2015 End of Year Book Survey

This survey is created by The Perpetual Page-Turner.

Number Of Books You Read: 123 (as of 12/27/15 – this will probably go up a book or two by year end)
Number of Re-Reads: 24 (not counted in the above answer)
Genre You Read The Most From: YA

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

I don’t think I can pick one book, but I have narrowed it down to my three favorite (which were also the ones I got for Christmas):

1. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
2. Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin
3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (This book will be referenced a lot from here on out, BTW)

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway, Pretending to be Erica by Michelle Painchaud, and The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh – in a Good way!

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West. I’ve had a few different people tell me they read it because I kept talking about it.

 5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

Started – Six of Crows (Six of Crows) by Leigh Bardugo

Sequel – First Frost (Waverly Family) by Sarah Addison Allen

Ender – Winter (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

Allison Leotta – The Anna Curtis series

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell – I don’t read a lot of books that have LGBT romance.

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Six of Crows!

 9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Big Little Lies

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?

The book only got 2 stars from me, but I adore the cover of A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows. He’s everything.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?

This year I read for pure enjoyment purposes. I can’t say I read anything that was life-changing.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read? 

Missing You by Harlan Coben. Not necessarily that book, but the author. I have never read him before and I know I’ll definitely be reading more of him.

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

I don’t keep track of quotes. It’s not my thing.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

Shortest – Ten Rules for a Call Girl by Allison Leotta

Longest – Winter by Marissa Meyer

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

You know, there were several books that had some small twists or surprises, but there is not anything that stands out to me as being really shocking.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Cinder & Kai from Winter

Kaz & Inej from Six of Crows

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

The Six of Crows gang as a whole, Cinder & Thorne

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Six of Crows – previously read The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – because ALL THE HYPE

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

Kaz Brekker. Obviously.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Wrath and the Dawn

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?

While it definitely wasn’t the sob fest that was Me Before You, After You by Jojo Moyes had me a little teary at the beginning.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Aimee and the Heartthrob by Ophelia London was pretty cute.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I didn’t read a lot of heavy hitting reads this year. I’m not actually upset by this.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

You by Caroline Kepnes. This book was just Messed Up.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Vendetta by Catherine Doyle because it was RIDICULOUS!

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?

I’m not entirely sure if it was this year or last year, but I’m pretty sure it was this year that I discovered Brandie is a Book Junkie. We don’t share the same tastes in everything, but we both love Suspense novels and if she gives a Suspense a favorable rating, it’s automatically going on my TBR. She is also the reason I read my first Harlan Coben book this year. And we also figured out that we live in the same county, which is pretty cool!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

If My Life were Like Chick Lit…The Wedding Date and All the Ways in which I am not a Proper Book Nerd/Blogger.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

I went to a book signing/talk by Linda Castillo (of the Kate Burkholder series).

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?

I had my first publisher provided giveaway – for a copy of Black-Eyed Susans.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

I’ve had several book slumps throughout the year and that bled over into not having anything to post on the blog. I’ve also had lots of Low-Blog-Self-Esteem moments where I kind of hate everything about my blog/blogging.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My review of The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne has the most views of the year. I don’t have any idea how to search by comments or likes.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I don’t really know. I wish every post got more likes/comments/views. But what can you do?

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Many new blogs

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

For the Good Reads Reading Challenge I wanted to read 115 books and I surpassed it.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. I bought it when it was on sale, but haven’t read it yet. It’s first up after I get some library books and ARCs out of the way.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?

The Raven King!!!! How many times has this been pushed back?!?

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I can’t think of anything at the moment. I’m not super attuned to those yet, I guess.

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

The Raven King, obviously, and Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2)

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?

Request less ARCs unless it’s a book that I know I REALLY want to read. I hate DNF-ing ARCs, but I also hate forcing myself to finish books I don’t like and then try to write coherent reviews about them.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

So far I’ve only read one and a half 2016 books and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them to everyone.

 

The Seasons of Book Blogging Tag

I have been an awful blogger lately! I haven’t been able to focus – I’m “currently reading” three different books – so not only have I not been posting, but I’ve been slacking on reading other’s posts. To help get me out of my rut I decided it was time for a tag and this one looked fun. I was tagged for The Seasons of Book Blogging Tag by A Novel Glimpse.

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Rules and Regulations:

• Thank the creator and the person who tagged you.
• Begin with the month in which you have been tagged and move forward from there!
• State the best gift you’ve ever been given after you answer the question for your birthday month.
• Tag whomever you’d like when you’re finished.. or else you’ll be “it” forever.
• Have fun, of course!

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November is the month when we’re reminded of how much we have to be thankful for. Choose one book you’re grateful for having read and give a shout-out to the person who recommended it!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern because it’s beautiful and is one of my favorite books. Thanks to all the bloggers who wrote amazing reviews on it – I wish I could remember the specific blogs that made me pick me it up.

My birthday is in November, so my favorite gift was…I think I’ll go with my birthday this year – I got a Keurig from my parents.

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December is a time when friends and families come together and celebrate. Name one book you would give as a gift.

I’ve been debating getting all my family members books for Christmas, but I’m not quite sure yet. I was thinking of getting Triptych (Will Trent #1) by Karin Slaughter for my brother because he’s a cop and I think he may like it.

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January begins a new year. Name a resolution you made this year and if you’ve kept it or not!

I did not keep ANY of my bookish resolutions I made for 2015. One big one was to read the Harry Potter series and I still haven’t started it (honestly…I probably never well).

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February is the month for relationships. Name your favorite book relationship: romantic, platonic, or familial, your choice!

This should come as no surprise to anyone – The Raven Boys and Blue! I’m obsessed with them and I’m SO SAD that there’s only book left, but I’m SO EXCITED to read it.

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March is the month for luck and new beginnings. Name a book or series that you would like to re-experience as if you’d never read it.

 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I completely devoured these books within days and it remains one of my favorite series of all time.

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April is a spectacularly ordinary month. Name a book that was so over-hyped that it just could not live up to your expectations.

 

Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway. It seemed everyone gave it 5 stars and I was really looking forward to it, but it was a complete let down for me.

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May is the month when the flowers start to bloom. Name a book that was a pleasant surprise to you.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adhieh was a book I expected nothing from and I ended up loving it!

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June is the time to take a break. Name a book or genre that you like to read when you just need to check out.

 

Cutesy, YA Contemporary – like The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West.

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July is the time to celebrate your independence! Name a book that made you see fireworks. (Figuratively. Please don’t light books on fire.)

 

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo completely lived up to the hype for me and I just LOVED it – especially Kaz Brekker, my great book love.

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August is the hottest month of the year. Pick an up-and-coming author that you think will be the next hottest thing.

 

I’m going to go with Renee Ahdieh. I don’t think The Wrath and the Dawn was her first book, but it was huge this year and I’ve seen it’s sequel on a lot of people’s most anticipated 2016 reads – including mine!

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September is time for students to go back to school! Pick a book you read for school that you actually enjoyed.

 

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

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October is time to celebrate Halloween! Pick one character that you would love to dress up as for Halloween.

 

Effie Trinket ALL THE WAY!

Thanks again to Deanna for tagging me! I tag anyone who would like to participate!

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I Just Didn’t Click With

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the Broke and the Bookish, is: Ten Characters I Just Didn’t Click With.

1) Shannon from Taken by Dee Henderson. I just found everything about her so completely off-putting that I ended up DNF-ing the book.

2) Grace from The Murderer’s Daughter by Jonathan Kellerman. I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t really care about her. I think she often did things contradictory to her character development and I just didn’t really care enough about her to ever get really invested in this story.

3) Ani from Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll. She was just all around unlikable.

4) Grandma Nadine from The Dare by Rachel Van Dyken. One of those characters that just drove me crazy every single time she was in a scene.

