2017 | End of Year Book Survey

It's that time of year again where we all look at the books we've read in the past year and, of course, do Perpetual Page Turner's wonderful End of the Year Book Survey! (Original post here). I've been doing this survey for the past couple of years and it's always a great way to reflect on all the books I read and what I loved/didn't enjoy. I know this year's is a bit late, but I'm currently planning a wedding and working full-time so I'm a bit behind with blogging at the moment! 

Sidenote! For this survey I do not include any books that I re-read last year. I do this so I can look at other new books I read. Otherwise this could just end up being a list of books I already knew were favourites.

Number Of Books You Read: 102

Number of Re-Reads: 23

Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy

1. Best Book You Read In 2017?

This is a really, really tough one so I'm not going to include anything I re-read this year as I said above.

I think I'm going to have to really cheat and mention two: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Both of these were fantastic books for different reasons and they've really impacted me in a great way.

I will talk about why I loved both of these books in more detail in my Top Ten Books of 2017 post, which will hopefully be up soon!

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

I have two books for this one too sadly. These two were so, so disappointing for me. One is Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I'd heard nothing but amazing things about this book and was so excited, but it was a complete let down and I hated the sisters.

The other was Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige. This book just lacked the worldbuilding I was hoping for and it really pulled me into a reading slump last January.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen. This is definitely in a good way. I got this book as an arc in the Illumicrate box and had zero expectations for it, but it absolutely blew me away with how good it was. Awesome characters and an intense and thrilling plot. I am so excited for the next book.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

 I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

 5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?

Best series I started in 2017: Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

Best sequel of 2017: Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Best series ender of 2017: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

Leigh Bardugo. I can't believe I hadn't read anything by her before 2017!

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart. This isn't something I would normally pick up but a friend recommended it to me and I ended up loving it! It was heartwarming and made me tear up by the end. It's a book about a father learning how to be a father of a child with autism, and also how relationships can be affected.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. Beautifully written and so action-packed. Can't wait to read more of her books next year.

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. In fact, all of Leigh Bardugo's books. They are just such fun to read.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

11. Most memorable character of 2017?

Inej from Six of Crows.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire. Everyone is talking about this book series and I thought I'd give it a try. For such a short book it really packs a punch. The writing is almost lyrical it's so beautiful.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park. This book was about a family attempting to escape North Korea and it was so moving. I loved it. It really made me think about how people in different parts of the world, different cultures, and what others have had to go through for even an inkling of freedom.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo trilogy. As I said above, I can't believe it took me this long to read Leigh Bardugo's works.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

Unsure. I can never think of these off the top of my head!

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?

Shortest was The Guard by Keira Cass (64 pages)

Longest was: IT by Stephen King (1376 pages)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. And kind of not in a good way sadly.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

Rhysand and Feyre 

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Female friendships in Moxie or The Hate U Give. Moxie was so unbelievably refreshing with the amount of female friendships and solidarity. I absolutely loved it!

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

IT by Stephen King. I'll always love Stephen King as a writer and this also solidified how much I enjoy his work. It only took me a few days to read this despite it being over 1000 pages and I enjoyed it so much.

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth. I was given this book to read by someone I worked with, even though I was dubious because of the controversy around this book. While I know it's still problematic, I did enjoy the story and wouldn't mind continuing the series.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?

No-one stood out this year :O

23. Best 2017 debut you read?

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas or Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. Both amazing books that brought up very real issues in today's world.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

American Gods by Neil Gaiman or Leigh Bardugo's series. I was pleasantly surprised by American Gods as I wasn't expecting it to be as vivid as it was. It was full of colourful characters and I really enjoyed it.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon. This was just an enjoyable contemporary that I read in one day. I didn't expect to enjoy it because I didn't like Everything, Everything (please don't hate me!), but this one was really fun. (Although the concept of falling in love in a day is unbelievable, it's still a bit of fun).

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. This was a very moving book that dealt with mental illness in a very real way. It kept me absolutely hooked and definitely made me cry.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

The Leaving by Tara Altebrando. This was just such a fun thriller/mystery YA, which I often struggle to find. It kept me completely on edge the entire time I was reading it and I just really loved it. I've never heard anyone else talk about it though!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?

American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. More could have been done with this series ending and I'm mad that it didn't take it far enough!

1.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

Yes! I read 102 books of my 100 book goal. I also completed the 'Around the World in 52 Books' Challenge for 2017!

