Its time for the weekly fangirl round up!
Epic Reads Favorite 30 Books Challenge!
So just about a week or so ago, seek Epic Reads celebrated gaining, more about I believe, 30K followers on their Instagram. They asked their followers to celebrate by snapping photos of their favorite 30 books.
And I SO wanted to join in. But a few problems. First, I had to stop and thinking about what 30 books were my favorites. That’s hard. There are books that will remain favorites and there are books that will come and go as favorites. Most of this list will probably stay the same, but some will change, obviously as I read more books.
Also, I’m not sure where my copies of all these books actually ARE. I have over 600 books, you see, and they’re all just sort of scattered everywhere so getting together my 30 favorite books, once I actually figured out what they were, was going to be kind of an impossible task.
SO! I decided to just do it here on the blog :) Like I said, most of these will remain favorites for a long time. I wrote out the top 30 books that came to my mind as being my favorites and this is what I came up with. Who knows, maybe next year, there will be a whole different list.
But I doubt it!
Check out my current top 30 books below. They are in no particular order :)
And don’t forget to share your own favorites in the comments!
(You’ll notice that I skip straight to book 3 of HP. I LOVE the entire series as a whole, but I love 3-7 the most!)
SARA’S TOP 30 FAVORITE BOOKS (at least for this moment…)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Winger by Andrew Smith
Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Divergent by Veronica Roth
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Legend by Marie Lu
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
All American Girl by Meg Cabot
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Unremembered by Jessica Brody
Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer
Between the Lines by Tammara Webber
Princess in Love by Meg Cabot
Book Review: Invaded (ARC) by Melissa Landers
The romantic sequel to Alienated takes long-distance relationships to a new level as Cara and Aelyx long for each other from opposite ends of the universe…until a threat to both their worlds reunites them.
This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy of the novel obtained through Disney-Hyperion at the American Library Association Conference for free. This is in no way had an effect on the integrity of my review. Please note that published novel will differ from this ARC.
Book Review: Four: A Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth
Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegations faction leader did the same. Tobiass transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.
Book Review: The Young Elites (ARC) by Marie Lu
This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy of the novel obtained through Penguin Teen at the American Library Association Conference for free. This is in no way had an effect on the integrity of my review. Please note that published novel will differ from this ARC.
Genre:
Young Adult, approved Fantasy
Pages:
368
Part of a Series?:
Yes, see the first novel of what I believe is a planned trilogy
Release Date:
October 7th, 2014
You Can Find the Book At:
GoodReads Summary:
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is amalfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.
My Review:
Honestly, I can’t imagine there is ever going to be a book by Marie Lu that just doesn’t completely floor me and leave me absolutely dying for the next book.
This book is so incredibly different from her Legend trilogy but that is what makes it so good. You still have the great writing and storytelling and the unique “voice” that is Marie Lu, but it in an entirely new story, an entirely new world. I think sometimes its difficult for an author to venture outside the way they’ve written, but Marie Lu proves in The Young Elites that not only can she write fantastic dystopian but she writes dark, rich fantasy as well.
In Legend, there is a constant struggle for truth, who is right, who is wrong, what is the right thing to do, how much of the truth do you tell a person. In The Young Elites, its all about power, and the use and abuse of it. Adelina is a malfetto, an abomination. The malfettos are blamed for everything wrong in the country: poverty, starvation, bad crops, whatever. They have no power as those in power, the Inquisitors, take them out at every possible chance. Even Adelina’s own father shares in the opinion that she is worthless, she will gain no good for him.
Until it is discovered that she has an absolutely incredible, terrible, dark, and out of this world power, and suddenly she’s a hot commodity. She’s hunted down by two different men, one working for the queen and one trying to fight for a rebellion against them. What makes this beautiful is there is no clear right and wrong, no dark and light. Each side is full of darkness. Each side bears so many questions. Its hard to know who to trust. Even those who say they are the right side have their own things to gain, their own reasons for using Adelina. That’s what makes it so good. You are constantly questioning everyone in the book. You never really know who is telling the truth, or what the truth even is. Even the supposed good guys don’t always seem like good guys. You’re even questioning the main character throughout the novel as well.
