Top 10 Books I’ve read in 2016 (so far)
Out of the 100 books that I’ve read so far this year, I’ve narrowed it down to the top 10 that I’ve read and quickly became my favorites.
(in no particular order)
Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice.
Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.
As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.
I honestly loved everything about this book. I was a little weirded out by the writing style at first but after I got used to it, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was different and fit the story really well.
I really liked the characters. They weren’t over the top or crazy original but they weren’t bland. They were normal but interesting.
I was very unsure about the love triangle (you know how much I loathe love triangles) but holy crap. I didn’t hate this one. I actually kind of liked it. I know, it’s shocking. But it actually adds to the story.
But the thing that I loved most about this book, the thing that makes this book one of my all time favorite books, is the concept. This is blurbed as a “A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice”. And let me tell you, that’s a perfect blurb. It’s confusing, I know, but trust me. It’s amazing. There’s mammoth hunts and saber tooth cats and it’s amazing.
Overall, I can’t express how much I loved this book. It’s so beautifully imagined and original. I loved everything about it.
Too Late by Colleen Hoover
Sloan will go through hell and back for her little brother. And she does, every single night.
Forced to remain in a relationship with the dangerous and corrupt Asa Jackson, Sloan will do whatever it takes to make sure her brother has what he needs.
Nothing will get in her way.
Nothing except Carter.
Sloan is the only good thing to ever happen to Asa. He knows this and he never plans on letting her go; even if she doesn’t approve of his lifestyle. But despite Sloan’s disapproval, Asa knows what it takes to get what he wants. He knows what he needs to do to remain on top.
Nothing will get in his way.
Nothing except Carter.
This book is completely insane and I loved it so much.
I’ve loved every book that I’ve read from Colleen so I knew when I started Too Late that I would love it. But I didn’t know what I would be staying up until 2am reading this book because I couldn’t put it down. This book is such a wild ride and has such complex characters. This book brought out every single emotion in me.
I think what really takes Too Late to the next level is the characters. They’re so complex and interesting and different. You’ll love some characters and hate others but either way, you’ll be sucked into this emotional rollercoaster.
(Read Too Late for free on Wattpad)
Fortune by Tia Giacalone
A painter, a poet, a publicist, and a punk-rock princess… the boys of High Road Divide have no idea that this tour will change everything.
Tommy Fortune hadn’t realized he was looking for something different until he meets Cassandra Ryan. Soon their connection blurs the line between fame and reality, and it doesn’t take long for Cassandra to follow her inspiration into his world, where paint-stained hands and guitar strings become the basis of their future. But nothing is as perfect as it looks from the outside, and even the most exposed still have secrets to keep. When tour life gets complicated, loyalties will be tested on the road, and they’ll both learn that some harsh realities can’t be painted over.
What happens when an artist stuck in black and white falls for a musician who only lives in color?
This book was so amazing. I knew that I would love it and I was super excited to read it but somehow this book was even better than I was expecting. This book blew me away.
I loved the characters so much. They’re so well written and developed. I loved how Tommy didn’t droned on and on about Cassandra’s looks. He cared about her as a person and he always put more value on her personality. He appreciated Cassandra no matter how she looked. And the same was for Cassandra. She didn’t go on about how hot Tommy was. Their relationship was so healthy and realistic. The banter and dialogue between the characters was perfect and I normally don’t really notice those things but I did with Fortune and I think that really shows how well written this book is.
I’m so picky with New Adult books because the plots usually suck and the characters and relationships are so problematic. But Fortune, and Tia’s other two books, are perfect examples of the New Adult genre. They showcase everything that this genre is supposed to be about. Every NA author, every author who wants to create incredible characters, should look to Tia’s books as examples because she has done everything right with her characters. I don’t think it gets any better than Tia’s books.
Sing by Vivi Greene
America’s most famous pop star flees the spotlight to recover from her latest break-up in Maine—only to fall for a local boy and be faced with an impossible choice at the end of the summer: her new guy, or her music.
Multiplatinum pop icon Lily Ross’s biggest hits and biggest heartbreaks (because they are one and the same):
1. AGONY. (That feeling when her ex ripped her heart out of her chest and she never saw it coming.)
2. GHOSTS. (Because even famous people are ghosted by guys sometimes. And it sucks just as much.)
3. ONCE BITTEN. (As in: twice shy. Also, she’s never dating an actor or a musician ever again.)
But this summer’s going to be different. After getting her heart shattered, Lily is taking herself out of the spotlight and heading to a small island in middle-of-nowhere Maine with her closest friends. She has three months until her fall tour starts-three months to focus on herself, her music, her new album. Anything but guys.
