Teen Idol Book Review

December 6, 2013December 5, 2013Leave a comment

Teen Idol by Meg Cabot

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

High school junior Jenny Greenley is so good at keeping secrets that she’s the school newspaper’s anonymous advice columnist. She’s so good at it that, help when hotter-than-hot Hollywood star Luke Striker comes to her small town to research a role, remedy Jenny is the one in charge of keeping his identity under wraps. But Luke doesn’t make it easy, information pills and soon everyone—the town, the paparazzi, and the tabloids alike—know his secret…and Jenny is caught right in the middle of all the chaos

My Review:

Meg Cabot has been one of my favorite authors since I was 12 years old, when I first picked up The Princess Diaries. I’ve literally been addicted to her books since then, and I buy each and every new one, no matter the genre or age group, on the day they are released. So that is true of Teen Idol. I first read this in 2004, when I was 16. I’ve been feeling soooo unmotivated to read lately and I knew exactly what would cure that…Meg Cabot.

See, the thing about Meg Cabot books are that they are easy reads, but fun ones. They are usually light and full of a ton of humor. So I knew a good way to read another book, and hopefully kick myself back into reading habitually again was to read a Meg Cabot book. I haven’t read this one in SUCH a long time so I definitely wanted to read it. Plus, it was inspirational for my own novel, A Little Less than Famous, so props for that.

I remembered again how much I seriously love her. Her books are so funny, and out of this world. Luke Stryker, a Hollywood star, crashing an Indiana high school in order to learn what its like to be a ‘real’ high school student. Its just bizarre but she makes it seem so genuine and real, and did I mention, hilarious? She has a way of getting inside her characters’ heads and its brilliant. What I really love about her books is that they are almost always first person which means you are literally inside the main character’s thoughts and she’s so REAL with their thoughts. Sure, they’re capable of strong thoughts but she also has them with wandering thoughts, and preoccupied by their hormones (nearly every one of her characters gets distracted by a shirtless guy, which makes me laugh so hard).

I also love ALL the pop culture references in her books. I swear, Justin Timberlake is referenced in every book. Every one. Its awesome. Plus, it dates the books, but I love that because I feel like I’ve grown up with a lot of these characters. I love when Mia Thermopolis talks about Britney Spears and NSYNC in the Princess Diaries books because its my teen years for sure. But I love all the references. I love that Jenny, the main character of this book, is obsessed with these crazy sophisticated science fiction novels and that there are Star Wars and Star Trek references. Its all so fantastic.

I give it a 4 out of 5 because you have to recognize that there are different books that provide different things. For the audience that Meg Cabot intends for, and for the purpose she has (entertainment, humor), she rocks at it. Some people may not agree that it deserves a high rating of 4/5 because its not “serious” or it doesn’t tackle “serious” issues, but books don’t have to do that in order to be good, and I think sometimes people forget that. Meg Cabot makes you laugh in this book, and I’m highly entertained by her books.

So if you’re looking for something fun and light to read, and looking to laugh, and have a good time while reading a book, this is a great book to read. Or any book by Meg, really. I hope you all dive into her books. She’s been one of my absolute favorite authors for 13 years. That’s a long time and there are so many reasons for it :)

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

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Book of the Week-Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

December 5, 20135 Comments

Soooooooo it took me FOREVER to finally read this book, viagra but I finally did! I’m proud of myself. Its been on my “to-read” list for ages, and its been out for years so I’m glad I finally picked it up. Especially since the sequel, Hollow City, will be hitting bookstores in mid-January and he’ll be doing a signing around here (hopefully with his wife!).

Plus I just like Ransom as a person. I follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr and he just makes me laugh. And he’s always going to really cool places and eating really good food. I just want to be his best friend. Like, him and Tahereh should double date with me and my boyfriend. Because it would be awesome.

Okay, moving on. Here’s the review :) Enjoy!

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, Science Fiction? Fantasy?

