Top 10 Tuesday || Recent 5 Star Reads

Top 10 Tuesday is, as always, brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish. This week: Recent 5 Star Reads!

I feel like I need to explain my rating system a bit first. Because there is a very special kind of feeling that comes with a 5 star read for me. It's the "I feel like I need to throw this book across the room it is SO GOOD".

That's what primarily distinguishes 5 star reads from 4 or 4.5 star reads for me. 4 stars is really enjoyable--some 4 star reads even make it to my favourites lists from time to time. And 4.5 stars is very nearly perfect. But they're both lacking that little something. Which is the compulsive desire to throw the book.

I'm totally serious. When reading 5 star books I will stop and like bang my hand against the cover when something happens. Or prop the book open on my head and just stare off into the distance because I cannot handle it.

So with that in mind, here are some recent 5 star reads.

First up, two from 2015 that really stood out to me. Both made my favourites list of last year and I pretty much can't stop talking about them.

Rose Under Fire is the follow-up companion novel to Code Name Verity. And with both of those books, I would highly recommend the audiobook version. I did so much crying during Rose that I got dehydrated. That's not even an exaggeration.

Carry On is another book I never shut up about. It's probably my all-time favourite book right now, if you asked me to name just one. I stayed up far too late to finish it and promptly felt the need to reread it immediately. My copy is full of sticky-tabs and I rarely ever feel the need to add tabs to a book.

Clearly Amie Kaufmann is doing something right, since two of her books are on this list. But both Their Fractured Light and Illuminae were fantastic, if for different reasons.

Light was the conclusion to a much beloved series and I had to keep putting the book down and wandering around my house because things were SO STRESSFUL.

Illuminae was completely gripping for other reasons. I very nearly read it all in one sitting. The formatting really lends itself to devouring this book. That and the frantic pace especially near the end helps.

The Arrival is a completely different story. Told completely in pictures, with no text at all, it's the story of refugees. And yes, there is an element of magical realism going on here, but it's no less poignant because of it. Despite being published in 2007, it's incredibly relevant today and achingly beautiful.

And that's really it for the true 5 star books I've read recently. Oh sure, there are others rated 5 stars on Goodreads, but that's because I have to pick between 4 and 5 when I want to give half stars.

I've read a good deal of 4.5 star books this year so far, so I'll just drop their pictures down here in case you're interested:

And there you have it! Have you read any of these? What 5 star books have you read recently? Let's chat in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday || Should've Done Romances Differently

Top 10 Tuesday is, as always, brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish. This week: Valentine's Themed!

I decided to do a twist on this topic and I'm going to talk about books where I think the romance should've been done differently!

We're going to start with these two together for a reason. Because both these books had love triangles in them that I thought should've been handled differently. Not that our main character necessarily ended up with the wrong person... but there was just such a missed opportunity here for some really compelling threesome stuff.

Okay, listen. I've talked about this on here before. And I am well aware that threesome will never be the solution to a love triangle in YA fiction. But I can dream, can't I?

The thing that makes it especially compelling to me in both these novels is that the two boys in question actually interact with each other frequently enough to make it plausible. There is definitely some chemistry and tension there that could be explored! Even if we're not going full throttle for threesomes, to have the love triangle occur because one of the boys is bisexual would work for me.

And full disclosure: I hated Matched, to be honest and I never continued on with the series. But I did enjoy Rebel Belle and plan to read the sequel.

These are also going together for a reason. Because both these books had romances that you were supposed to root for, but I found really gross.

Now, with Lies Beneath, we could've had it all. But what started off as a ploy turned into a genuine romance that I found really problematic. It would've been so much better if we'd actually stuck to the murderous mermaids premise and kept Calder villainous. It would've been a much more compelling story with more murder and less romance. (Seriously!) [Read my full review here.]

And Noggin is a recent read, but falls in the same traps. Travis wakes up after five years and basically stalks and harasses his former girlfriend--who is now 21 and engaged, thank you very much. Cate makes it very clear that she is not interested in getting back together with him and that maybe they could be friends. And despite some side characters calling Travis out on his behaviour, part of the book still plays it off as though you should be rooting for him? Ugh. No. I have a full spoilery review coming, so watch out for that.

All right, we're going to end with something completely different. I really enjoyed Witchlanders, much to my surprise. I didn't have a lot of expectations going in, but the world and magic system ended up being really cool.

