Top 10 YA Books of the Decade

I can't believe that we are so close to the end of the year! I'm so excited for what 2020 will bring. I thought in celebration of the end of a decade I would discuss my top YA book for each year. The books that I have chosen were published in that year even if I read them later on in my reading life. I hope you enjoy! Let me know your favorite books in the comments below.

Popular Books of 2010:  Mockingjay, Clockwork Angel, Before I Fall, and the Iron King.

My Pick: One of my favorite books that was published in 2010 was Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. For me this was the epitome of a wonderful paranormal book and I devoured the entire series over the course of a couple of weeks. While I don't know if it'll stand the test of time, I definitely think that I want to re-read it.

Popular Books of 2011: City of Fallen Angels, Clockwork Prince, The Sun of Neptune, Where She Went, Beautiful Chaos

My Pick: Listen, I still feel like this series is slept on by a lot of the bookish community; however, it's one of my favorite series of all times and I've only read two out of the five. I love that it mixes paranormal elements with mythology and also has some amazing characters. If you've seriously never heard of this series take some time to check it out. Check out my review here. 

Popular Books of 2012: The Raven Boys, Insurgent, City of Lost Souls, The Fault of in Our Stars, The Selection, Cinder, Throne of Glass, Grave Mercy, Shadow and Bone, The Darkest Minds 

My Pick: 2012 seems to be the year in which the YA publishing industry exploded. There were so many great books that came out this year that I still loved by so many. Some of these books are in series that were just completed and others now have spin-offs. It's amazing to see how far these books have come. For this year I had to go with the Diviners. It is a part of my favorite series of all time and it feels great to know that the final book comes out next year February. This is one that I always and will always recommend to readers that like a mix of paranormal and historical fiction. 

Popular Books of 2013: Allegiant, Clockwork Princess, Scarlet, The Elite, Unravel Me, Crown of Midnight

My Pick: 2013 was the year of sequels so it was hard for me to find a favorite that wasn't the second or third in a series; however, after a little bit of digging I remembered that Steelheart came out this year. I'm a big fan of Sanderson and Steelheart was the first book that I'd ever read from him. If you're a fan of a twist on the meaning of "superhero" I would definitely recommend checking this one out. Check out my review here. 

Popular Books of 2014: City of Heavenly Fire, The One, Cress, Ignite Me, Heir of Fire, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, The Bane Chronicles, The Infinite Sea, The Winners Curse, Rebel Belle

My Pick: 2014 had some huge continuations of series as well as some conclusions and novellas! This was the first year that I officially got back into reading and started my booktube channel so it was hilarious looking at some of these titles. My favorite book of the month was definitely To All the Boys I Loved Before. It's a part of my favorite contemporary series of all time and I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've watched the Netflix adaptation. It's cute and everything that I love about a YA contemporary romance. 

Popular Books of 2015: Winter, Everything Everyting, Frozen Tides, Red Queen, The Heir, Six of Crows, An Ember in the Ashes, Carry On, The Wrath & the Dawn, Illuminae, Dumplin, Walk On Earth a Stranger

My Pick: I remember Adam before he became a published author so it was fun to see his debut novel come out. I haven't read it in a while and plan to do a re-read soon, but I know that I absolutely loved it and I absolutely enjoyed the LGBT rep that was included. If you're interested check out my review here. 

Popular Books of 2016: Lady Midnight, Heartless, Crooked Kingdom, The Raven King, Truthwitch, This Savage Song, Rebel of the Sands, And I Darken, My Lady Jane, The Star Touched Queen, A Study in Charlotte, The Girl From Everywhere, The Sun is Also A Star

My Pick: Ahhhh this book is so freaking good!! Books can definitely make me feel emotional, but it's rare that I will actually cry and this one made me bawl. I absolutely love it. It's one of my favorite books of all time. This was also a monumental year for me as I started working at the library. 

