Top Ten Tuesday #21: Top Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing

-Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Broke and Bookish, where

bloggers share their overall favourites and other top ten bookish things.-

Top Books I Don't Mind Santa Bringing

     I've found that my book wish-list is crazy long this year. There are so many 2014 reads that I still haven't gotten yet and have heard amazing things from! Here's the top ten books that I'd like the most, hehe.

1.  Talon, by Julie Kagawa

2.   Snow Like Ashes, by Sara Raasch

3.   This Shattered World, by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

4.   In A Handful of Dust, by Mindy McGinnis

5.    Get Even, by Gretchen McNeil

6.     Lailah, by Nikki Kelly

7.    The Young Elites, by Marie Lu

8.    Angelfall, by Susan Ee

9.    The Retribution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

10.    All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr

    As you can probably see, you all know why I want these books, haha. I WANT THEM ALLLLLL. Not to sound greedy or anything, haha.

What books do you want the most for Christmas?

Fall For Anything, by Courtney Summers

Fall For Anything, by Courtney Summers
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Publication: December 21, 2010 by St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 230
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating:  ½

Struggling to understand the reasons behind her successful photographer father's suicide, Eddie Reeves purses a dangerous relationship with one of her father's former students, who seems to know more about Eddie's father than she does.

I feel that Courtney Summers is a master at writing contemporary novels with unique premises. It's not everyday when you read a book about a photographer's depressed daughter who's basically suffering all throughout, every single moment there is. Fall for Anything was absolutely a book that I fell for, and it had a very strong heroine.

"I'm always leaving, but I never have anywhere to go."

  If I close my eyes and reenact this whole book in my head, the thing that catches my attention the most is the formation of Eddie's character. She started off as a twig, small and feared, but as her story broadened and came to be, she ended up like a tree, ready for any situation or thing to fly by. I praised her, and she was my favourite thing of this story. She was understandable, looking at her situation, and I saw a character who was scared but still took the chance. I had to point this out first or else I'd freak while writing this review, to be honest.

   

   The story is simple, but it's actually pretty meaningful. Eddie Reeves is living alone with her mother, who rarely is there for her since all she does is sit and gets drunk with her best friend. Eddie is trying to understand the clues and hints behind her father's recent suicide, and then she meets his past photography student, who has some feelings for Eddie himself. The basic reason why she's taking the chance with him is because he may know more about her dad than she does...

     You'd take the chance for someone you deeply love, right? Obviously, who wouldn't? This was Eddie in this case. She was fearing of losing her mind, and she needed to find out what was bothering her father in his life, since he was so famous and made a lot of money. Money doesn't buy you happiness. The concept of this story was strong and applicable to a lot of people's lives out there. Many people could probably relate to Eddie.

       

        What I must say is that if Eddie's character and the concept wasn't strong, then I wouldn't have liked this book too much, to be honest. The story was honestly nothing special, as in twists and turns speaking. Nothing significant was happening that got my heart racing or anything like that. It was basically a story you would find on the news, one that almost no one would be talking about because there were no mind-blowing events that cautioned you to freak out. I was expecting more, in this aspect.

           If you're looking for a nice romance, you should run away here. Okay, there was a little romance, which is why I classified this under the "romance" category, but I didn't like it. WE NEEDED SOMETHING SWEET HERE TO MAKE EDDIE FEEL BETTER. We had some forbidden gross thing going on that Eddie's best friend had to save her from. Does that count?

         I find that Courtney Summers' books are always so soothing and real. You can't argue with that aspect, honestly. But I do feel like we needed an improve of characters and romance. Looking for a quick Friday night read? Then this book is for you.

Stacking the Shelves #22: December 21

This Week's Headlines:

      Hello hello! SCHOOL'S OUT FOREVER! BAM BAM BAMMMM! Okay—so the amazing thing here is that I'm officially on Christmas break until the first Monday of 2015. You honestly don't understand how long I've been waiting for this. FOREVER AND EVER, let me tell you. I'm so ready for a nice long relaxing break where I'll be able to chill, read and forget about school for a while. But of course, I'll need to study for exams a little bit. ;)

My Book Haul:

  This week's been awesome with books! I HAVE ROGUE WAVE, PEOPLE. Thank you so much for Disney-Hyperion for this awesome blessing.

          Also, a big thanks to Penguin USA for granting me an ecopy of:

Posts You May Have Missed:

• Minders by Michele Jaffe Review
• 20 Things About Me Tag
• Top Ten Tuesday #20: Top Ten Books of 2014
• White Space by Ilsa J. Bick Review

What are your newest shelf additions? Read any of these? 

