Top Reads of 2016

Hello friends! 2016 might of been a bad year for celebrity couples, politics, famous deaths, lots of senseless violence and weird trends; but it was a great year for books! So I picked 12 of my favorite books I've read this year to share with you, ranking from 12 to 1! Here we go!

12. Cinder by Marissa Meyer. 

I started this series in January of 2016 and was instantly smitten with the retold fairytale of Cinderella. Cinder was such a fun, interesting, constant page turning book from start to finish and I immediately bought the rest of the series when I finished with Cinder's story. 

Cinder is probably one of my favorite Young Adult books ever. 

You can check it out more here. 

11. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I picked up a copy of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in early August of 2016. As soon as I finished the first book, I picked up the rest of the series. What a fun, different kind of read for the Young Adult genre! I have been so, SO disappointed with so many Young Books this year and my hope was redeemed with Miss Peregrine's! It was funny, beautiful to look at (the series included really cool pictures) and very heartfelt. It's a series that I feel every young teen reader should read along with every young twenty something. 

Learn more about it here! 

10. Soundless by Richelle Mead

Soundless is a stand alone book  that focuses on Chinese folklore and I was pleasantly surprised with how amazing it was! I have always been a fan of Richelle Mead but she really succeeded my expectations with it. It's a great stand alone but I also wish it was a series because it had such cool history and culture in it! You can learn more about it here.

9. The Rose & the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh 

The Rose and the Dagger was the sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn, released in April 2016. I was blown away by both books but The Rose and the Dagger just made my heart feel so full! It was beautifully written and it made me feel like it was one of those stories that my mom read to me when I was little. The characters, the story, the setting, everything about The Rose and the Dagger was enchanting. I'm really looking forward to Renee Ahdieh's next work!

Learn more about about The Rose and the Dagger here.

8. Royally Screwed by Emma Chase

Unfortunately I had never heard of or read of any Emma Chase's work, I happened to stumble upon Royally Screwed from fellow bloggers and I am so glad I did! I didn't know what to expect when first starting but I immediately fell in love with the humor of the writing and the love that was shared between the two main characters. And the supporting characters were great too! They deserve their own novella honestly! I'm excited to read the rest of series as they are published!

Learn more about Royally Screwed here!

7. Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

Punk 57 took me completely by surprise, I was intrigued by the story but once I started reading it I was completely taken aback because of how much it resonated with me. It's a great love story but underlying message of finding people who care about and understand you made a deep connection with me. Seriously one of the best "feelings" book I've read in a very long time. 

Check out Punk 57 here.

6. Paper Princess by Erin Watt

I saw Paper Princess in the kindle store in July and was immediately taken with the beautiful cover. Most covers feature models and people but there was just something different and simple about Paper Princess that I loved. So the cover drew me in but the story and its characters ruined me forever! The next two books, Broken Prince and Twisted Palace were amazing too. Such a great book and series! A modern, twisted fairytale!

Get a copy here!  

5. P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

So I got P.S. I Like You by Kasie West in August's Owlcrate, I thought the cover was cute and when I read the description I was really excited to read it. When I started reading it, the plot twist had me freaking out at 1 am. I was shocked, excited, surprised! All good things and I really, really loved this book! It's a good High School, funny, romantic, Young Adult book!
Grab a copy here. 

4. Ladies Man by Katy Evans

If you follow this blog you should know by now that I am a Katy Evans fangirl, I admit it! I love her books, her characters, stories and overall wonderful messages she writes about. Ladies Man was part of her Manwhore series, focusing on a character named Tahoe. I actually like him more than the main guy in Manwhore and I was so EXCITED when he was announced to have his own book.
And Ladies Man did not disappoint! It was such a cute, funny, toe curling sexy read and it was so heartfelt that I had to stop several times because I was just like aweeeee!
Seriously one of my favorite works from Katy!
Check it out here.

3. American Queen by Sierra Simone

American Queen was another one I saw in the kindle store and I was immediately in love with the cover! It's simple and elegant and is everything that the main character, Greer embodies. So when I read the description I was really curious to see what was going to happen because it's a President style love story. Well folks...it was A LOT more than that guys. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone that wants to read it, but three isn't a crowd in this book!
If you are interested in reading American Queen, here is my review of it and you can buy it here!

