Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 77
December 6, 2012
ARC Review: “Greta and the Goblin King” by Chloe Jacobs
Greta and the Goblin King (The Mylena Chronicles #1) by Chloe Jacobs
While trying to save her brother from a witch’s fire four years ago, Greta was thrown in herself, falling through a portal to Mylena, a dangerous world where humans are the enemy and every ogre, ghoul, and goblin has a dark side that comes out with the eclipse.
To survive, Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young goblin king, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her will to escape.
But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. An ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal, and with the next eclipse mere days away, every bloodthirsty creature in the realm is after her—including Isaac. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…
3 1/2 stars
Thanks to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for this eARC! This title is now available.
Okay, I’ll admit it. I was missing my fairytale lands. Yeah, I enjoy all this new and exciting stuff, but man sometimes you just can’t beat ogres, goblins, sprites and the oldie-but-goodies.
Given what I was told about Greta being a bounty hunter, I didn’t expect this book to open the way it did. I mean, yeah, it starts with her going out to rescue a goblin boy from a monster, but then instantly Isaac shows up and he’s like, “Hi” and Greta’s like “Ohmygod remember how we met like a fortnight ago and I was obsessed with you but now I hate you because you lied and oh by the way now for some reason you’re the king of the goblins you little liar.”
Ooookay then.
Of course I have to pick at the romance in this book. Of course I do. Because I can’t get through it without not. Because not only do Isaac and Greta have yet another annoying love/hate relationship that seems to be based on…uh…hormones? Let’s go with hormones since I can’t think of much else. I mean, after they meet for a fortnight he invades her dreams because he HAS to be bound to her. Knowing she’s a human. By the way, humans are blamed for all the ills ever on Mylena. So Isaac alternates from blaming all the world’s ills on her to being like I MUST HAVE YOU. Literally. His repetitions of “She’s mine” or “You’re mine” creeped me out.
And then of course there is the requisite love triangle. Which doesn’t seem to have any point at all, honestly. But I don’t like love triangles. At all. You probably know this, so I’m going to stop here.
The characters as a whole didn’t have much particular depth besides Greta. Many of their actions made no sense, or seemed forced. Isaac, especially, bothered me, both by the way he treated Greta and then the schizo way he acted at the end of the book. But I can’t explain that for fear of spoilers. Many of the background characters just popped on and off-screen, though I appreciate the attempt to give every member of the lost boys a little bit of personality.
The thing that kept me going was the plot pacing. As in, plot went GOGOGO! There’s no shortage of action in this book, and Jacobs isn’t afraid to put some blood into the pages. (No, not graphically, I promise.) I’m pretty sure even Greta herself is injured from like page 1 on. Fast pacing is always, always a plot for me. I mean, I finished this book in one day.
I’m still not sure what I think of the world building, though. On the one hand, I felt like I didn’t understand what was going on very clearly for the first part of the book. On the other, I really appreciated how Jacobs never info dumped. She even had the best opportunity, with the lost boys having no idea how things worked on Mylena. But Jacobs kept that to a minimal as well, and I really respect that.
All in all, I would recommend those who want to return to a fairytale land with lots of action and a lot of romance. It’s not one of those books you can read too deeply into, but that’s okay sometimes. It’s a fun, quick read. I don’t think I’d go out and buy book two, but I would certainly take the chance to request it on NetGalley.
December 5, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday #35
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!
Title: School Spirits
Author: Rachel Hawkins
ETA: May 14th 2013
Summary from Goodreads: Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy’s mom decides they need to take a break.
Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who’s always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.
Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?
Rachel Hawkins’ delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!
What are you waiting on?
December 4, 2012
Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing Me
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
This is actually a really exciting topic, because it’s different then one I’ve done in a while. Obviously, Santa can’t bring me books that haven’t come out by December 25th. So I get to show you guys some older books that I really want to get my hands on!
1. The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
I’ve heard great things about this series, and I enjoyed her YA series as well. I’ve been thinking about these for a while, but I still don’t have them!
2. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Apparently, this is supposed to be a really adorable book. I don’t know exactly how I’ll react to it, which is why I’d love Santa to bring it instead of buying it myself. 
I almost, almost picked this book up once. Instead, I decided to pick up a book that turned into my most popular bookish rant ever. I guess that was a good thing (sort of), but that door closed right there. I still want to read it, though!
I’ve heard fantastic things about this one, and I admit the idea is growing on me. I actually wasn’t sure at first, but you in the blogoverse have convinced me it might be worth a go!
5. Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame
Yes, I’m a Downton Abbey fan. Yes, that is the pure, single reason why this book interests me. I have no shame.