Popular Books of 2017: Carve the Mark, Caraval, Flame in the Mist, Warcross, Strange the Dreamer, Winterson, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, One of Us Is Lying, When Dimple Met Rishi, A List of Cages, Eliza and Her Monsters, Geekerella

My Pick: Now ya'll know there was absolutely no way in hell I was going to pick anything but this book. It was the best book of all genres to come out this year and it definitely took the world by storm. I initially read this book in one day as a library copy and instantly knew that I needed to have my own copy. It now sits on my shelf as a signed copy by Angie! Check out my review here. 

Popular Books of 2018: The Cruel Prince, Leah on the Offbeat, To Kill A Kingdom, The Belles, What If It's Us, Furyborn, Heart of Iron, A Girl Like That, American Panda, The Wicked Deep, Love Hate and Other Filters, Dread Nation, Let's Talk About Love, Sea Witch, The Astonishing Color of After, Girls of Paper & Fire, Tyler Johnson Was Here

My Pick: What I loved about 2018 is that we see a significant influx in the number POC that are published authors. In 2010, the market is dominated by white females, but by this year it's looking more diverse. Of course, I couldn't choose any other book to represent this year especially with the sequel coming out this year. I can't wait to see what the rest of this series brings. 

Popular Books of 2019: King of Scars, The Gilded Wolves, We Hunt the Flame, Descendant of the Crane, Sorcery of Thorns, On the Come Up, A Curse So Dark and Lovely, Wicked Saints, Spin the Dawn, The Beautiful, Romanov, With the Fire on High, Call Down the Hawk, The Wicked Fox, The Girl King, I Wish You All the Best, Serpent & Dove

My Pick: I have raved and raved about this book on my booktube channel. It's not one that a lot of people are talking about, but it's definitely one of favorite reads of the year. It's such an important representation of the epidemic that is sweeping through the United States. 

What were some of your favorite YA books of the decade? 

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Sunday Post #34: Final One of the Year

Happy Sunday everyone! It's another Sunday Post hosted at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. This is the last Sunday Post of the year and my goodness it's been a heck of a year for me. I had the worst break up known to mankind, graduated from grad school, got my dream job as a teen librarian, and had my first baby. I thought that this year was bad, but honestly there was a lot more good than bad and I'm glad that I was finally able to put that into perspective. I read over 100 books and excelled in adding content to my Youtube channel as well as attempting to get back into the flow of blogging. I'm hoping that next year will be even more productive. Keep reading to find out what I read this week.

• 2020 Reading & Blogging Goals
• Friday #56, #64
• Hood Luvin From A White Boy (Review)

This week was definitely a romance heavy week. I read a total of 745 pages. I really focused on some e-books that I have checked out on Kindle Unlimited. One of my goals this week was to read more books by black contemporary romance authors as well as more by urban authors. I've really found some great indie authors to read from. It's a new journey for me and I must admit I'm loving it. 

 A Merry Little Filthmas (4 Stars), Christmas With the Hockey Boss (2 Stars), Everything I Desire (4 Stars)

My Love Wasn't Meant For You (3 Stars). Mind Gap (3 Stars), Hood Luvin From A White Boy (3 Stars)

I was going to push myself really hard to finish all the books in the world before the end of the year, but honestly I'm just going to go with the flow. Whatever I get read is what I get read. Anything that I didn't complete from my TBR can just role over into next month. I'm not going to stress myself out. Here's what I think I can definitely finish by the end of the year. 

