Stranice

Wednesday 30 December 2015

FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2015




MY TOP 2015 BOOKS

This post includes only books and series that I have read in 2015. I doesn't necessarily mean that they were published in 2015. These books are mostly YA with one MG and one NA book.
Also they are not in any particular order.
Tell me which book you enjoyed the most in 2015 

 

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
“Behind them, across the hall, the dancers shattered their roses on the floor, and Aedion grinned at his queen as the entire world went to hell.”
This is the fourth book in the Throne of Glass series and in my opinion the best one so far. I can’t tell much about what it is happening but I can say that I loved the character development especially Celaena’s. Moreover, the book is full of action and anticipation. The highlight of this book is the girl power. Whether it’s new characters that were introduced or old ones, every single woman kicked ass in the end. This is a 600-pages-long book and I read it in new days. If that’s not an indication of how good this book is, I don’t know what is.



The Raven Boys (series) by Maggie Stiefvater
“My words are unerring tools of destruction, and I’ve come unequipped with the ability to disarm them.”
When I first started reading this series I did not expect to love it so much because I read the Shiver trilogy and it was okay. But this one exceeded my expectations. This series is about four boys and a girl searching for a  dead Welsh king in Virginia. Sounds illogical but let me assure you it all makes sense once you read it. Stiefvater has a magical way of writing that pulls you in and you continue reading for the sake of reading the lines. The last book of this series (The Raven King) comes out in April 2016.


The Iron Fey (series) by Julie Kagawa

“Ash blinked. "Are you raiding the cellars now, Goodfellow?"

"Me? Stealing?" Puck flashed a devious grin and popped another fruit into his mouth. "In the house of my ancient enemy? What gave you that idea?" He plucked another fruit and tossed it to me with a wink.”

I can’t put into words how much I love the characters in this series. This series may be your average YA series and many of you may not want to read just because of that. But in fact, it is a really good series. So if you’re looking for something YA-ish with great characters, this is for you. The story starts with Meghan whose brother gets kidnapped by faeries and is taken to the Nevernever (fairyland). So she teams up with Puck (the character from a Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare) and bargains with the Ice prince Ash in order to save her brother. This series is everything that a YA series should be. One more thing, you’ll fall in love with either Ash or Puck.



The Reckoners  (series) by Brandon Sanderson
You've got passion to kill but you need to find passion to live.”
I am not a huge fan of post apocalyptic and dystopian books but this is an exception. The characters are very well done and likeable. The fast pace and the action make this book a great read. This series starts with David, a sixteen-year-old boy, whose goal in life is to kill the man who killed his father (Steelheart). In this world superheroes are not heroes but quite the opposite. They are ruthless, brutal and without mercy and sometimes they seem indestructible. David joins the Reckoners in order to find Steelheart’s weakness and kill him once and for all. I like the fact that the romance is not in the focus, which in turn  makes it even more realistic and great.  The last book comes out in 2016.


The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
“My name is Magnus Chase. I’m sixteen years old. This is the story of how my life went downhill after I got myself killed.
This is just the first book in Rick’s new series and I must say that it met my expectations. I love the fact that Riordan’s books can be educational and fun at the same time. The main theme of these books are the Norse Gods and our main character Magnus Chase is the son of one. However, it is up to the reader to find out which one. Filled with humour, mythology and diverse characters this book is ideal material not only for middle grade but for older teens too.

The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout. (I hate the cover therefore no cover for this one)

“I hold onto grudges. I feed and water them, growing them into happy little pools of bitterness.”
I have to confess that the Covenant series by the same author was not one of my favourites because it resembled too much Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Yet, there was one character who intrigued me and that was Seth. Aiden and Alex were a wash out version of Dimitri and Rose and it annoyed me. However, Seth was a brand new character and while reading the series I only wanted to read about him. So when Armentrout announced that she was writing a series cantered around Seth I immediately put it on my TBR pile. Basically, it’s about Josie who finds out that she is a demigod and Seth whose job is to train her. Even though there are mythological elements, in my opinion this is more a romance book.



Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
“You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.”
This book came out this year and it is sort of a companion book to Fangirl. If you have read Fangirl, then you know that there were chapters from Cath’s fanfiction featured in the book. Well, Carry On deals with these characters, mainly Simon and Baz. Of course, you don’t have to read Fangirl in order to understand and love this book. Even though I had some problems with it like drawing constantly parallels between Carry On and Harry Potter, I enjoyed it immensely especially the relationship between Baz and Simon.


The Young Elites (series) by Marie Lu
“To love is to be afraid. You are frightened, deathly terrified, that something will happen to those you love. Think of the possibilities. Does your heart clench with each thought? That, my friend, is love. And love enslaves us all, for you cannot have love without fear.”
Unlike the Iron Fey series, this is not your average YA series. This series is twisted and dark and different in so many ways. The story is set in fantasy world based on Venice and our main character is Adelina. Adelina is not someone you can look up to, she is selfish and twisted. The only person she truly cares about is her sister. While reading this story, you don’t know which side are you on. Everyone is betraying everyone. In this book kids with superpowers are viewed as abominations and treated as such. One night Adelina tries to escape her father who wants to marry her off. He almost catches her but gets trampled to death by his horse. The horse got scared by the shadows which Adelina conjured. That night she learns what her powers are. However, the Inquisition learns about her father’s death and give Adelina the death penalty. Fortunately for her, The Young Elites are there to help her but does she really need their help?



Winter by Marissa Meyer
“She was prettier than a bouquet of roses and crazier than a headless chicken. Fitting in was not an option.”
This is the fourth and final book in the Lunar Chronicles series. Although it wasn’t as fast paced as Queen of Shadows I still thought that it was a great conclusion. It dragged a bit but not to the point where it became unbearable. This series has no flaws. It is a unique sci-fi story set in the future but based on the fairy tales Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White. My favourite characters were Thorne, Iko and Cress. 


Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
“I've always wanted not to give a fuck. While crying helplessly into my pillow for no good reason, I would often fantasize that maybe someday I could be one of those stoic badasses whose emotions are mostly comprised of rock music and not being afraid of things.”
I think this is the first time that an autobiographical book made it to the list. But it  was too hilarious not to include it. The author writes about her and her daily life but describes serious topics like depression too. The way she narrates the story and the added illustrations is downright brilliant. Definitely give it a try.