My top faves for 2017

I know, it's crazy to even try and narrow down a list of fantastic books this year - and it was definitely a banner year - so I'm not limiting how many are on this list. 

I keep a notebook of all the books I've read because 1) I can't stand goodreads since I read so quickly that it just doesn't work 

also b) that I don't post *every* book on goodreads since my sister site has their own so the numbers are not even real. *eye roll* 

there has got to be a better system. 

Now, on to the books! 

out of the 200 I will have read by NYE, these are my faves, and all 10/10s for 2017: 




Caraval by Stephanie Garber 

I devoured this one in a few hours. The magic drew me in and I could not put it down.  I really want to find all the different covers but something tells me Canada doesn't have them. Like usual...
sequel comes out soon *squeee* 

  

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven 

I even read this the same day I read Caraval  and thankfully i read it afterwards because I was in a giant puddle of my tears. 

Stranger than Fanfic by Chris Colfer 

While the story itself was pretty predictable, I was laughing out loud on almost every page. A fun, quick read about a group of best friends before they go off to college. 


 

ACOTAR/MAF/WAR by Sarah J Maas

When I saw everyone gushing over ACOWAR online I went out and bought the whole series. TAR and WAR took 2 days, MAF took a few hours. 

Then I saw that SJM was coming to a town near me for her book tour and I ran down for it. Though I didn't get to meet her, I got to hear her speak and she was inspiring and hilarious and just *swoon*  

 

Falling Kingdom Series by Morgan Rhodes 

In the same month as SJM, Morgan Rhodes was coming to a town near-ish near me and so I binged this series within a couple of weeks too so I could go see her, spoiler free, and get some books signed. She was amazing - as was the panel she was on. 

and now I am anxiously awaiting the final book, but I need to reread number 5 because how am i supposed to remember what I read 6 months ago? 


 

Mindfuck Series by S.T Abby 

I saw this online and so I bought all 5 books and binged them back to back (don't ask me where one ends and the other begins) in a matter of few hours. This whole series is a SVU/Criminal minds episode but with no filter. and told from the perp's POV, if you will, so it had cringe-worthy moments but overall, it was action packed and had a sweet love story weaved in. You couldn't help but flip the pages as quickly as possible. 

  

The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser 

A unique concept with a bit of "West Side story"/"Romeo and Juliet" going on, I was quickly drawn into this story and fell in love with it quickly. What bookworm doesn't want the power to jump into the stories that we read? 

Wrath and the Dawn/The Rose and the Dagger - Renee Ahdieh 

I was at work when I finished WatD and was red from crying before I went into my appointment so, thanks for that Ahdieh! This was a powerful love story with an eventual happy ending so yay. 
  

Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia 

When I was done with this one, I wanted to go back to the beginning and start all over again. I'm pretty sure this is my favourite read of the year. All of it was just swoon worthy. 

If you haven't read it, and you have ever had an online presence you wanted to keep secret, or you know how it feels to try and keep your off- and online life away from each other - or you just want an awesome story - pick this one up! 

The Halloween tree by Ray Bradbury 

This one had been on my list forever and it was nice to finally read the story that matches one of my all time fave movies. True classic for any age, although it is a kid book .. " " ... 

King by T.M Frazier 

This was a promo buy - it was free on amazon and hello, free books. I didn't realize how amazing it would be and what turned into "i have an hour to read a bit" turned into a binge read to finish it. I cannot wait to get the rest of the series. 

Rough and explicit, Frazier pulls at our heartstrings in all the right ways. 

Alex approximately by Jenn Bennett

My second fave read for the year. SimonTeen had their 25-days of xmas with a free book every 24 hours, and I binged this one in a few hours. Amazing and adorable. I need to get my hands on a paper copy so I can read it over and over again.  

Who doesn't love a case of mistaken identity and a teenage love story set in a weird old museum? nobody, that's who. 


