Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I've read in 2017

Best Book I’ve read in 2017 so far

Hey! Look! I’m actually doing a real Top Ten Tuesday! It’s a miracle. Actually, it’s hopefully a sign that I, back on schedule for the foreseeable future. I hate! Taking blogging breaks.

The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud

              I know that this was technically in December but it was only a few days before new year. Besides I give most of my five stars to series and this would be an awfully boring list if I was all like . . .

Book 1: was awesome

Book 2: was also awesome

Book 3: Are you asleep yet?

I think you get the picture. Anyway, it’s a well-known fact that I adore the Lockwood and Co. books. Ghost stories have long been a guilty pleasure of mine, there’s something really cool about a creepy atmosphere and decades old murder that needs to be solved. The occasional ghost and ghoul are appreciated as well of course. But few books today focus on the mystery instead choosing to creep the reader out with gore. Lockwood and Co. doesn’t stoop to such a level. It’s clever, funny, has great characters and boasts truly creepy moments that have scared me on more than one occasion. If you haven’t read them you should because they’re awesome.  

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (and the following books)

              See? Series. There was no way I couldn’t enjoy this book. First, it’s by Brandon Sanderson whom I have an unhealthy obsession with. Second, it’s about superheroes. I love superheroes! Costumes and powers are a secret little like of mine that I don’t get to indulge in often. Mostly because the comic book community is seriously intimidating. Steelheart is one of the few superhero books I know that isn’t a tie in novel. Besides that, the superheroes are all evil. Which actually makes the world a Dystopia. Which is pretty new for me.

Mirror World Series by Cornelia Funke

              I love fairy tales. And while I will gladly dive into a fairy tale retelling there are very few people who do anything else with them. I adore the authors who take fairy tales and build off of them. Like having their own adventures in a fairy tale world. Patrica C. Wrede does this by using the language of fairytales and putting a clever spin on it. Cornelia Funke, apparently, does it by making the fairytale world extremely dark and creepy. I love it, they’re amazing, go read them. You won’t be disappointed I promise.

Shades of Magic series by V. E. Schwab (all of them are five stars holy cow)

              That doesn’t happen a lot! Inevitably there are books in a series that don’t quite live up to my expectations. Steelheart’s last book was a little to neat and even Reckless, the first book in the Mirror World Series left a little to be desired. But Shades of Magic just blew everything out of the water. Even more shocking is that they’re adult books! I never read adult books. Disturbingly, they weren’t even that ‘adult’ (except for a sex scene which I skipped because that stuffs gross) in all honesty I’ve read YA books with more foul language or innuendo than Shades of Magic. Oh well. Shades of Magic was brilliant! Obviously. I mean just look at the covers.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

              Sanderson doesn’t seem to write a lot of standalone books. He’s clearly more of a ‘massive series with sixteen hundred pages each all in a shared universe because REASONS!!’ 

kind of guy. Which I’m completely fine with. But Elantris was really good. huge! But really good. Not to mention pretty darn unique. I greatly enjoyed it.

Illuminae and Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

  I had some reservations about these books. Now I am sold every way to Sunday and pinning for the third one. It’s a space adventure with explosions and government conspiracies and terrifying AI’s. Also space zombies. If that doesn’t convince you nothing else will. Well, the unique formatting might. It’s told completely in document form like emails, text conversations and a transcript of surveillance videos done by a poor techie who isn’t paid enough for to watch this crap. It’s brilliant.

Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix

              It’s a Victorian mystery with magic. again, if that doesn’t convince you I don’t know what will. Personally, I just found this book to be really fun! I don’t read contemporaries so when I find a clever little fantasy book that doesn’t threaten hellfire and brimstone on the poor characters it’s the only time I get to relax a little. While I had complaints about the book being too short and the climax/character development where a bit rushed but ultimately, I decided that I enjoyed the book too much to deny it it’s five stars.  

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

              I don’t usually like hyped books! Admittedly I don’t think this one was hyped quite as much as some books. Still, baby steps guys, baby steps. Anyway. A Face Like Glass low key blew me away. There were such strong emotions connected to it that I felt like I couldn’t quite pull my brain away from it for a few days. Plus it gave me claustrophobia. Fun times. I would definitely recommend you read it. And stick with it! The beginning is a bit slow but the rest of the book is more than worth the wait.

The Grand Tour by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

              I finished this practically just now. So much I that I haven’t even finished the review for it. but I already know it’s going to be a five-star read. If you’ve spent any significant time here Y’all will know that Patricia C. Wrede is one of my favorite authors. Caroline Stevermer is an equally good writer but I haven’t read quite as many of her books as I’d like too. I’d love to talk more about it but I think I’ll save it for the actual review. For now simply be assured that it was fabulous! And the best part! I can finally read the third book which I’ve had for like six months now.

The Stormlight Archive 1 & sorta kinda 2 by Brandon Sanderson

              Sorta kinda 2 because I’m only about half way through it. And I can already tell that something terrible is going to happen. Oh dear. Again, I’m not going to say too much about these books since I still need to post my review for the first one and, you know, finish the second one. But suffice it to say that I am in love and completely destroyed that the third one doesn’t even exist yet.

Thanks for putting up with my confused ramblings. And thanks again to the ladies at the Broke and the Bookish for starting Top Ten Tuesdays you can check them out here if you're interested.