And this doesn't have a romance. But it should.

This gets kind of spoilery, so if you don't want to be spoiled, turn back now! This is the last book on my list anyway.

Okay? Okay.

So Ryder and Falpian should've definitely kissed. Seriously. Brothers-in-spirit who are born enemies? Having to work together to harness powerful magic? Basically being soulbounded? And actual facts telepathy? COME ON YOU ARE KILLING ME HERE.

There's this wonderful build up and tension between them that I was convinced was going to lead to something more. I even checked the tags on Goodreads part way through the book hoping to find it tagged as LGBTQ, but alas. There's even a dramatic moment where Ryder needs to be silenced that I was positive was going to end with kissing. It was just such a missed opportunity and I CAN'T EVEN READ ANY FANFIC TO SATISFY MY NEED BECAUSE IT DOESN'T EXIST.

... Ahem.

I have strong feelings about this, as you might be able to tell.

Anyway, we're going to end the post here before it devolves into total chaos. So there you have it! Have you read any of these? Any romances you think should've been done differently? Link me to your TTT and let's chat in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday || Settings I'd Like To See

Top 10 Tuesday is, as always, brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish. This week: Settings You'd Like To See.

1. The French Revolution
I just adore this time period. It's one of my favourites. And there's no shortage of conflict here... so I think it would make a really compelling setting.

2. Non-Western Historical Fiction/Fantasy
And by this, I mean, not set in Europe or feature non-white characters. I recently read a steampunk anthology and my favourite stories were the ones that really twisted the genre and expectations. What was going on in parts of Africa? Or the Middle East? Or Asia? I want to read those stories, especially if we get a fantastical twist on things.

3. Non-Medieval Inspired Fantasy
I really like medieval-esque fantasy, don't get me wrong, but like #2, I'm ready for fresh new ideas. And also like #2 you have to be careful, because white authors writing in these ballparks can sometimes be iffy. (CoughStormdancercough.)

4. Matriarchies
... I'm kind of cheating, is this a setting? WHO CARES. Anyway, I've read some fiction with matriarchal societies, but it too often seems to be exactly the way things are now just with gender roles reversed. Which, okay, can be compelling, but can often fall into the same trope and still sexist traps. I want to see this done well.

5. The Grand Utopia Future In Which Everyone Is Queer
... okay, I'm getting a little tongue-in-cheek now, but shush. I've also mentioned this before, so it shouldn't really be super surprising. Give me all the fiction in all the genres with incidentally queer characters. Where their sexualities and gender-identities are not the set up for a big tragic lesson at the end of the story. But where there are grand adventures and romances that would happen in every other genre book, but these ones just happen to be queer.

If you have any recommendations in ANY of these categories, please give them all to me immediately!

What do you think of my list? Feel free to link your TTT below and let's chat in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday || Recently Added to My TBR

Top 10 Tuesday is, as always, brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish. This week: Recently Added to My TBR.

I'm really bad about adding books to my TBR, and by that I mean I do it way to easily. If something sounds interesting to me, I'm pretty much in. I check the reviews sometimes, and the overall ratings, and I've tried to be more discerning about just adding whatever I want--but those stats and reviews can be misleading. I also try to see if my library has a copy or not, because I'm really trying not to buy a million more books this year.

But despite my best efforts, I still have a huge TBR list on Goodreads. It's over 300 books. Sigh.

Anyway, here are the most recent additions to that list:

1. Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine
I've had my eye on this for a while now, but never officially added it to the TBR until recently. But come on, a dystopian centered around the Library of Alexandria? Please.

2. Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer
This was on a recommended list based on some other books I've added and I was intrigued by the idea of magic through song.

3. The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library #1) by Genevieve Cogman
With a world-jumping premise that reminded me of V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic and librarian spies, what's not to love?

4. Starflight (Starflight #1) by Melissa Landers
Sci-fi space fugitives who are distrustful of each other but have to work together in order to survive? I'm in.

5. These Vicious Masks (These Vicious Masks #1) by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
This is pitched as  Jane Austen meets X-Men and I literally didn't need to know one single other thing about this before adding it to my TBR.

6. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
This doesn't even have a cover yet... it's not due out until September. But holy smokes I cannot wait. It's set up typically--a princess is shipped off to a foreign land to marry a prince--but then she falls in love with the prince's sister instead. Heck yeah.

