Bookish Musings: Top Ten Books I Read in 2017

 
 

Yay, it’s finally that time when I get to rave and fangirl about my favorite books of the year! Am I the only one who spends pretty much the entire year looking forward to this post?

Anyway, as per usual, I made the graphic before the post, and, well, I have 11 instead of 10. (Well, technically I have 22 because of series.) But the more the merrier, right? Definitely. More books always = more happiness 🙂

So here are my favorite books and series from the year!


Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
 

I probably wouldn’t have picked this up if not for Dragonfly’s review because it isn’t my usual kind of read, but I’m so glad I did because she was right—it was fantastic! This post-apoc about people living in air ships and diving to the radiation-and-monster-filled surface was so intense and made me feel like I was there.
[Review]

 

Nightingale Girl by M. R. Pritchard

Nightingale Girl by M. R. Pritchard
 

The first book in this urban fantasy series was enjoyable, but the second one (this one) was phenomenal. The protag had such a unique and strong voice, and the stuff that happened in the book was simultaneously awful and interesting.
[Review]

 

Chaos Station Series by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen

Chaos Station by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen
Lonely Shore by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen
Skip Trace by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen
Inversion Point by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen
Phase Shift by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen
 

This M/M space opera had just the right amount of relationship angst, as well as sweet friendships and a whole cast of characters who felt real. But the world-building especially impressed me because there was so much thought put into everything and it just made the whole story seem that much more realistic and believable.
[Review]

 

Steel & Stone Companion Collection by Annette Marie

Steel & Stone Companion Collection by Annette Marie
 

I’m as shocked as you are to see a companion novel on this list 😉 But this one added so much to what was already an amazing YA urban fantasy series and really showed how much thought went into the books, including things the reader never even knew about.
[Review]

 

Captive Prince Trilogy by C.S. Pacat

Captive Prince by C. S. Pacat
Prince's Gambit by C. S. Pacat
Kings Rising by C. S. Pacat
 

I don’t tend to like hyped books, so imagine my surprise when this one totally hooked me and impressed me with how incredible the plot and world-building was, how much depth the characters had, and how tension-filled the romance was!
[Review]

 

The Glamour Thieves by Don Allmon

The Glamour Thieves by Don Allmon
 

This futuristic cyberpunk/urban fantasy was shorter than I usually like and filled with a lot of sex, but it was hot sex 😉 and what really made it stand out was the main characters’ unique voices that were so completely different from my own.
[Review]

 

Thieves Series by Lexi Blake

Steal the Light by Lexi Blake
Steal the Day by Lexi Blake
Steal the Moon by Lexi Blake
Steal the Sun by Lexi Blake
Steal the Night by Lexi Blake
 

I know, I know, I put this urban fantasy series on my list every year. But what can I say? I just love it!
[Review]

 

Lovesick Gods by Amanda Meuwissen

Lovesick Gods by Amanda Meuwissen
 

I wasn’t expecting to like this one much when I realized it was about superheroes/villains, but the characters quickly grew on me with their emotions and depth, and I loved their “this was just supposed to be sex but dammit now I have feelings” romance. This was the first of a duology, and I’m looking forward to the next!
[Review]

 

Real Vampires Don’t Sparkle Series by Amy Fecteau

Real Vampires Don't Sparkle by Amy Fecteau
Real Vampires Do It in the Dark by Amy Fecteau
Real Vampires Take No Prisoners by Amy Fecteau
 

I read Books 1 and 2 last year but was excited to reread them this year because I really enjoyed them, and then the final book turned out to be the best of them all. This M/M urban fantasy series was hilarious with a seriously slow-burn romance, but it got so much more intense, dark, and emotional as it went on and definitely left an impression on me.
[Review]

 

Chester 5000 XYV: Isabelle & George by Jess Fink

Chester 5000 XYV: Isabelle & George by Jess Fink
 

Oddly enough, I almost didn’t read this because the first book was fun but just not quite my kind of thing. But gah! This odd little steampunk/erotica/historical graphic novel mash-up had me feeling all the feelings, literally bouncing around in my seat, and it turned out to be one of my only 5-star reads of the year.
[Review]

 

Obscura Burning by Xan van Rooyen

Obscura Burning by Xan van Rooyen
 

I originally gave this 4.5 stars, but, as the year went on, I found myself still thinking about it and decided it deserved the full 5 stars. This was the best book I read this year, and it literally kept me up until like 7 in the morning because I just had to finish it once I started. It takes a really amazing book to hook me so much that I read it in one sitting! And this dark, twisty YA mindfuck about alternate realities was definitely amazing!
[Review]

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Have you read or are you planning to read any of these?
What was your favorite book that you read in 2017?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

60 thoughts on “Bookish Musings: Top Ten Books I Read in 2017

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  1. Sarah J.

