Top 5 of 2015

Happy Friday Everyone!

Since December is flying by at record speed (seriously, I'm pretty sure Thanksgiving was yesterday?) I thought I'd go ahead and share my top 5 reads for 2015. When I searched through all my ratings for the year I discovered I only gave three books a 5/5 and only a handful more a 4.5/5. Apparently I was impressively stingy with my high ratings this year. Whoops. Below are the three titles that absolutely blew me away and left me no choice but to give them the highest rating possible, and two more that were outstanding and secured themselves a place on my shelf of favorites.

SIX OF CROWS

I want to live inside Leigh Bardugo's mind for an hour. I won't be selfish and demand more time than that, just an hour so I can see what it's like. I was initially wary of this book as I tend to struggle when I'm bounced around from person to person, but Leigh made every single character so intriguing and rich in personality that I was desperate for more time with each of them rather than less. I couldn't recommend this book more highly.

Find Leigh

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A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES

Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favorite fairy-tale, so I jump at the chance to devour every retelling I can find. This version I thought was particularly well done, especially the final third where court politics really come into play and Feyre has to prove what she's made of. Sarah J. Maas can be brutal to her readers though, tearing beloved characters down again and again before building them back up, so I'm mildly nervous about what the next book holds in store but have no doubt it will be worth it:)

Find Sarah:

 

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THE START OF ME AND YOU

Contemporary YA is not my go-to genre; those of you who read this blog with any frequency know I tend to gravitate toward the paranormal and fantasy, but I will forever read anything Emery Lord decides to write. Her characters always feel completely genuine and lacking in any unnecessary drama to cause me stress as I read. If you've yet to read any of her books, I hope at least one goes on your letter to Santa this year!

Find Emery:

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MAGIC SHIFTS

Kate and Curran. I feel like that's all that really needs to be said about this one.

Find Ilona:

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THIS HEART OF MINE
 

This one would have passed me right on by if not for Candace inviting me to be a part of the tour, so THANK YOU CANDACE! I have a soft spot for stories where a character has been grievously wronged and continues to be so through a good chunk of the story because I can't wait for the moment when everyone realizes their error. Phoenix spent 17 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit, and when she gets out she continues to be a pariah in her small town. Despite that however, she shows no weakness or self-pity, and holds no ill-will toward those who are cruelest to her. Instead she holds her head up high for the sake of her son and her own self. LOVED it!

Find This Heart of Mine:

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Review: Six of Crows

SIX OF CROWS
Six of Crows #1
Leigh Bardugo
Young Adult/Fantasy
480 pages
Henry Holt
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

MY THOUGHTS
Six of Crows is everything we've come to expect from Ms. Bardugo; an extraordinary cast of characters who shine brightly from the darkness of their world to ensure their memory is forever seared into our minds and hearts. This tale could have been pure chaos, five distinct character perspectives as well as sporadic flashbacks to their varied histories ingredients for a jumbled storyline, but in the hands of Ms. Bardugo this dark adventure unfolds smoothly and richly, a gorgeous reveal of a seemingly endless series of layers that keep us on our toes throughout.

While there are six members of Kaz Brekker's team of uniquely talented gutter rats, we get the perspectives of only five of them, and each is given what feels like equal time in the spotlight. What's so impressive about Ms. Bardugo's ability to craft her characters is that none outshine the rest, instead they're all nuanced to a degree that we'll never learn all there is to know about them (Kaz especially), but we'll be damned if we don't want to spend hours on end trying to do just that. All six have their shadowy corners, their secrets and shames. All have pasts riddled with varying degrees of brutality; privilege turned into poverty, dreams turned into dirt and filth, and wishes turned into weapons used for money and revenge, and we're nothing other than spellbound by each and every single one of them.

Ms. Bardugo also possesses an uncanny gift for writing characters to whom we should easily be able to affix the villain label, but yet we find ourselves repeatedly rationalizing their actions, finding ways to excuse the pain they cause in our need to see them redeemed. A need that remains a far cry greater than their own desire to achieve redemption. Kaz is one such character, a young man capable of monstrous actions and cruel words that cut to the bone, yet we latch on to his rare moments of vulnerability and use them to further tint our rose colored glasses. He's absolutely magnetic, a mystery whose motivations we've barely started to grasp by the time we reach the final page, and who will likely continue to surprise us at every turn as this series progresses.

Overall, Six of Crows is stunning from beginning to end, a true triumph of characterization that leaves us in tears over the fact that we must wait a full year to be reunited with these six men and women.

Rating: 5/5
 

Find Leigh

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.