A Passion...or Obsession...

So this post is going to be a totally different tone than my last. It's much more upbeat and I feel pretty passionately about it. It's all about:

Books!

I am honestly OBSESSED with reading and I am constantly searching for material. I'm pretty eclectic in my taste I've read everything from biographies (Jenny McCarthy) to non fiction (Rumspringa about the Amish tradition of exploring the outside world in order to choose whether they wish to become a member of the community or leave their faith and families) to romance and everything in between. I pretty much love it all; although I do tend to go through phases and read a lot of one type of genre.

In a good week I can read 2-3 books easy. But, my kiddos often get the best of me and I've recently slowed down my progression of books. And to be honest, books cost money and with my rate of reading, it tends to get expensive.

So, this brings me to my current post. I'm going to share a bunch of my favorite books on here. But, not the traditional Top of the New York Times Best Sellers list, although I do like a fair amount of those books*(see * at bottom to see some of my favorites). I'm going to write about what I think are little known books, or books on the rise. And some of them are free books that I just fell in love with. I should note that these books are priced based on the Barnes&Noble Nook (which I should have never gotten because it makes my book obsession worse). I should also note that I don't have deals or promotions with Barnes and Noble or any of the authors I am writing about. I just honestly fell in love with these books and think everyone should read them.

Here's my recent favorites list:

First and foremost is The Testing Trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau. The first book is called The Testing and the most recent release is Independent Study, which just came out on January 7th. I found this book by Googling "Books similar to The Hunger Games". Yes, I am that much of a nerd and yes, I was/am that obsessed with The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. But, I found an actual list that had books similar to The Hunger Games and it listed The Testing. I looked it up on my Nook, it was $9.17, decided what the hey, and quickly became OBSESSED.

This book is the perfect accompaniment to The Hunger Games trilogy. It's very similar in the fact that it's a trilogy (Duh!), it's set in a dystopian society, it involves teens, there's a lot of death, and has a corrupt government. The story follows Cia, a young adult of sixteen, growing up in a small town (or colony as they are referred to in the book) on the day of her school graduation. Upon their graduation day, students either enter the work force (helping to rebuild a destroyed country) or are chosen for "The Testing" at the University. Only the few top students from each colony are chosen to participate, and the main character is one of those chosen. Once testing is complete, students enter the University, and then are chosen as either a candidate for government officials, doctors, teachers, or other high ranking positions. It's a limited, coveted spot; one that young people are willing to cheat, fight, and even, die for.

The book follows Cia's journey through the Testing with her fellow students from her colony and the people she meets along the way. Much like The Hunger Games, Cia is constantly questioning the motives of those around her and trying to read between the lines of everything that is said to her. I don't want to give too much away, but the book is completely fascinating and perfect for those who are looking for an engrossing dystopian novel.

I like the fact that it's a completely plausible society. The history of the US is described in detailed terms of nuclear and civil war, corrupt governments, and a world where nature strikes back in the form of devastating earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes. All of this could be a far distant United States. The threat of war in our current civilization is always there and it's been said for years by scientists that California is going to basically fall into the ocean due to the San Andreas fault line. Cia's world in The Testing just seems real. Making it scary and possible.

Plus the relationships are interesting; they make you fall in love with certain characters, laugh along with others, and question everything that comes out of anyone's mouth. There are unsuspecting allies, as well as surprising enemies. The concept of the actual testing process is horrifying. Seeing how society has adapted is even more shocking; I would never survive in Cia's world.

Independent Study, the second book in the series, is even more engaging. It has all of the same elements as the first book, with moments that made me literally shriek or had my jaw dropping open. While certain plot lines are obvious, others are unsuspecting, which forever keeps the reader on their toes. When I finished the book, I was instantly wanting more; in fact, I wanted to go back and reread the book again. I want the third book, Graduation Day, to come out tomorrow. It's perfect and I love it. It fills the void left by knowing that The Hunger Games trilogy is over.

