My Year in Numbers and Recommendations

Happy New Year, nocturnal readers! I hope you all had the most wonderful time.

2014 has been a very exciting year for me... less so for my blog, unfortunately. I've been busy with so many things last year, and while my career has been taking several exciting turns, The Nocturnal Library oftentimes had to remain neglected.  I have been reading, of course, because anything else would be impossible, but reviewing and commenting took a back seat for a while.


That all changes right now. Things are finally calming down, and I've made several New Year's resolutions, most of them in some way connected to this blog.

Before turning this new leaf, however, let's review 2014.

I am proud to say that I successfully completed my GoodReads challenge by reading 250 books, which amounts to 68431 pages! I think there have been more, but I occasionally neglected to rate them. Ah well, worse things have happened.

Only 10 of those 250 books got a full 5-star rating:
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews
Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead
the Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead
Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre
Silver Mirrors by Ann Aguirre
The Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman
Fever Pitch by Heidi Cullinan
Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop
Pretty Little Dead Girls by Mercedes M. Yardley

My biggest surprise this year was certainly Fever Pitch by Heidi Cullinan! I cannot begin to describe how this book made me feel, you guys, and I'm a linguist, words are kind of my thing! Read this book if you get a chance! It's not expensive at all, and it's the best thing you can give yourself.

The second book I didn't see coming at all was Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy by Mercedes Yardley. I knew Mercedes was brilliant, I did, but the sheer gorgeousness of this book took me completely by surprise! It's another one I wholeheartedly recommend. 

One of the most exciting upcoming releases (in my humble opinion) is certainly Shutter by Courtney Alameda. If you like YA horror, excellent worldbuilding and lovely romance, you need to pre-order this book, preferably now. I truly enjoyed it.

Another upcoming releases you should definitely consider pre-ordering is Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. It is quite possibly the most adorable book in the history of books ever. In the sub(sub)genre we usually refer to as coming-of-age contemporary fiction, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda shines like the brightest star.

  

A series I keep going back to because I can't seem to help myself is the Life Lessons series by Kaje Harper. This series has it all: true-to-life, entirely lovable characters, some very serious detective work, excellent romance and a heart-warming family I can't get enough of! I cannot recommend this series highly enough. Tony and Mac are my old friends and I adore them.

After three amazing books in her Others series, it's become quite clear that Anne Bishop doesn't know how to disappoint. If you want something completely different and reliably brilliant, give this series a chance. I just recently finished the third book and I must say I am still in awe.

Finally, here are a few quick favorites to complete the post:

Favorite heroine EVER: Kate Daniels (Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews)
Favorite hero: Simon Spier (Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli)
Favorite writing style: Maggie Stiefvater and Mercedes M. Yardley
Favorite romance: Meg and Simon (The Others by Anne Bishop)
Favorite worldbuilding: The Body Electric by Beth Revis
Favorite new Urban Fantasy: House of the Rising Sun by Kristen Painter

What were your favorites in 2014? Leave me some recommendations in the comments!