I only gave three books 5 stars this year. But, happily, I gave seven books 4.5 stars which means I can do a top 10!
I read and reviewed 117 this year. Only three of them got 5 stars. I think I may be getting pickier with my 5 stars as I get older!
There were also seven books which came very close to those elusive 5 stars, so I’ve included them here too.
Click on the book title for my full review. Click on the book cover to go to Goodreads.
Here we go!
FIVE-STAR READS
1/3. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (reviewed 8th March 2016)
The first book in the Jasper Dent trilogy is nail-biting and utterly compelling. Sadly I didn’t enjoy parts 2 and 3 as much as the opening installment, but this is a series well worth checking out if you don’t mind serial killer thrillers and the odd bit of teenage angst.
2/3. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye (reviewed 16th June 2016)
I loved this. And you don’t need to have read or like Jane Eyre to have fun reading Lyndsay Faye’s story.
3/3. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (reviewed 23rd June 2016)
This is heart-breaking and beautifully written.
That said, if you are completely unfamiliar with the story of Achilles, the background to the Siege of Troy and the fall of the city, the start of the book could be very confusing… I’d encourage you to stick with it if you can!
FOUR-AND-A-HALF-STAR READS
(so close… just missing something, often something I can’t put my finger on)
1/7. This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by V. E. Schwab (reviewed 18th July 2016)
A YA fantasy story with a male and female protagonist but no romance? Hooray!
Victoria Schwab continues to produce excellent, imaginative fiction. This Savage Song is violent, creepy and fiercely moral. All in a good way.
I’m looking forward to reading the second half of the story – Our Dark Duet – in 2017.
2/7. A Gathering of Shadows (A Darker Shade of Magic #2) by V. E. Schwab (reviewed 25th February 2016)
Another great year for Schwab! I didn’t enjoy part two of the Shades of Magic trilogy as much as book 1 – A Darker Shade of Magic – but it was still brilliant.
Can’t wait for the final part of the trilogy – A Conjuring of Light – which is out in February 2017. I will be getting nothing done the day it’s published!
3/7. Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo (reviewed 14th January 2016)
Truly brilliant. There are so many plot strands and viewpoints here but they are handled superbly. Impressive work. I didn’t love the second part of the story, Crooked Kingdom, quite as much as Six of Crows, but this is a wonderful duology and I can’t wait to see what Bardugo writes next.
4/7. Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff (reviewed 8th August 2016)
It takes a little while to get going, but it’s worth staying with this story. This is dark and uncompromising fantasy fiction.
5/7. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia de Luce #4) by Alan Bradley
I listened to the audio book and it was wonderful. I didn’t realise this was the fourth book in a series and I’ve since read the rest of the books over the Christmas holidays. They’re all great (series review to come!).
A precocious, chemistry-obsessed 11-year old sleuth sets about beating the police at their own game in this 1950s-set murder mystery. If I’d read these growing up, I might have liked chemistry more.
6/7. Victoria by Daisy Goodwin (reviewed 17th November 2016)
I read this because I’d watched and enjoyed the TV series. I was pleased to find the book was just as enjoyable, even if it did end too early for my liking (the TV series gives us another year of events past the end of the book).
I hope Goodwin keeps writing TV screenplays and scripts. Let’s face it: Victoria’s reign was long enough to give her the raw material!
7/7. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (reviewed 8th December 2016)
A castaway tale featuring the multiverse and other mind-bending theories? But which also reminded me of Quantum Leap? Step forward Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. A gripping story of one man’s struggle to get home.
Those were my top 10 books of 2016! Did you read any of these? What did you make of them?
What were your favourite books this year? Let me know in the comments and leave me links to your “2016 in review” posts so I can check them out 🙂
Claire Huston / Art and Soul
Cool list, I’ve heard nothing but great things about both Dark Matter and Six of Crow’s but haven’t read either.
I did enjoy reading both This Savage Song and Nevernight this year though.😀
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I was particularly impressed with the plotting work which must have gone into Six of Crows. Leigh Bardugo must have some sort of planning wall! 🙂
I’m looking forward to the next part of the Nevernight Chronicle.
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True, it should be a really good sequel and will be interesting to see where Kristoff takes the story.
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I loved Jane Steele and the Six of Crows and Dark Matter. I need to grab a few of these! Great list!
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Thank you! In that case I’d highly recommend all of Schwab’s books – you can’t go wrong with any of them 🙂
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Thanks! Looking right now!
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I haven’t read any of these, but I want to read Dark Matter and Jane Steele. Great list!
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They are both terrific. I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
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Yay. So happy to see Jane Steele make your list. It’s definitely making mine. I still have to read a few of the other books but I will definitely get to them eventually
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Jane Steele seemed to divide readers, but I loved every bit of it and would happily read it again anytime! 🙂
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Totally agree. I read an ARC with some very dodgy formatting and loved so much I want a hardback cover 🙂
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Yay I Hunt Killers & Dark Matter! 😀
I’ve been getting picky with my books as well. This year I only had about 15 five star reads out of 100. I had lots of 3s or 4s.
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I’m so pleased with how many 4s I had. 4-star reads are still great for me, but to get over 4 they have to be books I’ll be trying to persuade other people to read 🙂 Anyone who enjoys thrillers should pick up the Jasper Dent trilogy!
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I really want to read the Six Of Crows, and Crooked kindom! Hopefully, 2017 will allow me to, XD. I guess this was my 2016 wrap up post: https://mybookylife.wordpress.com/2016/12/27/a-recap-2016-and-2017-goals/
Nothing compared to yours!
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You have a treat to look forward to next year if you can read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. The characters are so likeable, it makes them really enjoyable books.
