Top Ten Tuesday: 2014 Releases I Wanted To Read But Didn’t

toptentuesdayToday’s Top Ten Tuesday, brought to you by the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish, is all about 2014 releases that I didn’t get a chance to read! Most of these are on my priority list of books to read this year, and some of them I have already started!

Top Ten 2014 Releases I Plan On Reading In 2015

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The Mara Dyer series – I didn’t even learn about this series until the final volume, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, came out just before YALL Fest. But I got to meet author Michelle Hodkin and I’m so happy I did because I just finished reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and I am obsessed! Favorite book of the year so far (I know it’s early but I don’t care). Can’t wait to finish this series, but I already know I’m going to have a major book hangover.

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Meeting Michelle Hodkin at YALL Fest in November :)

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet – I checked this book out from the library WEEKS ago, but I still haven’t gotten past the first couple of chapters (not because I don’t want to read it!). I know that Ashley Clements, the actress who plays Lizzie in the YouTube series, has narrated the audio book and I’m so tempted to just listen to that during my commute.

Open Road Summer – My friend Regina lent me her copy of Emery Lord’s celebrated debut novel, but I haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet!

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend – I got this for Christmas so I will be reading it soon!!

A Thousand Pieces of You – I can’t wait to get my hands on this gorgeous novel. I hear it’s a series, too?

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Elevated – I think the only reason I didn’t buy this book the moment I heard about it is because it’s written in verse and I have to be in the mood for those types of books. BUT, I still want to read it :)

The Selection series – Now that I finally own The Selection (thanks to my TBTB Secret Santa), I can work on reading this series!

Safe and Sound – Ever since connecting with T.S. Krupa on Twitter I’ve been wanting to read her book. Plus this book takes place in North Carolina and I love that state.

The Here and Now – I love science fiction/fantasy and I love Ann Brashares. I got her to personalize this book for me while I was at YALL Fest so I’m even more excited about actually reading it :)

My True Love Gave To Me – I know, Christmas is over, but we’re reading this book in my Book Club this month and I’m excited! I was also thrilled when my mother-in-law gave it to me for Christmas! I’ve been wanting it for so long.

Are any of these books on your To Be Read List as well? What are some books that were released within the past couple of years that you’re still wanting to read?

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite New-To-Me Authors

toptentuesdayToday’s Top Ten Tuesday meme, created by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish, is all about authors we read for the first time in 2014! This was actually a fun and easy post for me since I read a whole bunch of “new to me” authors this year, and I got to meet some of them too! :)

Top Ten “New To Me” Authors in 2014

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Meeting Rainbow Rowell at YALL Fest was DEFINITELY one of my highlights from 2014!!

Rainbow Rowell – By far my favorite author of the year. I read Attachments back in January after seeing so many recommendations from fellow bloggers. I LOVED IT. I know it came out a few years ago, but I talked about that book to all of my friends because it was so wonderful. Since then I’ve read Fangirl and Landline, and I’ve decided that I prefer Rainbow Rowell’s adult fiction to her YA fiction, but I’m still waiting to read Eleanor & Park :)
Veronica Roth – This year I also read the Divergent series. It wasn’t my favorite series, but I did like the world Veronica Roth created (and I really liked the first movie!).
Lauren Morrill – My second favorite author I discovered this year! She wrote Meant to Be and Being Sloane Jacobs and if I could give her an award it would be for prettiest book covers one & two.
Ann Brashares – This year I read the entire Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, and I especially loved the most recent 5th book. When I met Ann Brashares at YALL Fest (and totally fangirled), I got to chat with her a bit about it and she was really happy to know that I enjoyed the last book since so many people don’t want to read it because it’s sad. I had her sign a copy of her new book, The Here and Now (which also has a gorgeous cover), and I’m excited to read it soon!
Louisa May Alcott – I still don’t know why I waited so long to read Little Women, but I’m so glad I finally did this year! I’m looking forward to reading Alcott’s other novels as well.
Morgan Matson – After hearing so many good things about Since You’ve Been Gone, my book club voted to read this earlier this summer and we all fell in love! Since then I’ve read all of Matson’s other novels, I’ve laughed & cried, and now I can’t wait for her to publish more!
Jennifer E. Smith – It is very rare for me to read a book by an author, not really like it, and then decide to give out a second chance and read another of his/her novels. I’m glad I did this with Jennifer E. Smith. I read The Geography of You and Me a few months ago and felt “Ehh” about it. But then I checked out This Is What Happy Looks Like on audiobook and I actually rather enjoyed it. I think I’ll give The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight a chance next.
Cindi Madsen – I won a copy of Madsen’s Falling For Her Fiancé a couple of months ago and adored it! I speed read it and then bought the two sequels and finished them in roughly two days. If you like clean, funny, romances, Cindi Madsen writes some pretty great ones :)
Harper Lee – I was never assigned to read To Kill A Mockingbird, but maybe that’s a good thing, because when I finally felt like reading it this year, I loved it. I wrote all about my feelings on the novel here.
Huntley Fitzpatrick – I had been eyeing My Life Next Door for months and maybe it was delayed gratification, but I loved that book so much more than I thought I would. It’s definitely not all that it seems; it’s better :)

What are some authors you read for the first time this year? I’d love some recommendations!

