Top Ten: Books I’ve Read in 2013 (so far)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. 

Today I am sharing with you the top ten (or eleven… shh) books I’ve read so far this year. These books weren’t necessarily published this year, and likewise there are some that were published this year but I read last year, so aren’t in this list. So, in no particular order: 

Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb: I know, I know, I keep raving about this book (check out my review here). But if you love geekiness, contemporary YA that will make you laugh and books from a teenage boy’s POV, then you HAVE to pick this up. Seriously.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa: I was convinced to read this by Daphne and Faye, and I’m so glad I did. The best vampire book I have read in a long while, I am dying to read the sequel as soon as I’ve written my review for this.

Losing It by Cora Carmack: My first big NA book, this set the standard for all future NA (one that not many other books meet, sadly). Funny and sexy, this book (and author) have quickly become one of my favourites (check out my review here). 

Every Seventh Wave by Daniel Glattauer: A sequel to one of my favourite books ever, it felt like I waited ages to read this! But it was oh so good, and definitely goes on my treasured shelf (see my review here).

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: I read this one on holiday, and thinking back I really enjoyed it. Romance, heartbreak, friendship and sadness, this book was a real emotional rollercoaster.

                

Happy Families by Janey Fraser: I love how lighthearted Janey’s books are. I like reading about kids/parents, and the multiple points of view makes for lots of drama! 

You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett: This was such a refreshing read. While tackling some issues, it was a fun, musical read that I just devoured. 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: You guys. I cannot express how much I adore this author. Like, when I eventually get to meet her, I am never going to let go. Her latest book, about fanfiction? NEED I SAY MORE.

            

You Had Me At Hello by Mhairi McFarlane: I just adored this book, and I thought it was chick fic at its finest. 

Pivot Point by Kasie West: One of my favourite debuts of 2013 (check out my review here), Pivot Point has romance, drama and dual timelines! It sort of tested the whole idea of fate and destiny and I LOVED IT. 

Keeping You A Secret by Julie Peters: I loved this LGBT YA, and loved how it tackled girl/girl teen relationships. Definitely an author that I need to read more of. 

My list appears to be quite romance/contemporary heavy! Are there any action/thriller YA or middle grade that I’m missing? Leave me some recommendations! Do you agree/disagree with my choices? Link me to your TTT below! 

Blog Tour: Book Review of A Matter of Fate (Fate series #1)

A Matter of Fate (Fate Series, #1)

By Heather Lyons

Release Date: 30/08/12

 /Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Chloe Lilywhite struggles with all the normal problems of a typical seventeen-year-old high school student. Only, Chloe isn’t a normal teenage girl. She’s a Magical, part of a secret race of beings who influence the universe. More importantly, she’s a Creator, which means Fate mapped out her destiny long ago, from her college choice, to where she will live, to even her job. While her friends and relatives relish their future roles, Chloe resents the lack of say in her life, especially when she learns she’s to be guarded against a vengeful group of beings bent on wiping out her kind. Their number one target? Chloe, of course.

That’s nothing compared to the boy trouble she’s gotten herself into. Because a guy she’s literally dreamed of and loved her entire life, one she never knew truly existed, shows up in her math class, and with him comes a twin brother she finds herself inexplicably drawn to.

Chloe’s once unyielding path now has a lot more choices than she ever thought possible.

Review

Welcome to my stop on the A Matter of Fate blog tour hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the rest of the blog tour schedule!

This book was such a surprise for me. Once I learnt of the fantasy element I was a bit dubious, but don’t let that put you off! This book is full of romance and action, and kept me wanting more. Chloe is the main character, who is a Creator. Meaning she is the second most important person on the planet (after the current Creator). She is just starting to learn about the Magical world and her Fate as a Creator when she learns she is under attack. Cue members of the Guard, who are assigned to protect her at all costs.

While all that is going on, the boy she has been dreaming about since she was a child turns up in her Maths class. The boy that she fell in love with, and who abandoned her last year, never to be seen again. Not only that, but he has an amazingly good looking twin. Ordinary teenage life doesn’t seem so bad after that!

I think the romance between the brothers in this book was really good. There is something mysterious about Jonah that made me want to turn the pages. Like does he realise who Chloe is? And why did he abandon her last year? Add into the mix his bad boy twin, and the book just sizzles.

I have to say my favourite character in this book was Cora, Chloe’s cousin and best friend. She is so fiesty, her character just leaps off her page. On The College Crawl’s post about the book, it is suggested Jennifer Lawrence should play Cora. After seeing her in the Silver Linings Playbook, I totally agree!  I also kind of fell for Chloe’s bodyguard, Karl. Unfortunately he is married, but he is the perfect character.

This is a book that has it all; romance, action, teenage angst and fantasy. Perfect for fans of Kasie West’s Pivot Point!

4 sofas from me 🙂

About the Author

Heather Lyons has been putting stories to paper since she was a little girl. Her first “published” book was a humorous retelling of The Princess and the Pauper. After detours in archaeology and teaching, she is now writing and living in Southern California with her husband and three sons. She likes cupcakes, baseball, hockey, reading, and collecting far too many handbags.

 Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook / Tumblr

 

Giveaway

Enter below to win one of (10) e-book copies of A Matter of Fate, open Internationally!

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Book Review: Pivot Point

Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1)

by Kasie West

Obtained: Ebook from Edelweiss

Challenges: Goodreads 2013 Challenge

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

I knew as soon as I started ‘Pivot Point‘ by Kasie West that I would love it. I’ve been going through a bit of a slow book phase as I’m trying to cut down on my tbr pile, and as a consequence reading books I’ve lost some enthusiasm for. So I decided to read Pivot Point to make a dent in my ebooks, and I’m soooo glad its the one I chose.

