Sunday, January 1, 2017

Favorite Books of 2016!

It's that time of year again! The time of end-of-the-year book hauls, wrap-ups, least-favorites, and favorites. We list what book we got and what we've read, we talk about what was good and what was disappointing, and then we make goals for the upcoming year. My participation in this trend can all be found under this link. But as for right now, we're here to talk about my favorite books of the year. 

I couldn't narrow it down to only 10 books, so I did my top 14 books of the year. Some of these are interchangeable (until my top 6). I'd say my 7-12 favorites are all pretty much the same in terms of my love for them. Let's just hop right in because it's going to be a pretty lengthy post about my favorites :)

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#14
A Shadow Bright and Burning
by Jessica Cluess
Goodreads Review
I just recently read this and blew through it. I adored the characters and the world. The plot was fantastic. The world building was amazing. Everything about this first novel left me wanting the next one so much more. I'm excited to see how the main character progresses in both her powers and her personality. I especially can't wait for more of my favorite witty magician ;)

#13
"Shadow Falls"
by C.C. Hunter
Born at Midnight Review
Awake at Dawn Review
Taken at Dusk Review
Whispers at Moonrise Review
Chosen at Nightfall Review
I fell in love with this series the moment I read the first three pages. I was hooked. I wanted it all. I binge-read this series so fast and I loved it. I seriously think a reread is in order because I miss these characters. Or maybe I should just continue on to the sequel series? Either way, I loved this story and these characters. 

#12
"Faith"
by Nikki Bolvair
Series Review TK
I binge-bought and binge-read this series as well (all but two of the series on here were binge-read). I adored it. The books were the perfect length. The characters kept me coming back for more. I loved everything about this series and I'm so excited to see everyone's happy ending in the fifth and final book (hopefully coming soon!). 

#11
Trying To Live With The Dead
by B.L. Brunnemer
Seeing as I just wrote a long review for this one, I won't put too many words here. I just loved this book so much and I'm so excited for the next one. This is definitely going on my 'favorite books' shelf right along the rest of these. 

#10
Charcoal Tears + Watercolour Smile + Lead Heart
by Jane Washington
Series Review TK
Be still my heart. I loved this series to the moon and back (it was another binge-buy/read). The first book had me entranced from the first page. Everything moved so fast yet took so slow. There were slow-burn relationships and other relationships that were almost instant connections. All the events were so well plotted and planned. This whole series was just so much fun. Very excited for the last book. 

#9
"The Lunar Chronicles"
by Marissa Meyer
Cinder Review
Scarlet Review
Cress Review
Winter Review
I finally read this series (go me!). I actually bought Cinder, read it in a couple of hours (I couldn't put it down) and immediately ordered the second two. Thank god for free Prime shipping on Amazon because I got them the day after I ordered them. Within two weeks I had not only bought but read the four main books in the Lunar Chronicles. I fell in love with these characters and the events. I am excited to reread my favorite chapters randomly. I think Winter was my favorite as so much happened in that one and everything turned out the way I wanted it to. 

#8
Lady Midnight
by Cassandra Clare
This is by far my favorite Cassandra Clare book yet. I think part of what made this my favorite was that the main characters already knew about the Shadowhunter world. Emma was so badass and I loved all of her wit. Her and Julian's parabatai relationship was so beautiful. There was never a dull moment for me when reading this book. I cried, I laughed, I loved. I can't wait for the next one! 

#7
Nowhere But Here + Walk the Edge
by Katie McGarry
Nowhere But Here Review
Walk the Edge Review
I'd been seeing this series around for a few months before I bought it. When I got them, I fell in love. The first book was fabulous and the second book was equally as amazing. The characters were so intricate and interesting. The plot was action packed but also not too intense. It seemed very realistic and I loved these two. The third book releases in exactly thirty days and my excitement just keeps on growing!

#6
Finding My Pack + Keeping My Pack
by Lane Whitt
It took me no time at all to fall in love with this series. The main character, Kitten, was so intricate and had many layers to her. Her backstory made my heart ache. Everything about this story from Kitten to the boys to the paranormal aspect had me dying for more. Everyone was so uniquely relatable despite there being werewolves in this story. The boys made me feel like I was laying in a ball of happy sunshine and rainbows. There were moments when I cried and moments when I laughed. Everything was just so amazing. 

#5
Hide and Seek Her + Finders Keep Her
by H.B. Stumbo
Hide and Seek Her Review
Finders Keep Her Review
Wow...my feelings for these two books know no bounds. I fell in love with Charlotte, Vance, and Riley in the first book and I fell into a deeper abyss in the second book. Everything was so intense and creepy, but just the right amount. Jackson was the perfect villain and getting to see inside his mind was amazing. The second book left me in tears. I couldn't function for a solid few minutes. I'm sure the next installment will be just as great, if not better. 

#4
Illuminae + Gemina
by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kaufman
Illuminae Review
Gemina Review
Illuminae was the first book I read in 2016 and I zoomed through it. I fell in love. I laughed, I cried, and I ached for Gemina. Katy and Ezra were such an amazing set of protagonists. I fell in love with them while experiencing their story. AIDAN was an amazing antagonist and I couldn't help but adore him. I was so lucky to get an arc of book 2 and once I opened it, I had it finished in a day. Hanna and Nik were almost as amazing as Katy and Ezra and I fell in love with them too. Gemina left me in tears and with an even bigger obsession than before.

#3
Stalking Jack the Ripper
by Kerri Maniscalco
Review TK
This book was so freaking cool. The main character was so awesome. The side characters were amazing. The mystery and plot line were fabulous. Everything about this book was great. I fell in love with Audrey and Thomas. Those two characters made the book. They were fabulous and amazing and their interactions together are what made me love this book so much. Not only that, but the mystery and intrigue and twists at every corner were mind-spinning. It was amazing. 

#2
A Court of Mist and Fury
by Sarah J. Maas
Review
I'm not going to go into huge detail here as my review was pretty in depth, but I loved this book. It raised the bar for this series. While I really liked ACOTAR, I loved ACOMAF. The new characters and new part of the world was amazing. I loved every second of this book...there was not a dull moment for me. Everything fell into place and things went in unexpected ways. I could not anticipate what would happen in this book but I can't imagine it going any other way. Simply put...it was amazing. 

#1
Empire of Storms
by Sarah J. Maas
Since I wrote a very, very, VERY long review for this book, I'll try to keep this short as well. EoS destroyed me in every way: it destroyed me with happiness, it destroyed me with sadness, and it destroyed me with everything in between. So many things happened and we saw so much more of the world. We saw old characters and we met new characters. Everything was amazing. The side-characters really pulled this story together and I loved it. Even more so, the plot building and foreshadowing from four books ago started to come together. I was blown away. I was mind-f*cked at every turn. It was amazing. And the ending just slayed me (I curled up in a ball and cried for 15 minutes). It was simply fantastic. 

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Thanks for reading and for such a great year.
xoxo
Lauren

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