• Top 10 YA Books of the Decade (2010-2019)
• 10 Annual Bookish End of Year Survey 
• Waiting on Wednesday 
• Everything I Desire (Review) 
• Friday, #56
• Christmas With the Hockey Boss & A Merry Little Filthmas (Christmas Novella Reviews)
• Sunday Post, #35

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Hood Luvin From A White Boy, #1 by Sha Jones (Mini-Review)

Series: Hood Luvin' From A White Boy, #1
# of Pages: 147
Publication: August 20th, 2019
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Urban Romance
Goodreads | Amazon 

There’s no feeling better than being treated like a queen and having your sexual desires fulfilled by a black man. However, when Javo, a sexy, charismatic white man with the swag to match enters the scene, he becomes every woman’s fantasy. After being abandoned in a dumpster in the hood like trash at just two weeks old, a black family finds him and raises him. Growing up in the black community, Javo naturally develops a swag that attracts black women. When he meets Mahogany, a beautiful, dark-skinned woman who has no interest in dating outside of her race, he turns on his charm and makes her second guess her preference. Being dark-skinned, Mahogany has always felt that she wasn’t good enough, especially after facing betrayal over and over again from the black men whom she'd always put on a high pedestal. All of her thoughts and feelings began to change when Javo comes into her life and is blown away by her beautiful, melanin skin. Mahogany will soon find out that Javo isn’t like the trifling low down men that she’s dated in her past.

Yes, I know the title is not something that you would typically see on my blog; however, this is definitely a situation where you should not judge the book by the cover. Hood Luvin From A White Boy is not the best written book that I've ever read; however, it definitely has enough action and intrigue and I devoured this book in about two days. While I'm sure that these books will focus on the relationship between Mahogany and Javo, this first installment focused on Javo's life. Not wanted by his birth parents, Javo is placed in a dumpster until he is picked up by his adoptive parents. Growing up mostly around black people, growing up in a black neighbor, and attending a predominately black schools, Javo becomes fully immersed in black culture. Jones writes his character in a way that he genuinely feels a part of the black community and not someone who is trying to be something that he's not. Jones also writes Javo in a way that the reader has no choice but to feel for him and his situation. He doesn't get along well with his adoptive father and he wants so badly to learn about his birth parents. Yet, in spite of all these things Javo is still a gentleman and cares so deeply about other people including Mahogany. One of the downsides to taking the time to focus on Javo's back story in this book is that we don't really get to know Mahogany that well. Her life feels like it's nothing but gloom and doom because she's always in a messed up situation. However, I definitely enjoyed that Jones explored her feelings towards interracial dating. A lot of black women (this is solely my opinion) attempt to work out relationships and love with black men and never honestly consider other races as an option while our black male counterparts do. It's a very interesting dynamic and I'm hoping that she explores it more in the next few books. 

"She was tired of praising black men, who she saw to be kings, just to get nothing in return." 

One thing in particular that I did not enjoy about this novel was the unexplained reason as to why Rochelle, Javo's adopted mother, did not think that it was pertinent to take Javo to law enforcement after she found him in a dumpster. Sure, Jones notes that Rochelle watches the news to look for stories about missing children; however, there was always going to be a high likelihood that she would miss a story or that the story of a missing child would go unreported. I feel like if she went about adopting him the legal way and acquiring a legitimate birth certificate and social security card they wouldn't fun into all the issues that I'm sure they will have in future books. It just didn't seem realistic by any means and it feels as though most people would have more common sense then to keep a child without notifying anyone that the child was found in a dumpster. Nevertheless, with her superb character development Jones makes up for some holes in her plot development. 

"Sharon Ann and Joe put up a front during the press conference, crying and acting as if they were suffering due to their son's kidnapping. There was no evidence that Sharon Ann or Joe had dome something bad to their child, so there were no charges filed."

While there isn't a lot of romance that happens between the main characters in this book, the reader can definitely see how Jones is going to spend a great bit of time focusing on the development of a friendship that will eventually turn into a romantic relationship. The slow burn feelings that I got from these two characters really illustrated everything that I love in romance novels. I made sure I checked out the next book on Kindle Unlimited. If you're looking for a new urban romance novel to check out I would definitely recommend giving this one a try. 

"Mahogany had no problem with whit men, but that wasn't her thing. She wanted to stay within her culture and date her own race. In her mind, there was nothing that a white man could offer her." 

