My Top 10 YAF books of 2016
I can't believe it's that time again! Here are the books that came out this year that I enjoyed most. I did not read nearly as many books as I wanted to read, so if you're looking at my list and wondering where X is and why it's not on my list - it could be because I just haven't read it yet. *hides* Please don't throw books at me. (I mean, unless they're good and you think I should read them. But try not to hit my head.)
This list is in no particular order, and even though these are all technically YAF books, some of them have some adult content. (I think you will know what I mean, if you've read some of these.) A lot of these books are continuations of a series, which I know can be frustrating if you've never read them, but hey... now you have some things to put on your 2017 reading list. =P
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
I know I said these aren't in order, but if I had to pick a NUMBER ONE, it would definitely be this book. No other book I read this year hit me as hard, stuck with me as long, and blew me away on basically every level. As I've said before, I really liked A Court of Thorns and Roses, which is the first book of the series, but there was no way I preferred it over her Throne of Glass series. Well, ACOMAF came along this year and blew pretty much everything out of the water. It was so good that I would even consider it one of my top ten favorites of ALL TIME. The character development, the plot development, the treatment of many different types of abuse and assault, the healing, the love, THE ENDING. Did anyone expect this book to be as good as it was? (I mean, I know we expected it to be good because it's SJM, but did we have any idea that it was going to be THIS DAMN GOOD?)
I'm still not over it. Read my review here.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
2016 was the year I ventured into the Grishaverse in general, and I read through the entire Grisha trilogy as well as Six of Crows and this book, its sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Even if I ignore the other four books (because they came out before 2016), Crooked Kingdom still gets a spot on my list - for its amazing heists and plot twists, for its memorable cast of characters, for its diversity, and for its rich universe that I was extremely sorry to leave. If Leigh Bardugo could just write, like, a few more volumes about Kaz Brekker and his crew, I would cry with happiness.
Read my review here.
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
You know how much I loved Illuminae. YOU KNOW. So it should be no surprise that its sequel, Gemina, earned a spot on this year's list. Same format, same universe, different location, different characters, and MORE CREEPINESS. Plus, extra points for yet another stellar full-cast audiobook that adds even more to the experience.
Read my original ARC review here.
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
This was a sad, beautiful novel about a group of teens in a remote Southern town that I received in an Owlcrate box, and it blew me away. It made me cry so hard that I had a headache for days afterward.
Read my review here.
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
There was no way this book wasn't making the list. Even though I loved ACOMAF so much more, that doesn't at all mean that I did not love EOS. This book tore me apart as well, and I still haven't been able to make myself reread it, because I know how it ends, and I was distraught. The only thing that kept me going after reading this book is knowing that there is one more left in the series for SJM to make everything happy again. (She will, right? RIGHT???)
Read my review here.
The Rose and The Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
The sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn, which I also looooooved, definitely left me wanting more, in a good way. Sharhzad is an amazing heroine, and this beautiful, compelling retelling of a classic tale is absolutely a wonderful story for our times.
Read my review here.
You Were Here by Cori McCarthy
This book was such an unexpected surprise! I don't always know what I'm getting into when I request ARCs to review, and I ended up really, really loving this book. It has wonderful characters and a unique format, and it really held me all the way through.
Read my original ARC review here.
Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
While this book is the first of a new series, it is still part of the Shadowhunter universe that begins with The Mortal Instruments, and it references things that happen in TMI and The Infernal Devices. I know a lot of people grumbled that Cassandra Clare was choosing to extend the universe rather than leave it behind, but I really, really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to its sequel.
Read my review here.
Everland by Wendy Spinale
I love a good retelling, and this is a steampunk version of Peter Pan that is so, so good and removes a lot of the things I found problematic about the original story.
And the hardcover version of this book is beeeeeeeeeautiful, by the way.
Read my review here.
Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, and I was so, so excited because stories about fat girls, that are not about them trying to lose weight to fit in, are so far and few in-between. There were a lot of sensitive issues in this book that I felt were handled well. This book is definitely worth a read.
Read my original ARC review here.
