Top 10 Books of 2016 so Far
Since we are now half way through the year I thought I would run through my top 10 books, and series, I have read in 2016 so far. This was incredibly hard to do, as I have read some amazing books so far this year and there is a bit of a fantasy theme happening. But anyway lets get started, in no particular order. NO SPOILERS!
01.
Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
What more do you need in life? Assassins, fantasy, badass female characters. Throne of Glass embodies everything I love in YA fantasy and the series just gets better and better with each book. I am counting down the days until Empire of Storms is released. Although I do admit that this series has a diversity issue, having only a few LGBT+ characters and a couple characters of colour, I am hoping Sarah addresses this issue in the last two books. But all in all I am obsessed with this series and I will be so sad when it comes to a close next year.
02.
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
I wasn't expecting much going into The Raven Boys, but I wanted to see what all the hype was about and I ended up binge reading this series. I couldn't put it down. I loved everything about these books. The characters, the relationships, the plot, the writing, the unsettled feeling they left me; I could go on forever about this series. I must admit I was a little disappointed in the ending, I expected more from it. And I still have so many questions. Putting the ending aside these books are truly amazing and I am glad I gave in to the hype.
03.
Poison Study by Maria V. Synder
This book left me wanting more after each chapter. The story was unlike anything I have ever read and the characters are incredible well written. Yelena is such an awesome, badass character and I love reading from her perspective. And yes this book could be predictable at times, but I still throughly enjoyed it and quickly picked up Magic Study. I'm currently reading the third book, Fire Study and can't wait to finish the rest of this series and see what Yelena and co get up too.
04.
Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
No one quite screams badass Queen than Kelsea. I am absolutely in love with this series and am holding out for the third book. Kelsea Glynn is a strong and badass character without knowing how to fight. The politics. The suspense. The magic. Erika has done a fantastic job at building this world and characters and it pulls you in. Unfortunately I found the second book, Invasion of the Tearling, slow at times, but it picked up and I ended up giving both these books a 5/5 rating.
05.
A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas
Sarah J. Maas has a talent for making you fall in love with books. A Court of Thorns and Roses had me hooked by the first sentence. I read it in a couple of day. I loved it. And the A Court of Mist and Fury came out and I finished it in 24 hours. It surpassed A Court of Thorns and Roses by a mile. The way Sarah dealt with PSTD and other issues, was so real and didn't sugar coat anything. And the closing sentence of A Court of Mist and Fury, is one of the best, suspenseful, cliffhanger I have ever read. I am not ready for this trilogy to end next year, I am sure it will destroy me.
06.
Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard
These books tend to get a lot of hate, but I am 100% obsessed with this series. The dystopian setting, mixed with the powers and court politics sold me. Mare's story is one that completely engrossed me and Victoria Aveyard has made me fall in love with even more fictional characters *cough* Maven *cough* Cal. Admittedly it does have it's issues, what book doesn't? All in all I love this series and the endings to both Red Queen and Glass Sword left me in shock and I fell into a reading slump. Can't wait for Kings Cage next February.
07.
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
Falling Kingdoms was one of those books I knew I was going to love going into it and turns out I was right. Not only did I love the plot, but I love the characters. I can see and understand where each character is coming from and it just made the book that much more interesting. I love multiple views. I loved the ending and can't wait to see where the rest of the series goes. Hopefully I will be picking the second book up soon.
08.
And I Darken by Kirsten White
I honestly didn't know what to expect picking this book up. But I love books based in history and I loved the gender bender element to Vlad the Impaler. Each of the main three characters were amazing and flawed characters and I loved getting to read about them from a young age into young adulthood. It added an extra depth to these characters. I will be doing a full review on this book so stay tuned.
09.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I think the main reason I enjoyed Fangirl was because I related to Cath so much. Rainbow managed to create a realistic depiction of a fangirl at college, with anxiety. The best part about this book, wasn't the romance or even the plot, it's the character development that Cath goes through over 459 pages. And yes I hated the Carry On, Simon parts of this book and tended to skip those parts, which is weird since I loved Carry On. Bu overall Fangirl was an excellent book and I'm glad I picked it up.
10.
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
As I said earlier I throughly enjoy books based on history, especially if they are set during World War 2. So this alternate history where the Nazi's won the war was always going to be something that made this list. I'll be honest this started out as a slow read for me, but once I got into it, I was reading every spare moment I had. The characters. The story. Everything was so well written. I loved the flashback chapters seeing into Yael's past and the motorbike race element was such a cool plot device. I also love that romance took a backseat in this book, as I feel it wasn't really needed. Super excited about the next book, Blood for Blood, later this year.
Honorary Mentions:
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