2. Mr. President by Katy Evans

Katy Evans had a lot of releases this year and she surprised everyone when she announced she was releasing an entirely new book/series. I fell in love with Charlotte and Matt SO HARD in this book and honestly with the craziness of this year's election
 I was SO thankful to have something to take my mind of it. I loved, loved this book and
I so excited for the sequel Commander in Chief coming out on January 11, 2017!
 If you're interested in reading Mr. President here is my review and you grab a copy here!

And my NUMBER ONE read of 2016 is......


1. Legend by Katy Evans

I know you are probably like, really?! ANOTHER Katy Evans book? Yes that's right, another Katy Evans book! Legend is the final book in the Real series, my favorite romance series of all time. I was a bit skeptical because this book isn't based on Remy or Brooke and it was the end of the Real series? But I was completely wrong, Legend fit in perfectly with the Real series and it was one hell of a finale. The new characters Maverick and Reese were perfection and the twist the came out of Legend had me shocked for at least a week. In a good way!
Legend exceeded my expectations and is my top read of 2016!
You can grab a copy here!

Thank you to all the authors for your hard work this year! 2016 was a hard year for almost everyone I think and I really appreciated the escape these books (and many more!) provided me and many others this year! I can't wait for 2017 for new releases, new book adventures and new book boyfriends!
Thank you to everyone who has supported and read my blog! I'm just a newbie but I really love to read and I'm happy to share my thoughts and feelings with you!

Have a great day and a Happy New Year everyone!
Here's to new reads in 2017! 


Follow the authors mentioned in this blog: 
Marissa Meyer, Ransom Riggs, Richelle Mead, Renee Ahdieh,
 Emma Chase, Penelope Douglas, Erin Watt, Kasie West, Sierra Simone and Katy Evans! 

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See you next year friends!

December Owlcrate Review

Owlcrate is a monthly box subscription that is based around the box's theme of the month. The themes usually focus on a Young Adult series and have items that go with that series. For example, in  July 2016 Owlcrate had a theme of Good vs Evil box; if you got an evil box you were given a Draco Malfoy POP figure by Funko or if you got the Good box you were given a Luna Lovegood POP figure by Funko. A typical Owlcrate box includes a box based on the month's theme along with 3-5 book/nerdy/fun items that tie in with the book in the Owlcrate and theme.

The cost of an Owlcrate is $29.99 a month plus shipping and the box usually ships around the 20th of each month. Another great part of the Owlcrate is that you can buy it as a gift for someone! It's a perfect birthday, Christmas or anniversary gift for any book lover! 

The theme of December's Owlcrate was: Epic! Featuring love for the Lord of Rings, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia! 

The first item of the Epic themed December Owlcrate was a small, cute Vinyl Figure from Harry Potter!
 Each box is random and I got Voldemort! 
Evil but cute looking! 

The second item was a really cool 

Lord of the Rings pin by Jane Mount!  

The third item was something I adore and love, Game of Throne coasters! I am totally Team Targaryen and Stark! 

The next item was this beautiful card based off one my favorite and iconic scenes from the Chronicles of Narnia.

Cute Owlcrate pin and V.E. Schwab sticker.

And the book of Epic box is:

I'm so excited to dive into this! 

Overall thoughts: I really liked this month's Owlcrate! I liked all the nods to Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia. To me all of those series are Epic so I thought it fit perfectly into the theme. I thought Owlcrate did a great job and I'm very excited to read a Young Adult book that focuses on a different kind of relationship. 

My rating: 5/5 shells

January's theme is: 

Teaser Tuesday: Domniate Me by Stacey Lynn

Coming January 16th! DOMINATE ME, a sexy, new BDSM romance from Stacey Lynn. 

Pre-Order today! 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2gqt8jv

iBooks: http://apple.co/2ggPm4e

Nook: http://bit.ly/2gqstyn

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2gHufsJ

Google: http://bit.ly/2hbu8Jh

Synopsis:

Welcome to Luminous: where your pleasure is our purpose. Fan-favorite author Stacey Lynn tantalizes readers with a sensual new series.

