Top Ten Tuesday – 2014 Releases I Didn’t Get To

By Rachel

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten 2014 Releases I Didn’t Get To

I can’t even begin to count the 2014 releases that I didn’t manage to get to. Are you kidding?! I’ve divided this list up into the top 2014 releases I already own that I didn’t get to, and the top 2014 releases that I didn’t even manage to buy/lend in 2014… that I didn’t get to…

2014 Books Owned Not Read

1. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell: This was an unexpected purchase I made while doing my grocery shopping, and I’ll admit I was being shallow, purchasing it based solely on that cover. It’s hardback. It’s delicious.

Synopsis: One drowsy summer’s day in 1984, teenage runaway Holly Sykes encounters a strange woman who offers a small kindness in exchange for ‘asylum’. The Bone Clocks follows the twists and turns of Holly’s life from a scarred adolescence in Gravesend to old age on Ireland’s Atlantic coast – a life not so far out of the ordinary, yet punctuated by flashes of precognition, visits from people who emerge from thin air and brief lapses in the laws of reality. For Holly is also an unwitting player in a murderous feud played out in the shadows and margins of our world, and may prove to be its decisive weapon.

2. The King’s Curse by Philippa Gregory: I’ve already read and (mostly) loved the first 5 books in this series, so I eagerly anticipated this book’s release day and snapped it up… but still haven’t read it yet. I’m debating doing a reread of the whole series.

Synopsis: Regarded as another threat to the volatile King Henry VII’s claim to the throne, Margaret Pole, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, is married off to a steady and kind Lancaster supporter—Sir Richard Pole. Sir Richard is entrusted with the governorship of Wales, but Margaret’s contented daily life is changed forever with the arrival of Arthur, the young Prince of Wales, and his beautiful bride, Katherine of Aragon.

3. The Girl With All The Gifts by M R Carey: The cover of this one really drew me in, and then the storyline sounded pretty amazing. Then I found out it’s actually a horror, and I’ve no idea what to make of it.

Synopsis: Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her “our little genius.” Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh. The Girl With All the Gifts is a groundbreaking thriller, emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end.

4. The Accident by C L Taylor: In the past year or so I’ve discovered that I really like thriller/crime/mystery novels, and I’m gathering quite a collection of them now…

Synopsis: Sue Jackson has the perfect family but when her teenage daughter, Charlotte, deliberately steps in front of a bus and ends up in a coma she is forced to face a very dark reality. Retracing her daughter’s steps she finds a horrifying entry in Charlotte’s diary and is forced to head deep into Charlotte’s private world. In her hunt for evidence, Sue begins to mistrust everyone close to her daughter and she’s forced to look further, into the depths of her own past.

5. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult: One of my auto-buy authors. This book was released, I found it as well-priced as I could, I purchased.

Synopsis: Jenna Metcalf was with her mother the night she disappeared in tragic and mysterious circumstances, but she remembers nothing. Over 10 years have passed, and still Jenna rereads her mother’s journals, hoping to find some hidden clue in the meticulous recording of her scientific research with elephants. Desperate for answers, Jenna uses all her savings to recruit the aid of a private detective – and a psychic. She knows her mother loved her. Knows she would not leave her. And she will not rest until she finds out what happened that night.

2014 Books Not Owned and Wanted

6. Dissonance by Erica O’Rourke: ianna Stone:I need this book in my life so bad, it hurts! I’ve lusted after it for a while, and I adore that cover, but they’ve only gone and done a cover change. Le sigh.

Synopsis: Every time someone makes a choice, a new parallel world is spun off the existing one. Eating breakfast or skipping it, sneaking out instead of staying in bed – every decision creates an alternate universe in which an Echo self takes the road not traveled. As a Walker who can navigate between these realities, Del is training to help keep the dimensions in harmony. When Del secretly starts to investigate other dissonant worlds, she get tangled up with an Echo of her longtime crush. She knows she shouldn’t keep seeing him. But as Del persists, she uncovers a truth that the Council of Walkers is trying to hide – a secret that threatens the entire multiverse.

7. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: I love WW2 fiction. I love this title. I love the cover. I love the premise behind this story. Sold.

