top ten tuesday: books for mythology nerds

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is: "April 12: Ten Books Every X Should Read (up to you! Examples: every history nerd, memoir lover, ballet lover, feminist, college student, etc etc.)" I chose to do my list for people who love mythology of all sorts– Greek/Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Indian, etc – because I am obsessed with mythology myself, always have been!

1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series– Rick Riordan 

Okay, I'm just going to go ahead and cover my bases here with the Rick Riordan series. Riordan is technically middle grade, but read one of his books without cracking up and then get back to me on that label. Percy is the OG demigod up in here: he's a bamf, even when he's like 12. This series has five books. If you haven't read it already... literally where have you been? One of my all time favorites EVER. 

2. The Heroes of Olympus Series – Rick Riordan

Just when you THINK you're done with Percy... NOPE. Uncle Rick gave us this beautiful and amazing and expansive follow up series of five books which follows Percy and Annabeth and Nico and Grover and our fave gods, then gives us some incredible new characters as well. Five books in this one also, a close runner up to the first series. 

3. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series– Rick Riordan

 This is Riordan's most recent addition to his canon of mythology, this one following Norse gods and demigods instead of the Greek/Roman/Egyptian ones that he has explored in the past. There is only one book out currently, with the second, The Hammer of Thor, coming out later this year. Though I did not fall directly in love with this one quite like I did with the Greek and Roman series, it was still AWESOME and hilarious, in true Riordan fashion. 

4. The Covenant Series– Jennifer L. Armentrout 

More Greeks, more demigods here, but YA instead of MG this time. This series is very similar to the Vampire Academy series, but I honestly love them both. I read Covenant before VA, and I seriously fell head over heels in love with the characters. Five books in this series, mythology less directly involved, more implied and effused. 

5. The Song of Achilles– Madeline Miller

The story of Achilles and Patroclus, from the time that they meet as youths, until both of their untimely demises in the Trojan war. (that's not a spoiler, it's literal, mythological fact) Sweet, adorable, cute, stabby... what more could you want? Patroclus is a cinnamon roll, too good, too pure for this world. Achilles is a sinnamon roll. This is all we need to know. 

 

6. The Chaos of Stars – Kiersten White 

Hello, Egyptian mythology! Welcome, take a seat here with your Greek and Norse counterparts. This is a standalone novel where the main character is the daughter of Isis, Egyptian goddess of marriage and many other things. This book is super romantic, and honestly pretty short, but definitely one of my faves. It could be a quick beach read for you this summer! 

7. Cruel Beauty – Rosamund Hodge

 I don't know if I'm cheating here, because honestly this isn't *about* Greek mythology, specifically. It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. BUT! It is super interesting and different because there are elements of Greek and Roman culture woven into the tapestry of this fairy tale retelling. It is a lot more subtle than the rest of the books on this list, but it's beautiful and captivating, so I included it.

8. The Wrath and the Dawn – Renée Ahdieh

 Also don't know if this one is cheating... but I don't really care, because it feels like it belongs here, to me. This book is a retelling of 1001 Nights, which, in itself, is a little hazy over whether it is classified as a "classic book," a "legend," or a "myth." I like to think of it as a Middle Eastern, Persian myth, and this book has other elements of that culture as well. Gorgeous, gorgeous writing, beautiful characters, engaging plot. LOVE it. 

9. The Grisha Trilogy – Leigh Bardugo 

Though this is set entirely in a fantastical world called Ravka, there are definite influences of Russian culture upon it. There are also echoes of Russian myths, such as that of the Firebird, so if you're looking for something with definite allusions to Russian folklore, this is your book. Also, just a kickass series all around.

10. The Raven Boys Series – Maggie Stiefvater 

Here we come to the last book on our list, which includes some elements of Welsh mythology! Something new and different for us. I know there is like a cult following for this series, but I'm totally not caught up yet, I haven't read Blue Lily, Lily Blue yet!!! So no spoilers. I'm waiting til I get my hands on The Raven King to finish this series. 

