BEST OF THE BEST: 2014 (TTT)

top ten tuesday is a weekly feature started by the broke and the bookish! you can find more information about it here.

i wanted to make this a “regular” top ten tuesday post, in which i just list out ten books, but then i saw mitchii’s epic post and i just had to copy do something similar sorry mitchii. i didn’t read enough books to do this list justice but anyway, i present to you.. the top books i read in 2014 (which isn’t a lot tbh):

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 NEW TO THE CREW (best debut novel: standalone/starter)

just one day; by gayle forman – so this book kinda changed my perspective on a lot of things. it’s definitely on the list of most influential books. if you don’t know what it’s about, you’d think this is a typical contemporary-romance novel. i mean, it has a girl/boy holding hands on the cover. NO DUH. but it’s so much more than that. i feel like this book is more about self-growth than anything else.

FOLLOWING THROUGH (best sequel/part of a series)

cress (book three of the lunar chronicle series); by marissa meyer – ohmygodthisbookwassogood. words cannot describe how good this book was. most definitely on the top five books of 2014. without a doubt. i loved the plot, characters, descriptions, writing style, pacing, everything.

FINEST FINALE (best conclusion in a series)

city of heavenly fire (book six in the mortal instruments series); by cassandra clare – i was never a huge fan of the tmi series simply because i believed it could’ve ended at book three and the writing was meh. i hardly even remember what happened in book four and five (still don’t actually). this series was at a 2.5/5 stars, but this book brought it up to a 4.5/5 stars. the entire book (all 700+ pages) was fantastic and so satisfying. it made me glad she continued the series. that’s how good it was. i’m officially a cassie clare fan.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (best contemporary standalone/series)

anna and the french kiss series; by stephanie perkins – thinking about this book makes me squeal. i read a lot of contemporary books this year, so it was really hard to choose. everyone should read this simply because it is adorable and joyful and everyone needs happiness in their life. my favorite part was how all the books connected together. it’s a companion series; each novel was an independent story, but they all connect together beautifully and i just.. *sighs happily*

COVER PORN (most beautiful cover)

shatter me trilogy; by tahereh mafi – this was actually so hard to choose, but i decided on the shatter me trilogy because 1) they all match, 2) they’re all beautiful, and 3) omg that eye. i’m in love. you can tell the details and change in the eyes as juliette’s change in character. i love it.

EVIL IS GOOD (best/favorite antagonist)

mara dyer from the mara dyer trilogy; by michelle hodkin – does mara count as a villain/antagonist? i don’t think so.. but i’m not entirely sure. she sometimes thinks like one and acts like one, but is she a villain? if she were, i would choose her.

warner from the shatter me trilogy; by tahereh mafi – *screams*

the darkling from the grisha trilogy; by leigh bardugo – probably one of the most conflicting characters to ever exist. i don’t know what to feel. also the strangest most conflicting love triangle/square/hexagon/octagon/thing ever.

ignifex from cruel beauty; by rosamund hodge – making me choose only one antagonist is laughable. i like all the bad guys okay

DREAM TEAM (best non-romantic relationship)

reyna and nico from the blood of olympus (book five of heroes of olympus series); by rick riordan – thinking about the two of them makes me want to cry from happiness. the two of them are the most unlikely of friendships, but their chemistry is just perfect. they work together perfectly and trust each other and *getting emotional* i’m sorry i can’t do this

SHIP SHIP SHIP (best romantic relationship)

isla and josh from isla and the happily ever after; by stephanie perkins –this was actually so hard to choose, i cannot think of a more adorable couple. i love them to death. but if you ask for my other favorites.. well, there’s….

LIONHEART (best hero/heroine)

reyna from the blood of olympus (book five of heroes of olympus series); by rick riordan – i didn’t want to choose someone from a book i’ve already chosen, but reyna certainly deserves this. i never put much thought on reyna before this book, but ohmygoodness she kicks ass. she is so admirable and heroic. there’s no other way to say this. it’s not only that she’s a good fighter, but she’s an amazing person and basically perfect in every way amirite. (when i say perfect, i mean perfectly imperfect)

YOU DESERVE THE PRAISE (author of the year)

rainbow rowell (author of eleanor & park, fangirl, attachments, and landline) – if you don’t know who rainbow rowell is, where have you been this past year? you need to read her stuff right now. her writing never disappoints me. i don’t even know what’s so exceptional about it, i just.. so good. her stories are all realistic and relatable. LOVE.

STANDING OVATION (best overall series/standalone)

the darkest minds trilogy; by alexandra bracken

number of times i wanted to give this series/book-in-this series/author another award: six really too many. and there are only ten (excluding this one) awards in total.

technically this shouldn’t count because i read the darkest minds last year, but i did read never fade and in the afterlight this year so… whatever. this is my favorite trilogy ever. every single book was good; i can’t even choose a favorite. words actually cannot describe my thoughts on this trilogy i just… please read it. that’s all i can really say. read it now. warning: your emotions will be all over the place.

if you’re wondering what other awards i would’ve given this series.. best sequel, best conclusion, best non-romantic relationship (ruby/chubs), best romantic relationship (ruby/liam), best hero/heroine (ruby), author of the year. the darkest minds never fade in the afterlight <3

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that concludes the awards of 2014! i spent some time looking through my list over and over again, so i know all of these books/authors mentioned deserved everything they got. technically my list was longer than ten, but.. i just had to include every single one of these books.

xoxo,

alexandra

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