That is . . . until Lily meets sweet, down-to-earth local Noel Bradley, who is so different from anyone she’s ever dated. Suddenly, Lily’s “summer of me” takes an unexpected turn, and she finds herself falling deeper and harder than ever before. But Noel isn’t interested in the limelight. She loves Noel-but she loves her fans, too. And come August, she may be forced to choose.
I read this in pretty much one sitting and I just really loved it. I can definitely see myself rereading Sing.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
This book showed me a perspective that I never seen before and showed me new ways of looking at things. It’s honest and real and raw. Reading It Ends with Us was more than just reading a book. It was an experience and I’ve learned so much from it. I’ve never cried so much while reading a book (and I’ve never cried while writing a review but here I am, crying while writing this review).
This is probably the most meaningful book I’ve ever read.
If you read one book this year, read It Ends with Us.
It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.
The concept is incredibly well thought out and so different from anything that I’ve read. The world building is a little slow and confusing at times but there is a bunch of world building through out the book. It took me a bit to really grasp everything but that’s just because there was so much to take in.
I adored the characters so much! Paige is so well written and such an amazing character. I loved her from the start.
I definitely recommend this book to everyone. I loved everything about this book. The Bone Season is now one of my favorite books.
Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there’s nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can’t wait to escape from.
Destined to wind up “wed or dead,” Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she’d gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan’s army, with a fugitive who’s wanted for treason. And she’d never have predicted she’d fall in love with him… or that he’d help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.
The concept is super original and different. It was a perfect mix of western and fantasy and unlike anything I’ve read before. I highly recommend this book.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.
Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.
What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.
This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before.
April Genevieve Tucholke’s writing is so beautiful and unique.
The characters are so incredible. I loved them and hated them at the same time. I never knew what to expect next and each page had a surprise. Everything was dark and beautiful and I never wanted this book to end.
Look Both Ways by Alison Cherry
The story of a girl hoping she’s found a place to belong . . . only to learn that neither talent nor love is as straightforward as she thinks.
A summer away from the city is the beginning of everything for Brooklyn Shepard. Her theater apprenticeship at Allerdale is a chance to prove that she can carve out a niche all her own, surrounded by people who don’t know anything about her or her family of superstar performers.
Brooklyn immediately hits it off with her roommate, Zoe, and soon their friendship turns into something more. Brooklyn wants to see herself as someone who’s open to everything and everyone, but as her feelings for Zoe intensify, so do her doubts. She’s happier than she’s ever been—but is it because of her new relationship? Or is it because she’s finally discovering who she wants to be?
Looking Both Ways is definitely one of the best books I’ve read in 2016.
The plot was amazing and so different from any book I’ve read before.
I loved the setting of a summer theater camp and I really liked seeing how all the characters were very different from each other but they all had one thing in common, they loved theater. I loved how the story focused on Brooklyn and her self discovery. She was so well written and I loved her character development. Looking Both Ways is a super fantastic read. I loved everything about it and I highly recommend.
A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls by Jessica Spotswood
Criss-cross America — on dogsleds and ships, stagecoaches and trains — from pirate ships off the coast of the Carolinas to the peace, love, and protests of 1960s Chicago. Join fifteen of today’s most talented writers of young adult literature on a thrill ride through history with American girls charting their own course. They are monsters and mediums, bodyguards and barkeeps, screenwriters and schoolteachers, heiresses and hobos. They’re making their own way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals, facing down murderers and marriage proposals. And they all have a story to tell.
With stories by: J. Anderson Coats, Andrea Cremer, Y. S. Lee, Katherine Longshore, Marie Lu, Kekla Magoon, Marissa Meyer, Saundra Mitchell, Beth Revis, Caroline Tung Richmond, Lindsay Smith, Jessica Spotswood, Robin Talley, Leslye Walton, and Elizabeth Wein
I loved A Tyranny of Petticoats! I really liked the diversity of the characters and I loved the writing styles of all the stories. I found all the stories to be compelling and interesting. I did think that pretty much all of the stories could have been full length novels and they would have been a bit better that way because a few of them were a little rushed and underdeveloped. But overall, I loved of the stories and I would definitely recommend.
1 COMMENT
Clara Cheng
7 years agoAwww thankiu for your recommendations Taylor, all these books look gorgeous! I’m particularly excited to read It Ends With Us and Too Late <3
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