Real Book Challenge Wrap Up

For the first six months I kept up on this challenge great! I was listing all of my books, everything was in order.....Then I missed July (ugh!). August I got back into it, then missed September....(Again ugh!) October went well, then November and December rolled around and only read a few "real books".....
Here are all of the books through the months I read. Coming to a total of 126 books! I know there were a few that I missed on this list, but oh well.


January:
1. The Summer I Became a Nerd (review posted)
2. Nantucket Blue
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Nobody's Secret (review posted)
5. Rose Under Fire (review posted)
6. The Goddess Test (review posted)
7. Thousand Words (review posted)
8. Motocross Me (review posted)
9. Goddess Interrupted
10. How My Summer Went Up In Flames
11. Deja Dead
12. Paper Towns
13. 52 Reasons To Hate My Father
14. The Goddess Inheritance
15. Of Poseidon
16. Of Neptune

February:
17. The Offering
18. Vitro
19. Juliet's Moon
20. The Impossible Knife Of Memory
21. Dairy Queen
22. The Off Season
 23. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
24. Unremembered
25. Annie Between the States
26. You Be the Jury
27. Front and Center
28. Tuck Everlasting
29. Resistance
30. Forget You

March:
31. Origin
32. Madame Tussaud
33. To Catch a Pirate
34. Cleopatra's Daughter
35. Anne of Green Gables
36. Where the Stars Still Shine
37. Anne of Avonlea
38. Double Digit
39. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
40. The Espressologist
41. Schindler's List
42. Until It Hurts to Stop
43. Jane Eyre
44. First Love
45. Down to the Wire
46. Persuasion
47. The Sea of Tranquility
48. How Not to Find a Boyfriend

April:
49. The Immortal Rules
50. Twenty Boy Summer
51. The DUFF
52. Lock and Key
53. Resist
54. Vampire Academy
55. This Lullaby
56. Faking Normal
57. Don't Even Think About It
58. Dear Killer
59. Going Rogue
60. Split Second
61. Maybe One Day
62. The Last Silk Dress
63. The Geography of You and Me
64. What I Thought Was True
65. Nearly Gone
66. And Then There Were None
67. Shadow and Bone

May:
68. Unearthly
69. Prisoner of Night and Fog
70. A Mad, Wicked Folly
71. Sense and Sensibility
72. Along Came a Cowboy
73. Victoria Rebels
74. The Princess Diaries
75. Princess in the Spotlight
76. Princess In Love
77. Savage Drift
78. Tease
79. The Killing Hour
80. Guide to the Worlds Greatest Treasures
81. Truly, Madly, Deadly
82. Burning Blue
83. Pushing the Limits
84. Dare You To

June:
85. Crash Into You
86. Take Me On
87. The Rules For Breaking
88. The Liar Society
89. Open Road Summer
90. The Truth About Alice
91. Since You've Been Gone
92. Mansfield Park
93. The Half Life Of Molly Pierce

August:
94. Through to You
95. The Lonesome Young
96. Prep School Confidential
97. Blackbird
98. Hate List
99. Catch a Falling Star
100. Little Dorrit
101. Hereafter
102. My Life Undecided
103. Bleed Like Me

October:

104: Ignite Me

105: Sever

106: Pretty Girl - 13

107: Four

108: Two Lies and a Spy

109: The Best of Me

110: Cruel Beauty

111: Frostbite

112: Stay With Me

113: Blood of my Blood

114: The Lost Hero

115: The Witch of Blackbird Pond

116: As Long as You Love Me

 

November/December

 

117. Speak

118. Enders Shadow

119. Shadow Kiss

120. Some Boys

121. Pushing the Limits

122. Falling Kingdoms

123. The Hunger Games

124. The Ransom of Mercy Carter

125. Pride and Prejudice

126. Blood Promise

Book Bingo Fall Edition Wrap Up

These past three months I enjoyed doing Book Bingo, I managed to complete some bingos, and here is the original and my completed card.

(See more about Book Bingo here)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Sever by Lauren Destefano

Frostbite by Richelle Mead

My True Love Gave to Me by Various YA Authors

Pretty Girl - 13 by Liz Coley

They All Fall Down by Roxanne St Clair

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer Lynn Armentrout

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Kalahari by Jessica Khoury

The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline B Cooney

On the Edge by Allison Van Diepen

Enders Shadow by Orson Scott Card

The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris

Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Alone by Lisa Gardner

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi


I couldn't find books for the Halloween and New Orleans squares, and I didn't get around to reading a Steampunk :-(

 

Fall TBR - How I Did

Fall TBR - How I Did

I read 9/10 books I wanted to in the fall!

 

1. Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3)

My favorite in the series!

 

2. Captive (The Blackcoat Rebellion #2)

Didn't like it as much as Pawn, but still a good read!

3. Where She Went (If I Stay #2)

Good sequel!

4. Blood of My Blood (Jasper Dent #3)

A good finish to a great series!

 

5. Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits #1.5)

AMAZING!

 

 

6. The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1)

Didn't get around to it :-(

 

7. Stay With Me (Wait For You #3)

Not my favorite in the series unfortunately.

 

8. Get Even (Don't Get Mad)

I surprisingly thought this one was really good, wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.

 

9. My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories.

Pretty much the best anthology I have EVER READ!

 

10. On the Edge

Unfortunately disappointing.

 

End of the Year Survey 2014

Originally done by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner

 

Number Of Books I Read:
Number of Re-Reads: 21! (Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry I re-read twice bringing my total amount of reads to 3!)
Genre I Read The Most From: Young Adult Contemporary I think?