Another book that I recently read is A Moment by Maria Hall. This was actually free on my Nook, which made it appealing, but it's also a "distorted" romantic book, which is also one of my current obsessions. While I love dystopian novels, I have an absorbent amount of romantic novels in my Nook library, where troubled boy meets troubled girl, usually in a high school or college setting. Boy hates girl, girl hates boy, both connect through "cosmic" circumstances, and help one another overcome their tortured pasts. Granted they are a little cheesy and most of them follow the same guidelines, but I love them.

In A Moment, the reader meets Liliana, a teen mom, who grows up taking care of her sick mother and autistic child while supporting her family and going to school. At school, she is friends with Alex, who introduces her to his troubled cousin Ryan. Ryan is your traditional good looking "bad boy", who is dark and mysterious, and obviously has his own set of problems. Liliana is reluctantly smitten with Ryan after a life-altering incident, and the book follows their struggles of opening up and facing their demons.

This book is appealing on so many levels. I love the relationships; between Ryan and Liliana, Liliana and her son, Ryan and Alex, Liliana and her mom. So intricate and each one shapes how the characters act, which is exactly what happens to all of us; our parents, relatives, friends, significant others, they all have a huge impact on our thought processes, our actions, and our opinions. I also love this book because of Liliana's relationship with her autistic son. It's heartbreaking and endearing and introduces an autistic child to the reader in a very simplistic way.

It's just a quick, touching read. I recommend it.

Another one of my favorites in the same "bad boy, good girl" genre is Beautiful Disaster and its' companion Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire. I LOVE these two books! In Beautiful Disaster Abby is a "small town" girl just starting out her freshmen year at college with her best friend America. Abby is closed off to the idea of relationships and love due to her mysterious past, until she meets Travis Maddox, bad boy on campus. Travis is the ultimate man; ripped with muscles, oozing sex, and tatted up... He's also the campus "man-whore"; uses girls and throws them to the side because, you guessed it, his past has closed him off to love as well. But those two just can't seem to shake one another, and when a bet lands Abby living with Travis and his roommate Shepley (coincidentally, America's boyfriend and Travis' cousin), it seems to be fate's divine intervention.

This book had me from the start; I honestly couldn't put it down. I love the whole idea of a "bad boy" and what girl doesn't?! And Travis is the ultimate "bad boy"; muscles, tattoos, fights in an underground ring for money, and you can't seem to hold him down for more than a one night stand. Every girl wants to be "that girl"; the one who pegs down the "bad boy" and makes him change his ways. Travis is such a great character; what you expect, but not really. He's officially my book boyfriend and that's one of the reasons I love this book so much.

Plus, Abby is a spit-fire; the kind of girl who's all sweet and innocent on the outside, but a little sassy on the inside too. She doesn't care to impress the big man on campus; which is how most girls want to be. We want to be who we are and wear what we want and at the end of the day, we want the guy to be ok with that. Her friendship with America is perfect and her interaction with Travis is exciting and fun.

And the great part, what really made me fall in love with these two books, is the fact that Walking Disaster is the same story as Beautiful Disaster, but written from Travis' point of view. Now, while this may seem redundant, it's not. Because while most romance novels, are written from the woman's point of view, you never get to hear what the guy is really thinking. You never understand why he said or did something; let's face it, men are a mystery. But, Walking Disaster, gives us an in-depth look into Travis' family, what he's thinking when he's "whoring" around, how he falls for Abby, what motivates him during certain parts of the book. Sure, it has a lot of the same scenes and the same dialogue as the original, but it has extras too; stuff that maybe you didn't think about, but once you read them, it adds so much to the story. I love love love books with a guy's point of view... And let's be honest, some of us are still hoping for Midnight Sun to be published...

Other great mentions in the "bad boy meets girl and both have a troubled pasts" genre are:
Hopeless by Colleen Coover (which also has a male character's point of view companion, Losing Hope)
Ruining Me and Ruining You by Nicole Reed
Wait for You by J Lynn (male character's point of view is Trust in Me)

And I guess that's all I am going to bore you with for now. These are just a few of the books I have read over the past year that I fell in love with and I hope someone else falls in love with them too.

*The Fault in Our Stars John Green
Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy E.L James
Divergent Trilogy Veronica Roth (although Allegiant was a huge disappointment and seemed like a rip off of The Maze Runner series)
The Hunger Games Trilogy Suzanne Collins