Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books (so far) This Year

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
2014 has been good to me so far and because I hope it's been good to you, I'm excited to read everyone's lists today. Today's topic is the best books you've read so far this year. I am immensely grateful now that I started a spreadsheet on the books I read in 2014 and my rating for them. Because of this, I listed my 5 star books and my 4-4.5 star books. Even when rating books, two 5 stars books aren't always equal on the Love-O-Meter, but in the two categories below, there's no particular order.

5 stars:  

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski 
I have no words for how amazing this is. I read it in ONE night and my only regret is that I couldn't enjoy it longer. 

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
This series did things to me as you will see throughout my whole post.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
One of the best retellings I've ever read, hands down. Mythology, fantasy, arranged marriages, Beauty and the Beast, kick-butt heroine. I just loved it.

Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne
Once again, another book I NEED the sequel to. I loved it even more after interviewing the author and I'm doing a giveaway for it RIGHT NOW, so click here.

4-4.5 stars:

Cress by Marissa Meyer
As the series grows, so does the POVs, and it created an absolute win for me in this book. The reasons are minor for it not being a total 5 stars.

Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
I. NEED. THE. SEQUEL.

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
HECTOOOOOOOR!

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
A great summery summer read to read in the summer. Since I read it so early in the summer, I may need to have a reread in July.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
May I go cry now? 

Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
My review for this amazing book will be up this week! That said, it was wonderfully different.

On the Fence by Kasie West
Kasie West = perfect.

What are the best books you've read this year? Do you use spreadsheets?

28 comments:

  1. Great list! I loved Cress! I really need to read a few of the others though. My TTT

    ReplyDelete
  2. Look at all the fantasy novels! I love it, Summer! And so many that also made my list! I just finished Say What You Will yesterday -- finally -- and I agree, it was so wonderfully different but so inspired, too. Great list!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! Summer 2014 is the time for fantasy books for me it seems like and I'm definitely okay with that.

      Delete
  3. CRESS!!!!! YAY! Okay, I still need to reply to that wonderful e-mail you sent me about Cress. I'm getting to it this week! No more delays! THE BITTER KINGDOM and THE CROWN OF EMBERS. <3 I need to do a re-read sometime in the future... maybe in December, before the year wraps up. Even though I recently finished the series, The Girl of Fire and Thorns will live on as one of my favorite series! Oh, you better believe I'll be reading The Winner's Curse this summer. I have my copy, so no excuses! The Midnight Thief is also going to be a priority. After reading your interview, I'm pretty much ALL ABOUT IT! haha. Oh man. So many goodies on here that I NEED to READ! Since You've Been Gone sounds amazing and On the Fence is one I'm going to buy, because THE COVER and THE RAVE REVIEWS have sold me on it. I'm glad you loved it. It makes my decision to buy my first Kasie West an easy one. :)

    Great post!

    Marlene @ The Flyleaf Review

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm with you on that reread! Such a fantastic series. READ TWC, MARLENE!!!!! Best decision you'll make this summer, that's for sure.

      Delete
  4. Just the most amazing list. I love it. I read Rae Carson's trilogy last year and absolutely loved them all. I seriously didn't think I'd love them as much as I did but aaargh I read them all one after the other within a week or so. So much love for them <3 Cress was just amazing, possibly my favourite one of the series so far, just so good! Crown of Midnight was just aahhh amazing and I'm currently reading Heir of Fire and loving it. Definitely my favourite YA fantasy series right now! Cruel Beauty, The Midnight Thief, The Kiss of Deception; all books that have been on my wishlist forever that I'm dying to read! Such a good list, love me some fantasy <3

    Becca @ Lost in Thought
    http://lostinthought-becca.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/top-ten-books-ive-read-so-far-this-year.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Becca! I agree about Cress! I really liked Cinder, was meh about Scarlet, but LOVED Cress, so I can't wait to see how Winter will be.

