Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten 2014 Debuts I'm Excited For

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we'll make a list of our top ten something*, and this week, it's our Top Ten 2014 Debuts I'm Excited For. 
*In no particular order

1. Far From You by Tess Sharpe 

2. Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

3. Bleed Like Me by Christa Desir

4. Me Since You by Laura Wiess

5. The Hit by Melvin Burgess

6. The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts 

That's all for this week guys! Unfortunately I couldn't reach 10, but I'll be checking out all of your TTT lists this week to see which books I could have added. As always, I hope you've enjoyed my list, let me know in the comments which ones you're excited/not excited for and link me back to your TTT so I can check it out! 
Remember to 1+ this post if you thought it was worthy and follow my blog to read my future TTTs and reviews! Thanks guys! :) 

PREVIOUS REVIEW:
The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Review: The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Title: The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince 
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
Year of Release: 2011
ISBN: 9781406321333
Source: Purchased (The Book Depository, $13.44)
Number of Pages: 502

Love and lies can corrupt even the purest heart...
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, while her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing Will - the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers to who she is and what she was born to do? As their search for the truth leads the three friends into peril, Tessa's heart is increasingly torn, especially when one of their own betrays them...

The sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Clockwork Prince is a fascinating and electrifying read that will leave you with a racing heart and eyes brimming with tears. The characters are enchanting and the plot is one of the most suspenseful and perfect ones I've ever read. 

This is not just another stereotypical teen romance, because while there certainly is romance, it is only one aspect of the series. Because against the backdrop of the Tessa - Jem - Will love triangle lies secrets, betrayal, clockwork armies, enemies, blackmail, curses, demons, fatal illnesses, and finding one's identity. 

You'll fall in love with the characters and feel their pain as if it is your own. You'll hate other characters and wish them a slow and painful death. You'll reminisce what it felt like to love for the first time. You won't be able to sleep because this book will keep your mind awake at night running through all the possible endings for this book and the series it belongs to. 

One of the things I really love about these books is how Clare uses a piece of poetry at the beginning of every chapter that perfectly encompasses the content of that chapter in a few lines. It's beautiful and lovely to read.

The love triangle in this series is the best one I have ever read and way better than the Bella - Edward - Jacob triangle from Twilight, not just because it is better written, but because it sets a better example for young people. Instead of having the two boys involved hate each other's guts, Jem and Will love each other and wish each other's happiness over their own. That's what love is. 

Another thing I love about this book is the descriptions! Clare has a way of making you see something so clearly, exactly the way she wants you to see it, from the way light streams through a window to the gushing blood of an open wound, the descriptions are perfect. 

Sometimes a little too perfect, if you get what I mean. 

Clockwork Prince is a fantastic book and is part of an amazing series, and I really recommend you read it! 

Links:
Review: The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel
Goodreads page

Waiting on Wednesday #2: A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Every Wednesday, we pick a book we're eagerly awaiting and this Wednesday, my choice is A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey. 

This book was released a day ago and was one that I had been anticipating since last year! Harvey has been one of my absolute favourite authors (and I've only read one of her books!) ever since I read Haunting Violet. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of this book soon! 

In 1814, three cousins-Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope-discover their unknown family lineage of witchcraft. Beyond the familiar manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, a dangerous, alluring new underworld visible only to those with power is now open to the cousins. 
But unbeknownst to them, by claiming their power, the three cousins have inadvertently opened the gates to the Underworld. 
Now the dead, ghouls, hellhounds-and the most terrifying of all: the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters-are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. 
And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders...because she keeps finding the bodies. 
Can the cousins unravel the clues and mystery behind their heritage and power before their gifts are stripped away ...or even worse, another witch is killed?

(Summary from Goodreads)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Goals/Resolutions For 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we'll make a list of our top ten something*, and this week, it's our Top Ten Goals/Resolutions for 2014! 
*In no particular order

1. Read!! (my goal is to read at least 20 this year)
2. Become more confident than I already am
3. Spend less time on the internet (I already know this one won't work out) 
4. Find a new book series to be a part of that I haven't read before
5. Get a bookshelf (desperately need!)
6. Finish writing the story I am currently working on  
7. Read more poetry (any suggestions left for me in the comments will be highly appreciated!)
8. Take more photos
9. Discover new things like music and bookstores and foods and coffees and teas and authors
10. Stress less!