I hope you enjoyed this list :) link me to your posts this week!

xx

Caroline

autumn book tags

Welcome to my very Autumnal-themed post!! Where I live, in the southern US, it has really only started feeling like fall over the last couple of weeks, so I feel totally justified in posting this now instead of when fall actually started. Also, especially with Halloween being this Saturday, I am more in the spirit of fall than ever! I love the end of fall into the beginning of winter, I just feel like it is the most magical time of year, and so here are some booktags that I have found to reflect my excitement and wonder!


The first tag is called just "The Autumn Book Tag" which I got from The Bookie Monsters. The original creator was a booktuber that I don't think is on youtube anymore. The second tag is called "The Fall Time Cosy Tag," which I got from Novels and Nonsense! I love both of these tags a lot, and I hope that they do whatever they need to to get you in the spirit of fall, crunching through leaves and sipping PSLs and whatnot!

                    The Autumn Book Tag

1. What is your favourite thing about Autumn? – I hate being hot, so one of the best things about autumn is the fact that the weather starts cooling off. I also am *that girl* who gets OBSESSED with the leaves. I live right near the mountains too, and they are pretty spectacular.

2. What book reminds you of your school days? Hmm. I'm going to say elementary school because that's the type of nostalgia that I think this question is aiming for. I'd say A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, because I have vivid memories of sitting outside on my porch in the fall and reading those books.

 

3. What book cover reminds you of Autumn?  I'm going for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The color palette and the feeling it gives me is distinctly autumnal. 

4. What is your favorite Halloween or Horror Story? I'm not a huge fan of horror stories, but I do quite like The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, which is plenty creepy by my standards! If you have any suggestions of short stories that are creepy but not too creepy, let me know, I'd be willing to try them out! 

5. What is your favorite Halloween of Horror Film? Like I said, horror is not my thing. I've only ever really seen a couple of horror movies, and they're mostly classics, but I have to say I did like the Shining. I was completely creeped out by it, but like in a good way.

6. What Fall book release are you most looking forward to? What kind of a fan would I be if I didn't talk about the Lunar Chronicles in this autumn tag? This is one of my favorite series ever, and with this last book being pushed from earlier this year to November, we have been waiting so long for it to come out, it almost feels like it isn't real that it is finally almost here! I can't wait to get my hands on this one! 

7. What Fall movie release are you most looking forward to? I love love love going to the movies. One of my favorite things to do ever. I am really looking forward to The Good Dinosaur, which is a new Disney movie that I believe is being released at Thanksgiving! It looks so cute :) 

8. What three books do you plan to read this autumn? I plan to read a lot more than three haha but three books that are on my immediate TBR are (besides Winter) Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray First and Then by Emma Mills and Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown!

                          The Fall Time Cosy Tag

1. Crunching Leaves: The world is full of colour. Choose a book that has reds, oranges and yellows on the cover.

I chose Vicious by V.E. Schwab because not only does it have a very autumnal color palette about it, it is also one of my most favorite reads ever! I love everything having to do with superheroes, and Vicious kind of takes the idea of a superhero and turns it on its head, giving something scarier but also more interesting! I have a full review of it here if you are interested in hearing more about this one. I highly recommend it for this time of year, cozy up with a this and cup of something hot!

2. Cosy Sweater: It’s finally cold enough to don warm cosy clothing. What book gives you the warm fuzzies?

 For this one, my pick is The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord. I love both of her novels, but I chose this one for two reasons. One, it has a more fall vibe to me, because it is about starting a new school year with a plan to have things be different. The second reason is because the romance in this one is just about the sweetest thing that you will ever come across. I love the characters in this one so much, and the romance that blossoms between the main character and this guy is something that I would love to happen to me (HINT HINT UNIVERSE) another part of this that gives me the warm fuzzies is its portrayal of powerful and strong girl friendships, which I think is so important! I have a full review here if you want to read more! I also did a spotlight post about why I love Emery Lord, which is here.

3. Fall Storm: The wind is howling and the rain is pounding. Choose your favourite book OR genre that you like to read on a stormy day.

