New Adult Books I Can't Believe I Haven't Read: Top Ten Tuesday (16)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and Bookish. I haven't done this kind of post in FOREVER and this week's topic is one I am particularly excited to participate in. Last Sunday, the 25th of January, I finished my first Colleen Hoover book. Anyone who reads New Adult fiction has read/loved Colleen Hoover and I see why. I am hooked on New Adult! I enjoyed the rawness and way Hoover handled mature topics so well and am looking forward to reading more books like this. So here is my TBR of New Adult Fiction I want to read. 

*New Adult is a tricky genre to label because, depending on who classifies it, books can be Young Adult, Chick Lit, or Erotica. If anyone has read the book below, can you tell me if they're actually New Adult and where on the spectrum they lie?*

The is the Colleen Hoover that EVERYONE talks about (besides Hopeless) and seems like a staple of the genre and the author. The premise sounds stellar and the addition of Slam Poetry is perfect. I've been wanting to read/write some Slam Poetry and this is seems like a fitting gateway.

I saw this as a recommendation from Lovely Like Laura and am now so mad at myself because it was a January Kindle Deal, and I wasn't able to snatch it up at the uber low price.

This book has been praised to the heavens as a #1 NYT Bestseller as well as an international bestseller, so it MUST be good. It sounds a tad riske, and this is one of the books Goodreads has deemed on the steamier side. 

After enjoyinging Never Never, a collaboration between Tamara Webbar and Colleen Hoover, I thought I would have to check out another novel by Tamara Webbar, and this seemed like the obvious choice as her most popular.

Jennifer L. Armetrout or J. Lynn has been praised constantly by both the Young AND New Adult Bookish communities and I have to confess that I haven't read any of her books, so I look forward to giving this one a go.

I've seen this at Barnes and Nobles multiple times in the Young Adult section, so I'm guessing that's the side of the spectrum it leans on. It sounds like it's a classic good-girl-meets-bad-boy situation, and I enjoy reading that dynamic from time to time.

I recently purchased Losing it and All Lined Up, as eBooks because of their great prices ($2/$1) if that deal is still available when this post goes live, you should definitely check it out. This sounds like an awkward/embarrassing situation that should be entertaining to read about.

This sounds like an interesting premise and I've heard there are two spin-off series as well, so if I end up liking Abbi Glines, I am definitely set.

This was actually read-a-long book part of my Goodreads Group (Obsessed with YA & NA) that I never got the chance to read and I'll get my hands on it someday. Nevertheless, it sounds like something I would enjoy in the NA range.

Despite the innocent cover, I *HEARD* there is mystery/murder, but I may be mistaken. Anyway, K.A. Tucker is always in people's favorites list and it sounds like a good choice.

And there you have it, my New Adult TBR based on the general consensus of the most popular/best authors in NA. I've only read self-pubbed aka self-dubbed New Adult previously, so I'm excited to make the plunge! :)

Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing This Year | Top Ten Tuesday (14)

I haven't done one of these in FOREVER

In case you were scrambling for a last-minute Christmas gift for me, Sofia Li, I have an Amazon Wishlist (to all of you relatives out there who are obviously not reading this post). So most of these books come from this list. They're a mix of old and new releases, YA and Adult in my quest to become a more diverse reader in 2015.

I read my first Morgan Matson book in November and I CANNOT wait  to read another. The premise is terrific and the dust jacket is astounding (have you seen the image on the other side) and the naked book is simply gorgeous. I haven't read a good "finding yourself" awkward cutesy romance in so long and I think this would be the perfect choice.

There has been so much hype surrounding this novel and I am dying to read it. There's another stunning cover and I cannot wait to read the dynamic between a pair of twins.... especially with the slight mystery surrounding the entire premise.

The concept behind this seems like perfection with the paranormal mystery aspect behind it. It's Libba Bray's most highly praised novel and I am so looking forward to finding out why.... even if I have to end up buying it for myself.

I can't deny the fact that the number one reason I want to read this novel is because of how much Regan from Peruse Project has been encouraging everyone to read it. The fact that it's about a blind girl who makes friends with a boy in the Hitler Youth makes me want to read it so badly.

One of my best Twitter friends encouraged me to read this book. It sounds like it would be an astoundingly fast-paced thriller of a dystopian and I have a feeling it will be gain popularity.... or become one of my new obsessions.

There's a main character who almost blows up his entire school. It's unlike any other YA contemporaries of the 21st century. Yes, Pu-lease!

