TTT: New-To-Me Favourite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

Tags

Alexandra Bracken, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Derek Landy, Ellie Marney, Every Breath, Holly Black, Jodi Meadows, Laini Taylor, Orphan Queen, Rachael Craw, Skulduggery Pleasant, Spark, The Darkest Minds, The Darkest Part of the Forest

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten New-To-Me Favourite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

1. Rachael Craw
Guys, can you believe that I only read Spark THIS YEAR??
THIS YEAR, GUYS!!

 2. Alexandra Bracken
And same with The Darkest Minds! Only this year? Seriously?

3. Derek Landy
Ahh, yes. If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have noticed that I read the entire Skulduggery Pleasant series this year. (And I talk about the experience here)

4. Ellie Marney
OH MY GOSH WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ EVERY BREATH???
Actually, I figured out why…it’s because NOBODY TOLD ME it was a Sherlock retelling.
You’re all fired.

5. Holly Black
Ok, not technically new to me this year…I tried reading Tithe last year, but I didn’t make it past the first couple of chapters. However, when Holly Black came to Aus, it was recommended to me that I try The Darkest Part of the Forest.
Which I did, and I loved it!

6. Laini Taylor
Daughter of Smoke and Bone was fabulous. I have no idea why I haven’t read the rest of the series yet…I own them all.

7. Jodi Meadows
Orphan Queen was FANTASTIC!! Seriously, absolutely loved it.

---

 So, there’s only 7 authors on this list…there would have been more, except I specifically did not include authors who debuted this year.

Who was on your list?

TTT: Auto-buy Authors

Tags

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Alexandra Bracken, Cynthia Hand, Hex Hall, Julie Kagawa, Keira Cass, Lament, Maggie Stiefvater, Michelle Hodkin, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Rebel Belle, Sarah J. Maas, Shiver, Spark, Stephanie Oakes, Talon, The Darkest Minds, The Immortal Rules, The Iron Fey, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Mara Dyer Trilogy, The Raven Boys, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, The Selection, Throne of Glass, Unearthly

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Auto-buy Authors

Regardless of whether I have money or not, you can be pretty sure I’ll buy the newest book from these authors:

1. Sarah J. Maas
Having read all the Throne of Glass series, and ACOTAR, I can truthfully say I will probably love anything this woman writes.

 2. Rachael Craw
Everyone should know by now that my love of Spark knows no bounds. And I am sure this love will continue with any other book Rachael Craw decides to write. (She’s amazing, people!!)

3. Julie Kagawa
I searched for ages to find The Iron King, wanting desperately to read it. And I was in no way disappointed. Since then, I have been able to get my hands on all of Julie Kagawa’s books, and I have loved them all.

4. Maggie Stiefvater
Ok, I really don’t think I need to explain this one. I need The Raven King like I need air.

5. Alexandra Bracken
I cannot believe it took me so long to get around to reading The Darkest Minds! I loved it so very much, and am VERY excited for Passenger.

6. Kiera Cass
It’s funny, that the only reason I read The Selection was because my sister wanted to read it…I may have barely given it a second glance otherwise, and wouldn’t that be disappointing.

7. Cynthia Hand
With the exception of the very beginning of Unearthly, I absolutely ADORED the Unearthly trilogy, and The Last Time We Say Goodbye was pretty amazing too. I can’t wait to see what Cynthia Hand writes next.

8. Rachael Hawkins
It took me WAY too long to find Hex Hall, but it was worth the effort. And the Rebel Belle trilogy has been just as good so far.

9. Michelle Hodkin
The Mara Dyer trilogy was so fantastically creepy! I’ve actually been wanting to reread the series for a while.

10. Stephanie Oakes
Ok, so she’s only got one book out so far…but it’s a darn good one. I am very excited to see what’s out next.

