My Favourite Books of 2015

This year has been one of my best reading years in a long, long time. I've made an effort to try new genres and have been greatly rewarded for that choice. Here are my top twelve books of the year, along with their descriptions and my reasons for having them on my list. They are listed chronologically as putting them in an order of favourites would just be too stressful.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue - There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up. 
Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. 
The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost. 
Friends can betray. 
Mothers can disappear. 
Visions can mislead. 
Certainties can unravel.

This book has to be one of my favourites because I cannot get enough of it and the world its set in. Each book in the Raven Cycle series is more exciting than the last and with the final book coming out soon, it's really worth getting your hands on the first three beforehand.

Shadow and Bone - Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

.

This amazing series is full of action, romance and magic. With characters you can't help but hate to love and plot twists waiting round every corner, I would really recommend this book if you are a lover of fantasy.

Half Bad - Wanted by no one. Hunted by everyone.
Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan's only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it's too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

I'm annoyed that it took so long for me to pick this book up off my shelf and read it. This novel is a sad, yet hopeful tale that deals with prejudice, trust and love. Also, it's set in England, which almost no YA novels are, so bonus points need to be awarded.

Cinder -Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the centre of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

This novel is a perfect mix of fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian YA fiction. Definitely do not be put off by the mention of the word 'cyborg' as I first was and go into this with an open mind (though be prepared to have it blown and your heart broken at certain points). As 'The Lunar Chronicles' are now complete, I truly recommend marathoning them all because this is a fantastic series that every lover of YA fiction should definitely experience.

Since You've been Gone - It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.
On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?
Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.
Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?
Kiss a stranger? Um... 
Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what?

When I first saw this book my mind was screaming at me so put it down and run away because it seemed just like another contemporary sloppy love story, but I am really glad I got it. This is anything but just another 'contemporary sloppy love story'. It's about friendship, family and doing what's best for you. Also, someone please make me a list...

I'll Give You The Sun - Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

If you only read one book from this list, make it this one. This story made me laugh and made me cry (and if you know me, you know how hard that is to do). 'I'll Give You The Sun' will turn you into an emotional wreck with a greater appreciation for life and following your dreams. It is the most stunning and beautiful book I have ever had the luck of reading.

A Swift Pure Cry - After Shell's mother dies, her obsessively religious father descends into alcoholic mourning and Shell is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Her only release from the harshness of everyday life comes from her budding spiritual friendship with a naive young priest, and most importantly, her developing relationship with childhood friend, Declan, charming, eloquent and persuasive. But when Declan suddenly leaves Ireland to seek his fortune in America, Shell finds herself pregnant and the centre of a scandal that rocks the small community in which she lives, with repercussions across the whole country. The lives of those immediately around her will never be the same again.

This is a heartbreaking tale of loss and love. Real life stories are often the most eye-opening and scarring and this was certainly that. It makes you truly feel for the plight of others and be thankful for the life you have.

The Winner's Curse - Winning what you want may cost you everything you love... 
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

Though this tale is one that is completely different to those I am used to, it is utterly brilliant. Drawing on ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome, it demonstrates that love can overcome prejudices and mistakes can cost you everything.

A Court of Thorns and Roses -When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

An epic high fantasy novel that leads the way for an amazing series. This book will draw you completely in Feyre's world and make you wish that, despite the constant threats and levels of danger, you could live in the majestic world of the fae. If you are looking for stunning fantasy writing, this is the book for you.

The Year of the Rat - To Pearl, there's nothing sweet about her premature half-sister, Rose. It was Rose that caused her mother's death and Rose that turned her world upside down.
To Pearl, Rose is The Rat.

This novel is another eye-opening tale. It has the power to make you feel pity and sadness, but also hope and joy. It is one of those books that I think everyone should have the chance to experience.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can. 
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. 
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. 
She's wrong.

An intoxicating start to a dark series filled with fear and romance. The 'Mara Dyer' trilogy has to be my favourite series of the year. You can fly through these books in one sitting and feel like you haven't been there for more than ten minutes. Noah Shaw is a definite perk as well.