Its a book full of darkness, and power and its chock full of mystery. That’s what keeps you turning the pages. Its so dark. I feel like…I never know what direction this story is going to take and its frustrating and exhilarating. I honestly have such a hard time figuring out who is going to do what, and what I want people to do. I can’t even figure out what I want for the characters because its so back and forth. As soon as I sort of kind of figure out what I want for them, what I hope happens to them, the direction veers so dramatically in the other direction that I suddenly feel like I was knocked off balance. This book kept me hooked because it kept surprising me. Every time I thought I got a measure of a character or a group of people or anything, something would change and it would make it a whole new story.
I read somewhere, I can’t remember where, that this book was a sort of cross between X-Men and Assassin’s Creed. Now I don’t know much about Assassin’s Creed so I can’t say much about that. From what I understand, the main character goes back in time, with his ancestors, to different parts of history? Something like that. The history, that sort of old time feel is definitely in the book. This is a world that could exist but there’s just a bit more to it than we know. The X-Men thing is easy: some of these malfettos have powers: power over fire, wind, animals, Adelina’s power of illusion. The Young Elites totally feel like medieval version of the X-Men and they too have their prejudices against them, because they are different. They are blamed for things, and they want to fight back. They remind me of both Professor X, who wants to live in peace with them, and Magneto, who is angry at the way they treat them and wants revenge. It had a very X-Men feel about it but in a very whimsical, dark and fantastical way. I loved every bit of it.
I don’t know how much of this book will or could change before its release in October but I hope its very little. This book was absolutely incredible and I am so insanely grateful that I managed to get my hands on a copy this weekend. Marie Lu is such a gifted writer, and tells such a fresh and interesting story every single time. I was intrigued immediately from page one to the last page, unsure of what to expect. In fact, the last few pages left me in wonder, my jaw dropped, in a revelation as I discovered just a bit of something that literally leaves me incredibly impatient for a book two, even though book one hasn’t even released officially yet. Just when you think, the story is wrapped up, but you’re unsure of what direction the characters are going in, a curveball is thrown and you’re left thinking “But wait, what happens next?” I hope to find out very, very soon.
Rating:
5 out of 5 Stars
Tuesday Top Ten-My ‘Auto-Buy’ Authors!
Hello everyone! Welcome back to the Tuesday Top Ten!
I honestly have had a crazy week, and I’ve been so incredibly busy that I honestly couldn’t even remember if I did a Tuesday Top Ten last week. Turns out I did!
I got the idea for this week’s top ten from my dear friend Kayla’s blog! She did a booktag where she posted what authors she owned the most books of from her auto-buy list. I thought it was kind of fun but…I have over 500 books and I don’t have bookshelves so that’s a lot of work for me. But then I thought, well, I don’t have an idea for this week’s Tuesday Top Ten so voila! Now I have one.
All ten authors are authors that from right this moment (and perhaps before), I will buy everything they release, without even thinking about it. You know what I mean. Those kind of authors that you’ve read enough books to trust them, so that when they release a new book, you immediately want to pick it up and read it. Those ones.
Here are my top ten, erm, eleven:
11. Richelle Mead
Its funny that a year ago, I would have scoffed at this, rolled my eyes at the cover of Vampire Academy, and never known how amazing this author is. Luckily, I put aside my vampire prejudices and read this book. Now I’m addicted to VA and Bloodlines, absolutely adore Richelle and I have a VA tattoo now. I will buy anything she writes because she takes something that has been done over and over again, has been beaten to a pulp and makes it fun, fresh, adventurous, sexy and amazing. Richelle Mead is incredible and I will be picking up every single one of her books from now on, easily.
10. Jennifer L. Armentrout
This is a very…I will buy everything she publishes from here on out. I don’t own everything by her at this point. I have read the entire Lux series (so far) and I don’t own it all. I have read the entire Covenant series and again, don’t own them. But I’ve read so much from her now, and I’ve been so thoroughly impressed by her, again and again, that any time there is a new release for her, I’m determined to head to the bookstore in order to purchase her new book. I trust her to take me on adventure, to make me laugh and to have perfectly steamy scenes that leave me panting for more.
9. Marie Lu
After reading the entire Legend trilogy, and being completely blown away from beginning to end, I’ve developed not only an addiction to Marie Lu, but a complete trust in her. I was ready to dive happily into her new book, The Young Elites, and worked my ass off to get a copy of it at ALA. I read it just last week and it blew my mind. I already have my ARC of it but I know that when it is released in October, I will totally be picking it up. I trust Marie Lu to write an incredible story every single time, and she will be one that I will be following for quite some time.
