**Favorite Books of 2014**

As I sit down to write about my favorite books of 2014, I am reminded of why this series, "The Mortal Instruments", is so special to me. Recently, I finished reading "City of Heavenly Fire", which is the conclusion to the series. To be honest, I had been feeling a bit disconnected from the series and was worried that it was dragging on. However, after finishing this book, I was reminded why I fell in love with the series in the first place. The new characters introduced in "City of Heavenly Fire" added depth to the story, and I loved discovering more about my favorite characters. It's clear that Cassandra Clare put a lot of thought into wrapping up the series, and I appreciated the way she brought everything full circle.

One book that really got me excited this year was "Anna and the French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins. I had heard so many wonderful things about this novel, and I couldn't wait to dive in. The moment I started reading, I felt like I was transported to Paris. The author's writing is effortless and immersive, making you feel like you're right there with Anna as she navigates her new life at a French boarding school. The characters are all so well-developed and relatable, especially the lovable but awkward St. Clair, who becomes Anna's love interest. I loved watching their relationship blossom and the way their friends supported them every step of the way. This book is a perfect example of how a cutesy romance can still be engaging and satisfying.

Another book that caught my eye was "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman, which I read for Bel of books 11.0 readathon. I have to admit that I wasn't impressed with Neil Gaiman's previous work, but this book won me over from the start. The illustrations in the book are simply stunning and add another layer of depth to the story. The way Gaiman weaves together the world of the graveyard and the lives of the people within it is nothing short of magical. The main character, Nobody Owens, or "Bud" as he's known, is a fascinating protagonist who has grown up in the graveyard with a family of ghosts. When his father, a man named Jack who killed Bud's family, sets out to find him, Bud must use all his wits and resourcefulness to evade capture. This book is a masterclass in storytelling, with a blend of humor, adventure, and suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Finally, I'm excited to share my enthusiasm for "The Fifth Wave" by Rick Yancey, which was released on today's date - the 16th of [month]. As an avid fan of science fiction and dystopian novels, I have been eagerly anticipating this book. The premise is simple yet chilling: aliens have invaded Earth, and their plan to wipe out humanity involves killing off people in waves. We've already seen four waves of destruction, each more horrific than the last - Lights Out, Surf's Up, Pestilence, and Silencer - so what will be the fifth wave? I'm not going to give away any spoilers, but let's just say that this book is an absolute page-turner. With its non-stop action and suspenseful plot, it's a must-read for fans of the genre.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone it's Haley and today I'm going to be talking about some of my favorite books that I've read so far in 2014 so I have three series to show you guys today I'm only including series that I have read all of the books and then I have 10 other books to show you guys so yeah I'm just going to jump right into it so I'm going to start off with the three series that I read and first and these are in no particular order but first I have the selection series by cast so I read this uh in 3 days there are three books the first one is the selection and then there's the elite and finally the one and this isn't actually a completed series because K cast just recently announced that she's going to be adding two books to it so the next one is going to be called the air which is really exciting but also kind of annoying at the same time so if you haven't read these books I don't know what you've been doing with your life but um they are about a girl named America and she lives in a dystopian America which is called Ilia so Ilia operates on a cast system so she is one of the lower class people and then we have the prince who is Prince Maxon love him love him and he has kind of this bachelor like competition to be the next Queen so yeah this is just about that competition there are 35 girls trying to win his heart and thus win the crown so it is just an adorably awesome series it's so cute it's so fun I definitely recommend it it is just it's very near and dear to my heart even though America singer is the most annoying protagonist you'll ever meet Maxon is just he's just perfect okay that's all I'm going to say he's just perfect next I have the Shatter Me trilogy by tahara Mafi so the first book is shatter me then there's unravel me and finally Ignite Me so not only do these books have gorgeous covers but the story is also amazing so this is also a dystopian series that centers around the main character Juliet and she has this special power where she can't touch anyone so the um like officials this guy named Warner who is a um a soldier I guess um he gets the idea to use her power as a weapon um in like a war and stuff so that was a terrible synopsis but nonetheless these are amazing books you really should read them it's such an incredible story and it's just about love and sacrifice and learning to accept