Part of a Series?:

Yes. It is the first novel of the Miss Peregrine’s series. The sequel, Hollow City, releases January 14th.

Age Recommendation:

14+ (More on that later)

Plot Summary:

From Amazon:

A mysterious island.??

An abandoned orphanage.??

A strange collection of very curious photographs.??

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. ??A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

My Review:

I really liked this book, and I am glad that I finally sat down and read it. I actually read it a handful of days after my boyfriend did, so that made it even better. We don’t discuss books too often because we don’t tend to read the same books (he’s been attempting to read James Joyce’s Ulysses this year. Uh, no.), but when we do, we have some SERIOUSLY good book conversations. And we had a really good one about this book, which, in turn, really helped me to write this review.

I think the book started off incredibly slow. The book is called Miss Peregrine’s Home… and we don’t actually get to the home for quite a while in the book. The first third of the book or so dragged on a lot to me and it took me awhile to get through it. Once I got through it, I blasted through the rest of the book but that first bit is incredibly rough to read.

I also was kind of perplexed at how it can be classified as YA or middle grade. I would definitely call it YA but would say its older YA, more mature YA. And its not the content. The story is definitely a children’s story and there’s nothing inappropriate or mature about the actual story. But the writing style is incredibly mature. I know that over the past few years, with the boom in YA, we’ve really begun to give more credit to teenager’s intelligence than we did before but even I had struggles with the writing sometimes. Ransom is a beautiful writer; his prose is just beautiful, but I must admit, there were several times that I had to look up a word because I had NO idea what it meant and the context of the sentence didn’t help me. You may have noticed that I said 14+ in the age recommendation. Its honestly not the content. Its not. I just think the writing style is fairly sophisticated for middle grade and younger teens.

I was a little disappointed in the characters. I think that there could be a lot more to them, and am hoping with the release of Hollow City, we’ll learn more about them. The pictures that are in the book are fairly creepy but the characters…just aren’t that peculiar. Their powers are peculiar but they aren’t really peculiar themselves, if that makes sense. Its hard to describe. I just kind of wanted them to be weirder. I think the combination of the kind of creepy cover, and the fact that Tim Burton is directing the movie (set for 2015?) really gave me the idea that it was a creepy book and it just wasn’t as creepy as I thought.

I liked the characters of Emma and Enoch. I thought they had the coolest peculiarities about them, and I think there’s more personality to them than others.

But that being said, I think its a great story. I think that it was awesome that Ransom took these photographs and was able to build a story out of them. That’s incredible. While I was reading, I kept thinking, “to build a complex story, with all these twists and turns, and base it off all these photographs is incredibly creative.” There would be times where a character, most often Miss Peregrine, would be explaining things and a picture would appear on the next page, to fit perfectly with the crazy world that he was building. I thought that was really cool. My dad got me this book when I was in high school, its this really popular kids book. A picture book full of all these super weird drawings that have no story, no words. My dad always thought I could come up with stories for them, but its so hard! So I’m thoroughly impressed by that.

(I had to google that book. I couldn’t remember it and it was driving me insane. It was called The Mysteries of Harris Burdick)

I also think he really creates a potential for the sequel. While I think the first book started off slow, and he needs to work on the development and depth of his characters, his story is solid and I think as the story continues along into Hollow City, the rest will fall more into place. He creates an incredibly complex story, especially since it involves a bit of time travel. Time travel can be a bit messy and confusing sometimes and it definitely is in this book, but I like that because it creates mystery and uncertainty and that really carries the book along. His sophisticated writing creates twists and turns that you sometimes don’t even see until it is smack in your face. That’s really creative and great story telling so I really commend him for that. I hope that sort of twisted story telling continues in Hollow City.

Rating:

3.75 out of 5 Stars

Recommended or Not?:

Yes, but be aware that it may surprise you. The description and cover don’t match the story as well as you think it would. I honestly was expecting a spooky middle grade book and ended up with a sometimes confusing, sophisticated style of writing story that was weird but definitely not creepy. But I did really like it. The story is really good, and he leaves it off in such a way that it really makes you want to read the sequel. I think he builds up the story enough to create a bigger and better story in the sequel.