7. The Incarnations by Susan Barker
"Who are you? you must be wondering. I am your soulmate, your old friend, and I have come back to this city of sixteen million in search of you." Done done done and done. I am here for this.

8. The Rook (The Checquy Files #1) by Daniel O'Malley

Amnesia plotlines, supernatural creatures, political conspiracies. Sounds great!

9. Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

With a backdrop of the civil rights movement, this promises to be poignant and probably heartbreaking. I've heard nothing but amazing things about it.

And there we have it. (Yes, I am going with 9 instead of 10 just so I can have nice groups of 3, shush.) Have you read any of these? What are some of the books you've most recently added to your TBR? Let's chat in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday || 2015 Releases I Didn't Get To

Top 10 Tuesday is, as always, brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish. This week: 2015 Releases I didn't get to!

I meant to read these in 2015, I promise!

1. Winter (Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer
Starting off big on the S H A M E here. I am just not ready for this series to be over. I'll probably cave and read this in January, though.

2. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
The hype surrounding this one was huge. Now that it's died down a bit, I really do want to check this out.

3. Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas
I keep hearing mixed things about this one and it actually made me take this back to the library before I'd read it because I was so nervous. Ugh.

4. Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Another one I'm probably going to pick up soon. I've heard really good things and I'm digging the unique way of storytelling.

5. The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski
I'll admit, I'm procrastinating on this one too. I've heard it's heartwrenching and maybe ends on a cliffhanger. I might wait until I have book 3 in my possession to give this a go.

6. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
I just got this for Christmas, so I'll definitely be able to read this ASAP.

There are a few others that should probably be on this list, but these are the most shameful ones, I think. Let me know if there's something I missed!

What 2015 releases do you still need to get around to? Have you read any of these? Let's chat in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday || Resolutions

Top 10 Tuesday is, as always, brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish. This week: Resolutions!

This is pretty self-explanatory, so let's jump right in!

#1: Read 75 Books
Somehow in the last two years I've hit 50 books by June. I actually did manage to read 100 books last year, but it became really stressful in December as I powered through to make it happen. So I'm probably going to start my Goodreads reading goal at 50 again, just to lessen the pressure. But I'll be aiming for 75. I suspect I'll surpass that with (relative) ease, but I'm not going for 100 again. Not yet anyway.

#2: Buy fewer books
My book buying has become a little bit ridiculous in the last few years. I'm not really sorry, because as my dad says, having too many books is a good problem to have. But I need to tone it down a bit because my bookshelves are in danger of overflowing at the rate I'm going.

I'm going to make an effort to use the library more for books I know they have, instead of just snapping everything up on Book Outlet. And I'll try to keep the buying to things I'm going to read immediately, things I've already read and loved or anticipated releases by favourite authors.

#3: Reduce the TBR pile
This goes hand-in-hand with #2. My shelves are getting full. They're not full yet, and with some more creative rearranging I could fit a lot more. Or I could buy more shelves. But that is exactly the opposite of the point here.

I own something like 100 unread books. That's kind of ridiculous as far as I'm concerned. I like having a variety to pick from, but I really want to knock that number down significantly this year. I'm considering a Read 5 Before You Buy kind of challenge as well. We'll see how that goes.

#4: Read more short story collections
I sort of tried to do this mid-year this year, but it fell by the wayside. I have a handful of short story anthologies on my shelves that I'd really like to read. The problem always is, once I finish a few stories I tend to put the collection down and forget it existed. It's not like a novel, where I want to read on and find out what happens.

I'm going to try to pick up what I started in May/June of last year and read one short story or so each night before bed. That way, I can leisurely work my way through collections and not worry about staying up too late reading!

#5: Read 12 eBooks
This averages to one a month, which is pretty much my goal. Listen, my iPad is great. I have the apps for Kobo, Kindle and iBooks. I have a decent eBook collection. And my public library has a few titles I'm interested in only available on eBook. I just really want to get around to some of them this year.

There are probably more resolutions knocking around in my head, but I can't think of any to write down. And five is a reasonable number anyway... too many more and I'd probably get overwhelmed! I still have a few other challenges I want to do this year (Alphabet, Series, etc.) but I don't think they need to be on this list necessarily.