Top Ten Tuesday: Autumn Reads (plus some life updates!)

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Scroll down to see my belated Top Ten Tuesday list for “Autumn Reads,” but in the meantime here’s a little update about what has been going on in my life lately:

Please forgive me for my very long and unannounced hiatus! I meant to write a post about all of the changes in my life these past couple of months, but I never could seem to find time to pen them all out. For those of you who know me in real life, or if you converse with me regularly, you know that a little over a month ago my husband and I moved back to the U.S.

It had been long-expected for us and for our close friends and family (we bought plane tickets back in May), but we didn’t make any big announcements until shortly before the actual move. The reason I am just now writing on my blog about it is because I’ve been in a conundrum about its future. Obviously, the title An American in France is no longer appropriate, but my ties to France are still very strong considering my husband is French and we do plan on moving back there one day. But this gives me an opportunity to change not only the title of my blog but the theme as well. I’d love to still blog about French things, but I also enjoy blogging about books, so I am brainstorming new title options. For now, I will keep blogging on An American in France, and I will do my best to be more regular about posting (I really do miss blogging and reading all of your blogs as well!). If you are really talented with thinking of blog titles, please share with me your ideas in the comments below! I’d really appreciate any input :)

And now, the fun stuff! (yay for Top Ten lists!)

Top Ten Books I Plan To Read This Autumn

I actually made this list back at the start of autumn, so half of these I have already read, but they fit the category nonetheless.

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Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson – I read this novel in early September, actually, but it’s the perfect type of suspense novel to keep you interested this autumn. I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading this book, and the end is so creepy it stayed on my mind for a couple of months after I finished it. There’s also a movie version with Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong coming out on Halloween of all days! But, as always, read the book first :)

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares – This summer I went through a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants phase and read the entire series over the course of a few weeks. I had never read it before, and I had always thought the movies were pretty cheesy, but the series greatly blew my expectations. I loved each of the books, but this last one in particular, which is definitely NOT a young adult book like it’s predecessors, was my absolute favorite. If you’re familiar with the series, and even if you aren’t, this book will break your heart and then stitch it back up just when you think all hope is lost. It’s definitely a somber read, perfect for those grey autumn afternoons.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell – I guess this book would be great to read during any season. It takes place during Christmas, but in California where it always feels like summer. And like Rainbow Rowell’s other novels, it deals with broken people, another autumn-appropriate theme. I read Rowell’s first novel, Attachments, earlier this year and so far it may just be my favorite book I’ve read all year. Landline has her same adult fiction style (which I prefer over her YA style), and you’ll be laughing, crying, and hoping for a happy ending.

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall – Ok, this is probably more of a summer read, but it takes place during an entire school year so it does have some “Back to School” themes as well. The title of this novel fits perfectly. It’s a love story told through the eyes of 14 other people (including an animal and an inanimate object), and it’s totally swoon worthy. The main characters are awkward and loveable and will have you laughing and gushing as they trip and fall over themselves.

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Anna and the French Kiss series by Stephanie Perkins – Another set of books that I would normally save for the summer but which also fit the back to school theme (at least the first one does. I haven’t read the other two yet). I’ve heard so much about these books, and maybe that gave me too high expectations because I didn’t find Anna and the French Kiss as amazing as everyone said it was. So hopefully the next two are more intriguing.

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The Here and Now by Ann Brashares – I saw this beautiful book cover all over the bookstores in France this summer and since then I’ve been dying to read it (I’m a stickler for pretty book covers, another reason I loved A Little Something Different). It’s kinda science-fictiony, another type of book I like to read during this season.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo – This book has been on my TBR list allllll year and I finally started it not too long ago. Most people know how this book goes so all I’m going to say is that I hope I finish reading it before Christmas ;)

The Maze Runner by James Dashner – Another book-to-screen story that I’d like to read before it leaves theaters. I’ve been on the hold-list at my library for about a month now…

There’s my TBR list for this autumn! Have you read any of these books yet? Oh, and if you have any spooky suspenseful book recommendations, please leave a comment for me! I’m looking for good Halloween reads :)