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I know I’ve already given you a mini recap of last year’s books, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do a full rundown. What if you didn’t read here last February? What if you don’t know about the best book in August? Maybe you hate to read, but maybe you’re looking for your next favorite book right now. How about a little walk down memory lane?
Below you’ll find cover art for all 52 books, along with links back to my original review posts and links to purchase on Amazon. I made a list of notable things about the books I read last year and I’ll be interspersing them throughout. Yes, it’s a really long post, but it’s full of great information. You can even pin an image at the bottom of the post that includes every single book I read last year!
What Alice Forgot: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
After You: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
It Starts With Food: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
The Heir: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
Can we agree that After You was the most frustrating book I read all year? I cannot convey to you how much I loved Me Before You and I had such high hopes for the follow up novel, but it only left me wanting more. I’ve said it time and time again, but I feel like this one is the middle book in a three book series. I’m hoping and praying that Moyes does these characters justice and gives us a much better ending to the story.
The Siren: Review | Buy Here ☆
Luxe: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
Rumors: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
Outlander: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
I wanted to share my favorite series of the year, but I only read one. The Luxe Series by Anna Godbersen was a great diversion from anything too serious and I read it entirely too fast. It was frivolous and romantic and dastardly (yep, I said it), so if that is your speed you should totally read it.
Envy: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
Splendor: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
Counting By Sevens: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
Unafraid: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
I think I’ve told you this before (probably 67 times), but Christian fiction rarely speaks to me. Unafraid was a book my mom handed me on a spring day at the beach and it was probably the book that surprised me most this year. I went into it expecting to hate it, but was so pleasantly surprised. It is part of a series (that doesn’t necessarily have to be read in order), so I’m thinking I should try and read a few more. Have you read these stories of women from the Bible?
Secrets of a Charmed Life: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
Room: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
All the Light We Cannot See: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
The Lake House: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
My favorite book of the year was Secrets of a Charmed Life. I won’t bore you will all the reasons why (again), but if you’ve been reading here for any amount of time, you’ll know I’ve been singing its very high praises since March.
Emma Donaghue was a new to me author, but I can’t wait to read everything she’s ever written (or hopes to write). I accidentally watched Room before reading it, but that didn’t make me love this book any less. When I realized I bought another book by her later in the year, I was so excited! The Wonder was completely different from this one, but I loved it just as much.
No One Knows: Review | Buy Here ☆☆
Where They Found Her: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
The Crown: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
Luckiest Girl Alive: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
Okay, the sappiest award goes to… just kidding. But the fact that The Selection Series makes me this happy at age 37 is a little ridiculous. The Crown wins for book that made me smile the most. It is saccharine sweet, but I love the concept of a modern fairy tale and I really enjoyed continuing to read about the characters I loved so much!
Between the World and Me: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
The Girls in the Garden: Review | Buy Here
Pride and Prejudice: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
Lizzy and Jane: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
I’ve told you before that The Siren was the book I liked least this year, but I’m not sure how accurate that is. I started The Girls in the Garden and couldn’t manage to finish it, so I should probably adjust the way I’m rating things this time around. I think the story had great promise, but I just couldn’t get into how the author portrayed it AT ALL.
Eligible: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
I Let You Go: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
Leaving Time: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
The Kitchen House: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
Not exactly a series, but my favorite duo of the year is definitely The Kitchen House and it’s follow up novel Glory Over Everything. I didn’t like the second book nearly as much the first one, but it was still so powerful. I loved the characters so much and it was wonderful to read about what happened to them after the first story concludes.
The Red Tent: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
Small Great Things: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
Glory Over Everything: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
Missing Presumed: Review | Buy Here ☆☆
Of course, the best reread of the year was The Red Tent, back in June. I read this for the first time in college and read it again when the made for television movie came out several years ago, but it’s one of those books I love to revisit from time to time. Just like I predicted, it was as wonderful the third (or fourth) time as it was the first. If you haven’t read this one and you’re a fan of Biblical based fiction, you should pick this one up pronto.
And the Mountains Echoed: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
The Catcher in the Rye: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
Don’t You Cry: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
The book I couldn’t put down was All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. So good, yet so disturbing — I couldn’t get enough. I’m not even sure how to categorize this one, but if creepy and uncomfortable books aren’t your thing, skip over this one.
This is Where it Ends: Review | Buy Here ☆☆
Tell Me Three Things: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
It Ends With Us: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
Before the Fall: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
My favorite young adult novel of the year was Tell Me Three Things. I had quite a few to choose from, but following This is Where it Ends made it an easy choice. It was so well written and as adorable as can be. Plus, isn’t that the cutest cover art?!
Food Freedom Forever: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
Good As Gone: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
Present Over Perfect: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
Passenger: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆
The best thriller of the year was most definitely Good as Gone. I read this one in a single sitting and wanted to tell everyone about it. I knew nothing about the book before I started and the way the plot evolved was completely unexpected.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
The Light Between Oceans: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
The Martian: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
The Wonder: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
I’m still waiting to watch the movie (it’s currently between the theater and being able to stream), but in the meantime I listened to The Light Between Oceans back in November. It is hands down my favorite audiobook of the year. I’m not sure if it was the accent or what, but the narrator for this one is perfect.
I’m not sure this is the normal reaction, but The Martian was the book that caused the most laughs. I adored Whatney’s character and his one liners were much more frequent in the book than in the movie. He was so witty and clever (and crass)!
Hillbilly Elegy: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
The Lovely Bones: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆
My Life in France: Review | Buy Here
Columbine: Review | Buy Here ☆☆☆☆☆
I found Columbine so disturbing to listen to, but it wins for best nonfiction for 2016. I knew only what I could recall from the initial broadcasts in 1999 (I was a freshman in college), but hadn’t done any recent reading or research. I learned so much by listening — about the crime, the motivation, and how the media chooses what stories to run with.
I’m doing my best to update my Goodreads profile this year — in real time — so follow me there!
