Friday Reads #9 - December 30.

Hi booklovers

I can't believe 2016 is coming to an end. It's been a weird year at times, but luckily one thing has been a constant for me: reading.

So, why not end the year with a Friday reads post?

This week I finished Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo and oh my, that last but one chapter really got under my skin.

Because I was suffering from a mild book hangover, I decided to pick up a book in a totally different genre, because I was afraid I was going to compare every other fantasy book to CK. I was also scared I might get into a reading slump, so I picked up Some Kind of Perfect by Krista and Becca Ritchie.

Now I know these aren't the easiest, lovey dovy kind of books either and I might suffer from an even bigger book hangover, but I felt like it was time to dive into this book. It's good to visit Lo, Lilly, Connor, Rose, Daisy and Ryke again, but it's also bittersweet because it's the last book about them. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it before my Christmas break is over.

If so, I might pick up Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

or Amour Amour by K. & B. Ritchie, the first book in a new series(?).

I also started listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but I probably won't finish that before the end of the week.

I hope you had a great reading year and that 2017 may bring you much joy and a lot of reading pleasure.

Bye for now and Happy New Year

Annelies

Winter Wonderland Book Tag.

Hi booklovers

Since it's winter - and this is my favourite season - I felt like doing the 'Winter Wonderland book tag'. I found this tag on thriceread.

1. What book is so happy and sweet that it warms your heart?

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Even though it has some heavy themes, I thought this was such a sweet and cute book, which is why I've read it twice already :-)

2. What is your favourite book with a white cover?
Even though I have a few white books on my shelves, the only white(ish) book on my shelves that I've actually read is Champion by Marie Lu. I really enjoyed this book, it was a nice conclusion to the trilogy.

3. You're sitting in a nice comfy chair, wearing a onesie, with a lovely warm hot chocolate, but what MONSTER read are you reading?
There are quite a few monster size books on my TBR, but Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is the one I'm most likely to pick up next.

4. It started snowing, so you decided to have a snowball fight! What fictional character would you love to have the snowball fight with?
I'm going with a character from one of the most recent contemporary NA novels I read: Chris from Fractures in Ink by Helena Hunting.

5. Sadly, your fire is beginning to go out. So what book would you tear the last few chapters out to throw into the fire?

Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han. I really enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, but I didn't like the direction the third one went in and I certainly did not like the ending!

6. What book is so close to your heart that you would gift to someone this Christmas who hasn't read before but wants to get into reading?
Although my preferred genre is fantasy and I could go with the Harry Potter books I would still recommend two contemporary books: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I know the last one doesn't really have a happy ending, but it still such a good book. And I think these books would be ideal to get someone into reading.

What would your answers be to (some of) these questions? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

My top 10 favourite books of 2016.

Hi booklovers

2016 is coming to an end, so it's time to take a look at my favourite books of 2016. Before we move on to the list, here is an overview of my reading year according to Goodreads:

I actually just finished book 59 literally 30 mins. ago.

Note: the books on this list weren't necessarily published in 2016.

#10. ACOMAF by Sarah J. Maas.

After finishing this book I would have put it in my top 3, because I suffered from a very serious bookhangover. But as time went by and I read / listened to some more reviews I started to see the flaws of this book. I still really love this book, but I've read 9 books that were even better (even if they didn't all give me bookhangovers).

#9. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo.

Last year, my number one favourite book was Shadow and Bone and this year I finally continued and finished the trilogy. You might wonder why I didn't include Ruin and Rising, but even though I loved the conclusion to the trilogy and I did give it 5 stars, I was a bit disappointed with the ending, it was a bit anti-climatic. Siege and Storm, in my opinion, was better than Ruin and Rising and it didn't suffer from second-book-syndrome.

#8 and 7. Clipped Wings and Inked Armor both by Helena Hunting.

These were the first books I read by this author and they blew my mind. Some might say that these NA stories have a cliché storyline, but I disagree. To me, they were very gripping and raw and they really got under my skin.

#6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

I read (listened to) this book for the anti-bully-readathon and I loved it. It was so touching and honest.

#5. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

It took me about 100 pages to get into the format of this book but after that I loved it. It was the first sci-fi book I read and it totally blew me away. Fun fact: the whole time I was reading the book I thought of the AI Aiden as being a 'she', but most other people think of it as a 'he'.

I can't wait to pick up Gemina very soon and hopefully that will make it to my top 10 of 2017 list.

#4. Long Way Down by Becca and Krista Ritchie.

Putting these books in my favourites list is becoming a tradition. This is the conclusion to the Addicted and Calloway Sisters companion series (not including the epilogue book Some Kind of Perfect - which I still need to read) and I don't even know how to begin to describe how much I love these books. I'm glad this final book was about my favourite couple Ryke and Daisy and it's a bit bittersweet that there will be no more books in this series. But luckily I can visit their stories one more time with Some Kind of Perfect.

And now for my top 3:

#3 and 2. Crooked Kingdom and Six of Crows both by Leigh Bardugo.

And no, I didn't put them in the wrong order, I enjoyed SoC a little more than I did Crooked Kingdom (I gave both of them 5 stars). Two more books that have me lost for words. Where do I begin to describe how much I love the Grisha world and the characters in these books. I loved all of them, but Matthias and Nina were my favourite, followed by Jesper and Wylan. And let me say that the last but one chapter of CK completely tore me apart! (Can you tell this was the book I literally just finished?!)

And now, my number 1 favourite book of 2016:

#1. Fractures in Ink by Helena Hunting.

This is the conclusion to the Clipped Wings trilogy and what a conclusion it was. Like the first two books this one was raw, realistic, heart wrenching, filled with both despair and hope and I loved it to bits.

I have to admit that the books in my top 3 could easily switch places, so maybe I should've put all three books in a shared number 1 spot.

All in all, I've had a very good reading year with very few disappointing reads. Let's hope 2017 will be equally as good.

What are some of your favourite reads of 2016? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies