TTT 43. Favorite books of 2015.

Hosted by: The broke and the bookish.

This time we get to pick our 10 favorite books of 2015 so far. I have read a total of 62 books so far and here are the ones that blew me away:

1. Sarah J. Maas – A court of thorns and roses.
2. Sharon Biggs Waller – A mad wicked folly.
3. R.C Lewis – Stitching Snow.
4. Victoria Schwab – A darker shade of magic.
5. Kasie West – The fill-in boyfriend.
6. Naomi Novik – Uprooted.
7. Rae Carson – Walk on earth a stranger.
8. Mindy McGinnis – A madness so discreet.
9. Jodi Meadows – The orphan queen.
10. Samantha Shannon – The mime order.

TTT 42. Summer TBR list.

Hosted by: The broke and the bookish.

The last time I did a Top Ten Tuesday was March 10th, so I figured it was time to join again. I always like to make TBR lists (and I always suck at completing them) and I really want to succeed this time. I decided to pick books with certain themes, so here is what I came up with:

The everyone loves them so I MUST read them as soon as possible books.

I love The Raven Boy cycle by Maggie Stiefvater and I’ve heard good things about The scorpio races. I bought this book not too long ago and I can’t wait to pick up this pretty edition. Elizabeth Wein – Code name verity sounds like such an interesting story and I am ready for all the feelings. You can’t go around the blogosphere without stumbling on Renée Ahdieh – The wrath and the dawn. It is a retelling of A thousand and one night, so this sounds right up my alley.

The I can finally finish this series conclusion.

Susan Ee surprised me with her bloody series, featuring Angelfall and World After. I have heard mixed things about ir, but I can’t wait to see more of Penryn in End of days. Victoria Schwab can’t do anything wrong. I was blown away by A darker shade of magic, I liked Vicious and I fell in love with The archived. It’s about time I start The unbound (I just found out this is not the last book, but she will self-publish a third book at some point. Thanks to Debby for making me aware of that). A.C Gaughen hooked me with Scarlet and destroyed me with Lady Thief. My body is ready for Lion heart.

The gimme all the fantasy books.

My friend Christina has been raving about this book, so I knew I had to buy it. The glass sentence has an interesting promise and I can’t wait to dive into this world. The storyspinner talks about magical abilities, a quest and a princess. You don’t have to say any more words to make me excited.

The you can’t have enough fairytales in your life tales.

The glass casket is supposed to be a loose retelling of Snow white and I’m all in for darker fairytales. Valiant uses a less-popular fairytale and I wish we got more of those too. This one features gender bending and I can’t get enough of that!

What are you planning to read this summer?

TTT 41. For readers who like to find new favorite books.

Hosted by: The broke and the bookish.

Let’s forget the most obvious one: J.K Rowling – Harry Potter. I tried to focus on books I see myself re-reading over and over again; the books on my ultimate favorite list. I hope I can help you find some to add to your list too!

There she is again. I’ve been in love with Juliet Marillier’s books for years now. This story has a special place in my heart, because Daughter of the forest is the first book I read by her. I am actually re-reading this series this year, so I can finally post my reviews for it. Her books always have an amazing cast with strong female protagonists, interesting love-interested and the atmosphere is magical.

This is also a book you should be familiar with. I always try to spread my love for Markus Zusak – The book thief. His writing-style is gorgeous, the POV is unique and the story always makes me cry. Set in World War 2, you follow the story of Liesel, a girl who likes to steal books.

If you have to ask me one of my favorite fairytales I will immediately think about Jodi Lynn Anderson - Tiger Lily. The storytelling is beautiful and this is also one of the few books that can make me shed some tears.

Robin LaFevers is a genius and I feel a lot of love for this series. I even forced it upon my book club members (with success) and I will always adore all the characters she created. Dark Triumph is my favorite installment though, because of how broken and flawed Sybella is – yet deadly and you better not underestimate her. Her relationship is my ultimate OTP. Plus, nun assassins.

Rae Carson – The bitter kingdom is the last book in the girl of fire and thorns series and it’s by far my favorite book in the series. I love the character development and relationship between Elisa and her lover.

This is another fairytale I will think of if you ask my favorite retelling. Rosamund Hodge – Cruel beauty has an AMAZING world-building, where she uses mythology to create one of the most unique retellings of Beauty and the beast. You definitely need to meet the flawed, dark MC.

Lady Thief by A.C Gaughen is another fairytale retelling (if you are surprised I have so many of these on my lists you are clearly a new follower, haha) I love Scarlet and her sassy mouth and spunk. She doesn’t take crap from anyone, but she also has a certain vulnerability.

The dream thieves by Maggie Stiefvater was simply the best. The diverse cast has captured my heart. Bad-ass Blue and her friendship with The raven boys; I can’t get enough of them.

