Top Five Books of 2015

1. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler (Review HERE, Guest Post HERE)

2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Review HERE)

3. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (Review HERE)

4. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (Review HERE)

5. Uprooted by Naomi Novik (Review HERE)

I usually struggle to pick five or ten but this year, I had nine favorite novels and it was a no-brainer that these would be my top five. I guess I get pickier and pickier every year but I recommend these whole-heartedly so if you haven't read them, get your hands on them NOW. What are your favorite books of the year? What should I have on this list that I don't? Let me know in the comments below--I'm always looking out for new recommendations!

Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

By the time you read this I will be in the air, flying over the ocean or an entire continent to meet my family in India. I wanted to post more than just once in December and, having finished Winter in the midst of my finals, this is my last post of the year. I will post copiously about my adventures when I return, not to mention a list of my Top Five Books of 2015 but, for now, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a very happy new year. Thanks for sticking with me this year, especially through the past few months of limited posts but I'm hopeful that I'll have a large backlog of posts stored up with all the reading I'll be getting done this holiday break (and especially on the flight). Anyhow, just wanted to say how much I love my readers, your comments, and your encouragement--you're the BEST! :)

Title: Winter (Lunar Chronicles, #4)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Rating: 4 Stars

Color me surprised, I actually enjoyed this final installment of the Lunar Chronicles. I wasn't a fan of Cinder but I loved Scarlet and then I found Cress to be an absolute disappointment. So, naturally, I expected to adore aspects of Winter but I wasn't sure how well this series, one I had such a rocky relationship with, would wrap up. But every wonderful, special aspect of these series truly comes to a head in this installment and the conclusion is bittersweet but worth it.

Admittedly, this is Winter's story but it feels very much like a finale, wrapping up the loose ends of all of these characters' lives. I've grown to love and admire Cinder, her growth steady yet believable. Moreover, her relationship with Kai has been so thoroughly developed over the course of these books that I really enjoyed seeing it simply be in this installment. Much like the relationship between Scarlet and Wolf, Kai and Cinder are a rock solid team. We never feel anxiety about the future of their love and it's a relief to be able to rely on their relationship in the midst of so much turmoil.

Speaking of turmoil, the political nature of this series comes to a head in this installment which I adore. Levana's depravity and insanity is clear through the telling of Winter's story as she orders Jacin, Winter's guard, to kill her and then works tirelessly to destroy Winter's image and beauty among the people of Luna. I love how Meyer doesn't hesitate to expose just how terrible Levana's rule has been and as someone who adores a good backstory, the payoff was worth it in Winter. Not to mention, Levana is a worthy villain--one who isn't easy to defeat--so the revolution that Cinder wants to begin isn't always so easy as it seems.

Yet, my favorite aspect of Winter was watching the two remaining love stories--Cress and Thorne and Winter and Jacin--resolve themselves. Cress and Thorne, as we know, have a great deal of leftover tension from the previous novel and their interactions are frought with all the things left unsaid between them. Jacin and Winter, though, have an entirely new dynamic--one I absolutely LOVE. Snow White is by far my least favorite fairy tale but Winter and Jacin I adore. Jacin protects her and cares for her, but he also respects her and admires her bravery. Winter, meanwhile, can trust Jacin in a way she cannot trust others in her life and Jacin, instead of simply seeing her beauty or her crazy sees her potential. Their love story is wrought with hurdles--after all, Jacin in merely a guard while Winter is a princess and, moreover, is tasked with killing her--but I enjoyed it all the more for that.

Winter isn't the conclusion of one of my favorite series but it is a fantastic finale to a series that has its positives and negatives both. I am the first to admit that this isn't a perfect series and while I wouldn't endorse it the way many of its fans do, it's engaging, interesting, and original in a way few YA series are. It doesn't contain love triangles or weak heroines, it features diversity and it elaborates on messages we've all been told as children and applies it to the later stages of our lives as well. Winter was a treat and I wish I had enjoyed the rest of this series as much as I did this finale (and Scarlet) but I still look forward to what Meyer has to write in the future. A worthy ending, indeed.

