This was a difficult list to bring together so thank goodness for Goodreads because after having read 82 books I had no idea how to even begin to narrow it down to my favorites.
The Book of
Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
This book is beautiful and so
real and I love feeling represented in books I read. It's like authors saying
"I see you, I hear you & I understand." One of many examples:
"I wasn't allowed to claim the thing I felt and I didn't feel the thing I
was supposed to claim." referring to feeling American but not being viewed
as one by your peers and the conflicting emotions that follow. This book is an
emotional, unique look at the immigrant experience from many perspectives and
definitely worth a read.
The Girl by
Madhuri Blaylock
This book is so good and I
feel like everyone needs to know about it. All the characters are so fleshed
out and different and YES. Dev is a hybrid, half demon, half angel and she's
awesome. We get to go through her ups and downs with her and it's easy to
connect to her in a way. Wyatt is a warrior and we get to see how as soon as he
meets Dev there's a connection. Like when I say their chemistry is off the
charts like it jumps off the page. Ryker is his partner in crime, brother, all
the words to connect these two because they understand each other like no one
else can. Jools is
Wyatt's sister and she's a firecracker! Darby is a vampire and she's like a female Magnus Bane mixed
with Lestat to me. I love her sassiness and her intense connection to Wyatt and
Ryker. Lastly, the Breslins are deliciously evil and my love of villains was
just cemented in reading about them. Madhuri's characters need to be experienced by all. I haven't even delved into the story itself because just go experience it for yourself. The entire
trilogy is just a journey that will fill you with all the emotions.
Colorless
Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
This story shows how something that happens when you're
younger can have a powerful impact on how you view the rest of life. This is my
second book I’ve read by Murakami and I really enjoy how he writes,
specifically the descriptions of how Tsukuru views people as they board the
train at stations was just beautiful to me. I can’t wait to keep reading more
books by him this year.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The only reason I thought I
didn’t enjoy this book as much as I did was my strong dislike of the characters
throughout most of the novel but that's the point. These aren't likeable
people, they're despicable in many aspects and you still grow to care for them.
This book set in an elite boarding school is about drugs, crime and how
knowledge can be power. Richard, the narrator, reminded me of Nick from Gatsby
in certain ways because while he did not have money, he shows how easy it is to
let yourself be smitten by it. Therefore, he was the perfect narrator because
of the change we got to go through with him. What intrigues me is what if we
would've gotten this from Henry's, Camilla's or Francis' or even Bunny's point of view? Bunny
is a clear picture of the worst kind of person in that even when his family
doesn't have that much money, he is so uppity and egotistical. I also loved
that Richard is deciding to write this story years after the fact and therefore
leaves things to the imagination; it adds so much more to it for me. All in
all, I loved this look at the lives of these people and even the setting of
this story, typewriters and letters in the mail, just adds to the mystery.
salt. By Nayyirah
Waheed
A collection of stunning poems about race that is just done in such a beautiful and profound way.
A Thousand
Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
This was such a fun read. The
writing is beautiful and Marguerite is such a great narrator as she takes us
through these parallel dimensions. I loved the first one, the details like the
futuristic holograms in the calls and of course Russia because of the wealth
but also because of the old school from the letters to the modes of
transportation to the royalty aspect. Claudia does a great job of describing it
all and I totally could imagine this cold, beautiful place. The parallel universes just add to this story but the important part is just the love in this family and how it transcends time and space.
Ten Thousand
Skies Above You by Claudia Gray
In this second book, I could
totally see that Warverse and the Russian mob version. A great part of this
sequel is the growth that Marguerite goes through. She can no longer depend on
her genius parents and their graduate students to explain things to her; she
had to go out there and get into these crazy life threatening situations and
come out a stronger human. I love that it wasn't just a simple solution.
Nothing is an easy fix in this story, not the science, not the feelings she
feels for her family and these two important men in her life, Paul & Theo, and especially not
the different versions of herself that she jumps into in every dimension. Every
version just added to her understanding of who she was and how to see the world
differently and broadly and that was brilliant.
Afterworlds by
Scott Westerfeld
This book made me so happy. Since
being wrapped up in the world of booktube and social media and such it’s easy
to feel like you know so much about publishing, so it was great to read about
the struggle of editing your first draft while reading the novel itself.
Brilliant concept, Westerfeld. Darcy
driving Imogen crazy with all her insecurities about her first book while
Imogen was trying to figure out her next book was such a fun dynamic. Darcy and
Imogen were the cutest. Yes for LGBT representation! I loved the other authors we got glimpses of like
Kiralee and how you can have fun and compare them to whoever your favorite authors
are in real life. The story within the novel was brilliantly done. Darcy's fear
of changing her ending came through the pages and I was even scared for her. I think
the ending she chose was great. Westerfeld knows what he's doing y'all.