And of course, Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. This is the best book in the series if you ask me. I loved the story and the fact that we got to meet Scarlet, Wolfe and Thorne.

TTT 40. The 2014 releases I forgot to read.

Hosted by: The broke and the bookish.

I was actually surprised how many 2014 releases I read from my TBR list. I still managed to find 10 titles I desperately want to read. Let me know what you thought about them.

I bought copies from R.C Lewis – Stitching snow (yep, I’m ignoring the negative reviews), Stacey Jay – Princess of thorns and Claire Legrand – Winterspell, this is going to happen soon! I forgot to add Julliet Marillier - Dreamer's pool. One of my favorite authors, so I'm very excited!
I can’t understand why I still haven’t bought a copy from McCormick Templeman.
I wasn’t blown away by Strands as bronze as gold, but I’m still curious about Jane Nickerson - The mirk and mignight hour.
Kate Boorman – Winterkill has mixed reviews, but the cover reminds me of Red Riding Hood and I want it.
I wanted to read Tess Sharpe – Far from you for the debut challenge, but I failed and forgot about it. Sharon Biggs Waller – A mad wicked folly was gifted to me by Daisy for Secret Santa, so YES.
I’m not in love with the cover from Vicki Weavil – Crown of ice, but it’s a fairytale retelling. Beth Revis – The body electric, sounds great.

Top 10 Tuesday 39. Sequels 2015.

@The broke and the bookish.

What a difficult topic. You can see at my last post about my Mission Impossible about finishing series that I’m in the middle of a lot of series. A lot of them are special to me and I want to read the sequels like yesterday, but these are the ones I could think of right away:

1. Untitled Throne of Glass #4 by Sarah J. Maas.
ALL THE FEELINGS. After reading Heir of fire I need more. I still haven't written a review for HOF, it's so epic I can't find the words. I'm also extremely excited about A court of thorns and roses.

2. Untitled Red Queen #2 by Victoria Aveyard.
The first book will be published February 2015 and I already can’t wait for the sequel. I was impressed by the story.

3. The pirate code by Heidi Schulz.
Hook’s revenge is the first book and it was ADORABLE. If you like spunky MC's and fairytale retellings, you definitely need to check it out. My review will be up soon.

4. The winner’s crime by Marie Rutkoski.
The winner’s curse was a great book. I can’t wait to see what is going to happen. I still need to post my review though.

5. Ensnared by A.G Howard.
The dark twist to Wonderland is fantastic and the ending from the second book was brutal. I need to find out how it’s going to end.

6. Lion Heart by A.C Gaughen.
GIVE IT TO ME PLEASE. Scarlet was great, Lady Thief destroyed me.

7. The vanishing throne by Elizabeth May.
Look at the kick-ass cover! And after the ending from The Falconer I need more.

8. Winter by Marissa Meyer.
I don’t think this is a surprise. I’m in love with the creative twist to the original tales and one word: Thorne. Cinder, Scarlet and Cress are amazing. I also an't wait for Fairest.

9. End of Days by Susan Ee.
The story gets more gory and bloody with each sequel, I need this in my life.

10. The invasion of the Tearling by Erica Johanson.
The Queen of the Tearling was by no means perfect, but there was something about her storytelling that makes me hungry for more.

What are some of the sequels you are waiting for? Link me up with your TTT.

Top ten Tuesday 38. Fall TBR list.

                                                                  @The broke and the bookish.

Let’s take a look at my Summer TBR list first. I went much better this time than my failed Spring TBR list. I managed to finish a total of 13 books from the 15 listed books. I only failed to read Prophecy and These broken stars. If I look at the total amount of books I read this summer: 53. A very good result if you ask me, so why not make another seasonal TBR list?

Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR list.(23 September – 22 December)

Cinda Williams Chima – The demon king.
Rae Carson – The girl of fire and thorns stories.
Kaufman & Spooner – These broken stars.
Jennifer L. Armentrout – Don’t look back.
Veronica Rossi – Under the never sky.

Ransom Riggs – Miss Peregrine’s home for Peculiar children.
Sarah Crossan – Breathe.
Jennifer A. Nielsen – The runaway king.
Robin Wasserman – The book of blood and shadow.
Jodi Meadows – Incarnate.

How did you do with your Summer TBR pile?

Top 10 Tuesday 37. Underrated books.

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten Underrated Authors or Books in X genre.

I don’t think it will surprise you that the genre I picked is ‘Fairytales and Fantasy.’ There are definitely a lot of YA books popular in this genre, like Throne of glass & Shadow and bone, but I also have a feeling some other gems are overlooked. So today I want to spotlight 5 fairytales and 5 fantasy books I feel are underrated.