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Friday #56, #64 My Love Wasn't Meant For You by B. Love

The Friday #56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Join in every Friday and share an excerpt from a book you've been reading. Here are the rules:

• Grab a book 
• Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader
• Find any sentence (or a few, don't spoil it) 

**Be sure to post the links to your Friday #56 below!

Happy Reading

Series: N/A

# of Pages: 119

Publication: September 1st, 2019 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Source: Kindle Unlimited 

Goodreads | Amazon 

Mekhi Kage is every woman’s dream man. He’s suave, alpha, handsome, and wealthy. Mekhi craves control, and he likes everything to go his way. As the founder of For The People multimedia company, Mekhi is determined to put out quality content for his African American culture. So when BaddieBookBabe, an infamously tough book reviewer, gives a one star review to Mekhi’s most popular and highest paid author, he is determined to get her to remove the review… or join his team. Because it’s best to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Jacintha Freeman, or the BaddieBookBabe as the literary industry knows her, is tough on books and even tougher on the authors that write them. She’s determined to make sure that Black people are portrayed in the brightest light and highest high in the books that are supposed to represent them. When she is recommended a book by Stone, a male author who stands for the complete opposite of what she believes in, Jacintha refuses to promote him as a noteworthy author – no matter how much Mekhi tries to get her to. Because it’s best to stand firm on your values than fall for a handsome face, right? When Mekhi offers Jacintha a job as his Top Critic, she is skeptical to accept, but does so with the intent of making the industry she loves better. As time progresses, enemies become lovers who turn to enemies and lovers all over again. Promises are made, secrets are kept, and reputations are destroyed. It comes as no surprise to anyone when their professional relationship turns personal, but will their love be able to stand when it wasn’t meant for each other to begin with?

I decided to pick this book up to read for the Kindle Unlimited Readathon that's taking place. I read a book from this author this past week and really enjoyed it so I thought I would pick up another one. So far it's pretty good and I think I'm going to enjoy the romance between the two main characters. Plus, one of the main characters is a book blogger and the other is a writer!

"Before encountering Jacintha on a personal level, he probably would have felt the same way. Triple B had been an enemy of For The People over the years because of her reviews, and now, she was their Top Critic." 

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2020 Reading & Blogging Goals

So it's that time of year again where we all aim to set our goals and expectations for the new year. As readers and bloggers we attempt to make commitments to read more and blog more. I had a hell of a year that was full of heartache, pain, and challenges, but somehow I still managed to blog a little this year, revamp the entire site, and read over 140 books. I think I can easily top all of that in 2020. Below you'll find all of reading and blogging goals for the year. I plan to keep up progress on the page in the navigation bar titled "Reading Challenges."

This year I plan to participate in the following challenges: 

1. Set Goodreads challenge to 100 books. 
2. Participate in the Diversity Reading Challenge by reading 50 books and completing at least one book in each of the following categories: 
• Diverse Folktales, Culture, Mythology 
• POC/African American 
• #OwnVoices
• Middle Eastern/South Asian 
• East Asian, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander 
• LGBT+ Pride Summer: gender and sexual identity 
• Mental Health/Addiction 
• POC: Latinx, Hispanic
• Physical, Sensory, Cognitive, Intellectual, Developmental Disability 
• POC: Native American 
• Religious Minorities 
3. Participate in the Finishing Series reading challenge and complete the following series: 
• The Mortal Instruments 
• The Infernal Devices 
• The Falling Kingdom Series
• Grishaverse
• Lunar Chronicles 
• Throne of Glass 
4. Read 50 picture books and review each. 
5. Read 50 graphic novel, manga, and/or comics. 

1. Write a written review for all picture books read and at least 50% of the other books read during the year. 
2. Post on blog at least 2-3 times a week. 
3. Spend more time reading blog posts from other book bloggers in the community. Network more! 

What are some of your goals for the new year? 

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Waiting on Wednesday, #63 A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa over at Wishful Endings She has taken on a similar meme to Jills Waiting on Wednesday over at Breaking the Spine. Since Jill hasn't posted in a while I'm going to join in on this meme. To participate all you have to do is spotlight upcoming publications you're eagerly anticipating. Keep reading to see what I have chosen for this week.

