Author & Book Love

I read a lot of books. So far, I've read 43 books for 2013 and I increased my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal to 60 books for the year. That said, there are a few authors who have really impressed me over the last 5 years. They all have books that are coming other either later this year or next year and I am itching to get my hands on them. I honestly would not have heard of most of these authors if not for Goodreads. I'm listing my favourite books from them.

John Green
My favourite from him so far is The Fault in Our Stars. That book was addictive and heartbreaking. It is the story of a boy and not-so-well girl and how they fought to make life livable.



Melina Marchetta
The Lumatere Chronicles: #1 - Finnikin of the Rock & #2 - Froi of the Exiles.
I just finished book 2 and I am blown away at how amazing the story is. Set in Skullendore long ago, evil kings cause curses to be cast on their kingdoms and the people suffer. The stories describe the adventures of first Finnikin and then Froi, as they try to save the kingdoms.



Rae Carson
The Fire and Thorns series: #1 - Girl of Fire and Thorns & #2 - Crown of Embers.
Each book had my brain scrambled from its awesome. The main character is Elisa, the bearer of the Godstone who finds purpose in her life by fulfilling her destiny. She is seriously being THE BEST female character in any series. Her maturity as a character throughout each book is captured perfectly.



Stephanie Perkins
It started with Anna and the French Kiss and then there was Lola and the Boy Next Door. Next will be Isla and the Happily Ever After when I will be miserable that the cutest characters in the cutest stories will have their ends. This is set in our world, in our time. The banter is the best thing about these books... aside from the very cute boys.



Jennifer E. Smith
Another set is saccharine books set in our world, the only ones in this list that are not in a series. The characters have wonderful banter, they are easy to love and they are people I want to meet... if they existed anyway.



David Levithan
Every Day is the story of a being who is neither boy or girl, man or woman, who lives and grows each day in someone's body. He's accepted his existence, until he meets a girl who he wants to be normal for.



Dan Wells
The Partial series is a dystopian one set in the future after humans have been infected with a virus that kills most and keeps the survivors unable to have children. The Partials are genetically modified organic beings that are set on taking over humanity.



Rachel Hartman
Seraphina was an amazing book. Some might be put off by the extreme usage of GRE vocabulary in this book (TG for Kindle dictionary) but as long as the words make sense, this unique story of dragons living among humans is spectacular.



Marissa Meyer
I heard about Cinder for a while but only recently gave it a chance. Being basically a variant of Cinderella, I figured out much of the storyline but I loved the changes. For one, Cinder is a cyborg. Second the story is based in dystopian China and there is a pandemic killing humans and cyborgs at an alarming rate. Thirdly, Cinder is not just about going to the ball, she wants to save the kingdom.
The sequel, Scarlet, is Red Riding Hood's variant. But her wolf is nothing like the fairy tale.



Markus Zusak
I first read The Book Thief a few years ago when I just started reading like a crazy person. Set in WWII Germany, a young girl cannot help but steal - and share - books that she comes across. There is Death in this story, but not the way most people may think.
I read I Am The Messenger after, and I was impressed. This was a story of an unremarkable man given a task as the messenger by a mysterious handler.



Veronica Roth
Divergent and Insurgent are dystopian stories set in Chicago where 16-year-olds are evaluated and sent to develop their skills in one of five houses - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful) and Erudite (the intelligent). Things change for Beatrice, who cannot be easily sorted and she chooses a virtue that shocks her family.



Veronica Rossi
Under the Never Sky is another dystopian series that centres around Aria, who lives in a dome built to protect people from the Aether that ravages the world, and Perry, a savage who is looking for his nephew.



Cassandra Clare
I think City of Bones is coming out in theatres soon, and I love The Mortal Instruments series (even though I think the story has been stretched a bit much) but I highly recommend the prequels, The Infernal Devices Series, which are leaps and bounds better than its successors.