IT’S NEARLY 2018! I’m so excited! I absolutely love the start of a new year; I’m so motivated and READY to work on improving myself and other areas of my life, WHICH IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING!
Another
thing I love about the start of a new year is reflecting back on my
year: on how I grew, on new experiences and, of course, looking
back on all the amazing books I read! I feel like I didn’t read
that much this year? Maybe because I read a lot of graphic novels and
some nonfiction which is a lot different to what I normally read? I
DON’T KNOW. Even though I feel like I haven’t read much this
year, I’ve read a grand total of 76 books this year! (22 of those
are graphic novels/novellas), yay me! *applauds self*
I’ve
read some really good books this year, and I’ve found new
favourites which is ALWAYS a good thing. I’m going to format the
post a little differently to how I normally do. I’m going to
categorise the books according to the seasons I read it in, e.g.
favourite books I read in winter, autumn etc.
SO,
LET’S EXAMINE THE PRETTIES.
Winter
2017 (January-February)
Well, wasn’t this book a barrel of
laughs. That was sarcasm, the most heaviest form of sarcasm I’ve
used. This book broke my heart and made me cry and gave me literal
CHEST PAIN because it was so heartbreaking. I really loved this book.
The characters were so incredibly real, so brilliantly written; the
writing was fantastic and this book was mostly perfection. The only
thing I didn’t like about it was that the religious aspect was
represented as the Pentecostal division of Christianity, but it was
more of a cult thing and not Christianity AT ALL and that kiiiinda
didn’t sit well with me. Otherwise, I LOVED IT.
I
LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. I read it in one sitting (practically). I
never
read a book in one-sitting, well
clearly I do,
BUT it has to be super, super good. AND THIS WAS SUPER, SUPER GOOD.
The characters were amazing, the writing was amazing, the romance was
amazing. Everything was amazing and beautiful and I loved it so much.
PLEASE READ IT. ALSO, it was a super clean read. There was
practically no swearing, no explicit scenes...nada. I know a lot of
people like
it when there's swearing in YA books because it makes it realistic,
but as someone who pretty much never swears and reallllyyyy
doesn't like it when people swear, I loved that this book had NO
SWEARING.
Honourable
mention:
When
I got my iPhone for my birthday, I immediately downloaded the Kindle
app and had a look at their free books. I found a novella in the
Broken Dreams series by Elodie Nowodazkij, and I downloaded it
because IT'S ABOUT BALLET (fact: there aren't enough YA ballet books
and it makes me sad). I absolutely LOVED it and then proceeded to buy
the whole series, while I was on a book-buying ban (that basically
sums me up in a nutshell). I absolutely loved the first full-length
novel and the two novellas I read. I have another full-length novel
left to read and although I want to
read it, I also don't
because then it will be over. I don't want it to be over.
Spring
2017 (March-May)
I
didn't read much during March-May because HELLO, EXAMS. But the books
I did read, I loved. I also managed to find MY FAVOURITE BOOK EVER,
so SUCCESS. In spring, I reserved, like, twenty books from the
library and read them all
(so proud of myself). They were all diverse reads that I never got to
read as part of this home-schooling programme I used to do, so I
thought even though I don't do the programme anymore, I CAN STILL
READ THE BOOKS. And so I read some of them and loved most of them. I
didn't find ABSOLUTE FAVOURITES THAT I WANT TO READ FOREVER AND EVER,
but I did find quite a few that I loved. And I also got sent a book
to review that ended up being possibly
my favourite book ever.
What book is that? LEMME TELL YOU.
*Drumroll*
Guys,
I reread this book a few days after I finished reading it. I've never
done that before, but I loved this book so much that I couldn't help
myself. I won't speak too much about it here because I'll end up
writing an essay on how much I loved it. If
you want to read my thoughts, here's my super-long review for it. I
JUST LOVED IT SO MUCH.
Oh,
how I loved this book. I absolutely adored the main character and her
family; I loved the setting; I loved the writing. This book made me
smile and cry and I JUST ABSOLUTELY ADORED IT. It's such a precious
read.
You
know when you read books that completely sweep you up in their world
and you feel like you could live in there forever? THAT'S HOW I FELT
READING THIS BOOK. I loved the main character, and I adored the
storyline. I loved learning more about Chinese culture, too! It was
such a sweet read – I highly recommend it!
Well,
if this book didn't break my heart and then stitch it back together
again. I'm not sure why
I picked this up, especially as if it had MY WORST FEAR EVER in it
(my parents dying together), but I'm glad I did. This book was
amazing. It was told
from varying points of view and all the storylines were woven
together. I loved how this book took such a heartbreaking, terrible
topic and managed to infuse it with hope. It was so, so good.
Absolutely heartbreaking but brilliant. I loved the main character, I
loved the writing, I loved all the characters...YOU SHOULD READ IT.
But you'll need tissues, just saying.
Summer
2017 (June-August) A.K.A. The summer I found ALL THE FAVOURITES:
Man,
this summer was amazing for reading. As some of you may or may not
know, I volunteered in the library from July to September and on the
quieter days, I managed to get a lot
of reading done. Thanks to all this reading, I FOUND SOME NEW
FAVOURITES (!!!).
