My Top 10 Favorite Books of 2017

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Hey everyone, and welcome back to my blog! For today’s post, I wanted to talk about some of my favorite books from 2017! Everyone seems to post about their favorite, and least favorite books around this time of year, so why not join in on the fun. I’ve read my fair share of great books throughout 2017 and I am so excited to share them with all of you today! Let’s get started!

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1)#10 – Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
I’ve got to say, this book was filled with everything a vampire lover could ever want! Fierce females, hot men and oh boy, drama galore! I originally read this a few years ago and passionately hated it. To this day, I still believe that it was because I was in a huge reading slump. Oh, how stupid those things are. But I absolutely adored this book when I reread it this year and am happy to have it on my favorites list! Definitely let me know in the comments if the 4th and 5th book are worth reading, since those are the only ones in the series I have left.

Check out my review HERE!


Just Listen#9 – Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
This was one of the most surprising books I picked up this year, and one of few contemporaries that made it on to this list. I had heard very mixed reviews about Sarah Dessen’s novels prior to reading any of them. Some people hated them, while others absolutely loved them. Well, I absolutely loved Just Listen. It is such an inspiring novel and definitely worth the read. If you are a music lover, I would definitely recommend picking up this novel!

Check out my review HERE!


Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)#8 – Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
I also ran into the same situation with Six of Crows as I did with Vampire Academy. I just couldn’t find myself enjoying it during my first read through, no matter how hard I tried. It just wasn’t working for me. But, I really wanted to love this book, so I gave it another chance later in 2017. And let me just say, this book was AMAZING! Seriously, all of the characters and plot twists were written so well. If you are someone who likes a book with lots of violence and humor, Six of Crows is perfect for you! And if you have read it, let me know how good Crooked Kingdom was!

Check out my review HERE!


If There's No Tomorrow#7 – If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout
So, if you have read at least 5 posts on my blog, you probably already know that I am a huge fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s books. I am constantly raving about her Lux series and have read in loved a bunch of her other novels. After reading The Problem With Forever, I was hooked on her contemporaries and made If There’s No Tomorrow my most anticipated book of 2017. And it definitely didn’t disappoint. This book was extremely relatable and made me both laugh and cry more than any other book. But I would highly recommend NOT reading this book if you hate ACOMAF, because you may start yelling at the book within 100 pages.

Check out my review HERE!


The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1)#6 – The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
I really don’t pick up adult books often. I swear, they intimidate me 10 times more than an 800 paged YA book. I always feel like they are going to be filled with words I don’t understand and unreadable small font. But, The Bone Season is one of those adult books that are written as if it is a YA book. This book literally felt like it was a YA book with older characters. Everything about this book surprised me and I was so happy that I gave it a chance. But, the other books in the series are all over $20, even for a paperback, and I just don’t have the money to buy them.  Definitely let me know if they are worth buying!

Check out my review HERE!


Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)#5 – Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
Okay, so this was actually the first book I read in 2017! It honestly feels like forever since I read it, and not as if it was almost a year ago. But I remember that this book was one of my favorites in the series. It was filled with sexy romance and violent fights that there was not one moment that I wasn’t fully into this book. And that ending totally wrecked me. I don’t think I have ever cried in a book as much as I cried in this one. And although I still have yet to read Tower of Dawn, I can’t wait to see where Sarah J. Maas takes this series with Throne of Glass #7!

Check out my review HERE!


Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)#4 – Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Guys… this is seriously a must-read if you are a sci-fi lover! I remember loving Illuminae back in 2016, I think it might have even made it on to my favorites list. But, Gemina was even better than Iluminae! Now you may be thinking the same thing that I was, how could this possibly beat Illuminae?And truly, I still don’t know. But it just did. I loved the characters, the totally tear-worthy plot and absolutely everything about this book. I am beyond excited for Obsidio to release in March and you better know that I will have my hands on that book on release day!

Since I never posted a review for this book, you can check out the Goodreads page HERE!


Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1)#3 – Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Now, I’ve always been a fan of Cassandra Clare’s books, but never a hardcore fan. I read and enjoyed her two previous series: The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, but I still have yet to read ALL of her companion novels. But, after loving Emma and Julian in City of Heavenly Fire, I just knew I was going to love Lady Midnight. And I was so right! I loved everything single thing about this book: the characters, the epic plot twists, and even the setting (oh how I wish I lived in sunny Los Angeles). You definitely need to read this book AFTER Cassandra Clare’s previous two series, but trust me, it is so worth it!

