My Top 5 of 2015 (So Far)

We’re already more than halfway through June! Say what?! I guess since it’s that time of year I should go ahead and list my Top 5 Books of 2015 (so far). Oh, and keep in mind, these are books I’ve read in 2015, not ones that were released in 2015.

5. Unleashed

Sophie Jordan

(Uninvited #2)

Publication Date: February 24, 2015

Hardcover, 368 pages, Katherine Tegen Books

Genres: YA, Sci-Fi

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Davy has spent the last few months trying to come to terms with the fact that she tested positive for the kill gene HTS (also known as Homicidal Tendency Syndrome). She swore she would not let it change her, and that her DNA did not define her . . . but then she killed a man.

Now on the run, Davy must decide whether she'll be ruled by the kill gene or if she'll follow her heart and fight for her right to live free. But with her own potential for violence lying right beneath the surface, Davy doesn't even know if she can trust herself.

My Thoughts

I know this book is getting a lot of flak for changing love interests in the middle of the duology, but I didn’t mind. Of course, I wasn’t surprised by it since I saw so many angry reviews about it. That could have helped boost my opinion.

If you want to check out more of my thoughts, read my review.

4. Wicked

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(A Wicked Saga #1)

Publication Date: December 2014

Paperback, 371 pages

Genres: YA, Paranormal

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.

My Thoughts

This book isn’t the best of JLA’s work, but it is still really great! I can’t wait to find out what happens in book #2!

If you want to check out more of my thoughts, read my review.

3. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Jenny Han

(To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #1)

Publication Date: April 15, 2014

Hardcover, 355 pages, Simon & Schuster

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

My Thoughts

This book would’ve made it to #2 on my list if it hadn’t been for the sequel. P.S. I Still Love You just wasn’t as good as the first book and it brought the whole duology down.

If you want to check out more of my thoughts, read my review.

2. Winner’s Crime

Marie Rutkoski

(The Winner’s Trilogy #2)

Publication Date: March 3, 2015

Hardcover, 402 pages, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

My Thoughts

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first book. I think I may have just read it at the wrong time, but this book was really good. I’m definitely looking forward to reading the third and final book!

If you want to check out more of my thoughts, read my review.

1. Red Queen

Victoria Aveyard

(Red Queen #1)

Publication Date: February 10, 2015

Hardcover, 383 pages, HarperTeen

Genres: YA, Fantasy/Dystopian

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood--those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard--a growing Red rebellion--even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

My Thoughts

I don’t think this comes as any surprise if you’ve been reading my posts over the past few months. I LOVED this book! The world and the characters are just so freakin’ awesome! Book #2 needs to be in my hands RIGHT. NOW.

If you want to check out more of my thoughts, read my review.

***

Now that you’ve seen some of my favorites of the half-year, you should tell me what your favorites are in the comments.

Review: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

P.S. I Still Love You

Jenny Han

(To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #2)

Publication Date: May 26, 2015

Hardcover, 337 pages, Simon and Schuster

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

My Review

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a beautiful story. I had barely finished it before I was ordering its sequel—that’s how good it is. Plus, I absolutely HAD to know what happened! I don’t understand how people who read the first book when it came out could wait so long to know the ending. I was dying just waiting two days! Despite my anticipation, I was let down when I read this book. I guess Jenny Han and endings just don’t mix.

The book starts out right where its predecessor left off. Lara Jean is trying to fix her relationship with Peter. And that was totally what I wanted to happen. What I didn’t want to happen was the sex tape drama. I LOATHE contemporary books that involve anything where private situations are shared online via social media. I cannot stand reading about it. I’ve figured up some reasons for this:

1) In my high school we only had one instance of this happening and it was immediately dealt with and no one actually saw anything.

2) Going along with my high school thing, most of the teachers and students would have been aggravated by the culprit or the post-er, not the victim.

3) I think this trope is overdone by authors who are older and don’t really understand what it’s like for teenagers in high school. They think that it’s all bullies and mean girls with phones and internet access. And that’s just not true.

So, once I knew that this book would be all about that ridiculousness, I immediately lost some enthusiasm.

I also didn’t like that this book made Lara Jean seem a little less like a regular teen girl and more of a girl set on revenge. Her entire storyline just didn’t add up to what I had pictured her personality to be.

I did like the part about the childhood friends getting back together, but the way it played out made me hesitant. John just wasn’t a character I cared to get to know about, I mean we’d already been introduced to two guys—Josh and Peter—and I didn’t want a third one in the mix.

All in all, this book let me down. Jenny Han always comes up with these amazing first and sometimes even second books but the finale always leaves me disappointed. I’d still say that you should pick up this sugary sweet duology, if only because the first book is so tooth-rottenly delicious!

