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 :) 

Cover lust//in Pictures

Some amazing books that have amazing covers. Would highly recommend :)

Popular books I couldn't get into

*In no particular order

 I never read a fairytale retelling before this so i did have quite high expectations. It also has fairly good reviews. Sadly, i found the story quite predictable and most of the time quite slow. The characters didn't interest me much either.

 As a huge fan of Maggie Stiefvater's "The Raven Boys", i really really wanted to be able to be a fan of her other books. Unfortunately, i found it difficult to get into the world of "The Scorpio Races." The writing made it even harder and in the end i gave up.
(The same thing happened with the "Wolves of Mercy Falls" series by the same author)

 I know everyone seems to rave about this book. To be honest i think part of the reason i couldn't get into this book was because it wasn't the type of book i was interested in at the time. I'll probably pick this up again one day and give it another shot.

 This book is the sequel to "Eve" by Anna Carey which i also found Ok. The main reason i couldn't get into this book was because there wasn't anything particularly gripping or page-turning about this book/series. I found the main character quite frustrating too.

 The "Summer I turned pretty" trilogy is also very popular. I just found the way it was written off-putting for some reason. Also, at the time i was reading this book i didn't like love triangles at all. Therefore, i just put in down. However, i don't think i'll be picking it up again either because the story doesn't interest me much.

One of the latest books I've read that i couldn't get into was "We were liars" by E. Lockhart. This book looked and sounded very intriguing. It was also quite short so i decided to take it off my TBR pile. I do see how some people may love the book but it didn't quite get to me in that way. The writing style is either love or hate. I found it hard to read the book due to the writing and all the metaphors. I do understand how it was beautiful but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Furthermore, I couldn't connect to the characters. In the end, i just skipped to the end.

*Disclaimer: I'm not trying to bash the author or book. I'm just expressing my own opinion and experiences with it. I would definitely still recommend these books because many others have read and loved them so maybe you will too. I just happen to be someone who didn't. 

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

Foyles Bookstore//Westfield

Our school recently had a trip were we could choose where we wanted to go. One of the options was Westfield ,London. Since i'm a sucker for shopping, i obviously chose that option.
While we were there, me and my friend spotted "Foyles." This bookstore isn't around near where we live so we were pretty excited. Plus, we both love books.

The store from the outside

I saw SO many books that I wanted to get there (these broken stars, miss peregrines's home for peculiar children etc). In the end i got The evolution of mara dyer by Michelle Hodkin. This book is the 2nd in a trilogy and it's also extremely hard to find in our local bookstores. I put off reading this for SO long because the 3rd and final book got pushed back to November this year. If you love Paranormal with a mix of mystery and an unreliable narrator, you'll probably love this book. 

Just in case you cared what the bag looked like 

The evolution of Mara Dyer//It's so beautiful :')

We also tried macaroons for the first time (it was lovely) // Vanilla on the left - Ferrero rocher on the right

♡

Thanks for reading! Be sure to comment if you like - Tess x

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi Book Review

Synopsis from Goodreads:

tick
tick
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it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

What I Liked:

• I loved Kenji in this book. I think he is a really strong side character that the series wouldn't be the same without. I love his friendship with Juliette and I think he really helps her.
• This book was definitely better than the first. There was a lot of action and WTF moments. I didn't see most of the plot twists coming AT ALL!
• I loved learning more about Omega Point and meeting all these new characters. It did start to feel like X-men. 
• Warner stole my heart especially since Adam was really annoying in this book. I want Juliette to end up with Warner. 
• I love Mafi's writing so much. The descriptions are just so beautiful and I hope she writes more books because I would love to read more of her work. 

What I Disliked:

• Juliette was still annoying as ever. Maybe not as much as the first book but still annoying. I do think she got better but I'm still waiting for that full transformation. She still acts like a scared little girl who cries all the time. 
• Adam was also really annoying in this book. He was always mopey and most of the time fighting with Juliette. 
• I do want some more description of the world. I find it hard sometimes to picture things. There isn't much world building.
• The book started off quite slow but I guess it did pick up half way through. 
• Even though it's classed as Dystopian, I feel as though the book is much more romance based. I wasn't expecting it to be that heavily romanced based so there's just a warning for all you guys. 

My Favorite Quotes:

“Books are easily destroyed. But words will live as long as people can remember them.”

♡

“Hope.

It's like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It's a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it's the only thing in the world keeping me afloat.” 

♡

“Have you ever had a girlfriend, Kenji?"
"What?" He looks mortally offended. "Do I LOOK like the kind of guy who's never had a girlfriend? Have you even MET me?” 

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Tess x

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins Book Review

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.





What I liked:

• The Characters were all so unique and lovable. Even the side characters were lovable like Bee for example. I loved that the friendships in this book got attention and Bee was a important person, not just forgotten. 
• Harper was a very kickass but still girly main protagonist. I liked that a lot because in most YA books the girls who are badass aren't girly. It was a relief to read something different that shows  that a girly girl can also kick serious butt. 
• The same goes for David. He was snarky, funny and cute but very different from the typical YA boy (in a good way).
• Harper and David's interactions were so funny and I loved their back and forth banter. 
• This book was so funny! I was always laughing at something someone said or did. It's written in 2nd person (sort of) which added comedy to the story. Some people ,however, may not like it as much as I did.
• It was exciting to read a new setting. I found it fun to imagine the characters talking in their southern accents. 
• There was so much action and ,since the book was well paced, there was never a dull moment! It only took me 2 days to read. 
• The plot is so intriguing and there were some plot twists at the end that I really didn't see coming. I've never read anything about Paladins or anything so the new mythology was very interesting to learn about. 

What I disliked: 

• I was very surprised by this book. I've read Rachel Hawkins other book 'Hex Hall' and found it ok so I didn't expect to like this book. However, I really did! There's nothing I can think of that I didn't like. I can't wait for the next book! 

My Favorite Quote:

“If by ‘graciously volunteered,’ you mean ‘was threatened and coerced,’ then yes, I did,” 

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Tess x