6. While He Was Away by Karen Schreck
Sometimes I shy away from contemporary YA romances because they are always really hit or miss with me. But Santa could bring me this one and I’d be happy!
7. Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
This has made my shortlist a few million times, but I’ve never actually walked away with it. I can’t wait to, though!
Vampires. I still have the bite. I can’t help myself. And apparently these are supposed to be pretty good.
9. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
This has me from the moment I saw the cover. It’s just never hit the apex of my list.
10. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Tamora Pierce told me I should read this book. I NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.
December 3, 2012
ARC Review: “Renegade” by J. A. Souders
Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1) by J. A. Souders
Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.
But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie.
Her memories have been altered.
Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.
And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.
Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb… and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.
3 ½ stars
Thank you to TorTeen for this ARC! This book is now available!
I had very high hopes for Renegade, I’m not going to lie. It sounded almost too good to be true. I’m a sucker for stories that play with genetics, and—despite the obvious choice of love interest—the storyline looked unique and interesting.
I hate when I don’t get everything that I’m hoping for.
Renegade starts off ridiculously creepy. Like, good creepy. So fantastically creepy. Souders uses an interesting technique between chapters that excellently shows off how Evie’s mind is being altered by her mother. You are shown Mother’s cruelty right away as well, which sets the tone for the rest of the book. Don’t be fooled by the pretty cover; Renegade doesn’t shy away from blood and killing.
Things start to break down right around when Gavin, the Surface Dweller, is introduced. No, I’m not saying this just because I found their love story cliché. (I did, but that’s not the point.) The sessions where Evie is “interrogating” him are clearly an info dump opportunity so that we can learn more about the world, and I have no idea why they weren’t shot on spot right away. There is no way that Mother has all these security features and doesn’t have microphones in her jail cells.
It’s at this point that information starts to get jumbled. Souders has created a very complex world, and in the end that does her a disservice. A few too many things are glossed over or left unexplained entirely. A few key plot points are fixed almost magically. Certain characters turn bipolar and their actions make no sense.
I guess being frustrated that I never completely understood the world or the technology is sort of a good thing. After all, it means I was invested enough to want to know. It’s entirely possible that another reader, not looking as closely, wouldn’t notice the slip ups. I don’t know. What I do know is that there are world building holes I wish had been filled so that I could have a better grasp on the back story that Souders was attempting to make a key point but kept getting marginalized.
Evie’s story in itself was pretty gripping. The mental conditioning she had had was super creepy but super awesome at the same time. What can I say? I like narrators with fractured minds; it’s very interesting to read when done right. I wish, of course, that Gavin hadn’t been there, because then maybe Evie’s troubles would have been a little more compelling without the guy there to save her, but I digress.
Also, Gavin being there resulted in too many weird, sexually-charged moments. Like, he can’t climb a ladder because he’s distracted because he can see up her skirt? He watches her change in a mirror, even though she says don’t look? Gavin cannot be both her knight in shining armor and a creep. Just saying.
All in all, I wanted to like Renegade a lot more than I did. The world and plot were very interesting, but Souders got tangled up in her own complexities and got a little lost. Evie herself completely won my investment, but the story and the other characters didn’t back her up as well as they could have. I would tell you to give this a try if you’re in the mood for yet another dystopian, but I wouldn’t put it on my MUST BUY list. Goodreads lists this as number one in a series (which I didn’t realize, because it doesn’t really leave anything on a huge cliffhanger—it could be read as a standalone), but it’ll be a coin toss to see whether or not I pick up number two.
November 30, 2012
ARC Review: “Wilde’s Meadow” by Krystal Wade
Wilde’s Meadow (Darkness Falls #3) by Krystal Wade
Happy endings are hard to find, and even though Katriona is in the middle of a war with someone who’s already stolen more than she can replace, she aches for a positive future with her Draíochtans.
Armed with hope, confidence in her abilities, and a strange new gift from her mother, Kate ventures into the Darkness to defeat a fallen god.
Losses add up, and new obstacles rise to stand in the way. Is the one determined to bring Encardia light strong enough to keep fighting, or will all the sacrifices to stop those who seek domination be for nothing?
2 1/2 stars
Thank you to NetGally and Curiousity Quills Press for this eARC! This book is now available.
Well, this is the end. Hopefully, if you’re reading this, you’ve read my reviews of Wilde’s Fire and Wilde’s Army. If not, spoilers will abound.