who you are it's just awesome and finally I have The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra CLA so the first one is Clockwork Angel the second one is Clockwork Prince and the final one is Clockwork Princess in which Tessa looks like a babe so this series is a prequel series series to The Mortal Instrument series by Cassandra clir and it also takes place in the shadow Hunter world but this one takes place in England in like the 1800s or something like that so we have three main characters so these books are about an American girl named Tessa gray who travels from America to England um in the Victorian era and she ends up being kidnapped by the dark sisters who think she has something special about her so they kidnap her and then there's this guy named the Magister who is after her um who wants to marry her and she takes refuge in the London Institute with Will and jeem who are both Shadow Hunters that was a very brief very really bad synopsis but nonetheless you really should read these books they are really awesome I like these even better than the Mortal Instrument series so those were my top three series that I've read so far in the year 2014 if you noticed Harry Potter and Percy Jackson aren't included because I'm not finished them yet so don't freak out so now I'm going to get on to the other books that I have to mention next I have Dorothy Must Die by Danielle page this book is about a girl from Kansas who gets taken back in a tornado to Oz but it's not the Oz that we all know and love it's an oz where Dorothy came back and she just went crazy she's this tyrannical leader I don't know if I said that right but she just is wreaking havoc and Oz is completely just desolated and it's just a terrible place to be now so this girl takes it upon herself to um restore oz to its former glory and to do that she has to kill Dorothy so it's all about that it's just so intense and such an amazing read I definitely recommend it they just announced the second book title and the cover it's going to be called The Wicked Will Rise and I'm super excited for that I know there's some controversy surrounding this book but I read it before that and whatever I'm separating the art from the artist in this case well not the artist but like the artist affiliations but yeah this is an awesome book definitely read it next I have Winger by Andrew Smith so I've talked about this book before in a recent video my um recommended reads for contemporary I'll link that down below if you're interested in watching that but this book looks like a boy book it I didn't think I was going to like it I wasn't going to get it originally but then I found it on Book Outlet so I was like whatever I'll just pick it up and see if I like it cuz there's been so much hype about it and after reading it I finally understood what all the hype was about this book is fun it's quirky but it also conquers some really tough issues that are pretty taboo to talk about um and I think that's really what makes good literature is to be able to have a fun read but also be able to talk about something very serious that needs to be discussed and I just loved this book I thought it was just such a great story it was fun it just gripped you it was really great it was just read it it's oh just read it I can't explain it prisoner of night and fog by an Blankman this book is the first in I think it's going to be a Trilogy maybe just a duology but it's about a girl who is Hitler's niece and she falls in love with a Jewish reporter and through that she finds out a lot of things that are um that she's been deceived on her whole entire life so she it's really a story about finding out the truth about who she is and who like the world that she lives in so it's really a great story it's not just about like the love story that is a part of it but it's still there's many more aspects to it and I think those aspect that those aspects that kind of delve deeper into who she is and who she becomes through the story are really what makes it so great next I have we were Liars by elart this book has a lot of mixed reviews but I personally loved it um like I've said like three times now and a bunch of people have also said it's best to go into it blind I was spoiled the ending a little bit but I did still enjoy it but I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I wasn't spoiled but it's just it's kind of boring through the middle I will admit that but if you power through then it just makes it all worth it in the end it's really a story about accepting your issues and just moving past them and it's just so so so good next I have Hol City by Ransom rigs this is the second book in the Miss parrens Home for Peculiar Children series which the third one is coming out I don't even know when but I know it's going to come out soon at some point but yeah um I read this book during book tubeathon and I loved it it was so good um if you are not familiar with this series it has like I'm going to try and get has like old creepy photographs that um Ransom rigs actually found and then kind of like wrote the story around which is so awesome and this was just such an amazing sequel to the first one it really reminded me why I loved the first one so much it's just such an interesting story and the pictures just add so much to it I've never read anything like this before and I don't think I would be able to find anything else like this ever again next I have have City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra CLA this is