The Best Books of 2014 (So Far)

Jenna’s Top 5: 

5. Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira 

This is definitely my favorite contemporary novel that I’ve read this year. One of the few novels that I read with no prior conceptions about the author or the series or anything connected to it. I went into reading this book with just what was written on the inside jacket and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was great, the characters were diverse, and the story was interesting.

4. This Star Won’t Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl

This book gave me a major case of the feels. I’m a huge nerdfighter, a huge fan of The Fault in Our Stars, and now, a huge fan of Esther Earl. It is a compilation of Esther’s journals and updates from a website her family had created after she got sick in order to keep their family and friends updated on her health. There are also many guest contributions from people such as her doctor, her friends, and her siblings. We get to see the darkness of a depression that was inevitable in her life but it also gives us a look at the positive, caring, intelligent, sarcastic, full-of-love 12-16 year old girl that Esther was throughout the duration of her sickness. Esther made a lasting impression on many people in this world and that’s all that
one can hope to do in a lifetime, let alone at just 16 years of age.

3. Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

Gah… I just read this last week, a day or so after it was released, and honestly it drew me right back into my obsession with the Divergent series. Four is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters and getting an entire book from his point of view was just awesome! Also I loved seeing what his life was like before Tris and how he adjusted to his transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless. It reminded me how much I love Veronica Roth’s writing and how much I can’t wait until she comes out with a new series!

2. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

I LOVED the entire Shatter Me series but this last book was by far the best. Mafi’s series was so beautifully written. Her style is one of my favorites because of how lyrical each sentence is. I loved watching Juliette grow from the terrified girl she started out as into the badass that she became in this last book. I loved watching Warner’s hardened exterior being broken down. I thought this novel ended perfectly. It was one of the few last-in-a-series that I’ve read this year that I felt had a satisfying ending.

1. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

If Cassandra Clare had released five books so far this year, I’m pretty sure all five would be dominating this list. I love everything she writes, I devour it like nothing else I’ve ever read before. I love all of the Shadowhunter books and the only thing I wish is that I didn’t have to wait a year or more between each one! City of Heavenly Fire was a great ending to The Mortal Instruments series. Not only did I love the way it gave us a lot of time to get to know the main characters of her next series, The Dark Artifices, but it was just the right amount of funny and heartbreaking (without taking the heartbreak too far). It wasn’t as sad as the end of The Infernal Devices series and it left plenty of unanswered questions to lead us into her next set of Shadowhunter books!

Runner Up: The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow

I love Michelle Madow and I adored this book! I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in the series!

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