Favorite Reads of 2014

Well, I slacked off blogging the last few months of 2014 and I have several books I never ended up reviewing, but I did manage to finish 60 books. This is not quite the 80 books I wanted to finish, but I had a lot of unexpected job issues that kept me from reading the way I wanted from August on.
My favorite book of the year ended up being my first completed book of the year, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I did manage to review this one and the review can be found here.

St. Martin's Press

This would also make the book my favorite YA read of the year. A close second to this would be two of my last reads of the year, Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight both by Sarah Maas. I have not reviewed either of these books yet, but may write some brief thoughts on them. If you haven't tried this series, I highly recommend it. Celaena sometimes makes you mad, but she is one of the best flawed characters I have ever read and Maas's world-building is beautiful and the plot is heartbreaking. I am trying not to get too attached to the characters, because the author does rip your heart out a few times in at least the first three books and I can see more heartbreak happening in the fourth book. I am glad I was given the third book to review in audio format, or I may not have picked up this series.

My favorite adult read of the year was Attachments by Rainbow Rowell and my review can be found here. I love Rowell's writing and how likeable her characters are.

Dutton

I also read more adult books this year than usual, mainly because in my new library role I attend three adult book clubs. I also got on a Debbie Macomber Christmas books kick. My second choice for adult books would be Emma by Jane Austen, another book I did not end up reviewing, but hope to write some brief thoughts about in the new year. I learned to love Emma only through the eyes of Mr. Knightly and I love how they brought out the best in each other and actually seemed to humanize each other.


For junior fiction, I would say the choice is harder. Due to reading and reviewing slumps, I did not finish a few series books in which I know the books would blow all other books out of the water (I am thinking Blood of Olympus here), so I will not have the usual suspect as the winner. I did enjoy Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, not yet reviewed, but I think it was slightly edged out by The Iron Trial reviewed here. I know it received a lot of criticism for comparisons to Harry Potter, but I loved it. I can't wait for the next one.

Scholastic

A close third would be the Newbery winner for 2014, Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, reviewed here. I love her books and this one had just the right humor and weight to make it very appealing to children and adults. This one is closely followed by Jinx's Fire by Sage Blackwood, reviewed here. This is another series which I really enjoy for both its humor and darkness.

For me, junior fiction seemed to dominate my reading and my favorites of the year. I think having less time and less energy made me drift to junior fiction and the younger end of YA. Hopefully in the new year I can find more time to read and get back into the habit of reviewing.

What topped your favorites list of 2014? I would love to see other people's lists and maybe find some new reads for 2015.

Come Sit a Spell Wrapup

Come Sit a Spell is hosted by Gina at The Book Dragon's Lair. Well I did not finish all of the books I needed to this year, but I did finish 6 books out of the 12 I wanted to finish. With teaching the online class, I just had little spare time for reading, but six books is not bad. Thanks to Gina for hosting this!

Bout of Books 12 Signup

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

This is my eighth Bout of Books and I love the idea of not having goals! This is a busy time at work for me, but I am going to try to participate as best I can. I may post a reading list soon, but I am not going to focus as much on page numbers and books finished! Thanks again to Amanda and Kelly for hosting!

My reading list:
Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
Grant and Twain by Mark Perry
The Reliable Wife by Robert Goodrick
The Last Juror by John Grisham
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

COYER Winter 2014-2015 signup

Well I definitely need to use my Kindle more, because I only finished one book on it this year and I wouldn't mind reading more of the classics I have downloaded to my Bluefire app and finishing a few I have on my Overdrive app. I am going to aim for three e-books, since I have not been reading as much lately. As far as titles, I am just going to wait and see what captures my attention.
Thanks to Berls and Michelle for hosting and you can sign up at this link.

Why I Haven't Been Blogging or Really Even Reading?

So I haven't blogged or reviewed or read in awhile, except for a few exceptions. Work is taking up all of my time. The new job takes 125% of my energy and 300% of my time and the online class I am teaching is taking up anything that remains. Class finishes soon and after January, work should finally start to settle down a bit. I have been reading books for the three book clubs I attend for work and a few fluffy Christmas reads, but none of them have been on my TBR. Hopefully I get back to blogging soon!

