Top 10 Tuesday

SO those are by favourite books I've read this year so far! Not all of them are 2014 releases but they all epic and you really do need to be reading them! 

Click on the covers to see my reviews. 

Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins

I'm a little ashamed to admit this but I only read Anna and the French Kiss because it was on sale. It's the perfect YA contemporary and if you haven't read if for whatever reason it's time to go get your hands on a copy. It's brilliantly funny and a joy to read. You'll get lost in Paris with Anna and St. Clair and you'll be telling everyone you know about it. 

Anna Dressed in Blood

by Kendare Blake

I think I'd seen this around a lot but it wasn't until I watched an interview with Daniel Paige and Marissa Meyer, where they both said that it was one of they're favourite YA's that I thought, okay I kinda have to read this now. It's creepy and terrifying and heart breaking and still funny. It has a romance that will melt your heart and a story that will drag you in. 

Branded

Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki

I'm not going to lie, I don't usually like to ready self-published books because they have a habit of being less put together than others. However, I'm happy to report that Branded was amazing and well written and I'm a little bit in love with it. It's dystopian at it's best with character's you'll fall in love with. Definitely worth checking out!! 

Crash into You

by Katie McGarry

I'm still yet to read the rest of the Pushing the Limits series by Katie but the one instalment I have read (Book 3) was unbelievably good. I think I dubbed McGarry Queen of Swoon and I stick by that claim. As far as characters go, these are some of the best I've ever read. 

Desperately Ever After

by Laura Kenyon

First comes love, then comes marriage then comes the baby in the baby carriage. That's not all... I can never remember the rest of that school yard rhyme but I'm pretty sure it didn't say anything about cheating husbands, magical booty call rings or a fairy godmother that just won't let go. This is Once Upon a Time meets Desperate Housewives. If you haven't yet, you need to be reading this book this summer!

Echo Boy

by Matt Haig

Echo Boy restored by faith in YA sci-fi and I'm so freaking happy I read it. The word was intense and gritty and real. The character's new and interesting. It was a fast paced book that had me flipping through the pages faster than any other book this year. 

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

Oh boy. I don't know how I can call myself a YA reader the amount of YA books I haven't read! But I'm so glad that I was able to cross Fangirl off my list this year. It's a refreshing change from the prom queens and Buffy-esk character's I've been reading lately. This was my first Rowell book but I'm a little in love with her and have her other's waiting for me to read. 

One The Fence

by Kasie West

I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK! I'm ready to trade in my little brother for some older ones and I'll also take a hottie next door to. Not that my neighbours aren't lovely, but they're the wrong side of 50 for a start. I really don't have much to say about this book, there aren't many words that really show just how brilliant it was. A must read for, well, everyone! 

The Ring & The Crown

by Melissa de la Cruz

Apart from the fact this has to be the prettiest book I own The Ring & The Crown is also a bloody good read and a really interesting story. It's got magic and queens and a boxing bad boy and a devious prince. It has everything you could possibly want and more. If you only read one book this year make it this one.  

#scandal

by Sarah Ockler

My inner Nerd is in love with this book. My inner Nerd is in love with Sarah Ockler for writing this book. I've never read a book with quite so many nerd reverences before and I freaking loved it! I think all books should have debates on whether or not the Millennium Falcon is better than the Enterprise. And I mean come on, who doesn't compare their lives to an episode of The Walking Dead? No? Okay maybe it's just me then... 

People of the Nerdolution unite and get reading! You can thank me later. 

What are you're favourite books you've read this year?

Review: Dream Boy

Dream Boy

by Madelyn Rosenberg & Mary Crockett

Pages: 336 - paperback

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: July 1st 2014

ISBN: 1402295839
Received From:  NetGalley & Sourcebooks Fire

Summary 

Annabelle Manning feels like she’s doing time at her high school in Chilton, Virginia. She has her friends at her lunchtime table of nobodies. What she doesn’t have are possibilities. Or a date for Homecoming. Things get more interesting at night, when she spends time with the boy of her dreams. But the blue-eyed boy with the fairytale smile is just that—a dream. Until the Friday afternoon he walks into her chemistry class. 
One of friends suspects he’s an alien. Another is pretty sure it’s all one big case of deja vu. While Annabelle doesn’t know what to think, she’s willing to believe that the charming Martin Zirkle may just be her dream come true. But as Annabelle discovers the truth behind dreams—where they come from and what they mean—she is forced to face a dark reality she had not expected. More than just Martin has arrived in Chilton. As Annabelle learns, if dreams can come true, so can nightmares

Review

Okay, so I wasn't sure on this book going into it. I had originally liked the idea but as I sat down to read it I changed my mind. I'd just read one awful paranormal disaster I really didn't need another one. However, I'm so glad I read Dream Boy because it's a unique and captivating story that's well written and easy to read. Yes, it has some issues but it's one I'd recommend and one I'd be happy to read again. 

