GOODBYE, 2015!
Thank you for all the phenomenal releases.

Okay, so the year isn’t over yet but I felt pretty confident in posting this now, nearly a month ahead of schedule. Mainly because I don’t have any more books with a 2015 release date to add from my to-read pile (that would actually get finished by New Years) and all that jazz. Also because I don’t trust myself to post it on time unless it’s early.

*As a note: I'm not including the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone or the retelling of Twilight, Life & Death mainly because those options would be glaringly obvious when it comes down to my favorites. I wanted to give the others more space on my blog because there was so much to be discovered this year. I'm also not including books that I've read this year from previous published dates--that will be an entirely different list, if I should have the time.

Sh. Just roll with it. Pretend my logic is really there, guys.


Let's be real: picking your favorites in a sea of really great releases isn't all that fun. It's like picking a favorite child. You just can't do it. So fellow readers will nod along when I say: it isn’t easy to pick just a few when you’re a massive bookworm but I did manage to narrow it down a bit. A little bit. Is 30 books considered little? Whatever. Who cares! Here are my top 30 releases of 2015, in no [real] order. I'm serious though on the lack of order, guys--I cannot bring myself to put them in order, it's nearly impossible so the list is going to be in whatever order Goodreads has it.

You can view my shelf of 2015 favorites here on Goodreads. Or, if you can’t view it there you can follow me down the rabbit hole...

The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth | Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.7)

As a note, a printed galley of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

The first thing you should know about The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth is that it’s heartbreaking and full of raw honesty that it will touch something in your soul. Shockingly, it is so much more than that. It’s warm. It’s uplifting. It’s got such heart. I mean that–you’re going to feel so much while reading this that I cannot even capture all these thoughts into one review.

Yes, it’s that good. It’s impossibly good.

And at times it is very, very difficult to read it due to the turmoil which comes with subject matters. There’s a balance to it that makes it work, though. The Things We Keep is not going to be for everyone but its honesty and sheer magic in the way its written. It has already earned a lot of buzz for its touchy subject, all sorts of human emotion and has also garnered a comparison to Still Alice.

As I’ve only read about a quarter of the way through in Still Alice (not because it isn’t good), I can’t say that the two should be compared. I will say that Sally Hepworth knows what she is doing in crafting this story.

Untamed (Splintered Companion) by A.G. Howard | Rating: ★★★★★

As a note, a finished copy of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Nearly a year since readers said their farewells to A.G. Howard’s vivid, beautiful and grotesque take on Wonderland and all the delightful (and yes, at times frightening) characters found in between two realms, Splintered is back. Or at least, to some capacity it’s back–regardless, we as fans and readers are given the chance at one last trip down the rabbit hole through our newest addition to the family: Untamed.

Untamed, if you were wondering, serves as a beautiful tie-in to our already loved world and the characters we grew to admire in the span of a few years. It fills in some blanks on some plots and will leave readers dazed.

That’s right, our favorite character’s back and showcased in three different novellas as a companion to the main series. I have to admit this was my number one most anticipated read for 2015 and I feel so incredibly honored to have the chance to review it for you.

(In truth, readers, my review may not be up to standard. I’m going to–of course–leave my review spoiler free but I should also warn you that I may stray a bit in a slightly incoherent cold manner. So bare with me!)

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates | Rating: ★★★★★

“You must resist the common urge toward the comforting narrative of divine law, toward fairy tales that imply some irrepressible justice. The enslaved were not bricks in your road, and their lives were not chapters in your redemptive history. They were people turned to fuel for the American machine. Enslavement was not destined to end, and it is wrong to claim our present circumstance—no matter how improved—as the redemption for the lives of people who never asked for the posthumous, untouchable glory of dying for their children. Our triumphs can never compensate for this.”

As a note, a printed galley of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Ta-Nehisi Coates has been on my radar for a long time and Between the World and Me was easily one of my most anticipated books of 2015. But who wasn’t waiting for this one? I was so beyond thrilled to see a galley reach my mailbox of it and I was so hyped to start it.

And between you and me, readers, it was all worth it.

If there’s one book you want to buy this year, only one based on reviews and praise, make it Between the World and Me. There are a lot of reasons why this book is so  important in the talk on status of race and the racism which still exists today. Coates puts all of this into words that are full of raw emotion and truths. It's not a simple assessment, but describing it is simply put by saying "this book, this--this is necessary."

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed | Rating: ★★★★★

Life is full of sadness. It's part of being a woman. Our lives are lived for the sake of others. Our happiness is never factored in.

As a note, a printed copy of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Every now and again a reader will pick up a book and just know that it’ll be special. Powerful. Somehow, they just sense it. And in Written in the Stars, in spite of that little voice that says “this will be a gift” you never know quite how important it will be until you finish it. Beautifully crafted and easy to devour (and drown in emotion), this is the sort of novel one can start and finish in a night.

Because firstly: Aisha Saeed’s prose is incredible–this much you should know. I’m confident to say that Written in the Stars is the best contemporary release of the year. And it tackles many topics that are often shied away from in literature and it does so with grace, in spite of its horrifying nature.

Saeed pens a tale of love, loss, betrayal and mistreatment in the form of an arranged marriage. It tells the story of one young girl–who’s future is right in her grasp–and one nightmare of a trip to her family’s home country follows. Although it is a tale of fiction, this isn’t an uncommon occurrence and that’s ultimately what makes it all the more upsetting.