Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike When It Comes To Romance In Fiction

As usual, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is inspired by Valentine’s Day, and focuses on tropes you either like or dislike when it comes to reading a romance. I’ve decided to split my list to include five of both topics!

Things I Like When It Comes to Romance In Books

1) Witty Banter. Nothing pulls me in more than a couple who can verbally spar with one another, as well as have an intelligent conversation. Sometimes it needs to be about more than just the swoons.

2) The Slow Burn Relationship. While it can be infuriating, it’s also immensely rewarding when your ship finally sails. Bonus points if this doesn’t happen in the first installment of a series.

3) Realistic (and responsible) Intimacy. Now, I know there’s a large split between NA and YA and how the boundaries of PDA and physicality and what not are usually written, but I find it unrealistic when teenagers/young adults are treated like they either don’t have hormones or that they cannot be trusted with their intimacy. Exploring intimacy realistically and responsibly is important.

4) Human/Supernatural Pairing. I’m a sucker for paranormal romance, especially when the human isn’t the stereotypical damsel-in-distress stereotype. I just think it’s so much more interesting to read about then normal people falling in love.

5) Equality. I love it when both people in a couple-regardless of gender- can kick butt and take names. I’ve never complained of a story having too many heroes!

Things I Dislike When It Comes to Romance In Books

6) The Best-Friend-Turned-Boyfriend-Trope. It just never seems realistic or exciting or mysterious when the kid the protagonist used to throw cheerios at turns out to be the source of her passion.

7) Insta-Love. No explanation needed.

8) Overly Possessive Partners. Especially now that I’m an “older” YA reader (if old is being in your 20s…) I find that I have little tolerance for possessive and oppressive dynamics in relationships, especially when it’s not to serve the purpose of portraying how power imbalances in relationships are bad. No one should be telling anyone else what to do in a romance.

9) Slut Shaming. I hate when characters are shamed by other characters in the books for their personal behavior. I don’t like the novels I read to be morality tales that define their characters’ worth by their intimate interactions (or worse, judge them by the mere rumors of such interactions).

10) Love Triangles. There’s nothing more annoying than constantly having your ship interrupted by some troll third wheel who comes in and is so obviously written to create “drama” between the main couple (ESPECIALLY when you KNOW that there’s no chance of the protagonist actually ever choosing this person…it all just feels like such a waste of time).

Top Ten Books I’d Love to Read with a Book Club

As usual, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is ten books you’d want to read with your book club (whether you belong to one or wish you did!) I decided to split mine up by my favorite genres when it comes to discussions.

I love YA books that tackle tough social topics, so I chose three books that handled different issues and that handled the tough topics without being preachy. Topics in my picks include racism, bullying, abusive relationships, and slut shaming. As I’ve mentioned before, along with majoring in English while in college I also majored in Religious Studies (not to be confused with theology, religious studies looks at comparative world religions through an interdisciplinary approach including sociology, history, and anthropology). I love reading modern books with religious themes, whether they be retellings (such as East of Eden being a retelling of Adam/Eve and Cain/Abel) or if they just pull from religious concepts (I’d love to read Angelfall and nerd out over all of the biblical references and interpretations with someone!) Lastly, I chose three YA psychological thrillers that I would love to read with a club so we could deconstruct the narrative, as all three feature very unreliable narrators!

What books made your book club wish list this week? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Favorite Villains/Antagonists

As usual, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and The Bookish. This week is a freebie topic, so I decided to look at my favorite villains and antagonists from (mostly) YA literature.

1. Lord Voldemort- I don’t think this needs much explanation. Voldy is definitely my favorite villain, and not just because he’s from my favorite series. He’s complex, incredibly smart, and more dedicated to and in tune with magic than any wizard ever.

2. The Darkling- I loved him throughout the series, even after we learn that he’s a “bad guy.” His motives are understandable at heart (as are with most dictators- he wants to free the Grisha’s oppression to serve the monarchy and government) and the fact that he serves as a love interest to the protagonist was an angle I liked…he certainly had me tempted to join his side.

3. Morpheus- While not exactly a “villain” he’s definitely an antagonist, and his imagery is stunning and he’s just the right amount of insane and intriguing. I just finished Splintered and I preferred him 1000% to Jeb. I think Morpheus deserves his own series, as his self motivation and ageless existence are fascinating.

4. Ignifex- The Beast from this Beauty and the Beast retelling, I loved how he made the protagonist struggle with the light and dark inside of her, and how his cruelty often stemmed from ironically fulfilling the wishes of others, almost as if he served as a giant reflection of all the greed and selfishness of humanity. I loved him.