  

 The list above were my absolute loves but
 Honourable mention goes out to: 

- Strange the Dreamer (though I didn't like the ending) 
- End of Oz 
- Everything, Everything 
- Beginning of Everything 
- Talking as fast as I can 
- Yes, my accent is real 
- When Dimple met Rishi 
- Autoboyography 
- Mr President 
- Wires and Nerves Vol. 1
- Coldest girl in Coldtown 
- Let me be your hope 



and considering I read 200 books, this list is TINY but I'm pretty picky!  

2018 is looking like another fantastic year for books but my anticipated reads will be in my wrap up post for December *winks* 

Review: Autoboyography

 Autoboyography
 Christina Lauren


So, thanks to SimonTeen's #25daysofChristmas I got to binge read this in a day, and it was the sweetest story I've read in a long time.

Tanner lives in a very conservative town. Like, Uber conservative. Religious conservative to be specific. The ladder day saints, LDS, town reigns over the people of Provo. Now, while Tanner doesn't necessarily mind the religion, it does go against who he is.

Tanner's family accepts their son and brother as Bi. When the family lived in California, Tanner was able to be more free with himself but now that they live in a highly religious town, they suggest that he keep to himself more. It's not ideal by any means but Tanner has his best friend and his routines and he goes about his daily life until he can escape to college.

When Autumn, the bestie, convinces him to sign up for The Seminar - a course that focuses on writing a whole book within the semester (hello NaNo for high schoolers), he finds himself introduced to previous published Seminar boy, Sebastian.  and Hello Gorgeous.

but.
there's always a but.

Sebastian is a hardcore Mormon (a member of the LDS) ... but when he meets Tanner, he begins to questions what he wants more in life: the person he wants to be freely, or his beliefs. These two concepts do not go hand in hand and it is an emotional ride as we see their relationship unfold.

As Sebastian helps Tanner on his book throughout the Seminar, they get closer and closer until they cannot deny their feelings any more. While it's of little consequence to Tanner, it means a lot for Sebastian's present and future.



While I found the story slow, overall, it was intense. Knowing nothing of the LDS, I found that the authors did a concise job in explaining the religious aspect that were needed for the story (there were moments where I wanted to look up more, but I was too distracted by the book).

Tanner and Sebastian's relationship is one of my favourites. The ups and downs, the one being more invested than the other, the off and on. The consequences. Tanner's voice throughout the whole book has a curious edge to it. He just wants to be happy. He knows who he is, and who he wants.

But how do you have a relationship in secret? You can't.
Is love worth giving up everything you know and believe?
Do you even have to choose?
Go read Tanner's book and find out.

Review: Alex, Approximately

 Alex Approximately
 Jenn Bennett


As part of SimonTeen's #25daysofchristmas, I got to breeze through this one in a day and I absolutely loved it, so thank you to them!

I knew that it was a twist on the "You've got mail" storyline and I dived right in.

It opens with "@Mink" and "@Alex" talking online about the movies they love and the upcoming film festival in Alex's town in fancy California. What Mink, aka Bailey, doesn't tell him is that she is moving out to Cali to live her with her father while her mother deals with her second divorce.

She begins her summer job at a local museum - though I use that term loosely - and meets a fun group of people. When she begins to fall for frustratingly cute Porter, she pulls back from Alex. She still hasn't told him she is even in the same town as him, trying to see if she can scope him out without him knowing.

However, everything always comes out eventually and apparently, Alex and Porter are one and the same... well, approximately.



As someone whos been online for most of her life, though not by this screen name, I used to talk to a lot of different people online and if they lived in the same town - or even province - I tended to ignore (I did meet my husband online though so that didn't last to long haha)  so a lot of this story was easy to relate to. The writing was amazing and I fell in love with everyone as it's hard not to. There's laughter, there's sadness, there's some scary dude with a gun ... there's love, which is the main point. Though I think in 2017 a lot of like to hide behind the screen and while this story isn't new (i.e the hidden identity behind a phone or computer) this version is the best ones I've read in a long time.

The second I was done I wanted to read it all over again!

It makes me want to visit the beaches of Cali more so though, which is just rude considering there's snow outside right now.

It's now on the to-buy list, to-recommend (to everyone) list, and the reread worthy list so if you haven't read it yet, what are you doing with you life, approximately?