End of Year Book Survey 2015

Looking back on 2015, I only gave 10 books full 5-star ratings and it'll be pretty easy to see which ones they are since I repeat them often in my answers. But I must say, even though I love filling out the end of year book survey every year,  I am especially happy with my answers this time around. Mostly because I gave one book answers to almost all of them (I usually cheat!) and I feel like the books I'm about to share with you are pretty diverse. Aside from my usual contemporary and fantasy loves, I mention historical and contemporary romances too and new-to-me authors that I can't wait to read more of. It's been a good year of books!

Thank you Jamie for hosting this survey every year! Now here are my answers!

Before I begin, I want to say that I read a couple 2016 books this year (I'm sure you can guess which two!) but I'm purposely only choosing books published from 2015 or earlier.

2015 Reading Stats

Number Of Books You Read: 188
Number of Re-Reads: 12
Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary (includes YA, NA, Adult/Romance)

Best in Books

1. Best Book You Read In 2015? 
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas | ... and that's it! Yes, this coming from the girl who can never pick one answer for this question. But for me, if there was one book that absolutely stood out for me in 2015, it's undoubtedly this one.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? 
Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch | Snow Like Ashes was one of my favorite fantasy reads from last year so I admit, my expectations were high. But unfortunately, I just didn't feel the same way about this book.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
The Secret by Julie Garwood | When Alexa (and Kelly) told me to read this, I expected to like it. What I didn't expect was to 5-star love it and consider it a favorite. But that's exactly what happened! I was surprised by how much it made me laugh and swoon, the powerful multi-dimensional women (Judith!)  and positive female friendships.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey | Maybe it was because I co-hosted a fantasy challenge this year but I found myself thinking about these books a lot. Probably because this was the series that made me fall in love with fantasy in the first place. I ended up re-reading it, wrote a post and just talked up these books a ton.

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?
Series started: Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier (still need to finish!)
Sequel: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (obviously!)
Series Ender: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4) by Marissa Meyer (THIS BOOK.)

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015? Juliet Marillier

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
The Secret by Julie Garwood | I said this one already but it's definitely worth mentioning again. I had never read historical romance before, so it set the bar incredibly high.

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas | You've seen this book right?  I read it in like 5 hours. If that doesn't say unputdownable, I don't know what does.

 9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott | I won't lie, I mostly picked up this book because I liked the cover but I ended up loving it! I can't wait for the next book to come out (2016 please?) and I can see myself re-reading it before then.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?
Madly (Potion, #1) by Amy Alward | Every time I would see this at B&N, I would have to fight the urge to pick it up and buy it and it has everything to do with the cover.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?
Women: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius and Asterin Blackbeak (QoS), Sorcha and Liadan (Sevenwaters)
Men: Rowan Whitethorn (QoS)

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith | There's just something about her writing! (My answer to this question last year was The Geography of You and Me.)

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?
Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer | This book made me think a lot. Because I related so much to the heroine, I was empowered by the way she took charge of her life - personally, professionally and romantically. It made me think about my own life and the ways I wanted to push myself forward.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle | I've loved this movie since I was a kid but it wasn't until much later that I realized it was based on a book. And being the fantasy lover that I am, I knew I wanted to read it eventually. I finally did this year and it was amazing!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?
Both are from A Sense of the Infinite by Hilary T. Smith:
“I couldn’t tell if it was better to be a person who held on or let go. Maybe it was less about better or worse, and more about which thing you needed to do in order for your plant to grow.”

“Annabeth, honey, life keeps on changing. You don’t get one chance at friendship, or once chance at love. Things die. Things grow. It’s hard to see that when you’ve only been around for seventeen years, and you’ve only ever had one of everything, but it’s true.”

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 23 pgs
Winter by Marissa Meyer - 827 pgs

17. Book That Shocked You The Most
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone | It was one of those moments where I had to read the passage twice because I couldn't believe it.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Aelin and Rowan | Let's just say that I was not-so-secretly hoping for this since I read Heir of Fire.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Hannah and Gabby from Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I loved how matter what decisions Hannah made in either life, the one constant was always Gabby. Their friendship is the kind everyone person should have.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith | (And Queen of Shadows but I'm trying not to sound like a broken record.) I highly anticipate every new book from Smith and this one just blew me away. I was a teary mess after reading it and it's (currently) my fave from her.

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
All things Lisa Kleypas. I finished the Travis family series and started The Wallflowers, all because of Alexa, and I've enjoyed every book so far!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?
Joe Travis from Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas

23. Best 2015 debut you read?
The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne | I was so impressed and surprised by this book. I can't wait for more from this author!

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo | This woman is just amazing. I loved her world-building in The Grisha trilogy and I was in awe of how she was able to extend it here while still making it feel fresh and new.

25. Book That Was The Most FUN To Read?
Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout | This was fun for me because I got to be reunited with Katy and Daemon. Even though I already know their story and know they get a happily-ever-after, I enjoyed seeing it all again through Daemon's eyes.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?
The Sevenwaters books by Juliet Marillier. Both Daughter of the Forest and Son of Shadows made me cry.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year? The Wrong Side of Right Jenn Marie Thorne

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul? Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas (Shocker.)

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?
The Siren by Tiffany Reisz | Kelly is going to be so happy I mentioned this one. But The Siren approaches a story that's been given a bad rep (I'm looking at you 50 Shades) and easily filled with cliches and gave it a whole new perspective. I mean I know I went into it with an idea of what it would be like. But instead, it was totally different from what I expected and very thought-provoking. And I think that's what makes it unique.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
99 Days by Katie Cotugno | I love how Katie Cotugno tackles tough, complex human nature in her books. She does this in 99 Days and what made me mad were the judgements made on the main protagonist and the obvious double standard. Both of which are so true to real life.

Your Blogging/Bookish Life

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?
Words Like Silver. Grace's blog is so eloquent and honest. I love everything she shares. I wish I had been that poised when I was her age!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas | Confession time, you're probably wondering why this is the first time I'm mentioning ACOTAR. It's because I read it in 2014 (!) and since I was using Goodreads to help me come up with my answers, I completely forgot. But I'm too lazy to go back and change my answers to this survey so that's why sharing this review is perfect. It will tell you everything you need to know about my super gushy feelings on this book (and I published it in May 2015!)

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
Friends Can Be Soulmates Too

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I would have to say BEA.. even though I technically didn't attend this year! But my favorite part of that event has always been spending time with friends, seeing authors I adore and going to the publisher-specific stuff. And I still did all three this year!

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?
The day before BEA started, Alexa and I got dinner with Susan Dennard and Alex Bracken and it was hands down one of the best bookish moments this year. I loved being able to sit down and just hang out with two authors I adore and admire so much. It speaks to their kindness, down-to-earth and overall awesome natures.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
I think doing all my bookshelf cleanses and being honest with myself about what I would make time for to read from my TBR. It was challenging at first because I wanted to keep all the books but once I started, I now have no problems recognizing which books to remove from my shelves/lists.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
The Orphan Queen Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Capeside Revisited: Pacey & Joey Meets YA

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Magicbookmarks on Etsy. I am in love with magnetic bookmarks!

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I completed (and surpassed) them all! I participated in the Goodreads challenge, Flights of Fantasy and Dive into Diversity.

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?
I really thought I would read the Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta this year but I swear, 2016 is the year!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?
Invisible Fault Lines by Kristen-Paige Madonia

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass #5 by Sarah J. Maas
The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?
Keep up the collaborations with fellow bloggers. I did that a lot in 2015 and it's been so much fun, especially when we team up on things that aren't necessarily book-related.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard + Passenger by Alexandra Bracken