5) Stella from The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak. I thought she was such a brat and she drove me crazy.

6) Emmy from Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway. She was kind of a brat sometimes, but she had less brat-like moments, too. Overall, I just never really connected with her character.

7) Kate from The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne. She got a little better as the book went on, but for the first half of the book she just drove me crazy.

8) Willem from Just One Day by Gayle Foreman. I have zero patience for his gypsy lifestyle.

I guess I’m just going with a top 8 for now. I’m sure I’ll realize ones I forgot after I read some other lists. What characters didn’t you click with? Were you un-clickable with any of my choices?

Top Ten Tuesday: Recently Acquired Books

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is: Top Ten Recently Acquired Books.

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – From the library (finally!) – Haven’t read yet

2. The First Wife by Erica Spindler – From the library – Haven’t read yet.

3. My One and Only by Kristan Higgins – From the library – Haven’t read yet (this time – it will be a re-read)

4. Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway – From the library – Read and Reviewed

5.. The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West – Won from Giveaway – Read and Reviewed

6. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga – Won from Giveaway – 2 Chapters in

7. Law of Attraction by Allison Leotta – Won from Giveaway – Read and Reviewed

8. Discretion by Allison Leotta – Won from Giveaway – Read.

9. Speak of the Devil by Allison Leotta – Won from Giveaway – Read and Reviewed

10. A Good Killing by Allison Leotta – Won from Giveaway – Read and Reviewed

What are some recent books you recently acquired?

Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

Synopsis from Good Reads:

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

For the past month or so, every time I saw a review for this book, I silently hoped that it would be a bad review. Not because I didn’t want to see the book received well, but because I’ve been anticipating it for a long time and after all the 4 and 5 star reviews I was terribly afraid that the book would never live up to it’s hype for me. Right before I started the book I saw that the average rating on Good Reads is 3.95 (as of today anyways), which surprised me since I don’t think I’ve seen one blog post that gave it less than 4. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough to keep me from being a little let down.

The premise was interesting and the parts where we actually hear Oliver talk about what happened were good and probably my favorite parts of the book. I wish we would’ve gotten his POV because I think that would’ve added a lot to the story. Though we slowly get to know his character, he wasn’t as well developed as I would’ve liked.

I kept hearing about what great friendships are in this story, but they were really underdeveloped for me. Once Emmy started hanging out with Oliver, we barely see her other friends and Oliver only really has a couple of good scenes with them. Though it’s later implied that he becomes closer with them, we don’t get to see him develop a relationship with anyone but Emmy. Speaking of which, the romance was kind meh. There were a couple of cute moments, but I never really got invested in them. I liked reading the parts where Oliver opens up about the past ten years and what he’s feeling now much more than the parts that focus on the romance.

I’m an adult and I read a lot of YA and every once in awhile there are YA books that make me feel like I’m too old to be reading them. That’s how Emmy’s character made me feel most of the time. Emmy was kind of brat. Granted her parents were pretty strict and overprotective, but they were good parents that cared about her and she was just so overdramatic about them. She was constantly lying and sneaking around and so very self-involved. There were some good scenes, though, between her and her parents, especially with her dad.

Overall, it was a fast, easy read that had a few cute moments, but was just an ok read for me. I think I would still give it the same rating if there wasn’t any hype around it, but since there was so much hype it’s left me a little disappointed. It’s definitely one I’m glad I waited for from the library instead of buying.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3 Stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Recently Added To My To-Be-Read List

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is: Top Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List.

1. The First Wife by Erica Spindler.

2. Dumped: Stories of Women Unfriending Women by Nina Gaby.

3. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord.

4. Made for You by Melissa Marr

5. My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent.

6. I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios.

7. Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway.

8. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma.

9. Cuckoo by Julia Crouch.

10. 99 Days by Katie Cotugno.

What books are new to  your TBR list? Have you read any of the above?