Faves of 2015 ~ Top Twenty Reads

I'm bringing my fave reads of 2015 to you in January (month of the sleepy and sunny summer holidays!). 

Before i get to the books, here's a few stats from my personal reading for pleasure. I have not included books I read with my kids or books I read for uni.

Books Read: 92
Number of rereads: 15
I don't make numerical reading goals but my reading has been in the 90-100 books per year for the past 3 years, which is just shy of 2 books per week ~ a good amount for managing my bookish life with my other life commitments.

Young Adult: 59
Adult Fiction: 33
Australian authors: 33 (really happy that over a 1/3 of my reading was Australian ~ although I often feel like I am never going to read all the Aussie titles on my TBR ~ there are so many that came out in 2015 that I still have not gotten to...)

I love celebrating the discovery of new favourite books and this year I have 20 new faves (plus many more books I enjoyed my time with).  Some are literary masterpieces, some are brilliantly written and plotted, some are just plain fun or addictive comfort reads. All 20 of these titles have one thing in common: I was hooked and addicted. These books provided my favourite reading experiences of 2015 and I hope you find something here that you might also fall in love with. 

As always, many thanks to these amazing authors, who brought so much goodness to my reading life last year xx

Aussie YA Faves

Burn by Paula Weston

Brilliant and sexy and addictive and genius end of to an all-time forever fave series of mine. So much love for this one, and yes, I've reread it already! My review.

A Tangle of Gold by Jaclyn Moriarty

Absolutely amazing and creative and genius and just completely perfect. This conclusion to the series blew my mind <3

Cloudwish by Fiona Wood

The latest Fiona Wood was a perfect fit for me, all the Fiona Wood Aussie YA goodness we all love plus a gorgeous touch of whimsy and loads of heart. Review for this beauty to come!

In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker

Slightly bizzarre and deliciously surreal, this one is a new total fave for me. I loved it so much, I swallowed it whole. My review.

The Guy, The Girl, The Artist and His Ex by Gabrielle Williams

Smart and smiley and refreshing original. Loved so much about this: the premise and the twisty, brilliant and daring way everything some together. Williams is an outstanding author marching along to the beat of her own drum. This one is marketed as YA but with 4 POV's (some young adult age) it's perfect for fans of adult fiction, too. 

Masquerade by Kylie Fornasier

This was dazzling and unique and unexpected and wholly enjoyable. This is one underrated Aussie YA gem that I would love to see more people get swept up by this captivating and fun book. Also, really excited for Fornasier's sophomore title coming out in 2016! My review. 

Contemporary YA Faves

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

This one is for fans of good, relentlessly addictive books. And for people who are not afraid of heartache (blended just perfectly with the right amount of hope). So so good. I read this on 2 sittings, over one day <3

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

This book really is a stand-out in contemporary YA -- easy to sink into, heart-felt without ever venturing into melodrama, relate-able, fun and emotionally moving. The pacing is great and, if the mood hits you and you find your groove, you just may read it in one sitting (like I did!). Review to come! :)

Lobsters by Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison

Haha, this book was so fun. I loved the UK vibe, the dual POVs. The awkward moments, humour, and so very teen vibe about it all. I couldn't put this one down and finished it at 3am, with a ridiculous grin on my face. 

First & Then by Emma Mills

This book felt fresh and genuine and true and is my favourite brand of contemporary YA. I enjoyed the first half, but LOVED the second half, where I suddenly found myself caring deeply for the characters. What a gorgeous book!

The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne

I really enjoyed this one: fun and clever and full of emotional depth. This book broke a reading drought for me and had me smiling and invested the whole way through. My review. 

No More Confessions by Louise Rozett

The conclusion (maybe? I'm hoping for more!) to a fave contemporary YA series of mine. It was very unexpected, the direction this book went in. It felt brave and sad but true and not without hope. Despite some sorrow, it was still sexy and fun and angsty and so good! I really do love this series and would love for it to keep going, somehow, to revisit the characters in a few years and see how they are doing x

Fave New Adult

Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino

I don't actually normally read this genre. Well, I do attempt it (but mostly abandon new adult titles part way in) but for some reason this really worked for me! Look, it was not without it's moments of melodrama (a staple of the genre?) but it also had a lot of heart and soul and characters I was totally rooting for. This was swoony and hot, with loads of tension and slow burn. So, check it out if you're a fan of the New Adult scene and hopefully you'll find this as deliciously addictive as I did :)

Fave Fantasy & Fairy Tale Retellings

The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

I adore this series. Seriously DYING for The Winner's Kiss. This second book did everything right and I loved it. LOVED IT. 