TTT: Books I’ve read so far in 2015

Tags

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Alexandra Bracken, An Ember in the Ashes, Fleur Ferris, Half Wild, Magonia, Maria Dahvana Headley, Markus Zusak, Michelle Hodkin, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Rebel Belle, Risk, Sabaa Tahir, Sally Green, Sarah J. Maas, Spark, Stephanie Oakes, The Book Thief, The Darkest Minds, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Books I’ve read so far in 2015

1. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

2. The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken

3. Spark, by Rachael Craw

4. A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas

5. Rebel Belle, by Rachel Hawkins

6. The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, by Stephanie Oakes

7. The Retribution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

8. Half Wild, by Sally Green

9. An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir

10. Magonia, by Maria Dahvana Headley

Bonus: Risk, by Fleur Ferris

TTT: Books I’d Love to see as movies

Tags

Alexandra Bracken, Cynthia Hand, Half Bad, Kasie West, Kylie Fornasier, Legend, Maggie Stiefvater, Marie Lu, Masquerade, Pivot Point, Rachel Hawkins, Rebel Belle, Sally Green, Sarah J. Maas, The Darkest Minds, The Raven Boys, Throne of Glass, Top Ten Tuesday, Under the Never Sky, Unearthly, Veronica Rossi

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Books I’d love to see as movies

1. Rebel Belle, by Rachel Hawkins
When they said ‘Legally Blonde meets Terminator’, they weren’t kidding. Honestly, the whole time I was reading this, I was thinking ‘how good would this be as a movie?’.

2. Pivot Point, by Kasie West

3. The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken

4. Masquerade, by Kylie Fornasier
Just for the costumes alone I would want this movie.

5. Half Bad, by Sally Green

6. Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand

7. Legend, by Marie Lu

8. Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas
Umm…because…Throne of Glass…duh.

9. Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi

10. The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater
Ok, I was a little hesitant adding this to the list, because it is just so amazing, but I think that if it was done well, it could be just as amazing as a movie.

Series Review: The Darkest Minds

Tags

Alexandra Bracken, In the Afterlight, Never Fade, The Darkest Minds

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Series: The Darkest Minds

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Dystopian

Synopsis (book 1): When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a government ′rehabilitation camp′. Ruby might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America′s children, but she and the others had emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now on the run, she is desperate to find East River, the only safe haven left for kids like her, and she joins a group of other runaways who have escaped their own camps. Liam, their brave leader, is falling for Ruby, but she can′t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all Liam. But there are also other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government.

Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice – and one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.

How I got these books: Christmas presents

The Short Version:

Holy WOW! Absolutely amazing.

The Challenge: A Summary

Tags

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Alexandra Bracken, All Fall Down, Ally Carter, Amie Kaufman, Ballad, Cooper Bartholemew is Dead, Cynthia Hand, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Derek Landy, Half Wild, Harry Potter, In the Afterlight, J.K. Rowling, Justine Larbalestier, Laini Taylor, Lauren Oliver, Leslye Walton, Maggie Stiefvater, Meagan Spooner, Megan Miranda, Melinda Salisbury, Never Fade, Rachel Hawkins, Razorhurst, Rebecca James, Rebel Belle, Red Queen, Richelle Mead, Ruby Circle, Sally Green, Sarah J. Maas, Shadow Kiss, Skulduggery Pleasant, Sophie Jordan, Soulprint, The Darkest Minds, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Sin Eater's Daughter, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, These Broken Stars, Uninvited, Vampire Academy, Vanishing Girls, Victoria Aveyard

As some of you may recall, I gave myself a challenge at the beginning of February. I was to limit myself to reading only books that I already owned/had out from the library. I was not to buy any new books in this time, with the exception of new releases.

So, how did I go?

Well, silly me forgot to take into account the fact that it was my birthday in February. Which means that I got birthday money to spend on ALL THE BOOKS!!!

So, here are the books I bought with my birthday money:

And here are the books I was ‘allowed’ to buy during the challenge period:

And here are all the other books I bought because they were there, or because they were cheap, or because books.

And here’s a picture of them all together:

Total number of books bought: 16.

That’s like, one book every 4 days.

Better yet, for every one book I was allowed to buy, I bought three others.

Reading wise, I faired a little better, reading 6 of the books I bought, as well as several others:

And due to the fact that I read a few ebooks/library books/Netgalley books, here is a full pic of all the books I read:

Total books read: 18.

So, while I did technically read more books than I bought, I made a very, very small dent in my to-read pile. Also, some of these books didn’t make it to the to-read pile before they got read (namely, the ebooks/Netgalley books), so they were, if anything, counter-productive.