Debbie Macomber Christmas books: Mr. Miracle, Starry Night, and There's Something About Christmas

So to get in the holiday spirit, I have been reading Debbie Macomber Christmas books. They are stress-free, happily-ever-afters, and predictable and many of them have Hallmark movies that are exactly the same.

All three by Ballatine Books

                                   

I started with Starry Night, right after Halloween. This actually worked out well, because Starry Night went through Thanksgiving up to New Years and so I did not feel bad for crowding out Thanksgiving. I like her stories set in the Alaskan wilderness and this was a cute story of a reporter and her struggle to interview a reclusive author. Carrie is sick of society gossip and batting her eyes at people at grand cultural events. She wants to be a serious reporter and asks for a bigger story and what she gets is Finn Dalton. Finn's first book become an instant bestseller, something he did not expect and it came with people wanting to invade his privacy. Since he lives in Alaska he feels safe that he will not have to be bothered, until Carrie appears. Carrie brings with her not just her charm and tenacity, but a present meant to heal the rift between Finn and his mother. When Carrie is stuck in Alaska for a few extra days, she grows to care for Finn and must decide if she is going to shatter the privacy he wants for a story that could make her career or if she will follow her heart and possibly be stuck in the society column. This was sweet romance with a satisfying ending. 3.5 cups of cocoa.

Next came Mr. Miracle. I love the Mrs. Miracle books and movies, particularly the first book and the second movie. Mr. Miracle was not quite on par with Mrs. Miracle, but the movie has not premiered yet, so that may change my views. I love the premise of it, Harry Mills is an angel sent to teach a class and help make Addie's and Erich's lives a little happier. He is supposed to help get the two of them to like each other and help heal rifts in both of their lives, but he is still getting used to his new human body. Addie is one of his students, but all of his students touch his heart in different ways, and another teacher wants to be more than just a person he helps and he does not know how to rebuke her advances. Thankfully for Harry, he has Celeste, an angel on Earth many years, to guide him in human ways and to remind him about what is expected of angels. Addie and Erich are more complicated, because Addie had a crush on Erich when she was younger and Erich was very mean to her. Addie is also recovering from losing her dad, who she had not been on good terms with for years and who she felt was disappointed in her for not graduating high school. Addie is taking the class, so that she can finally graduate and go into the medical field. Erich is trying to recover from a heart break. When Erich breaks both of his wrists, Addie steps up to take care of him, so that their widowed mothers can go on a long awaited cruise. If the two of them can give up the past and continue to mature, than a Christmas miracle is not out of the question. There is a huge cast here and the book is a little too short, but I am sure we are going to see several sequels as Harry helps all of the students and a few faculty with learning the spirit of Christmas. Overall, I think the series will improve with each installment. 3.5 cups of cocoa.

There's Something about Christmas, I did end up liking this one as well. Emma Collins wants to have more exciting news stories and is tired of writing obituaries. She convinces her boss to allow her an actually article and he agrees, if she will interview three finalists of a national fruitcake competition. The one catch is that she has to fly to the ladies' homes with Oliver Hamilton, a cocky pilot who has a small plane. Oliver does have a cute dog and is handsome himself, too bad he lacks the personality to tempt her. Emma thinks this is just a stepping stone in her career, but little does she know that the three women will teach her valuable life lessons and that Oliver just might steal her heart. The storyline was really cute and I loved how Emma enjoyed her interviews and the recipes would tempt anyone into waiting to try fruitcake. I was never really convinced into liking Emma and Oliver's relationship until the end, and then it seemed like they deserved each other. I think the dogs are what convinced me. 3.5 cups of cocoa.

Christmas Spirit Read-a-thon Wrap-up

I didn't do too bad! I finished Mr. Miracle, which was cute, but not quite as good as the Mrs. Miracle books. I also finished two and a half stories out of My True Love Gave to Me, and started There's Something about Christmas. I should be able to meet the Mistletoe category for the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge, since I am already halfway there. Thanks again to Michelle for hosting!