Top Ten Best Books Of 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by the folks at the Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme where participants try to come up with ten things to fit the theme.

This week is Top Ten Best Books Of 2016. These are the books I read in 2016, not necessarily released in 2016. I’ve been reading a lot of series this year and I decided to group them together since choosing a favorite book in a series can feel like choosing a favorite child. And I felt like including multiple books from a series would just fill this list with books from two series. Without further ado, here are my ten favorite books/series of the year.

Vicious

I think this might my favorite book of the year. It tells the story of two friends who discover the way to unlock superpowers and then turn against each other. The story jumps back and forth between present and past as it paints the characters’ motivations and their current machinations to outwit each other progresses.

Secret History

Prior to the release of Arcanum Unbounded (which I’ve yet to read), this might be the most references about the Cosmere in a single work. The Cosmere being the “behind the scenes” world that ties most of Brandon Sanderson’s work together. It’s truly full of Easter eggs and fan services.

Eleanor & Park

One of my first Rainbow Rowell books. Eleanor & Park tells the story of two teenage outcasts as they try to figure out their place in each other’s life and their own identity, set in 1980s Omaha. I feel that it really paints a nice picture of teenage life and a sense of budding romance of that age.

Kindred Spirits

What’s better than Rainbow Rowell? Rainbow Rowell + Star Wars. Kindred Spirits tells the story of a Star Wars fan trying to experience the romance of fandom by camping outside a cinema days before the release of The Force Awakens. Things aren’t what she imagined as fandom has changed since the release of the last Star Wars film.

Bands of Mourning

The latest novel entry to the Mistborn series. It’s now officially called Era 2 series, by the way. There was flip flopping between Era 1.5 and Era 2 before, but the latest State of the Sanderson cleared it up. The next book will be the last one in Era 2. Seems like it will be the next major project Sanderson tackles, planned for a Fall 2018 release. I’m excited to see what’s in store for Wax and Wayne and their companions.

The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Blade

Winner of the 2015 Self Published Fantasy Blog Off and the only one in the top ten I’ve read. I planned to read all the top ten finalists. The 2016 top ten list is out. So I’m about 19 books behind schedule. *Sigh*. Trouble’s Braid tells the story of thief Amra Thetys as she exacts vengeance for her fallen friend and in the process get herself tangled in a mess of politics, gods and immortal assassins.

The Raven Cycle

The Raven Cycle follows the story of Blue and the Raven Boys as they try to find the body of the last Welsh King Glendower and wake him up. Legend says that he will grant a wish to the person who wakes him up. The main characters encounter different challenges along the way, from phobias to difficult relationships with family members, and they deal with it and change in the process.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Percy Jackson and the Olympians follows the story of Percy Jackson as he and his friends take on different quests, often tied with the fate of Camp Half-Blood and the world. They battle against the Titans and their efforts to revive the Lord of Time, Kronos. It’s funny and choke full of references to Greek mythology, which I’m a big fan of.

Lockwood & Co (1-3)

Lockwood & Co tells the story of the titular agency as they go ghost hunting. In each book, the trio deals with new cases but there is an overarching storyline that ties the books together, mostly focused on Lockwood’s past and a secret underground order that seems to be tied to the Problem. The Problem being ghost manifesting in said world. I think the series paints an interesting, contrasting picture of humor in a grim world.

The Lunar Chronicles

The Lunar Chronicles is a series of fairy tale retelling set in a futuristic setting where the author’s version of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White work together to bring down the evil step mother who so happens to be the Queen of Luna. By itself, the series is a good story, but what elevates it, in my opinion, is how the author interprets well known scenes and story beats from the fairy tales and put it in the world she created.

So those are the top ten books/series I’ve enjoyed this year. Have you read any of them? What did you think about it? What books/series did you read this year that you liked best? Let me know in the comments down below.

Sidenote: I’m taking a break, after today, for this week and next. (Not that you’ll probably notice, since I’ve not been that active lately anyway.) I’m just planning to set some time aside to kind of figure out what I want to do next year. And in the meantime, I’ll also try to finish up a few ARCs I currently have, plan out some blog post for next month and hopefully get back into the groove of regular blogging again.