Top Ten Books of 2015

Hello everyone! As I didn't blog much over the past six months I think it's definitely time for me to look back over on the books I read this year and choose my top ten reads of 2015. These books weren't necessarily published in 2015, but I did read them in the year 2015 and they definitely stood out the most. I read some great books this year and these are the one I would most highly recommend!

10. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

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This was the first book I've read by J.K. Rowling that wasn't in the Harry Potter series and I went into it with rather low expectations as I wasn't really sure what to expect. I enjoy the occasional crime novel so I was hoping to enjoy it and, although I love J.K. Rowling's writing, I wasn't sure if it would translate from children's to adult literature. I don't know why I was ever unsure about this book because I absolutely loved it. Rowling/Galbraith is always a fantastic writer and her style is so completely different in this book that it really did feel like I was reading a different author altogether. The plot  was so clever and unexpected, I loved the relationship and dynamics between the two main characters, and the descriptions were absolutely beautiful throughout. Perfectly written, a fantastic plot, and a great twist. Easily a 5 star rating. 

9. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson 

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I finally decided to pick up my first every Brandon Sanderson book and I am so happy I did. If you love Superheroes, Comics, Action, or Futuristic novels then this is definitely for you. I had high expectations when I started reading this and I wasn't let down, in fact my expectations were easily surpassed by this wonderfully written book. The storyline is fantastic, the characters are incredibly three-dimensional and believable, the superheroes/Epics and their powers were so interesting, and the ending... the ending was amazing. To be honest, I thought I had guessed the twist in this book but I was left utterly stunned when Sanderson revealed the main twist. I didn't see it coming and I was left amazed and desperate to pick up the next book. I recently got the second book, Firefight, for Christmas and I'm so excited to read it! I also want to read more of Sanderson in The Mistborn Trilogy, which I bought a while ago. This book is easily one of my favourite books of the year and I would recommend it to anyone.

8. A Man Called Ove by Frendrik Backman

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I read this book for my work book club and I'm so glad I did. I was sceptical at first but the way the story is told is just so beautiful and well done. Backman successfully interweaves the past and present of Ove's life, constantly revealing more above who Ove his, that are deeply sad yet so real. The characters are what really made this book for me. They are absolutely wonderful and so believable as people. This book had me laughing out loud at some of the funny incidents that happened to Ove and the ending was so beautiful, heartwarming and simultaneously sad. I have to say, I really welled up towards the end and I just felt so attached to Ove and his family and friends. I didn't want it to end. I absolutely loved this book and it definitely deserves more than 5/5 stars! I didn't expect this book to be as witty, funny, heart-warming, yet heart-wrenching, as it was. This is book that just makes you appreciate everything about life and the people in it. This was the most wonderful, heartwarming story I read this year. I also have a full review of this book here!

7. Speaker for the Dead (#2) by Orson Scott Card

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A couple of years ago my friend recommended that I should read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and I finally got around to it this year. I thoroughly enjoyed it and immediately picked up the second book Speaker for the Dead. Having read the whole series I can easily say that this book is the most brilliant of the series - it blew me away. I enjoy science fiction books and this fulfilled everything I could have wanted from the genre. It had so much intrigue and mystery that it kept me hooked from the first chapter. The characters were wonderful and the 'alien' life was so different to anything else I've ever read or seen. You don't have to read Ender's Game at all to enjoy this book but I would say it might help occasionally. If you like science fiction books then I highly recommend this book.

6. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff 

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I first saw this book on Booktube and the concept of it really intrigued me. This is another science fiction book which took me by surprise and surpassed all my expectations. The book is made up of emails, video diaries, interviews, case files, documents, computer data, and images to tell the story. Given that, I thought this might be a bit complicated and hard to get attached to the characters, but it really wasn't. It told the survival story of people of a spacecraft who have had to escape their illegal mining planet to avoid being destroyed. However, they are still being hunted. It is a beautifully told/shown story and the characters are incredible and so different to any I've read before. It is easily one of the most action-packed books I have read this year and I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys Star Trek/Star Wars, or are just a lover of science fiction. It is absolutely amazing and I can't wait for the sequel (although this can easily be read as a stand-alone too, in my opinion).