I seem to be the only human bean (I'm aware of the mispelling) in this universe who has not read and fallen in love with a stephanie perkins novel. I can't wait to see what everyone else has been fangirling about for ages and I can fall for E'tienne St. Clair.

I actually already own this as an ebook, but the cover is just so gorgeous that I would definitely not mind a print copy and I'm currently reading this at the time I am writing this post.

I cannot wait to plunge into the world known as Outlander and get all of the thrills from Jamie Fraiser. I'm most definitely due for a new book boyfriend and a scotish man from the 1800s would not be disagreeable.

I have been waiting to read this freaking book since before it came out in March and I have still not dragged myself over to the nearest B&N so I can purchase and read the darn thing.

What books are on YOUR Christmas wishlist?

Fall 2014 Anticipated Releases: Top Ten Tuesday (13)

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish that I do arbitrarily when I like the topic. This week's one was one that I HAD to do, because if I participate in one Top Ten Tuesday per season, it will be my most anticipated releases. I am only listing releases that come out today and after, because if I include all of the earlier September releases.... we will be here all day.

*These are in order of release, not anticipation, because we all know what would be #1*

 Release Date: September 23, 2014

Backstory: I first heard about this book when everyone was hauling books from BEA, and while I wasn't the biggest fan of Uglies, I am looking forward to checking this one out.

Premise: This book alternates from a young debut novelist and the novel she is writing, so we get to see the events in her real life that impact the novel.

 Release Date: September 23, 2014 

Backstory: I had been eyeing this book on Netgalley, but was sadly not approved. That did not hinder my anticipation for it, and I would just like to say, "Happy Book Birthday Kendall!"

Premise: Witches and a Historical Romance, what more could a reader ask for? The plot sounds so intriguing, and I would practically pick up the book for the cover alone.

Release Date: September 30, 2014 

Backstory: I had been eyeing this since May and was fortunate enough to get an ARC copy which is actually next on my September TBR. 

Premise: In 1959, Sara Dunbar is the first African-American to be admitted to an all-white school where she will be bullied and ostracized for her race. When she is forced to work with Linda Hairston, the two must make up their minds about their personal morals and that their present realities aren't all that meets the eye.

Release Date: September 30, 2014

Backstory: I saw the interesting premise, requested it on Netgalley, and was approved.

Premise: This is a "what if" novel about how the world would be NOW if Hitler had won World War II, and if that doesn't sound like a gripping enough plot, I don't know what will.

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Backstory: Marie Lu is one of those authors who I would read grocery lists of.... if I could, and I am psyched to see how she does with the new genre and too see if I will fall in love with the characters as much as I did with Legend.

Premise: Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever which left her with mysterious and powerful abilities, so she must come to terms with who she is and what she can do. This will be a lot darker of a book, especially because Adelina is a villain, and I am dying to read it.

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Backstory: I have been reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians series since 3rd grade, this is the 10th book about Percy, as well as the end of the most epic book saga of my lifetime (in terms of length), and I cannot wait to see how the series ends. 

Premise: This is the 5th and last book in the Heroes of Olympus series so any synopsizing will be spoilery but the main idea is that it will be epic and a feels-full adventure. 

 Release Date: October 8, 2014

Backstory: This was another Netgalley approval, and I must say that I it was an impulse-request because of that mysterious cover.

Premise: This sounds like a fascinating psychological thriller/romance/mystery mashup that will be perfect to get me in the mood for Halloween. 

 Release Date: October 14, 2014

Backstory: I read the first book in the Unwind Quartet almost a year ago and was enraptured with the premise and fast-paced plot. While I wasn't the biggest fan of the third book, the cliffhanger is what is drawing me in.

Premise: This the 4th and last book in the Unwind Quartet which is centered around this dystopian society where kids (between 12 and 18) are "unwound" which means that 99% of their body is divided up so it can go to people that need the parts. As you can see, there a lot of moral and ethical questions, so chaos and rebellion ensue.

 Release Date: October 14, 2014

Backstory: I first heard about this book in JANUARY from Fiction_TheNewReality's New Year, New Books celebration and have been in rapt anticipation ever since because of the fantastical premise and breathtaking cover.

Premise: The Winter Kingdom's magic and ruler was stolen, and its fate depends on 8 survivors, and Meira -the protagonist- goes on a quest of her own to save her kingdom.

 Release Date: November 4, 2014

Backstory: I have only recently heard about this novel, but the pitch (it involves parallel universes) and the cover is simply stunning.

Premise: Marguerite's parents invented Firebird, which allows them to jump from parallel universe, but in our's her father is murdered, and she must use Firebird to track him down.