The story itself is about Annabelle Manning, a teenager with a rather ordinary teenage life with a kid brother, a bathrobe loving mum and an arse of a dad. All in all though life is pretty damn normal for Annabelle. That is until Martin walks into her classroom. For you see, Martin isn't what he seems. He's one of her dreams and now that he's wandering around in the real world things are about to get all kinds of complicated. Because it's not just her dream boy that's escaped...

Firstly, I adored the idea behind this book. It's really interesting and I loved the way in which the authors grab you from the very first chapter. Annabelle - even though a little clueless at times - is a loveable and relatable character that overcomes the winy teenage girl stereotype. I would have maybe liked her to have questioned what was going on around her a little more but she was stubborn and intriguing and I fell in love with her. Actually, if I'm honest I fell in love with a lot of the character's as they were all completely different, with their own voices and were very easy to picture.

There's a humour in the writing that will put a smile on your face and a book boyfriend that will break your heart. It was touch and go for a little while but Will is defiantly worth swooning over. 

Okay, so I mentioned before there were a couple of little hiccups and they all happened in the middle. Dream Boy has a gripping start and an ending that will make your heart ache. It was funny and creepy and completely mesmerising - that is if you don't read the middle of it. The middle of this book was a big old confused paranormal blob that had me re-reading more than I would have liked. It almost felt like the authors were trying to connect every single character to the paranormal aspect of the book. Which even though it did work (once I figure out what was happening) it may have been a little much of the story. Not everything needed to be linked the way it was. I think by the end Billy was the only one not connected in some way to this dream world!  

And then there was the love triangle... it wasn't over powering or even really problem. I'm just a little unsure how I feel about these thee pointed relationships at the moment. But for the recored I'm totally #TeamWill! 

Overall Dream Boy is a book that has something a lot of books don't - an original and unique concept that will draw you into it's story lines and rich, imaginative characters. It's like no book I've ever read before and I really enjoyed it. Well, the majority of it. The authors are expert scene setters and they create quite a pretty picture with this book. Worth a read for all YA paranormal lovers out there.

**I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**

Messenger - Book Blitz

So it would seem we're having a little bit of a Book Blitz Week! Today we have Messenger by Laury Falter for you. Give it a read you lovely book worms and tell me what you think.

Tile: Messenger (Guardian Trilogy Prequel) 

Author: Laury Falter 
Publication date: May 8th 2014 
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Maggie does not know she is a Messenger. She has never met her eternal lover. She has never survived a Fallen One. All this changes when a Messenger awakens in the Hall of Records only to die moments later, never to return. As Maggie sets out to determine why the Messengers are suddenly beginning to die, she crosses paths with the infuriatingly appealing Eran and their story begins.
In this riveting account of Maggie's first life on earth with Eran, the star-crossed lovers' romance transpires amidst treacherous enemies, their friends' resistance, and their own opposing wills. With the odds against her, can Maggie survive long enough to admit the feelings she has so carefully denied?
Messenger is the first prequel to the bestselling Guardian Trilogy - the breathtaking romantic saga about a love that has lasted centuries between a Messenger and her Guardian.

    

About the Author

Laury Falter is a bestselling author of young adult romantic suspense and urban fantasy. She has three series out: the Guardian Trilogy, the Residue Series, and the Apocalypse Chronicles.

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | WEBSITE

**EXCERPT**

He strode to me and crouched at my hip. His shirt was already off and the nearness of his well-built chest made it a challenge to stop myself from glancing at it. To my astonishment, he seemed not to notice my internal plight, not even the tremble that shook me when he tenderly took my chin and turned it toward him."You're healing nicely," he observed, concentrating on my forehead.
"Mm-hmm." It was all I could muster.This was the closest we had ever been. His lips were no more than a few inches from me and drew my attention.
"I don't think you'll even scar."When I didn't answer, I felt a shift in his presence and my eyes darted up to find him staring back with his striking blue-green eyes.We froze in place.Only our chests rose and fell, and they did it more rapidly the longer we stared at each other.As his eyes lowered to my lips, his fingers tightened gently around my chin.The flare of his nostrils and the intensity of his stare mesmerized me, made me want him closer. And it told me that he was struggling too and was in profound debate over what we were doing. No ward should be this close to their guardian, even if the ward didn't recognize them as one. It was taboo, unheard of, an abject insult to the role the guardian had been given. Yet, here he was, looking at me, at my lips, tensing at the sight of them.
And he wasn't alone in the struggle. For the first time, I forgot my urge to throw him off balance, my need to establish my independence. I was the one quickly losing my poise and forgetting who was dominant. The charm I fought so hard to deny, the very one that drew all others to him, took hold of me. And I gave into it out of my own free will.

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