Best of 2014

Happy Holidays, friends! I'm just popping in with my favorite reads of the year - and I've happily dragged Jackie along to chime in with her top reads of 2014 as well. This was a bit of a tough list to pick out because I honestly was a tough reader to please these last few months. But I came up with a few that were actually spectacular and Jackie had some fantastic reading this year as well.

Hannah's Best Of

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

This book is a Taylor Swift song and I loved every minute of it. It was really easy to let Emery Lord onto my shelves and into my heart. Keep an eye out for The Start of Me and You coming this spring - it's another amazing, amazing contemporary from an author who's become an insta-read for me. 

My True Love Gave To Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

Reading MTLGTM has become a new (planned) tradition for me. I'm definitely going to return to this book in the holiday season to pull me into the excitement and magic that comes with this time of year. And you get a bundle of fabulous authors all in one go - Rainbow Rowell made me cry (yet again, because she's perfect), Myra McEntire made me laugh, and don't even get me started on how Laini Taylor proves again how she's one of the most skilled storytellers out there. 

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

I didn't know if she could top Etienne St. Clair or Cricket Bell, but Josh certainly belongs in the wonderful pool of Perkins' boys who aren't perfect, but perfect for who they end up with. And of all the Perkins' girls, I think I'd most like to be Isla. This one was well worth the wait. 

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Another fantastic addition to an epic, epic fantasy. I'm not a fan of faeries, honestly, but for Sarah Maas and Celaena, I'm all in. I so can't wait to see where this series leads. 

Jackie's Best Of

Scan by Walter Jury and Sarah Fine

This book blew me away. I was so surprised by how much I loved this one. The relationship in the story hooked me immediately, and the plot was so different from everything I've read. Loved it. 

Love and Other Theories by Alexis Bass

 

I cannot gush enough about this book. NO OTHER book has made me feel the emotions that this one has. Alexis Bass nails life as a girl in high school...or at least what mine felt like. Incredible. It's a must read. 

A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier

I got my history on with this book and was absolutely blown away by the authenticity. The world is spot on incredible. 

The Treatment by Suzanne Young

This was an excellent sequel to a book I loved. Suzanne Young just gets me. The action and tension are awesome.

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

It's such a touching story and the writing is stand-out beautiful. This is such an important book
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Hannah here: I had to throw in a few words on this one as well. It's a book I'm adding to my list of best of the year, too. Jackie and I so rarely like the same book - it's shocking really, considering how good of friends we are that we can never agree on things like best books (although she does have a fantastic list this year...) or even whether a book is good or not. But this one - we are totally on the same page. It's so, so beautiful, I'm highlighting practically every other sentence. If you haven't picked up this one yet, Jackie and I both recommend you do. 

Jackie and I would love to hear what your top reads were!

Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins

 

Synopsis: In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think. For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, the outfit - more sparkly, more fun, more wild - the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door. When the family returns and Cricket - a gifted inventor and engineer - steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

When I finished Lola, I had the goofiest grin on my face. I, just...ahhhhhh.
I loved Anna and the French Kiss. I read it twice, I loved it so much (there are too many books to read to be rereading, but Stephanie Perkins books are so worth reading more than once). I was so eager to get my hands on Lola, but I was a little nervous too. I always am when I get attached to one book an author has written. I get afraid that the next won't live up to the first and I'll be disappointed. However, I had faith and man, Perkins exceeded all my hopes for Lola.


I actually went into this book thinking - I'm sure it will be great, but it won't be able to replace Anna and St. Clair in my heart. And, Anna and St. Clair are still safely there, but Lola and Cricket have joined them. They're now currently duking it out for my favorite, because I'm going back and forth. Both pairs are just SO incredible. 


My other thought while reading Lola (apparently I'm taking you on my psychological journey as I read this book...) was - this is my life. AGAIN. Dear Stephanie Perkins, are you stalking me? I don't know how it's possible for one author to write two books, on two different continents, with two very different girls, who love two very different boys and still have both of them feel like they are ABOUT my life. Impressive. While I can't exactly relate to Lola's  need to dress in costume or her family life, I have had her feelings. I have been in her situations. I've had her thoughts. Although my Cricket wasn't as great as her Cricket (which is probably telling as to why my story didn't end like hers), I totally projected.


Again, I could talk about this book forever. In fact, if you want to gush about this book with me, gush away. I'll gladly geek out with you. But I'd like to mention one more thing that I freaking love about this book. One of the messgages I think Perkins is trying to get across is - If it's right, it's the easiest thing in the world to be with someone. Love shouldn't be hard. Obstacles are expected, but if you're with the right person you can get past them. Anna and St. Clair show up in Lola and demonstrate just this message. Happiness is easy when you are loving the right person.


So, I'm all swoony about this book. If you haven't read Anna and the French Kiss, you need to read that book as well. Don't let the covers or the titles fool you. These books have more substance than half the books on my shelf put together. Plus, they make me smile. A lot.  

Books Released This Week!

Tuesday, September 27 
       The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Synopsis: Mara wakes up from a coma with no memory of the accident that caused the deaths of her best friend, boyfriend, and boyfriend’s sister. The doctors tell her parents that starting over in a new state and a new school will be good for her and that she should let the memories come back on their own. But Mara’s new start is anything but comforting when she sees the faces of her dead friends everywhere, and her world starts to fall apart. She begins to see people’s deaths just before they happen—at least that’s what she thinks she’s seeing. On top of that, the most beautiful boy ever is pursuing her, but his intentions may not be so pure…. Part thriller, part paranormal, this hotly anticipated debut novel will have readers on the edge of their seats.

     The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen

Synopsis: Sasha is desperate to find out who murdered her father. When getting the answer means pledging her soul to Eryx, she unlocks a secret that puts her in grave danger—she is an Anabo, a daughter of Eve, and Eryx’s biggest threat. A son of Hell, immortal, and bound to Earth forever, Jax looks for redemption in the Mephisto Covenant—God’s promise he will find peace in the love of an Anabo. After a thousand years, he’s finally found the girl he’s been searching for: Sasha. With the threat of Eryx always looming, Jax knows he has to keep Sasha safe and win her over.  But can he? Will Sasha love him and give up her mortal life?

      Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Synopsis: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

      A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Synopsis: On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past. In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

Thursday, September 29 

      Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Synopsis: In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think. For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, the outfit - more sparkly, more fun, more wild - the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door. When the family returns and Cricket - a gifted inventor and engineer - steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. 

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson 

 Synopsis: The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.