The Best Books I Read in 2014

Another year has come and gone and now it’s time to round up the best and greatest books I personally loved this year. Some of these books are not published in 2014. There are books in this list that are written by some of my most favorite authors, others are debut novels while some others are part of a series or trilogy. This list is a mishmash of my favorites across different genres.

Narrowing the list to just 14 was hard enough because I read SO many great books this year. So, this list is in no particular order, mmkay? I love all of them equally. The book covers are linked to the review page of each book or the Amazon page (if I have not reviewed the book yet).

Enough chitchat, let’s get down to business, shall we?

This is probably one of the best dystopian book I have read, ever. We just take water for granted without realizing how vital it is to our lives, so vital that we are prepared to kill for it. No A Drop to Drink is like a wakeup call for me to conserve water and care more for Mother Nature. It is also very depressing and yes, it made me cry loads of tears too.

Eleanor and Park is just SO freaking romantic and so sweet and plain awesome. I am amazed at how much Eleanor and Park loves each other. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I have a thing for the you-and-me-against-the-world kind of romance. This book also made me cry buckets of tears.

It was really fun to read the whole Kane Chronicles trilogy and this is my favorite of the three. Before reading this I had little to no idea about the Egyptian mythology but who knew studying about Egypt, its history and its mythology could be so fun? Not to mention all the adventures Sadie and Carter Kane had. Oh and let’s not forget Riordan’s signature wit and humor that left me laughing out loud.

I love Cinder so much because it’s so out of the box. I mean, a futuristic, sci-fi retelling of Cinderella, how cool is that? And unlike Cinderella who just waited for her prince to come around, Cinder fearlessly kicked her enemies’ ass!

With this book I feel like the author took the words right out of my mouth and put it in a book. Reading This Song Will Save Your Life made me realize that I am not alone at having these thoughts, these feelings. I am amazed at how this book fit my life so perfectly. This book just gets me.

This is another book that is so me! All my life I’ve been called fat and chubby. Most girls are skinny and I am not most girls and I was okay with that. Until people pointed out that it’s not good to be chubby and that I should lose a little weight. They said I was pretty but too bad because I was fat. It’s hard to love yourself when everyone’s telling you you’re not enough. But this book made me gain confidence in myself.

It’s amazing how Riggs managed to combine words and photographs. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is probably one of the most unique and out of the box books I read this year. The black and white photographs make the story more vivid.

Khaled Hosseini never fails to amaze me. The Kite Runner was so beautifully written. The past may not be changed but we can still find redemption in making it up to the people we once failed.

Best. Book. Ever. Champion is the conclusion to the Legend trilogy and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. Champion is not for the faint of heart, though. Get your Kleenex ready because it’s going to make you ugly-cry.

James Patterson has been writing way before I was born but it is only this year that I read one of his books. I know, shocking, right? I get really intimidated to pick up one book by an author who I know has tons of books already. But I am thankful and I got pass through that intimidation and read Alex Cross, Run. It is just so freaking amazing. It’s scary to get into the minds of serial killers but it’s addicting at the same time. This is definitely not the last Patterson book I am going to read.

So much tears for this book. Sometimes we get so caught up in self-loathing that we punish ourselves for the things that are not our fault or the things that we have no control over. This book is about forgiveness, not just towards others but ultimately to yourself.

This book is a little infamous because of the feministic themes in it. But if there’s one thing this book taught me, it’s that women living in this era are so lucky because we can act in theaters, wear trousers and vote, among other things. We should thank our foremothers for these little things we get to enjoy now.

One of the best NA book I read this year. I love the fact that Faking It is not just about mushy love. It’s also about accepting and loving yourself for who you are.

This was the book I was dreading the most to read. It took me a long time to prepare myself to read the conclusion to the Heroes of Olympus. When you love a series so much you dread its conclusion but you know you have to face it, at one point or another. I loved being able to join the crew of the Argo II and the Roman and Greek demigods in their adventures. I also picked up lots of history and mythology lessons along the way.