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?

Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen

3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?

Throne of Glass (Book #7) by Sarah J. Maas

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018?

Blog more. That's pretty much it. I want to consistently be blogging each month; ideally once or twice a week.

6. A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):

Not applicable this year as I've not read any 2018 releases yet!

So that's my 2017 reading year in review! My reading year wasn't as great as other years, both in terms of numbers and in terms of 5 star reads, but I did enjoy so many of the books and new authors I found! Let me know about your reading year in the comments and if you read any of these books last year.

Book Review | The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Genre: Fantasy/Folklore Fiction

Publication Date: 10th January 2017

My Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Page

Goodreads Summary:

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

**No Spoilers**

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I'd heard a lot of good things about this book before reading it so i was really interested in picking it up. All I knew was that it was about Russian Folklore and people had compared the 'feel' of it as liked Uprooted, which I really enjoyed. I wasn't disappointed by this book, but equally something about it wasn't quite for me.

I found the characters very interesting and unique, particularly Vasya and her brother. Anna infuriated me (as she is meant to), and I really found myself feeling creeped out by Konstantin. I really felt the emotions in this book, and I feel the author did an amazing job of conveying the mood of the novel and the characters within. 

Arden really has a way with words because this book was beautifully written. It was enchanting throughout with magical imagery painted into her writing. I really felt like I was there in the woods, or the farm, or in Moscow. I also loved the magical creatures and fairytales that I'd never heard of before. They really gave me an insight into Russian culture that I'd never had before. The author clearly invested so much time into researching all the folklore and it pays off.

One thing I didn't like started about 50% of the way through the book. It started feeling very nature versus religion with no in between. I found Konstantin to be very similar to Frollo from Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame; with his lusting over a teenage girl and then blaming her for being the 'devil's temptation'. I feel like this trope of Nature v. Religion is very overused in books and it made me feel as though I'd read this story before.

Although most characters felt very real, some of them unfortunately fell flat for me and I feel that not much time was spent  to get to know them. In particular this happened with most of Vasya's siblings. The pacing also felt a bit off with years passing in the first 75% (so much so that sometimes I couldn't work out what ages many characters were), and then a solid focus on just a couple of weeks for the last 25% of the book. The pacing just threw me off a bit and didn't feel like it fit with the way the rest of the book was written.

Having said those things, I did really enjoy reading this book, but there was just something missing for me. I'm not sure if it was my lack of knowledge regarding Russian folklore and words, or if the pacing and certain characters took me out of the story too much. Either way, I would still definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in folklore or Russian history. It does make for a fascinating read.

Book Review | There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Genre: YA/Horror

Publication Date: 26th September 2017

My Rating: ★★.5

Goodreads Page

Goodreads Summary:
Scream meets YA in this hotly-anticipated new novel from the bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss.

One-by-one, the students of Osborne High are dying in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, the dark secrets among them must finally be confronted.

**No Spoilers**

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was really intrigued by the idea of this book, mostly because the author, Stephanie Perkins, is well known for her contemporary romance series. I did enjoy her writing in her previous books, so when I heard she was writing a horror novel like Scream, I was definitely interested in picking this up.

I really liked the diversity of the characters (having biracial and trans characters in a YA book is very refreshing). However, while the main character was very fleshed out and her diversity was explored, I felt like the trans character was only briefly mentioned and nothing else to do with their character was particularly explored. I felt like a lot of side characters fell flat, and only Makani and Ollie were explored with any real depth. I also enjoyed the extra mystery surrounding the main characters regarding her past. To be honest, it was the only thing that kept me reading once I got to who the killer was. 

Overall, I was slightly disappointed with this book. While it had its moments of tension, the murders were all very similar and you could tell immediately when one was about to happen. Finding out who the murderer was earlier than I expected to was also a bit of a disappointment. Especially since I didn't feel any shock at finding out who it was. Perhaps if there had been more build up, or some extra characters had been in the story more often, I would've cared more.

Everything was quite stereotypical for a slasher book (where the murders took place, etc.). I also felt like the motive wasn't properly explored and a lot of the murders were just lots of gore for the sake of it. The big reveal of the side mystery was also sadly not as interesting as the build-up to it. I really thought it was going to be something enormous and it just wasn't. 