THIS
BOOK IS AMAZING. If you want to read a theological book that explains
the basic ideas of Christianity and helps you understand it more,
THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. C.S. Lewis is an incredible writer. After
reading this book, my faith felt so much strengthened because
everything Lewis said made so much sense. Even if you're not
religious, you should give it a go. It's a briliant book.
This
book will forever be linked with a horrible time in my life, but this
book made me smile and feel okay when I felt like I'd never feel okay
again...and that's one of the reasons I'll always cherish it. The
characters in this book was amazing, the themes were amazing, the
writing incredible...it reminded me of Bone Gap. I LOVED IT.
You
know who's a doofus for not reading this sooner? MEEE! This book was
AMAZING. I literally lay in bed and read it in one or two sittings. I
COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. The writing was amazing, the world-building
incredible, the characters so complex...WOWZERS. Schwab become an
auto-buy author immediately after I'd finished reading it.
I
read this right after reading ADSOM...and I was terrified. WHY?
BECAUSE HOW COULD ANYTHING EVER COMPETE WITH A DARKER SHADE OF
MAGIC?! I honestly thought I'd never read such a brilliant book ever
again...and then I read And I Darken. HOLY SCHNITZELS. It was
incredible.
THE CHARACTERS WERE SO BRUTAL AND REAL AND COMPLEX AND I LOVED THEM
EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE A LIL BIT EVIL?! The writing was so rich, the
plot so political and captivating...I honestly felt like I went on a
journey with these characters. I have the sequel on my bookshelf but
I'm TERRIFIED to read it because WHAT IF IT DOESN'T COMPARE?! *rocks
anxiously back and forth*
VERONICA
ROTH HAS DONE IT AGAIN. I loved
this book. It took me awhile to get through it (which was weird
because I LOVED IT), but it was amazing. I loved the characters, the
romance, the setting, the plot, the writing...I'm SO excited for the
sequel!!! And I'm SO GLAD I loved another book by Roth! YAY!
This
is the first Rachel Caine book I've ever read, but it certainly won't
be my last. I really love the way she writes. I can't quite describe
it, but she writes so gorgeously and fluidly and I LOVE IT. Ink and
Bone was amazing, so much so that I reread it a few months after I
first read it! I adored the characters and the dynamics between them;
I loved the premise, the setting and the plot. I mean, it has
forbidden books and libraries in it – how could I not love it?
GUYS,
THIS BOOK WAS SO FREAKING GOOD. It was super chilling and terrifying
and mind-twisty AND I LOVED EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF IT. I sped through it - SUCH A GOOD BOOK.
Autumn 2017 (September-November):
I didn't read much in autumn (hi, A levels) but I did read some books that were SO MUCH FUN!
I LOVE MIDDLE-GRADE NOVELS. This book was so much fun! I also think I read it in a day or so? I absolutely flew through it. I loved the world-building, I loved the main character, I adored the writing AND I loved the story line. A clumsy, slightly awkward monster hunter?! I AM HERE FOR THIS ADORABLE YET HAIR-RISING ADVENTURE.
This book was SO FUNNY...and landed me in an awkward situation because of that! I was volunteering at the library, and it was dead quiet as there was only a librarian and myself in the YA section. Anyway, so I'm reading this book and it was so funny that I started laughing. Quite loudly. And because I knew I shouldn't be laughing so loud in a quiet library, I tried to stop laughing and thus ended up making these weird hiccuping/crying sounds, that the librarian felt the need to ask me if I was okay. Through my tears (of laughter) I held up the book and wheezed "THIS BOOK IS SO FUNNY". It was awkward, but at the time I was too entertained to think much of it. So, lesson learned: DON'T READ THIS BOOK IN PUBLIC.
Honourable mentions:
I wasn't supposed to get this book out because I was on a library ban, but because I'm a rebel I ignored myself and took it out anyway! I'M SO GLAD I DID. Guys, this lady can write. Her metaphors, her similes and her descriptions are OUT OF THIS WORLD. I absolutely LOVE Roshani's writing style! I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the sequel. This book could've been a favourite, but there wasn't much of a plot and the pacing lagged quite a bit, BUT THE WRITING WAS AMAZING. I've heard the second book is much better in terms of plot, so I'm sure I'll love it!
I started ballet this year and I love it. I had dreams of being a ballerina when I was little but seeing as that's not going to happen in reality, I decided I'll just live that dream through books. I reserved Bunheads from my library, took it home and finished it that night. I really, really enjoyed this book. There was no OTT drama: it was merely a realistic account of a girl trying to make it to the top in the cutthroat, competitive world of ballet. The author used to dance for a prestigious ballet company, so it was great reading such an honest, authentic portrayal of a ballet dancer's life. I loved the book and I adored the ending. SO GOOD - YOU SHOULD READ IT.
So, those are my favourite reads of 2017! I absolutely loved these books, and I'm so excited for all the new amazing stories I'm going to discover in 2018. Have you read any of these and did you love them?! What book did you discover this year that you absolutely LOVED? LET'S DISCUSS ALL THE BOOKISH LOVELINESS.