Favourite books of 2014

Note: These books are the ones I've read in 2014, not necessarily the ones that came out in 2014. 

I have to say I didn't read as much in 2014 as I would have like to have read. The books I did read were mostly all really good so making this condensed list was really difficult.

5. A monster calls by Patrick Ness 

This is actually a children's book but it hit me so hard nevertheless. The writing and story was beautiful and it left me in tears. Furthermore, the illustrations in this book are stunning. It's quite a dark and thoughtful read and I was definitely not expecting that.

 Apparently they are adapting this into a movie and I could not be more thrilled. 

4. Blue Lily Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

This series is one of my all time favourites so I was practically jumping up and down when I found this book in Waterstones 3 days early. I really love the plot and the characters. If it wasn't for the characters I really wouldn't like this series as much. 

3. The Evolution of Mara Dyer

I know the last book came out in 2014 but I had to read this one before I could read the last one (which i'm currently reading). This is also another one of my favourite series. The story is so creepy and intriguing. This book was even better than the first and I can't wait to finish the last book.

2. Ignite me by Tahereh Mafi

Wow. This book blew me away. I read this at the beginning of the year and I still remember how happy I was with this book. It gave me all the right feels. The romance along with the poetic writing really makes this book amazing. 

1. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

One of my favourite series of all time: The Infernal Devices. This was a outstanding conclusion in the trilogy and by favourite book by far. I connected to the characters so much and the plot was so well thought out. The ending had me in tears but I was so satisfied. Also, If you want a love triangle that beats ALL other love triangles, read this trilogy. It won't disappoint :) 

Emoji's & Books

I saw this tag going round on youtube and ,even though i don't have a youtube channel and wasn't tagged, i though it was a really fun idea! The premise of this tag is to get 5 or so of your most used emojis and say what book you would associate with that emoji.
Here are my 5 most/recently used emoji's:

(they all seem quite boring though, oh well)

1. The Crying emoji // a book that made me cry 

The journey that the main character goes through during this book is so moving. It made me wonder what kind of a person i wanted to be and realize that every day really is a gift. It was quite an experience to see such amazing character development. Along with Lauren Oliver's beautiful writing, this book had me in tears the whole time. 

2. The Heart eye's emoji // a series or trilogy that i'm in love with

The delirium trilogy was one of the first dystopian's i ever read. I was blown away by the concept of the story. These books are really what made me love Lauren Oliver's writing style so much. 

3. The Annoyed emoji // a character that annoyed you 

Juliette annoyed me so much during the first 2 books of the shatter me series. I guess I can't complain too much since she did develop in the last book (which was one of the best books I've read this year).  

4. The Too many feels emoji // a book that gave me all the feels 

This book was perfect. Period.


















5. The Blue heart emoji // a book that holds a special place in my heart

For a long time up until last year i stopped reading. Thanks to this book series I got back into reading and then discovered so many other books that have impacted me greatly.

♡

Thanks for reading! Comment if you like - Tess x

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare Book Review

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

*MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK, CITY OF BONES



What I Liked: 

• It was SO much better than the first book. Clary and Simon were less annoying, in fact, I think Simon was quite hilarious. Imagining him as Robert Sheehan makes it even better. Simon in the first book was just always in the way of Clace. 
• I liked that more characters were introduced and it was interesting to learn more about downworlders.
• There was much more action which i did enjoy. 
• Malec. Enough said. 

What I Disliked:

• Even though Clary was less annoying, she was still annoying as hell. She makes some stupid decisions without thinking sometimes. I've heard this doesn't get better in the later books unfortunately.
• I love Jace but i found him quite whiny in this book to be honest. It just always seemed like he was throwing a temper tantrum.
• I'm not going to lie the incest aspect of the story did make me kind of uncomfortable. 

My Favorite quote:

“Jace slammed his hand down on the stele. “Clary-“
“She said she doesn’t want it,” said Simon. “Ha-ha.”
“Ha-ha?” Jace looked incredulous. “That’s your comeback?”

My Rating: 4/5 stars

Have you read City of Ashes? What did you think? - Tess x

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare review

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Tessa Gray should be happy – aren't all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. 

A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her. 

My Rating: 5/5 stars




wow. Where do I begin? As the 3rd and last book in a trilogy it had a lot of high expectations and wow, were those expectations exceeded. This book had my heart racing the whole entire time. I cried, laughed and experienced all the feels. All the loose ends were tied up and the book was action packed. It was so hard to put it down and i spent countless nights staying up late to read it. This is definitely the best book in the whole series and Cassandra Clare writes so beautifully that there were so many breathtaking moments.



