Paul's Top Books Read in 2014

2014 was another wonderful year for Young Adult books, especially in the Fantasy genre. I didn't meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge, but I did read over 50 books in 2014. I wanted to share a few of my favorites. First, I have my favorites that are not sequels. Then at the bottom I have listed my favorite sequels. Click on the titles or the cover pictures for links to my reviews!

TOP BOOK OF 2014

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Runner Ups

                                   

The Wizard's Promise                                   No Place Like Oz

Honorable Mentions

                  

Here are some sequels that I loved in 2014:

                      

What were your favorite books of 2014? Check out my reviews of these books by clicking on the titles or the cover images.

-PAUL

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Random House via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Princess of Thorns
Author: Stacey Jay
Recent Release Date: December 9, 2014

My Pre-reading

Synopsis: Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

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Review: I can't get enough of both fairy tale retellings and epic YA fantasy with awesome world building. This book is both, although its connection to a fairy tale is pretty loose. It is more connected to the original Sleeping Beauty that had ogres, but I am not as familiar with it as I am with the Disney-fied version that's fed to all of as as children. This book makes me want to delve into the original Sleeping Beauty tale, which it seems Jay was faithful to. Aurora is Sleeping Beauty's daughter in this book, which was confusing for me at first since Princess Aurora IS Sleeping Beauty in the Disney film. I advise doing a little research into the original tale before reading this book, but the book stands alone if you do not. 

This book reminds me of Ella Enchanted. The protagonist is fairy-blessed, but like all magic, the good comes with the bad. Her blessing has unintended results. I really enjoyed the way the "curse" plays out. 

There are 3 (or rather 2.5) POVs in this book. The "third" POV is almost unnecessary, but it gives an interesting look into the perceived villain's thoughts. 

With the protagonist masquerading as a boy,gender is at the forefront. I love when stereotypes are addressed and bring a conversation forward.  

I really enjoyed the world building. The ogres are much different than what you'd expect. I want to see more of the fairies. The politics of the world were also interesting and easy to follow. 

 I would love to see more books set in this world. I give this book a 4/5 and highly recommend it. I will definitely be looking into more books by Stacey Jay. 


--PAUL

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay - Paul's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Random House via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Princess of Thorns
Author: Stacey Jay
Release Date: December 9, 2014

Synopsis: Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

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Why?: I LOVE Fairy Tale Retellings! This seems more like a sequel, but I'm sure the original fairy tale will have at least a few differences. Now that I think about it, and after quickly wikipedia-ing, I realize that I'm not that familiar with the original Sleeping Beauty story. So, I may have to find it or just research it a lot online while or after reading this. 

Expectations:I'm expecting an awesome fantasy fairy tale retelling with a strong female protagonist. I'm hoping for some awesome world building and some unexpected twists.    

Judging a book by its cover: I really like the thorns in the font of the title. I also like the ambiguity of the character on the front. I'm assuming it is the princess, but it may be a male character. The white hair reminds me of both Daenarys from Game of Thrones and the Winterians from Snow Like Ashes. 


--PAUL