5. Celeste- She initially irritated me, but I was glad to see she got an arc in the last book of the trilogy and once she and America thawed the ice between them she was actually kind of hilarious and I found myself begrudgingly liking her. And I was surprised to find how upset I was with what happened to her at the end…

6. Amy- Not technically a YA novel, I admired Amy despite the fact that she’s a raging sociopath. Her character was so dedicated and meticulous and unbelievably smart in her ploy that it was hard not to be awed by what she accomplished and how she persevered even when her plans went awry.

7. Queen Levana- I think she’s so mysterious and she’s so heavily influenced by my favorite childhood Anime (Sailor Moon) that I can’t help but love her glamorous, if evil, character.

8. Queen Beryl- Speaking of Sailor Moon, Queen Beryl was the original villain for me when I started to watch the anime at the tender age of 3 (I had older cousins who got me into it and I never looked back). Though we all knew she wouldn’t prevail against moon, prism, power…she was still glamorously evil.

9. Mara- I would argue that Mara is the biggest antagonist to her own health and sanity in the series, and that’s what I love about her (and what made the books so deliciously creepy) that she couldn’t trust HERSELF or her OWN motives and actions.

10. The Grey Man- I haven’t read Blue Lily, Lily Blue yet (I KNOW) but from his appearance in The Dream Thieves I remember finding him to be intriguing yet disturbing. Stiefvater writes him in such a self-aware way and I’m interested to see what more he adds to the plot.

Do you find yourself ever drawn to villains? I think they’re incredibly important to stories! What did you pick for your TTT post this week? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten 2014 Releases I Meant to Read But Didn’t Get To

As usual, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and The Bookish. This week is all about looking back at the 2014 releases I meant to read, had every intention of reading, and in some cases even purchased, but just never found the time to pick up!

1) Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater– I know, I know. There’s not much else to say aside from the fact that I did a Wolves of Mercy Falls Reread toward the end of the year which distracted me from The Raven Cycle.

2) Lailah by Nikki Kelly– I really wanted to pick this up in the fall after hearing good things and I wanted to revisit the vampire genre now that the market’s not so saturated with it!

3) The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski– Another series I meant to start that got put on the back burner, so now I’m waiting to purchase the paperback this spring.

4) Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke– I love retellings and am sort of glad I didn’t get around to it because now I can count it toward the 2015 Fairytale Retelling Challenge!

5) Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas– I put off buying this because I couldn’t get it from any of my usual retailers in a physical copy (only e-book format) so I’m eventually going to order it from The Book Depository!

6) The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel– From the moment I heard the premise of this book it really intrigued me, and the cover is gorgeous. I’m going to have to cave and buy this eventually because my local library doesn’t have it.

7) Made for You by Melissa Marr– I love thrillers but was initially sort of grossed out by the US cover (it has a nasty bug on it). Once I overlooked that and read the synopsis, I became excited to read it and have requested a hold on it at my library.

8) Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige– I purchased this one on Black Friday on sale but by that point had no more room in my reading schedule for 2014.

9) A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray– I initially thought I would really want to read this, but mixed reviews from a lot of bloggers made me reevaluate how soon I wanted to add it to my TBR.

10) Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley– This book seems right up my alley because it deals with history, social justice, and it just seems like a powerful premise for a novel. I also currently have this on hold at the library and can’t wait to pick it up!

Have you read any of these books? Any that you can highly recommend or recommend passing on? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Goals/Resolutions for 2015- Bookish, Blogging, and Otherwise!

As usual, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and The Bookish. This last week of 2015 is all about reflecting, so below are some goals I’m hoping to implement in my reading and blogging life for 2015!

1) Read 70 books! This will be the highest reading challenge I’ve set for myself yet, but since I finished 67 this year (when my goal was 50) I’m confident I can do it!

2) Establish relationships with publishers. As this was my first year blogging, I was focused more on building my blog, integrating myself into the reading community, and figuring out my reviewing and posting style. This next year I’d love to develop relationships with publishers as I’m seriously committed to continue blogging and I’d love to be considered for more ARCs!

3) Attend a YA book festival. Not the easiest to do since I don’t live on the East Coast where a lot of the events are, but I’m determined to find my way to one!

4) Thoroughly organize my Goodreads shelves. I’ve been good at keeping up with my reviews, but I need to sort my books into more specific shelves based on taste/themes/genre/etc

5) Catch up on at least half of the books I own and haven’t read yet. Last time I checked this situation wasn’t too dire (under 30) but with my recent holiday additions and buying more books due to blogging, I really need to read more that I already own!

6) Keep reading classics/books out of my comfort zone even though I’m not in school anymore. As an English major I was exposed to such a wide range of books (some I loved and some I didn’t) but I want to keep reading at least a few books every year that I might not normally pick up, because that’s how I discover great new things!