The character development was phenomenal and i never been so attached to so many characters in a book before. Tessa and all the other characters were kick-ass. The plot was layed out really well and we finally got the answers we were looking for.
The epilogue brought me to tears and this couldn't have ended better. I literally have nothing else to say about this book apart from the fact that it was amazing and i loved it.



I still have yet to read Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, i have only read the first book but i intend to continue it and see where my feelings go. I hope tot see some familiar faces too.

Favorite Quote:

“Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.” 

-Tess xxx

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare Book Review

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In magical Victorian London, orphan Tessa found safety with the Shadowhunters, until traitors betray her to the Magister. He wants to marry her, but so do self-destructive Will and fiercely devoted Jem. Mage Magnus Bane returns to help them. Secrets to her parentage lie with the mist-shrouded Yorkshire Institute's aged manager Alyosius Starkweather.


My Rating: 5/5 stars

Well, where do i start? Clockwork Prince was even better than Clockwork Angel. I felt like there was a lot more action and awesome jaw-dropping moments. 

I feel like the plot really took off during this book and we see much more of the downworlders and shadow hunters. I am not surprised by the betrayer though, i saw that coming from a mile off. However, we still don't really learn much about what Tessa is but i'm sure that the last book will sum all that up. 

The characters were just as amazing in this book. I love Sophie and Gideon! I even felt pity towards Gabriel. Charlotte is such a strong kick-ass character  and of course we see much MUCH more of Magnus! God, I love him. As far as our main protagonist, I love Tessa's progression and I even find her better than Clary. I'm still really interested to see what she is and how it all came about. We didn't see much off Mortmain but i have a feeling that the next book will have an epic showdown!



OH. Yes and the love triangle. Well ,that caused me to asdfl and spaz out a LOT. You know how I was all Team Will in the 1st book ,well, I've changed my mind. I LOVE JEM SO MUCH! BUT, I LOVE WILL TOO! We just see so much more of Jem and he's just so sweet and innocent! But we really see a deeper side to Will too which makes me really understand him and his actions better. I'm so confused about my feelings and it really makes me nervous. I don't want any of them hurt! I think deep down I want Tessa to be with Will but i just hate the idea of poor Jem having to endure the pain of losing her. 



Honestly, i'm really nervous but really exited about reading the next book. Nervous because of this love triangle that has caused me so much pain and I just don't want the series to end. Excited because we will finally get some answers and hopefully kick Mortmain to the Curb! That Cliffhanger ending just tore me apart! Another reason to get Clockwork Princess, the 3rd and final book, ASAP.

My Favorite Quote:

“They’re not hideous,” said Tessa.
Will blinked at her. “What?”
“Gideon and Gabriel,” said Tessa. “They’re really quite good-looking, not hideous at all.”
“I spoke,” said Will, in sepulchral tones, “of the pitch-black inner depths of their souls.”
Tessa snorted. “And what color do you suppose the inner depths of your soul are, Will Herondale?”
“Mauve,” said Will.”

                                                                                              - Tess xxx

Clockwork Angel By Cassandra Clare Book Review

SYNOPSIS: The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them

Cover of Clockwork Angel

 Okay, so can we just take a second to appreciate this GORGEOUS cover. It's just beautiful *WIPES TEARS*.

Anyway, the only other book of Cassandra Clare that i read was City of Bones of her TMI series and it was surprisingly good but I was always intrigued by her Infernal Devices series. I was originally going to start reading TID series after i finished TMI but i just couldn't help myself.

I really liked the characters in this book way more than the characters in City of Bones especially Tessa (even though she could be annoying at times). Oh and Will and Jem are just the best! Personally i would have to say i am TEAM WESSA (sorry Jem). Will was such an interesting and mysterious character that i am super excited to learn more about and i just could help but love his snarky sarcastic personality.

The plot was such a page-turner and there is still so many unanswered questions which compells me to pick up the next book and read on. I love the setting of Victorian England and how Cassandra Clare really paints a vivid picture of the ghostly atmosphere.

I would give this book a 5/5 stars because i loved it THAT much. I have high hopes for the rest of the series.

My Favorite Quote:

“Will looked horrified. "What kind of monster could possibly hate chocolate?”