A Few of L's Favorite Books

Hey everyone!


Today is #WorldBookDay! I've loved books since I was a child, and that love for stories is what led to me becoming a professional author (that's why you never see me here, I'm always hanging out on my author blog.)
But even though I spend much of my free time writing, the book lover in me will never disappear. So I thought, what better way to celebrate the day of books than to share some of my favorite stories with you all?

I'm not going to ramble, so in no particular order, here they are:

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park

Technically, I could put all the Junie B. Jones books here but this one holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the first books I remember reading as a kid and the humor mixed with the lessons the books taught were entertaining and moral at the same time. Too often in children's books, I felt like I was being preached to but the Stupid Smelly Bus was the first that didn't seem to talk down to the kids who read it. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Yes the SORCERER'S Stone, because I'm American and I can call the book whatever I want. I'll admit I never actually finished reading the Harry Potter series (will I ever get past Goblet of Fire?) because they got a bit too intense for me when I was younger but I don't think anything I say about Harry Potter will be anything new from what others have said in the past. The creativity and intricate world building from the series is something that is still mimicked in children's/YA fantasy books. The lasting impression it left on me as a writer is something that I'm proud of. 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My favorite classic! Reading this in high school lowered my enjoyment of the book initially. But over the next couple of years, I started thinking about it a lot and there were many things that it pointed out about society in the 20's that are still relevant in today's world and will be relevant for quite some time. It's true that everyone has that one classic novel that they don't hate as much as the others, but I think it's rare that a young person can find one that they actually like. I lucked out in being forced to read this by my annoying eleventh grade English teacher. 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

I'm in the minority here but I actually like the PJO/Heroes of Olympus novels more than Harry Potter because even when things get dark, they're still fun and the books never take themselves too seriously. In a YA fiction world surrounded by doom and gloom, finding this series was like a breath of fresh air and reminded me that I could write and read the best of both worlds, and that there is still freshness to be found on bookshelves.

Epic by L. Taylor

I'm not saying this just because I'm the author (how self-centered would that be?)

I'm listing Epic because of all the things I've written, this (and the sequel, War) is the book that I can read over and over again and not get sick of seeing the same words constantly. The books that I've spent less time with (I've "known" 93% Chance I Don't Hate You for a year, I've "known TDKC for about two years) are technically newer to my ~reader self~ but Epic, which I've "known" for almost five years, is constantly gripping me and taking me on its rollercoaster ride even when I know what happens in the end. That's why I include it as one of my favorite books. 

Legend by Marie Lu

If you know me, you know I worship the ground Marie Lu walks on, because not to be extra, but she is the best YA author in the game right now. Legend was the first book of hers that I read and the entire trilogy was perfect from start to finish. The Legend books have a very cinematic quality to them, which is something I love. If it's easy for me to visualize a story like it's happening right in front of me, it's easier for the book to completely suck me in. Every page of the series makes it even more impossible to put down and I can't express how much I love it. 

Of course there are hundreds of books that I like but these are the ones that are at the top of the top for me. I want to read more than I have been in the past couple of years (guess who's way behind on her Goodreads goal) but balancing reading and writing is a struggle.

My own personal problems aside, if you haven't, I hope you give each of these books a chance and come to love them as much as I do.

Thanks for reading,

- L.

Top Ten Tuesday #2

Hello everybody! It's Tuesday (but yesterday was Tuesday, too) so I'm doing Top Ten Tuesday. Today's topic is: "Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List"

10) Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig. This is a graphic novel about a tough young woman who is investigating a crime ring. It's a dark and gritty story and I really want to get into it. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository

9) Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope. First, look at this cover:

WOW! This book is a New Adult fantasy set in an alternate 1920's. It follows a couple during a magical war between good and evil. So it's got a mix of historical, fantasy, and romance. And again: THAT COVER.