    You read such a wide array of different novels! I love looking at everyone’s favorites lists for the year. I have to start thinking about mine, but I’m still reading a few books that could be favorites. I’m really interested in checking out Captive Prince. Great list, Kristen!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Everyone always says that, and it always confuses me because most bloggers I know read all genres whereas I only read SFF lol. But I guess I do read a lot of variety within those genres! You can always start putting your list together now and add the finishing touches in a few days 😉 To be honest, I save this post for as late as possible and then kind of make sure to pick up books I know won’t make the list for the remaining days, haha. Thanks!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Oh hi! I was literally just leaving a comment on your blog too lol. I love seeing these posts too! Hell Divers is fantastic (obvi), so I can’t wait to see what you think! And I also highly rec Captive Prince!

  2. Kei @ The Lovely Pages Reviews

    Wow, not only have I not read any of these but I haven’t even heard them. Apart from Captive Prince which has been on my TBR for ages and the hype is so strong I’m afraid to read it but nice that it made your top ten list!

  3. Wattle

    The Captive Prince series *swoons* I need to reread it…again *ahem* I was obsessed for a while there (still am, tbh) which is funny given my initial reaction was ‘wtf am I reading?’ and then half a book later ‘best book in the world, please never let this series end’.

    I’ve totally bookmarked this post for future reference, there’s a couple of series in here I need to read I think! You had me at ‘M/M space opera’.

    1. Kristen Burns

      You can be as obsessed as you want, no judgment here! It just surprised me because #1, I don’t usually like the super popular hyped books, and #2, I just had the wrong idea of what the book would be like. But I agree, it was amazing!

      Yay, I hope you like any of the books you read!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yay! I know we have a bit of the same taste, so you might like some of these! (*cough* Lovesick Gods *cough*) And ahhhh yes, Captive Prince was so good!

    1. Kristen Burns

      She’s a great writer! I’m guessing you read the Red Winter one? Those are her only books that I haven’t read lol. At least not yet. But you’d probably like this one too if you liked that!

  4. Amanda Meuwissen

    I am so honored to be part of this list of titles! You’re so kind, and such a thorough reviewer with eclectic books you try, I love it! I just sent Lovesick Titans to my editor for its last round before going to the typesetter, and I’m working on a new version of the covers as well since the imagery hasn’t had the reception I hoped for, which I’m actually really excited about changing. I always look forward to your updates here and appreciate how much work you put into your blog. Thanks again!

    1. Kristen Burns

      You deserve to be on this list, your book was amazing! Thank you, you’re so sweet <3 <3 <3 I can't wait for the next book! And I hope the cover change helps get even more people interested 🙂

  5. Lola

    I always like seeing these type of posts at the end of the year. It’s so fun to read about everyone’s favorite reads. I can remember reading your reviews for some of these books and am not surprised to see them on your list.

    The Chaos Station series is on my wishlist, I think I would enjoy that series. You know I DNF’d the earlier version of Obscura Burning, so that wasn’t a book for me, but I am glad you enjoyed it so much. And I remember how much you enjoyed that Chester 500 book, it sounds a bit weird, but great too. I remember reading someone else their review for Hell Divers, but I don’t think I read your review of it yet.

    I have my favorites post scheduled for Friday. I actually added a book to my list yesterday as I finished a 5 star read, it was fun to read a great read eat the end of the year and am able to add it to my posts in time. I actually ended up with 6 books that I gave a 5 star rating this year, which is a lot for me.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I agree, it’s fun seeing people’s faves!

      I do think you’d like Chaos Station. But yeah, I remember that Obscura Burning was not for you. Chester was very unique lol, but I loved it!

      Ooh 6 books, that IS good! I only had 2 (Obscura, Chester), but the other single books on this list were 4.5 stars, and some of the books in the series were 4.5 too, which I rounded up. So I guess that’s about usual for me?

  6. Danya @ Fine Print

    One of my favourite things about your blog is that half the time the books you talk about are ones I’ve never even heard of! I get a lot of great suggestions. I actually ended up snagging a copy of Steal The Light thanks to one of your PNR recs, and I’m hoping to dive into it soon.

    I think my favourites this year were the final two books in Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy trilogy, and An Alchemy of Masques and Shadows. But there are so many great books to choose from!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Aww thanks! And yes, I do love the Thieves series, I reread it every year lol, so I hope you like it too!

      I haven’t read those, but I’m glad you found so many great books this year!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Real Vampires is such an underrated series! I feel like like so few people know about it, but it’s sooooo good. Chaos Station was great too. I think you’d like both!

  7. Ali

    Your the second person I’ve seen with The Captive Prince trilogy on their top 10 list. I NEED to read those, because I LOVE romantic tension! Not to mention, I’ve heard so many amazing things. I did hear that the first isn’t as good as subsequent ones, so to be sure to keep pushing through if it drags a bit. Would you agree?

