New Year’s Eve – a Countdown of Book Princess Books

It’s New Year’s Eve (maybe even New Year’s Day for some of you), and while I know quite a few people that are excited to go out to the parties and excitement, I’m anticipating a nice, quiet evening, curled up with a good book…that is, if I don’t fall asleep first. The holiday season always seems to exhaust me, and that means less reading for this Book Princess…which just kind of makes her want to cry. I NEED BOOKS. D:

Anyway, I figured I would do a countdown of my top books of 2016 (that I read – not necessarily that were always published since I’m on a bit of backlog :(). Plus, who doesn’t love a countdown on New Year’s Eve? There just won’t be an epic ball drop at the end of this one. Will a picture of a princess help instead?

Let’s start off with my Top 10 Books that I read in 2016 and then we’ll go onto some bonus categories…because I mean, I love saying bonus categories:

10…

My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows, and Cynthia Hand

This book gave me such The Princess Bride feels that it wasn’t even funny…it also made me take back every bad thing that I had said about each of these authors’ prior books that I had DNF’d. This book was funny, original, and such a cool rendition of the Tudor Time in England with a hint of magic. I mean, a boy that can’t control his ability to turn into a horse especially on his wedding night? Hilarious perfection. Well done, ladies, and I will for sure be looking out for your stuff in 2017.

9…

Veiled by Karina Halle

Having never read anything by Karina Halle and especially her Experiment in Terror series, which this book was supposed to be a spinoff for, I was worried. It just sounded like such a cool plot, and I had seen little excerpts from another book reviewer. I knew I just had to read it, and I was not disappointed. It’s a bit cliche at parts, but for the most part, the plot, world, and characters are wholly original. I had such a book hangover after this book, and I’m desperately still trying to find a plot to make up for it.

8…

The Replacement Crush  by Lisa Brown Roberts

This book was cute, adorable, and definitely fulfilled my need for some nerd-hot cuties. Dallas was the perfect love interest, and I loved the combination of our heroine, Vivian, who was equal part cheesy romance book blogger and fellow nerd fangirl. It was a cute little read that gave you all the contemp feels, but I’ve kind of died out a little bit of my love for it as the weeks went on.

7…

Credits to Simon & Schuster

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

This was such an unique format to a classic mystery novel. It was the first time that I had read a book starting from the last day and then going back to the first day. Each day the tension would build and you would second guess everything that you had just read the prior day. My head was exploding by the end of the big reveal, and while I kind of called it, I honestly didn’t care because the mystery and suspense was so brilliantly done. Megan Miranda will always get all the stars from me, and her 2016 contribution to Adult mystery is no exception.

6…

Credits to Simon & Schuster

The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy

Having read The Creeping by Sirowy just a few weeks prior and not being completely in love with it, I was surprised by how much I loved this book. Sirowy has such a beautiful and haunting writing style, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Add in the creepy storyline, the intricate mystery, and the creepy fairytale-like stories throughout the story, I was sold. This was such a cool story, and I cannot wait for the next book by Sirowy. Definitely one of the best writing I’ve read all year.

5…

The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love by  Sarvenaz Tash

This book was adorable, sweet, and hilarious. Graham was the perfect hero for this story, and I loved the atmosphere of Comic Con. It was such a cool setting, and all the angst of will-they-won’t-they was perfection. I also loved the little twist at the end, which was unusual for a contemporary, and it had one of the best book scenes in all of book history with a beautiful nod to The Princess Bride. That totally might have bumped it up to Favorite status.

4…

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

In no way did I think that I would love this book as much as I do. St. James has a beautiful voice and the atmosphere she created was so haunting and lush that I could live in it for days. I immediately added every single one of her books to my TBR pile as soon as possible. This book was the right amount of creepy, right amount of romance, and right amount of mystery. I called some of the things that would happen, but I was constantly guessing still what was going to happen.

3…

Credits to Sourcebooks Fire

You Were Here by Cori McCarthy

Just like The Haunting, in no way did I think this book would be emotional rollercoaster – just like the abandoned one these kids visited. It was impactful, beautiful, and I loved every moment of this twisty ride. The feels were real, but I loved the imperfections these kids had – they were so real that you hurt for them. The addition of the graphic novel format was beautiful as well. Her new book for 2017 is an absolute must read for me now.

2…

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

This was my first reread in forever, and it somehow ended up as my second favorite read of 2016. Truthfully, I had always thought this was my least favorite book of the TLC series by Meyer, but it was so good. I flew through it, eager to know what was going to happen even though I clearly knew everything that was going to happen. It just renewed my love for Meyer’s work, and this was the perfect book to get me excited for Heartless.

1…

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

I usually stay away from books that are super hyped up, and truthfully, I had no desire to even read this series before my friend forced me to read this book this summer. It was the best decision I ever read, because this series has officially tied for the top spot of my favorite series. It had everything – amazing characterization, amazing plots, amazing world-building. Bardugo shined in this series, and I was obsessed with knowing more. I couldn’t stop reading these books, and it is the books I will compare all fantasy series to from now on. If you haven’t gotten a chance to read this series yet, make sure you pick up a copy in 2017 because you will not regret it.

According to Goodreads, I read a total of 157 books in 2016, and these are the Top 10 (okay, 11), that made the top of my list. 8/11 were actually printed in 2016, so I call that an impressive feat for me.

Here are a few honorable mentions, though:

• The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
• And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich
• The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Now, onto a few special categories! I will just do three, since this post is already long enough!

Quickest DNF: Kiss Cam by Kiara London – I think I read three pages, and I could just tell I was not going to love it.

Biggest Disappointment: Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

Biggest Book Rant: Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandiera

It feels so weird to look back at all the books that I read in 2016, and I keep asking myself, did I really read that in 2016? It’s kind of insane, but I can’t wait to see what my 2017 book year turns out to be. I just got approved for a bunch of Netgalley ARCs (Sourcebooks Fire is on fire with me <3), and I have a ton of stuff from the library that is just calling this Book Princess’s name. Let’s see what 2017 brings?

What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? What was your favorite book of 2016? Did you read any on my list? Let me know in the comments!