Another year has passed and as usual it was full of good books. Although I didn’t quite reach last year’s book tally of over 100 books, I still managed to become finish over 65 titles. I think this is a pretty good number considering I went back to work full time this year.
I read a lot of really great books this year, many of them by authors who are new to me. But I managed to condense my favorites list down to a manageable size.
FAVORITE BOOKS
- From Sand and Ash -Amy Harmon
- Storm and Silence -Robert Thier
- Engaged in Trouble -Jenny B Jones
- Conspiracy of Silence -Ronie Kendig
- High as the Heavens -Kate Breslin
- The Bridge -Jill Cox
- Mark of the King -Jocelyn Green
- Then There Was You -Kara Isaac
- P.S. From Paris -Mark Levy
- The Girl Who Chased the Moon -Sarah Allen Addison
- Begin Again & Just Maybe -Crystal Walton
- At The Edge of Summer -Jessica Brockmole
- Murder at the Brightwell -Ashley Weaver
Other books I really enjoyed included: The Esther Paradigm, The Bird and the Sword, A New Shade of Summer, Jane of Austin, My Unexpected Hope, Someplace Familiar, Settling Up, Just the Way You Are, Fear the Drowning Deep, A Moonbow Night, Love’s Shadow, The Lost Girl of Astor Street and The Ringmaster’s Wife.
AUTHOR DISCOVERIES
This is a year in which I really branched out in reading new authors. And I’m so glad I did, because many of them wrote some of my favorite reading experiences this year (as you can see in the list above). Some of my favorite author discoveries this year include:
- Amy Harmon -definitely my favorite author find of the year!
- Ashley Weaver -fell hard for her Amory Ames seriesl
- Jessica Brockmole -definitely going to have to read more of her stories
- Sarah Addison Allen -whimsical, charming and creative
- Jill Cox -wrote a YA debut so amazing, I’m waiting impatiently for the sequel
- Robert Thier -absolutely adore his feisty heroine Lilly Linton
I also read more books by some of my favorite authors including, Tamara Leigh, Denise Hunter, Nichole Van, Pepper Basham, Amy Matayo, Nicole Deese, Tammy L. Gray, Ronie Kendig, Heather Burch, Sibella Giorello, Catherine West, Susan May Warren, Kasie West, Jody Hedlund, Jaima Fixsen, Connilyn Cossette, Melissa Tagg, Elizabeth Camden, Rebecca Connolly and Katherine Reay.
This year I actually read a classic novel which I had been meaning to read for some time. I did reviews for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s film The Phantom of the Opera and also for a book sequel, but had never read Gaston Leroux’ s original story. I don’t generally enjoy the classics, but Leroux’s Phantom was unique and had me laughing out loud on a plane full of people.
In 2017 I also started participating with Top Ten Tuesday feature prompts from The Broke and the Bookish. I have really enjoyed making the various book lists and linking up with other readers.
So, that is my 2017 book year in a (very large) nutshell.
What were some of your favorite books this year? Did you find any new authors you would recommend to me?
