Top Ten Tuesday (13)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish.

Top Ten Most Anticipated Debut Novels For 2015

So I decided to change it up a little, and not just feature debuts in my list. Some of themse are sequels, others are debut authors, and some are authors that are part of my staple reading diet. Most of them are YA contemporary , but there are definitely some fantasy books I am looking forward to this year!! Most of these are just releases from January - June, and hopefully I'll do another one mid-year of the releases from July- December. 

So I haven't yet read books by either of these authors, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about both of them and these both look like great books to get stuck into. 

Colleen Hoover is just one of those readers I will forever read. So naturally her latest release is on my list. 

Last years Mistake sounds right up my ally, it's also told in alternating perspectives which I love.

I'm feeling starved of good fantasy at the moment, and I feel that these 3 will satisfy that craving. Crimson Bound is a retelling of Red Riding Hood, told in the same world as Cruel Beauty which I adored. While I have not read Sarah J Maas' other series, I am eager for her new release. Red Queen I believe is by a debut author, and I'm excited to read it after seeing a lot of good reviews on GR.

Angelfall was amazing, especially the smoldering male lead *cough* *cough*, and I'm hoping to re-read the series just before the 3rd book comes out. As for the other 2 they just look like great YA contemporaries that are perfect for summer reading.

What books are you most looking forward to in 2015? Debut or otherwise?

Review- Anatomy of a Boyfriend (Daria Snadowsky)

Synopsis

Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body.

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love.
And then came the fall.

  - Goodreads.com

My Review

Hearing that this book had been compared to ‘Forever’ by Judy Blume, I was literally brimming with excitement. I first read Forever at the tender age of 12 as an inexperienced tween, who got excited at the mere hint of a ‘naughty’ scene in a book…and well Judy Blume’s Forever definitely delivered on that account. However Anatomy of a Boyfriend just didn’t quite do it for me. I think before I even picked it up I knew that this book just wasn’t going to be for me, but I’d seen it around plenty and thought I would give it a shot anyway.

To start the main character was whiny and completely lovesick, and reading from her perspective was frustrating. What probably annoyed me the most though was the instant puppy love, which developed quickly into the main character feeling she was falling in love with the male protagonist. I realise though that having read this book at my current age of wisdom and life experience (yes the ripe old age of 24) incites a clearly different reaction than my 12 year old self who no doubt would have devoured this book and all its naughty bits…..which I didn’t even get up to because I just couldn’t keep reading for the sheer will to live. 

Overall, this may have been a great book. But it clearly wasn’t aimed at my age group, and I obviously lack the skill to retrograde back into my tweens where I more than likely would have enjoyed it. 

My rating: 1/5 (DNF)

 

2014; A Year in Review

So 2015 is upon us, and boy did last year go quickly. In my personal life I feel like I accomplished so much last year that I can be proud of. I finished my diploma in Veterinary Nursing, I traveled to a third world country and volunteered with animals, and I managed to get a temporary job for a couple of months at a veterinary clinic. However because my year was so hectic, I feel I really dropped the ball blogging wise and even reading wise. The year started out ok, but by April I just wasn't able to keep up with the work this blog required, along with school and a part-time job. 

However it is a new year, and blogging is just something that I miss having in my life. Despite not blogging for most of last year, I did think about it often and after finishing a book I wanted to share my thoughts about, I was often motivated to write a review, but just lacked the time. So this year one of my biggest goals is to try and get back into blogging, even if that means just posting once a week, 

2014 Statistics

Number of Books Read:43

Not as many as I had hoped for but still a decent effort.

Longest and Shortest Book Read

Top 5 of 2014

All of these were super awesome, whether it was the world building, the characters or just the story, they all blew my socks off. .

Series Finished in 2014

My goal had been to finish off more series this year, and I had even joined a specific challenge for it. Hopefully this year I'll get around to crossing off a few more.

DNF Book 

This book just really wasn't for me..

Favourite Couple

Alana and Marko are the cutest!

2015 Goals

So this year my goal is to read at least 30 books, although I'm likely to increase it as the year goes on. I'm going to be participating again in the A-Z challenge- which last year I managed to read 13/26 of (Hoping to get all 26 this year), and also aiming to finish 5 series (not sure which ones yet, but I have a giant list to choose from :P).

I'll also be joining in the 'Around the World ' challenge hosted by All About Books. Where you create a google map and place pins on the various countries that reading takes you. If you want to find out more about it click here.

Most of all I just want to get back into blogging, and writing reviews again, since I've missed it so much in the last couple months. 

So what were your achievements in 2014, reading or otherwise? and what is your main goal for 2015?