5th Annual End of the Year Book Survey: 2014 Edition

Happy New Year's Eve! 

Since we are about to say goodbye to 2014, and hello to 2015, I figured 

this would be the perfect time to put up my end of year book survey. 

2014 has just flown by and I can't wait to join all you book fiends as we re-cap our bookish year! 

This fun and not so little survey (including the pretty graphics,) is made possible by Jamie @ Perpetual Page Turner! If you haven't got a chance to fill yours out and link up yet, there is still plenty of time! Follow the link above and hop on over to her blog where you'll find all the info you need to participate!  

Number Of Books You Read: 63 documented, although I know there are misc. reads floating around in space ...

Number of Re-Reads: 1! The Neverending Story

Genre You Read The Most From: Young Adult. Subgenre = Sci-fi & Fantasy

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014? Nikki and Keira @ Lazy Book Lovers! They rock, go visit them!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014? The Summer of Letting Go By Gae Polisner. I received the sweetest thank you email from the author after my review went up!

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog? Paula Stokes' holiday guest post. Her characters from The Art of Lainey discussed their favorite holiday films!

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)? I attended ALAAC 2014! So amazing... so many books and signings and chats with authors & publishers! Plus Vegas... self-explanatory.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014? Helping to create new YA book displays and making bookish themed wall murals at my local library. And of course ALA 2014! Can't wait for June 2015 ^^

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)? Several came close in view count. My big giveaway of the year and the Art of Lainey post I did with Paula Stokes were at the top.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love? Maybe my Book 2 Movie Talk posts? I have a guest blogger that co-authors these posts with me, and they are really interesting! You can check out the list of the ones that have happened so far, HERE.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? My city got a new Central Library. Its gorgeous! They added a rare books section which was so awesome to browse through!

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year? I always participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge. My goal was low this year at 50 books. I read 12 over.

(I picked my favorite questions to answer, 30 was too many for my fingers!)

Best Book You Read In 2014? Trial By Fire By Josephine Angelini! YES, YES, YES!

Favorite new author you discovered in 2014? Sara Beth Durst. She wrote The Lost which is the first in a planned trilogy. 

Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone? The Miniaturist By Jessie Burton. Not only was it an adult fiction novel, but it was historical fiction! I read very little of both genres.

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014? Made For You By Melissa Marr!

Most memorable character of 2014? Cinder from Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles. She's a cyborb, what can I say. I probably babble most about this series.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read? The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward! Seriously... where has this series been all my life. This is a total guilty pleasure read, I'm sure many agree. It is so necessary for all.

Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014? 

“I… What are you saying, Zsadist?" she stammered, even though she'd heard every word.
He glanced back down at the pencil in his hand and then turned to the table. Flipping the spiral notebook to a new page, he bent way over and labored on top of the paper for quite a while. Then he ripped the sheet free.
His hand was shaking as he held it out. "It's messy."
Bella took the paper. In a child's uneven block letters there were three words: I LOVE YOU
Her lips flattened tight as her eyes stung. The handwriting got wavy and then disappeared.
"Maybe you can't read it," he said in a small voice. "I can do it over."
She shook her head. "I can read it just fine. It's… beautiful."
"I don't expect anything back. I mean… I know that you don't… feel that for me anymore. But I wanted you to know. It's important that you knew.” 
― J.R. Ward, Lover Awakened

Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014? The Summer of Letting Go By Gae Polisner. Definitely got teary at the end of this one. This story has feels.

Hidden Gem Of The Year? Butter By Erin Jade Lange.

Most Unique Book You Read In 2014? Horrorstor By Grady Hendrix. This book was published by Quirk, and they always have the most unique books! 

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your #1 Priority in 2015? Compulsion By Martina Boone and Salt & Storm By Kendall Kulper. Compulsion has been sitting by my bed since ALA... and I was not able to get an ARC of Salt & Storm, but will be breaking down and acquiring my own copy ASAP.  

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)? The Shadows By JR Ward! This will be the 13th installment in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, which is big news

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? Shutter By Courtney Alameda!