In conclusion:

TTT: All Time Favourites

Tags

Alexandra Bracken, Amy Zhang, Bloodlines, Brigid Kemmerer, Disruption, Divergent, Falling into Place, Jessica Shirvington, Kasie West, Maggie Stiefvater, Markus Zusak, Michelle Hodkin, Pivot Point, Rachael Craw, Richelle Mead, Spark, The Book Thief, The Darkest Minds, The Raven Cycle, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Top Ten Tuesday, Vampire Academy, Veronica Roth

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Books you would classify as your all time favourites from the past 3 years

Note: I’m taking ‘from the past 3 years’ to mean books that I have read in the past 3 years.

1. Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series, by Richelle Mead

2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

3. The Raven Cycle, by Maggie Stiefvater

4. Divergent, by Veronica Roth

5. Pivot Point, by Kasie West

6. Disruption, by Jessica Shirvington

7. Falling into Place, by Amy Zhang

8. The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken

9. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

10. Spark, by Rachael Craw

Bonus: Spark, by Brigid Kemmerer

TTT: Favourite Book Heroines

Tags

Ambelin Kwaymullina, Bloodlines, Brigid Kemmerer, Disruption, Harry Potter, Hex Hall, I Am Number Four, J.K. Rowling, Jessica Shirvington, Julie Kagawa, Maggie Stiefvater, Michelle Hodkin, Pittacus Lore, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Richelle Mead, Sarah J. Maas, Spark, The Darkest Minds, The Immortal Rules, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, The Iron Fey, The Raven Boys, The Raven Cycle, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Throne of Glass, Top Ten Tuesday, Vampire Academy

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Fifteen Favourite Heroines from Books

1. Hermione Granger, from Harry Potter

2. Rose Hathaway, from Vampire Academy

3. Sydney Sage, from Bloodlines

4. Blue Sargent, from The Raven Boys

5. Celaena Sardothien, from Throne of Glass

6. Sophie Mercer, from Hex Hall

7. Maggie Stevens, from Disruption

8. Evie, from Spark

9. Mara Dyer, from The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

10. Allison Sekemoto, from The Immortal Rules

11. Meghan Chase, from The Iron Fey

12. Layne, from Spark

13. Ashala Wolf, from The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

14. Number Six, from I Am Number Four

15. Ruby, from The Darkest Minds

Stacking the Shelves: The Yearly Edition

Tags

A Discovery of Witches, A Thousand Pieces of You, Aimee Carter, Alexandra Bracken, Amy Ewing, Amy Zhang, Anna Dressed in Blood, Are You Seeing Me?, Beautiful Darkness, Blood Of Olympus, Blood Promise, Bloodlines, Blue Lily Lily Blue, Boundless, Bram Stoker, Brigid Kemmerer, Captive, Cara Lynn Shultz, Claudia Gray, Corruption, Crown of Midnight, Cynthia Hand, Dangerous Creatures, Darren Groth, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Deborah Harkness, Debra Driza, Demonglass, Disruption, Dracula, E. Lockhart, Endless Knight, Endlessly, Evernight, Falling into Place, Four: A Divergent Collection, Frostbite, Gayle Forman, Half Bad, Hallowed, Heir of Fire, I Was Here, Into the Still Blue, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Jessica Shirvington, Josephine Angelini, Julie Kagawa, Kami Garcia, Kasie West, Kendare Blake, Kiera Cass, Kiersten White, Kresley Cole, Kylie Fornasier, Laini Taylor, Last Sacrifice, Legend, Leigh Bardugo, Let the Sky Fall, Let the Storm Break, Maggie Stiefvater, Margaret Stohl, Marie Lu, Masquerade, Michelle Hodkin, Mind Games, Never Fade, Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Opposition, Origin, Paranormalcy, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Pittacus Lore, Pivot Point, Poison Princess, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Raising Demons, Rebel Belle, Renegade, Revenge of Seven, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Rick Yancey, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sacrifice, Sally Green, Sarah J. Maas, School Spirits, Secret, Shadow and Bone, Shadow Kiss, Shannon Messenger, Silver Shadows, Sinner, Sister Assassin, Spark, Spell Bound, Spirit Bound, Split Second, Stacking the Shelves, Supernaturally, Talon, The 5th Wave, The Assassin's Blade, The Dark World, The Darkest Minds, The Eternity Cure, The Fiery Heart, The Forever Song, The Goddess Test, The Golden Lily, The Immortal Rules, The Indigo Spell, The Infinite Sea, The Jewel, The Lost Files: Hidden Enemy, The One, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, The Selection Stories, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Young Elites, Throne of Glass, Through the Ever Night, Trial by Fire, Under the Never Sky, Uneartly, Vampire Academy, Veronica Rossi, Veronica Roth, We Were Liars

