Top Reads of 2016: Part Two (Cont.)

I’m so sorry for leaving you hanging yesterday! If you missed the original posts, you can find Part One HERE and Part Two HERE. I won’t hold things up here at the front; let’s get back to more books of 2016!

Best Paranormal (Suspense) 2016

Lisa Unger has been a favorite author of mine for years; you know, the ones where you just auto click pre-order for anything they publish? I think this is due to her consistency to putting out quality fiction, but also due to her novels containing so much variety in plot and thematic elements. I don’t typically read a lot of paranormal books but have been a long time fan of her “series” containing Jones Cooper and the gang at The Hollows; this isn’t over the top and in your face supernatural but one that adds subtle elements of the genre. I was blown away with where Unger chose to take us in this installment; we got an amazing sense of closure and all kinds of answers to previously open-ended questions. You can find my original thoughts and review HERE.

 
Best Science Fiction 2016

If you follow me on Goodreads than you know I initially was wary of this book. I was in no means interested in a “love story” from Blake Crouch. No sir. I’m really glad I was curious enough to give this one a go; it’s hard to say much about this book without giving anything away, but let’s just say if you find yourself a fan of the Netflix show Stranger Things you will likely enjoy this read. Another captivating and classic Crouch read. Highly recommended, even if Sci-Fi isn’t your typical go to. You can find my original thoughts and review HERE.

 
Best Literary Fiction 2016

This one caught my eye while my Goodreads friend Shelby was reading it, and once she posted her review I knew I had to have it. This book was nothing of what I expected and touched all my feelies with that ending (which was unexpected to me but lots of people said they saw it coming). The less you know going into this one the better; this was a read best experienced slowly in order to savor it. I found most people who read this book either loved it or hated it, not many in betweeners. You can find my review HERE.

Best Young Adult 2016 (uh… 2017?)

Alright, so technically this book comes out this month, but it was truly SO good that it surpassed all my other YA reads of the year with flying colors. That’s right, it was better than A Court of Thorns and Roses (1 and 2), Six of Crows, and Crooked Kingdom. I was completely taken by this fantasy world that Garber created and I am dying for the next in the series! This was a perfect example of age-appropriate YA writing; there were elements of adventure, romance, mystery, and magic while keeping everything below adult level, graphic content. I cannot recommend this book highly enough; adults and teens alike will benefit from reading this. It’s one of the few books I am considering as a re-read in 2017! You can find my original thoughts and review HERE.

Best Contemporary Romance 2016

CoHo was a game changer for me this year; I have never been a fan of romance novels and have unfairly judged the entire genre based on a handful of cheesy, bad eggs with terrible covers. It Ends With Us focuses on an abusive relationship with a twist in the typical plot; Hoover made this book deeply personal as it’s inspiration came from her own parent’s abusive relationship and how they turned the dysfunctional into functional. Incredibly moving and deeply passionate, this was a highly emotional read with an ending I can get behind. You can find my original thoughts and review HERE.

 
Book of the Year 2016

 It’s finally time for my pick of all around Book of the Year! Yes I’m a total KS groupie, but that’s honestly not why I picked this one. I’ve been waiting for years for an installment in the Will Trent series that focuses on Angie and gives us backstory, and we finally have it. This particular read was a little more elegant than typical for a Slaughter read; sure it has the trademark gore and graphic content, but this one stood out in the sense that it gave us more sentiment and emotion to try and understand Angie, even though we’ll never like her. I can’t emphasize enough how this SHOULD NOT BE READ AS A STANDALONE. Even the individual murder mystery has ties to past books, so please don’t ruin your life by reading this out of the blue. There are two series that I recommend to everyone I meet; one of which is Karin Slaughter’s Grant County/Will Trent books. Yes, I just made those into one series, sue me. You can find my original thoughts and review HERE.

That’s it for this year folks! I hope you were able to either reminisce on some of your favorite books from 2016 or grab some new books to catch up on in 2017 between these three posts. Happy reading in 2017 and best of luck to those of us participating in this year’s Goodreads Challenge. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year!