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015? Fairest By Marissa Meyer, and thank goodness is comes out January 27!! And this is not releasing in 2015, it came out summer of 2014, but I have been dying to read Idols By Margaret Stohl and keep forgetting. Oh! Also, Wicked Will Rise By Danielle Paige, (sequel to Dorothy Must Die.)

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015? Well... I have high hopes that this year will be much more fluid. 2014 was all up in the air and so many things kept falling out of place, I really fell behind in review writing, blogging and reading in general. For the new year I want to post regularly, at least three reviews a week. I also want to participate in blog events and memes, which is something I have never really done since starting my blog in 2012. 

6. A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone: Liars, Inc. By Paula Stokes!! This lady is awesome, read her books! Also, All the Bright Places By Jennifer Nivven. I got an ARC at ALA and this book is intense and a brilliant read.

I hope everyone has an amazing start to the New Year! Good thoughts go out to all of you. Keep reading and blogging and just being bookish ^^

Now go recap your year and link up so I can check it out, or leave me a comment with a link to your post!

Mainstream Review: Made For You By Melissa Marr

Made For You By Melissa Marr

Published September 2014 HarperCollins

When Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital, she’s confused—who in her sleepy little North Carolina town could have hit her with their car? And why? But before she can consider the question, she finds that she’s awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people’s deaths when they touch her. While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old flame, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva’s power to keep her friends—and themselves—alive. But while Eva and Nate grow closer, the killer grows increasingly frantic in his attempt to get to Eva.

ADD ON GOODREADS

My Review

I'm sure we are all familiar with Melissa Marr. She is the bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and is known for her delectably fluid writing style. She has established herself as a fantasy author, however her newest novel, Made For You, falls in the contemporary genre. I read Wicked Lovely some time ago, but did not continue with the series. (This was during my less serious reading days.) However, I was very interested to see what this author had up her sleeve in the realm of a contemporary story-line. Made For You did not disappoint, and I am sure Melissa's die hard fans will be extremely pleased with the result. This book delivered the same edgy and slightly dark writing style as her fantasy work, while also excelling in its realism. Knowing that the plot of this story is possible, definitely had me cringing. Made For You is creepy folks. Just plain creepy. And once you start reading the compelling nature of this book will have you up late. 

If I ever have a chance to attend one of Marr's signings, there is one question I just have to ask her. Were you picturing Collin Hanks in his role as Travis Marshall when constructing the Judge's character? The Judge is the antagonist of the story, or a.k.a., really crazy-obsessed killer. In fact he has his own mini chapters. So, you really get to see just how loony-bin this person is. Multiple POVs is something that worked really well for this book. The majority of the chapters are from Eva's point of view, but you also get to see the story from her best friend's perspective and, of course, from the aforementioned bad guy, The Judge. For most of the time you do not know who The Judge is. This person could be anyone. There are clues along the way, and I really enjoyed being able to play the guessing game.

Marr really did a superb job with these characters. Eva is the star of Made For You. The princess of her town. She could have an inflated ego, and be a snot, but she isn't. This made me really happy. Her love interest, Nate, is a stand up guy. They fit together like ham and havarti. And THE JUDGE. If I haven't made my point yet, this character is CREEPY. And, as far as the romance goes, I loved it. It has a presence and gives readers just the right amount of sweet without overtaking the fact that this is a THRILLER. 

There is not a whole lot I would change about Made For You. The story is well fleshed out and really gives readers that darkness we sometimes crave. I suppose I would have liked to see things from Nate's perspective. In fact, Grace's POVs could be switched for Nate's entirely. Not that I didn't like Grace's character, I did. But Nate has a more prominent role to play. I would also say that the ending, as a whole, is a bit anti-climactic. Or maybe abrupt would be a better word. There is so much build up to the big reveal, yet when you get there, you really do not have much time to marinade in it. The book is over a couple short chapters later. I think I wanted a bit more for the grand finale. Or at least an epilogue? 

This was supposed to be a "mini-review." Guess that didn't happen. As you can see, I really enjoyed this book! GO READ IT.