top ten tuesday | Pandora's Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week, the theme is Top Ten Favorite Beginnings and Endings. However, I’m terrible at remembering such things (unless I’m taking notes while reading for a review), even when it should be memorable! So instead, I’m taking one of the TTT themes from June, and re-hashing it. So my Top Ten Tuesday this week is from June 18: Top Ten Books at the Top of My Summer TBR List.

I know it’s already almost August, but for some reason, I’ve been reading VERY slow lately (I’m normally a fast reader, and can read 7-15 books per month). I’m not sure why. Also, I’ve only been blogging two short months, but my TBR pile has EXPLODED under recommendations and review requests, so I haven’t gotten to read a lot of my top picks lately. Anyway, before I bore you guys to tears with my chit chatting, here’s the list:

Frozen copy For those of you who have been following my blog since the beginning, and who follow me on Twitter, you all know I’m obsessed with Melissa de La Cruz and I was desperate to get my hands on this book for the longest time. Pretty sure I entered roughly 10 contests before a miracle occurred: Stacee @ Adventures of a Book Junkee managed to get me not one but TWO copies (one of which I’ll be doing a giveaway for at some point). I screamed and fangirled and thanked her about twenty million times. Once I’m done doing some required blog reading, this is the first book up on my Summer TBR pile!

DemLunet I’ve heard so many amazing things about In the After. Aliens seem to be the next big thing in YA. I’ve only read icons by Margaret Stohl so far, so I’m not sure how I feel about this new trend. We’ll see once I read a few more alien stories!

VRossi1 I know everyone is going to demand to know why I haven’t read Under the Never Sky already. I know, I’m terrible! But I finally own it and I seriously want to read it ASAP and see why everyone is swooning over Perry, and who Roar is.

VRossi2 Since I want to read book Under the Never Sky, my reasoning behind reading Through the Ever Night is kind of self-explanatory!

The only zombie books I’ve read and loved so far are Dearly, Departed and Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel. I’ve heard amazing things about Something Strange and Deadly, and it looks like it sort of has a similar plot to Lia Habel’s series. So I definitely want to read this one ASAP.

Again, this one is obvious. If I’m going to read the first book, I’m definitely reading the sequel, too! And I’ve heard A Darkness Strange and Lovely is out of this world, as far as sequels go. So I’m excited to get to it!

As with others on my list, I’ve heard Masque of the Red Death is amazing! I actually saw it when it first came out in hardcover and didn’t buy it. It looked good, but I wasn’t sure and I also didn’t realize the author was Bethany Griffin at first – I have no idea why! I just didn’t pay enough attention. Then the ladies at Epic reads recommended it during Tea Time. When I looked at it in the store again and realized how amazing it was, and who its author was, I kicked myself for not buying it sooner! I’ve actually been eyeing it on my shelf for awhile now.. I really want to read it!

Another obvious one. I actually didn’t realize there were only two books in this series. I figured it was at least a trilogy, and I’m kind of really excited. I bought both books on the same day, and I can devour them back-to-back. It’s great!

Like with Under the Never Sky and Through the Ever Night, I’m sure I’m going to have people screaming at me, asking why I’ve waited so long to read these! Well.. I don’t know! But I’m reading them now! Errr.. I mean, I will be reading them when I get around to them! From the bit I skimmed, the writing style seems a bit different from what I’m used to, but the plot sounds terrific.

And last, but not least, of course I want to read Unravel Me, since I’m going to read Shatter Me! I’ve heard ominous things, though, about Chapter 62… I’m kind of scared. We’ll see how it goes.

Well, that’s my list! My overall TBR pile is about three times the size of this list, but it’s only supposed to be “Top Ten,” so I had to cut myself off, or I could have done a Top 50 post! What books are on your Summer TBR Pile? Share them with me in the comments below!

Hey everyone. This is my first official blog post! Yay for that! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Broke and the Bookish, and the theme for this week is: Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2013.

I’ve read some truly incredible books so far this year, so narrowing this down to just ten books was difficult. I thought really long and hard before finalizing this list. So here it is:

1. Shadowlands by Kate Brian released on January 8, 2013 and it immediately became my favorite book of 2013. It’s almost July, and no book has surpassed this one so far. The ending alone is enough to put it in the top spot. I was so mind-boggled by that ending, I had to re-read the last few pages about five times.

2. I don’t think there are words to describe how I felt about The Program by Suzanne Young. I felt angry, violated, shocked, helpless… Basically, all the different emotions Sloane felt, I felt. It’s scary to think something like this could actually happen. I’m really glad there’s a sequel to this, and I’m dying to see what happens next for Sloane. Will she get her memories back? Who will she end up with? How will the rebellion fight back? So many questions!

3. I absolutely adored Spellcaster by Claudia Gray. It was Charmed meets Buffy meets The Secret Circle. But it was still unique and original. Does that make sense? I loved the way Nadia practiced her magic and the rules that made up the Craft – it was different from everything I’ve ever read/watched with witches. And, of course, Verlaine was Nadia’s very own Willow – in my opinion, at least. I’m excited for Steadfast!

4. Chapter 21 of With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent was, by far, the most heartbreaking in literary history. I just sobbed. And sobbed. And sobbed some more. And the ending was a truly unforgettable, and perfect, ending. It was very fitting, and words can’t describe how much I loved it. I truly enjoyed the little sneak peak into what the characters were like after so many years had passed. It made the ending feel more final, more complete. Definitely one of my favorite endings to a YA series.

5. Mind Games by Kiersten White was such a fun read. It was raw and emotional with tragedy, drama and mystery. And the ending was just… It blew my mind. I’m really excited for Perfect Lies. I need to see what’s going to happen to Fia and Annie next!

6. I’m actually planning to do a blog post for The Archived by Victoria Schwab, as well as for her upcoming Vicious. At the risk of being repetitive, I’m just going to say that this book was a truly original, edge-of-my-seat mystery until the very end. I loved Mackenzie. She was take-charge; she didn’t just sit around waiting for other people to save her. Oh, and I never trusted Owen. Not at all.

7. Really, you guys just need to read The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa. It is made of awesome. And for anyone who is sick of vampires? It will change your mind, IMHO. The ending had me sobbing like a little baby. Enough said. Go read this. Now!

8. Chapters 6, 24, and 28 of Sever by Lauren DeStefano gave me heart attacks! Never has a book had me so on the edge of my seat. I nearly died each time something huge happened. I was scared, I was shocked and I was blown away. There are no words. The ending was amazing and satisfying.

9. First off, reading Parallel by Lauren Miller was a nice change from all the supernatural books I read. Don’t get me wrong, I love vampires, werewolves, witches, etc. But it was nice reading something different. And seriously, parallel lives? It really made me stop and think. Every little thing we do in our everyday lives can have an effect on our future. Even the small things matter. The real lesson here: Your path in life might change and deviant from your original goals, but in the end, you’ll do what you’re meant to do.

10. And last, but definitely not least, is Elegy by Tara Hudson. I had the privilege of reading this as an ARC, courtesy of Tara Hudson and the Amelia’s Birthday Giveaway. And let me tell you, it was incredible. The ending was so different from what most authors do. (SPOILERS AHEAD) Most authors end with the main love interests all happily ever after. But in this case, Amelia had to say goodbye to Joshua, until the day that Joshua joins her on the other side. And even though it was sad, I found this to be really refreshing. Because in real life, nothing is happily ever after.