15 Things In 2015...

Happy New Year! I know we're all well into 2015 by this point, but I thought I'd take this time to outline a few book-ish happenings; here's my ode to the year ahead! :)

2015 Releases I've Read and LOVED
(If these aren't already on your TBR, they need to be!)

I loved Cruel Beauty when I read it last year but Crimson Bound is even better than Hodge's debut--which is saying something. I hardly need to tell you to read this; the cover does a better job than I do. But, seriously, read it. It's a fresh, innovative take on a mixture of fairy tales, Little Red Riding Hood among them, and the end result is a novel that is equal parts enthralling and romantic. What more could you possibly ask for? I'll Meet You There is my favorite Demetrios novel to date. Considering the fact that I devoured all three of her books last year and enjoyed them all, that's high praise indeed. Her latest contemporary, out next month, is heart-warming, moving, and deeply touching. It made me think, reflect, and be immensely grateful for the small, but fulfilling, life I led. Beautiful. Vision in Silver is the third novel in  Anne Bishop's The Others series and, let me tell you, with just three books this series has already become one of my favorite Urban Fantasy chronicles. It's right up there with Mercy Thompson, Arcadia Bell, and Downside Ghosts. All I could articulate after finishing this one was, "THAT ENDING THOUGH. MY HEART. THE SWOON. AHH." Containing one of the slowest-burning romances I've read, ever, Bishop's novels are immensely entertaining and build their own niche in your heart. I dare you to finish this series without a boatload of feelings for these characters. It's impossible. 

2015 Releases I Need...Now!

Rook is written by Sharon Cameron, the same author who wrote the brilliant historical fiction duo, The Dark Unwinding. I absolutely adored her debut series and Rook, her third novel, sounds simply fantastic. I adore that cover to pieces and cannot wait for the book itself to reach my greedy hands. Court of Fives, by Kate Elliott, is yet another novel by an author I've loved in the past. Elliott wrote Cold Magic, the beginning of one of my all-time favorite fantasy trilogies. Court of Five promises to be just as innovative, romantic, and politically thrilling as her former fantasy novels. I just know I'm going to love it. Leila Sales upcoming novel, Tonight the Streets Are Ours, is like every fangirl dream come true. I mean, a journey of a girl tracking down a blogger she's obsessed with? As Amy Poehler would say, yes, please! More than that, though, Sales made me laugh with Past Perfect and cry with This Song Will Save Your Life. I suspect Tonight the Streets Are Ours will made me do both.

Here's something not many know about me: I've yet to dislike a Libba Bray novel. No easy task, I assure you. Lair of Dreams is a novel I've been anticipating ever since I fell in love with The Diviners and here's the truth: it's going to rock my world. Hard. I can't wait. All the Rage, on the other hand, is sure to send me into a spiral of despair because that's what Courtney Summers does best. And I love it. I anticipate the sensation of her prose rendering me at the mercy of her characters and their emotions, not my own. Ever since binge-reading all of Summers novels shortly after I discovered the brilliance that is her, I haven't been able to read anything by her in a long, long time. With two Summers releases coming out this year, I cannot wait to dive back in. 

I didn't go crazy over Lord's debut but, for some bizarre reason, I really want to read The Start of Me and You. Not sure if it's the cover or just the synopsis, but I have a gut-feeling I'm going to find a favorite in this one. Dead Heat, on the other hand, is a book I feel like I've been waiting for forever even though Patricia Briggs is absolutely a godsend when it comes to publishing novels. The only UF books I like more than the Mercy Thompson ones are these, the Alpha & Omega ones. I'm practically salivating just thinking about reading this soon. Girl Before a Mirror is another novel I know I will love. I've adored all of Palmer's novels and this one seems to have the perfect recipe for a favorite. It'll be out later this month and you can bet I'll be waiting up for the post man.

2015 Book-ish Goals 

1. Quality > Quantity 

In the past, I've always tried to read a variety of genres and read widely within those genres. Unfortunately, those genres have been limited to YA Contemporary, Adult Contemporary, YA Fantasy, Adult Fantasy, YA Post-Apocalyptic, Adult Urban Fantasy, YA Science Fiction, Adult Science Fiction, and Adult Romance. I want to read more Non-Fiction in 2015. More Classics. More thought-provoking novels that may take longer to finish by may be more rewarding by the end. 

2. Quality > Quantity 

I want this concept of quality over quantity to apply not only to my selection of novels but also to my blogging habits. I'll be frank: I know I won't blog as much in 2015 as I have in 2014 or any previous years. College is a lot more hectic and time-consuming than I imagined and though I find time to read, finding time to sit down and write a review, cross-post it on Goodreads, format it onto the blog, and schedule it all while visiting other blogs to read their posts and make thoughtful comments... I don't have as much time for that as I wish. Thus, I want the few posts I do manage to get out every month to be full of content and quality. I want my reviews to reflect my thoughts and be interesting and thought-provoking. I want the blog tours and guest posts I receive to spark discussion. Unless I have that, I won't be posting. 

3. Bookshelf > ARCs 

Seriously, this needs to stop. I have books on my shelves which dear friends have gifted me but I almost never get to read them because of all the ARCs I can't stop myself from downloading. I've worked on reducing the number of ARCs I request but that doesn't stop me from picking up the ones I receive unsolicited. I loooove getting ARCs--almost nothing makes me happier--but it means that I bump into people who ask me how I liked the books they gifted me and I have to admit I haven't read those books yet. Or, just as bad, it means I come home from college and come across a book on my shelf that people have been raving about or recommended to me and I put ARCs above those novels. I'll always have ARCs; my attitude needs to change. Hopefully, 2015 is the year it does. 

4. Friendships 

I cherish my blog friendships like nothing else in my life. I love them. I have folders of comments and e-mails that cheer me up and all of them are from you; readers, commentors, and fellow bloggers alike. Even though I know I won't be able to blog as prolifically as before, I want to be able to maintain my book-ish friendships despite the hurdles I face to posting. I love you and I like you.

Well, there you have it--three novels I've read and highly recommend, eight novels I cannot wait to read, and four goals for the upcoming year of reading and blogging. I'm a sucker for pretty covers--and just covers, period--hence the reason titles such as the final Raven Cycle book never made it onto the list (though, let's be real, if I had that book in my hands right now I would die a happy woman). But, there it is; a quick ode to the year ahead! I can't wait to see what 2015 brings, both in terms of books and in terms of life. I hope you all have an incredibly happy and wonderfully prosperous year ahead of you. I don't say it often enough, but thank you for sticking by my side, supporting my blog, and being all-round awesome people. You all deserve the very best the world has to offer.