Mid-Year Book Freak Out

I'm already gone past the half-year mark, but I have been wanting to do this survey for a while now. It's by Ely and Chami over on A Book So Fathomless, who created it in celebration of their two year blogoversary. So let's get started!

1. Best book you've read so far in 2014?

Pick one, just one...

You just need to ask Amanda at Book Badger about my FFF posts, I am a dirty little cheat. There is no way I could stick to 1. I've actually had an exceptionally good reading year, I have had some god awful reads, but I have had fifteen 5/5 rated books this year. So that makes it very difficult to narrow it down. But I will try:

  

When looking through all of my reads, these are the three that really stick out for me. The Assassin's Blade, which is technically a book of novellas, just blew my mind. It definitely showed just what an author can be capable of doing in novellas. We Were Liars just blew me away, it's such a beautifully written book and I have wanted to pick it up and reread it ever since I put it down. And Dangerous Girls is just incredible, it's a book that it's almost impossible to put down. It keeps you guessing right up until the final page, highly recommend it.

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2014?

I'd pick Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi, which is the last book in her Under the Never Sky series. I fell in love with this series this year and I was beyond nervous to see how it would all end. I ended up loving the ending overall, there were a few things I wasn't completely happy about, but overall I thought it was a great end to the series.

3. New release you haven't read, but want to.

 

I have no excuse not to have read them, I own both of them and have done for months. It just seems like other books come along and get in the way. So I am determined to get to them by the end of the year, but then I have been saying that since I got them and it hasn't happened yet. Any advice on which to start with?

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

This one is hard because I am terrible at keeping up with new releases. Then I remembered that Marie Lu has a new book coming out, and I need that book. I will probably cave soon and order it for myself!

5. Biggest disappointment.

   

The Kiss of Deception is a book that I probably shouldn't have read straight after finishing Heir of Fire. This book then just feels like a poor man's Throne of Glass. It wasn't a very exciting book, the pacing was all wrong, the characters were awful and the instalove just. completely ruined it for me. 

The Treatment was a huge disappointment for me, after loving the first book so much and giving it a deserved 5/5 stars. The Treatment just didn't work for me at all, the pointless love triangle side to it really infuriated me and I couldn't deal with that.

The Jewel is the perfect example of wasted potential, that book could have been the start of the next big thing in dystopian YA fiction. It started out really strong and I couldn't get enough of it, it also had the bonus of no romance for 50% of the book. But then the author ruins it all by suddenly introducing a love interest, which is an example of the quickest instalove in the world. That just ruined the whole story for me.

Fangirl... no, just, NO! I hate book hype, it is just the worst thing in the world. I have heard nothing but high praise, seen nothing but 5/5 star reviews. So I went in expecting something genius. I got nothing. I wanted to rage quit after all the pointless fanfiction based on a book that I assumed was just supposed to be Harry Potter. Then they mention HP in the book. I'm confused. How did Simon Snow even get published when it's basically just plagiarised HP. Tell me that. 

6. Biggest surprise.

 

Both of these were books that I wasn't completely sure of going in. Dangerous Girls was one I got in a 3 for £5 deal, I hadn't hard anything about it and didn't know what to expect. It became a 5/5 favourite for me, I could not put that book down. Trial by Fire started out slow but then completely sucked me into the story. The end killed me because I can't pick up the sequel and start it straight away.

7. Favourite new author. (Debut or new to you)

Sarah J. Maas

8. Newest fictional crush.

Chaol Westfall 

Love this girls fanart.

9. Newest favourite character.

Celaena and Chaol.
Yes... I have a problem.

10. Book that made you cry.

Why? How? Nooooooo!

11. Book that made you happy.

This book was adorable and I was smiling almost the whole time I was reading it! Too cute!

12. Favourite book to film adaptation you've seen so far this year.

The movie was just incredible, even my boyfriend ended up enjoying it.

13. Favourite review you've written this year.

Ooooh, tough question. Probably We Were Liars because it was incredibly hard but incredibly fun to try and sum up all my feelings and review the book... without giving anything away! 

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year.  (or received)

Heir of Fire. I received a finished copy for Bloomsbury and just died... it's too gorgeous!

15. What book do you need to read by the end of the year?

ALL OF THEM

 

I have read and loved both of Abigail's books, Dangerous Girls & Dangerous Boys. To celebrate the release of Dangerous Boys, I am giving  2 winners the chance to win paperback copies of both Dangerous Boys and Dangerous Girls. It's open internationally, as long as Book Depository ships to you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also have an ARC copy of Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini to giveaway to one lucky winner. Just be aware that it's an ARC and not a finished copy, so no pretty cover! Because of shipping, the giveaway is UK only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Series: Is The Final Destination What Matters Most?
Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini: 4.5/5 Review and Giveaway
Films For Thoughts on Thursday: ARCs
Five Friday Favourites: Favourite Books I've Read Between April & August
My Weekly Book Haul: 23/08/2014
Magnolia by Kristi Cook: 3.5/5 Review