Tag: Kiera Cass

Top Anticipated January Releases!

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Young Adult

*****

The Killing Jar by Jennifer Bosworth

Seventeen-year-old Kenna Marsden has a secret.

She’s haunted by a violent tragedy she can’t explain. Kenna’s past has kept people—even her own mother—at a distance for years. Just when she finds a friend who loves her and life begins to improve, prostate she’s plunged into a new nightmare. Her mom and twin sister are attacked, and the dark powers Kenna has struggled to suppress awaken with a vengeance.

On the heels of the assault, Kenna is exiled to a nearby commune, known as Eclipse, to live with a relative she never knew she had. There, she discovers an extraordinary new way of life as she learns who she really is, and the wonders she’s capable of. For the first time, she starts to feel like she belongs somewhere. That her terrible secret makes her beautiful and strong, not dangerous. But the longer she stays at Eclipse, the more she senses there is something malignant lurking underneath it all. And she begins to suspect that her new family has sinister plans for her…

Release Date: January 12th, 2016

My Thoughts: It has been way too damn long since JBos put out a boook and I’m absolutely dying to get my hands on it. Her first novel was amazing, and surprised me in so many ways. I can’t wait for this one.

The Siren by Kiera Cass

A girl with a secret.
The boy of her dreams.
An Ocean between them.

Years ago, Kahlen was rescued from drowning by the Ocean. To repay her debt, she has served as a Siren ever since, using her voice to lure countless strangers to their deaths. Though a single word from Kahlen can kill, she can’t resist spending her days on land, watching ordinary people and longing for the day when she will be able to speak and laugh and live freely among them again.

Kahlen is resigned to finishing her sentence in solitude…until she meets Akinli. Handsome, caring, and kind, Akinli is everything Kahlen ever dreamed of.

Falling in love with a human breaks the Ocean’s rules. But for the first time in a lifetime of following the rules, Kahlen is determined to follow her heart.

Release Date: January 26th, 2016

My Thoughts: Kiera Cass is amazing and I can’t wait to read this. I know she originally self published and I’m a terrible person because I never read it but now that its being officially published, I can’t wait to read it. Its not really my thing, sirens, that sort of thing, but I didn’t think I’d like The Selection either so there’s that.

*****

New Adult

*****

Built by Jay Crownover 

Sayer Cole is frozen inside. At least, that’s what it’s felt like for as long as she can remember. She’s yet to let anyone past her icy exterior – and the one guy she thinks might melt her heart couldn’t possibly be interested in someone so uptight.

Rough, hard and hot-as-hell, Zeb Fuller has rebuilt his life and his construction business since protecting his family sent him to jail all those years ago. His elegant client, Sayer, makes him feel like a Neanderthal in denim, but despite the many hints that he’s been dropping to get to know her better, she seems oblivious to his charms.

Just as things finally start to heat up, Zeb’s past comes back to haunt him and he needs Sayer’s professional help to right a wrong and to save more than himself. As these opposites dig in for the fight of their lives, fire and ice collide in an unstoppable explosion of steam…

Release Date: January 5th, 2016

My Thoughts: Already read it. Already LOVED it. I did my anticipated releases way too late.

The Score by Elle Kennedy 

Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she’s going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di-Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands.

It’ll take more than flashy moves to win her over

Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world—and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love.

Release Date: January 11th, 2016

My Thoughts: I absolutely LOVED The Deal and The Mistake. Elle Kennedy writes amazing books and I’ve watched Dean for quite some time so I can’t wait to read his story. I’m dying. Its only days away and I’m already so so so excited.

*****

What books are you most excited for in January? 

Book Review: The Heir by Kiera Cass

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22918050Genre: 

Young Adult, side effects Romance, visit this site Dystopian (?)

Pages: 

352 pages


Part of a Series?:

The fourth novel in the Selection series

Release Date: 

May 5th, ailment 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

iBooks

Author Website

GoodReads Summary: 

Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she’d put off marriage for as long as possible.

But a princess’s life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can’t escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests.

Eadlyn doesn’t expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn’s heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn’t as impossible as she’s always thought.

My Review:

I was so insanely excited for this book. I remember it took me ages to read The Selection and when I finally did, I blew through it and The Elite and devoured The One when it came out. To read a book about America and Maxon’s children? UGH. I was dying. I love that we get to see more of Kiera’s world without stretching the story out too far. Its like Tammy Pierce; we get to see the world of Tortall but underneath the banner of other characters. I think when you can do that, its just wonderful.