Minders by Michele Jaffe Review

Minders, by Michele Jaffe
Published On: January 30, 2014, by Razorbill
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopia, Romance, Science-Fiction
Pages: 395
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

A high concept, cinematic read with a surprising twist, MINDERS asks the question: who is really watching whom?
Sadie Ames is a type-A teenager from the wealthy suburbs. She's been accepted to the prestigious Mind Corps Fellowship program, where she'll spend six weeks as an observer inside the head of Ford, a troubled boy with a passion for the crumbling architecture of the inner city. There's just one problem: Sadie's fallen in love with him.
Ford Winters is haunted by the murder of his older brother, James. As Sadie falls deeper into his world, dazzled by the shimmering pinpricks of color that form images in his mind, she begins to think she knows him. Then Ford does something unthinkable.
Back in her own body, Sadie is faced with the ultimate dilemma. With Ford's life in her hands, she must decide what is right and what is wrong. And how well she can really ever know someone, even someone she loves.

    I've honestly seen this book everywhere I go, and I feel like it kept on following me, so I then decided to borrow it from the library to give it a go. Since August due to my crazy schedule, it has been stalling in my bookshelf waiting to be picked up and loved from. Minders was a psychological thriller, with some flaws in between. But overall, it was a great novel and a total change.

"He took a step forward, then another. Dread filled her. She wanted to close her eyes, look away, but that wouldn't change anything. He raised the gun, and as he stepped into the office she heard him think, Watch this Sadie. As if she had a choice."

   

        Okay, so this book did have some peculiar events where I thought things were too good to be true. But really, the plot is simple but so good. What's happening in this dystopia world is that the government basically hire spies to read other people's minds of troubled people. Sadie Ames is a girl who's perfect for this role, as she will be listening to the thoughts of Ford, who is troubled by his dead brother's past. What happens when she falls in love with someone who doesn't even know that she exists?

           "I want to feel what pressures other people feel. Experience the world guided by someone else's moral compass. See and hear and taste with senses formed in a completely different mold than mine. I want to see what it's like to live someone else's lie."

          The concept of this book was one of the most unique that I've read about for a while. Mind-reading slash dystopia? WHAT AWESOMENESS. This was like a less dystopian Hunger Games, if you get what I mean. There was almost always action at every corner of every page. Like legit, the word "action." xD Just kidding—but this book was a total joke with the romance and characters.

         

            At first, I saw Sadie as kick-ass and literally perfect. She was the new "Tris," and the character I've been looking for, for the longest time. And then Ford happened. EWEWEWEWEWEW NO. Their "love" ruined it all because it was completely fake and Sadie was so obsessed. GIRL DO YOUR JOB. 

             Honestly, that's the part that frustrated me the most. I was expecting something more simple and special. As I began reading, I was pretty intrigued. Jaffe had something so intriguing in her words and I just wanted to know what would happen and how the ending will come to be. Next thing next, the middle portion was a little too boring and I lost the real amazingness of the story until the ending came. Meh.

     Minders was something I haven't read about for a long time. The plot was pretty well, and the idea was perfect. Minus some bland and flaws in the characters, I was really impressed with the outcome, and it was a great standalone.

20 Things About Me Tag

         Hey, hey!

         I was tagged by Eileen at BookCatPin to do this awesome and quick tag so you all can get to know me a little better! So, let's begin!

1. I'm 14 and in Grade 9. I always feel proud when talking about my blogging hobby because I personally don't know anyone who also does it. :)        

2. I live in Canada, and have actually undergone so much snow last week that I got to stay home since my bus to school was cancelled, haha.

3. My most favourite thing in the world other than reading, blogging and writing is traveling. I've already been to so many places, I can't wait to see more.

4. My star sign is Leo, and I've always felt some sort of connection to my horoscope. Many people don't believe in that sort of fate, but oh well, haha.

5. The thing I want to improve on the most in blogging is commenting. I feel so much guilt when I don't get too many chances to spend hours looking at all of your posts! That's a definite thing I need to work on.

6. Over the years, I've realized that my music liking has changed drastically. Of course, I once liked cheesy pop songs that were on the radio, (since I was a tween not too long ago) but Panic! At the Disco, 5 Seconds of Summer, Lorde, Lana Del Ray and Imagine Dragons are my alternative favourites to be honest.

7. My most favourite thing about blogging is the friends that I've made, and the building of my writing skills. When I was in dark times, I felt like blogging and all of you were always there for me.

8. The first time I got a physical copy in the mail, I cried. It was in May of this past year, and I got Dissonance by Erica O'Rourke and Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine from Simon & Schuster, and I adored them both.

9. I am such an overly-obsessed neat freak, and an overachiever and perfectionist. Everything needs to be scheduled, written down and organized in my mind, haha. I guess that's the way I read, too.

10. I've always had dreams of becoming an author one day—I'm always still hoping that I'll get to become one. At the same time, I'd like to go to medical school as well.

11. My all-time favourite author has to be Cassandra Clare. All of her books are perfection.

12. The only time I've sorta met an author was when I was in a Toronto Book Festival in September. I must say that I only saw K.A. Tucker, but didn't get to speak to her because of time limits, hehe.