Haley

The first time I felt Master Jensen's presence beside me, I knew he would be the one to show me all the kinky pleasures of Luminous.

That I would give my body to him. Begin my journey to sexual freedom at his feet.

But when I dared raise my eyes to his, I saw he would get a part of me no man had had before: my trust.

Jensen

From the instant I saw her blush, I was captivated.

There was power in her innocence—a power I quickly controlled.

Every moan, every cry, every new awakening was mine. I pushed her boundaries and watched her sexual confidence grow…knowing that in the end, I would have to let her go.

I know the price of love and I'm not willing to pay it.

I dominated her body and she enthralled my heart. But I have to walk away before I ruin the one I love.

Again.

December Series Monthly Mention: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

For my monthly series mention I chose to spotlight the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. These books are a wonderful mix of fantasy, sci fi and fairytales all wrapped into a box of fabulousness. I devoured the Lunar Chronicles in an entire month they were that good guys! So without further ado, my thoughts on this galactic fantasy saga!  

The Cover: Or covers in this case! The Lunar Chronicles have some of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen. They are simple, bright colored and each cover fits with the title of each book and ties in with the character inside the story. I love, love, love these covers very much! 

Basics: The Lunar Chronicles are a series of four books followed by two companion books. This series was first published in 2012 and officially ended in February 2016. The Lunar Chronicles are not small books by any means, Cinder alone was 400 pages. All of the Lunar Chronicles were published by Feiwel & Friends.

Description: Each book of the Lunar Chronicles focuses on the different four main characters followed by their partners and close friends. Fairest is a prequel focused on the antagonist of the series, Queen Levana. And Stars Above has some more short stories that focuses on the Lunar Chronicle universe plus a sweet epilogue. However to give you some idea about the Lunar Chronicles is about and focuses on, I'm including the description of Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles series. 

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

Overall thoughts: I loved the Lunar Chronicles series so much! It kept me on my toes and on the edge of my seat with each book I finished. It was the perfect fix of fantasy, fairytales and sci fi! This entire series made me think that Disney and Star Wars got married and had a baby honestly! With some darker aspects and twists.  There were some parts of the books that I didn't like, but honestly a good fantasy Young Adult book wouldn't be a good book if there wasn't some darker parts in it. Not everything can be sunshine and rainbows. 

Favorite characters: My favorite characters of the Lunar Chronicles series were Cinder, Scarlet, Kai and Captain Thorne! Cinder wasn't your typical heroine, she is the epitome of a hero in every way and she's a strong, strong girl even when the odds are against her. Scarlet is also a strong character with a stubbornness I can relate to and enjoy reading about she's funny too. Kai is more of a composed character but he's the kind of character struggling with being forced into a role he isn't ready for and still being pretty dang young. And Captain Thorne...pure, comic, funny, hair pulling out (in a good way! Well...sometimes. Haha!) comic relief! Every story needs one I suppose, but Mr. Thorne is pretty dang special and I can promise you that you'll love him just as much as I did. 

Final thoughts: I was drawn to the Lunar Chronicles because I love fairytales and frankly anything that can be keep me away from the everyday stressors of life is something I want to dive right into when it comes to a book or book series. The Lunar Chronicles is a heartfelt series that follows a group of a band of misfits that are trying to make the world and universe a better, safer place. And they take you the reader with them on that mission and frankly you are missing out if you don't chose to follow Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White into that journey. 

My Rating: 5/5 shells 

Buy the Lunar Chronicles series:

(starting with Cinder)

Amazon

Barnes & Nobles

Ibooks

Complete Box Set (minus Stars Above)

Womanizer by Katy Evans Review

The Cover: Womanizer is probably one of my favorite covers of Katy Evan's so far. It's obviously Callan and I don't know why, but there's something about having a guy on a book cover looking away from the viewer that looks hot. Actually I do know why smoking looks hot, it's bad for you! Totally makes sense right? Anyway, I really want to print a picture of this cover off and frame it and put it in my office that's how much I love it!