The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Wow ~ I loved this. So much atmosphere and intrigue and a gorgeous foreign-vibe fantasy setting. The tortured and mysterious hero really worked for me, too, LOL. I've asked for this book for my shelves for my upcoming birthday, along with the sequel ~ it's a duology (April, you feel so far away!). 

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

 This re-imagined fairy tale is lush and intricate and full of mysteries, sexual tension and unique mythology. This book wins the up-all-night prize, keeping me turning pages into the squeaky hours of the morning, finishing with that rush you get from being completely absorbed by a good tale. I loved it, so much <3 My review.

Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge

Bonus book: a tiny short story (I wish it had been a full length novel!) A Cinderella re-imagining that was haunting and swoony and pretty much perfect!

Adult Fiction Faves

In The Quiet by Eliza Henry Jones

Oh my gosh. What an outstanding and haunting and gorgeous Aussie debut. I loved this so much and I have a half written draft review but all the words I say feel inadequate to capture this beauty of a book (so my review has been languishing unread :( ). All Aussies who belong to a library ~ track this one and sink into it <3

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

I don't know what it is about this book (at times I wasn't even sure what the central plot was), but it was just absorbing and felt so true to life. I loved it and am so glad I read it. My library has all of Anne Tyler's backlist, which is exciting after finding a new author, but I have no idea where to begin, so if there are any fans out there, I'd love to know your fave title of hers!

The Blue by Lucy Clarke

This had what I now think of as Clarke's signature features: wide open seas, wanderlust, mysteries and secrets, and swoon. It was addictive (so cleverly written, blending two timelines and leaving small timely clues). I am excited for anything Clarke writes! I am not entirely sure, but this may be my fave of hers yet. Really worth your time!

Reluctantly Charmed by Ellie O'Neill

Such a charming, off-beat Irish vibe, a kind of chick-lit magical realism that was just fun and slightly ridiculous (in the best of ways). What  a gorgeous and fun and completely memorable read. Much, much love! My review. 

What a gorgeous looking bunch of brilliant books! 

Have you read and loved any of these? 

I'd love to know a couple of your faves from 2015 (link me up to a blog post if you have one or comment with a recommendation below)

Round-up of my previous end of year faves posts:

2014 Part One  Part Two  Top Ten

2013 Top Ten

2012 Top Ten

2011 Part One (the books) Part Two (characters) Part Three (scenes) Part Four (faves)

2010 Faves  and Aussie YA faves

Favourite Aussie YA 2010 - Me :)

This year I read 55 Aussie YA books

22 of them were re-reads (okay, I am a HUGE fan of making time to re-read favourites - one of my favourite things to do is curl up with a familiar and favourite book and hang out with the characters again in their world). My re-reads included:

•  the entire tomorrow series (7 books) which feels like home to me more than any other series. I will never tire of visiting Ellie and Homer and the gang.
•  all my Jaclyn Moriarty books. Completely love those books. I BEG OF YOU if you have not read Jaclyn Moriarty TRACK HER DOWN. She is my favourite author. She is available internationally. Oh, I love her so.
• all my verse novels: Steven Herrick and Margaret Wild being my top Aussie verse writers. I am always astounded by their brilliance each time I re-read them. As if I don't quite remember just how astonishingly good they are from the first time around
• I re-read some Marchetta brilliance
• and a bundle of books I wanted to re-visit because it had been a while...

33 of the Aussie YA books I read this year were brand new to me. Yippee! And lots of them I fell in love with. I'm not going to post ALL my faves but I have narrowed down nine that shine (*round of applause* what an accomplishment). OKAY, so I started doing an honourable mention section - but it was getting out of control...

