Good morning/afternoon/evening (whenever you're reading this)! You're probably thinking, "Dude, it's been one and something weeks since January 1st—catch up with the times." But late is better than never! I went to D.C. (squee!) last week, and so I didn't have the time, but I swear I'm not that one person who is fifty years behind!

So today I'm highlighting my favorite (and maybe not so favorite) reads of 2017, complete with mini-reviews, because there is no way I will be able to review all these in the four days left until 2018 slams us in the face. Oh wait, guess what? 2018 SLAMMED ME IN THE FACE! It's so weird that 2018 is here, I'M NOT READY FOR THIS!! And yes, this draft has been sitting in my draft box since December 27th. 😅

I've created some categories and selected my favorite book for each category, all of which I read in 2017. Some of them were published in 2017, but most weren't because my library doesn't get them on time and I'm a broke bank. And I talk a lot, so I'll go ahead and get started because I think y'all are tired of me ranting.








AHHHHH! This book—no words. The writing is so beautiful and the story is equal parts light and dark, and there is so much emotion! I might have cried multiple times?? I re-read the ending three times to try to figure out what I was supposed to feel, and I settled on bittersweet, which I have never truly felt while reading a book before. To be able to pull that off is amazing! The characters are well-rounded and the romance is swoon-worthy (I love how it's written as a subplot). There is a lot of strong language and some suggestive humor, but if you can stomach that I would definitely recommend it. This is for the reader who loves enchanted water horses, small islands in the Atlantic, and emotional stress.








This book is absolutely adorable! I read it twice this year, and I was charmed from the first couple of chapters by Callie Vee and her peculiar Grandfather. This book reminded me a lot of Anne of Green Gables because of the loose plot. There is so much humor in it, and it was not boring at all! Another enjoyable thing about it was that it is a YA novel, but it's such a nice break from all these romance epics I keep finding on the shelf.





Not the cleanest book, and I didn't like the romance much, but noteworthy for the stress it put me through. I don't think I've ever read a plot with so much tension–it was amazing. I skipped a couple of scenes, and at the end of the book, I just felt satisfied with the first one, like the plot was over and there was no way it was going to get more intense than it already had been. So I DNF the rest of the series. Definitely thriller; content check: language, some inappropriate scenes, not recommended for readers younger than 16.





So I don't normally read graphic novels...I think it's kind of like reading picture books for young adults. But since this was a Lunar Chronicles series, of course I read it, despite my picture book ideology. And you know what? I liked it! I love Iko in the Lunar Chronicles and so her story was the perfect mix of humor and suspense to keep me going. I ended up finishing the book in one or two hours, so if you're looking for a short read, this is probably a good recommendation. For content, I think there were a couple of bad words but otherwise it was perfect!




Honestly I don't know why I have a category for audiobook because I don't even listen to audiobooks that often. XD In fact, I think I only listened to two and that was in December. But I love the Fantastic Beasts audiobook because a) it's read very well b) Eddie Redmayne reads it so that means Newt is reading his own textbook, and c) it's got sound effects. I cannot stand most audiobooks because the readers are TERRIBLE at pacing and all of the ones I've listened to have little to no expression in their voices. This one was an exception! The pacing was neither too quick nor too slow and the way the book is read makes it very interesting. I found it good to listen to while I worked on my watercolors. ;)