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16 Best Books of 2016!

Hi, guys!

This is very different from my usual blog post format, but I've decided to change it up a bit this time and write about my favorites for 2016. I know it might be a bit too late since we're 13 days into February, but I'm just going to go with it.

I just wanted to mention that I have a very peculiar taste in books. My favorite genres are horror, realistic fiction, historical fiction, and supernatural. Also, I've been trying to read more classics lately which has affected some of these choices. I have done reviews on some of these books so I will hyperlink those in the book titles.


16. Crimson Bound
By: Rosamund Hodge

This book, like Cruel Beauty, is a twist on a fairy tale. In this case, Hodge used the story of Little Red Riding Hood as inspiration. This book has a fairy tale feel but has the energy of an action novel. I really enjoyed reading this book. I have a full, detailed review on this book that I recommend you check out!

By: Rosamund Hodge

Twisted fairy tales seem to be Rosamund Hodge's niche, but they work for her and she does them well. Cruel Beauty is based on Beauty and the Beast. This book has a good combination of action, mystery, and romance (and Greek mythology which I love!!!)

14. Don't Look Back
By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Don't Look Back is a really good mystery novel. The story follows a girl who wakes up with amnesia after a tragic disaster. In the short time that she is awake, she learns the ugly truth about who she was. The book is quite engaging and very interesting. It truly makes you think about how you should be going about your life.

13. Dorothy Must Die
By: Danielle Paige

If you love the Wizard of Oz you would like this book. Actually, even if you've never seen it, you'll still like this book. When I read Dorothy Must Die, I hadn't seen or read the Wizard of Oz, but I still understood the references since the Wizard of Oz is such a famous story. This book creates a really cool alternate version of Oz in which Dorothy is evil and she must DIE!

12. The Old Man and the Sea
By: Ernest Hemingway

This book and the one after it are what I had in mind when I said that I tried to read classics in late 2016. Classics have a reputation for being boring, but I actually really enjoyed this book. It's not everyone's piece of cake since it is quite philosophical and I wouldn't recommend it to younger readers, but it is definitely a book that everyone should read at some point in their lives. 

11. Black Boy
By: Richard Wright

This is actually a book that I had to read for English class, which you would think would be a tell-tale sign that it would be a boring book, but I was mistaken. Right from the first page, I was amazed at the writing style. As a wanna-be writer, writing style and word choice are factors that I greatly appreciate in books and this one did not disappoint. Black Boy also brought up many African American history points and events which taught me a lot and made me think a lot about the direction in which society was headed. Not going to lie, I cried while reading this.

10. The Fall
By: Bethany Griffin

I am a huge fan of the horror genre and Edgar Allan Poe. This book is based on Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. I absolutely loved this book, my favorite part being the gruesome descriptions. Right on the very first page, I found myself cringing at the gory description of a nail breaking really far down in the main character's finger. It might not sound like much, but, trust me, the book is amazing. When I write, if my descriptions don't convey a reaction from somebody, I haven't done my job, so I really appreciate the details. 

9. Between Shades of Gray
By: Ruta Sepetys

I know what this sounds like, but that's not what this is! Between Shades of Gray is an amazing historical fiction novel set in 1941 during the June uprising in Lithuania. The main character of the book, Lina is 15-year-old Lithuanian girl who, with her mother and brother, is forced onto a train by a Soviet officer and sent off to Siberia to live in awful condition. I'm pretty sure I cried, and if I didn't, I came close.

8. Blood and Salt
By: Kim Liggett

This book is the perfect horror novel for people who are fascinated by cults. It's written beautifully and has a great plot that even features a good amount of romance, for those who are into that sort of thing. (I promise it's not cheesy.) I don't remember is being too scary, though (don't take my word for it) some parts are quite gory. 

7. Escape from Asylum (Asylum, #0.5)
By: Madeleine Roux

I hate it when lists like these have sequels or prequels, but this book can definitely stand on its own. I am completely obsessed with old-fashioned mental health methods, so naturally, I loved this book. However, that being said, this book isn't for everyone since it is quite frightening at times. Of course, that is the very reason why I loved it so much. 

By: Michelle Hodkin

I know this is a list of the 16 best books of 2016, but I had to include this series as one. The books fit so well and so seamlessly together. I was hooked right from the beginning right up until the last syllable of the last page of the last book. The Mara Dyer Trilogy is a perfect fantasy and romance novel that completely blew me away and truly stands out among its otherwise basic genre. 

5. All the Bright Places
By: Jennifer Niven

I read this book, and the next few during a time that I went on a depressing realistic fiction binge. Let me tell you, the tears were flowing with this one. I predicted what was going to happen at the end, but that still didn't stop me from sobbing for longer than I'd like to admit. In fact, my 8th-grade humanities teacher and I had both read this book and we had an actual conversation about the points in the book at which we cried. Yeah...it's a tear-jerker. 

4. Every Last Word
By: Tamara Ireland Stone

This book combines so many of my favorite things in a book-- it's written gorgeously, it's very enticing, and the twist at the end was amazing. I did not see it coming, though I didn't even predict the twist at the end of Everything, Everything (which I, by the way, did not enjoy.) Again, this is a depressing realistic fiction book, but I love it. 

3. The Merciless
By: Danielle Vega

This book is the epitome of my obsession with horror and darkness (as I'm sure you can tell by the pentagram on the front.) I promise I'm not worshipping the devil, or even dressing goth. I'm totally average, perhaps, except for my love for books like this one. It perfectly captures religious extremism mixed with insanity, which, newsflash, doesn't just happen in Islam! 

2. The Way I Used to Be
By: Amber Smith

This book provoked much thought on my part and made me cry in my dad's living room. Yet again, this is one that came from my realistic fiction binge, of the depressing variety, or the Pinterest/Tumblr variety. Honestly, and thankfully, I can't relate to this book, but I still connected with it. It followed the story of a girl who got raped. It completely opened my eyes to the mental impacts of rape and how it can take years to recover. The author made me feel the emotions of the main character. Huge compliment, by the way. 

1. We'll Never Be Apart
By: Emiko Jean

This book is set in a mental asylum so you know I love it, but that's not the only reason. Like The Way I Used to Be, it was an eye opener. I read the entire book all in one night. It was so interesting, I just had to keep going. When you think the plot is going in one direction, it switches completely, then when you settle with that direction, it flips again. I would recommend this to everyone. I might reread it and write a review. Let me know if that would interest you. 

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