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I hope you enjoyed this week’s Book of the Week post! Don’t forget, you can always check out previous Book of the Week posts here!

Happy Reading!

WWW Wednesday!

December 4, 2013December 3, 20132 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme, try hosted by Should Be Reading.

The three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading? (Click on the book covers for reviews!)

What do you think you’ll be reading next?

Its been a REALLY slow reading week. I just can’t seem to get myself immersed in a book :(

What are you currently reading?

I know. This took way too long for me to finally read. And I adore following Ransom Riggs on Twitter and Tumblr and Instagram. I should have read this ages ago, sildenafil but I’m fully reading it now. So that’s all that matters!

I’m still working on it. Its taking me a long time. I don’t know if its the actual book (because so many people LOVE it) or if its just my complete lack of motivation when it comes to reading. I really want to finish it. I’ve heard such good things so I need to get into it.

What did you recently finish reading?

This book was amazing. Make sure to check out my review. I’m honestly counting down the days until Cress comes out. Who knew I could go from being so completely indifferent about this series to loving in a matter of a week?

What do you think you’ll be reading next?

Robin Benway’s Also Known As was SUPER cute and fun, and I had NO idea there was going to be a sequel until it popped up on my NetGalley and I was like, “I MUST HAVE THAT!” And I got it! So now I need to buckle down and read it so I can review before it releases in January! Exciting!

I downloaded this AGES ago when the ebook went on sale. I need to sit down and finally read it! I’ve heard good things so I’m looking forward to reading it.

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What is everyone reading right now? Share in the comments!

Frozen Movie Review

December 3, 20133 Comments

Frozen

Rated:

Rated PG for some action and mild rude humor

Directed By:

Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

Cast:

Kristen Bell, viagra Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk.

Find the rest on IMDB here.

IMDB Movie Synopsis:

Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna’s sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

My Review:

I have so much faith in Disney making movies right now, its hard for me to hold back. For a few years there, Disney had a bit of a dry spell, while Pixar was wracking up the amazing movies. Now, I almost feel like that has been changed. The last few Pixar movies, excluding perhaps, Toy Story 3, have just been…okay. Enjoyable, for sure, but not that caliber we’ve come to know as a Pixar movie.

But Disney! Disney came out of that slump to hit a few home runs in the past few years. The Princess and the Frog. Tangled. Wreck-It Ralph. And now Frozen.

It was so much fun. I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time. The humor that comes through with this movie is so unlike the kind of princess movies I was used to watching as a kid. All the princesses in those movies tend to be pretty serious, and perfect. They’re all so perfect and poised. I loved Anna because she had such a sense of humor and she was goofy and clumsy and she was real. She and the rest of the characters are SO funny.

I also have to give some major props to Olaf, as a character. I saw a little tidbit a few days ago that said something like, “Olaf is the best animated sidekick since Dug [Up]”. My reaction to that was like,”pssh, no way. No way.” Up is one of my all time favorite movies. And while I still don’t think Olaf is as awesome as Dug, I have to admit, he gets pretty far up there. He is so much of the comedy that exists in the movie. And he does it so nonchalantly, so sweet and genuine. You know those characters that are the humor of an animated movie but they’re over the top, like they’re afraid you won’t get the humor unless its in your face? Totally not so for Olaf. So understated haha but amazing. I can’t even…I am so obsessed with Olaf now! I seriously put so much stuff on my Amazon wish list. I’m such a weirdo.

Also, can I just say? Anna and Elsa? Totally awesome. Okay, they probably could do with eating some more (really, why do all the princesses have to be so GOSH DARN SKINNY!) but they’re pretty badass. Anna is out in this impossibly insane snow, looking for her sister, and fighting off wolves and taking down evil people. Its fantastic. And Elsa has this amazing power. Sure, she needs to learn to control it, but its just awesome that these two are the ones that save the day.