The Mime Order
by Samantha Shannon
This is the sequel of The Bone Season and this one was a whirlwind. This sequel
takes Paige, the main character, back to London and you get to learn so much
about Scion and the world Samantha has created. I loved getting into the nitty
gritty of the mime lords and queens and the crazy way this citadel runs. This is so important because it really sets up this world for what is going to be a wild ride in
books to come. I am so happy about how much Paige
grew so much in this; she's smart, genuine about her feelings and how they will
get in the way of things but that's what's important and it's only going to get
crazier from here. She's becoming one of my favorite leading ladies.
Lastly, no spoilers but this sequel gave me chills
at how you can draw a parallel to things going on in the world and two
instances really stood out to me:
Paige: "Why don't we do something?" The
frustration almost choked me. Chat: "Apathy's a killer. The way most people
see it, we can survive like this if we stay out of the way."
Paige: "Isn't hope just another kind of
naïveté?"Warden: "Hope is the lifeblood of revolution.
Without it, we are nothing but ash, waiting for the wind to take us.”
Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Allyson and Willem aka the
ultimate OTP. It’s the last day of
Allyson’s graduation European tour when she meets Willem and he invites her to
forget everything and go to Paris with him. She goes and this day is everything;
a whirlwind of emotions and romance. The travel is my favorite part and the
identity. & the sequel Just One year and novella, Just One Night are just
as good.
Six of Crows by
Leigh Bardugo
A heist novel and so much more!
Goodreads
review because it’s still what I feel :]
Kaz is a genius and and I can't wait to see what crazy antics, him and his group get up to next. Kaz is such a great reader of people and while people can think he's on the losing end, he knows what cards to play next so the game is always leaning in his favor. The way Leigh unraveled his backstory was brilliant as well. The way she slowly showed how interconnected the group is brilliant as well. I fell in love with Inej, Nina, Jesper, Mathias and even Wylan. This unlikely group seems like a ticking time bomb itself and with every chapter there is so much that can go wrong and oh while it did, I would cheer whenever something did go well. I can't wait to see what plans Kaz has next because man oh man, he's going to need all the help he can get. With the way it ended, it seems like there's many ways this can go if he continues to play his cards oh so carefully.
Queen of Shadows
by Sarah J. Maas
Spoilers because it’s the 4th in the series and
just yeah.
This is an amazing addition
to the Throne of Glass series. I didn't think I could love some of these
characters more than I already did. Aelin is at her best. She is a cunning,
smart individual. I can go on ad nauseum about how much I dig her. The
relationships with the people around her just made the story for me. Being a
Queen is no joke and anyone that doubted her can surely shush after reading
this. The multitude of ways in which she showed off how she can handle any
situation thrown at her was impressive. I was like Aedion just jaw open while
reading many scenes. While this series is about the growth of our beautiful
main character, the people that surround her are full of depth. Rowan, Aedion,
Chaol, Dorian Lysandra, Nesryq are just multifaceted, wonderfully fleshed out
characters that I love getting to know more and more. Something I didn't have
strong feelings about in the third book was the Manon and the witches storyline
and this book shut me right up. I grew to care so much about Manon and Asterin.
The Thirteen are a force to be reckoned with and I can't wait to see how this
all evolves in the last two books.
Winter by Marissa Meyer
The finale of the Lunar Chronicles made me such a happy human. I love how much time was given to each storyline and it was all so detailed and just yes A+ Marissa Meyer. This series has been a crazy ride from Cinder to Scarlet and Cress and now with Winter, we get such a great look at just how far these characters have come. This is a fairy tale retelling that if you haven’t read you should get on that because it’s just such a fun time and the couples from Cinder and Kai, Scarlet and Wolf, Cress and Thorne to Winter and Jacin need to be enjoyed by all. Cyborg Cinderella is my favorite because of course with Cress aka Rapunzel as a close second because having her backstory being her imprisoned in a satellite since childhood is just so perfect and her romanticized view of things is just beautiful but heartbreaking. The settings of New Beijing and Luna are great in that we really get to appreciate this world with humans, cyborgs and lunar people just that much more.
Favorite line forever and ever amen: "I would suggest that no one use my youth to believe that I am also ignorant."
I think I've gushed on enough. Let's talk favorite books on twitter @bettyreads or down below, friends.