Favourite Books of 2014

Reading is one of my favourite pastimes. I love losing myself in novels, and this year I read some pretty awesome stories. The amount of literature that has been released this year was amazing! We have so many stand alone novels, squeals novels. But only a selected few have been selected to be a part of this list. So from all the books I read this year, here are my top favourite five ... 

5) The Maze Runner 

The Maze Runner tells the story of Thomas - a young boy with no memory of his life - dropped into the glades, a functioning community surrounded by only boys. As life in the Glades becomes more life-threatening, Thomas and the other Gladers set on an adventure to find an escape out of the maze. 
I remember when I first picked The Maze Runner almost a year ago, I just couldn't get into it. I had read way too many dyspotian novels that year, and I was in desperate need of a break from the genre. But when I picked it up again this year, I felt drawn to the mystery behind the maze. I clung onto every word for dear life, and devoured each page. I've never been so curious as to what could happen next in a novel, especially one with so many dark mysterious plot holes. This book feels literally feels like an action movie, taking place in front of your eyes. It was such a thrilling adventure!

4) Eleanor and Park

Eleanor and Park is a novel about set in the 1980s about two teenagers, who find themselves falling in love, over their shared love of comic books and mix tapes.
This book has been on my list for so long, and I am almost finished reading it - finally. Although I am almost 30 pages away from the ending, I'm sure this novel is going to be one of the most memorable reads from this year. Rainbow Rowell knows how to capture that feeling of falling in love for the very first time, and even what's like to be a teenager with complex home lives. Her perspective shadows this awkward nature of being, that is very refreshing to Hollywood's pristine cut teenage version. It's something I'll go into deeper in my review of the novel. It's well worth a read!  


3) Fangirl 

Cath is a fangirl going into her first year of college. As an introvert, she finds herself clinging to her laptop writing Simon Snow fanfiction, as everything in her life begins to change - including her relationship with her twin sister. Fangirl is a coming of age story that deals with family, change and romance. 
I have very sentimental reasons for choosing this book as one of my favourites of this year. I read Fangirl - a novel that explicitly discussed the early days of university life - just before attending my own university graduation. This book was an almost like an experience in itself. There were some aspects I could relate to, which made me realised how much I've grown from my first year of uni. Plus, it was so wonderful to see Cath come out of her shell. And Levi's character is just so loveable. This book left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. It was wonderful, so wonderful.


2) Fruit Baskets

Tohru is a young orphaned girl living in a tent, until one day she is discovered by the Somas who live nearby. Yuki and Shigure Soma decide to take Tohru into their family home. But not all is what it seems. The Soma family has a secret - they are cursed to turn into to animals from the Zodiac.

So this may kinda of be cheating since Fruit Baskets is a manga, but since these are my favourite reads of this year ... Potato Patatoe. You may remember me mentioning how I wanted to read Fruit Baskets in my Autumn TBR post back in October. And I finally did, and it was everything I expected and more! I loved skimming through each page, learning things about these character that weren't in the anime, and how faithful the anime was to the manga. The manga has been a pleasure to read so far, and I can't wait to continue reading them in the new year! So excited to see more of what this series holds!

1) City of Heavenly Fire

In the final book of The Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends band together to defeat Sebastian once and for all. The final battle will not be easy, as Sebastian begins to build his army of Endarkened Shadowhunters; Some of whom are in fact their loved ones.

I have been waiting for this novel for what seems like a lifetime! The final book in TMI series - it's the end of an era. Despite the amount of anticipation behind this book, it did not disappoint. The feels! Seeing everything finally come together piece by piece was amazing. I loved seeing all the loose ends being tied. My favourite part of this novel was seeing the ending. It was wonderful to see the Shadowhunter gang and their friends happy and united.
What's also amazing is even in the mist of it all Cassandra Clare managed to even set up the next series of the Shadowhunter world too. I'm really going to miss the adventures of Clary, Jace, Izzy and Simon! Here's to hoping they make future appearance in the The Dark Artifices.  


So what were your favourite novels this year? Any books I've missed out?