Authors I NEED to Read More Books From: Top 10 Tuesday (12)

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish that I do arbitrarily when I like the topic. This week's one sounded really fun because of how many books that are on my TBR (Over 1,000) and the large fraction of those that are written by these authors.

Cassandra Clare: I FINALLY read Clockwork Angel in the beginning of September and can't wait to read the rest of The Infernal Devices as well as start reading The Mortal Instruments. It seems like everyone and their second cousin is in love with Jace, Will, and Cassandra's amazing world.

Maya Van Wagenen: I read Maya's debut novel Popular, in August, and I think it may be one of the best debuts I have read this year. I normally am not the biggest fan of memoirs, but Maya just had such a strong, humorous voice and a gift for telling stories that kept her reader (me) captivated in the entire duration of the book.

Matthew Quick: I read Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock over a year ago and the novel still resonates with me every time I need to recommend a gritty, inspirational contemporary to anybody. The writing style was unlike any I had ever seen before (half-page annotations), and the main character had a brutally honest teenage voice that couldn't help but speak the painful truth.

Megan Shepherd: The Madman's Daughter was my first ever gothic thriller, and I loved every moment of the creepiness and pure insanity of the premise. The pacing was incredibly fast and the ending left me wanting a heck of a lot more from this author.

E. Lockhart: As you may know, Lockhart's latest novel -We Were Liars- was one of the most buzzed-about summer books for the mysterious outrageousness and plot twist. I really want to see if her other books are just as lyrical, with other unreliable narrators.

Amy Zhang: This teenager's debut novel Falling Into Place just hit shelves last week and was my most anticipated contemporary read of 2014. The prose was beautiful, the narrator.... a puzzle, and the plot.... a multi-layered onion. I can't wait to see what Zhang does with her talent with her standalones which are to be published in 2015 and 2016.

Winter Page: This is ironically another high schooler who had her debut novel come out this year. Breaking Free was about a Lesbian Transgender person and the struggles she went through in high school as well as her romantic life. If this premise could have been imagined and executed by a 15 year old, then I am dying to see what Winter can do as she gets older.

Helene Dunbar: This author's debut novel These Gentle Wounds came out May 2014, and was one of the most memorable and unique books I have ever read. The story is told from the perspective of Gordie, a teenage boy who has a serious case of PTSD because of a terrifying event that happened when he was little. The story was inspirational and thought-provoking, and I most definitely want to read more from Helene.

Leila Sales: In 2013, EVERYONE had gone crazy for This Song Will Save Your Life, and when I read the book in January.... my reaction was no different. Elise was such a neat character that I would die to be BFFs with in real life. The premise and musical aspect was interesting, and I just want to read more of Leila's dry humor and enjoyable prose.

A.S. King: The BookTuber Ariel Bisset is always raving about King, and the amount of passion Ariel has for this author makes me want to read more books by her. I wasn't the biggest fan of Everybody See the Ants, but reading only one book is subjective in terms of your opinion of the author, and I really want to read more by her.

Beach Bag Books: Top Ten Tuesday ()

Books that will be in my beach bag - ones that I really want to read this summer

City of Bones: Cassandra Clare ~ Because you totally want to read a book about Shadow Hunters and whatnot (I know next to nothing abut the series) in the middle of the beach. I can't tell you how much I have heard about it, and think I should try it out, who knows, it could be my newest obessession, and there are A LOT of fat books to keep me happy. 

Guardian: Alex London ~ Why wouldn't I jump at a chance to rejoin the world of Proxy? If you didn't know, its a dystopian/futuristic version of the commonly read in school book, The Whipping Boy. A bunch of my twitter friends and I simply fell in love with the book/series, so we are so exctied to buddy read, as it was just published last week.

Eleanor & Park: Rainbow Rowell ~ Yes, I have owned this book for the past three months, and haven't read it yet. You may now set the hounds on me. Anyway, everyone has been talking abotu how swoon worthy Park is, and how endearing, funny.... (the list goes on) the book is. So it would definitely seem liek a great book to read at the beach.

This Is What Happy Looks Like: Jennifer E. Smith ~ This little sucker is another contemporary romance that I have had my eye on in my bookshelf for a while now. While I wasn't the biggest fan of The Geography of You and Me, I'm hoping TIWHLL will turn me on (that phrase....) to Jennifer Smith a little more, because her stories are light and humorous.

Falling Into Place: Amy Zhang ~ I know this doesn't come out until September, but who knows, I might get lucky on Edelwiess or Netgalley. I read the excerpt from the YA Buzz Books of Fall and Winter. Now somebody hold this laptop while I freak out. The excerpt was simply astounding, and I will not be able to breathe until I get to read the rest of this novel.

