Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Happy New Year! IFB's Year in Blogging!


2014 was a slower year in blogging for me because I've been writing more than reading. I still managed to help other authors in the area of promoting, though, so I'm not too sad about my lack of reviews when I think about the tours and other events myself and those awesome IFB hosts have supported. I do hope to balance everything better in the new year so that my love for one doesn't affect my love for the other. And while I didn't read a lot of books like many, I still managed to achieve my goal of 50. Check out my favorite reads of 2014:

1) When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez
When Reason Breaks by Cindy L.  Rodriguez
I really liked this story and the message within. It made me think a lot and enforced my interest in Emily Dickinson. I can't describe how good this book is without giving too much away so please see my review.

2) Eternally by Rae Hachton
Eternally by Rae Hachton

I'm a huge fan of Rae Hachton and I'm addicted to her Pretty in Black series. Initially, I thought this book wouldn't challenge my love for that series but that certainly changed. I'm not sure which book I'm anticipating more now, whether it's the sequel to Eternally or the final installment of the Pretty in Black series. Check out my review for Eternally.

3) Random by Tom Leveen
Random by Tom Leveen

I've never been so emotionally messed with. The main character rubbed me the wrong way but that was the author's intention, I think, and I love the story because of the realistic themes. See my review.

4) Four Houses by Victoria Scott and 5) Walk Me Down by H.J. Bellus
Four Houses by Victoria Scott Walk Me Down by H.J. Bellus

I didn't read novellas before because of their length and I like when stories are fully developed and a certain amount of chapters are dedicated to introducing the characters and give readers an idea of the kind of people they are. I never thought that novellas could accomplish that in such few pages, but these two definitely made me eat my words. 
Four Houses was intriguing up to the very end. I liked the dark vibe and the mysterious elements. Walk Me Down was quite the opposite, with an emotional and romantic plot. 
See my reviews: Four Houses | Walk Me Down

6) Scoring Wilder by R.S. Grey
Scoring Wilder by R.S. Grey

I don't think I've ever laughed as much reading a book than the way I laughed while reading Scoring Wilder. Grey is a awesome writer and I definitely setting time aside to read her other books in the coming days. See my review of Scoring Wilder.

7) Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

My only regret is that I took so long to pick this one up. The story, the writing, everything was great. I was beyond impressed. See my review.

8) The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Another book that had my emotions all over the place because I felt so strongly for Alice and wanted her tormentors to pay for what they'd done to her. It might not have wrapped up the way I wanted it to, but this was still a great read for me. See my review.

9) Love letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

This one stood out to me a lot because of the use of how the main character coped with her pain through letters, and I liked that she wrote to entertainers. See my review.

10) Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

One of the most adventurous book I'd read in 2014. The story had similar elements to a particular cartoon I used to watch and I liked that about it. Can't wait to see what happens next and how the comradeship is affected. See my review of Fire & Flood

***
While there are several others that I liked, the ten above really stuck with me and probably will continue to do so for days to come. 

What are your top reads for 2014? Share them in the comment section :)

Happy New Year!


10 comments:

  1. I read The Truth about Alice and Fire and Flood - I will have to check out the rest of your list!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
    Enter my blog birthday giveaway!

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    1. I like your reviews of both. Glad you liked them for the most part, and hope you give the others a try :)

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  2. I haven't read any of these books! Definitely something worth checking out for future reads.

    Happy New Year, Shane!

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  3. I've only read Hopeless! And it was so good! <3 My top reads would be Half Bad, Ugly Love, Landline, and others. I haven't read most of these so thanks for all the new recommendations! :) Happy new year!

    Check out our Happy New Year and Blogversary Giveaway!

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  5. I've been eyeing on Random for quite some time now and it's pretty nice to see it on your top10 list :)

    Happy New Year! :D

    czai @ the Blacksheep Project

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  6. I definitely want to read When Reason Breaks, and I'm so happy to see it on your favorites list. Happy New Year, Shane! :)

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  7. Happy 2015 Shane!! I have Hopeless but haven't gotten around to it yet :( I also really want to try Fire&Flood and When Reason Breaks~

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  8. I can't believe I didn't get to read any of those. This must be my 2015 to-read list I guess :)))
    Happy New Year!

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