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.

 

12 Days of Book Tags

Falling Down the Book Hole made up this fun tag. Feel free to tag yourself if you want to participate!

To try and give myself some different answers than I usually give, I’m only going to respond with books that I read in 2014.

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree  : The Partridge Stood Alone In The Pear Tree? What is Your Favorite Stand Alone?

Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves : Love Is In The Air, Who Is You OTP (One True Pair)?

Juliette & Warner from the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens :  In The Spirit Of Threes, What Is The Best Trilogy You Have Read?

The Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Four Calling Birds : Since Series Usually Consist of Four or More Books What Is Your Favorite Series?

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Five Golden Rings : One Ring To Rule Them All! Who is Your Favorite Villain/Antagonist?

The Darkling from The Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Six Geese a Laying : Creation Is A Beautiful Thing! What is Your Favorite World/World-Building?

I’m going to go with The Grisha series again – Bardugo is amazing!

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Seven Swans a Swimming: Who Needs Seven Swans When All It Takes Is One Good Animal Sidekick To Make A Hero Rock! Who Is Your Favorite Animal Sidekick?

Douglas the duck from Jackaby by William Ritter

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Eight Maids a Milking: Milk Is So 18th Century! Which Book or Series Takes Beverages/Food To A Whole New Level?

All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Nine Ladies Dancing : Dancing is Just One Skill of a Lady! Who is Your Favorite Kickass Female Lead?

Fi from The Mind Games duology by Kiersten White and Kami Glass from the Lynburn Legacy

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a Leaping: Leaping Lords? How About Who Is Your Favorite Leading Lad?

The Raven Boys. Alllllll of them

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Eleven Pipers Piping: Where Would We Be Without Music? What Is Your Favorite Book or Bookish Thing That Deals With Music? (It can be about music, reference music a lot etc.)

While I wasn’t in love with the book or the music, I thought it was cool that all the songs from Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover was recorded.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
12 Drummers Drumming: Drum Roll Please…………………….What Is Your Favorite Read of This Year?

Either Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan or Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White or One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters You Wish Would Get Their OWN Book

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is: Top Ten Characters You Wish Would Get Their OWN Book (minor or just maybe a semi main character you wish a book was from their POV).

1. A Nicolai/Sturmhound (I’m pretty sure I spelled both of those wrong) from The Grisha series spin-off would be amazing.

2. Eleanor from Illusions of Fate. She stole every scene she was in and I loved her!

3. While we get some of his POV in the Kate Burkholder series, a John Tomasetti prequel would be awesome.

4. Iko from The Lunar Chronicles series. She’s so funny!

5. Kenji from the Shatter Me series. I basically hated him until the final book, but then I couldn’t get enough!

6. Ethan Mirabelli from The Next Best Thing. Kristan Higgins now writes her books from the POV of each romantic lead, but when this was written, it was still just 1st person POV from the heroine.

7. Lucas from All the Truth That’s in Me. We only get Judith’s POV and I would love to see Lucas’s.

8. Edward Cullen from Twilight. I’m one of those people that devoured the Twilight series, which got me back into reading after a long hiatus, and then when I went back to read them later, did not enjoy them nearly as much. But I still want Midnight Sun!!

Ok, looks like a top 8 is all I’m going to get. I’m sure as soon as this posts, I’ll think of a bazillion characters. Oh, well. What characters do you want to see get their own book/POV?

Review: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Ok, so I have tried and tried to review this book and I don’t know why, but I just can’t write anything I like. I have decided to just go with listing the things I liked and didn’t like. And it will be ***SPOILERS GALORE***. So if you haven’t read it yet, don’t read any further. This a great series that deserves to be read without spoilers.

You can read a synopsis here.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT!

-The character development in this book is superb! Like, for real. Mal is the least annoying he’s ever been in this book. That’s not to say he’s still not a little annoying, though. He’s decided to dedicate his life to protecting Alina and knows that he can’t be with her. But he still loves her and though he tries to ignore it, he’s still letting her know every time she turns around. A lot of the minor characters get a lot more developed, as well. Genya and David. Toyla and Tamar. Even Zoya.

-And then there’s the Darkling. Layers and layers and layers of characterization. We learn his mother, Bhagra’s, back story, that she is actually the daughter of Morozova. We learn that the Darkling’s name is actually Aleksander and that deep down all he wants is to be Aleksander and have a friend. He wants Alina so much because he thinks she’s like him and he doesn’t want to be alone. But ultimately, he wants the power of the amplifiers.

-I still love Nikolai/Sturmhond. He’s still one of my favorite characters and I almost wanted Alina to end up with him. I was a little disappointed that he’s not actually in love with Alina, but I do enjoy their friendship. I was super upset when the Darkling turned him into some weird creature. But I liked that at the end he was ok, though scarred. I wish there would’ve been a little more of him in the story, but overall, his arc within the series was very well done.