Synopsis: Marie lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks. When she is 6, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie.

8. A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Walker: This is a 2014 release I’m lusting after based purely on reviews. Anyone who has read it seems to adore it.

Synopsis: Welcome to the world of fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes 17 year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist – a nearly impossible dream for a girl.

9. I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson: Again, this is one that only landed on my radar based on how much love it was getting in the bookish community, and how many good things I’ve heard about it.

Synopsis: Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At 13, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But 3 years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins… The early years are Noah’s story to tell. The later years are Jude’s. What the twins don’t realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

10. The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel: This isn’t a book I would have paid much attention to at first glance, but I’ve seen some amazing reviews from reviewers I trust, so it has been added to my wishlist for 2015.

Synopsis: After a brutal nuclear war, the US was left decimated. A small group of survivors banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual. This year, it is my turn. My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.

What books have made your list? Are there any of these you highly recommend? Let me know in the comments!

About Rachel

Avid reader & #bookblogger. Lover of all things business. A fan of drinks & dancing. Ever optimistic. Feminist.

40 Responses

  1. HOLLY

    Oh my goodness, I saw All the Light We Cannot See on your list and I just HAVE to comment about it. I just finished reading it over Christmas vacation and it’s SO GOOD. The writing is incredibly beautiful, the story is heart-wrenching and brilliantly told, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished reading the very last word. GAH it was amazing. I highly recommend it! 🙂

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    1. Rachel

      I LOVE hearing good things about a book I’m planning to read, so thanks for commenting, Holly! This is definitely a must for the TBR this year! R x

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  4. Brandie

    You have a very interesting list, and a lot of books that I have never heard of! I don’t need more on my TBR list, woman!! lol.

    I’ve heard I’ll Give You the Sun is fantastic. I’ve yet to make time to read any books by that author, but I have one of them on my TBR list. Hopefully sometime this year I’ll get to it!

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    1. Rachel

      *Insert evil laugh here* – I shall make all of the TBRs grow!!

      Annnnd, back to normal… I think she did the book… ugh what was its name… The Sky Is Everywhere?? It’s on my thinking-about-it-shelf because I’ve heard more good things about this one. We have a whole new fresh year to do ALL the reading. Yay! R x

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Caught Read Handed

    The Girl with All the Gifts and I’ll Give You the Sun are both on my TTT this week as well. They both sound really good for different reasons. I kind of want to read All the Light We Cannot See, but I’m not sure. You read it first and then I’ll decide. :p
    My TTT!

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    1. Rachel

      Yup, yup to those. Grabbed my eye pretty much right away, and I’ve heard great things about both. Haha – will do, again, heard amazing things about it too, and I’m really drawn to WW2 fiction. Pretty morbid thing to be drawn to, I know… past life maybe?! R x

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Lucy

    What pretty books! I like your cover of The Bone Clocks much better than the US edition. The Accident sounds like a good one. And A Mad, Wicked Folly is lovely so I hope you get to read it soon. Happy reading 🙂

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    1. Rachel

      I’m having cover-love this week! 😀 The US edition of Bone Clocks is SO uninspiring! UK rarely wins the cover war, but in this case I think it’s obvious! Thanks, Lucy! R x

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  8. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    Great list, I admit I was tempted to by Bones Clocks for the cover alone, but as soon as I saw it was David Mitchell I had second thoughts. I’ve had Cloud Atlas on my shelf so long it’s ridiculous and I’ve still not read it. And I really want to read Girl with all the Gifts, everyone keeps saying good things but I’d not even thought about reading before people started blogging about it. I may have to give it a chance at some point.

    I’m the same with Mad Wicked Folly as well. I’d not even thought about reading it until everyone started saying good things, I’ve now begun to convince myself I’ve wanted to read it all along, but I am very suggestible, so it could be that.

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    1. Rachel

      I have a flipback edition of Cloud Atlas (don’t ask lol) but I’d heard it was a tougher read because it jumps perspectives so I haven’t tried it yet, but I couldn’t resist that delicious cover – and I heard good things about it after I bought it, so that was a bonus! I spotted Girl With All The Gifts before blogs had started talking, but it was only after reading blogs I realised it was adult horror, which I found odd for some reason – looking forward to reading it though.