So these are my goals/resolutions! What are yours? Let me know which ones you liked/didn't like on my list and leave me links to your TTT list so that I can check it out! If you want to read more of my future TTTs and reviews, please follow me and I will follow you back. 

In My Mailbox #1

In My Mailbox is a feature hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. IMM allows bloggers to post the books they have received and share them with other bloggers. It can be done weekly, fortnightly, monthly, etc. I'm hoping to do it fortnightly! I encourage all of you to participate, it's an awesome feature! 

This week, I was lucky enough to be gifted with a couple of John Green books! 
(Summaries from Goodreads)
     

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Colin Singleton likes girls named Katherine, who have dumped him 19 times. On a road trip, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has $10K, a trailing bloodthirsty hog, and a best friend riding shotgun. His Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability should predict any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally get him the girl.
Goodreads page

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Will Grayson:

What if your oldest, wildest, only best friend started writing a musical about your life… and it made you look like a joke?

What if the girl you didn’t think you were interested in started being interested in you?

And who is this other guy called Will Grayson?

The other Will Grayson:

What if you are technically depressed? What if you’re in love with someone you’ve never met?

And what’s the story with the guy walking around with your name?
Goodreads page


I'm so excited to read these!! Expect reviews in the following weeks! 

Waiting on Wednesday #1: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Every Wednesday, we pick a book we're eagerly awaiting and I've finally joined up and started participating in this weekly feature! 

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare is to be released May this year and while they haven't released the official cover for the book yet, I am so excited for this book, much more than I am for any other book.      

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last instalment of the Mortal Instruments series!

(Summary from Goodreads)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Read In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, we'll make a list of our top ten something, and this week, it's the Top Ten Books I Read in 2013. 

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I'm so glad I read this book, it was really enjoyable and I was surprised at how much I liked it. I really recommend it if you haven't read it yet! A perfect holiday read! 

My Review

2. Speechless by Hanna Harrington

This is such an inspiring read, very light, witty and enjoyable! 

My Review

3. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

I'm a big fan of this series, though I had some issues with some of the books, it's an awesome series overall and such an experience to read for the first time! I'm so excited for City of Heavenly Fire, the last book in the series, to be released May 2014! 

City of Bones Review

City of Ashes Review

City of Glass Review

City of Fallen Angels Review

City of Lost Souls Review

4. Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Such a good paranormal-romance read! Get on it!

My Review

5. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

The first in the amazing prequel spin-off trilogy to The Mortal Instruments, it's a great read, set in the same world, but with new (and hot) characters, along with a suspenseful plot that keeps the pages turning! 

My Review

6. The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Third in the spin-off series to the epic Vampire Academy series, this was an amazing read and I hope the series continues as this one did. I'm looking forward to reading The Fiery Heart soon! 

My Review

7. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

If you enjoyed the film, you'll love the book! A great read.

My Review

8. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

This is a great eye-opening and inspiring read that will be sure to melt even the coldest of hearts! 

My Review 

(includes movie review)

9. The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick

This is a short read, more of a poetry based book, about a boy who runs away from home to escape the abuse of his alcoholic father and befriends an old homeless man and falls in love with a rich, beautiful girl in the process. Surprisingly sweet and lovely, a book to read from cover to cover on a Friday night in! 

10. Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

The conclusion to the fantastic Hush, Hush saga. One of my favourite series and definitely the best of the fallen angel-themed books out there in YA Fiction! 

My Review

That's all for this week, I hope you've enjoyed my list! Let me know in the comments which of the books listed here you enjoyed or didn't enjoy and if I left any good ones out, I'm sure there's heaps! Remember to leave me links to all your TTT lists so I can check them out! Also, don't forget to +1 this post if you thought it was worthy and subscribe to me to read more of my TTTs and reviews in the future! Thank you!! 

I would like to wish all my followers and readers a very Happy New Years, may 2014 be a safe and happy year for you! I look forward to meeting lots of new books next year that I can share with all of you and vice versa. 

Lots of love,

Melissa

Book Nerd & Critic.