National Book Lovers Day: Which Are Your Favorite 2014 Reads, So Far?

Around these parts we don't need a special holiday in order to kick it back with a 500 page book in our laps, but we love it that there is a day in the year to celebrate book lovers everywhere! Maybe it'll encourage someone who doesn't read to pick up a book, seeing how many of us love the lifestyle.

With that in mind I think it's time for a recap of 2014. Kind of a midway point to list all of my favorite books so ar this year (it also serves as a recommendations for those non readers out there). So far in 2014 I've loved*...

*This list only contains titles published IN 2014.

  

 

Red Rising, a title I've recommended to ALL of my friends (and even some of my enemies). This story of a boy who gets betrayed by his government, was a slave his whole life, only to rise up and fight agaisnt the system is a classic... only it is set in Mars and the boy is a complete and total bad ass. So it is kind of sci-fi needs dystopian, but not like every other title you have read before. Sea of Shadows is the story of two sisters who's sole purpose in life is to take care of their town from evil spirits, only to have their town be destroyed anyways and all their town's children kidnapped by evil bad guys; some might say they did a bad job of handeling things, I just think they were shit out of luck. The characters and dialogue are what sets this story apart. Kiss of Deception, a cleverly written story with a strong female character some might not have classified as a heroine at the beginning of the title but by the end is well in her way to kicking some serious ass.

 

  

 

 

The Winner's Curse is a fantastically written tale of war, and romance. It is simple, elegant, and completely captivating. I would just go ahead and buy it right now if I were you. Of Metal and Wishes reminded me a bit of The Winner's Curse, but it is also a retelling of The Phantom of The Opera with an asian cast. Very dark, and much like The Winner's Curse it has aspects of war and it is completely captivating. Total Win. Salvage on the other hand is unlike every other YA story out there. It is sci-fi and for the most part it has characters with Hindu heritage. Ava is promised to marry someone, only it is not the person she thought she was going to marry. After making a serious mistake she is sentenced to death, only she manages to flee the ship she has lived her whole life in with the help of a friend. It is a very unique story.

 

  

 

The Nightmare Dilemma is the sequel to The Nightmare Affair, and it is so GOOD. It is a little Harry Potter'esque. only instead of a school for just mages it is a school filled with mythological creatures. Both dark and light. The dialogue is witty, the characters memorable, the plot exciting! I loved it just as much as I loved The Nightmare Affair. Good sequels are just so satisfying, which leads me to talk about Silver Shadows. Richelle Mead is an author that hopefully needs no introduction. She wrote The Vampire Academy series, and right after that one she wrote Bloodlines which is set in the same world only with a different main character (a kick ass one). Silver Shadows is the 5th book in ths series, so you might want to start with Bloodlines, or even Vampire Academy, before you get into this one. Let's just say that when it comes to series it is one of the best. White Hot Kiss was a surprising read. I hadn't read many titles by Jennifer Armentrout, though everybody says she is very good, so I didn't go into White Hot Kiss with high expectations. Now I want to read everything else she has written. It is a paranormal romance at it's best, with GARGOYLES! GARGOYLES MAN!

 

All of these titles are vastly different, but they all have one thing in common; they are incredibly entertaining. They keep you glued to their pages with fantastic characters, great plots, and, in most cases, witty dialogue. I can't wait to see what the other half of 2014 has in store for us all.

Total Books Read so Far This Year:

67