Top Ten Books I Read and Reviewed in 2016
From the title, you can probably tell that I didn’t limit myself to books actually published in 2016, but just books that I read (and reviewed—since I have a few books I haven’t reviewed yet) in 2016. I had a little bit of a hard time limiting this to ten books, but I managed it. These are listed in roughly the order I read them (backwards from latest to earliest reads of the year).
(Links go to my review)
1. Scythe by Neal Shusterman
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—Shusterman is a genius.
2. The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron
I don’t think I’ll be forgetting this book any time soon.
3. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
I loved this books so much I was inspired to write a spoiler-filled discussion of it as well! Check it out if you’ve read the book!
4. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
This book is so darn strange that I almost gave up on it—but it ended up being amazing and unforgettable.
5. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
So fun and unique!
6. The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout
This is, strangely, the only contemporary on my list this year. I read lots of great contemps, but the fantasies always seem to stick out to me more in the end.
7. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
I jumped on the Schwab bandwagon and now I see what all the fuss is about!
8. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
This was an amazing piece of historical fiction and I loved every minute of it.
9. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. It was completely unique and held my attention for every second.
10. Written in Red by Anne Bishop
I loved this entire series, which I read in one, long binge-read. Can’t wait for the next one11
I want to read Three Dark Crowns! I’ve only read one other Kendare Blake book, and I did enjoy it quite a bit. This Savage Song was not my favorite of the Schwab books, but that really isn’t saying much, because I absolutely love her, haha. There’s a bunch more books on your list I’d like to read next year, so I’m excited to see that there are generally positive reviews for them!
I loved Three Dark Crowns and I can’t wait for the sequel! I haven’t read any other Kendare Blake or Victoria Schwab, but I’ll definitely be fixing that in 2017!
I need to read almost all of these like Scythe, Three Dark Crowns, Salt to the Sea, etc. I’m so glad you loved them all!
-Lauren
I went through a few people’s TTT post and felt the same way—I missed all of these! There are so many books that even in a year where I read 200 I still miss SO many good ones!
I really need to read Scythe – I’ve heard nothing but good things about it! And I really thought I was going to get to This Savage Song this year, but that didn’t happen. Oh, well – next year, hopefully?
Oh, there are SO many books that I still need to get to. It seems like no matter how many books I read in a year, there are still a slew of them I didn’t get to!
RPO was on my top of list last year. Such a great book!!
I didn’t realize how much I was going to love it!
Scythe, Three Dark Crowns, and The Forgetting all made my list, too! Well, The Forgetting was an honorable mention, but still, it counts! I also liked Rebel of the Sands and This Savage Song, so great choices! I haven’t read the others yet, but definitely plan on reading at least most of them!
I’m not surprised that you loved Scythe too. Your favorite (Serpent King) is definitely on my must-read-soon TBR.
Interesting that you liked the new JLA book, I’ve heard a lot of not so great reviews for it. I really need to get ahold of Scythe and The Forgetting. Great picks!
I actually don’t remember reading a ton of reviews for that book, to be honest, so I didn’t realize people weren’t liking it… Actually, I just glanced at Goodreads and most of my friends gave it four or five stars, so I guess that’s why I didn’t realize it. We must run in different blogging circles. 🙂 I liked it a lot better than other JLA books I’ve read, but that’s just me.
I don’t know that I saw actual reviews, just heard/saw people saying they didn’t enjoy it. YOu liked it better than her others? That might be a problem for me because I LOVE her others. 🙂 Or else it means I’ll love it more than anything.
I have only read the Lux Series. I actually wasn’t a fan of Daemon in the first book, but he grew on me and I ended up loving the series in general. This book is contemp, so much different than her paranormal stuff and I think it’s more serious than her other contemps (but I haven’t read them). I’d definitely give it a try—maybe go for the library if you’re not sure if you’ll like it.
I want to read Three Dark crowns, I’m SO curious now… and that premise. I want to check out the spoiler post but somehow I will resist. I’m hoping to read that one sometime in the new year… it sounds so good.
You must resist temptation—until you read it, and then you need to rush over and see what everyone has to say. I think that Shannon, in particular, is onto something good in the comments.
Scythe really does sound like such an interesting book! And I’ve wanted to read the Anne Bishop series for a while. Glad to see both are great enough to make your list!
I’d been hearing about The Others Series for forever, but for some reason the idea of urban fantasy wasn’t appealing to me. But this series felt like MUCH more than urban fantasy to me—I highly recommend it!
Jellicoe Road, This Savage Song, Rebel of the Sands, and Salt to the Sea all sound really good. I was just reminded by reading another list that I forgot to put Jane Steele on mine — I think you might like that one!
Oooh! I went and checked out Jane Steele and it DOES sound like something I’d like. Definitely adding it to my TBR. Thanks for the rec!
Oh LOVE YOUR LIST Nicole! it’s almost by GR TBR shelf! I’m reading Salt to the Sea next week and Rebel of the Sands and Written in Red right after. Can’t wait! I think I’ll be giving Victoria Schwab another try too. Thanks for sharing!