When its storming outside, sometimes the only thing you want is something that will give you comfort and make you feel like you're in a safe place. For me, the book equivalent of a safe place is anything by Rick Riordan, however, The Heroes of Olympus Series will forever have a special place in my heart. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the series that got me through middle school, but Heroes of Olympus just made me fall in love with the world over and over again. If you haven't read anything by Rick Riordan, I ask you: do you hate fun? These books are brilliantly genius, hilarious and heart-wrenching, all at the same time. Definitely would be my pick to hole up with while the world outside is consumed in a storm.

4. Cool Crisp Air: What’s the coolest character you’d want to trade places with?

Does a post on my blog even exist if I don't talk about how much I love Celaena Sardothien aka (spoiler) Aelin Ashryver Galthynius aka the badass to end all badasses aka savior of Erilea aka will kill you and not even blink?? If you've read the series, then you know that her life hasn't been the easiest or the most fun, and she's come through an incredible amount of pain, which would suck, but honestly, how can you read the Throne of Glass series and NOT want to be her? She is strong and capable and cool under pressure, a queen among women. Girls everywhere should look to her and be inspired by her complete inability to give up, even when the odds are stacked hella against her. THIS GIRL IS MY HERO.

5. Hot Apple Cider: What under hyped book do you want to see become the next biggest, hottest thing?

I saw this book around Twitter and the blogging sphere a couple of times around the time of its release, but not nearly enough for my taste. I think it is so important that books like Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond exist. It is the backstory of a Lois Lane, before she becomes the writer for the Daily Planet, before she meets Clark Kent, before he is Superman. Lois is just a normal girl with a military father, trying to fit in, all the while having a burning desire for finding out the truth and an incapability to be afraid or stand down to anyone. I love the idea of a Lois Lane prequel, and this book definitely didn't disappoint me. It is a series, and I would love to see more people talking about this one! 

6. Coat, Scarves and Mittens: The weather has turned cold and it’s time to cover up. What’s the most embarrassing book cover you own that you like to keep hidden in public?

I don't really read romance novels, so I don't have any truly embarrassing covers that I wouldn't want anyone to see, but the closest thing that I can get to that is the Vampire Academy covers by Richelle Mead. They're just SOOO cheesy, especially this one pictured, which is the fifth and penultimate book in the series. I love Vampire Academy as books, I think they're amazing and a lot better than most of the vampire genre that I've read, but honestly, I think the covers really hurt them. I know a ton of people have a sort of affectionate hate for these, and I definitely consider myself one in those ranks. Even the redesigned covers aren't any better than these, so I ask of the designers: please do better by this series! 

7. Pumpkin Spice: What’s your favourite fall time comfort food/foods? my favorite fall comfort food is always made on Halloween night in my house. It is my mother's pumpkin soup and it automatically makes me relax and feel at home. 

I hope y'all have enjoyed these tags! they were so fun to do! if you want to do one of these, consider yourselves tagged, and if you end up doing them, please leave me a comment to let me know, I'd love to see what y'all have to say about these!! 

HAPPY FALL!

xx

Sunny

bedtime book tag

Hey everyone!! I promised myself that I would do at least one tag post before the month of June was over, and so when I was talking to my friend Violet and she recommended The Bedtime Book tag, I just had to tag myself and give this one a shot! ITS ONLY JULY 2 SO THIS COUNTS. I've gotten this from here if anyone is interested in doing it themselves! I'm not going to tag anyone, except for to tag everyone, so if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged!

1. A Book that Kept You Up All Night Reading

I stayed up all night reading this one because I desperately wanted to get to the end without seeing any spoilers online, so I read it basically all in one sitting on the day that it came out! Many tears were shed, many goodbyes were said, it was all around an emotional night.

 
2. A Book that Made You Scared To Go To Sleep 

I do not do scary books. Or scary movies. Or haunted houses. Basically I tend to avoid being scared for fun. Not because I have a lot of fears, just because I don't find it enjoyable to be jumpy and on edge, and so I don't have a whole lot for this category. However, the world of the 5th Wave freaked me out a lot, so I would say this is the one that comes closest to giving me nightmares.