So that's it, I guess! What are your reading resolutions for 2016? Let's chat in the comments.

Top 10 Tuesday || 2016 Releases

Top 10 Tuesday is, as always, brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish. This week: Most Anticipated Releases for the Beginning of 2016!

1. Marked In Flesh (The Others #4) by Anne Bishop
I've loved The Others series for a long time now. So of course I'm going to be excited about another installment!

2. This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab
I really like Schwab's writing, both adult and YA, so a book about monsters? Sign me up.

3. Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard
Dennard is a new-to-me author, but I've heard the premise of this book is best friends who save the world, so, yes please.

4. Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken

I really need to finish the Darkest Minds trilogy, but this is calling my name--time travel and pirates? I'm in, let's do this.

5. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Diversity in writing paired with my favourite sentence of all time: "reincarnated lives". Do I really have to wait until May???

6. Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto
A steampunk Western with a reckless gunslinging female lead? What's not to like?

7. A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly
1920s Prohibition Era--except instead of banning alcohol, they've banned magic. Heck yes.


There are a few books that aren't on this list because they're not due out until the latter part of the year and don't even have covers yet--a new Laini Taylor novel, the second Six of Crows novel, the Walk on Earth a Stranger sequel.... So expect a mid-year update at some point.

In the meantime, are you excited for any of these? What are your most anticipated 2016 releases? Let's chat in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday || YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a new category every week!

This week's topic is top 10 books you'd give to someone who's never read X. (And you can solve for X however you wish!)

And so, of course, I chose YA science fiction/fantasy! So let's get started!

Urban Fantasy

The Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor

Once upon a time, an angel and a demon fell in love. It did not end well.

A superb trilogy with fantastic writing, a compelling mystery and characters that will make you feel all the things.


The Raven Cycle quartet by Maggie Stiefvater

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve," Neeve said. "Either you're his true love... or you killed him."

With book 3 to be published this fall, this is the perfect time to jump into this series. There is a complexity to the mythology here that makes it unlike anything else I've read. And I love the ensemble cast.


The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

"You are more dangerous than daybreak."

A fresh and gruesome take on vampires, this standalone delivers with intriguing characters and some pointed commentary on our obsession with stardom.


Fantasy

The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy by Rae Carson

Prophecy is a tricky thing, I have learned, full of edges and secret meanings and mischief. 

A trilogy that only gets better as the books go on. Full of epic quests, court politics and huge character growth. And at the heart of it, an unlikely queen who becomes the hero of her nation.


The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Alina," he said. "You and I are going to change the world."

Another trilogy that gets better as it goes (though, I admit, I haven't read book 3 yet!). There is magic and betrayal, secrets and unlikely partnerships. It's a great and original world.


The Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

Maybe this was how you stayed sane in wartime: a handful of noble deeds amid the chaos.

This isn't fantasy so much as it is steampunk. And even then, it's alternate reality. It's World War I told from a very different universe. With incredible creatures, both biological and mechanical, thrown in with the international politics.


Science Fiction

The Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman

Unwinds didn't go out with a bang--they didn't even go out with a whimper. They went out with the silence of a candle flame pinched between two fingers.

A horrifying look at the not-so-distant future. I've only read book 1 of the 4, but it certainly left an impression. I've been told that book 2 is even better.


The 5th Wave trilogy by Rick Yancey

How do you rid the Earth of humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

A recent read, it's fast become a favourite (and book 2 isn't even out yet!). A gripping look at the human race struggling to survive amidst an alien invasion. Full of strong, likeable characters and whip-lash inducing plot twists!


The Lunar Chronicles quartet by Marissa Meyer

She was a cyborg, and she would never go to the ball.

Don't let this series fool you, if you think you know where this story's going just because you're familiar with the fairytales that inspired them--you are wrong! The tales have been brilliantly twisted and interwoven with such skill. Featuring another great ensemble cast!


The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken

They were never scared of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind. They were afraid of us--the ones who lived.

Teenage superpowers meets dystopia, these books are an action-packed thrill ride full of innumerable ups and downs. Book 3 is one of my most anticipated books of the year!


And there you have it! My top 10! Phew... that was a lot more work than I thought, but I had a lot of fun putting it together!

What do you think? Have you read any of these? Any other recommendations? Link me to your TTT as well!