FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2014

It is that time of the year again where I share with you my favourite books that I read throughout the year. I tried to rank these books in an order from my least favourite of the favourites to my absolute favourite but it was really, really hard. So it's not necessarily a list of my tenth to my first favourite books but it's roughly around that mark. Without further ado, these are my favourite ten books that I read during 2014. At number ten we have Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This story is about Kath and she and her twin sister, Wren, are off to college. The two have a very close relationship but when they get to college, Wren kind of wants her own little space and Kath has to try and deal with that. She absolutely loves this series called the Simon Snow series and she writes fan fiction about it so that plays a huge role in her life and it's about her dealing with this new environment, this very strange environment and meeting a bunch of new people. And it's such a fun and adorable read. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I loved all of the characters. I really liked the fan fiction element in the story because it was kind of a different strand, a different storyline going throughout it but it really intrigued me and it was a lot of fun to read about and it was also kind of reminiscent of Harry Potter so couldn't help but fall in love with it. Number nine on my list is Transcendence by Shea Savage. It's about a caveman named Ed and one day he finds a young woman in his pit trap. Now she's wearing some very strange clothes and she keeps like making a lot of noises out of her mouth and he decides that she's gonna be his mate. He's gonna take her home, take care of her and make with her. And it turns out that she is from the future. So this story is about Ed who is not able to communicate with words and this strange predicament they both find themselves in and the progression of their relationship. I was blown away by how much I adored the story and the relationship and these two characters. Number eight is a graphic novel series which you probably have heard a lot about and that is Saga by Brian Vaughan. This year I've been reading a lot more graphic novels and out of everything I've read this is definitely my favourite. I really love the universe and all of the different kind of species and the main characters, their journey is just so gripping and enthralling. This definitely has a lot of adult themes so keep that in mind before going into it but it's just so gripping and I loved it. I loved it so much. Number seven is Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. This is the sequel to Codename Verity which I also read earlier this year and loved but I loved Rose Under Fire so much more. In the sequel we do focus on a different character that we haven't met in Codename Verity but there are some other similar characters that we do see in the first book. I listened to Rose Under Fire on audiobook and I definitely think that helped with my reading experience and just falling in love with the story and the characters but just seeing and witnessing the struggles that these characters dealt with it was so heartbreaking but so beautiful at the same time. It just made me cry so many times but I loved every minute of it. At number six we have a duology, The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clark. This is about an assassin and a pirate. The pirate is to be wed off to another pirate clan but she runs away. The father of the man she was supposed to be marrying sends an assassin after her but due to a series of events they end up being cursed and kind of bound together. I was really intrigued by this series from the get-go because assassins and pirates and I expected to go into this and really enjoy it but I ended up loving this series so, so much. I loved the sassiness and the badassery of the pirate and the assassin was so mysterious and intriguing and I loved seeing the shifting dynamic of their relationship and how they kind of develop a bit of a romance but it's a really nice slow burn and it's done so well. It doesn't overpower the story, it just adds a little to it and the story itself, there's so much excitement, so much adventure. There's a strong quest element and it was just so much fun. This series was so much fun and I loved it. And with these as well, unfortunately, the publishing company has closed down so if you're interested, I recommend trying to get your hands on these as soon as possible as eventually these won't be available unless another publishing company picks up these books so I definitely recommend giving them a try. I just had so much fun reading these. Number five on my list is A Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan. This is a historical novel set during World War II and the main chunk of this story is set in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. There is a group of Australian prisoners, the main focus of this story is Dorigo Evans, he is a surgeon and so not only does this book kind of look at the struggles of all these men and the horrible, horrible experiences in this camp but we also see a lot of their history and their backstory and what happened before and also after their time in this prisoner of war camp. I was just left speechless with this book. I read it during a readathon and if you watched that, you would have seen how this book affected me. It was kind of draining and astounding. Every so often I'd have to stop and just think about the book. The writing, it is so beautiful. The way in which Richard Flanagan is able to paint these characters so perfectly. I was just amazed time and time again. It was an amazing book, an absolutely amazing book and I definitely recommend picking this one up. Number four is These Broken Stars by Amy Kaufman and Megan Spooner and there is an honourable mention for this sequel, This Shattered World. This one did get a four and a half out of five stars for me but I still just, I freaking loved it. This series is absolutely amazing. So these books are sci-fi and they're so much fun, so much epicness, so many explosions and action and tension and suspense, just, it blew me away. Looking at These Broken Stars in particular, we are introduced to Lilac and Tarver. They are aboard a spaceship called the Icarus and something goes wrong. This ship is crash landing onto an unknown planet that seems uninhabited and these two characters are the only survivors. So it's kind of a survival story about them trying to get back to civilisation and just get off this planet and then some weird things start happening. This book was a wonderful set up for the series and the second book did not disappoint. I'm so excited to continue with these ones. They're just so good. I just, ah, it's, ah, blah, blah, blah. At number three we have Cress by Marissa Meyer. This is the third instalment in the Lunar Chronicles. Now these books are science fiction fairy tale retellings. The first one looks at Cinderella. The second one, Little Red Riding Hood and Cress is kind of a retelling of Rapunzel. I love how these fairy tale elements are interwoven but the story is so much more. So much more than just the fairy tale retelling. It's an epic story and I freaking love it. I love all of the characters. This one in particular has a great cast of characters. And I think this one is my favourite out of the entire series so far. All of these books are fantastic. They're exciting, they're gripping and I just love this universe. Coming in at number two is Vicious by V.E. Schwab. This is about Victor and Eli, two friends in college. And for their thesis they're looking at these things called EOs, Extraordinaries. And things kind of go really horribly wrong. Jumping into the future ten years later, Victor has just escaped prison and he's set on finding Eli. This book was fantastic. I love how twisted and broken both Victor and Eli are. They both are just so, so messed up. Victoria Schwab is just so, so talented. An incredible writer. I love the style of writing and just the way in which she creates these characters and makes you really kind of empathise with them or at least try to understand them was brilliant. And I definitely, definitely recommend this book. Fantastic. And now for the number one book that I read in 2014. That spot goes to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I first read this book back in August and just recently I reread the book. This is the first time that I finished a book and immediately wanted to pick it back up again. I had to restrain myself and I waited another four months until I did pick it back up again but the second time around it was just as amazing. In this world there is the Oasis and it's a virtual simulation kind of game that most of humanity is kind of hooked up to. And upon the death of the creator there is this epic, epic treasure hunt. The winner of which inherits the creator's fortune which is like billions of dollars. I think this book has a little something for everyone. I've been pushing this book on like everybody I see. It's so, so, so good. At some points this book does get a little bit slow particularly towards the beginning as there is a huge amount of world building but I personally loved it. I thought it was really, really intriguing learning about the Oasis and the history and also learning some of the backstory about the main character Wade. I think this book is just so epic. So much action and excitement. It really picks up its pace to a crazy, crazy ending. I think this book is absolutely fantastic. Definitely one of my all time favourite books. So those are my favourite books that I read throughout the year. I hope you guys enjoyed. As always I would love to hear your thoughts about any of the books that I mentioned. Do you agree or do you completely disagree and hate any of the books that I talked about today? But I'd also love to know what was your number one or three or five favourite book that you read throughout 2014. I don't need more recommendations but I love them. So share your favourites down below. And I think that's all that I have for today. Thank you so much for watching and I will see you guys next time. Bye!