    1. Kristen Burns

      I mean, I enjoyed the first, but I did rate it slightly lower than the other two. So I do agree the series gets better as it goes! Can’t wait to see what you think if you read it 🙂

  8. Greg

    Chaos Station- love the sound of that. The Glamour Thieves of course interests me, and Lovesick Gods sounds different!

    Obscura Burning looks awesome because alternate realities. I love it when a book stays with you and almost demands you raise your rating!

    1. Kristen Burns

      You’re right, that is a good title! I loved getting to read about an orc because you really don’t find that outside of, like, LOTR, and Lovesick Gods did have a premise I had never read about before.

      Obscura Burning was so amazing! You know a book is good when it just stays in your mind like that! I keep looking for more books with alternate realities now, hoping one might compare, but a lot of them don’t really interest me, and the one I tried I ended up DNFing.

  9. La La in the Library

    The Obscura Burning cover is fantastic! I knew I would be kicking myselff for not getting the first two Hell Divers as ebooks when they were $1.99. Maybe my library has them. My favorite book of this year, and the last fews years, is The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I am so happy that Greg kept talking about it on his blog. Here’s to more excellent reading in 2018! ?

    1. Kristen Burns

      To be honest, I don’t really know what I’m looking at on the Obscura Burning cover lol. But the story was amazing! Ah, yeah, I’ve been there—almost bought a book on sale, didn’t, regretted it later. Maybe they’ll go on sale again. I’ve heard great things about The Long Way, mostly from Greg, hahaha. I may give that one a read at some point! And yes, hopefully we’ll find some more great books in 2018!

  10. Jo

    I’ve heard so many good things about the Captive Prince Trilogy so it’s on top of my list of 2018 must-reads 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I feel like that should be the official book blogger disclaimer. Almost every book I planned to read this year did not get read, but we’ll both see what we manage to get to next year!

  11. Karen Blue

    Sadly I haven’t read or heard of any of the ones on your list. It just goes to show that I will never be out of great books to read. I just need hop over to a fellow blogger to find a new recommendation. Thanks for sharing your list!

  12. AngelErin

    Dang, I haven’t read any of these! To be fair though, I’ve had a slower reading year this year lol. Hell Divers and The Captive Prince Trilogy all sound great. I know I’ve heard a ton of people who have really enjoyed the Captive Prince Trilogy. I’ve been told I need to get to that ASAP. Great list and I’m glad you found some amazing reads in 2017!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Well, every year can’t be a perfect reading year 🙂 Those both ARE great! Although Captive Prince is maybe not everyone’s cup of tea. I loved it though! Thanks!

      1. AngelErin

        Lol, that’s true! Well I’ve heard good things about Captive Prince, but I do keep hearing it’s not for everyone also. It makes me even more curious!

  13. Evelina

    Haven’t read any of these, but it’s probably no secret that our reading tastes are very different 🙂 I love it how you read in series though! I almost never manage to get the entire series at the same time (sales and all that, or it’s not even released yet xD)

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah lol. Not everyone can have the same taste though! I LOVE binge-reading series, so it makes me happy when I manage to find a completed series that I end up loving.

  14. Literary Feline

    I always look forward to these posts too–so you are definitely not alone. 🙂 I haven’t read any of the books on your favorites list, but they all sound really good! It sounds like you had a good reading year, Kristen. I hope you have a Happy New Year!

  15. Stephanie Jane

    I’ve not read any of these so loads of new books to investigate, thank you 🙂
    I love that you can include series books in your favourites. I’m awful with series-es and usually end up reading them in a sort of spiral – starting somewhere in the middle and then randomly finding the befores and afters. It rarely works out well!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yay, hopefully some will sound interesting to you!

      I’m a series person, so I often find the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. But oh no! I can’t imagine that working out well, no, lol.

  16. Olivia Roach

    I basically have to get around to the Captive Prince series. I have seen them on so many best lists for a while now and I see all these glowing reviews for them! I also like the looks of the Chaos Station series too. Two series for me to think about picking up in the future! I had a lot of favourites this year and basically Santino Hassell ran my life. I’m also going to say The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I loved them! I can understand why they’re on so many lists. They’re maybe not quite for everyone, but they’re amazingly well-written. Chaos Station was great too! I’ve heard a lot of great things about both Santino Hassell and The Gentleman’s Guide!

  17. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    I totally thought I’d already commented on this post but turns out not. I have only read one book (or series) featured on here and that’s the Captive Prince series which I did really enjoy, even if there were some issues with it as a whole it was totally amazing. You have read a lot of different and interesting reads this year as shown by your favourites. I do want to read the Thieves Series as well, it sounds interesting.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Captive Prince was so great! And honestly it wasn’t even as problematic as I had thought it would be. And ahhhh I just love the Thieves series lol. I have some issues with that one too, but it’s one of those where the great stuff totally outweighs any negatives.