angra. However, Meira sees the immense dangers of it. When the king of Cordell orders Theron and Meira to go on a journey through the kingdoms to learn how to access the chasm, Meira is trying to find ways to get rid of it. During Meira's duties, Mather tries to secure their kingdom's survival as Cordell's oppression grows.

I didn't like this book as much as the first one. It was mostly a filler book in my opinion and I'm more excited for the third one now! I really appreciated the fact that the trauma the Winterians went through of being enslaved for years was not ignored. That definitely was a prevalent issue, which was awesome so the story wasn't like "We're home and now we're all better and happy again!" I thought that was really well done. It also became a lot more about the politics and Meira trying to learn how to politically protect her kingdom when Cordell has them so far into debt and is demanding immediate repayment. That was a really interesting new focus in this book, as the first one was all about freeing the Winterians. This one is saying how not everything can be solved so quickly, they still have problems.

Going off of that, Meira is awesome! I love how she's struggling to find a median (medium?) between her warrior self and being a queen. She's trying to do what is best for her people. I also love how she is considering what would be best for her kingdom with whoever she marries. Both Mather and Theron annoyed me, so Meira's independence was really great in my opinion. She didn't rely on either of them too much. She's the type of strong female character that I love.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure how this book ended, a lot happened super quickly which confused me a bit. This is probably part of why I'm more excited for the third because I want some things clarified for me.

I gave this book 4/5 stars, while it was a really good book it just didn't blow me away like the first one did. I'm excited for the next book because then I'll know if the ending is as good as I hope it will be!

Ice Like Fire comes out October 13th!

Legacy of Kings Review

In Eleanor Herman’s Legacy of Kings the age of the gods is about to end. The book takes place in the time of Alexander the Great, when he’s sixteen. He begins to be drawn to Katerina, a guest in the palace. However, she has a certain mission: to kill the Queen. Her childhood friend, Jacob, though will do anything to win her. He’ll even fight Hephaestion, Alex’s best friend and a murderer, in a contest. Cyn, the prince’s half-sister, is working to weaken the throne. Across the sea, Sofia, a Persian princess and Alex’s fiancée, goes on a journey to change her fate.

This book was good... Nothing spectacular but I found Alexander the Great to be extremely interesting. My sister is obsessed with him but this is definitely not a historical account of him. There's magic and gods. I predicted the twist in the story but I thought it was a good twist, sorry I can't say what it was. There were actually a lot of twists that I enjoyed because I found myself enjoying the story with each one. It would get darker or more mysterious. This also led me to feeling so unsure as to what direction the next book will go. I might have predictions but I know they could also be very wrong. I also found the magic abilities to be really cool and I really wish I could communicate with animals. It would make my onesided conversations with my dog a lot easier.

Kat and Cyn were both really strong female characters while I thought Hephaestion was kind of stupid at times. Literally all he had to do was learn to communicate with Alex! There seemed to be hints at a lot of different relationships which I'm not too sure about for the next book because love triangles have to be done well or else they're way too cliché and annoying. Something that bothered me was that this is taking place in the Middle East in Macedonia and Persia, yet I'm pretty sure somebody was blond and there were some blue eyes going on. That bothered me a lot. The point of view changes a lot with each chapter which got a little annoying, but only because there'd be a cliffhanger with one character and then I'd have to wait multiple chapters to get back to their storyline.

Legacy of Kings comes out August 18th! While I didn't love it, I don't really love a series until I read the next books, I highly recommend it!!

The Martian Review

When a freak accident happens on a mission to Mars occurs, Mark Watney is believed to be dead as the rest of his crew abandons the mission. Instead, he survives. Now he must find a way to survive on a barren wasteland of a planet.

AWESOME BOOK!!!! Loved it so much! It's super sciencey at times and that got confusing. However, the book had a ton of humor in it. One of my favorite parts of the book was the people at NASA after they realize he's alive, "'He's stuck out there. He thinks he's totally alone and that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does that have on a man's psychology?' He turned back to Venkat. 'I wonder what he's thinking right now.'" Then it goes to Watney's log: "How come Aquaman can control whales? They're mammals! Makes no sense." There are just awesome jokes throughout the book to make the situation a bit lighter. Because let's be honest a man abandoned on Mars is kind of dark. However, all the characters bring their own humor to the story. I fell in love with all of them because of this.

The story was very extreme and some of what happened just seemed to be a little too much drama at times. However, Watney would also that kind of stuff was inevitable and he would expect something dangerous that he probably shouldn't have survived from and then make jokes about it. This also kept me engrossed in the book, as I would always be kept on the edge a little as to what kind of near death experience he'd have next.

The book is a little more mature, just a warning! It does have the f word a bunch. I'm pretty sure the movie (I'm so excited for it!) is going to be rated R for this reason too. Also, Matt Damon is going to be playing Watney in the movie. More exciting though, in my opinion at least, Sebastian Stan is going to be in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Definitely one of my top celebrity crushes. He's going to be playing Chris Beck, one of the astronauts originally on the Mars mission. He doesn't have much of a role in the beginning, but he is more important towards the end! Hopefully the movie will be good and the humor will be able to transfer!

This book was an amazing Sci-Fi book, definitely one of my favorites now. I think everybody should read it!