Stacking the Shelves is a thing where we talk about the books we’ve collected in the past week. These can be bought, delivered, ARCs, ebooks, etc.. Pretty self-explanatory.
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tygna’s Reviews

This week, in honour of the new year, I’m doing things a little differently.

I’m doing a post on ALL the books I bought this year!

It’s going to be epic.

Also, please note, I have actually been working on this post since October. This thing has taken me 3 MONTHS to create.

Enjoy.

Books Bought:

And here’s what you’re seeing in the picture

Whole series bought:
Unearthly Trilogy, by Cynthia Hand
Obsidian Series, by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Blood of Eden Trilogy, by Julie Kagawa
Pivot Point Duology, by Kasie West
Under the Never Sky Trilogy, by Veronica Rossi
Vampire Academy Series, by Richelle Mead (incl. Movie companion & Ultimate Guide)
Paranormalcy Trilogy*, by Kiersten White
Sister Assassin Duology, by Kiersten White
Disruption Duology, by Jessica Shirvington

Whole series currently available bought:
Bloodlines, by Richelle Mead
The Arcana Chronicles, by Kresley Cole
Let the Sky Fall, by Shannon Messenger
The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey
Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas

Other:
Secret/Sacrifice, by Brigid Kemmerer
The Selection Stories/The One, by Kiera Cass
The Goddess Test/Captive, by Aimee Carter
Raising Demons/Spell Bound/School Spirits, by Rachel Hawkins
The Dark World, by Cara Lynn Shultz
Four: A Divergent Collection, by Veronica Roth
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Sinner, by Maggie Stiefvater
Masquerade, by Kylie Fornasier
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods/Blood of Olympus, by Rick Riordan
Renegade, by Debra Driza
Legend, by Marie Lu
Dangerous Creatures*/Beautiful Darkness, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Talon, by Julie Kagawa
Revenge of Seven/Hidden Enemy, by Pittacus Lore

*Not pictures because I forgot that I bought them this year and I didn’t remember until after I put all the books back

Special Mentions (ordered, not received):
Rebel Belle, by Rachel Hawkins
The Retribution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

Books Won:

Now, I didn’t have to pay for all my books last year…rafflecopter was kind enough to allow me to win several books, plus bookish events enabled book winning.

Won from blogs:
Are You Seeing Me?, by Darren Groth (Thank you Notebook Sisters!)
Falling into Place, by Amy Zhang (Thank you Book Nerd Reviews!)
Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater (Thank you Miss Page Turner’s City of Books)
The Jewel*, by Amy Ewing (Thank you Genie in a book!)
Spark*, by Rachel Craw (Thank you again, Notebook Sisters!!)

*Not received yet

Won at events:
A Thousand Pieces of You, by Claudia Gray (BTCYA)
The Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare (CoHF Book Launch) (I gave these to my sister…she loves me)

Miscellaneous:

Presents (Birthdays, Christmas, etc.):
We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart
The Young Elites, by Marie Lu
Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo
The Darkest Minds/Never Fade, by Alexandra Bracken
Trial By Fire, by Josephine Angelini
Days of Blood and Starlight, by Laini Taylor
Dracula and Other Horror Stories, by Bram Stoker

Books I got for free (through various means):
Evernight, by Claudia Gray
A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness
Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
Half Bad, by Sally Green
I Was Here, by Gayle Forman (ARC)

---

So…that was all the books I got my hands on 2014.

How was every one else’s year?