Best of 2014

Happy New Years friends!

2014 was an awfully grand year -- it brought me a lovely baby girl which might be the reason I managed to only read 108 books. Despite that number being on the smallish side, I feel like I was a lot more selective about the books I chose and really discovered some winners. I also did quite a bit of rereading old favorites (Melina Marchetta) and binge reading on particular favorite authors.

Due to my complete neglect of this bloggy, I thought I give a quick recap of my favorites of 2014. 

Best Series Finale (sort of)
Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews
I say sort of because while it is book seven and technically the resolution to the series, Ilona Andrews still has yet another three Kate books yet to come. Huzzah! Books from this series continue to top my yearly best of lists and it's no surprise. Magic Breaks nicely wrapped up Kate's first encounter with her god-like father Roland in a totally unexpected and ultimately satisfying way. Keep the good stuff coming.

Best Short Story Collection
Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs
Patricia Briggs never disappoints and Shifting Shadows was a perfect chance to get inside of the heads of many of my favorite supporting characters since the series is usually told from Mercy's or Charles and Anna's POV. Some, like Warren, I knew I'd love their story hands-down but Ben's tale totally blindsided me. That one made my little geeky heart light.

Best Space Opera
Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach
2014 was the year of the Sci-Fi novel for me. It all started with this book as a  recommendation from Ilona Andrews. Devi is the best of kind of brash, in-your-face fighter who would never apologize for being anything other than who she is. A bit fanatical about her guns and specialized armor, Devi has this profound sense of loyalty and honor that belies her first impression as a brainless fighter. She's quick and clever and never afraid of taking charge. And I love her to pieces.

 

Best New (to me) Author Discovery
The Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff (Confederation series)
Coming hot off my Fortune's Pawn hangover, I once again have to thank Ilona Andrews for pointing me in the direction of this outstanding series about a group of space Marines led by the indomitable Staff Sargent Torin Kerr. Danger, wit, fuzzy space reporters, and a tough-as-nails female military lead. Just. Read it.

Best High Fantasy
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Wrapping up the Mistborn series, Vin and Elend get their final battle and boy, was it EPIC. I only have to conclude that anything Brandon Sanderson writes is solid gold.

Best I-had-no-idea-I-would-love-this-book-so-much Book
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
A story about a dog and his race-car driver owner? Not something I would normally read, but then again Enzo is not your normal dog. Make sure you have the tissues handy though.

Best Witty Romance
Nearly a Lady by Alissa Johnson
Cute and funny love story with an adorable hero whose self-depreciating humor won me over faster than you can say 'Regency.'

Best YA & Best Cover
Jackaby by William Ritter
That silhouette! Gah! Such an atmospheric cover and the insides happily match. It's an unusual mix of a genius detective a la Sherlock set in turn of the century America populated by paranormal creatures hiding in plain sight. Good things indeed.







Biggest Author Binge
Susanna Kearsley and Mary Stewart
I had been trying to parse out Susanna Kearsley's books for just the right time, but wound up blowing through every single title in her backlist in a matter of weeks after baby #3 was born. After that, I then proceeded to devour all the Mary Stewarts' I hadn't read to date and wound up with a severe book hangover that proved murderously hard to beat. I did manage to save two single Mary Stewarts' to read at a future date because I just can't imagine not having another of her books to read for the very first time. Such are the problems in my little world.

And that, dear reader friends, is my 2014 in books. What titles caught you this year?

Retro Friday: Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc.

From the moment she first sets foot back in France, Linda Martin feels as if she's finally coming home. Even if she's not returning to her own home per say, she is returning in the role of governess to the quietly contained nine-year-old Count Philippe de Valmy. An orphan like Philippe, Linda quickly gains her footing with her new charge but it's the boy's family that keeps her on her toes. She never can quite find her balance in the face of the tremendous presence of his uncle Léon or the quiet ambivalence of his aunt. But it's the handsomely arrogant Raoul that keeps her "eggshell composure" permanently rattled. Yet when a series of accidents seem to point to an attempt on Philippe's life, Linda doesn't know what to believe or who to trust and time is running out.

Somewhat ashamedly I admit that Nine Coaches Waiting is my very first foray into the fabulous world of Mary Stewart. Which seems utterly absurd to me now that I've gone and read it because it reads like a laundry-list for All Things Michelle Adores. The language (can you get more romantic than French?), the setting (I swear I could see those twisting zigzag switchbacks leading up to the château), the frightening yet enigmatic Valmy family (Léon practically gave me the shivers with his puppet master-like remarks). And oh! The suspense! Told in Linda's first person narrative, I could not have been more caught up in her fears and triumphs and most importantly her unease concerning whom to trust.

It's like Jane Eyre and Rebecca (two of my all time favorite reads) went and had a gorgeously intelligent baby with a flair for the dramatic and a penchant for poetry. I don't think I've ever read a book that references another so subtly and appropriately. And the best part is that Linda even makes the Jane Eyre connection herself -- she is fully aware of the similarities but it only serves to heighten the aptness of the comparison, not lessen it. How does Ms. Stewart do that?!

Furthermore, Mary Stewart possess that rare quality in a writer of being able to not say something and have it mean a great deal. This may seem like a small thing, but I so appreciate an author who is willing to trust her readers to pick up the threads and make sense of their emotional import without beating the thought to death. It's a very quiet trait (and often very undervalued) but I think Ms. Stewart has it in spades.

Ms. Stewart certainly understands how to play upon this readers' emotions; despite its initial slow buildup, there was always yet another twist just around the corner to throw my heart back into overdrive. Truly when all's said and done Nine Coaches Waiting packs a bit of a wallop in the best way possible. I literally could not put it down and venture to say, if you're a Mary Stewart innocent like I was, I recommend you remedy the situation immediately.

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
The Allure of Books review
Angieville review
Book Harbinger review
Chachic's Book Nook review
She Reads Novels review

book source: purchased