And Kiera really accomplishes that. She takes this world she created and expands under Eadlyn’s point of view. The problems that are left unsolved at the end of The Heir are being answered about eighteen years later and I think its incredible. It shows that things aren’t so easily wrapped up. Sure, in the first trilogy, they vow to abolish the caste system and all that but its not that simple, and you see that struggle and the problems that come with abolishing a system that had been in place for so long and I think that’s awesome. I love that things don’t end up happily ever after. That’s the mark of good world building, knowing that you can’t wrap up everything in a bow. Its fabulous.

Plus we get to see so many old characters and its just awesome. Its fun to visit old characters, see where they are at and all of that.

The one issue I had with the book is that it was hard to love Eadlyn at first. I think she’s very much a product of her environment and how she was raised and so sometimes you have to remind yourself that but she is SO spoiled and its hard to deal with it. I kind of want to punch her sometimes. But I love all the boys (its so hard to choose; I don’t know who I want her to end up with!) and I like the interactions she has with people. And I love that she is genuinely good person who just might be a little bit too naive.

I’m really excited for the next book. I think Eadlyn is a great character and I think the fact that we aren’t quite sure who to root for is both frustrating and exciting! Now I just have to wait patiently for the next book!

Rating: 

4 out of 5 Stars

May Book Wrap Up!

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Books Pledged to Read in 2015:

150

Am I On Track: 

2 books behind. This seems to be the trend every month..

Books Read So Far: 

59

Total Books For May: 

12

The Heir

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Saint Anything

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Pucked

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Scoring Wilder

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Be With Me

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Stay With Me

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Fall With Me

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The Proposal

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Trust In Me

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Frigid

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PS I Still Love You

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The White Rose

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All Lined Up (Re-Read)

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How was your May?!

Tuesday Top Ten – Most Anticipated Spring Book Releases!

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Okay, sales right, page so *technically* this is a Tuesday Top Ten and I’m supposed to choose only my top Ten most anticipated spring releases but guys its really hard! There are always so many awesome books coming out! I’m still feeling a little slump-like with books lately but I’m hoping with all these AMAZING books coming to the stores this spring, thumb I’ll be kicked back into gear!

Honorable Mentions:

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

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I had never read Jenny before I read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. It was so fun and quirky and I absolutely adore Lara Jean and so I can’t wait to see what happens to the huge mess she made, basically.

Release Date: May 26th, 2015

Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway

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I’ve already read this book and I absolutely love it. Its so fresh and new and real, and EMOTIONAL. One minute, I’m laughing, the next, I’m squealing from the first love that they share and the next, I’m crying because there is just so many raw emotions in this book. Robin created a winner with this book.

Release Date: June 23rd, 2015

10. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

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Okay, everyone is talking about this book. EVERYONE. Its everywhere, and I’m so excited for it. It sounds absolutely amazing and I truly love a great fantasy. Its been stirring up a lot of buzz, so I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I’ve been begging for an ARC for weeks and haven’t managed to get one, so I’ll just have to settle waiting for it like a normal person.

Release Date: April 28th, 2015

9. The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings

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Yay! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first book so much and Lindsay is just SUCH a doll so I’m super excited to read the second one. I’m really excited too because I will be finally meeting Lindsay at RT in May and this book will have already released and yay for getting books signed!

Release Date: April 21st, 2015

8. A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J Maas

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Sarah J Maas is a queen when it comes to fantasy and while I’ve been enjoying her Throne of Glass series SO much, I’m excited to read something new from her as well. She’s such a fun person to meet (our arguments of Sarah vs Sara are fabulous) and she truly is just incredibly talented. I’m eagerly awaiting this new series!

Release Date: May 5th, 2015

7. Awakening by Shannon Duffy

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I’ve already read this book. I have a serious soft spot for Entangled Teen releases and their publicist, Heather, is just a doll so when she was handing out ARCs of this, I jumped on it and I’m so glad that I did! Its a fresh new science fiction/dystopian sort of world and the characters are super lovable and I loved everything about it. This one comes out VERY soon so get your hands on it now!

Release Date: April 7th, 2015

6. Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

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Come on, its Sarah Dessen. Sign me up every single time. Her last few releases haven’t been, well, fabulous but she’s a great writer, period so I’m excited for her new book nonetheless. I’ve read every single one of her books since I was 13 years old so I really have no plans in stopping any time soon.