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2014?

Favorite Anthology: My True Love Gave to Me by Various YA Authors.

Favorite Contemporary(s): Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry, On the Fence by Kasie West, and Faking Normal by Courtney C Stevens.

Historical Fiction: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

 Fantasy: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

 

You can see my Top Ten reads of the year here.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014? 

I wasn't crazy about Shatter Me or Unravel Me, so I was VERY surprised when I ended up really, really, really, enjoying Ignite Me.

 

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?

 I push Ally Carters books on everyone I meet.....Especially this one because it is suitable for pre-teen to adult.

 5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?

I unfortunately did not start many series in 2014, but Get Even (Don't Get Mad #1) (the first part in a duology by Gretchen McNeil) was sooooo good!

Best sequel goes to Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry! More Noah + Echo = an amazing sequel!

I didn't end up reading many series enders of 2014, but Mortal Heart (His Fair Assasin #3) was a great ending to a great series.

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?

Sarah J Maas EASILY!

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I don't tend to enjoy New Adult, so when I read I Want it That Way by Ann Aguirre and truly enjoyed it, I was pretty surprised.

 

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

 9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Next Christmas/Holiday time!

 

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?

I stared at this cover for a long time trying to guess which couple was which.

 

11. Most memorable character of 2014?

Celaena Sardothien.

 

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

For completely different reasons, but these two!

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?

Dear Bully by Various Authors.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read? 

 I LOVE Historical Fiction but somehow I didn't read the AMAZING Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys until 2014.

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?

“He sighed. "Does it get tiring?"
"What?"
"Always thinking you're right."
I smiled. "No, not really. It's other people not realizing I'm right that gets tiring.”
― Kasie West, Split Second

 

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

 Tuck Everlasting at 144 pages and The Count of Monte Cristo (the unabridged version) at 1276 pages.

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

I'm bad about remembering plot twists, so the most recent one that shocked me was in Captive (The Blackcoat Rebellion #2)

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (one true pairing)

Noah + Echo (Pushing the Limits and Breaking the Rules) I LOVE THEM!
Of course any of the other couples Katie McGarry has created I could just as easily put under this.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Zoe and Olivia from Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

A tie between Breaking the Rules and Cress by the WONDERFUL authors Katie McGarry and Marissa Meyer.

21. Best Book I Read In 2014 That I Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

The pressure of WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T READ VAMPIRE ACADEMY!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?

 Braden from On the Fence by Kasie West.

23. Best 2014 debut you read?

I could not believe when I was reading this that it was Courtney C Stevens debut!

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Yes, the Throne of Glass series again.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

52 Reasons to Hate My Father by the wondrous Jessica Brody,

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?

Not counting the books I re-read in 2014, Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

 

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I'm sorry, I have to wait HOW LONG for the next one?

 

29. Most Unique Book I Read In 2014?

I am currently reading Kalahari by Jessica Khoury and although I am only on page 60, I have NEVER read anything like it!

30. Book That Made Me The Most Mad

Going into the adult world, I was not a big fan of the ending of Gone Girl.

THE Authors

I believe everyone has a mental list of the authors that they automatically buy. These authors aren't just favorite authors, they are THE favorite authors.

I thought I would share mine!

Ally Carter

I have been reading Ally Carter for years, and her books have been amazing the entire way through. So far I have read 9 books by her, and loved all of them. She is a definite auto-buy and auto-most anticipated books of the year author.

 

Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry is a newer find to me than Ally Carter. However, ever since Pushing the Limits Katie McGarry has made me fall in love with her characters. I have read everything Katie has published, from novellas to novels, and everything has been awesome. I look forward to every future book Katie McGarry has to offer.

 

 

Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer is again a new(er) find of mine. But Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress have all been literally amazing. Nothing is disappointing about these fairy tale retellings. I have faith that Marissa Meyers upcoming Fairest, Winter, and Heartless are all going to be equally amazing as her previous works.

 

 

So, what authors would make your list?

 

January Epic Recs

Check out more about Epic Recs Here

 

I am pairing up with Montana at The Book Belles

 

Montana choice is Falling Kingdoms:

 

And I am recommending The Girl of Fire and Thorns:

 

Between Shades of Gray (Book Review)

Between Shades of Gray
Ruta Sepetys
Published March 22nd 2011 by Philomel Books
Add to Goodreads
















"You stand for what is right, Lina, without the expectation of gratitude or reward."

In the middle of the night Lina, her brother Jonas, and her mother are pulled from their beds and given twenty minutes to collect their belongings and go with the Soviet secret police. Separated from Lina's father during the process.

They are given no reason.

Pushed around like animals, and thrown into a train car that is for animals, the group of people including Lina's partial family are taken on the long journey from Lithuania to Siberia.
Ruta Sepetys paints such a realistic picture. There was never any unrealistic points where you went "come on, I'm sure that didn't happen."

Lina is the 15 year old artist, who dreams of going to a special academy for artists. She is a protective big sister to her 10/11 year old little brother Jonas. She loves her mother and father.  Her narration was beautiful and saddening at the same time.

"Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch."

"I pictured a rug being lifted and a huge Soviet broom sweeping us under it."

"A tiny sliver of gold appeared between shades of gray on the horizon. I stared at the amber band of sunlight, smiling. The sun had returned."

I don't know a whole lot about this particular regions troubles in history, so, I am not sure how much of this book was fictionalized. However, this book will raise awareness. And I know personally, this book has made me want to look more into the subject.