the conclusion to The Mortal Instruments series so I read this book recently I haven't even um put it in my wrap up yet but I loved it I was kind of getting detached from the series it was just kind of dragging on and I felt like it was the same thing over and over again but after reading this book I really remembered why I loved this series so much you get introduced to some new characters and you get to find out more about other characters as well and I think I think that's what really makes this book great it is such a great conclusion but at the same time I was a little bit disappointed just because um I felt it was a little bit unrealistic um and I can't really talk about that or else I'll spoil like everything but um yeah I felt it was a bit unrealistic and it had antil climatic but at the same time it was action-packed I don't know I have mixed feelings on it but overall it made me fall in love with the series again and that's why I'm in ining it in my favorites for the year next I have Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins I'm actually reading Lola and the boy next door now because I loved this book so much I just absolutely fell in love with the characters and Stephanie Perkins just wrote the backdrop of Paris perfectly you feel like you're there you're so absorbed in the story and it's just such a cutesy love story and just all the characters they just want to be all their friends it was such a good book people aren't lying when they say it's amazing and if you didn't know this book is about a girl named Anna obviously who moves from Atlanta to Paris to go to boarding school there because her father wants her to seem prestigious and everything so she doesn't want to go because it's her senior year but she goes and she meets a ton of people including ATN St Clair the super sexy British American also speaks French guy so yeah this is such an awesome book and I just just read it I know it seems corny especially the old covers I like these new covers a lot lot better but just read it it's so adorable next I have the graveyard book by Neil Gaiman I read this book for Bel of books 11.0 readathon and this book has some awesome illustrations in it as well this is the first second Neil Gman book I've read I consider it the first because I listened to Ocean at the end of the lane on audio book and I didn't like it that much but this one I actually read and I loved it it's such a creepy Eerie world but at the same time it's fun and it's just so interesting it's a story you wouldn't like you wouldn't expect someone to think of it's about a boy named nobody Owens or also known as bud and he was raved in a he was raised in a graveyard and um he was raised by these ghosts and everything and this man Jack who killed his whole family is after him so yeah it's a story about that and it's just such a Whimsical but creepy read I can't even describe it it's an awesome book you should definitely read it and finally I have the fifth Wave by Rick yansy today is actually the release date cuz I'm filming this on the 16th today's the release date for the second book in this series which is the infinite SE um I can't wait to pick it up but I'm going to have to because book buying man just got to wait it's really difficult but yeah this book is a dystopian novel where aliens invade the Earth and they completely desolate everything but the way they are doing they're killing the people off is waves so we had the first wave which here I'm going to look on the inside so the first wave was lights out the second wave Surfs Up the third wave was pestilence and the fourth wave was silencer and now what is the fifth wave going to be it's so eerie and creepy and intense like there's never a doll moment in this book it was so good just cuz so action-packed and you're just so immersed in the story I would just pick it up it's just so good just pick it up here you go I'll give it to you there you go so those were all my favorites so far for 2014 I hope you guys enjoyed this video I will be doing kind of at the end of the year a like wrapup sort of favorites thing but I just wanted I have so many books that are my favorites now that I just wanted to mention some now so that my end video doesn't end up being like so long so yeah like I said I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you guys in the next video byehey everyone it's Haley and today I'm going to be talking about some of my favorite books that I've read so far in 2014 so I have three series to show you guys today I'm only including series that I have read all of the books and then I have 10 other books to show you guys so yeah I'm just going to jump right into it so I'm going to start off with the three series that I read and first and these are in no particular order but first I have the selection series by cast so I read this uh in 3 days there are three books the first one is the selection and then there's the elite and finally the one and this isn't actually a completed series because K cast just recently announced that she's going to be adding two books to it so the next one is going to be called the air which is really exciting but also kind of annoying at the same time so if you haven't read these books I don't know what you've been doing with your life but um they are about a girl named America and she lives in a dystopian America which is called Ilia so Ilia operates on a cast system so she is one of the lower class people and then we have the prince who is Prince Maxon love him love him and