I did not like Wilde’s Fire. I’m just going to put that out there. I thought Kate and Arland’s romance was absolutely ridiculous and creepy, but I finished the book anyways. Somehow, for some reason, I also requested Wilde’s Army when it came out. It wasn’t the best, but it was actually surprisingly better than the first one. Maybe it’s because Arland is absent for a long time in that one…
For better or for worse, I also requested Wilde’s Meadow, because since I’d made it through the first two, why not? Unfortunetly, I was rather disappointed.
Kate and Arland are back in full swing for this one, and syrupy sweet. The freaky intensity of their relationship brings me to think of Twilight, which is never a good thing. In multiple instances, they leave people waiting and ignore a war so they can “enjoy being newlyweds.” Honestly, I prefer it when you’re fighting demons.
Despite the war aspect, there wasn’t as much action as I was expecting. Or, rather, when it happened, Kate wasn’t always actively participating. Sure, she did her fair share, but too many huge plot points in the novel were taken out of Kate’s hands and figured out for her. The amount of times that people had to lead her around to what she needed to save the world was infuriating.
There were also far, far too many characters, once again. Worse, these characters got an attempt at depth, but then nothing ever fully did them justice. I never believed in the change of the character of Perth, for example. He was always pretty rude, and otherwise flat. The senseless deaths of other characters also made no sense.
I think the biggest things that threw me off were the plot “twists.” But they weren’t really twists. The way they were thrown into the story, they felt like plot inventions, suddenly thrown in to move things along, like a NaNo novel.
All in all, it was a fight to get to the end of the book. The characters were always defeating my attempts to like them, and the plot was really jerky. I find this to be one of the few series where the middle book was actually the best.
November 28, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday #34
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!
Title: Falling Kingdoms
Author: Morgan Rhodes
ETA: December 11, 2012
Summary from Goodreads: In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:
Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.
Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.
Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.
Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword…
The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?
What are you waiting on?
November 27, 2012
Top Ten Most Anticipated Books For 2013
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish!
I’m fairly certain this entire topic lives to hurt my soul. ONLY TEN? ONLY TEN? The only way I could even CONCEIVE of doing this was by going by month and just picking the first 10 off the list. I’m ridiculously lucky I made it to March, and that was only through severe jumping of hoops.
You HAVE read this blurb, right? Because DROOL. I won a giveaway for bookmarks and a phone charm a little while ago, and I love both of them dearly. 
2. Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
Under the Never Sky didn’t thrill me to begin with, but it really won me over in the end. (See my review!) Now I’m hooked, and I NEED to know what happens next!
3. Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans (due out January 15th)
I don’t know what it is about this book (well, besides the awesome cover and the freaking fantastic blurb) but I’ve been hooked on it ever since I first heard about it. I feel like it is going to be SUPER fantastic.
4. Shadows in the Silence by Courtney Allison Moulton (due out January 29th)
GUYS. GUYS IT’S THE THIRD AND FINAL ANGELFIRE BOOK. GUYS. I ALMOST CAN’T HANDLE IT. (Don’t miss my review of Wings of the Wicked!)
5. Asunder by Jodi Meadows (due out January 29th)
JANUARY 29TH IS GOING TO BE THE BEST DAY IN EVER OF EVER. YOU ALL SHOULD REALIZE THIS. (You did see my freak out in my review of the first one, right?)
6. Prodigy by Marie Lu (due out January 29th)
Okay, that’s it. On January 29th I’m going to die of happiness. (Even if Legend didn’t entirely thrill me, I still loved it.)
7. City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster (due out February 5th)
This was my Waiting on Wednesday a few weeks ago, and for good reason! I can’t get over this book blurb and cover!
8. Sever by Lauren DeStefano (due out February 12th)
This is one of the most interesting dystopian ideas I’ve yet to read. This is also the last book. AGH THE WAITING. (I reviewed both Wither and Fever on the blog!)
9. The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead (due out February 12th)
Have you missed my freak outs over Mead’s Vampire academy series? Bloodlines? The Golden Lily? BECAUSE I LOVE HER BOOKS AND OHMYGOD ADRIAN AND EEEEEK!
10. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (due out March 19th)
GUYS. HAVE YOU NOT SEEN ME FREAK OUT OVER THESE BOOKS BEORE BECAUSE I FREAK OUT LIKE NOBODY’S BUSINESS AND I JUST CAN’T HANDLE MYSELF AND– Ahem.
November 26, 2012
Promo Event: “Love Revolution” by Michelle Mankin – Excerpt + Giveaway!
Welcome to the Love Revolution Promo Event, hosted by A Tale of Many Reviews! As the first order of business, allow me to introduce you to the author, Michelle Mankin!
