The First Half of 2014 Part II - Top Five Dystopian and Post Apocalyptic

Welcome back to The First Half of 2014 mini series! For day two, let's talk dystopians and post apocalyptics. I know, not the most cheerful of subject material, but this year I have found several really awesome books that come from these genres. A few were recommended by friends, and some I'd just heard amazing things about. Let me know what your top five are in the comments, and without further ado, here are mine!

no. 1 - Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

This was a dystopian that was completely unusual for me. I'm not much of a dystopian fan, but Article 5 was wonderful. First, the society was different from other dystopians in that it wasn't a complete departure from the modern world. This is not the Panem of The Hunger Games or the factions of Divergent. Article 5 is akin to the modern world with some dramatic modifications. Ember is an awesome narrator and protagonist, and I loved reading about her. And Chase of course. Thanks to Juhina for the recommendation!

no. 2 - Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

I was really debating on how to categorize The Arcana Chronicles, but since I read so much paranormal and I'm already going to have trouble narrowing down the list, I thought it would be best to spread out the books as much as possible. Poison Princess takes place in a post apocalyptic setting, and while the characters are interesting in the book, what really steals the show is the action. The world goes out with a bang and suddenly Evie is caught in the fight of a lifetime.

no. 3 - Endless Knight by Kresley Cole

The second installment of The Arcana Chronicles completely blew me away. This is a fantastic sequel that, for me, surpassed its predecessor. I loved the insight we got into the characters, especially my favorite of the series, Death. The paranormal aspects were furthered in this novel, and really solidified my love for this series. Let me know if I'm right or not in the comments, but I'm hoping that this series is more than a trilogy. I want more than three books of these characters!

no. 4 - Champion by Marie Lu

This was a dystopian series conclusion that I absolutely adored. I know I'm in the minority here, but I loved Legend, wasn't the biggest fan of Prodigy, and so I was nervous about Champion. However, I was truly wowed by this book. It brought back all of the lovable qualities of the characters from the first book, since the characters had really bothered me in Book 2, and there was action and plot development galore. I was really impressed with the plot twists and the unfolding of a seemingly impossible dilemma. I think the ending was one of the best. It showed a lot of maturity and development in the characters, and I was truly content and happy with the way Marie Lu ended this series. (Also, looking ahead in 2014 is anyone else super excited for her new series The Young Elites? I read the 50 page sampler Marie Lu linked on her Twitter and fell in love with it!)

no. 5 - Angelfall by Susan Ee

You've probably discovered by now that I'm a huge fan of great characters in books. Angelfall definitely had these. Raffe and Penryn are probably two of my favorite snarky YA characters ever. I loved Penryns wit and how well Raffe's commentary and her retorts complemented each other. These two's dynamics made the book absolutely memorable. This post apocalyptic and dystopian book is overrun with violence, desolation, and a takeover. While I wasn't a fan of the second book in comparison to the first, Angelfall is definitely fantastic and I cannot wait for book three- hopefully it will be the return of some of the elements I loved in Angelfall.

So, while I'm not the biggest fan of dystopians and post-apocalyptic stories, I found that these are really stand out novels to me. If you loved these too and have any recommendations that are along the same lines, please feel free to let me know in the comments!

From the paper world,

V