he has kind of this bachelor like competition to be the next Queen so yeah this is just about that competition there are 35 girls trying to win his heart and thus win the crown so it is just an adorably awesome series it's so cute it's so fun I definitely recommend it it is just it's very near and dear to my heart even though America singer is the most annoying protagonist you'll ever meet Maxon is just he's just perfect okay that's all I'm going to say he's just perfect next I have the Shatter Me trilogy by tahara Mafi so the first book is shatter me then there's unravel me and finally Ignite Me so not only do these books have gorgeous covers but the story is also amazing so this is also a dystopian series that centers around the main character Juliet and she has this special power where she can't touch anyone so the um like officials this guy named Warner who is a um a soldier I guess um he gets the idea to use her power as a weapon um in like a war and stuff so that was a terrible synopsis but nonetheless these are amazing books you really should read them it's such an incredible story and it's just about love and sacrifice and learning to accept who you are it's just awesome and finally I have The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra CLA so the first one is Clockwork Angel the second one is Clockwork Prince and the final one is Clockwork Princess in which Tessa looks like a babe so this series is a prequel series series to The Mortal Instrument series by Cassandra clir and it also takes place in the shadow Hunter world but this one takes place in England in like the 1800s or something like that so we have three main characters so these books are about an American girl named Tessa gray who travels from America to England um in the Victorian era and she ends up being kidnapped by the dark sisters who think she has something special about her so they kidnap her and then there's this guy named the Magister who is after her um who wants to marry her and she takes refuge in the London Institute with Will and jeem who are both Shadow Hunters that was a very brief very really bad synopsis but nonetheless you really should read these books they are really awesome I like these even better than the Mortal Instrument series so those were my top three series that I've read so far in the year 2014 if you noticed Harry Potter and Percy Jackson aren't included because I'm not finished them yet so don't freak out so now I'm going to get on to the other books that I have to mention next I have Dorothy Must Die by Danielle page this book is about a girl from Kansas who gets taken back in a tornado to Oz but it's not the Oz that we all know and love it's an oz where Dorothy came back and she just went crazy she's this tyrannical leader I don't know if I said that right but she just is wreaking havoc and Oz is completely just desolated and it's just a terrible place to be now so this girl takes it upon herself to um restore oz to its former glory and to do that she has to kill Dorothy so it's all about that it's just so intense and such an amazing read I definitely recommend it they just announced the second book title and the cover it's going to be called The Wicked Will Rise and I'm super excited for that I know there's some controversy surrounding this book but I read it before that and whatever I'm separating the art from the artist in this case well not the artist but like the artist affiliations but yeah this is an awesome book definitely read it next I have Winger by Andrew Smith so I've talked about this book before in a recent video my um recommended reads for contemporary I'll link that down below if you're interested in watching that but this book looks like a boy book it I didn't think I was going to like it I wasn't going to get it originally but then I found it on Book Outlet so I was like whatever I'll just pick it up and see if I like it cuz there's been so much hype about it and after reading it I finally understood what all the hype was about this book is fun it's quirky but it also conquers some really tough issues that are pretty taboo to talk about um and I think that's really what makes good literature is to be able to have a fun read but also be able to talk about something very serious that needs to be discussed and I just loved this book I thought it was just such a great story it was fun it just gripped you it was really great it was just read it it's oh just read it I can't explain it prisoner of night and fog by an Blankman this book is the first in I think it's going to be a Trilogy maybe just a duology but it's about a girl who is Hitler's niece and she falls in love with a Jewish reporter and through that she finds out a lot of things that are um that she's been deceived on her whole entire life so she it's really a story about finding out the truth about who she is and who like the world that she lives in so it's really a great story it's not just about like the love story that is a part of it but it's still there's many more aspects to it and I think those aspect that those aspects that kind of delve deeper into who she is and who she becomes through the story are really what makes it so great next I have we were Liars by elart this book has a lot of mixed reviews but I personally loved it um like I've said like three times now and a bunch of people have also said it's best to go into it blind I was spoiled the ending a little bit but I did still enjoy it but I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I wasn't