Picking favorites is always hard for bookworms, and this list was no exception. Maraia had too many choices, Sebastian too few. To make it easier, we started with our five mutual favorites and then each picked another five personal favorites. This list was challenging enough, so we can only imagine how much fun it will be at the end of the year. 😛
The Song of the Orphans – Daniel Price
If our frequent praise for this series hasn’t convinced you yet, we’ll say it again: we can’t get enough of this exciting world and all the characters Daniel Price has created! The Song of the Orphans, book two, is even better than the first, and it promises great things for the final book in the trilogy. And we can already tell you that you probably want to read the The Flight of the Silvers again after book 2 because then you’ll see everything in a whole new light 😉
Final Girls – Riley Sager
We have been looking forward to this thriller a lot since we read Stephen King’s praise about it and the story sounded really exciting starring a group of women who were all the lone survivors of bloody massacres. And the Final Girls didn’t disappoint! This book was addictive from page one, and it didn’t let up. It’s definitely our thriller highlight of the year, and it will be hard to beat.
All In – Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Who would have thought a YA thriller series would make it to our top ten list? Not us! We were pleasantly surprised by the first book, officially hooked by the second, and now the third book is one of the best books we’ve read all year. Our sole complaint is that we only have one book to go!
Schwesterherz – Kristina Ohlsson
We were already huge fans of Kristina Ohlsson’s Fredrika Berman series and hopeful that her new duology about Stockholm lawyer Martin Benner and his serial killer investigation could live up to her other books. And guess what? It did! As usual we didn’t really like the protagonist that much but the story was really suspenseful and with some good twists and we can’t wait to read the second book!
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
This has got to be one of the most hyped books of the year, and for good reason. Inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter movement, it tells an important story that needs to be shared. This should be required reading in schools, especially in the US. Aside from a political message, THUG offers an interesting plot, diverse characters, and great family dynamics.
Ohne Ausweg – Kathrin Lange
Despite enjoying the first two books in the Faris Iskander series about a Muslim cop working in a religious crimes unit in Berlin I somehow didn’t have very high hopes for the third one. However the book got me hooked from the very first page and I just couldn’t put this story (which felt a bit like a mix of Prison Break and Homeland) down.
Ragdoll – Daniel Cole
I guess it’s not really a surprise that one of the most-hyped thrillers of the year shows up on my list and while it couldn’t exactly live up to my admittedly very high expectations it’s still a really suspenseful and addictive thriller that I enjoyed a lot – not only because of the gripping murder case but also because of the great characters and their surprisingly funny sense of humor.
City of Miracles – Robert Jackson Bennett
The final book in the Divine Cities series was one of my most anticipated books this year and didn’t disappoint, nonetheless I have to admit it was my least favorite book of the trilogy since it didn’t have a real mystery like the first two books. But it was great to have Sigrud as the protagonist and the setting kept being fantastic and super interesting and I’m secretly still hoping for some kind of spin-off series.
Gemina – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Yes, Gemina was more or less a copy of Illuminae with the same concept, a similar story and similar characters and even though every detail was a little bit less amazing than in the first book and it took me a while to get into the story I still had a lot of fun with this book and found it addictive as hell again!
Das Walmesser – C.R. Neilson
To be honest the only reason why I picked up this book was because it’s set on the Faroe Islands and I was very curious how that would work out as a crime setting. The answer: it was fantastic and definitely one of the most interesting real life settings I’ve read about in the past months. I also enjoyed the story even though there wasn’t always a lot of suspense but this book definitely earned its appearance on this list.
Assassin’s Fate – Robin Hobb
It should come as no surprise that the long-awaited Assassin’s Fate appears at the very top of my list. Robin Hobb proved once again why she’s one of my favorite authors: this book made me feel an incredible range of emotions and brings together the storylines from all of her Realm of the Elderlings series. I loved seeing my favorite characters again, and the ending was everything I wanted. My reading experience was made even better by sharing it with my #hobbsquad!
A Conjuring of Light – V.E. Schwab
Victoria Schwab also solidified her status as a favorite with this absolutely perfect series ender. I flew through the 624-page book in one evening, and then immediately read it two more times. I don’t know what else to say about it, except that everyone should read this series.