Michelle Mankin is a young adult romance writer as well as a self proclaimed giant… inside of her own mind!
For many years she worked in the insurance industry as an underwriter. Somehow, the boredom didn’t kill her but the hour and hours of looking at facts and figures provided ample time for her mind to wander.
Love Evolution is her debut novel. A rock ‘n roll romance based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It is the first in a planned trilogy using the plot underpinnings of Shakespeare combined with the drama, excitement, and indisputable sexiness of the rock ‘n roll industry.
When she is not putting her daydreams down on paper, you can find her traveling the world with her family, sometimes for real, and sometimes just for pretend as she takes the children to school and back.
Now, that’s not a typo. Love Revolution is actually the sequel to Love Evolution. So of course I’m going to tell you about the first book before I tell you about the second one!
Love Evolution (Black Cat Records #1) by Michelle Mankin
After the death of her twin brother, nineteen year old guitar prodigy Avery Jones finds herself desperate, alone, and out of options. Hope arrives in the form of a job opening with Brutal Strength, one of the biggest rock bands out there. Only problem is temperamental lead singer Marcus Anthony doesn’t want a woman in the group. So Avery and her manager Trevor come up with a plan involving a Bieber haircut and men’s clothing. No one seems to be onto their little con. But what happens when Avery starts falling for Marcus? Will she be able to continue with the farce or will the whole thing come crashing down around her like a house of cards?
Love Evolution (the first in a planned trilogy) is a rock ‘n roll romance based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
So now you’re excited, right? Well let me tell you about book number two!
Love Revolution (Black Cat Records #2) by Michelle Mankin
The wheels of love are always turning at Black Cat Records. Things are just starting to settle down there, but two Texas sisters are fixin’ to stir things up again at the Vancouver record label. CEO Mary Timmons sets spirited country superstar, Sara Daniels, on a collision course with cocky rocker, Chris Alex. Meanwhile, Brutal Strength’s suave drummer, JR, has his head turned by pretty young intern, Samantha Daniels. Do all their highways lead to happiness or will the wheels fly off when the sisters’ tragic past comes back to haunt them?
Love Revolution is a rock ‘n roll romance inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and is the second book in the Black Cat Records Trilogy.
EXCERPT FROM LOVE REVOLUTION
The 2nd book in the Black Cat Records Shakespeare inspired series has more MUSIC, more ROMANCE, and much, much, more STEAM…
A lone spotlight illuminated JR as he began to lay down a heavy beat. Strobes flashed as Avery stepped out from behind the black curtain to meet Marcus at center stage. He reached for her, but she leaned away, just out of reach. She winked at him and smiled at the audience. The crowd roared their approval…For Sam, the spotlight stayed on JR. She didn’t notice anyone else. Frenetic, yet fluid, he flailed away on the drums like a madman, a modern day Keith Moon. His sticks spun like twin rotator blades on a Chinook helicopter, and his knees moved up and down, pistons pounding out a rhythm.
Her whole body came alive at the first touch of his warm lips on hers, the tender way he‘d looked at her the moment before a tantalizing preview of the gentle way he was devouring her lips now
An anticipatory thrill ran down her spine as Chris Alex stalked her. Sara cast her gaze around the room, trying to avoid gaping at his naked torso. No use. Pupils dilated, her eyes followed the trail of brown hair down to the point where it tapered and disappeared into the waistband of his low hanging jeans. Oh, no. Wrong place to look. Look up. Look up. Icy fire ran through her veins. She licked her dry lips and nervously balled up her hands…
AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
Print copy of LOVE REVOLUTION with a Brutal Strength Band tattoo & the first 25 blogs to submit, their winner will also get a bumper sticker – Open US/Canada only. OR (1) eBook copy of LOVE REVOLUTION – Open International. Enter HERE.
November 23, 2012
ARC Review: “Stealing Parker” by Miranda Kenneally
Stealing Parker (Hundred Oaks #2) by Miranda Kenneally
Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.
Now Parker wants a new life.
So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?
But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?
3 1/2 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this eARC! This book is now available.
Total disclaimer: I never read Catching Jordan. I really wanted too, but I just never did. However, I was not immune to all the hype surrounding the book, and it’s sequel. So when Stealing Parker showed up on NetGalley, there is no denying how hard I pounced on it.
I was really disappointed with what I got.