Then you have some fantastic books lined up! Yay!
I have This Savage Song sitting on my TBR shelf right now. I also need to read Salt to the Sea. I added The Forgetting to my TBR list after I read your review, but I haven’t found a cheap copy of it yet.
You definitely need to read Salt to the Sea—I think it seems like the type of book you would really like. I hope you get your hands on The Forgetting at some point too!
I have been meaning to read Scythe, Rebel of the Sands, and Three Dark Crowns this year! But I guess I’ll have to read then next year!
The Savage Song was a little hard for me to follow, so I put it on hold for now. ? planning to pick it up again in 2017!
There are about a million books that I was meaning to read this year but will have to happen next year. TOO MANY AMAZING BOOKS TO READ!
I LOVE the format of your post! Making the covers as buttons/circular graphics is so clever. The Forgetting and Rebel of the Sands are my top two, for YA! A Promise of Fire would be my #1, for adult. Wonderful list, Nicole! =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Aww, thank you! I like to put my TTT posts into a fun graphic to make them stand out a bit more (though I don’t always have the time to do it). It’s fun and then I have pretty posts to look at later. 🙂
I’m so happy that you loved The Problem with Forever so much. It’s just one of those books that will always stick with me for a long time to come and it makes me feel all wonderful when others love it like I do. ♥ Ohhh my library just got a copy of Written in Red, so I can’t wait to find time to read it.
I thought it was fantastic. One of my other commenters mentioned that some people were disappointed with it, but I definitely think it’s the best JLA book I’ve read and it sticks in my head as an All-Time Favorite even months after I read it.
Yeah, Chelsea wasn’t the biggest fan of TPWF. But it’s definitely my favorite JLA book in regards to her YA/NA/Adult romance books. Her scifi/paranormal books go in a different category for favorites because my brain can’t handle trying to find a favorite across vast genres like that lol.
Yes, they’re really different and hard to compare.
I loved This Savage Song! It was my first Schwab book as well and now I want to go and read all of them! Salt to the Sea was SO beautiful and SO heartbreaking </3 I still loved every single second of it, though. The Problem with Forever sounds really good! I haven't seen a whole lot about it, but that cover is definitely enough to convince me to read it.
I’m the same way with Schwab. I went to an author event and bought all of her books that were in paperback, so now I need to read more!
So happy to see that you loved Ready Player One! I’ve read it twice already and it’s such good, geeky fun. I also recently read Scythe, and it was so cool. I can’t wait for the next one. ^_^
Both of them were fantastic. I’m excited about the next Shusterman books too. I really can’t say enough good things about him.
“The Problem with Forever” is one I SO wanted to read this past year. Guess I’ll simply have to make it a priority in 2017 – so glad to see it on your list, Nicole. 🙂
Thanks bunches for visiting Finding Wonderland.
I really loved it. You definitely need to make it a priority!
Thanks, Nicole! I *really* want to, so it will have to be a must in (early) 2017! 🙂
🙂 Hope you love it!
Salt to the Sea made my list was well. The audiobook was so well done!
I would imagine that that book would work really well as an audiobook.
I haven’t read any of these books! How sad is that?
This is how I feel when I go look at all these lists. Even though I read over 200 books this year there are still SO many that I didn’t get to. I need more hours in the day so I can read everything!! (Reserved reading hours, that is.)
Gah! I only read 30 books last year. I’m so jealous that you read so many! How do you find the time to read so much and blog consistently? I have been struggling with this lately! Having a child really takes up a lot of time and that on top of keeping the house clean and maybe preparing proper meals and doing some form of exercise…whew. Very little time for hobbies! What am I going to do when I go back to work? Lol.
I have to confess that when my kids were that age I got very little reading done. I cheat and have cleaners come every other week, so all I have to do is straighten up (which still sometimes takes forever, it seems) AND I have been horrible about working out ever since school started back up (I homeschool my kids and teach some classes at our local co-op). So, I guess I just let some things go—reading is my relaxation and I’ve decided I’ve earned a little of that after all these years of putting my kids first. 🙂
I read The Forgetting over my Christmas vacation. SO GOOD!! The other books on your list were pretty amazing too. Great list.
I was drawn in by the cover, I’ll admit, so I’m so glad the book lived up to it!
YAY for RPO! That made my favorite list in 2015 when I read it and I still love it to bits! I consider it one of my all-time favorites now 🙂 I need to get my hands on Scythe, Salt to the Sea and crack open This Savage Song, which I was gifted for Christmas. Sorry for the late comment my friend, I’m in the middle of an epic comment catch-up bonanza LOL! I hope you had a fantastic Holiday and all the best to you in 2017 ♥
Ha! I love your “epic comment catch-up bonanza”! Hilarious!! Good luck with it!
Ready Player One and also Salt to Sea are both books I really want to read! Glad you loved them, and fingers crossed I can get to them this year. I also just finished This Savage Song today, and I was entranced. I loved it too! And Jellicoe Road is a long time fave of mine <3
I’m glad you loved This Savage Song. It blew me away!