Everything All at Once – Katrina Leno
This book doesn’t come out until next month, but I highly recommend putting it at the top of your TBR. Katrina Leno writes such real, relatable characters, and her books are like a breath of fresh air. She also writes the best sibling and familiar relationships, which is so rare in YA. Even if you normally prefer adult books, I’d give this a try!
Six Wakes – Mur Lafferty
This book was so addictive, I could hardly put it down. I need more mysteries set in space, please! I’ve heard rumors that there’s going to be a sequel, and I can’t wait.
The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden
This is one of the first books I read in 2017, and yet I can’t stop thinking about it. Although it has a slower pace than the typical modern fantasy, I never felt bored while reading it. The writing is gorgeous and reminds me of Juliet Marillier, which is a huge plus. I was initially disappointed that there’s going to be a sequel (it’s so rare to find a good fantasy standalone!), but I’m excited to read more about this beautiful and dangerous world.
Eeeep, I love so so many of these too. ? TOTALLY agree that The Hate U Give was worth the hype and is also a super important read. I’m so glad it’s gotten all the recognition it deserves!! And YES YES TO ACOL. I JUST CAN’T EVEN WITH HOW PERFECT IT WAS. *wildly plots rereads* And Gemina was brilliance too. I actually didn’t mind the similarities to Illuminae? ?It was almost comforting…except that ending omgggg.
And I was just thinking about Everything All At Once today and how much I adore those siblings and the avid book appreciation.?
Ahhh I loved the post and both your picks!
I’m really glad THUG didn’t disappoint us! Especially you. That would have been a nightmare, lol. It’s definitely time to reread ACOL! Don’t you have the audiobook? I haven’t reread since the beginning of April and feel like such a failure. I’m glad you and Sebastian liked Gemina. I just hope I’m not disappointed by the last book!
Are we going to read EAAO when it comes out?! (Did you order it?)
Thanks, Cait! <3
I definitely agree on „Gemina“. I’ve seen lots of people complaining about the similarities and that the sequel didn’t have any fresh ideas but to be honest I didn’t mind AT ALL. I found the book super addictive and couldn’t put it down and that’s all I wanted 😀
Yesss, happy to see ‚Assassin’s Fate‘ on your list. It’s one if my highlights as well and I feel the same about it. 🙂
I don’t want it to be over, though! I’ve heard that she said it’s over for now, but maybe not forever. So I won’t stop hoping for more, haha.
I’ve only read THUG out of these books, but I’ve had my eye of V E Schwab’s writing this year. And I think it’s about time I got stuck in! I’m waiting til I have time to read the whole series though, because I have a feeling that once I start I’ll have a hard time stopping!
Yay! I agree, it’s definitely time. 🙂 Where do you think you’ll start?
I loved Gemina this year too!! I have Final Girls and Everything All at Once to get to and am super excited about them.Great lists!
I’m very curious what you’ll think about „Final Girls“, that one had some very nice twists 😉
Have you read Katrina Leno’s previous novels? I think The Lost & Found is still my favorite, but Everything All At Once comes very, very close. Let us know if you end up reading either of them! 🙂
I just picked up Six Wakes, and I’m really looking forward to it! Great list!
Thanks, Lauren! I hope you like Six Wakes as much as I did. Let me know what you think when you’re done. 🙂
I really loved The Hate U Give too :D. It would definitely make my favourites list, if I made one. I just took a look at my Goodreads and EEK! There isn’t much I read this year that I loved. I’m so sad. I loved Bad Romance, which I talked to you about, Maraia. There’s also A List of Cages. You enjoyed that one, right? And … Long Way Home by Katie McGarry, although I know you would hate it LOL. Do you remember reading the first book in the series together? You thought it was so bad, and I was loving it XD! Hmmm what else. The Female of the Species, The Memory Book. I gave most of these 4 stars, though, so I guess they aren’t really a „favourite“. Hopefully I’ll have more good reads for the second half! 😀 I was wondering if you read Katrina Leno’s new book. I’m glad to see it was good!