Goodreads Amazon Book Depository

8) The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black. The humans and the fae have coexisted for years and there's a boy in a glass coffin who has been there for a long ass time and he suddenly wakes up. Completely normal stuff. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository


7) The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. Nicholas Flamel is an immortal alchemist and when his wife/girlfriend/bff gets kidnapped, he enlists the help of two teenagers to help him get her back and stop the bad guy from doing bad guy things. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository


6) The Rose Society by Marie Lu. This is the sequel to The Young Elites and it doesn't come out until October and I need to know what happens because that cliffhanger (hanging from a cliff) was not nice and I don't like waiting. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository


5) Volition by Lily Paradis. The synopsis tells you basically nothing but when it ends with "my soul is blacker than my heart," the book is probably worth picking up. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository


4) Hit by Delilah S. Dawson. Okay so this sounds kind of insane. The US debt was paid off by a bank who now wants their money back so our protagonist is turned into an assassin and given a hit list in exchange for her family's debt being paid. She then has to go around either collecting money, recruiting bounty hunters, or killing the people on the list. I love YA books about criminals and this sounds like it's going to be very fun but also really dark. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository


3) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. I bet you haven't heard anything about this book yet. This book is basically like a mash up of ancient Rome with high fantasy. And I want it. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository


2) The Dead Room by Stephanie Erickson. The synopsis for this is very, very vague. But I feel like it goes beyond the typical "teen girl takes down the man". I think there's more of an intense sci-fi plot going on and I like being able to jump into a book like this without really knowing what's going on. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository


1) Legend: the Graphic Novel by Marie Lu. This is a graphic novel of my favorite dystopia! I really want to read this because I'm just starting to get into graphic novels and I feel like reading stories that I've already read before will help me ease into the genre better. Goodreads Amazon Book Depository

The Young Elites Book Review

Title: The Young Elites
Series: The Young Elites (Book #1)
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: High Fantasy
Rating: 10 instances of me crying out "Marie, Why Do You Like To Hurt My Ships???" out of 10

What It's About: Years ago, a plague swept through and killed a bunch of people but the infected children who survived gained superpowers are called 'malfettos', and they have been hunted down by the government ever since. Adelina is a malfetto and was supposed to be executed but she was saved by the Young Elites (hella rad super-duper malfettos), and they're going to help her gain control of her powers while she helps them assassinate the King and Queen of their country so everyone can be happy and alive and have access to an endless supply of Doritos.

Recommended For: Fans of Game of Thrones and The Darkest Minds

Review: What is it with Marie Lu? She wrote a dystopian trilogy that didn't have a sucky ending (which is surprising for the dystopia genre), her characters are all interesting and fleshed out, even when she only has less than 400 pages to do so. Her action scenes are so cinematic and she makes you ship something within a five minute interaction. Guys, I'm starting to think that Marie Lu may actually be Beyonce in disguise because she can do no wrong. This book was perfection. Adelina is an anti-heroine who fucks up a lot but I still want her to win at life because she's so great. I like that we get to see how her weird-ass powers are taking a toll on her mental health because it always bothers me when characters don't have any type of reaction to traumatic events. And it's cool that we've got a heroine that actually thirsts for power and wants to be above other people and has ambition. Goody two shoes heroines are getting boring. Give me more Adelinas.
Both of the love interests are awesome and I ship Adelina with both of them (though I'm more of an Enzlina shipper). The setting has the Middle Ages feel to it but it's also very urban so it's got this weird but effective mash up of past and future qualities. The ending broke my *dun dun* heart, though I probably should've expected that since this is a Marie Lu book. The characters all had distinct motivations and goals for wanting to either overthrow the King and Queen or kill all the malfettos, and I even found myself liking the villains. JUST GO READ THIS BOOK!
Sigh. I want The Rose Society and I want it now. Why can't books be published like two weeks apart. That would make my life easier. *dances off into the night to go start my own squad of ass-kicking rebels*

Links:
Book Depository
Amazon
Goodreads