      I wasn’t interested in Mad Wicked Folly at all until blogs (they’ve so much to answer for!) started raving about it. Sounds like a great premise. Lol I love your self-analysis you conduct in comments! R x

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    1. Rachel

      I’ve heard so many good things about I’ll Give You The Sun! Looking forward to that one, and Book of Ivy is getting a lot of great reviews from picky readers! R x

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    1. Rachel

      Really looking forward to Dissonance, going to wait a little while til the next book is out though – with all of my feels for Throne of Glass I can’t bear to start another series and wait forever for the next instalment to be released! I do like the new covers, it’s a nice redesign, but I do LOVE that original one. R x

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    1. Rachel

      Everyone seems to be LOVING Book of Ivy, will have to move it up my TBR – I think the cover doesn’t do it justice from the reviews I’ve heard!!

      R x

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      1. thefictionalreader

        I agree! But I’ve also seen people that really disliked it.. I think this one especially depends on your expectations. If you expect a book packed with action, you may end up not liking it as much. J x

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  13. joyousreads

    So much. So much love for All the Light We Cannot See. Please read it soon. I so want to read your thoughts on that book. Gah. I just read A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. Another must read if you enjoy historical fiction.

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    1. Rachel

      See, now you’ve said that, I basically have permission to buy it 😉 It’s in my online shopping basket along with some Colleen Hoover, I can feel the first purchase of 2015 upon me… R x

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  14. Anne

    I heard The Bone Clocks and The Girl With All the Gifts are both excellent. I need to put those on my TBR! And I just won a copy of Dissonance, and need to get on that too!

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    1. Rachel

      I just borrowed it from the library (OverDrive), going to start it soon. If I LOVE it, I’ll buy it. I’ve decided to check the library for unowned books I want to read first to try and control my book buying just a wee bit. Though I have to say with budget cuts this year the only time I can get to the library now is a Thursday because it closes at 5 every day now, and I can’t do eBooks all the time, I itch for actual smelly pages. Ness and Sanderson are two I plan to read this year as well. Haha – how does the night stand trick work for you? It’s useless for me, except I’ve a lovely display of multi-coloured spines now in my room 😉 R x

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      1. Joey @ thoughts and afterthoughts

        The nightstand does the trick to remind me that I have much more to read than being ignorant to books that are shelved and mixed in with the ones I’ve read haha. But still no luck on that front since I’m still focused on reading for myself (which is bad to say since all the ones I “should” be reading // or tackling are won through giveaways. I just suck.)

        I think I might have a sense of some of these books that I’ll know I’ll like–well, except this ability fails me sometimes (i.e. We Were Liars)–since I do like to tab everything I read ahhhh. Plus I don’t often do re-reads so I would never be able to tab it again (but then I guess you could argue why I would need to tab it in the first place then–) NOW I AM TALKING IN CIRCLES..GOOD DAY.

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      2. Rachel

        HAHAHA – you’re too hard on yourself, though I seem to be on a roll at the minute with getting review copies read. I hope it sticks for a while.

        Lol – ps. All The Light We Cannot see – I’m 100 pages in, I think you’d really enjoy it! R x

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  16. Shannah McGill

    Wow, Book of Ivy sounds amazing. Definitely moving it to my TBR. I can’t say I’m a fan of the cover, though, if only because the image in the word “Ivy” looks too much like the cover of “Breathe” by Sarah Crossan.

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  17. Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookworm

    Great list. I read Leaving Time, but I was disappointed 😦 I don’t know why, as JP is one of auto-buy authors too. Maybe it’s because although the twist was shocking and I didn’t completely see it coming, I knew it was coming and you expect it. Plus I felt it had been done before. I don’t know. Couldn’t even review that one.

    The Girl with all the Gifts is one I got for Christmas and I can’t wait to read… I’ve heard amazing things about that one.

    I hope you can get to them all 🙂

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    1. Rachel

      Ach no. What’s happening to our Picoult?! I’ve a couple of backlist ones by her to get to as well, but autobuy means I pick up the new ones anyways…

      Thanks, Charnell 🙂 R x

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