13. My favourite TV show has to definitely be Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries and Under the Dome, which I have to get caught up on with all three this Christmas break. 

14. I have a crazy obsession with Nestea. Like it's all I need to drink for the rest of my life as well as water. 

15. I have a little sister who's honestly obsessed with Archie Comics, as I once was. We have so many old issues!

16. I honestly used to be so against e-readers. I had so many arguments against them and why they weren't worth it, until I discovered my Kindle, and then my life changed completely.

17. I'm also in love with anime, but haven't gotten to watch an episode since April, since I honestly can't control myself and my grades would drop—trust me. Christmas break is the time where I'll get caught up on everything.

18. My favourite film that really hasn't been known much about is How I Live Now. It's crazy, because I read the book and watched the movie all in one day. Saorise Ronan is awesome.

19. I can speak French pretty fluently since we have to learn it in school and Polish. I really want to learn some Russian one day, as I can understand a teensy bit.

20. I began blogging in March 2013, and I must say that I've learnt so much and at the same time, I've grown up a lot. My grammar used to be horrible!

Yay! That's a wrap!

I nominate:

Pili @ In Love With Handmade

Jess @ My Reading Dress

Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books

Top Ten Tuesday #20: Top Ten Best Reads of 2014

-Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Broke and Bookish, where

bloggers share their overall favourites and other top ten bookish things.-

Top Ten Best Reads of 2014

   Wow—I just can't believe that we're at this post already! It seems like the year has passed by so quickly, I feel like it was just New Year's Eve of 2013! Now, this is probably going to be the most difficult post of Top Ten Tuesday that I've ever written because I've just read so many amazing books this year that I can't seem to forget about, and I'm sure I never will. Here are the top ten *sniffs* books that were released this year and that I loved. :) 

       By the way, the crazy thing is as I'm writing this post, there are 58 books shelved on my Goodreads under the list, "2014-favourites." THIS IS GOING TO BE HELL, PEOPLE. (Each book is loved the same way!)

1.   The Kiss of Deception, by Mary E. Pearson

    I honestly loved everything about this book. Its concept was so unique and diverse. UGH I NEED MORE.

2.   The Impossible Knife of Memory, by Laurie Halse Anderson

    This book dealt with so many issues that I've always dreamt that a contemporary novel would. This is the third book that I've read of Anderson's, and it's probably better than all.

3.   Faking Normal, by Courtney C. Stevens

     If you remember my review for this, I was fangirling so much. This was probably one of the best dark-contemporaries that I've ever read, and it can definitely compare to Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

4.   City of Heavenly Fire, by Cassandra Clare

     Cassandra Clare is my most favourite author, so how can I not include one of her books? This was the glorious end to my favourite series that expanded my love to fantasy. I will always miss Jace, Clary and Simon. :(

5.    Dissonance, by Erica O'Rourke

       *sighs* I'M STILL SO OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK AND IT'S BEEN MORE THAN A HALF YEAR SINCE I'VE READ IT. I'm going to re-read it soon. And the amazing thing is that it was my first ever physical ARC. :)

6.    The One, by Kiera Cass

     When I read this, I LITERALLY DIED. I finished it on release day and I cried and shook myself and cried some more. THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING FOR ME. The Selection trilogy was my life, and now we've found out that there's more!

7.     The Ring and the Crown, by Melissa de la Cruz

      Here's another book that's also my life at the moment. I binge read it and couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks. It was like Game of Thrones with 50x of more romance. :)

8.    A Mad Wicked Folly, by Sharon Biggs Waller

       OMG MY MOST FAVOURITE HISTORICAL FICTION STORY IN THE WORLD AHHHHHHHH. Yeah, this is probably the only historical fiction that I love so dearly much and I miss reading. YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE, OKAY? OKAY.

9.     Dorothy Must Die, by Danielle Paige

        Only Wizard of Oz retelling that I've read and the only one that I will and will adore for the rest of time. This was perfection, and it's all because of a group on Goodreads that got me into it! 

10.    This Star Won't Go Out, by Esther Earl & Family + JOHN GREEN

      This was the book of 2014. This is my idol. Esther Earl is such an amazing story, and I would read her story over and over again. IT WAS THE BOOK I CRIED THE MOST TO THIS YEAR.

And of course, how could I forget this one?

Isla and the Happily Ever, by Stephanie Perkins

      This was probably the best book of the year. It surpasses everything, hehe. I LOVE YOU, JOSH, ISLA, AND STEPHANIE!

~~~

       Wow. I'm still shocked that we're here, at this time of the year. I've read so many amazing books that have changed my life for the better. If I could, I would've added all 58 gorgeous books onto here. IT WAS SO MIGHTY DIFFICULT, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. Books are life, books are everything.

:) What were your most favourite books of the year?