2015 Reading Year in Review!

JANUARY

1. Hope to Die (Alex Cross #22) by James Patterson
2. The Cinderella Murder (Under Suspicion #1) by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burk
3. The Little Prince by Antoine Saint de Exupéry
4. The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima
5. Die Again (Rizzoli & Isles #11) by Tess Gerritsen
6. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
7. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
8. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

FEBRUARY

9. Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi
10. Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society by Adeline Yen Mah
11. Geek Girl (Geek Girl #1) by Holly Smale
12. Private Vegas (Private #9) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
13. Cane and Abe by James Grippando
14. Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer
15. Hush by Karen Robards

MARCH

16. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
17. Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag
18. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
19. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
20. Red Queen (Red Queen #1)  by Victoria Aveyard

APRIL

21. The Vile Village (A Series of Unfortunate Events #7) by Lemony Snicket
22. The Shadows (Black Dagger Brotherhood #13) by J.R. Ward
23. Someone is Watching by Joy Fielding

MAY

24. A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab
25. Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline
26. The Liar by Nora Roberts
27. 14th Deadly Sin (Women’s Murder Club #14) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

JUNE

28. City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare
29. NYPD Red (NYPD Red #3) by James Patterson and Marshall Karp
30. The Isle of the Lost (The Descendants #1) by Melissa de la Cruz
31. Truth or Die by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

JULY

32. An Ember in the Ashes (Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir
33. The Wrong Man by Karen White
34. Walking Disaster (Beautiful #2) by Jamie McGuire

AUGUST

35. Cash Landing by James Grippando
36. Defiance (Defiance #1) by C.J. Redwine
37. The Wrath & The Dawn (The Wrath & The Dawn #1) by Renée Ahdieh
38. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

SEPTEMBER 

39. Origins (Lux #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
40. Opposition (Lux #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
41. Alert (Michael Bennett #8) by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

OCTOBER

42. The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey
43. Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

NOVEMBER

44. Murder House by James Patterson & David Ellis
45. The Scam (Fox and O’Hare #4) by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
46. After You (Me Before You #2) by Jojo Moyes
47. The Theory of Death (Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus #23) by Faye Kellerman

DECEMBER

48. Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer
49. The Mistletoe Inn (Mistletoe Collection) by Richard Paul Evans
50. Tricky Twenty-Two (Stephanie Plum #22) by Janet Evanovich
51. The Guilty (Will Robie #4) by David Baldacci
52. Cross Justice (Alex Cross #23) by James Patterson

No. 31 for 2015

Title: Truth or Die
Author: James Patterson and Howard Roughan
Rating: 4/5
Book: 31/50
Pages:  386 pgs
Total Pages: 11,658/15,000 pages
Version: Book
Next up: An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) Sabaa Tahir

This book had a solid opening that drew me in right from the start. From then on it was a roller coaster as I had lost interest around the middle before it grabbed me again and then I lost interest again.

Towards the end I had a case of deja vu. I won’t go into details so as not to spoil but I’m fairly certain the exact same scene was used in another one of Patterson’s novels.

 About the Book:

New York attorney Trevor Mann’s world shatters when he receives a phone call telling him his girlfriend has been shot dead in a mugging. But the circumstances point to something more calculated than a random attack.

Claire was a New York Times journalist and Trevor is convinced she had unearthed a secret so shocking that she was murdered to keep it from coming to light. Chasing Claire’s leads, Trevor will risk everything to discover what exactly she was killed for.

It’s time to find out the truth, or die.

No. 30 for 2015

Title: The Isle of the Lost (The Descendants #1)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Rating: 2/5
Book: 30/50
Pages:  311 pgs
Total Pages: 11,272/15,000 pages
Version: Book
Next up: Truth or Die by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

Wasn’t a fan of the book. The language was a little too juvenile for my liking even considering it’s a YA novel. However, I still will be checking out the TV show when it starts.

 About the Book:

Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. Life on the island is dark and dreary. It is a dirty, decrepit place that’s been left to rot and forgotten by the world.

But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon’s eye: the key to true darkness and the villains’ only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it…who will it be?

Maleficent, Mistress of the Dark: As the self-proclaimed ruler of the isle, Maleficent has no tolerance for anything less than pure evil. She has little time for her subjects, who have still not mastered life without magic. Her only concern is getting off the Isle of the Lost.

Mal: At sixteen, Maleficent’s daughter is the most talented student at Dragon Hall, best known for her evil schemes. And when she hears about the dragon’s eye, Mal thinks this could be her chance to prove herself as the cruelest of them all.

Evie: Having been castle-schooled for years, Evil Queen’s daughter, Evie, doesn’t know the ins and outs of Dragon Hall. But she’s a quick study, especially after she falls for one too many of Mal’s little tricks.

Jay: As the son of Jafar, Jay is a boy of many talents: stealing and lying to name a few. Jay and Mal have been frenemies forever and he’s not about to miss out on the hunt for the dragon’s eye.

Carlos: Cruella de Vil’s son may not be bravest, but he’s certainly clever. Carlos’s inventions may be the missing piece in locating the dragon’s eye and ending the banishment for good.

Mal soon learns from her mother that the dragon’s eye is cursed and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She’ll just need a little help from her “friends.” In their quest for the dragon’s eye, these kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain’t so bad.

No. 29 for 2015

Title: NYPD Red 3 (NYPD Red #3)
Author: James Patterson and Marshall Karp
Rating: 4/5
Book: 29/50
Pages:  356 pgs
Total Pages: 10,961/15,000 pages
Version: Book
Next up: The Isle of the Lost (The Descendants #1) by Melissa de la Cruz

I really enjoyed this book. Another solid mystery in the series. Still not my favourite series of Patterson’s but it’s definitely worth the read.

 About the Book:

NYPD Red is the elite, highly trained task force assigned to protect the rich, the famous, and the connected. And Detective Zach Jordan and his partner Kylie MacDonald-the woman who broke his heart at the police academy-are the best of the best, brilliant and tireless investigators who will stop at nothing to deliver justice.

Zach and Kylie’s New Year’s celebrations are cut short when they’re called to the home of billionaire businessman Hunter Alden, Jr. after he makes a grisly discovery in his townhouse garage. When Alden’s teenage son goes missing soon afterwards, and his father seems oddly reluctant to find him, Zach and Kylie find themselves in the middle of a chilling conspiracy that threatens everyone in its wake-especially their city’s most powerful citizens.

No. 28 for 2015

Title: City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Rating: 3/5
Book: 28/50
Pages:  541 pgs
Total Pages: 10,605/15,000 pages
Version: Book
Next up: NYPD Red 3 (NYPD Red #3) by James Patterson and Marshall Karp

 

This book took me forever to read. Not because of the book but because of the dreaded reading slump.

This series is not my favourite thing in the world and Clare is on my “authors behaving badly” list,   I still enjoyed the book. I love the cast of characters (especially Simon). Hopefully soon I’ll be able to move onto the Infernal Devices series before returning to The Mortal Instruments.

About the Book:

To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters; never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he’s willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City; whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of bestselling series the Mortal Instruments.