-Mal’s the amplifer! Why didn’t I see that coming? He was obviously more than a normal person, but the amplifier? And why exactly did they have to find the firebird to figure that out? I’m still a little confused about that.

-There was a little too much wandering around the woods with Alina and Mal wallowing in their own thoughts. Things could have sped up a little here.

-I really liked the twist that after uniting all three amplifiers (RIP Mal! – but not really), Alina’s power was distributed to the people. Her heroic journey ends with her sacrificing her power and she gets to be the normal girl she always wanted to be. Even though she has a hard time still wanting it.

-Alina kills the Darkling. Not with great power, but with Grisha steel. I agree with The Darkling when he’s like “Like this?” That’s how he ends. Just stabbed with Grisha steel. Which begs the question, WHY DIDN’T ALINA ALWAYS HAVE GRISHA STEEL WITH HER?!?! She could have just stabbed him while kissing him at the end of the second book instead of draining all her power. That seems a little bit of poor planning on Bardugo’s part.

-I loved how Alina has mixed feelings on the Darkling’s death. Yes, he was evil and needed to be put down. But also, he’s sad, confused, lonely Alesander, who should be mourned.

-I got the ending I kind of always wanted, normal Alina and Mal together – at their old home of all places, but I’m a little disappointed with it. It seems a little anticlimactic after all the excitement they lived through. But, I liked that they’re still friends with Nikolai and their other Grisha friends.

-Overall, I really did enjoy this book. I thought it was a good end to the series. Bardugo’s writing and imagination is amazing and her characters are twisted and tormented and complex and lovable and wonderful. I’m sad to see this series end, but look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Plot: 3.5
Characters: 4.5
Readability: 4
Enjoyability: 4
Overall Rating: 4 Stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR list

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the Broke and the Bookish, is: The Top Ten Books on my Summer TBR List.

1. Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo. THIS IS OUT TODAY!!!!!!!!

2. Landline by Rainbow Rowell. Out July 8, 2014

3. The Dead Will Tell (Kate Burkholder #6) by Linda Castillo. Out July 8, 2014.

4. Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead. Out July 29, 2014.

5. Opposition (Lux #5) by Jennifer Armentrout. Out August 5, 2014 (*Insert excited squealing here*)

6. Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss #3) by Stephanie Perkins. Out August 15, 2014.

7. Rebel (Reboot #2) by Amy Tintera. Published 5/13/14.

8. Sweet Reckoning (Sweet Evil #3) by Wendy Higgins. Published 4/29/14. (I know! I still haven’t read it yet!)

9. Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die #1) by Danielle Paige. Published 4/1/14.

10. Ruins (Partials #3) by Dan Wells. Published 3/11/14.

What are you reading this summer?

 

Monday’s Minutes

Monday’s Minutes is my weekly post where I share what I’m reading and what I’m reading next.

WHAT I’M READING

Take Me On (Pushing the Limits #4) by Katie McGarry. After reading City of Heavenly Fire, I had major book hangover and I tried starting three other book before landing on this one and being able to read more than the first chapter. So far, it’s very much  like the other books in this series, but that kind of what I expect.

WHAT I’M READING NEXT

   

I think I’m feeling a Grisha series re-read (for real this time!) to get ready for Ruin and Rising on the 17th!

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Top Ten Tuesday: 2014 Releases I’m Dying To Read

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is: Top Ten 2014 Release I’m Dying To Read.

1. Alienated  by Melissa Landers  available 2/4/14.
I have to say, the cover is the reason I want to read this book. It’s so interesting.

2. Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer  available 2/4/14
So far I’ve really enjoyed this series. Scarlet was one of my favorite reads of 2013. And I love the covers!

3. Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi  available 2/4/14
I love this series so much. Please, please, please end better than Allegiant! Please, please,  please!!!

4. Perfect Lies (Mind Games # 2) by Kiersten White  available 2/18/14
I loved the first book in this series. The main characters are great.

5. Don’t Look Back by Jennifer Armentrout available 4/15/14
I love Jennifer Armentrout. I’ll read pretty much anything by her. And I love the cover for this book!

6. Secret  (Elemental #4) by Brigid Kemmerer  available 1/28/14
I did a binge reading of this series and received a major book hangover for it. I’m very anxious for this book.

7. Isla and the Happily Ever After  (Anna and the French Kiss #3) by Stephanie Perkins  available 5/13/14
This series is so adorable. I look forward to more Anna & St. Clair and Lola & Cricket. Here’s hoping there’s no cheating in this book, though! That’s been the major downside for me with Perkins’ books

8. Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo  available 6/3/14
Alina, The Darkling, Sturmhond/Nikolai, Mal. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

9. The Dead Will Tell  (Kate Burkholder #6) by Linda Castillo  available 7/8/14
I love this series. I love Kate and Tomasetti and the mysteries are always great.

10. Opposition (Lux #5) by Jennifer Armentrout available 8/5/14
The end of the Lux series is going to make me super sad, but I can’t wait to find out what happens! Origin left us with such a cliffhanger!