Books that should be in your beach bag - ones that I recommend to you

Only With You (The Jane Austen Academy #5): Cecilia Gray ~ This book is literally the MEANING of a beach read. It's light, hilarious, fun, sweet, and a whole lot more, but I think I'll let the review tell you that. By the way, don't be frightened by the #5 part, I got freaked out too (how could I have fit in another 5 books for a single blog tour?), but each book is written like a standalone, and everything made sense to me.

Colonization: Aubrey Dionne ~ I read this book for a blog tour as well, and while it was not written by Jane Austen, it was still a very enjoyable story -perfect for getting immersed in at the beach. While I usually dislike stories about people inhabiting another planet because of whatever messed up reason that theirs isn't any good anymore, this story held its own.

Edna in the Desert: Maddy Ledderman ~ This book, I still remember it being the 3rd review request I ever received, and waiting for it in the mail. This book was, as I said (because it's totally cool to quote yourself) "one of the funniest, heartwarming coming-of-age novels I have read in a long time that's wonderfully crafted characters are bound to stick with you."

The False Prince (Teh Ascendance Trilogy #1): Jennifer A. Nielsen ~ Where do I even start with this masterpiece of Middle Grade/Young Adult crossover literature? This was probably my last favorite Fantasy novel, for so many reasons. One being that I wrote spoiler free and filled reviews of the entire series because it was THAT freaking awesome. What else can I say/ You jsut have to read the rambly post I call a review.

How to Say Goodbye: Amber Lin ~ If you can't have a swoon-worthy boy at the beach, why not read about one? One of the main characters -Dane- is this tortured starving artist type that falls in love with prim and proper Amy. The whole opposites attract thing works really well, and their love story is the kind everyone wants to read while they're at the beach, watching the sun set.

So I would like to know, what books would you recommend for a day at the beach, and what books would you like to bring on a day to the beach?  

Books I Almost Put Down But Didn't: Top Ten Tuesday (10)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme and weekly event posted every week on (OMG) Tuesdays by The Broke and Bookish. Some of these books were nearly DNFs, others were ones I almost put down because I had other books, and a few are ones I don't want to put down now, but have been distracted by others.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone: Laini Taylor ~ I started this book in the middle of April, got around 100 pages through, and it's now sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be picked up again. I was really enjoying Karou and her love interest, but other books just took its space.

Fangirl: Rainbow Rowell ~ This is another book I started somewhere in April, it might be a DNF, because the plot seemed plain confusing to me. Although I do want to see what everybody is talking about when they say the Rainbow Rowell. It has won awards and stellar reviews, but I think it was just plain confusing that Cath was so hung up on Simon Snow, and there was her room mate's boyfriend that she falls in love with.

Breaking Glass: Lisa Amowitz ~ This book seems so similar to the book I had ditched this one to read. Every You, Every Me had the exact same romantic dynamic which was pretty annoying. I was also around 100 pages in where all the MC was doing was lying in bed moaning about his amputated leg. Yes, I should have felt sorry for him, but I didn't have a good connection with him.

Every Day: David Levithan ~ Frankly, the romance was a little annoying. The premise was astounding, but the execution in the plot was something I believe needed a lot of work. Nevertheless, I finished it because it was a book for last month's LGBT+ event. 

Me Since You: Laura Wiess ~ I literally got around 40% of this book, read two other books (one of them included Allegiant), and on a whim, because I only had my iPod, started reading again and in about five percent, it picked up again and received four stars from me.

The Sky is Everywhere: Jandy Nelson ~ To be honest, I don't know why I stuck with this book. I didn't like it, the romance was too conflicting, it felt wrong, but something told me to stuck with it....and I did. I don't know why I did, but I finished the book when I really shouldn't have.

Crank: Ellen Hopkins ~ I fell in love with Ellen Hopkin's writing when I read Identical, and thought Crank would be the same. Personally, the way Hopkins wrote it was too grim and dark for me.

The Eye of Minds: James Dashner ~ The concept/premise of this book was simply astounding intriguing, but I would have to say I strongly disliked the execution of it, and that it could have been done a lot differently

The Kill Order: James Dashner ~ I'm really sorry to say this, but I outright hated this book. It took me over five weeks to finish, was unneeded for the rest of the story, had a ton of potential, but ended up disappointing me big time

Delirium: Lauren Oliver ~ I didn't enjoy the concept of this book very much, and it ended with the MC running away into the wild. The whole story sounded waaay too much like Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, and I personally didn't like the romantic aspects either.