Overall, I felt like this was an okay horror story. Perkins writing was enjoyable and fast-paced and I was able to read the book in under a day. It will probably frighten people more if they haven't already seen films like Scream or other slasher horrors. I'm sure some people will absolutely love this book, so it's worth picking up for your own opinion, but it just wasn't for me this time.

Top Five Wednesday | Second Book is Best

This week's Top Five Wednesday is the top five 'second book in a series'. We've talked about series that went downhill, and series that are worth it, but which series were best in the middle? I love this topic because we often talk about how trilogies suffer from 'second book syndrome', aka the worst book in the series because it's a filler. It's refreshing to get to talk about the authors who manage to do this well.

1. The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

I absolutely loved the first two books in this trilogy, but the final book was one of the most disappointing endings I've ever read. I really didn't like the supernatural elements and I feel like it worked so much better as a psychological thriller. This book was so fast-paced and tense. It genuinely made me feel scared and it also completely messed with my head. It was exactly what I wanted the book to be. It was easily the best book in this trilogy.

2. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake

This is the second book in the Gormenghast trilogy (the first book being Titus Groan). This is a high fantasy trilogy that my sister recommended to me for years. I finally read them this year and loved them. I really enjoyed the highly descriptive language and the characters were fantastically fleshed out. The final book in the trilogy is very strange in a sad way. The author got dementia and it really seeped into his final book. Unfortunately, he died before publication so his son had to compile the final book which is much shorter than the other two. I do love the first book, but the second book is easily the best.

3. Hunger by Michael Grant

The Gone Series by Michael Grant is one of my favourite YA series ever. I do love nearly every book in this series equally but the second book is easily a 5 star book. If you've not picked up this series because you don't want to invest time in a long series, or because you're sick of YA Dystopian, please give these books a go anyway; they are fantastically written and nothing like any other YA I've ever read.

4. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Don't get me wrong, I loved Ender's Game, but Speaker for the Dead blew me away. I know there are issues with this author, but this book was amazing. I loved the exploration into different worlds and the mystery of what is happening on the planet. I've never read anything quite like it before and it left me needing the rest of the series.

5. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Now, this book is only last on my list because I know it'll be on nearly everyone's list. This is probably the best second book in a series that I've ever read. It's easily the best book in its own trilogy and it's probably one of my favourite books of all time. Sarah J. Maas (despite some issues generally known), can write so well and her characters are fantastic. Rhysand is absolutely wonderful and I loved that she can twist her characters so you see very single side of them. She has a skill for writing incredibly three-dimensional characters that you either love or hate.

So, those are my top five! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run my Sam (ThoughtsonTomes on Youtube), so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. Sam creates weekly topics for each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group which lists the monthly topics can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Booktube-a-thon 2017 | Wrap-Up!

WRAP-UP

Today marked the final day of the Booktube-a-Thon! The seven day read-a-thon is once again at an end, and it flew by. I managed to read all 7 books this year, as well as completing all of the challenges! (Although I may have cheated on one challenge slightly with an idea a booktuber gave me). Without further ado, here are all the books I read during the booktube-a-thon.

Read Books:

1. Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (608 pages)

2. Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (160 pages)

3. Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (144 pages)

4. Saga, Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (144 pages)

5. Saga, Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (152 pages)

6. Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (608 pages)

7. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus (360 pages)

Read but not completed:

1. In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park (140 pages)

2. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (29 pages)

Overall Page Count for the Week: 2345 pages

And the Challenges I completed:

1. Read a book with a person on the cover.

Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

2. Read a hyped book.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

3. Finish a book in one day.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

4. Read about a character that is very different from you.

Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

5. Finish a book completely outdoors.

Saga, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (I finished it outside. That counts right?)

6. Read a book you bought because of the cover.

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

7. Read seven books.

Huzzah! I finally completed the read 7 books in 7 days challenge! This is the first time I've managed to complete all of the challenges during Booktube-a-thon!

So, overall I read 7 books and completed all of the challenges. I also managed to start 2 other books as well! I'm very proud of this and really happy with how the week went. I was working Monday-Friday (and was off sick on Wednesday and couldn't really read), so I think it went while in spite of that! Please let me know below how your Booktube-a-thon went and if you completed the challenges in the comments. Also, if you've written a blog post/have a YouTube channel then feel free to comment and leave a link below!

In case any of you haven't heard of this event, it was was created by Ariel Bissett and the Youtube channel where she explains in more detail can be found if you click here. There is also a twitter page to follow called @BookTubeAThon which you can follow for updates.