spoiled but it's just it's kind of boring through the middle I will admit that but if you power through then it just makes it all worth it in the end it's really a story about accepting your issues and just moving past them and it's just so so so good next I have Hol City by Ransom rigs this is the second book in the Miss parrens Home for Peculiar Children series which the third one is coming out I don't even know when but I know it's going to come out soon at some point but yeah um I read this book during book tubeathon and I loved it it was so good um if you are not familiar with this series it has like I'm going to try and get has like old creepy photographs that um Ransom rigs actually found and then kind of like wrote the story around which is so awesome and this was just such an amazing sequel to the first one it really reminded me why I loved the first one so much it's just such an interesting story and the pictures just add so much to it I've never read anything like this before and I don't think I would be able to find anything else like this ever again next I have have City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra CLA this is the conclusion to The Mortal Instruments series so I read this book recently I haven't even um put it in my wrap up yet but I loved it I was kind of getting detached from the series it was just kind of dragging on and I felt like it was the same thing over and over again but after reading this book I really remembered why I loved this series so much you get introduced to some new characters and you get to find out more about other characters as well and I think I think that's what really makes this book great it is such a great conclusion but at the same time I was a little bit disappointed just because um I felt it was a little bit unrealistic um and I can't really talk about that or else I'll spoil like everything but um yeah I felt it was a bit unrealistic and it had antil climatic but at the same time it was action-packed I don't know I have mixed feelings on it but overall it made me fall in love with the series again and that's why I'm in ining it in my favorites for the year next I have Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins I'm actually reading Lola and the boy next door now because I loved this book so much I just absolutely fell in love with the characters and Stephanie Perkins just wrote the backdrop of Paris perfectly you feel like you're there you're so absorbed in the story and it's just such a cutesy love story and just all the characters they just want to be all their friends it was such a good book people aren't lying when they say it's amazing and if you didn't know this book is about a girl named Anna obviously who moves from Atlanta to Paris to go to boarding school there because her father wants her to seem prestigious and everything so she doesn't want to go because it's her senior year but she goes and she meets a ton of people including ATN St Clair the super sexy British American also speaks French guy so yeah this is such an awesome book and I just just read it I know it seems corny especially the old covers I like these new covers a lot lot better but just read it it's so adorable next I have the graveyard book by Neil Gaiman I read this book for Bel of books 11.0 readathon and this book has some awesome illustrations in it as well this is the first second Neil Gman book I've read I consider it the first because I listened to Ocean at the end of the lane on audio book and I didn't like it that much but this one I actually read and I loved it it's such a creepy Eerie world but at the same time it's fun and it's just so interesting it's a story you wouldn't like you wouldn't expect someone to think of it's about a boy named nobody Owens or also known as bud and he was raved in a he was raised in a graveyard and um he was raised by these ghosts and everything and this man Jack who killed his whole family is after him so yeah it's a story about that and it's just such a Whimsical but creepy read I can't even describe it it's an awesome book you should definitely read it and finally I have the fifth Wave by Rick yansy today is actually the release date cuz I'm filming this on the 16th today's the release date for the second book in this series which is the infinite SE um I can't wait to pick it up but I'm going to have to because book buying man just got to wait it's really difficult but yeah this book is a dystopian novel where aliens invade the Earth and they completely desolate everything but the way they are doing they're killing the people off is waves so we had the first wave which here I'm going to look on the inside so the first wave was lights out the second wave Surfs Up the third wave was pestilence and the fourth wave was silencer and now what is the fifth wave going to be it's so eerie and creepy and intense like there's never a doll moment in this book it was so good just cuz so action-packed and you're just so immersed in the story I would just pick it up it's just so good just pick it up here you go I'll give it to you there you go so those were all my favorites so far for 2014 I hope you guys enjoyed this video I will be doing kind of at the end of the year a like wrapup sort of favorites thing but I just wanted I have so many books that are my favorites now that I just wanted to mention some now so that my end video doesn't end up being like so long so yeah like I said I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you guys in the next video bye\n"