Monthly Rewind: November

So...November wasn't a great month in terms of posting, or reading for that matter. But, it was a much-needed break type of month. I did a lot of reading for my classes and my final papers and rested over Thanksgiving break and spent the rest of this month really sorting out what I wanted to do next summer, next semester, etc. I booked tickets for a conference I'm attending, organized a huge weekend-long choir concert, and applied to study abroad. So, it's been a really busy month, socially, so forgive my limited online presence. I will definitely be getting a lot of reading done over the holidays so come January, I will actually have reviews to post! For this month, we'll probably be seeing some more mini-reviews, likely, and hopefully another post or two I can wrangle up to end off 2015. Mostly, I just want to say that I'm so grateful to have such a loyal readership despite the fact that my blogging presence has really been diminishing this past year. 

3 Things About My Life This Month

1. Thanksgiving! I spent Thanksgiving with my best friend and I had such a good time! We visited Longwood Gardens, ate some truly fantastic burritos, and made tacos from scratch. It was filling, restful, and most importantly, fun! 

2. Diwali! So I had midterms throughout the month of November (again!) and Diwali was in the middle but, regardless, Diwali was amazing. It's always such a lovely, relaxing few hours and Indian food always makes everything that much better.

3. I cut my hair! So...my hair used to be half-way down my back and now it's just by my ears. I hadn't cut my hair in two and a half years and now it's about 11 inches shorter than before, which is crazy! But, I love it.

Best Book I Read This Month

Power to Choose: Bangladeshi Women and Labor Market Decisions in London and Dhaka by Naila Kabeer. I read an excerpt from this for my class on Gender and Power in South Asia and promptly bought the book to read the entire story. Kabeer is an economist who has done extensive research on microfinance and the impacts of that on gender are powerful and compelling. I loved this book and as an economist and feminist myself, microfinance fascinates me. I've read quite a few other nonfiction books on microfinance this month so if you're interested in the issue, just let me know and I'd love to provide some recommendations. 

Obsession of the Month

Scandal! I started over Thanksgiving break, am already a little over half-way through Season 2, and am 100% obsessed. Needless to say, this will carry me over through to February when HTGAWM is back on TV. ;)

3 Things I'm Looking Forward to in December

1. Last Day of Classes! I love all of my classes SO MUCH this year--like, I cannot even explain how much I love both my classes and my professors--but I'm really excited to just be done. I'll have time to sleep in, study, and then just ace those finals and get a much-needed break. This semester has been so incredibly rewarding, not to mention a ton of fun, but it has also been a LOT of work.

2. I'm going to India! For the first time in five years I am finally going to India and I can't wait! I'll be spending New Years with my cousins and visiting the Taj Mahal, among other historic sites, with my grandparents. I've never been to North India so I'm really looking forward to spending time as a tourist in the country I was born in.

3. Reading! I'm finally going to have time to read! I desperately want to finish up Winter which I just barely started, Cam Girl, and Ilona Andrews's newest novel to say the least. I've missed reading so much so I'm really looking forward to just curling up with a book for a few hours.

How was your November? Any fun Thanksgiving stories? Any plans for December? Christmas? New Years? Vacation? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below! :)

Mini-Reviews: Katie McGarry Edition

Title: Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits, #1.5) 

Author: Katie McGarry

Rating: 3 Stars

McGarry's books are the type of guilty-pleasure reads I genuinely feel ever-so-slightly guilty about reading. Not only are they chock-full of the type of predictable drama romantic comedies are full of--an ex-girlfriend appears out of the blue, a more sophisticated guy is interested in your girlfriend, etc.--but they also contain a nearly sickly-sweet romantic couple. Yet, I find that McGarry's writing is simply irresistible. She makes you FEEL for her characters and though I could see the conflicts coming from a mile away, they still made me gasp and my heart squeeze in worry. It's all Standard Romance Plot but, sometimes, that's precisely the kind of novel a girl needs to forget about her finals.

Moreover, what I did really enjoy about Breaking the Rules is the manner in which McGarry writes Noah and Echo's relationship. By the end of Pushing the Limits, it seems as if these two are riding out into the sunset and living their happily-ever-after. The fact that neither Noah nor Echo are completely healed from their pasts is a relief. The fact that they haven't had sex by the opening of this novel and take time to talk about it and discuss their insecurities and wait until they're both comfortable is yet another relief. Most of all, though, the fact that their futures aren't set in stone and are subject to change is a wonderful message. At its core, Breaking the Rules is a romance novel, sure, but it also has plenty of note-worthy New Adult qualities that I support. Now, if only Noah could get rid of that terrible habit of calling Echo his siren and we'd all be that much happier...

