Favourite books of 2016 | That awkward moment where I realise I’ve been reluctant with the 5 stars

favourite-books-2016

Hi guys! How are you all doing? I hope all of you that celebrate Christmas had a wonderful time these past few days ❤

Today’s post is coming to you a bit later in the day than usual. With the festivities and general busyness of the season, I didn’t have time to write and schedule the post beforehand like usual. And let’s face it, it’s taking me longer to get back into the swing of things after taking a break.

But today, I’m bringing you my favourite books of 2016. The ones I READ in 2016, not necessarily published in 2016. Now, when I came to look through my Goodreads challenge to choose my favourites out, I was originally planning on picking out 16 for 2016. BUT…then I realised that this year, I’ve actually been quite stingy with my 5 star ratings, and there’s not that many I wanted to mention. However, I did rate a fair few books a 4.5/5 stars, and some of those are really close to being all-time favourites (and are definitely favourites for this year) so I’ve included those too, and managed to get 10.

So let’s talk about my favourite books of 2016!

outlander

outlander

[Review for Outlander]

Funnily enough, I nearly forgot about this one. I read it alllllllllll the way back in January, so to me it feels like it’s been a favourite of mine for years.

I read this one purely because of the hype, and for me it totally lived up to it. About a woman who ends up travelling back in time while on a holiday in Scotland, it’s an interesting way to read historical fiction, with a tiny amount of fantasy involved too. I wouldn’t say it for everyone – especially with how HUGE each book is, but I definitely love it.
Amazon | Goodreads

isla

isla-and-the-happily-ever-after

[Review for IatHEA]

I feel like this is the odd one out on the list. You don’t often see me reading cutesy contemporary stories without there being some sort of important topic included (mental health, diversity issues etc etc). But this final book in the Anna and the French Kiss trilogy was just the thing I needed at the time I picked it up, and I read the entire thing in a day – which NEVER happens with me.

It was adorable, I loved Isla as a main character, and I loved seeing the entire series round up and connect together.

Amazon | Goodreads

acomaf

a-court-of-mist-and-fury

[Review for ACOMAF]

OH MY WORD HOW IS THIS ON THE LIST?! THE SHOCK!

Lol no this was totally predictable.

I don’t really have much to say about this one. All of Sarah J Maas books are favourites of mine, despite their problems. I would have had Empire of Storms on here too, but limited it to one book per author on the list. And I do have to admit that I adored ACOMAF just that tiny smidgen more than Empire of Storms, though both ripped every emotion out of me.

Amazon | Goodreads

creeper-man

the-creeper-man

[Review for The Creeper Man]

Dawn Kurtagich has been a favourite author of mine since her debut novel The Dead House, so this was one of my most anticipated releases from the second I knew it was even a thing. A quick, horror story partially written with notes and messages, I sped my way through this one and loved every second of it. I’m not particularly a huge fan of horror, but the sheer mystery of the events in here paired with the voice of the main character really kept me gripped throughout.

Amazon | Goodreads

agos

a-gathering-of-shadows

[Review for AGOS]

Another book that was a highly anticipated release for me. I love this series so much. In a world where there are four parallel London’s, each with a varying amount of magic, I can’t help but love everything about this series. And with this second one, my love for the characters grew even more than I thought possible. It’s such an interesting concept to read about, especially with the idea that the magic here is alive and can think for itself. I highly recommend this series (the first being A Darker Shade of Magic).

Amazon | Goodreads

soc

Six of Crows.jpg

[Review for Six of Crows]

I finally jumped on the bandwagon and read this book. And I can completely and utterly see why everyone loves it so BECAUSE OH GOSH DARNIT IT’S AMAZING.

All the deviously immoral characters. All the danger. All the sass. All the love extracted from my heart.

This is just such a wonderfully planned out book. While I thoroughly enjoyed the original Grisha trilogy, I’m not alone in saying that this book is on another level entirely. And I REALLY need to get my hands on the second book soon!

 Amazon | Goodreads

ainy

am-i-normal-yet

[Review for Am I Normal Yet?]

