I am seriously struggling to believe that we are already so close to the end of 2015. I'm sure New Year's Eve was only a few weeks ago but here I am already wrapping up my favourite reads of the year!
And I'm sure you won't be too surprised to find that none of the Gossip Girl books have quite made it onto the list this year...
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I've got a bit of a complicated relationship with classics and I wasn't totally sure that I would get on with Frankenstein but I wanted something spooky to read in October and I couldn't resist the gorgeous heart pattern on the cover of this Penguin English Library edition. Luckily this ended up being one of my favourite reads of the year and it's one that I will definitely be reading again.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
I was a little apprehensive about reading Stardust too because I'm such a big fan of the movie version. I had been warned before that the book and movie are very different but I really had nothing to worry about. Although the book is definitely very different from the movie in a lot of ways it is every bit as magical and fun, although in a bit more of a grown up way. Stardust is probably the closest thing I've ever read to a fairy tale for adults.
Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot
Of course the new Princess Diaries book was always going to be a highlight of my reading year. I love the Princess Diaries series and they were a huge part of my teen years so it was really amazing to be able to see Mia and Michael and everyone else again, all grown up. Now I can't wait for Meg Cabot's new Mediator book next year!
Vivian Versus America by Katie Coyle
I read and loved Vivian Versus the Apocalpyse last year and honestly I think this sequel might have been ever so slightly even better than the first, which is saying something because I thought the first was pretty great. It's a really interesting series and I highly recommend both books. You can read my review of the first one here.
The Dryad of Callaire by Saruuh Kelsey
This is another sequel, the first book being The Beast of Callaire, and again one that I think is even better than the first book. The stakes are even higher in this second instalment and they just get higher and higher until the huge cliffhanger at the end. I was on my toes the whole time I was reading this one and I can't wait to read the next book to find out what happens next!
Lorali by Laura Dockrill
I don't think I've ever read a book about mermaids before and I know I've never read a book with a writing style like this. Everything about Lorali was so different to anything else I read this year. The writing style is so lyrical in places and it sort of felt like if mermaids did exist then they would probably be like this.
Love, Nine: Despatches from Family Life by Nina Stibbe
I don't read non-fiction very often but I heard so many good things about Love, Nina that I knew I had to read it. The whole book is made up of letters that Nina Stibbe wrote to her sister while she was working as a nanny for a family in London, featuring a lot of fun tales of the children, their slightly eccentric mother, and neighbour, Alan Bennet. You can read my review here.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
I just finished Carry On a few weeks ago and although there were certain aspects of the story that I might have changed (more kissing and less Humdrum, honestly!) I did thoroughly enjoy reading it, as I knew I would, of course, because when have I ever not enjoyed one of Rainbow Rowell's books?
Starter for Ten by David Nicholls
Starter For Ten is another one that I read years after first watching and loving the film version and, like Stardust, there were a lot of differences between the book and the film. Unlike Stardust, there was nothing fantastical or fairytale like about Starter for Ten. Brian's time at university is almost painfully embarrassing at times and yet it made me weirdly nostalgic for my own uni days. You can read my review here.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
This was another on of my spooky October reads this year. I've slowly been making my way through some of the Sherlock Holmes books over the past few months and I'm thoroughly enjoying myself with it but The Hound of the Baskervilles is definitely my favourite so far. Even though this one didn't feature Holmes himself as much as most of the other stories, I feel like he was at his most Holmes-like during this story, which is always excellent.
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