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book for myself.

Which Team Are You? : The Suits Edition

I basically just post a book series every week and have people vote on what team they are. I know the YA Sisterhood does the YA Crush Tournament, but I just want to find out how much you guys like one love interest over another, in one series.

Last week's poll was over Team Noah, Ryan, Isaiah, or West from Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits series. Team Isaiah won!

So for this edition of “Which Team Are You?” I’m going to ask you who your pick of hunky man-flesh is from the television show Suits (in honor of season five having started):

You can choose from:

1) Mike

or 2) Harvey

I’m Team Mike because honestly, Harvey is too conceited. He just irks me sometimes, err… a lot of the time. Plus, Mike’s cute with Rachel and I just want them to be together forever! Do they have a ship name? If so, let me know!

If you had to choose one, who would it be, and why? If you haven’t seen the show (And why not?), who do you think sounds more appealing from the Suits summary below:

On the run from a drug deal gone bad, Mike Ross, a brilliant college-dropout, finds himself a job working with Harvey Specter, one of New York City's best lawyers.

Which Team Are You?

• Team Mike
• Team Harvey

Acepoll

More polls: Create

***Please note that I stop checking the poll the Friday before the new poll comes out (on Sunday). Also, please only vote once so everyone’s vote counts, unless you need to vote for both guys. I give you permission to do that because sometimes choosing is tough.***

**Also note that these are not my images. I found them online.**

Stacking the Shelves: The Heart of a Lion Edition

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme that is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

I went to Barnes & Noble….so I had to pay full price. Boo.

Lion Heart by A.C. Gaughen

I’ve already finished this book and I enjoyed it. I’ll have a review up soon-ish!

What books have you bought/received lately?

Dean Winchester Friday

Dean Winchester (or sometimes Jensen Ackles) Fridays make me a very happy fangirl. You'll see why when you look at the pic.

Lullaby and goodnight, go to sleep my precious Dean… La la la la la la

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Jenny Han

(To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #1)

Publication Date: April 15, 2014

Hardcover, 355 pages, Simon & Schuster

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.

They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her, these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

My Review

This book has a lot of hype surrounding it, so I totally went into it thinking that it would just be a cute, light contemporary read. And it was. But it wasn’t. And I’m not sure how to explain that. You’ll just have to read it to see what I mean. ;)

Lara Jean has two sisters, an older one and a younger one. Margot, the oldest, has a boyfriend named Josh. Margot breaks up with Josh because she’s leaving for college. Lara Jean has a crush on Josh. Lara Jean writes a letter to Josh about her crush. That letter gets accidentally mailed. Cue a messed up whirlwind of drama and craziness.

Lara Jean is a great main character. She’s the epitome of every homebody girl that just doesn’t understand why people like to go to parties, football games, etc. I think we’d get along great. She also spends a lot of time with her family which makes for some adorable familial interactions throughout the book. Now the love interests, Josh and Peter, are very different. Josh is kind of like the nerdy guy next door, while Peter is the lacrosse star that everyone loves. And while Josh is a nice guy, I just didn’t see him clicking with Lara Jean. But that’s just my opinion.

The plot of the book was amazingly entertaining. While there are some original elements to the story, like the letters getting accidentally sent and the family and boyfriend dynamic, the big plot points of the story have really already been done before, but Han does a great job making all of these situations seem like she invented them. Like the pretending-to-date-another-guy trope or even the ex-girlfriend-is-a-beotch cliché. Nothing about the book seemed like it had been overdone in every Hollywood rom-com ever.

I loved Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty series and I didn’t think that this book would surpass the feels I had for those books (at least the first two, because the last one wasn’t that great), but To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before totally blew me away, and I can’t wait to read the next book in this sugary-sweet duology!

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book for myself.

Waiting on Wednesday: An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

An Inheritance of Ashes

Leah Bobet

Publication Date: October 6, 2015

Hardcover, 400 pages, Clarion Books

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

The strange war down south—with its rumors of gods and monsters—is over. And while sixteen-year-old Hallie and her sister wait to see who will return from the distant battlefield, they struggle to maintain their family farm.

When Hallie hires a veteran to help them, the war comes home in ways no one could have imagined, and soon Hallie is taking dangerous risks—and keeping desperate secrets. But even as she slowly learns more about the war and the men who fought it, ugly truths about Hallie’s own family are emerging. And while monsters and armies are converging on the small farm, the greatest threat to her home may be Hallie herself.

My Thoughts

I actually don’t know a whole lot about this book, but it’s young adult fantasy and that has me intrigued.

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?