Check out my review HERE!


A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)#2 – A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Okay, I think everyone has heard about this book, whether or not they have started the series. But I have to say, ACOMAF is topping the list of having the MOST mixed reviews. There are hardcore fans who absolutely loved this book to pieces and there are people who complain about how problematic it is. As a huge Sarah J. Maas fan, I fell head over heels for this novel. There was not one moment where I found myself tipping towards a 4.5 rating. It was written so well with TONS of romance and violence to satisfy me.

Check out my review HERE!


Obsidian (Lux, #1)#1 – Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
YOU GUYS, if you expected anything else from this post, it is clear that you have never read my blog before. I am a die-hard fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s LUX series and have a habit of constantly re-reading them, especially Obsidian. I could’ve actually also put some of the other books in the series on this list, but I thought that one would be enough to include. Overall, I am pretty sure that I read this book 3 times throughout 2017, and somehow it is still my favorite book EVER! Maybe something else will beat it in 2018.

Check out my review HERE!


And that is all for today’s post! Have you read any of the books listed above? Definitely leave your thoughts in the comments section! Don’t forget to like, comment and follow my blog to stay up to date with all of my future posts!

Happy Reading,
Alaina

 

 

Top 5 Wednesday: 2018 Wishlist

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Hey everyone! For today’s Top 5 Wednesday we will be discussing some things I would like to see in 2018 releases. I know, I know, the title was a little misleading. If anything, you probably thought that I would be talking about some of the books I want to receive/read in 2018. However, I am actually going to be talking about my top 5 themes, genres, tropes, etc. that I hop e to see in 2018 releases. Let’s get into it!

  1. Even more diversity…
    2017 seemed to be the year where authors truly recognized diversity in YA literature. Prior to this year, I would say that maybe 1 out of every 3 books featured a character of colour and/or an LGBTQ+ character. But, I believe that authors were able to bump that number up to 2 out of every 3 books. Almost every contemporary I read that was released in 2017 had at least one diverse main character in it. Although fantasy novels still lacked a lot of diversity, authors like Cassandra Clare and Leigh Bardugo helped the numbers improve slightly.
  2. More paranormal books…
    If you didn’t already know, paranormal is my absolute favorite genre! It can be mixed in with so many other genres including romance, science-fiction and historical fiction, so how could you not love it? But I haven’t been seeing a lot of it recently. I loved the days when paranormal books were constantly being released. Like the years when Fallen and Hush, Hush were super popular.But, I am hoping that we can convince some YA authors to bring back paranormal books. (I hope you are reading this, Jennifer L. Armentrout)
  3. More co-authored novels…
    Has anyone else noticed an abundance of co-authored, or even multi-authored books? In past years, we have received amazing co-authored novels like These Broken Stars, Illuminae and Beautiful Creatures over the years and it has become noticeable that many of these writing duos work out in the end. I haven’t actually read one bad co-authored book. So far, I have heard about a few co-authored novels being released in 2018, but I am really hoping to hear about a few more!
  4. Less possible problematic books…
    Okay, that subtitle was a bit of a tongue twister. But I think you could kind of guess where I am going with this. When readers find a book “problematic,” the book world blows up with problematic thoughts. Usually they don’t last more than a few days, but I’m hoping for less problematic YA books in 2018. For the most part, readers find books problematic when an author attempts to write about diversity. My biggest recommendation for authors is to simply not write about diversity if you don’t think you will do it in a way that will satisfy readers, especially readers that are diverse, themselves.
  5. And a whole new year of YA novels…
    I absolutely cannot see where the YA book world goes in 2018. It has so much potential and from what I’ve heard, we are expecting a great year!

That’s about it for today’s post! I hope you enjoyed reading this post and have similar thoughts to mine. Do you do Top 5 Wednesday on your blog? Be sure to share the link to your post below and I will definitely check it out. Other than that, be sure to like, comment and follow my blog to stay up to date with all of my future posts!

Happy Reading,
Alaina