I expected a story about a girl who turns into a little bit of a slut to show that she isn’t gay, like her mom turned out to be. That much is in the blurb. (Okay, the last part isn’t explicit, but I guessed. That’s not even a spoiler, because it’s right in the first chapter.) There was definetly that in this book. However, Kenneally tries to fit SO MUCH ELSE in here that nearly every plot and subplot got lost. Let me try and give you a run down without spoiling things. This book included:
1. Discussion about gayness (from Parker’s mom and a friend)
2. How the Christian church deals with gays, people associated with gays, and also “sluts”
3. Student/teacher relationships
4. Drug problems
5. Losing your best friends/being bullied
6. How other people’s opinions of you affect you
7. Mother/daughter issues
8. Father/daughter issues
9. Sibling issues
10. Absentee mother issues
11. Asberger’s Syndrome
12. Figuring out who you really are and want to be
I could probably go on, but I think you see the point. I mean, Asberger’s Syndrome? It’s a big issue, yes, so it doesn’t deserve to be mentioned for five seconds for no particular reason. Some of those, like Asberger’s and the drug problems, don’t relate to Parker directly, but were squashed into the back as even more subplot lines. There were also multiple gay plot lines, but the one relating to Parker’s friend basically only exists to complicate Parker’s relationship to her “true love.” When issues that are very, very big just get marginalized, I get pretty annoyed. I really just didn’t understand why there was so much in this book, when any one of the issues mentioned above could be a book BY THEMSELVES. All the points Kenneally was trying to make–and all were good!–just got lost in the jumble.
I think my other major problem with this book was the student/teacher relationship. It made me feel icky throughout the whole book, which I think was the point. I mean, obviously I wasn’t supposed to feel GOOD about it. (I’m looking at you, Pretty Little Liars.) Still, the way it was handled in the end also confused me. Everyone kept saying it was the teacher’s fault, as if he had forced her into the relationship. Personally, I found that the wrong way to handle that. There isn’t really a right way, I know, but Parker totally had a LOUD voice in how that relationship went down, and it wasn’t right for everyone to say she was coerced into the whole thing.
Basically, I think the problem with this book was that Kenneally overreached herself. There was a really cute love story in here, but it got covered up and pushed around by a lot of other big issues. There were way too many stories in here for one book, so we never got to see the full potential of any one of them. I appreciated each and every one of the messages, but you can’t here them clearly if dozens are shouting at once. Still, I look forward to finally checking out Catching Jordan (who does make several cameos in this book!).
Stealing Parker will be followed by more companion books, Things I Can’t Forget and Racing Savannah, in 2013.
November 20, 2012
Top Ten Books/Authors I’m Thankful For
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
So, this topic could just roll into one of my typical squealings about the same amazing books, but I want to make this one a little bit more serious. Like, actually books and authors that had an impact rather than books I just read and loved. So here we go!
1. Nancy Drew series
I cannot remember a lot of the books I read as a kid. Still, I remember these with clarity. I couldn’t stop until I rented out each book one by one from the library and finished the entire series. I guess you can say this is when I became a serial reader.
2. Tamora Pierce
A few years ago, she would have made this list just for inspiring me to become a writer and how much I love these books. Now that I’ve spent some time with her–two summers in a row!–I can also say that I am thankful she’s an awesome person and I’m so glad for all the things she’s taught me.
3. Christopher Paolini
Though I eventually grew out of his books–I never even read Brisingr–I have a lot to thank this guy for. I was 12 when I heard his story, and it was at that moment that I actually believed that I, at 12 years old, could write a novel myself. Eragon was also the book that got my brother into reading, FINALLY, and gave me someone to share my reading passions with.
4. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
There are few books that drive me to tears. This is one of them. I’m very thankful that a book as powerful as this exists.
5. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
This is the first major book I ever requested and received, even if it was only from NetGalley. I’m ever so thankful for that opportunity and the ones that followed.
6. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
There are few books that can make me laugh and cry every single time I read them. This one tops that list. It not only makes me fall in love with it every time I read it, but it also reaffirmed my faith in contemporary YA romance as a genre.
7. Cassandra Clare
I am thankful that Cassie is a wonderful person who is awesome and makes me laugh. I am thankful that she writes amazing, amazing books. I am thankful that even my brother likes these books, so we can share them and have quote-wars over the best quotes from the series.
8. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
No book of Sparks’s has ever hit me the way this one did. It reminded me of how much I love my little brother, and the cancer storyline hit way too close to home. I am thankful that I have a book so close to my heart.
9. The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
Not for the reasons you might think! Yes, I grew up with them, but they weren’t the books that defined my childhood. Instead, they gave me close moments with my brother, before he could read, where I would sit and read to him. There is nothing like having a cute child in single digits run up to you with a book and ask if now is reading time.
10. The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
For giving me faith that if she can be published, so can I.
