Discussion: Top 16 Books of 2016

This year I would love to try to bring back my discussion posts. I have really started to fail at doing them, but I was just running out of ideas for what to post. Hopefully I can come up with some topics to discuss!

Today I'm going to be discussing my top 16 favorite books I read in 2016!

Just to be fair, I'm not going to count my rereads because otherwise Alexandra Bracken would be on this list like 5 times. I should let other authors have a chance to make my list, right?

          

1. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Goodreads

It was really hard for me to add this book to the list. I really did like it a lot more than a lot of the books I read last year, but just the hype killed this book so bad for me. It took me months to actually get around to reading it and even when I did, it didn't live up to the hype for me. Which is not to say that it was bad in any way. I just had it up on the highest pedestal EVER and it shouldn't have been quite so high up. But truly I did love this book, I just have weird mixed feelings about it.

Did you read any books this past year that felt like a total flop because of the hype?

2. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads

This was one of those books that I never picked up in the past because it didn't sound like the kind of thing I was into. But last year I decided to try out the Hype or Like Friday meme and the first (and I think only so far) one that I participated in was The Raven Boys. A combination of that, the fact that the ebook was super cheap on my nook at that time, and the fact that everyone was always raving about this series got me to finally pick it up. I am half astounded by how much I actually did end up liking it. Contemporary/paranormal books are usually NOT my jam at all, but this whole series ended up being so amazing, I am super excited to pick up the rest of Maggie's work in the future.

Did you read any books this past year that were a huge success despite all the hype?

3. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Goodreads

This book. Oh my word. Definitely in the top three books that I read this year. I have raved about this book so hard all year. If you're new here, you should definitely go check out my A Glimpse Back in Time post that I wrote about it. This is the book that inspired that feature. The history behind this book is so morbidly fascinating, I can't stop thinking about this book. Please, if you are into historical fiction, read this book and come talk to me about it.

Did you read any books last year that have stuck with you like this one has for me?

          

4. Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Goodreads

I was kind of iffy on if I was actually going to like this book after I picked it up. I should NOT have worried. I loved the setting and the mythology in this book. I love the cover. I really wanted to talk about the Isle of Man in an A Glimpse Back in Time post, but I couldn't find anything to talk about when I was looking it up. It sounds like such a fantastic place and I really want to visit it someday now.

Did you read any books last year that made you want to travel to their location? 

5. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Goodreads

This book was also the first physical ARC I received from a publisher! I was SO excited to score this book. And I loved everything about this book. The writing is SO beautiful. The cover is so beautiful! The story is wonderful! I am super duper excited to get A Crown of Wishes this year! I think I love that cover even more!

6. Front Lines by Michael Grant

Goodreads

Front Lines is an alternate universe historical fiction novel about if women were able to be drafted in WWII. I have seen the complaint that he dismisses the women who actually DID serve in the war with this book. I can see where those people are coming from. I still really enjoyed this book and it inspired my second A Glimpse Back in Time post where I talk about some of the MANY badass women who actually did serve in WWII! I loved making that post. It took me like a week to do it and I had to cut out a lot of women that I wanted to talk about so I think I'm going to do another one after I read Silver Stars.

          

7. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Goodreads

This was my first Colleen Hoover book! I kind of loved it. I have been on the look out for a book that was just steamy, but not awful and I finally found it in this book. I have acquired a few other Colleen Hoover books since I read this one, but I have yet to read them. I hope that they live up to this one!

8. Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

Goodreads

So, this is my 3rd WWII era historical fiction book on this list. This one was super interesting because it is kind of a mystery/thriller book. Hanneke works in the black market, finding and delivering things that people are hankering for during the war. But someone comes to her asking her to find a person! I loved seeing how invested she gets into finding this person she doesn't know.

Did you read any awesome historical fiction books (particularly WWII era) last year that you could recommend?

9. Whisper To Me by Nick Lake

Goodreads

If you are looking for books about mental health issues, read Whisper To Me. I picked this book up because I actually thought it was going to focus more on the aspect of the serial killer loose in the area rather than on Cassie's mental health. I am surprised that I ended up liking this book as much as I did. I thought it was so interesting. The book is written in the format of an apology letter to someone that Cassie hurt. Cassie hears voices and something else I thought was interesting about this book was the fact that the voice she was hearing was written as if it were an actual character. I don't know that this is something unusual or anything like that, but I haven't read a lot of books like this before.

Did you read any books in the last year that were kind of out of your comfort zone but you ended up loving?

          

10. The Island by S. Usher Evans

Goodreads

This year I contributed to the kickstarter for this book and scored an early paperback for it! I haven't read very many indie books yet, but this one is easily my favorite one that I have read! This whole series is amazing, I need to get around to reading more of her books!

Did you read any amazing indie books last year?

11. Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken

Goodreads

Did you think you'd get through a list on my blog and NOT see an Alexandra Bracken book on it? Ha, not a chance! I was SO pumped to get an early copy of this book! It lacked a lot of the romance that I was severely looking forward to, but made up for it in going a lot more in depth into more characters. Sophia and Henry in particular were characters I really appreciated knowing more about!

Did you get to read any new books by your favorite author last year?

12. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Goodreads

Nevernight is a book that took a little bit for me to get into. The first chapter was written in a really neat way, but for some reason I could not get into that chapter. It was kind of smooth sailing from there and I love the idea of an assassin school and I loved the relationship between Mia and Tric. I'm sad about the problematic aspects of this book. I was going to not add it to the list because of that, but I didn't like anything else on my list of books I read last year more than I liked this.

          

13. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Goodreads

This book was such a thrill to read! Audrey Rose is another amazing female character that I loved reading about. I love how she doesn't care what anyone thinks about her and her entirely 'unladylike' hobbies. I loved the rather gruesome descriptions of the autopsy work she did. I loved the weird twist at the end. I most definitely enjoyed Thomas Cresswell as well! I am so excited to see where this series goes from here and I need more Audrey Rose and Thomas time.

14. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Goodreads

I was so happy when I scored an early copy of this last summer! I love that this story is mainly about the love between sisters (even if I REALLY didn't care for one of the sisters *rages*). Everying Scarlett does in this book is motivated by how much she loves her sister and wants to save her. The love interest in this book easily made my top 5 book boyfriend list. The end of this book kind of made me angry. Not because it's a bad ending or anything, I don't really want to say anything just because I might never stop talking and spoil something and that would be lame, mmkay? But this is an AWESOME debut and the whole carnival/game/thing is so interesting, so definitely pick this one up ASAP!

Did you find yourself any new book boyfriends/girlfriends last year?

15. RoseBlood by A. G. Howard

Goodreads

This book didn't end up being exactly what I was expecting it to be. It's a retelling of the Phantom of the Opera which I am SO here for. I loved that story and I love this one too. It had a bit of a paranormal twist to it that I was not expecting at all, but wasn't entirely unpleasant, coming from someone who doesn't love paranormal stuff. This was my first A.G. Howard book, but I have her entire Splintered series on my shelf, calling my name now!

Did you read any books in the last year that had a twist that you weren't expecting?

16. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Goodreads

I already know that this is the 2017 book that I am going to be pushing on EVERYONE. It was so amazing. Alosa is the daughter of the pirate king and she is such a BADASS. I can't even stand it. She's the captain of her own ship and her crew is almost all other lady pirates. She is such a strong character and I will never be over how much I loved this book. I really want you to go read this book and then come talk to me about it as well.

What book did you read in the last year that you will be pushing on everyone and their dog?

What were some of the top books that you read in 2016?