Lastly, I really loved the music. I mean, who knew Kristen Bell could sing? I sure didn’t but she belted it out pretty good! And you can never ever go wrong with the fantastically talented Idina Menzel. That girl has it going on. Her voice brings down the house, and I got a huge kick out of the Kristen and Idina duet. They rocked it. But all the songs were great, and there were ones that were just super fun, like Olaf’s “In Summer” and Kristoff’s “Reindeers Are Better than People.”

Oh, just kidding, one more thing: the Arrested Development reference in the “Love is an Open Door” song…priceless!

Rating:

5 out of 5

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Tuesday Top Ten-Books to Look Forward to in 2014!

December 3, 2013Leave a comment

My loves! I am so sorry, sildenafil I apologize over and over for my lack of effort on my blog. I truly do. I would like to blame something legitimate like school or NaNoWriMo or something but truly…I just didn’t have the inspiration to work on it.

But I’m back! I promise! Today I’m stealing the topic of the Broke and Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday post and doing Books to Look Forward to in 2014.

Unfortunately thats kind of hard to narrow down to ten. Really hard. Like, website like this impossibly hard. I read so many authors and so many books that I just look forward to SO many releases.

Even narrowing it down to January to May wasn’t totally helpful. Sigh.

So there are …fourteen books on the list. Sorry :( But hopefully that will get you excited for SO many awesome releases coming in the new year!

Honorable Mentions:

These are honorable mentions because I’ve already read one of them, and I have ARCs of the other! So I want to draw attention to them, since they’ll be releasing in early 2014 BUT I’ll have already read them!

Clicking on the author’s name will take you to their website, and clicking on the book title will take you to the Amazon Page AND clicking the book cover will take you to the GoodReads page! I’m nothing, if not completely thorough ;)

Afterparty by Ann Stampler

Expected Release: January 7th

Ann’s Where It Began blew me away, and I’m eager to dive into this book and be blown away again. She has a way of capturing the teen outlook but also writes an intelligent and compelling novel. Good girl Emma decides that she wants to break free, and gets involved with Siobhan, whose friendship is fun at first, until it takes a turn, and things become intoxicating and dangerous. I can’t wait for it. Afterparty is going to be a blast!

Going Rogue by Robin Benway

Expected Release: January 14th

The first book of this series, Also Known As, was SUPER funny, and addicting to read. Maggie is part of a spy network with her parents, and her specialty is breaking locks, whether on doors or to safes, etc. Then she gets her own assignment, to go undercover at an upscale high school, and hilarity ensues. Its full of action and fun spy stuff BUT it just makes you laugh so hard, and Maggie is a fun character, AND there’s cute boys. Win!

Panic by Lauren Oliver

Expected Release: March 4th

This one I’ve already read :) I can’t wait to share my review with you all. A departure from her dystopian series, Delirium, Lauren Oliver takes us into the contemporary world again, with a twist. Heather lives in Carp, where nothing ever happens, except for the game Panic every summer. The kids spend the entire year raising money for a ridiculous prize amount (think in the THOUSANDS) and compete in dangerous, scary and, often times, illegal tasks in order to win the game. Heather didn’t expect to play when it came her turn, but that money could be a way out. Dodge, a fellow classmate, has been looking forward to Panic, and he’s determined to get the right outcome. I think you’ll like this one. If you were disappointed with the end of the Delirium series like I was, I think this will help with Lauren Oliver a bit :)

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Now the actual list of ten, erm, eleven books I’m looking forward to in 2014…up until May, at least!

11. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Expected Release: May 13th

I just discovered Stephanie this year! Anna and the French Kiss and especially Lola and the Boy Next Door are GREAT YA contemporary novels that I totally recommend, a thousand times. I am full of SO much excitement for this one because of all great the others have been. In this novel, we are going to meet Isla and Josh and I think come to find a new meaning of the phrase “happily ever after”. And of course, we will see Anna, Etienne, Lola and Cricket again, which makes me very happy. I think that Stephanie will tell a great story, as usual with twists and turns and surprises and enough heart pounding and sigh-worthy scenes to keep us all SO happy!

10. Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Expected Release: April 15th

I am So excited about this one because honestly, I just discovered JLA in May and she has yet to disappoint me. Her storytelling is fantastic; she makes me laugh, and feel all swooning but she throws in these kickass action scenes, and then she has the most sarcastic and hilarious characters. So I’m really anxious to dive into a new series with her. Don’t Look Back follows Samantha who has it all, until she disappears, and then reappears with no memory of who she is or how she got lost. When she figures out that she was the “mean girl”, she’s determined to have this second chance. Unfortunately her best friend is still missing…Sounds awesome right? She never disappoints and I can’t wait to read it.

9. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Expected Release: January 14th

Okay, I’m totally reading the first book right now, and maybe I won’t like and maybe I’ll have no desire to read this …but I honestly doubt it. So many people I know really liked this book and I just love Ransom as a person. His instagram, tumblr and twitter posts keep me laughing, and he’s super interactive with his fans. And he’s handsome. Not that this has anything to do with his book, it was just a notable fact about him. Moving on, I am looking forward to this release because I’m already enjoying Miss Peregrine’s a lot AND he’ll be touring for this book and will, of course, be signing in Los Angeles so yay! I keep missing him, and I want formally meet him finally!

8. Cress by Marissa Meyer

Expected Release: February 4th

I just finished Scarlet, the second book, about a week ago, and I love this series already. I put off reading it FOR so long and I have no idea why. I think it was the cover to be honest. I get turned off on books because of the covers quite often, and I’m often times proven wrong. But I still do it. Anyway, I read Cinder and Scarlet and now I’m very excited for Cress. Marissa Meyer takes the whole science fiction, fairy tale retellings to an incredible level, and her stories and characters are awesome. One minute they’re super badass and sci-fi-ish (that’s a word now) and then the next, they’re totally reminding you of Cinderella and Red Riding Hood. Its awesome. This isn’t the final book, its the climax to the final book, Winter (2015), so you know its going to be SO GOOD.

7. Summer State of Mind by Jen Calonita

Expected Release: April 22nd

I absolutely adore Jen Calonita. Her books are quick and easy reads, with laughter, cute boys, but often times, serious teen problems as well. Her standalone novel, Sleepaway Girls, was super cute, about a girl going to camp as a CIT and learning to be independent of her dominant best friend. Of course, rivalries happen, cute boys make the summer interesting and hilarity and disaster ensues. I absolutely LOVED it. Now there’s a sequel, called Summer State of Mind, where they’re returning to Camp Whispering Pines and I’m SO excited. She writes such fun novels and I don’t think I’m alone in that desire to go to camp. I always want to go to camp as a kid and was never able to so I like to live vicariously through this. Definitely one to look forward to.

6. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Expected Release: February 4th

When I picked up Shatter Me, I had done so because Tahereh Mafi kept popping up everywhere, at all these events (though I haven’t met her officially either!) and her name just kept popping up to me, and so I decided to check out Shatter Me, even though I was getting kind of tired of dystopian. I’m glad I gave this one a chance because Juliette is an awesome character and we’ve really seen her grow so much in this series, and I hope we continue to see that in Ignite Me. I also think Tahereh Mafi has a way of telling a brand new story in that familiar dystopian archetype that we’ve grown to know so well. She has surprises and twists that keep you hooked til the end.