Basics: Womanizer was released on December 5th, 2016 and is part of Katy's Manwhore series. Womanizer was published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform and is 274 pages long. 

Description:  You've seen the headlines:
Womanizing billionaire player! Watch out! Stay away!

We were just two strangers. Facing a forbidden attraction, a chemical connection. Neither of us expected or wanted it to amount to more.

But I had never been drawn to a guy the way I was drawn to this one: my brother's best friend, and CEO of the company where I interned.

Even knowing I should stay away, I proved to be too human, after all.

The chemistry was amazing.

The laughs were incredible.

I opened up to him in more ways than I'd opened up to anyone before.

But sex was as far as I'd go.

Just sex because he was too irresistible.

Just sex because I wouldn't be falling for him.

Just sex because I'd leave in three months, and I'd like for my brother not to kill me, and for nobody to find out he was my wicked little secret.

He wasn't the One.

He was just a womanizer.

But for a time, he would be mine.

Overall thoughts: Womanizer was not what I expected! First of all, out of all the three bad boys mentioned in the Manwhore series, (Saint, Tahoe and now Callan) I imagined Callan to be completely different. I also expected Olivia to actually know Callan! Like....your big brother has been friends with this guy for years! Surely you've seen pictures or catched a glimpse of him at events and such right? That's a big no for Olivia who doesn't even recognize the 'hot smoker guy' she's been talking to and hanging out with...is actually her boss and brother's best friend. The guy she's been fantasizing over and opening up to. GAHHHH. As a reader I obviously realized who he was, I immediately saw what was going to happen but the entire time I thought to myself, 'this is going to be SO bad!'

And yet I kept reading, my heart racing faster and faster until the moment they found out who the other person was and my heart exploded. The rest of Womanizer went by in a big, happy blur. Callan has obviously slept around and has a reputation throughout Chicago for it, but something about Livvy draws him to her. Which is somewhat of an issue considering one, she works for him. Two, she is also his best friend's sister who apparently already warned Callan to stay away from.

I love watching the funny, somewhat awkward and swoon worthy way they met and I loved watching them fall for one another. It's a great story about two people falling in love with one another when they didn't plan to and they also weren't part of each other's plan. Womanizer is in fact a love story, but it also has hidden undertones. People get so wrapped up in their futures, their plans that when something wonderful happens...they don't know what to do. Or they can't do something or be with someone because it doesn't fit into their plan. Being too afraid to take that leap of faith isn't living and that's something that Katy Evans also writes about in Womanizer. An important message that I feel like every twenty something should know and hear.

Favorite characters: I really, really, really liked Olivia. I think it's important as writers and authors that different stories from different perspectives are told. Olivia clearly has a plan for herself; first and foremost she wants to be a businesswoman and establish a career. Not every woman wants a relationship right away, love is put on the backburner until they can get some other things out of the way first. However, life is a tricky thing and random things happen both good and bad and things change. Sometimes for worse, sometimes for better...either way I think Katy Evans wrote a pretty good book about how sometimes your plan changes and you have to switch things around. Growing up in this country there's a lot of things that we are 'told we have to do' or we have to 'follow a certain plan' without veering off it. It's just really nice to read something that shows it's okay to venture of the path of your plan and it was nice to watch Olivia deal with that and relate to it.

And of course I loved Callan, he was kind of this intense quiet, bad boy vibe type of guy in Womanizer, but he also reminded me a of little boy who refused to quit until he got what he wanted; something I always enjoy reading about honestly. 

Couple Chemistry Rating: 5/5 Shells

                                           

Favorite Quotes: **My kindle is having issues and my copy of Womanizer disappeared so I'm going to add these when my kindle starts to work together, my apologies in advance!**

Final thoughts: I loved Womanizer very much! It wasn't at all what I was expecting but I think that's the main reason I loved it so much. Olivia and Callan will forever hold a special place in my heart and thanks to another great book by Katy Evans, I can add another beautiful story to my bookshelf. 

My Rating: 5/5 Shells 

 

Buy Womanizer:
Paperback:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Ebook:
Amazon Kindle
Kobo Books
Barnes & Noble Nook
iBooks Store

Till next time~