Emma - Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.

This book was not what I expected at all. I would never have believed you if you had said to me that I would laugh at a classic and use the word 'man-slut' when talking to my friends about a novel by Jane Austen. If you have yet to start reading classics, I would highly recommend this as you first pick.

Here's to a great year of reading! I wish you all the best in 2016.

-E

Review: The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

I am continually amazed at how each book in this series is so different and individual, yet all are so captivating and flow so well. In this novel, everything we know gets flipped on its head and we get a glimpse into the dark side of those we thought were firmly in the light. It is harsh in the truths it brings, but all that makes for a fantastic conclusion. This novel is a fittingly amazing end to a brilliant trilogy.

(Goodreads parallel) 

Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

This book sets a completely different tone to that of the first in the series. It's much darker and has the power to scare you if you let it. For Mara, this really is her evolution and the beginning of her end; it was both exciting and sad to read. Interspersed with flashbacks that never manage to tell you the whole truth, this novel, packed with fear, action and romance, is one of the best sequels out there because instead of losing the pace set in the first novel, as many sequels do, it raises it.

(Goodreads parallel) 

Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

As I'm one of the few people who has never watched any of the many 'Frankenstein' movies, I went into this book not knowing what I would find and I'm so glad I did. This isn't a book about science or merely bringing someone back from the dead, as I expected, it is about mistakes, guilt and love. I ended up feeling sorry for Frankenstein and feeling a hatred toward the monster he created. In a way, I feel like this book could have been about a hundred pages longer if there was only more description and expansion; it's a shame there wasn't. Overall, though, I was happily surprised by this book.

(Goodreads parallel)

Review: The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory

This novel is a great introduction to Henry VIII, for someone like me who is about to begin to study him, as it gives an overview of most of his reign, detailing his trials and triumphs from an outside perspective. Gregory excels at making you love or hate characters and even though I already knew what was going to happen to certain characters by set historical events, I couldn't help but root for them. The only issues that I can find with this book are that because it covers such a large period of time and has to stick rigidly to events, sometimes it felt a little impersonal to Margaret and became more of a book that just recounted events. 

Overall, though, this was an amazing novel and I would recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction or has an interest in the Tudors.  

(Goodreads parallel) 

Review: The Enemy by Charlie Higson

After hearing so many raving reviews from friends about this series, I had high expectations. Unfortunately, these were not met. The style of writing was something I would expect from a ten-year-old and whilst the premise of the book was good, I didn't care about the characters, so when they died, which was, again, poorly written, I wasn't fazed in the slightest. I will not be purchasing the second book in this series.

(Goodreads parallel)  

Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

I feel very lucky to have only started this incredible series at the start of the year because I don't think I could have waited much longer for 'Winter'. This book is action-packed, full of harsh reality and hardship, yet shows that there is always hope. I am continually amazed by how the fairytales are incorporated into the storyline and this book is no different. Princess Winter is a character whom I instinctively clicked with, just as I had with Cinder in the first novel, and made the plot all the more enjoyable.

After completing this series, I could not recommend it more highly as it satisfies completely what I look for in sci-fi and in fantasy.

(Goodreads parallel) 

A Compulsion To Finish

We all have books we don't particularly like; it's inevitable. Often people, when encountering these books, will put them down and never pick them up again, but I can't do that. Once I've started a book, I will finish it and I will try relentlessly to make myself enjoy it. Sometimes it will even work, the storyline will pick up and I'll find myself reading a decent book. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen a lot.

However, my compulsion extends even further than that. If the book is the first in a series, I may still buy the second in hope that it will get better.

This is what has happened with the Girl Online series. The first was bought as a gift for me last year and it ended up being a quick, unexciting read with a plot so unrealistic I felt like giving up on more than just the book. Still, I persisted and a couple of weeks ago I bought the sequel, though I still have yet to read it.

It seems like my compulsion is a curse that will just end up dragging my money, and maybe other good books, away, though hopefully one day I will find it to be a blessing. 

-E