5. Queen of Shadows (#4) by Sarah J. Maas

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This a book that I was highly anticipating all year. I read the first three books and novella of this series last year and was desperate for this book to come out. It surprised me a lot with where the plot went but it definitely didn't disappoint. I won't say too much about the story as I don't want to spoil anyone, but the characters had so much development in this novel, many characters met each other for the first time, and we explored old characters that I was very interesting in meeting fully. Overall it was a fantastic fourth book in the series and I am so excited for the next one. I will say that if you read Throne of Glass (#1) and didn't enjoy it then please continue reading (especially the book of novellas called The Assassin's Blade) as the story gets so much better. A fantastic fantasy series that deserves all the hype it's getting.

4. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

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Earlier this year I read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld but only found those books to be okay, rather than anything that stood out to me, so I was slightly dubious about this book. I was wrong to be. Scott Westerfeld is a brilliant writer and I'm so glad I picked up this book; it is nothing at all written like the Uglies series. This book follows a young début author who is just starting in the publishing world and struggling to write her sequel and adapt to New York City. Interspersed with this story are chapters of her début novel. Both stories running side-by-side are so compelling and fascinating. I loved the focus on family and struggling as a young person in a big city with a new job. Everything about this appealed to me, especially as an aspiring writer. I loved this book and if you enjoy writing or contemporary fiction, or even a bit of paranormal fiction, then you'll enjoy this book!

3. 11.22.63 by Stephen King

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Stephen King is quickly becoming one of my all time favourite authors and I've only read a few of his books so far. He is a great storyteller. This one isn't a horror story but one about a man who manages to travel back in time to the 1960s America. He realises that this opportunity might mean he can change the world if he can only make it to the date 11.22.63, the year Kennedy was assassinated. This book is amazing. It has so much depth to it and is very uncomplicated for a time travel novel and its repercussions. There is also so many references to his other books, including a visit to Derry, which I loved. The ending was also perfect despite it not going exactly how I wanted it to. Overall a fantastic book; do not be put off by its size!

 2. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell 

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell was one of my favourite books of last year so this book was one of my anticipated reads of this year. This book was one which was talked about a lot in Fangirl and was pretty much the equivalent of Harry Potter in the world of the novel. I'm not going to lie, the first couple of hundred of pages of this I found only okay and I wasn't sure what the hype was. But once a certain character was introduced the rest of the book was flipping amazing. The magic system was clever, the characters were fantastically written, and, as with any Rainbow Rowell novel, the love story in the book was so beautifully written. It sucked me in and kept me hooked; I think it's probably my favourite Rainbow Rowell book so far. I also loved the strong LGBT tones throughout the book as diversity is something that we need to see more of in YA fiction. If you like a good Romance book, or have enjoyed any Rowell before then I highly recommend this to you. You definitely don't need to have read Fangirl to enjoy it.

1. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

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This is my big Number 1 of 2015. Helter Skelter definitely won't be a book for everyone, especially younger readers or those who don't enjoy True Crime books, but I found it to be such a fascinating read (which may sound slightly morbid). The book is about the infamous Manson Murders which occurred in the 1960s. It is written by one of the lawyers involved in the case and gives a terrifying view of how Charles Manson manipulated and brainwashed people into committing murder, and how he very nearly got away with it. This book affected me so much and has stayed with me since I read it in January. If you're interest in reading about Charles Manson and the murders that happened around him, or if you enjoy reading True Crime then I definitely recommend this to you. I never really thought this book would be for me as I'm not the biggest fan of true crime books, but this blew me away. As I said earlier, this book is probably better for mature readers as the violence is very graphic in Bugliosi's account, but if you think you'd be even slightly interested then definitely pick it up.

So those are my Top Ten Books of 2015, I definitely had a good reading year and I hope my luck of good books continues into the New Year. Let me know what you thought of any of the above if you've read them, or what your Top Ten Books of the year are. I'll be doing a blog post soon about my reading goals of 2016 so look out for that soon!