A lot of them were from the CBCA notables (22 titles) and short-list. My library purchases all titles from the CBCA every year

So, without further blah blah, here's nine of my favourite Aussie reads this year (In no particular order) : They are not perhaps the best I read - more the ones that just completely resonated with me, you know, just because...

I reviewed all but the bottom two, Marchetta and Zusak - both stunning masterpieces. I so can't wait to re-read all of these already - they are firmly wedged in on my favourites shelf. Here's hoping you guys get a chance to read some of these too!

Six of them were released this year - the other three are slightly older titles. Five of them were debuts :) All of them were outrageously awesome. Only THREE of them are available internationally - ouch :(

As for Good Oil. When I first read it - I really enjoyed it. A lot. The funny thing is - 6 months later and I am still thinking about it. All the time. My love for the book grew astronomically in retrospect. I get that people (especially those who don't do much contemporary) maybe could read it and not find the magic in there. But for me ~ it just really struck a chord. And I guess that's why best-of lists are so personal. But Good Oil, oh how I love you <3

Mini mention to Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen ~  no one has mentioned it yet and I had such a good time reading it. It also was this years winner of CBCA (best book for older readers.

As for questions I asked other bloggers regarding their all-time faves ~ I have 5 favourite Aussie authors that I have adored since I was a teenager AND I'll get around to posting that tomorrow... :)

x Nomes

The Best of Aussie YA (5) Musty Pages

The Best of Aussie YA - Mini Series

some of the featured books...

About the mini series & best of Aussie YA current give-away

in case you missed it:

 1 - Tye from The Book Gryffin

2 - Steph from My Girl Friday

3 - Jess from The Tales Compendium

4 Nic from Irresistible Reads

Wahoo - how excited am I to introduce you to Vee? Some of you may know Vee as inkspatters at AW :)


Vee is a Sydney teenager who just finished high school and she blogs about YA books @ Musty Pages. 


BUT she also blogs @ her writing blog Ramblings of a Writer. AND her HUGE news is her edgy contemp YA thriller is going to be published in 2012. I know, right? She is a particularly amazing shade of brilliance and I respect her bookish and writerly opinions oh-so-much. 


1. The Aussie YA scene is so strong at the moment - with so many BRILLIANT titles that came out this year. What tops your list of favourite Aussie YA reads this year?

Ooh, there are so many great ones! Graffiti Moon, Raw Blue, Six and Beatle Meets Destiny are probably at the top of my list.

2. What books from previous years are on your all-time favourite Aussie YA list?

Every single book written by Melina Marchetta, of course, but Jellicoe Road is probably my favourite. Other than that, I adore Markus Zusak's The Book Thief and The Messenger, Kirsten Murphy's Raincheck on Timbuktu and Judith Clarke's One Whole and Perfect Day.

3. Any lesser known Aussie YA books/authors you adore?

Yeah! I think Kirsten Murphy is really underrated, her books are awesome. I also really love Kirsty Murray, and Lisa Shannahan's My Big Birkett is an amazing read, that I haven't heard many others rave about. 

4. What upcoming titles are you hanging out for?

Anna and the French Kiss, based on your review! I'm also looking forward to the big releases -- Across the Universe, and Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers, which has it's Aussie release next year, I think.

 Quick 5: Choose the book you'd recommend to someone in the mood for:

• A tear jerker:  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Awesome male: POV Swerve by Phillip Gwynne.
• Quirky and hilarious: Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams
• A story that lingers: On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
• A book that you can't put down: Fury by Shirley Marr

Thanks thanks thanks to Vee for these awesome recommendations (so thrilled with her answers as I've read EVERY SINGLE book she mentioned and I adore them as well). 

As a bonus - here is a blurb about Vee's own upcoming book:

untitled dark, edgy YA thriller about a girl named Ella, who is desperate to understand what could have driven her best friend Amy to jump off a roof to her death. Even worse, Ella can’t remember a thing about the time leading up to the event—and gradually she starts to suspect that those around her know more about that night than they are letting on. Was Amy’s death really a suicide? Or did something more sinister happen…something her best friends are desperate to keep her from ever finding out?

This is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat psychological mystery, and will keep you guessing right up until the end. North American rights were acquired by Marilyn Brigham at Marshall Cavendish, for a Fall 2012 release.