5. The Last Forever by Deb Caletti

Expected Release: April 1st

I adore Deb Caletti and while I absolutely loved He’s Gone, which was her dive into adult fiction, I am glad to see she’s back in YA. All of her books are just so incredibly good. She hits SO many issues of teens, but she never makes her books seem like “issue books”. Her stories are flawless and genuine and each one has captivated me and made me fall in love. She’s gotten so much recognition for her books and its totally deserved. The book is sure to be another emotion wrecker. The main character’s mom has died, and her dad is having a hard time recovering and so is she. Enter a road trip, a new place, and a new boy, and it just spells awesome. Deb Caletti tells beautiful stories and I’m sure this one will be as well.

4. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Expected Release: May 27th

I think most people would be surprised to see this as #4 and now #1 or 2 or 3. And its true, I love Cassandra Clare and adore her books. I definitely can’t wait to read City of Heavenly Fire and see how the TMI series wraps up. My only thing is…I thought the series was wrapped up perfectly in City of Glass and I didn’t feel like it needed to be continued. I am not a fan of Fallen Angels and I kind of like Lost Souls. So while I do want to read the end and find out who lives and who dies, and where everyone sort of ends up, I also am just not DYING to read it, like I was with the other novels. I still think City of Glass was a great ending. But I digress. I’m a TMI fan, and I will read it because I love Jace and Clary and Alec and Simon and Magnus and Isabelle and all of them.

3. Unforgotten by Jessica Brody

Expected Release: February 25th

Another discovery of this year, Jessica Brody has become one of my favorite authors. I read her book, Unremembered, first, and then dove into her contemporary books which seriously make me laugh. They’re fantastic. Definitely check them out. But we’re focusing on Unremembered. Unremembered is about Seraphina, who wakes up in the middle of the ocean, the only survivor of a deadly plane crash. She doesn’t remember who she is, nor does she remember much in general. No one comes forward to claim her, so she’s taken in by foster parents. While Sera remembers the world, she also realizes that she’s different than others, faster, stronger, smarter. Then a boy named Zen comes into the picture, claiming that he knows her, and that they’re in love. Its like Bourne Identity, but with a badass girl instead of Matt Damon. Its seriously awesome, and I can’t say much more because Unforgotten is the sequel, and you just need to read this. This comes out TWO days before my birthday so happy birthday to me!

2. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Expected Release: May 6th 2014

Morgan Matson is one of my absolute favorite authors of all time. She made me fall in love with her, as an author, so fast with Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour. Then she released Second Chance Summer, and its just as good. I’ve met Morgan several times this year, but it’ll be two years since her last novel came out when this third novel hits the stands. That’s a LONG time to wait haha, or at least it is to me. The main character Emily meets Sloane, who introduces her to a world of fun, who helps pull her out of her shell. Then Sloane disappears and leaves behind a list of things for Emily to accomplish like “apple picking at night” or “dancing until dawn” or “kiss a stranger”. It sounds like another unique and fun Morgan Matson novel, and I honestly just can’t wait for it.

1. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Expected Release: February 11th

Another discovery of this year (I seriously dove into books and blogging in 2013), Andrew Smith’s Winger literally knocked my socks off, blew me away, had my jaw hanging open down to the ground. It seriously just…it was so amazing. Now Andrew has a new book releasing in February (on mine and Jon’s 6 year anniversary!), and I’m DYING to read it. I keep trying to get my hands on an ARC but have been thus far unsuccessful. I may have to wait til February but it’ll be worth the wait. Andrew has a natural humor to his books, I have laughed out loud, uncontrollably with tears, because of his books. In this novel, Andrew is combining his hilarity with his out of this world story telling (giant insects? really? I’m shuddering already), and I’m sure he’s going to get that teen boy spirit, hilarity and coming of age-ness like he has done before. I am DYING to get my hands on this book, especially when everyone is loving it! It WILL happen!

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I hope you enjoyed this Tuesday Top ….Eleven…or something…some number close to Ten. You should definitely add ALL of these books to your “to-read” list, and if you haven’t read their prequels, then get on it! These books and authors are all great, and you’ll definitely enjoy them!

Don’t forget that you can check out previous Tuesday Top Ten lists here!

What are some books that you are looking forward to in the New Year? Share in the comments!

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