The story follows Addie, who lives in a world where people have mind abilities. Hers is Divergence, which means that when she has a choice she can Search the future, experience both and then pick the right one.
When she finds out her parents are getting divorced, she has to make a life changing choice: stay with her mum, and her friends and school, or live with her dad in the normal world,  where people don’t have abilities.

The book alternates chapters between each possible future, and it is actually really easy to follow. Though there is some frustration when the chapter is left on a cliffhanger, and the next chapter is a completely different storyline! It started off very lighthearted, but got really gripping towards the end.

Character-wise, the author does a really good job of integrating people’s abilities into the story. Unlike the tv series ‘Heroes’, people are not given abilities just for the sake of it.  Everyone has a purpose, and especially towards the final chapters, it really comes together.  The relationship between Addie and Laila (her best friend) was really interesting. The at home chapters showed the more fun side of their relationship; boys, football games and such. However, it was quite realistic in the moving future, in that Addie and Laila still kept in touch. Though I did find it very strange where Addie would call Laila from the bathroom (why did she get in the shower? And close the curtain?!).

Of course with two different storylines there are two different guys to swoon over, and we have to pick a team. Duke, lead quarterback of the football team, is ever-popular, and when he falls for Addie she is (rightly) suspicious of him. Why would he even look at her? Their relationship shows the vulnerability of Addie. On the flipside, Trevor (like the frog from Harry Potter!) is a Norm, with no abilities, and no understanding of the world Addie has come from, and the ability she possesses. But when the worlds collide, will her lies crumble?

The only thing that did niggle me a little was that when Addie moved to the normal world out of the Compound, she had to lie about where she came from. Understandable. But then we find out that her old school competes with her new school at football. Obviously the Norms do not know about the abilities. So why is it that Addie couldn’t say she came from there?

I thought this book was amazing, with incredible pacing that gets you hooked from the start. By the end of the book I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but then I found out there is going to be a sequel, so all is well! I would recommend this for fans of character-based YA novels. The sci-fi aspect, while present and important, should not put anyone off as this is very much about human emotions. A great debut from Kasie West, and I can’t wait for her next book as well as the Pivot Point sequel! 5 sofas from me.

Letterbox Love #11

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

An impressive haul this week 😀 It was my birthday yesterday, so a trip to Waterstones was a must! First the library love: 

‘The Sky Is Everywhere‘ by Jandy Nelson is on my to-read list. So if I physically hold the book, there’s more chance of me reading it….right? This is the only book I collected this week as I am trying very hard to get my library pile down!

Now for ebooks! I was extremely excited to get my first Edelweiss acceptance this week, and it seems HarperCollins must love me! I got accepted for ‘Period 8‘ by Chris Crutcher, ‘Mila 2.0‘ by Debra Driza, ‘Pivot Point‘ by Kasie West and ‘Pretty Girl-13‘ by Liz Coley. All four are books I have heard lots about and sound AMAZING so I am extremely grateful! I had to resist starting Mila 2.0 last night, as I have a couple of others that need to come first. Much much love for Harper Collins though, as this was a wonderful gift. *Swoons*

         

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for ‘Speechless‘ by Hannah Harrington. It feels like this book has been on my to-read list FOREVER so I was really pleased to get this. It sounds very gripping, and I’m sure I will devour it! 

I was also quite shocked to get accepted for ‘Warm Bodies‘ by Isaac Marion. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House. I was a bit unsure about this one but there is a lot of hype so it made me intrigued. I never usually get accepted by Random House so it is much appreciated!

And now for the ones I bought! This is quite bad of me, but there are soooooo many new books out there that I want to read, and many that my local library doesn’t have. In my defence, I got some in the sale, and most of the others were buy one, get one half price. I had no choice! So here are the ones I bought yesterday:

Yay for John Green! I adored ‘A Fault in Their Stars’, so I grabbed the opportunity to read another of his novels. And the cover for ‘Looking For Alaska‘ is so pretty! I had a bit of a dilemma between this and ‘an Abundance of Katherines’, but I hope I made the right choice. I also picked up ‘City of Shadows‘ by Alex Scarrow (Time Riders 6) as I have some of the other Timeriders so this will go nicely with my collection.

I also took advantage of this trip to pick up ‘Love Virtually‘ by Daniel Glattauer. I am totally in love with this book, and its sequel ‘Every Seventh Wave, which I reviewed earlier this week here. I implore you to read it!

Two that I picked up that I haven’t read before are ‘From What I Remember‘ by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas and ‘Partials‘ by Dan Wells. The first just sounded really fun, a good beach read, and like it might have some laughs too! Conversely, I wanted ‘Partials’ as it sounded like a good dystopian novel. And I think you can never have too many of them in your life! 

Never ending books, hehe. ‘Second Chance Summer‘ by Morgan Matson was I book I was/am really looking forward to. I love reading books about illness and such things, especially YA, so this is really up my street. I chose ‘Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind‘ by Andy Robb firstly for its quirky cover, and because its always fun to read a boy’s perspective on girls. I think everyone should read books once in a while that make them smile, and this looks like that type of book!

Finally ‘Before I Die‘ by Jenny Downham (already read), ‘Perfect Chemistry‘ by Simone Elkeles and ‘Perfect Match‘ by Jodi Picoult because who can resist a bargain! Yay for sale books! And because of my book buying excellence, a £10 voucher from the lovely people at Waterstones for spending so much money. What an excuse to buy more books…. 

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? I’d love to hear from you!