I love love love love this book so much. I love the entire series. Bit this HAS to be my favourite, just because I adore the main character – Evie – so damn much. I just want to bundle her up and give her a huge hug (though she’d probably hate that, depending how well she was doing that day, so maybe not). This is the ultimate series for female friendship. And it tackles things like mental health, family relationships, feminism, while being fun and full of cheese snacks. Another series that I highly recommend ❤

Amazon | Goodreads

diary-of-a-young-girl

the-diary-of-a-young-girl

[Review for The Diary of a Young Girl]

A very different one for me…a nonfiction. The first nonfiction book I’ve ever managed to complete. Normally I’d be put off, because I’ve tried countless times to read autobiographies and the like, but I now know my nonfiction calling is within the history department. I love learning about history, so this book really struck a chord with me. It was interesting but heartbreaking, and left a lasting impression. And this book is actually the reason I set myself the resolution of reading more nonfiction – I actually bought 2 nonfiction books yesterday towards that 🙂

Amazon | Goodreads

paper-boats

paper-boats

[Review for Paper Boats]

I was sent this book ages ago to review, and I honestly think it’s so underappreciated. I don’t know ANYONE else who has read this book, which is a real shame. About a boy who was raised as a Hitler Youth and a Jewish boy having to pair up in order to survive, it’s a story that really tugged at my heartstrings. It’s a really brutal story in the way of descriptions – it is set during a war, after all – so I’d be wary of that if you’re fainthearted, but if you have an interest for historical fiction then I really think you should give this one a go.

 Amazon | Goodreads

aqkot

a-quiet-kind-of-thunder

[Review for A Quiet Kind of Thunder]

I feel a bt mean for including this one on the list, because technically it isn’t out yet. But I couldn’t do a favourites without adding my recent favourite. A Quiet Kind of Thunder is a story about a girl who doesn’t talk and a boy who is deaf, and all the things inbetween. It’s adorable, it made me smile all the way through reading, it’s diverse, and I already want to reread it. I really didn’t expect to love this one as much as I did, but now I really do recommend you check this one out in time for it’s January release!

Amazon | Goodreads



So those are my favourite books of 2016!

What are your favourite books of 2016? Do we have any in common? Feel free to leave a link to your post/video if you’ve made one!

Are there any books here that are on your TBR?

Or maybe you’re thinking of adding them to your TBR now?

Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

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26 thoughts on “Favourite books of 2016 | That awkward moment where I realise I’ve been reluctant with the 5 stars

  1. I didn’t have many 5-star reads this year either – out of the 64 books I read (so far), I only gave 8 of them 5 stars. The only one of the books you’ve listed that I’ve read is AGOS which I really enjoyed. I can’t wait for ACOL to come out! A few of the others are on my TBR though.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I read 89 books so far (will be 90 if I finish the book I’m currently reading in time), and rated 11 of them 5 stars…BUT 4 of them were rereads of my favourites so they were already rated that, meaning I actually only rated 7 books 5 stars this year out of 90. Zeesh *covers face*

      I can’t wait for ACOL either! It’s one of my most anticipated releases of 2017 – and comes out right before my birthday, which is convenient ahaha 😆

      Liked by 1 person

      1. ACOL comes out right before my birthday, too! My birthday is February 27th and Schwab is actually going to be at the bookstore right near my college campus on my birthday so I’m REALLY hoping I’ll get to go! That would be such a great birthday present, haha.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Of course ACOMAF made it’s way onto my list as well – I am terribly predictable with that myself but I am not even going to attempt to act sorry about it lol! I have to say, you have some really amazing titles on here that I’ve seen incredible reviews of and I cannot wait to read them soon. I’ve always been very intimidated by the Outlander series and I am not sure if I’ll ever get around to reading it… But maybe I should attempt it because everyone seems to adore it!

    Nihaad – Read & Seek

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m not sorry for being predictable with ACOMAF either, it’s amazing ❤ And you should try Outlander! Maybe you could try to find an audiobook, or read it alongside other books and take a good month or so to get through it. I do both of those things for classics since they take me ages to read!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Great post! Six of Crows was on my favourites list for this year too, along with Crooked Kingdom – the duology was just incredible. I have no double AGOS would have been on there too, but I didn’t get to it this month like I’d hoped too! The reason for this is that I’m currently reading ACOMAF and am not even half way through so I can’t see myself finishing that and THEN also starting and finishing AGOS somehow! It’ll definitely be the first book I pick up in 2017 though, and I’m enjoying ACOMAF a lot 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Aha that’s what I’m like. I have so many huge fantasy or historical fiction books sat waiting on my shelves that I KNOW I’ll read…eventually. Just need that extra boost of motivation to spend so long on one book 😆

      Liked by 1 person

        1. I usually end up reading a graphic novel or comic one day so I have something extra to review while taking the time for the huge one 😆 Though honestly, I should probably read one of them now with the amount of reviews I have going up. The extra time might help me catch up 😆

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  4. I LOVE the Outlander series… however I binge read the series back in 2009. I have yet to read the most recent book in the series that came out in 2015 because I feel like I’ve forgotten everything lol They are ridiculously dense books 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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