Saturday, January 31, 2015

Best Books of 2014

I'm a little late with posting the best books of 2014 but better late than never. What I noticed when looking through the popular listings like Entertainment Weekly or People or even the NY Times was that the books listed were mostly Fiction and mostly serious and heavy. None were New Adult (NA)and hardly any Young Adult (YA) or Children's. Reading through the best of lists throughout December became a frustrating thing.

Why are the "serious" fiction books always at the top. Why not a sexy New Adult book that can be just as thought provoking and series as a traditional mainstream author? Why does the pickers of the best of list still seem to look down on YA and all of the great things it has to offer in reading.

Finally, fed up with the mainstream best of lists, I decided to post my own. Ha! Then the holidays and my daughter's new love of hockey happened. So, here's the best of for 2014 in 2015.

Please note the books listed are in no particular order. The books were published at different times, not only in 2014. These were books that I read and rated 5 stars in Goodreads during 2014. Also, I have split the selections into four categories of New Adult/Hot Romance, Other Fiction, Young Adult, and Children's. Since there are a lot of books I loved over the year, I'll post my best of list over the next few days. First we'll start with my favorite....

New Adult/ Hot Romance


Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren
You Were Mine by Abbi Glines
Breakable by Tammara Webber

 

Be with Me by J. Lynn

Better When He's Bad
by Jay Crownover

Fall Fourth Down by Tijan

 

Crashed by K. Bromberg


Kiro's Emily
by Abbi Glines (Novella)

Real by Katy Evans

 

Beautiful Bastard
by Christina Lauren

Consumed by Emily Snow


Lick by Kylie Scott

Any Man of Mine
by Rachel Gibson

 

Tangled by Emma Chase

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Unraveling You by Jessica Sorensen




A few years ago after reading a few New Adult books, I stumbled onto this gem (see above) by Jessica Sorensen. It was deep and emotional and gut wrenching and funny all at the same time. This story brought out so many emotions in me, I don't even think I could name them all. More importantly, it was an amazing book to read. This book has now become a series which our library has. So, imagine my excitement when I see a Facebook post from the same author that the kids of characters from the above book now have their own book. The best part, the first book was FREE to download at that time.



Lyric Scott has always had a good life. Outgoing, spunky, and musically talented, she’s constantly surrounded by family and friends, yet she still feels there’s something missing.

Then she meets her new next-door neighbor Ayden Gregory. Mysterious, sweet, and sad, Ayden is the exact opposite of Lyric and exactly what she needs to fill the void in her life.

Ayden has been through more than most people and believes his life is always going to be rocky, so when he’s suddenly adopted by the Gregorys, he’s thrown for a turn. But even with a new, loving family, he still finds himself haunted by the memories of his old life. The only true breath of fresh air is when he’s with his best friend, Lyric Scott.

As Lyric and Ayden grow closer, the lines of their friendship start to blur. But when Ayden's past unexpectedly pushes its way into his new life, their friendship and newfound attraction will be tested.

**A novel about Ella and Micha's daughter and Lila and Ethan's son from The Secret Series. However, this series can be read on its own.**

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My lack of blog posts suggests that it's been a busy end of year. That is true but I have also been going through a bit of a book slump. Thinking to myself if I have to read one more silly situation about bad decisions I might bang my head on the wall. Unraveling You really pulled me out of my book slump.
The writing was lyrical in many ways because both characters tend to think in music and lyrics. Music has saved one and is the life of the other. The book also brought that deep emotion forward. Where you really felt for and with the character what they were going through. You could raed this as a stand alone but it's great being able to revisit some favorite characters as parents. One of my favorite points was when the men where left to discipline a kid. It went something like..."Well, what now?" "See, this is happens when they leave us in charge." Nice funny moments inserted into the story to lighten the main story and theme.
I must have burned through this book over a day plan to download the second book in the series once the third is close to being published. Please note that this book sits on the YA/NA line. Also, it's shorter than a regular novel but longer than a novella.
Happy New Year to all the book readers out there!