Top Ten Favorite Books of 2016

It’s no secret that I’m a big reader. To me, there’s nothing better that curling up and getting lost in a good book that you just can’t put down. I’ve read SO MANY good books this year and I’m sharing my top 10 favorites with y’all today! 

The first 7 books are in no particular order, but the final three are my actual 1st, 2nd, and 3rd favorites of the year. 

You can follow along on Instagram (@lalalifebookclub) to see what I’m reading in 2017 and follow me on Goodreads for mini book reviews. 🙂

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In September I read Behind Closed Doors by B.A.Paris. I’ve really gotten into thrillers this year and this one does not disappoint. For this to be a debut novel, it is fabulous! It’s about a seemingly perfect marriage that is anything but. I was fascinated to learn how the two main characters met and fell in love and then how their relationship changed once they were married. Oh my goodness! So good!

The author’s next book, The Breakdown, comes out in June and I can’t wait!

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 In June, I tanned and enjoyed life outside the classroom while reading A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. I’ve discovered “Booktube” (people that have YouTube channels all about books) and everyone single person raves about Sarah J. Maas. Let me just say: I am not a lover of high fantasy. Even though Harry Potter is my all time favorite series ever, I don’t tend to read books about magic and fairies and witches. For some reason, I decided to try out this series. I read the first one (A Court of Thorns and Roses), which is a retelling of beauty and the beast. I could not believe how wonderful it was. I was hesitant to pick up the second in the series because my favorite character in the first one is missing for 80% of this book. After reading A Court of Mist and Fury, I could care less about my former favorite character because this book convinced me to jump ships! If you’re in the mood for this type of book, I highly recommend this one! 

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 At the beginning of summer, I read November 9 by Colleen Hoover. Oh, Colleen Hoover.  CH is one of those authors who just doesn’t have the ability to write anything bad. I’ve read almost everything she’s written and November 9 is my favorite. Yes, I read It Ends With Us and yes, I loved it, but it doesn’t hold a candle to this one. 

It’s about a girl and a guy who meet on the same day each year. I normally don’t like books that span over a lengthy period of time, but this one is great. There’s always a twist or something you don’t see coming in CH books and I was BLOWN AWAY with the twist in this one! 

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In July I read Moonshot by Alessandra Torre. I discovered this writer in the Spring and fell in love with everything she writes. I’ve also read Hollywood Dirt and Love, Chloe (if I were blogging about my top 11 favorite books, Love, Chloe would be #11!) and loved both of them. Moonshot is my absolute favorite though! It’s about a girl whose father works/plays for the Yankees. She travels with the team and falls in love with one of the players. He’s traded to another team and then returns a few years later. It is fabulous!

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In April I read The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith. I’ve really gotten away from reading Young Adult this year, but this one stuck with me. This book covers the high school life of a young girl from her freshman to senior year. She is raped by her brother’s best friend right before she enters 9th grade and the book deals with how she copes with this. It’s a heavy, heart breaking read and I loved it. I do wish the author would have changed one thing (if you read my review for this one on Goodreads, you’ll see what I’m talking about…I don’t want to spoil it here) but I completely understand why she didn’t do this. 

Sidenote: I read Exit, Pursued by Bear after this one. Both books deal with rape and it was fascinating to see how differently the two main characters dealt with the aftermath. 

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In March I read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I feel like this year I branched out and tried new genres. This one is a historical fiction book and I’ve probably read 5 HF books ever in my lifetime. This one was recommended to me countless times, so I decided to try it out. It took FOREVER to read because it was such a serious book. I’m used to reading romance books that you can just fly through, but this one took some concentration. It was an absolute beautiful story about two sisters who lived in France during World War II. One sister is a feminist and is eager to help fight, while the other sister struggles to protect her home and son while her husband is off fighting. The ending of this one broke my heart. I can still remember little things about this book, which is always a good sign that you’ve read an amazing book. 

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In March, I celebrated a snow day with The Big Band Theory and The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. This was hands down my favorite thriller of the year. It starts out with a man talking to a woman on a plane. He tells her how he’s just found out his wife is having an affair and he wants to kill her. The woman decides to help him and the story progresses from there. I don’t want to say anything else because the less you know going into this one the better. The story is broken into 3 different sections and I was BLOWN AWAY with the twist in this one! SOOOO good! Peter Swanson also has a new book coming out in January called Her Every Fear!)

Now for my top 3 of the year!

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In November I read an ARC of Everything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Mejia. I started not to put an advanced reader copy on my list because the point of the list is for y’all to find books to read and you technically can’t get this one until January 3, but it was just too good not to include. In fact, out of ALL the books I’ve read this year, this is my third favorite.

It’s told from three different points of view: a high school senior who goes missing the night after she stars in her senior play, the detective who is in charge of finding her, and the high school English teacher.  The story pieces her entire senior year leading up to her murder. I could not believe the ending of this one! I did not see it coming and I was floored! On January 3, you need to run to your local bookstore to get your hands on this one. Even though I read an e-copy, I will probably go and buy a physical copy because I loved this one that much. 

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In August, I fell in love with The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled and laughed out loud as much as I did when I read this book. If a book can be swoon worthy, this one is it! I’ve loaned it to several people and they’ve all said the beginning was slow, but I loved every single page. 

It’s about a girl and a guy who work side by side and hate each other…until they realize they don’t. Oh my goodness, I’m smiling just remembering this one. I love, love, love it. 

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And in August, I read my favorite book of the year: Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn T. Dingman. My favorite kind of book is a good Southern fiction, but not like Fried Green Tomatoes or something overly southern. This one had the perfect touch of a southern setting.

It’s about a girl who returns to her mother’s hometown after her mother passes away. Her mother never shared anything about her past, so when the main character arrives, she begins to learn about her mother’s childhood and her first love. It is so good. It’s one of those books where you finish a chapter and then you immediately say to yourself “I’ll just read one more chapter”. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on any of these books or if you read any fabulous books that you would love to share so I can pick them up in 2017! 🙂