8. Veronica Roth
The Divergent series means so incredibly much to me; I don’t get tattoos of series just because I feel like it. I love Veronica Roth. I love her characters and her stories. I picked up the Four collection and read it in about an hour. I trust her, and I want to read everything that she puts out. She’s the same age as me so I know that she has a great future as a writer in front of her. Right now, I am unsure of what she is working on. Everyone is just talking about the new Four collection and I don’t think there’s anything set in stone planned for the future. Whatever it is though, you can definitely count on me to purchase it on the day it comes out.
7. Tamora Pierce
There is a stipulation to this, even though she’s totally tied for first in the list of my favorite authors. I buy every single thing Tamora Pierce writes as long as its in the Tortall world. Everything she has written in that world has just blown my mind and I love going back again and again and again. She hasn’t put anything out in that world for awhile, which makes me sad, but I always eagerly await a new one. I need to go back and read her Circle books, in the hope of getting an “auto-buy” feeling for those as well :)
6. Andrew Smith
Okay, yes, I need to go back and buy all the books he’s already released since I don’t own all of them, but of the ones I’ve read and own, I just can’t imagine him disappointing me. He is an absolutely incredible author and every book I read makes me love him even more. From now on, every time he releases a book, I will be at the bookstore, grabbing a copy (or two…or three…) and making sure its in my collection. I trust him enough to always make me a happy reader.
5. Jessica Brody
Did I just use a picture of Jessica Brody from the first time I ever met her, over a year ago at WonderCon 2013? Yes, yes, I did. Apparently when I google “Jessica Brody author”, most of the pictures that pop up are the ones from my blog…which is kind of cool and maybe a bit creepy and stalkerish. But the point is, I’ll buy all Jessica Brody’s books because they’re all so good! I’ve read them all (except the Fidelity Files, which I’m working on), and she makes me laugh and she’s a great writer and I love supporting her. Its easy to imagine going to the bookstore on her release days and picking up her new book!
4. Sarah Dessen
I’ve literally bought every single Sarah Dessen book, on the day its released, since I was about fourteen years old. I doubt that is going to change any time soon, unless she starts writing truly awful books.Even then though… Sarah is one of those authors that usually makes me happy, and I love reading her books. Her last couple have been a little lacking compared to some of her earlier ones but I still buy each one with much eagerness because I know what a terrific writer she is and I always look forward to the great stories she tells. Plus they’re always the perfect summer books and I just love that.
3. Cassandra Clare
Whatever you feel about her, that’s your deal. I ran into a lot of people at ALA who don’t like her, and that’s your deal. But she is literally one of my favorite authors ever, I have a tattoo from her series and I will buy each and every one of her books on the day they come out, no matter what. I absolutely hated City of Fallen Angels, and I’m upfront and honest about that. But that didn’t keep me from continuing to buy The Infernal Devices series or from picking up the next TMI book, Lost Souls, the following year. I will pick up a copy of The Iron Trials (her novel with Holly Black) this fall (though I already have an ARC copy of it), and I’ll pick up a copy of The Bane Chronicles and Lady Midnight and so on. This is one author that I’m definitely going to continue to buy, because even though she writes a dud sometimes, she writes a great book that makes me happy too.
2. Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot has been one of my favorite authors since I was 12 years old, when I first picked up a copy of The Princess Diaries. I’ve literally bought every single book of hers, on the release day, since then. That’s 14 years of complete dedication. In fact, a few months ago, I thought “Wait…how is it Meg isn’t releasing anything this year?” Not even a week later, Meg announced two new adult books, based off of two of her very popular YA series. Those will most definitely be auto buys, without even pausing or thinking about it.
1. J.K. Rowling
She’s my favorite author in the entire world and she’s written a total of 10 books. Which seems like a lot but the first one came out in 1998, and that was nearly 20 years ago. She wrote the Harry Potter series and when that was over, I thought I would never again be able to experience the beautiful and incredible writing and storytelling of her again. Then The Casual Vacancy came out. Not one of my favorites but I did enjoy it and I purchased it immediately. As soon as it was revealed that she was Robert Galbraith, and that The Cuckoo’s Calling was, in fact, her novel, I immediately went on my e-reader and bought it. (I had to; at the time, bookstores didn’t carry enough copies to meet the sudden demand). Just recently I purchased The Silkworm, the sequel. I will continue to buy every single thing she writes, even if its, like, a history of toothpicks or something because I will read anything this queen writes :)
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Who are some of your favorite auto-buy authors? Share in the comments!