I’ll check out you post now…
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I really enjoyed Dark Matter as well. Jane Steele looks like really good read.
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Jane Steele was terrific fun. And, as a great fan of Jane Eyre, there were lots of lovely little in-jokes which made it even more special. That said, I think anyone – even if they hated Jane Eyre – would like this book 🙂
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The only one I managed to read is Victoria, and it was wonderful! I can’t wait to read the other ones on your list. They are all on my TBR 🙂
Glad you had many enjoyable reads this year, my dear! Hope the next one brings even more ❤
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Great! I’m confident you’ll enjoy them 🙂
Even though there were fewer 5-star reads this year, so many were 4-star, which is terrific. Fingers crossed for more 5-star reads next year for all of us 🙂
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I love Barry Lyga’s books of course.. I still would like to read This Savage Song as I’ve seen it around many times and everyone seems to love it. Great list.
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Thank you!
This Savage Song is well worth checking out. On UK Amazon at the moment the ebook version is only 99p – so if you can get a similar offer, grab it while you can 🙂
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Great list! I haven’t read any of these but they all sound amazing 🙂
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Thank you!
I just found out that This Savage Song is on special offer on Amazon (the ebook version). Here in the UK it’s only 99p and I think in the US it’s currently on a good deal too. Grab a copy if you can! 🙂
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You’re welcome! That’s a great deal! Maybe I’ll check it out 😀
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You’re a tough critic, but that’s great! I see some real winners on this list.
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Thank you 🙂 I think I’m getting tougher as I get older!
I’ve just found out this evening that VE Schwab’s books are on fantastic sale prices on amazon (as long as you want an ebook). I’m recommending anyone who likes fantasy grabs a bargain! 🙂
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Hi Claire,
I wanted to wish you a happy New Year and also to let you know about a new writer I am reading: The Sugarmen by Ray Kingfisher. He was born and bred in the Black Country in the U.K. I found him on recent arrival shelf in a Florida library! Looking forward to reading him. Best wishes!
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Happy New Year to you too 🙂
I’ll look that book up now. I hope you enjoy it. If it’s good, let me know and I’ll see if I can get a copy from my local library here.
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Nice list! After many months patiently waiting for Jane Steele to hit BookOutlet, it finally did & I managed to snag a copy while jumping for joy. I heard the opening lines read aloud on SquibblesReads Booktube & knew I had to read it lol. Six Of Crows is one of my fave reads of 2016 as well. I have Dark Matter ready to be read early 2017. I was actually supposed to have read it this mth but some unexpected arcs came through. This Savage Song was just what I needed 🙌🏼 looking forward to Our Dark Duet 💙🖤💙
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Thank you!
I’m so pleased you’ll be able to read Jane Steele soon. I stumbled over a copy at my library and was delighted I did 🙂
You have Dark Matter to look forward to as well! And then there’s Our Dark Duet too. I have a good feeling about 2017 🙂
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I second that! 2017 looks promising in books 😃💕
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The only two of these that I’ve read are AGOS and Dark Matter but I really loved both of those. I have Jane Steele and This Savage Song – hopefully, I’ll get to both of those in 2017! 🙂
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You already have some great books on the shelf for next year 🙂 I can’t wait for part three of Shades of Magic series. Not long to go now!
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ooh so many awesome books on here! I want to read I hunt killers! And Darker Shade of magic was on my top ten last year!!
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Can’t wait for the final part of the Shades of Magic series. Not long til February now though 🙂
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Ahh yes!!
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I am Half sick of Shadows sounds intriguing and Jane Steele. To be added to my TBD pile I think ☺️
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Half Sick of Shadows is great, but I’d recommend starting with book 1 in the Flavia de Luce series: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I’m nearly up to date with all the books now and they are all wonderful! 🙂
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Gosh Darn it, every time I’m here I remember that I keep forgetting to read Dark Matter! It’s on my holds list at my library, but I still get excited when I see it on here.
Six of Crows is another series I have been wondering about. Glad to see it was one of your top reads for this year.
Hope next year treats you even better than 2016 🙂 ❤
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You can’t go wrong with Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom – the characters are great and the plots are impressive.
I hope your library copy of Dark Matter comes in soon. I’ve been waiting months for a few of my holds now and I’m starting to give up hope!
Fingers crossed 2017 is another great reading year for us all 🙂
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All bar one of the list is completely new to me – but the one I have read, Song of Achilles, was the best book I read in I think 2014. Though I’d agree that if you don’t know the myth itself you’d need to persevere a tad at the beginning!
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I wish I’d come across The Song of Achilles earlier. I hope it doesn’t take Madeline Miller another ten years to write her next book!
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You have a few there still on my TBR. Nevernight was good but I had a few issues with the way it was written and the slow burn beginning.
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I could see what Kristoff was going for with the slightly poetic style of the opening of Nevernight, but it was quite confusing and off putting. I know of a blogger who gave up after struggling through the first few pages!
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Dang Claire! 117 books? Wow! Please tell me you are a stay at home parent? That is an amazing feat!
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Don’t worry, I work part time from home! 🙂 I also read fast and tend to miss out on sleep if the book is good.
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Wow! You are a reading somebody. I’m lucky if I can get through 12 books in a year.
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I Hunt Killers, This Savage Song, AGOS and Six of Crows are some of my favorite books last year too!! Great list and I’m definitely checking out the others listed here. 🙂
And, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your family, Claire! 🙂
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I hope you enjoy them. I’m looking forward to the conclusion of the Shades of Magic series after the serious cliffhanger in AGOS!
Happy New Year to you too 🙂
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Me too!! Gosh, I can’t wait to find out what happens next! 🙂
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117! :O How? How did you manage that? You’re made of magic!
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