I get you, I’m also a little bit disappointed with my reads this year when it comes to new favorites. Don’t get me wrong, I think I have almost an average rating of 4 stars throughout the year so far but most of my 5-star reads were Harry Potter re-reads I did early this year 😀
I’m definitely hoping for a few more highlights in the second half! 🙂
I knew once you loved it that I would be safe from the hype monster, haha. Didn’t we read ALoC together? I did really like it! I definitely forgot it was this year, though. But LOL to Katie McGarry. Goodreads tells me I DNF’d it. xD I should probably give Bad Romance a try if you liked it so much! I DNF’d The Female of the Species, though. /o\
I hope you and Sebastian both find more amazing books in the second half of the year! Are you planning to read Katrina Leno’s book?
LOL yes, we definitely did read A List of Cages together. OMG … my memory. And yes, I think I’d like to read it! I really liked The Lost and Found.
Hallöchen 🙂
Seid ihr nun zu zweit bei Büchermonster? Hast Du Zuwachs bekommen, lieber Sebastian?
15 Bücher und ich hab keins davon gelesen…. Schande auf mein Haupt. Aber nachdem sie es bei euch so weit nach vorne geschafft haben, werd ich mal einen zweiten Blick riskieren. Da ist bestimmt auch was für mich dabei…
Alles Liebe, Nelly
Jep, ich habe mir meine Freundin als Verstärkung mit ins Boot geholt – aber schon Anfang des Jahres 😉
Es überrascht mich schon ein wenig, dass du keines von den Büchern gelesen hast, wo wir doch eigentlich einen ähnlichen Lesegeschmack haben – macht aber nix, dann kannst du die gelisteten Bücher ja alle als Empfehlungen betrachten 😀
Besonders „Final Girls“ fand ich super und hoffe, dass es das Buch auch auf den deutschen Markt schaffen wird, aber auch die Faris-Iskander-Reihe von Kathrin Lange kann ich dir ans Herz legen. Und ein kleiner Geheimtipp ist auch die „Naturals“-Reihe von Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Ich bin ja immer ein wenig skeptisch, was YA-Thriller angeht, aber ich fand die bisherigen Bücher super spannend und würde den dritten Band (also „All In“) sogar fast mit Chris Carter oder Cody McFadyen vergleichen – nur eben nicht so brutal, aber ansonsten haben es die Fälle absolut in sich!
The Bear and the Nightingale was one of my most anticipated books of this year and I’ve still not read it! At least I know it’ll be good once I do 🙂
Yay, I’m excited for you! I definitely don’t think you’ll be disappointed, as long as you don’t mind a slower pace. 🙂
The Hate U Give is on my TBR. I have got to get to this book soon! I can see myself adding a ton of these to the ever growing TBR as well now.
Here is our TTT.
I hope you’ll get to read some of our recommendations and maybe even find some new favorites! 😉
I love your green theme! 😀
The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden has been on my TBR for a while so glad to hear you liked it! 🙂
All credit for the theme goes to Sebastian! 🙂
I hope you read it soon! And if you like her style of writing, definitely give Juliet Marillier a try, too.
I had ACOL on my list this week too! I have Final Girls waiting to be read, so I’m glad to hear you guys liked it.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/top-ten-tuesday-113/
Oh, I hope you’ll have fun with „Final Girls“, we really liked that one! Prepare for some nice twists! 😉
Great list! A bunch of these are actually on my TBR – especially Final Girls, which I’ve got the ARC for but haven’t read yet. 🙂 Here’s my T10T for this week!
Thank you! I hope you’ll enjoy „Final Girls“ just as much as we did! 🙂
I’m excited to see Final Girls on your list as I’ve just received a review copy of that to read. Totally agree with you on A Conjuring of Light and The Hate U Give, and I adored The Bear and the Nightingale as well.
Have fun reading „Final Girls“, that one was definitely my thriller highlight of the year so far! 🙂
I’m glad you liked ACOL and THUG! I’ve been seeing them on a lot of lists, and it makes me happy. I don’t think I’ve seen TBatN anywhere, though, so it’s nice to hear you loved it, too. 🙂
I must read The Bear and the Nightingale. I’ve read several reviews praising it highly. I have been putting off the final book in the Naturals series because I’m not ready to let go!
