I haven’t done an update post for my 2017 challenge, so it’s about time for a word or two about my new goals and some notable titles. Hopefully you can find some books that intrigue you from the several I mention here!
I set my 2017 goal at 350, which is what I used for 2016 as well. I surpassed that by almost 100 books last year, but I wasn’t comfortable changing my total since I project I’ll be busier with other projects this year.
I’ve started off with a bang though, and I’d love to share some of my favorite reads so far with you! I’m already almost one-fourth of the way to my goal on March 1st, and I’m really happy with that. I think I’ll be slowing down quickly, so the surplus is giving me a good head start.
Most of the books here were review copies, some of them cherry-picked (I chose them deliberately but was objective while reading), and a couple I was given blindly with no prior knowledge of the author. I love getting ARCs and I’m getting much better at reviewing all of them on Goodreads and Amazon now. When I first had my vision problems, I went through a period when I stopped reviewing, and I feel better now that I can give feedback.
Just a note that these are some of my favorites, so they all have very high ratings. I sound like a broken record, but it’s worth it, I promise.
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai (Sci-Fi, Time-Travel)
My full review on Goodreads is posted here. One of my favorite story components are great character arcs, and All Our Wrong Todays is a great example of this. I’m a sucker for a good time-travel book, so I was thrilled that I was picked by Penguin to review this book. I gave it 4 stars, and that means I find it solid, above average, and I’d recommend it to anyone that likes this genre.
Anything You Can Do by R.S. Grey (Rom-Com)
Lately I’ve been gravitating towards Rom-Coms, and this was one of the best ones I’ve read in 2017. The leads both left their small town to get their M.D. just to come back and get offered the same job – thinking they’d be the sole doc in the practice. Having hated each other all of their lives, the reader is treated to wit, pranks, competition, and even secrets kept and ultimately shared to an amazingly successful degree. 5 full stars, which is fairly rare for me.
The Bastard Billionaire (Billionaire Bad Boys #3) by Jessica Lemmon (Romance)
My full review on Goodreads is posted here. I’ve read and reviewed all three of the Billionaire Bad Boys books so far – they’re all so great, and I love them all. I was dying to read this one, so I kept scanning NetGalley to catch it the minute it came up for review. It was just released (February 28, 2017) and I highly recommend grabbing a copy – and if you haven’t read any of this series yet, go back to get the first two while you’re at it. The Bastard Billionaire was my favorite of the three – and I gave it 5 stars without hesitation.
Dirty Duet (Found in Oblivion #3) by Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott (Rock Romance)
My full review on Goodreads is posted here. I know I said I don’t give a lot of 5 star reviews, but this year has been a treasure-trove. I gave Dirty Duet 5 stars, and continue my love affair with Cari and Taryn and their Oblivion books. The story featuring West and Lauren was frenetic and full of life – so much so that I felt energized while I was reading it. I wasn’t expecting everything that this story brought, and it was delightful in the extreme. Crazy good.
On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins (Chick-lit/Romance)
Kristan Higgins is an auto-read for me, and her books usually fall into the 3.5-4 star area. Not true here, I gave it 5 full stars. On Second Thought is by far my favorite of her works, and I’m actually going back to read it again within the next few weeks. I need to write a review, but haven’t yet – I’ll do so after my second read-through. This didn’t fall clearly into the Chick-lit or Romance category, it blended the two seamlessly. I saw this mentioned in several other reviews, and I wholeheartedly agree. Outstanding – Highly recommended!
Royally Matched (Royally #2) by Emma Chase (Romance)
This was a read strictly for pleasure, so I haven’t done a review. I may go back and do so at some point if I get some free time. My good friend Jem Joven and I were going back and forth on twitter the days before it was released, and then we had some fangirling in DMs after we devoured it. Book 1 of this series was great, but we both liked this one a little more. Emma Chase took elements that could’ve been hackney and turned them on their head. I rated it 4.5 stars.
The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney (Mystery/Thriller/Suspense)
My full review on Goodreads is posted here. Another blind ARC that I got via the publisher, and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s gotten really mixed reviews so far, and I’m truly surprised for once about the comments I’ve seen. Of course, you should judge for yourself. I highly encourage reading through the reviews on Goodreads if you’re at all interested in this title, but don’t let any of them dissuade you if you find yourself leaning on the side of wanting to read it. I’m glad I gave it a chance, and I ended up giving it 5 stars after finishing it.
That’s it for now. I’ll have another update after I read another batch of books. I’m hoping to give you more new stories to put on your TBR pile as well. Have a great one, and remember that reading puts the fun in fundamental!