3. A Book that Made You Go to Sleep 

 I was *so* on board with the premise of this book, I thought it was going to be awesome and different and that I would love it! However, when I read it, two summers ago, it was incredibly disappointing, and I just remember being so bored and waiting for it to be over.

4. A Book That Left You Tossing and Turning All Night in Anticipation of its Release

 For those of you that have read The Mark of Athena, which is the third book in this, The Heroes of Olympus series, you will know that it was one of the most intense and emotional cliff hangers. Then we had an entire YEAR to wait in between that one and this, and so that meant that the night before this was released, I was too excited to sleep.

5. A Book that Has Your Dream Boyfriend 

PAUL *heart eyes emoji* I love him so so much. In my review on this book, I basically just gush for about 500 words about how much I love him. He is loyal and has a strong moral compass, and he is utterly devoted to Marguerite, but he doesn't pressure her at all when she doesn't know where she wants to be with him. He's just perfect and brave and wonderful and I'm obsessed with him. 

6. A Book that Would Be Your Worst Nightmare to Live In

Ok, half of the reason that I really liked this book is because the setting scared the crap out of me, to be honest. I've never read anything like it. This book takes place in an insanely scary world ruled by the Martial Empire, where even a toe out of line could get you disfigured or killed. I liked reading about it, but I would never ever want to live there.

7. A Book that Reminds You of Nighttime

I'm not exactly sure why, but I think of a clear night when I think of this book. Maybe because its kind of dark and twisty, because it takes place in Prague, because of Eretz, the world with two moons, but this is definitely one that reminds me of the night.

8. A Book that Had a Nightmarish Cliffhanger

 Even though I already had the next book in this series when I read this one, I still remember being curled up in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth, sobbing at the end of this one. Remembering that actually really makes me want to re-read this series...

9. A Book that You Actually Dreamed About

 I'm sure a lot of us have had the Hogwarts dream. I know that I've been sporadically dreaming about Harry Potter since I first read it as a preteen. Who wouldn't want to be whisked away from their life and into a magical wizarding world?

10. A Book Monster that You Would Not Want to Find Under Your Bed 

I'm going to go with a Strigoi vampire from the Vampire Academy series. They are scary as hell, and you have to be like a super badass to beat them. Definitely not something I'd ever want to meet up with.

This was fun!! I always love doing tags. What would your answers be? 

xx

Sunny

top ten tuesday: the last 3 years

Happy Tuesday everyone! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and The Bookish, and this week's theme is "March 3: Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years (you can extend it to 5 if you need to)." Needless to say, I love this theme, as talking about my favorite books is a favorite pastime. So, I went through my goodreads "favorites" shelf and tried to narrow it down to ten. Because the last three years were the first years I really joined into the online reading community, I've read so many amazing stories, but here are the top eleven (sorry) that have impacted me the most over the last three years.

top ten tuesday: badass book heroines

Hello all! I'm sorry I've been relatively absent from the blogging sphere for the past couple of weeks, but I've had midterms and an insane amount of writing to do, so that took precedence. But I am back and my schedule is clear for the next couple weeks, so lets talk heroines!

book boyfriends tag

So since today is Sunday and I'm finished with homework and bored, I was just clicking around on booktube. And when I came across this tag, I figured, who doesn't like talking about men who are both unattainable and also fictional? No one, that's who. I saw this video on Christine's channel, but the original video is here!
So, I decided to pick my top ten book boyfriends and then assign each one to a question in this tag. No repeats!Click read more to see my list and the tag questions!

top books of 2014

I know its the middle of January already, but I feel like 2014 isn't over until I do a wrap up of all of my favorite books from the last year. I'll try to rank them in order of preference, but after like the top three I pretty much like them all an almost equal amount.

1. I'll Give You The Sun - Jandy Nelson (goodreads) 
Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell.  The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.  

 

2. Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta (goodreads)

I'm dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago.
Taylor is leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs - the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.
And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor's only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother - who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road.

3. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) - Sarah J Maas (goodreads)

Because this is the second book in a series, beware of SPOILERS in the description below.

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.
Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.
Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

4. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - Morgan Matson (goodreads)

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way. 

5. Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3)- Marissa Meyer (goodreads) 

SPOILERS IN DESCRIPTION! 

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.
Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.
When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

6. To All the Boys I've Loved Before - Jenny Han (goodreads)

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

7. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline (goodreads)
It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune — and remarkable power — to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved — that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt — among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life — and love — in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

8. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe- Benjamin Alire Sáenz (goodreads) 
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

9. If I Stay- Gayle Forman (goodreads) 
Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.
I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.
Stay, he says.
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?
Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.
If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

10. The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) - Rick Riordan (goodreads) 
MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.
The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.
The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

11. Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins (goodreads) 
Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

12. The Enchantress Returns (The Land of Stories #2) - Chris Colfer (goodreads) 
SPOILERS!
After decades of hiding, the evil Enchantress who cursed Sleeping Beauty is back with a vengeance.
Alex and Conner Bailey have not been back to the magical Land of Stories since their adventures in The Wishing Spell ended. But one night, they learn the famed Enchantress has kidnapped their mother! Against the will of their grandmother, the twins must find their own way into the Land of Stories to rescue their mother and save the fairy tale world from the greatest threat it's ever faced. 

13. Cruel Beauty - Rosamund Hodge (goodreads) 
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

 

14. Alienated- Melissa Landers (goodreads) 

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.
Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.
Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.
But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.
Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet. 

I didn't actually mean to make this a "top 14 of 2014" but hey that's how it turned out! these were a few of my favorite books that I read in 2014!! what were some of your favorites? 

xx

sunny 

top ten tuesday- characters i'd like to travel with

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Each week, there is a different category that you must fill with ten things. This week was a free week, but my friend Violet over at Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink did an interesting thing with her free week, so I am using her idea. I love traveling with all my heart, and I'd never thought about bringing along some of my favorite characters on my travels. I love the idea, so here we go!

1. Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor- She can speak tons of languages, she's already extremely well traveled, and she's just all around very cool under all types of pressures and circumstances. 

2. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling- Hermione has been one of my favorite characters since I was little, and I would love to be besties with her and travel around the world, seeing all the magical and muggle wonders. 

3. Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare- Will is my number one male protagonist, and he's well read and snarky and hilarious. Also, there's the accent. I would drag him around everywhere just to banter with him in many different countries.

4. Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez,  Nico di Angelo and Reyna Ramirez-Arellano from Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan- I know that's an ensemble of characters, but I would love to hop on the Argo II and sail around the world with these kick-ass demigods. I love them all so much, and this is one cast of characters that I think is completely flawless. 

5. Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas- She's one of the most amazing characters I've ever read, and I would love to spend time with her traveling to dangerous locales and hiking up like, live volcanoes and stuff like that. 

6. Cath and Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell- one of my favorite couples, I feel like they would be so fun to go on a vacation with. Me and Cath could bond over our mutual love of fanfiction and Levi would be all around floppy and cute. 

7. Isadora and Ry from The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White- They speak every single language known to man and have godly families who could fly us all around for free. That's all I have to say.

8. Étienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins- He's French, British and also American, so there's the well-traveled factor, as well as, again, the accent, and also the fact that he's so utterly charming and cute that he will probably gain us favor with the locals. 

9. Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green- I mean, I know he's a bit pretentious, but I think that's the whole point of him. I think he'd be as excited as a five year old to see all the wonders around the world, and I would enjoy seeing his face light up as he experienced it all. 

10. Noah and Jude from I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson- This was probably my number one book of 2014, and I find these twins so interesting. I'd love to travel the world with their artistic minds. 

This was a fun tag to do! Let me know who your choices would be! 

xx 

Sunny

October Wrap-Up

This will be coming a little late, seeing as how it's already November, but I thought it would be a nice first post, since I read quite a few books in October!

Coming in with a grand total of 11 books: reactions, summaries and ratings under the cut.