Best Books of 2017
28 days into the new year and I’m finally getting to my “Top 5 of 2017” post I had planned on doing from the start.
Top 5 Books of 2017
- In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
A hilarious and subversive portal fantasy with a bisexual protagonist, In Other Lands was my obsession book of 2017.
Amazon Blurb: Sometimes it’s not the kid you expect who falls through to magicland, sometimes it’s . . . Elliott. He’s grumpy, nerdy, and appalled by both the dearth of technology and the levels of fitness involved in swinging swords around. He’s a little enchanted by the elves and mermaids. Despite his aversion to war, work, and most people (human or otherwise) he finds that two unlikely ideas, friendship and world peace, may actually be possible.
This book delivered comedy, magical creatures, and awkward teenage love in the most perfect of doses. It is my number one recommendation for anyone who loves comedy, fantasy, or would just like to use the phrase “Poor babies… Now kiss already!” a million times.
- The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
This collection of short stories and fairy tales from the Grishaverse all Bardugo’s current works are set in and offers unique alternatively haunting and hopeful magical tales with realistic under tones. I described it to a friend as the “what ifs” of fairy tales. Perfect bedtime stories for the teenage audience. Also both the cover art and the inside illustrations are just beautiful and enchanting.
Amazon Blurb: Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.
Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid’s voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy’s bidding but only for a terrible price.
Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, the tales in The Language of Thorns will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.
This collection of six stories includes three brand-new tales, each of them lavishly illustrated and culminating in stunning full-spread illustrations as rich in detail as the stories themselves.
- A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
The third book of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin picks up where A Court of Mist and Fury left off and brings of through the fateful conclusion of the war looming in the second book. This was the novel I had anticipated most of 2017 and it delivered almost everything I had hoped it would. I can’t wait for the remainder companion stories of the series.
Amazon Blurb: Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.
As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.
In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all.
- Broken by Jex Lane
Also the third book of a series, this book is a huge departure from the other novels on this list. It’s an adult paranormal series as opposed to the YA Fantasy of all the other novels listed, though it honestly doesn’t neatly fit into any genre, but rather has elements of many. I’ve followed this series since 2016 and it’s an addictive combination of the paranormal, dark urban fantasy, and erotica and has a wonderful protagonist in Matthew, who you can’t help but sympathize and root for every step of the way.
Amazon Blurb:
Vampire. Incubus. Demigod. Weapon.
Matthew has many names, but none as distressing as pet. A slave to incubus High King Malarath, Matthew is tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of losing those he loves. Tired of the torture. And, in his despair, his body begins to decay around him.
The High King, angered that his pet is dying, brings in the one person who might be able to fix Matthew: High Lord General Tarrick.
While all trust Matthew had in the general is gone, maybe there is hope in the situation. All Matthew needs to do is start acting like an incubus and put on a show.
The third book takes place after Matthew’s capture by the incubus and follows his journey as he is broken down to his core and remade into the leader he needs to be to combat the Hight King. It made huge strides in revealing the true nature of all the characters involved and redeeming ones I thought unredeemable. My favorite of the series so far, it was shocking, sexy, horrific, supernatural, thrilling, and absolutely everything it needed to be.
- The Culling: Book 1 by Tricia Wentworth
Dystopian YA meets The Bachelorette meets Government 101, this novel is a must-read. There is something about the combination of first love and a dystopian future that fits together seamlessly and offers an addictive read in this book.
Amazon Blurb: 150 years after a virus wipes out most of the world’s population, Reagan Scott finds herself chosen for the State of the Union’s fifth Culling. She will compete against 49 of the country’s brightest girls. And then, of course, there are the 50 boys.
Though the government truly means well, not everything is as it seems. She will be tested to the fullest extent while an evil storm brews.
With eliminations happening frequently, how far can she make it? And if she makes it far enough to meet the boys, how can she be expected to, at just 18 years of age, find a partner…for life?
Does she have what it takes to be the next Madam President?
I had been struggling to find a fifth book published in 2017 I liked well enough to stand out on its own with the others on this list out of the many I read, and the reason it seems was that I hadn’t found this one before last week. A new find by a first-time indie author, The Culling calls on common themes of its genre and then combines them with other elements to create something refreshing, original, and new. I’d recommend this novel to anyone and everyone who loves “shipping” and strong female heroines. I’ve never screamed “YOU GO GIRL!” louder in my life than I did at a certain point in this novel.
So those are my top five books of 2017. These are the books I obsessed over and will re-read a million times. What were yours?
Crow Queen Review 