Top 10 Tuesday is hosted every week by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, people from all over post and share their own list based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top 10 Tuesday topics here.

Top 10 Books For People Who Like The Iron Fey

This week, we’re recommending books based on a certain book.  I decided to go with The Iron Fey series, because it’s one of my favorite series.  I love the characters, the settings and the fairie mythology.  And who doesn’t want recommendations that are full of the paranormal, mythology and fairy tales?

1. Wings by Aprilynne Pike.  I love this series and different the fairies are.  I can totally see fairies as being similar to plants, and I love the hierarchy of fairies.
2. Need by Carrie Jones.  I love the pixies and her twist on mythology.  It’s also a lot funnier than I had ever expected.
3. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter.  I really liked this adaptation of the Persephone myth and how Carter incorporated Greek mythology.  It stands out, because I haven’t read anything else like it.
4. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.  The one thing that I love about this series is how funny it is.  I think that if you like the humor in The Iron Fey, then you’ll like the humor in Paranormalcy.  Plus, there are some really interesting relationships and alliances in both books that fans will appreciate.
5. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand.  Unearthly is on the list because I love how Hand created her own angel mythology that’s believable and and interesting.  The characters are all so interesting and different.
6. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier is an interesting re-telling of the 12 Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince.  I love the combination of the two fairy tales and the setting is very detailed and memorable.
7. Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  I loved the settings in both Graceling and The Iron Fey.  And if you like Meghan, you’ll love Katsa.
8. Entwined by Heather Dixon.  I’ve gone back and forth on whether I wanted to recommend this book.  It is another 12 Dancing Princesses re-telling, but I decided to include it because I’m becoming a fan of fairy tale re-tellings.  And there is something magical about escaping into a different world to dance.
9. Tiger’s Curse.  I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of this book.  But I’m still recommending it because I loved the Indian mythology in it.  It’s definitely different, and the focus on Indian mythology is worth it!
10. Anew by Chelsea Fine.  A girl with a curse that kills her and then brings her back to life?  You can’t go wrong with an idea like that.  Plus, there’s a very interesting take on the Fountain of Youth, which I liked a lot.

Are there any other books that fans of the Iron Fey will like?

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the lovely people over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, people from all over post their own top 10 lists based on the topic of the week.  You can find previous Top 10 Tuesdays here.

Top 10 Books For People Who Like Laurie Halse Anderson

I love, love, love this topic!  In fact, it’s not only my favorite one that I’ve done, but it’s the one that’s been the easiest.  I love Laurie Halse Anderson, and I’ve been a fan of hers ever since I read Speak in high school.  I love how real her characters are, and how she writes about different issues in an honest, very real way.  Speak was really the book I had in mind for this post, so pretty much every book was chosen in relation to Speak.

1. Hate List by Jennifer Brown.  This is the first book I thought of, and it’s a book that I’m still thinking about months after reading it.  It’s an intense emotional book, but the characters were so real and I felt like I knew exactly what they were going through.
2. After by Amy Efaw.  I liked that Efaw wrote about teen pregnancy and the consequences of child abandoment.  The plot is why I’m recommending it to Laurie Halse Anderson fans- she doesn’t seem to be scared to write about things that teens might be going through.
3. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott.  I can’t get this book out of my mind. At all.  Again, it’s not something I would think of teens going through, but I’m sure it happens.  I felt like it was a pretty realistic portrayal, which is why I recommend it.
4. Don’t Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala.  I know this is a book Anderson fans will like, and it’s because of Joy.  She’s a great character, and her feelings of suffocation are something fans of Speak and Wintergirls will relate to.
5. Looking For Alaska by John Green.  This is the first of 2 John Green books on the list.  This one is recommendedto Anderson fans because Green writes great characters that are so easy to relate to.
6. Exposed by Kimberly Marcus.  This one made my list simply because it deals with rape in a different way than Speak.  You see that things are not always black-and-white, and fans of Speak will definitely like this book.
7. By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead by Julie Ann Peters.  This book makes the list because of what Melinda and Daelyn go through at school. It wasn’t easy at school for both girls, and I think that’s something that fans of Anderson will like about this book.
8. Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu.  So I’m not done with this book yet.  But based on what I’ve read so far, I think this is a book that would be a good read for Anderson fans.  It definitely makes the list because of how Omololu dealt with hoarding.  I really like Lucy, and how she’s hiding this terrible secret that could come out at any minute.  It definitely reminds me of Melinda and how she kept her rape a secret.
9. North Of Beautiful by Justina Chen Hedley.  Now that I think about it, there’s something about Terra and Melinda that remind me of me.  Plus, they’re both great characters.  I think people who can relate to Melinda will like and relate to Terra.
10. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.  The other John Green book to make this, this one is included because of the colorful, interesting characters, and the way he dealt with an issue like cancer without making it cliche.

That’s my list!  What other books will Laurie Halse Anderson fans enjoy?

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every Tuesday, people from all over share their lists based on the topic of the week.  You can find past Top 10 Tuesdays here.

Top 10 Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself 

I struggled with this list a little.  I had no problem coming up with characters, but as to why I was reminded of myself…that was where I ran into some problems.  There were characters I connected with, and I was reminded of myself, but I couldn’t put it into words.

1. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter.  The love of reading and knowledge is something that I love about Hermione.  It’s something I see in myself, and I think it’s why I love her so much.  Plus, there’s the whole bushy hair thing.
2. Joy Delemere from Don’t Breathe A Word.  This one is still on my mind, since I finished it a few days ago.  There have been times when I felt like I was suffocating…I think it’s something a lot of people can relate to.
3. Honor from In Honor.  I’m not sure what it is about Honor that reminds me of me.  Maybe it’s the fact that she went on a roadtrip to fulfill her brother’s wish and go to the last Kyra Kelly concert.  I’d like to think that I would do something like that, but when it comes down to it, I know what it’s like to lose a close family member.
4. Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.  I have a little bit of Luna Lovegood in me, but really, I just want to be more like her.  I can be random when I want to, but I’m not a Luna kind of random.
5. Evie from Paranormalcy.  This one isn’t terribly serious, but she’s on this list because she loves all things pink and sparkly.  Nothing better than things that are both pink and sparkly.
6. Terra Cooper from North Of Beautiful.  What I like about Terra was her desire to be anywhere but where she was.  I definitely know what that’s like, and I think that’s why she’s on this list.
7. Daelyn Rice from By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead.  I saw a lot of myself in Daelyn.  I know how it feels to feel so depressed that you can’t see anyway out, and I could relate to Daelyn a lot.
8. Emily from The Pact.  I could relate to Emily in the same way I related to Daelyn.  Granted, I’ve never been in Emily’s situation, but I do know where she’s coming from and I could understand her thought process so well.
9. Lily Owens from The Secret Life Of Bees.  Lily is another character that reminded me of me, but not knowing what it is about her that drew me in.  I think it’s the fact that she found home in an unlikely place, which is something I seemed to latch onto when I first read it.
10. Zara from Need.  This one is pretty superficial.  But I’d like to think that reciting phobias and what they mean (or something equally as random) is something I would do.

Do these characters remind you of anyone you know?  What other characters do you see in yourself or someone you know?

Top 10 Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful people over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, people post their own Top 10 List based on the topic of the week.  You can find previous topics over at their website.

Today is a Top 10 Rewind, which means we get to do a previous Top 10 Tuesday of our own choosing.  There are so many good topics, which is why I decided to do TTT in the first place.

Top 10 Book Trends I Want To See More Or Less Of

I read a lot of YA, so that’s what the focus of my list is.  And it’s the only genre/category where I feel like I’m up-to-date on the trends.  Although I found I kept getting ideas for future novels when I was writing this post…

I’d like to see less:

1. Series.  Don’t get me wrong, I love series.  But every once in a while, it’s nice to know that when I finish a book, it really is over.
2. Historical fiction set in the 19th century.  This is not the only time period in the history of the world, so why do a lot of books seem to be set in this time period?  I can kind of get why it’s so popular, but more diversity would be nice.
3. Re-tellings of Greek/Roman mythology.  I feel like this is really popular, and while I like seeing the different re-tellings, Greek/Roman mythology is getting boring.  There are so many different mythologies out there, so why are people focusing on Greek and Roman mythology?
4. Less bandwagon stuff.  I hate how when one thing does really well, everyone else has to write about it too.  Like vampires after Twilight or dystopic novels after The Hunger Games.  I don’t mind fads, but if you’re going to jump on the bandwagon, at least be aware of the other novels out there so you don’t risk sounding like everyone else.

I’d like to see more:

1. Stand-alones.  Yes, this is the complete opposite of what I said in the previous list.  I feel a little overwhelmed by all the series out there, so I might have to read a few stand-alones so I can have a little break from series.
2. Historical fiction aimed at older teens.  I know it’s out there, but most of what I’ve read seems to be for younger teens.  It’s great, but I’m sure older teens want to read it too.  Actually, more historical fiction in general is a good idea, because it doesn’t seem too popular in YA.  It’s popular for both children and adults, so why does it disappear in YA?
3. More re-tellings.  Another opposite, but I really do like re-tellings.  The 12 Dancing Princesses seem to be popular, but with so many fairy tales and mythologies, there’s a lot of potential for re-tellings.
4. Diversity.  The characters that populate YA literature are not very diverse.  Seriously, we need more characters from all walks of life.  I love reading because I can be exposed to people who belong to a different religion or from a different country or a different upbringing or social class.  There are billions of people in the world, so maybe we can focus on some of the other people out there.

On The Fence:

1. Love triangles.  The few love triangles I’ve actually liked are the ones where I could see the protagonist with either guy and when I actually had no clue who she was going to end up with.  Most of them are boring and super predictable.  Plus, how can it be considered a love triangle when it’s obvious who the main character is going to end up with?  If they were less cliché, and actually had conflict involved, I’d like them more.
2. College Students: Why are there not more books with college students as the main character?  The Morganville Vampire series is the only one I can think of, and I’d definitely like to see more college students.  But at the same time, I have no clue if it appeals to teens, which is why I’m on the fence.

So, that’s my list for the week.  What books trends need to go, and which ones should stay?