I’ve had a year this year.
2017 was a bit all over the place for me, and if you’ve noticed how quiet this blog has been in 2017, i’m sure this is obvious.
I’ve had both fantastic highs and really s$%# lows. I’ve loved and lost. I’ve had moments of crippling self doubt, and moments of great triumph where I did things I didn’t think I could do but did.
I’ve had a very insular year; I’ve spent the year focusing inward and working out what my priorities are, what I fight for, and what I don’t have time for.
Books, my ever faithful support agencies, have supported me throughout the entire roller coaster. And perhaps because I’ve had such a year, I’ve read A LOT.
In fact, I’ve read so much, I made my Goodreads goal. I DID IT!!! I READ OVER 50 BOOKS THIS YEAR!!!
My tastes have varied throughout the year, and I’ve read across multiple genres, ticked off books that have been long sitting on my TBR, consumed some hot new reads and many more. I’ve fallen in love with audiobooks, and really worked out my kindle.
I’ve actually had a pretty good run; I cant pick any bad books this year! All the ones I’ve read this year I’ve enjoyed immensely and my book pickings have been on point. So for this tag, I’m just going to focus on my ten faves this year. Which has been so hard to choose!!!
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
I had been trying to get a copy of this to read forever, and it took me until this year to get a copy. What an intense adventure. I was sucked in from the beginning, and loved the sequel almost as much as this first one. This whole world is riveting and the heavy drawings on the Roman Gladiators just did it for me. (Major History buff here).
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
This book is a game changer. I can guarantee you that this is the most unique book you have ever read. Everyone I have recommended this too loves it as much as I do. It’s told in such a unique way, the story keeps you on tenterhooks the entire time, and the sequel is so kick ass and just works perfectly with this one. GET YOU THIS BOOK AND MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS! You can thank me later
Rook by Sharon Cameron
I knew this book was going to be good when I brought it. Its bloody amazing. Another wild ride where you’re on pins and needles for the whole read. If you like history with a dystopian twist, this is for you. This is a true adventure book set in Dystopian England and Paris. MC is witty and strong and you cannot help but love her.
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas (Book 3 in ACOTR series)
God Damn what a good third book. If you’ve read my reviews for the first two books in this series, you’ll know how much I love it. This book did not dissapoint. This book took all the delicious momentum and character development from the second half of book 2 and just kicked it up into overdrive. I honestly am in love with Sarah Maas and she stole my heart again with this book.
The Gentlemans Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
I listened to this book on audiobook and thoroughly recommend listening to this one (Voiced by the actor who played Tom Riddle delish). This is another history adventure, and is an absolute lark. The main character is un-apologetically deplorable but I adored him. This is a very well done story with a queer main character who gets himself, his best friend Monty, and his sass queen of a sister into all manners of trouble.
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (and the whole damn Peter Grant series)
I fell in love with this whole series this year, and read all the currently published books in it! I listened to them via audiobook and had heart eyes the whole time (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is a god and should narrate every audiobook ever. His performances are incredible). This series is what happens when an excellent mystery, cop-procedural series has a baby with a fantasy book. With cops that are also wizards, ghosts, river spirits and all manner of other magical creatures running amok in London, this series is going to grab hold of you and not let you go. I could talk for hours about how much I loved this series, and how much i’m dying waiting for the next instalment due in 2018.
Turtles all the Way Down by John Green
There is a reason everyone has been hyping this book. It’s incredible. John Green can sometimes be a bit hit or miss;- some books of his I adore i.e. the Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns, and others not so much (i’m looking at you ‘Looking for Alaska’). This one is so worth his hiatus. I think his writing has improved so much, and I think he’s nailed the story telling. I was utterly fascinated by his presentation of anxiety and OCD and I gathered so much more empathy and understanding from this book (I have people close to me with these conditions).
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas (Book 6 in the Throne of Glass Series)
She’s done it again folks! Maas has appeared on my best books list twice again! I was initially unsure about this book- it pulls away from the main story line and focuses on one of the side characters and his story while book 5 happens. I shouldn’t have been worried. This was fantastic. This story felt much more carefully written, and given how quickly it came out after book 5, I feel like Maas may have partially written this story when writing book 5. I loved hearing Chaol’s adventures, and loved meeting all the new characters.
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
This book was a wild ride. In order to avoid spoiling the series (this is book 4), let me tell you that this is a fantastic fourth book; it keeps all the action and build up of the third and pushes it further in a neat way. Action isn’t forced, it rolls beautifully in between some intense character development. Your heart will likely break for each character about 5 times (Diana can be mean to her characters) but the small circle of main characters are strong and prove worthy of your admiration. This book had me hooked!
Dawn Study by Maria V Snyder
There’s divided opinion on goodreads about this book; as always with the final book in a series, some love it. Others not. I loved it. I thought it was neat and tidy ending to one of my fav series. It didn’t suffer from the “omg we must do everything quickly” syndrome that Snyder tends to get on penultimate books. I liked the character development and the time she took to detail changes in the heroine. I think Snyder took the time to wrap up all the plot lines in a believable way and while I would have liked more time at the end on (Spoiler item redacted), I’m satisfied with this as the end of the series.
Honourable Mentions;
So here’s to 2017; thank Christ its over!!
And for those curious, here’s my Goodreads goal for 2018;
The Undecided Bookworm 