Title: Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road, #1)

Author: Katie McGarry

Rating: 3.5 Stars

McGarry has a rare and fortunate talent in that her novels are compulsively readable. Despite the fact that Nowhere But Here takes awhile for its true plot to emerge, despite the fact that I cringed once or twice at the stereotypes and presumptions made in this narrative, despite the fact that there remains a tad bit too much angsty sexual tension (the kind where you roll your eyes and want to beat your head against the wall in annoyance, not impatience), I still managed to finish this. And, what's more, I might even be sticking around for the companion novel.

While I've struggled with McGarry in the past and fully expected Nowhere But Here to be my last venture into her work, I managed to become sucked into the world of motorcycle gangs that she depicted. I adore a YA romance that features family and individual growth and, alongside some action, that's exactly what this is. It still contains classic McGarry tropes that I don't love but, nevertheless, they aren't enough to completely drag down this narrative. If McGarry is a hit-or-miss author for you, I'd say it's worth giving this one a shot.

Monthly Rewind: October

Sadly, I am in the midst of midterm season. Again. Hence the reason I have been MIA but, I have to say, October was a rocking month! ;)

3 Things About My Life This Month

My best friend at Wellesley and I at Garba!

1. I visited my best friend since 5th Grade in NYC! It was so much fun! Admittedly, it was a whirlwind trip since I stayed over with her for two nights and then ducked home for two nights but it was so nice to catch up with her and get a glimpse into her life now. She lives in a wonderful apartment with five other roommates and they cook incredible food and are so independent, which is really different from my campus-centric life at Wellesley. Anyhow, it was a really fantastic weekend and it's so nice to now be able to put faces to the people she tells me about. (Just a clarification, she's not the friend in the picture. We totally forgot to take pics, believe it or not, but I did go to Garba this month with my friend from Wellesley and it's one of the only pictures I took this month, oops! Will take more in November!)

2. Um, party central? October was a month of crazy good parties. I don't mean a typical college party with frat boys and beer. No, I mean hanging out with a bunch of good friends and belting out to Taylor Swift while stuffing our faces with chips and guac. I mean dressing up for Halloween and playing Cards Against Humanity while discussing how to smash the patriarchy. ;)

3. I declared a  major! I am officially a math major, folks! Everyone needs a major adviser and I love my current math professor, so I set out to ask him on Monday and it kept getting postponed to Friday and by then I had stressed myself out so much. I was a nervous wreck but it was totally fine and he's my major adviser and...ahhh! *throws confetti*

Best Book I Read This Month

It's a tie between Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I read both of these on the bus rides to and from NYC over Fall Break and, let me tell you, I was an emotional wreck in public and didn't even care. Because these books. Read. Them. Now. 

Most Popular Post This Month

Mini-Reviews: The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick, Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman, and After the End by Amy Plum. I don't often post mini-reviews, so I was really excited by the popularity of this post. Not to mention they're actually all fantastic, thought-provoking novels. Recommended!

Post I Wish Got a Little More Love

Just Another...Book Crush! Jennifer Donnelly is one of my favorite authors ever and These Shallow Graves is so, so lovely. I hope more people check out her work!

3 Things I'm Looking Forward to in November 

1. Thanksgiving! I'm going home with my best friend for Thanksgiving, which is going to be so much fun! She has a huge family and I've never actually celebrated Thanksgiving before, since my family really doesn't do much, so I'm really excited for my first taste of a real Thanksgiving! 

2. Dober Concert! Technically, this already happened but I was really looking forward to it and (spoiler alert!) it was great! Every Fall Semester the Wellesley College Choir joins up with another Choral Society to perform together during the first or second weekend of November. This year we performed with the Radcliffe Choral Society, on Friday and Saturday night both. It was exhausting but also incredibly rewarding.

3. Diwali! Diwali is this Wednesday and I am so excited! It's one of my favorite holidays and I have some gorgeous new clothes I'm going to be wearing, which is what I'm mostly looking forward to. ;) But, Diwali is always such a beautiful night, filled with lights and sparklers. I always miss my family most during Diwali but I know I'm going to have a great time.

How were your Octobers? Did you dress up for Halloween? If so, what did you go as? Anyone do any travelling like I did? What are you looking forward to in November? What are your Thanksgiving plans? Let me know in the comments below--I can't wait to hear! :D