Series: N/A
Publication: June 2nd, 2020 
Genre: Fantasy/Magical Realism/Realistic Fiction
Goodreads | Amazon 

Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Nevermind she's also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes. But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation; the girls’ favorite Internet fashion icon reveals she's also a siren, and the news rips through their community. Tensions escalate when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice during a police stop. No secret seems safe anymore—soon Portland won’t be either.

I'm so excited for this book! I was first drawn in by the cover, but after reading the synopsis I know that it's a necessity for me to get my hands on this book next year! What book are you looking forward to next year? 

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Monster Hypothesis by Romily Bernard Blog Tour + Giveaway

Happy Tuesday everyone! I'm back with another blog tour and giveaway with RockStar Book Tours. Featured this time is The Monster Hypothesis by Romily Bernard.

Series: N/A

# of Pages: 304

Publication: December 10, 2019
Source: ARC

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD 

Welcome to Bohring-home to 453 people, 2,053 alligators, and one monster curse. Correction: home to 454 people, now that Kick Winter is living in the swamp Hollows with her Grandma Missouri, the town (fake) psychic. Bohring is anything but boring for Kick who has already blown a hole through the kitchen floor, befriended a chicken-eating gator, and discovered that the town's hundred-year curse is upon them. It's the Bohring curse and all the kids are about to become monsters-or so the legend goes. People are worried-except for Kick. She knows there's a scientific explanation for everything, especially curses and monsters. But Kick is the new kid in school and she's determined to make a name for herself . . . by pretending to be psychic. According to her calculations: one teeny-tiny life + (fake) psychic skills = popularity. But when kids start disappearing and glowing creatures start showing up, Kick's theory quickly evaporates in a puff of foul-smelling swamp gas. Can Kick use her (real) science smarts to prove the curse is a hoax? Or is it just-maybe-sort of-somehow possible the curse is here? Author Romily Bernard weaves a fast-paced middle-grade mystery filled with humor and scientific intrigue, set in a perfectly eerie Southern town.

Romily Bernard graduated from Georgia State University with a literature degree. Since then, she's worked as a riding instructor, cell-phone salesperson, personal assistant, horse groomer and exercise rider, accounting assistant, and, during a very dark time, customer service representative. . . . She's also, of course, now a YA novelist.

So don't let anyone tell you a BA degree will keep you unemployed.

Romily currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and Find Me is her debut novel. It placed first in the 2011 YA Unpublished Maggie Awards (given by Georgia Romance Writers) and won the Golden Heart Award for YA Romance from the Romance Writers of America in 2012.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Pinterest | YouTube

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a hardcover of THE MONSTER HYPOTHESIS, US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

12/2/2019	Popthebutterfly Reads	Review
12/3/2019	Mythical Books	Excerpt
12/4/2019	Sometimes Leelynn Reads	Review
12/5/2019	Lifestyle of Me	Review
12/6/2019	BookHounds	Excerpt

Week Two:

12/9/2019	Ogitchida Kwe's Book Blog	Review
12/10/2019	For the Love of KidLit	Excerpt
12/11/2019	Little Red Reads	Review
12/12/2019	Life Within The Pages	Review
12/13/2019	Book Briefs	Review

Week Three:

12/16/2019	Adventures Thru Wonderland	Review
12/17/2019	BookishRealmReviews	Review
12/18/2019	fictitious.fox	Review
12/19/2019	Paper safari	Review
12/20/2019	Nay's Pink Bookshelf	Review

Week Four:

12/23/2019	She Just Loves Books	Review
12/24/2019	Hurn Publications	Review
12/25/2019	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
12/26/2019	Character Madness	Excerpt
12/27/2019	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Excerpt

Week Five:

12/30/2019	Two Points of Interest	Review
12/31/2019	Fyrekatz Blog	Review

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