      Delete
  5. I agree with all of these except Midnight Thief and Kiss of Deception (only because I haven't read them yet), and Say What You Will (it just wasn't for me). But otherwise, there's a lot of overlap in our lists! (Like always, lol.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have not read any of the books on your list, and I feel that needs to be fixed! I have to admit that I wasn't that interested in Since You've Been Gone, but I just finished Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend (The book she wrote under a different name.) and now I feel like I need to try another of her books! (And since you really enjoyed it, that's a bonus!) :) And I really need to try Throne of Glass! :)

    And On the Fence! Looking forward to that book a lot! And Say What You Will too! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It needs to be fixed immediately, Jessica. IMMEDIATELY. Wha...whaaaat? Morgan Matson wrote that? How did I not know this? I LOVE MORGAN MATSON. Well, that needs to be fixed.

      Delete
  7. Cress!! I just finished it today!! I love that whole series... it's just so unique and awesome. I've been seeing Since You've Been Gone and ALL the lists today. I am really going to bump it up on my TBR. I just got it at BEA so yay!! Say What You Will also looks good!

    My TTT

    ReplyDelete
  8. It makes me so happy to see The Winner's Curse on this list—all the hype makes me worried that the book might not live up to my expectations, but if it kept you up all night, I'll probably like it too. And Say What You Will! That's one of my favorites of the year too, and I can't wait to read your full review. I hate the cover change, though—the new cover is fine, but the old one with the two chairs was gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was my same worry. I kinda avoided it because of the hype and once again, was kicking myself afterwards for doing so! Agreed. I actually kept the old cover in my review. REBEL.

      Delete
  9. I loved Crown of Midnight and The Winner's Curse. And I'm happy to see that you liked both The Kiss of Deception and Midnight Thief! I plan to read both fairly soon. Say What You Will is another one I've been seeing on a lot of lists today. I need to check it out, I think. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. The crown of embers <3 I just finished re-reading it and I'm now reading (and loving) The bitter kingdom for the first time. Cruel beauty also made it to my list together with Say what you will - both fantastic books. On the fence was adorable. Crown of midnight is epic. The winner's curse is on my summer TBR pile.

    Awesome list! :)
    Mel@thedailyprophecy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marlene just commented saying that she was going to reread later in the year and now I know that I MUST this year since you did. Such a great series.

      Delete
  11. So we matched for three - Bitter Kingdom, Crown of Embers, and Cress. :) I can't wait to read The Winner's Curse - I finally bought a copy at B&N yesterday, so I should be reading that soon. Also picked up Since You've Been Gone at BEA and am really looking forward to it. The hardback cover is adorable! On the Fence is a book that probably would have made my list had I gotten an ARC of it - I love KW's books to pieces, and a best friend romance is one of my favorite tropes.

    Awesome list, Summer!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have you seen the inside for SYBG? It's gorgeous. I love having overlapping lists ;)

      Delete
  12. Cress made my list as well; so amazing! I've heard nothing but great things about Rae Carson's books, so I need to get past my feelings about the covers and check them out. And On The Fence sounds so cute! I need to catch up on my Kasie West reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Get past it, Amy, and you won't regret it ;)

      Delete
  13. Cruel Beauty is on my list as well. And oh how I love Rae Carson's books. I'm waiting on a hold of The Winner's Curse and have galleys of On the Fence and Kiss of Deception I'm looking forward to.

    I have had Cress on my shelf for MONTHS and still haven't gotten to it. I don't know why but I'm almost scared.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *sympathetically pats you on the shoulder* I get that. I tend to avoid certain books now because I'm nervous. But trust me, it's worth reading.

      Delete
  14. I'm surprised to see so many fantasy books in your list! Awesome!! I've only read Cress and Since You've Been Gone from your list, but I have quite a few of the others on my shelf and hope to get to them soon. Great list! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, right? I've loved fantasy, but there have been AMAZING ones this year that surprised even me!

      Delete