I was really sad when I found out that book 4 is already the last one in the Naturals series but after the third one I actually had the feeling that the story is supposed to end soon, so maybe it’s besser when the series ends as long as it’s still good 😀
YES, please do read The Bear and the Nightingale! Especially since you’re read Juilet Marillier. 🙂
Sebastian makes a good point about The Naturals! Even though I’m also not ready for it to be over.
I’ve heard Final Girls is good, and I liked Gemina. Craziness on a space station! I thought Six Wakes was awesome, and would love to see a sequel. that’s great news.
I need to read the new Farseer trilogy too, I’ve read all of the previous books but haven’t tackled these yet. Can’t wait to see what’s happening w/ Fitz and the Fool and everyone else.
„Final Girls“ was a bit different than I had expected – the blurb had reminded me of the typical slasher movies but the story actually wasn’t that bloody. I really liked it though and would definitely recommend it if you enjoy thrillers!
I’m glad you liked Six Wakes! Now we need to get Sebastian to read it, haha.
Have you read the Liveship Trader and Rain Wild series, too? Fitz and the Fool is such an amazing conclusion, so I hope you get to read it soon!
Ooh, so many of these I agree with or have on my to-read list! I’m partway through Six Wakes at the moment. Great list!
Woohoo, are you loving it?! Let us know if you end up reading any of the others. 🙂
I usually don’t read horror, but I have seen Final Girls around quite a bit lately, and it’s definitely caught my eye! With your recommendation to add to the pile, I might have to check it out!
Thanks for stopping by The Local Muse
I’m not sure I would call Final Girls horror, exactly (Sebastian says maybe psychological horror), but it’s certainly violent. I hope you give it a try! Let us know what you think. 🙂
I`ll be buddy reading The Hate U give with my bff next month, I can`t wait! I think it`s amazing that so many YA books have started to address important topics. I`m so excited for „Dear Martin“ to come out; it`s inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement as well.
http://www.carmensreadingcorner.co.uk
I hope you love it! I agree. We still have work to do, but we’ve definitely made progress. Dear Martin is on my tbr as well. Hopefully it’s as powerful as THUG!
OOooh I keep hearing good things about Six Wakes. I am so curious to read it – I’m just not sure when I’m going to get to it.
It really is great! I hope you have time to read it soon. 🙂
I think I was expecting the similarities in Gemina so I haven’t gotten that book yet for that reason. I mean, I don’t really feel the urge to get it at this point. And yeay for Robin Hobb being at the top of your list. I hope I can continue on with her realm books soon.
I hope you can, too! Remind me how far you are?
What a great half year of books for you guys! It’s a cool mix.
When I look on my list, I feel a slight dissapointment. Not that I didn’t read good books, but there are just a handvoll that got me excited.
One of those books was for sure THUG. Definitely a highlight and such an important read, not just for Teeangers. It gives a certain understanding for the ones, living outside this ‚world‘. So glad, that the hype didn’t overwhelm me. I got everything from it, I hoped for. More YA-lit like that, please! Right?!
And while I recognized „A Conjuring of Light“, I realized again that I still haven’t started with the second book. Shame on me. XD
All best,
Sandy
We’ve been pretty lucky! I hope you find more amazing books in the second half of the year.
THUG is still at the top of the NYT Bestseller List, which is pretty exciting. Hopefully it shows publishers that readers actually do want diverse books. ?
Ooh, AGOS is great. It’s probably best to have ACOL ready to go before you start it, though, because it ends with quite the cliffhanger!
To be honest I can relate more to your disappointment than to Maraia’s excitement, I barely read any 5-star reads myself so far. (But to my defense M. also reads twice as much as I do :D)
I also don’t have a lot of new releases I’m excited for, that’s why instead I’m trying to catch up on series I’ve already started which I’m really enjoying at the moment 🙂
I loooove Gemina and A Conjuring of Light, and I’m currently reading Everything All At Once! I’ve had that on pre-order since January and I’m so excited about it. I love books with to-do lists. ♥
Yay! Let me know what you think when you’ve finished. ?