That's it! But I did read so many more than ten good books this year (many of which are new adult/romance, by the way, which I don't have a list for), so do please feel free to dig through my archives to check out my reviews. Again, I know there are so many other good books that came out this year that I haven't even read yet (!!!!), but we only have so many hours in a day, and I will definitely make room for them in 2017 (along with the plethora of new releases that I've already got preordered).
Happy new year, and happy reading!
This list is in no particular order, and even though these are all technically YAF books, some of them have some adult content. (I think you will know what I mean, if you've read some of these.) A lot of these books are continuations of a series, which I know can be frustrating if you've never read them, but hey... now you have some things to put on your 2017 reading list. =P
I know I said these aren't in order, but if I had to pick a NUMBER ONE, it would definitely be this book. No other book I read this year hit me as hard, stuck with me as long, and blew me away on basically every level. As I've said before, I really liked A Court of Thorns and Roses, which is the first book of the series, but there was no way I preferred it over her Throne of Glass series. Well, ACOMAF came along this year and blew pretty much everything out of the water. It was so good that I would even consider it one of my top ten favorites of ALL TIME. The character development, the plot development, the treatment of many different types of abuse and assault, the healing, the love, THE ENDING. Did anyone expect this book to be as good as it was? (I mean, I know we expected it to be good because it's SJM, but did we have any idea that it was going to be THIS DAMN GOOD?)
I'm still not over it. Read my review here.
2016 was the year I ventured into the Grishaverse in general, and I read through the entire Grisha trilogy as well as Six of Crows and this book, its sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Even if I ignore the other four books (because they came out before 2016), Crooked Kingdom still gets a spot on my list - for its amazing heists and plot twists, for its memorable cast of characters, for its diversity, and for its rich universe that I was extremely sorry to leave. If Leigh Bardugo could just write, like, a few more volumes about Kaz Brekker and his crew, I would cry with happiness.
Read my review here.
You know how much I loved Illuminae. YOU KNOW. So it should be no surprise that its sequel, Gemina, earned a spot on this year's list. Same format, same universe, different location, different characters, and MORE CREEPINESS. Plus, extra points for yet another stellar full-cast audiobook that adds even more to the experience.
Read my original ARC review here.
This was a sad, beautiful novel about a group of teens in a remote Southern town that I received in an Owlcrate box, and it blew me away. It made me cry so hard that I had a headache for days afterward.
Read my review here.
There was no way this book wasn't making the list. Even though I loved ACOMAF so much more, that doesn't at all mean that I did not love EOS. This book tore me apart as well, and I still haven't been able to make myself reread it, because I know how it ends, and I was distraught. The only thing that kept me going after reading this book is knowing that there is one more left in the series for SJM to make everything happy again. (She will, right? RIGHT???)
Read my review here.
The sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn, which I also looooooved, definitely left me wanting more, in a good way. Sharhzad is an amazing heroine, and this beautiful, compelling retelling of a classic tale is absolutely a wonderful story for our times.
Read my review here.
This book was such an unexpected surprise! I don't always know what I'm getting into when I request ARCs to review, and I ended up really, really loving this book. It has wonderful characters and a unique format, and it really held me all the way through.
Read my original ARC review here.
While this book is the first of a new series, it is still part of the Shadowhunter universe that begins with The Mortal Instruments, and it references things that happen in TMI and The Infernal Devices. I know a lot of people grumbled that Cassandra Clare was choosing to extend the universe rather than leave it behind, but I really, really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to its sequel.
Read my review here.
I love a good retelling, and this is a steampunk version of Peter Pan that is so, so good and removes a lot of the things I found problematic about the original story.
And the hardcover version of this book is beeeeeeeeeautiful, by the way.
Read my review here.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, and I was so, so excited because stories about fat girls, that are not about them trying to lose weight to fit in, are so far and few in-between. There were a lot of sensitive issues in this book that I felt were handled well. This book is definitely worth a read.
Read my original ARC review here.
That's it! But I did read so many more than ten good books this year (many of which are new adult/romance, by the way, which I don't have a list for), so do please feel free to dig through my archives to check out my reviews. Again, I know there are so many other good books that came out this year that I haven't even read yet (!!!!), but we only have so many hours in a day, and I will definitely make room for them in 2017 (along with the plethora of new releases that I've already got preordered).
Happy new year, and happy reading!