7) Post at least 3-4 times a week. I was able to do this pretty well this year, and I’d like to keep up the momentum!

8) Post more on Twitter.

9) Balance new releases with older reads. There are so many good YA books published long before I started blogging that I’d love to read or reread and write my thoughts on!

10) Reformat old posts. I’ve gone through a lot of cosmetic changes on my blog until settling on this one toward the end of the year, which is clean and features my favorite color! I need to streamline older posts to match my tweaked and improved posting styles.

Have you set any bookish/blogging goals for 2015? Let me know in the comments, and good luck on tackling and achieving them!

Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing This Year

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly feature hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic comes straight from my Christmas/birthday wish list, and for the most part is in no particular order.

1) Wicked– In this instance, Wicked IS the number one book on my wish list! JLA, paranormal happenings, and a New Orleans setting? Yes please!

2) These Broken Stars– Gorgeous cover that I must own for my shelves plus I hear this is a fantastic book that I’m really late to the party for!

3) Winterspell– I’ve heard mixed tings about this book, but I reallly still want it because the Nutcracker is a tale near and dear to my heart, and I’m so excited to read a retelling of it!

4) A Thousand Pieces of You- I’ve heard great things about this exciting book that features jumping between dimensions and worlds.

5) A Mad, Wicked Folly– I love good historical fiction and I’ve heard good things about this book for a while, and I love the cover!

6) Lailah– I think it’s been long enough since the vampire boom that saturated the YA market that I can enjoy another vampire tale (and a well done love triangle!).

7) Wait for You- I’ve been wanting to start reading New Adult and I trust that Jennifer L Armentrout writes fantastic NA fiction!

8) The Book of Ivy– A newer release that sounds really intruging to me as it seems sort of a blend of a dystopian and the tv show Revenge (which is one of my favorites!)

9) Splintered and 10) Damsel Distressed– These are both fairytale retellings that I’ve heard other bloggers speak very highly about, and would be perfect to add to my TBR for the Fairytale Retelling Challenge I’m participating in for 2015!

Are any of these books on your holiday wishlist? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly feature hosted by the fantastic blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Authors New to Me in 2014. This year was my first official year delving into the world of blogging, and thus I was exposed to SO many new authors for the first time, so there’s a lot to choose from. Below you can find my ten favorites in no particular order, along with a link to my review of my favorite book by them!

1) Rainbow Rowell– It was love at first *read* when I picked up Fangirl this spring. I was obsessed. I could not put it down. I didn’t want it to end. It pained me to return it to the library. Since then, I’ve read Attachments and Landline (which I adored) but Fangirl is still the one I hold nearest and dearest to my heart. Rowell knows how to write characters.

Check out my review of Fangirl here.

2) Michelle Hodkin- The Mara Dyer trilogy took me through emotions I didn’t even know I had. I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified and in love with a series at the same time.

Check out my review of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer here.

3) Rosamund Hodge- Her ability to write beautiful, sexy, heart-breaking fairytale adaptations is amazing, and she writes stand alones! I am SO excited to read more by her!

Check out my review of Cruel Beauty here.

4) Jandy Nelson- I’ll Give You The Sun was my most emotional read of the year, and she’s unafraid to really explore the full extent of teenage experiences, good and bad.

Check out my review of I’ll Give You The Sun here.

5) Gillian Flynn- While I’ve only read Gone Girl so far, I’m so impressed by her ability to weave such an intricate tale of deceit and intrigue. I’m hoping to pick up her other two novels soon!

Check out my review of Gone Girl here.

6) Marissa Meyer– Starting the Lunar Chronicles series was one of the best decisions I made all year. And the fact that she’s influenced by Sailor Moon is fantastic!

Check out my review of Cinder here.

7) Abigail Haas- Dangerous Girls gutted me. I couldn’t even think about picking up another book for days. I’d vote her author most likely to give me a book hangover.

Check out my review of Dangerous Girls here.

8) Leigh Bardugo– The Grisha trilogy. Need I say more?

Check out my review of Siege and Storm here.

9) Susan Ee- The Penryn and the End of Days series is one of my favorites, and I love the unique approach she takes with the overdone angel genre. I wish her books got more love, as they’re truly fantastic!

Check out my review of Angelfall here.

10) John Steinbeck- Ok so I had *technically* read of Mice and Men years ago in high school (and hated it) but reading East of Eden this spring was like a re-awakening. Steinbeck is fantastic. He can tell a multi-generational story with such finesse.

Check out my review of East of Eden here.

Did any of these authors make your list? Let me know in the comments!