Release Date: May 5th, 2015

5. Kissing Ted Callahan (And Other Guys) by Amy Spalding

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Another release that I’ve already read so I can say with full confidence that I am so excited for it to come out next week and for all of you to get your hands on it. Its hilarious and SO familiar. Who hasn’t had their fair share of guy confusion? I know this girl definitely has (and why does that not go away when you get older…) and its seriously so great. Amy’s a great writer so I definitely highly recommend this one next week!

Release Date: April 7th, 2015

4. Revenge, Ice Cream and Other Things Best Served Cold by Katie Finn

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And yet another book that I have already read. I absolutely adore Katie Finn and I swear it has NOTHING (okay maybe a little something) to do with the fact that I love love love Morgan Matson ;) Her Broken Hearts and Revenge series is SO fun, like a summer teen drama where you’re basically waiting on the edge of your seat for things to just EXPLODE. This book was great and I literally canNOT wait for book three! Plus the new covers are so cute!

Release Date: May 5th, 2015

3. The Heir by Kiera Cass

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AGH! I literally am DYING for this book. I loved the Selection series so much. I remember putting it off for so long and then I read it and fell in love with it. SUCH a great series and Kiera is just the coolest person. I adore her. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book. I’m probably going to sob over the cover in the bookstore before I even make it home to READ it. And I get to meet her again in May.

Release Date: May 5th, 2015

2. A Girl Undone by Catherine Linka

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I’m about halfway through this book and I’m already absolutely in love with this book. The first book was fabulous, of course, but there’s just something about this second book. A lot has changed and its reflected in the writing and the storytelling and its just so beautiful so far. Catherine creates all of these realistic and memorable characters and the world opens up even more in this book and if you haven’t read the first one, go get it now so you can be ready for this second one!

Release Date: June 23rd, 2015

1. Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot

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When Meg announced that she was writing this novel, my 12 year old self literally squealed. My 27 year old self squealed. I’ve been reading this books my entire life and have shipped Michael Moscovitz and Mia Thermopolis since BOOK ONE. Now that they’re finally together and they’re getting married (*SQUEE*)…I just literally can’t handle this at all. I tried so hard to get my hands on an ARC, but I have failed immensely. But I literally am DYING to get my hands on this book. This is 15 years in the making!

Release Date: June 2nd, 2015

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What are some of the releases coming up soon? Let me know in the comments!

Tuesday Top Ten – Favorite New Releases of 2014!

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I seriously hate writing these lists. Seriously. Because the segment is called the Tuesday Top Ten. I’ve read 120-something books this year and, sale yeah, sick sure, a good number of them were either re-reads or books that were released previous to the year 2014. But I would say a majority of those books were brand new releases.

And I’m just supposed to narrow them down to the ones that I liked the most. I mean, come on. That’s just mean. And hard. I’ve read so MANY great and fantastic books this year. It just blows my mind how authors can just continue to write amazing stories over and over and over again.

And yes, I’m the brains of this operation which means, technically, I could make a whole huge list of books that came out this year that I loved but they legit would all make the list and the point of this is to highlight the ones that really stood out to me this year.

So that’s just what I’m going to do! Check it out :)

10. All Lined Up by Cora Carmack

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I was looking forward to this book because it has three of my favorite things in the world: romance, hot boys with abs and football. I hadn’t been massively impressed with Cora so far but this book completely changed my mind and I loved the second one as well. I definitely could use more Rusk boys in my life.

9. Cress by Marissa Meyer

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I was DYING for this book and when I finally got my hands on it, I was in the worst slump ever. Took me about a week and a half to read this book, but when I finally did, I was just blown away. Cress is an incredible character and I absolutely love this book. I couldn’t believe how long I had to wait (and am still waiting) for the final book.

8. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

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Oh Morgan  Matson. Please never stop writing. The closeness I felt to this book, the inability to remember how to do things, live life, make friends, have fun without your best friend…I totally understand that. Plus she’s just such a fun writer. Reading her books is easy, you just get sucked in and suddenly you realized hours have passed and you haven’t even moved.

7. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

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This book completely blew my mind. I needed a really good fantasy book in my life and this one completely and totally delivered. I was just blown away by the incredible world building that Sara created in this novel and I loved every character that we meet, even the villains because I can appreciate a really well written villain. And I loved the surprises. I love when I’m reading and I feel like I have a handle on the story and something completely throws me off. Its beautiful and I absolutely love it. Get this book.

6. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

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I LOVE Anna and the French Kiss. I LOVE Lola and the Boy Next Door. I literally ADORE and am OBSESSED with Isla and Josh and this story. I read this just a week before I broke up with my boyfriend and when I knew things weren’t good, and that’s kind of why I like this novel. This book is about romance, about how we get caught up in it and we forget that it can be hard work and that things aren’t always easy and they aren’t always sunshine and rainbows. That hit me hard, and the beautiful reality of love in this story just broke my heart. I love love love this book. It has a happy ending, which is fantastic, but I loved seeing the struggle to get there.

5. Alienated by Melissa Landers

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I am sure you are all so tired of me putting this in your face but guess what? Nope. Not at all. Because I truly love this book. I seriously seriously love this book. I am so glad I ran into Melissa at ALA and brought this book into my life! Its so beautiful. Great science fiction, awesome humor and the romance is just…ugh, I’m fangirling.

4. Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

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Dear Richelle Mead, Can I be your daughter? Love, Sara. I really liked The Fiery Heart but The Indigo Spell is my favorite so it was hard to follow that. Silver Shadows is now just below The Indigo Spell, because it just blew my mind. I loved the dual point of view and I loved the build up to the incredible climax and omg that cliffhanger broke my heart. A month until the end of it all!

3. The One by Kiera Cass

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I am so glad I got into Kiera Cass this year. I read The Selection at the very beginning of the year, at the urging of…someone. I can’t remember who. But I hadn’t really had a desire to. And now, I’m just stoked that I did because its such a good book. The Elite is a bit of a struggle to get through BUT The One was just a beautiful book. I was so emotional and I cried and when I met Kiera, I fangirled way too hard.

2. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

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Dear Leigh Bardugo, please teach everyone in the world how to end a series. Seriously. So many series enders have been so disappointing, so lacking but this book just blew my mind. I sat down and just consumed it. It was absolutely fantastic. Everything came to an end, and it was heartbreaking, utterly heartbreaking and surprising and just…ugh. It made me so happy. I wish I could have even just a fraction of the talent that Leigh has.

1. Grasshopper Jungle and 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith

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I cheated ;) I put two books for my number one but that’s just because I legit could not choose between these two. They are both so different but so unique and just brilliant. Andrew Smith is such a one of a kind author that just blows my mind. 100 Sideways Miles was incredible and Grasshopper Jungle was unlike anything I’ve ever read in my life. I literally have never read a book like GJ and it just was….it was about everything and it was bizarre and funny and all of that. He’s truly brilliant. He might just end up on my top ten at the end of every year haha!

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What were some of your favorite new releases of 2014? Share in the comments

Tuesday Top Ten: Authors New to Me in 2014

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Hello my lovelies! How are you all doing on this fine Tuesday? I hope fantastic. I hope you’re all watching fantastic shows and movies and reading fantastic books and just being all around nerdy and fantastic. Did I ever tell you how much I absolutely love the word “fantastic”? Well, seek I do.

But anyway…I had been trying to think of topics for a Tuesday Top Ten because I’ve been SO incredibly bad at doing them, and I was checking my emails and saw that this week’s post for The Broke and Bookish was the one I’m doing and I thought, hey that’s kind of fun!

So here we are, my top ten authors that are new to me, and a couple of honorable mentions as well because it was SO hard to narrow it down!

Honorable Mentions: 

All debut novelists who rocked my world this year. The Jewel and Love Letters to the Dead all absolutely blew my mind  and are books that I definitely won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Amy Ewing 

Ava Dellaira

10. Tonya Kuper

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I met Tonya at ALA in Las Vegas this past summer, and she made an impression on me. I didn’t know what her book was about, I didn’t even really know anything about HER. All I knew was that she was really nice, she was published by Entangled and that she was massively enthusiastic about her book. I went home, followed her on Instagram, became her friend on Facebook, and helped promote the hell out of her debut novel, Anomaly. I love her book and absolutely ADORE her so I’m glad she is a new author to me this year.

9. Cora Carmack 

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Cora Carmack came on my radar because she was friends with Jennifer Armentrout, who I adore to bits and pieces. The first novel I read of hers didn’t massively impress me, which I think was Losing It, back in the beginning of this year. However, when she started talking about her new series, which boiled down to football, hot guys, romance and sexiness, I knew I couldn’t resist and I immediately bought All Lined Up when it came out. Not long after, All Broke Down, released and I’m officially in love.

8. Lauren Miller

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I first met Lauren when she made an appearance at my fave event, Ontario Teen Book Fest. I was already about halfway through the ARC of her new book, Free to Fall. She was so FUNNY and I had a ton of fun talking to her and so I immediately went home and finished this book, and then read her first novel, Parallel. I love both of these books, so fresh, so new, I love the romance, and I adore Lauren. I’m also glad they’re both standalone so that I didn’t get sucked into the never ending abyss of series!

7. Jenny Han

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I had never read Jenny Han before. Ever. For some reason, her series just never ever appealed to me. I’m not sure why, but I know I went to the bookstore numerous times, and held her books in my hands and then ultimately decided not to get them. She did a signing in May with Morgan Matson and you had to buy one of their books in order to do the signing. I already had all of Morgan’s books (obviously) so I bought this one. Jenny read from it and it was funny and SHE was funny and I went home THAT night and read it in a few hours. This book is fresh and hilarious and beautiful and I’m already DYING for the sequel.

6. Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

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I had seen this book circling around the interwebs for a while, I think instagram or some such like that and finally I decided, hey, what the hell, I’m going to buy. Even though I had heard good things, I was still wary. I think the cover is totally beautiful BUT I also think its a little cheesy too haha. Its possible for it to be both right? Right. Anyway, what I found was a fantastically written science fiction novel that also held an incredible romance as well. I BLEW through this book and was amazing at every moment. This book is incredible and brilliant and I’m counting down the days until the sequel comes out.

5. Sara Raasch

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I literally read this book about a week and a half ago but that’s how much of an impression it made on me. I’m not really sure how it got on my radar but it did and it sounded really awesome and I liked the title and the cover and her name is Sara without the H which is brilliant and yeah. I was on a book buying ban, technically, but I decided, meh, what the hell, and ended up buying it anyway because I wanted to read it so bad and I am so glad that I did. Its a fantastic fantasy novel that I legitimately canNOT get out of my head and I hope there are more (please be more) because Sara’s writing was just so fluid and descriptive and real and beautiful that I need more of it in my life.

4. Melissa Landers

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This was another book that seemed to be floating around my radar on IG and that sort of thing. She was signing ARCs of the sequel, Invaded, at ALA and somehow, miraculously, I got my hands on it. We joked that I got mine early, before Sasha (because I think that’s who I had heard it from) and I kind of felt bad! I had a signed copy of the ARC and I hadn’t even read the first book! So I went to the book store, bought this one and read in a few hours. This book is INCREDIBLE. I swear by it. I keep telling people about it. Its beautiful. I love that its an incredible romance but it also has a great science fiction background with it. I love aliens and there just aren’t enough alien books out there, not ones like this.

3. Victoria Scott 

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I only found Victoria because of Jessica Brody and I seriously thank her SO much for that. She did a live vlog thing with Victoria because their books were releasing the same day and I won a trivia part of it and got some signed swag from Victoria. So when Fire and Flood released, I immediately bought it and I LOVE it. A lot of people compare it to The Hunger Games, which I *kinda* see but I honestly think its unique and fresh and I love the main character, Tella, so much and I LOVE Pandoras (read the book). I recently won a copy of the sequel and LOVED that as well, and I also read the first of her Dante Walker series and I’m just madly in love with Victoria. I’m glad to be part of her V Mafia now!

2. Kiera Cass 

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It took me AGES to read this and I can’t believe that it did. I think it was the cover. Scratch that, I know it was the cover and I just didn’t know what it was going to be about really but there wasn’t much desire to read it. That is, until someone gifted it to me. I had heard it described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games, and its totally that, in an amazing way. The entire trilogy was totally brilliant and I’m anxiously awaiting The Heir. I’m SO glad I finally buckled down and read it and I’m so glad that I totally have the entire series signed now too! Kiera is always a totally LOVELY human being that I adore to pieces so I’m glad I finally read this book.

1. Catherine Linka 

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This is the debut novel of a local author friend of mine. I had heard about it through Alethea, who runs Read Now Sleep Later and managed to get my hands on an early copy, because I was going to be meeting her at Ontario Teen Book Fest. This book completely BLEW my mind and I am seriously anxiously awaiting the sequel. I’m going to convince her to get one to me ;) The reason she’s number one is because I’m so inspired by her. She had a struggle to get it published, she had to change things, and work out kinks but the book has done SO well and won awards and she’s SUCH a great friend and inspiration. She’s constantly giving me tips and words of encouragement and I just adore her. Her book is fabulous and I can’t wait for the sequel.

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What are some new authors YOU’VE read this year? Share in the comments!