I absolutely love participating in Jamie’s (@ The Perpetual Page Turner) End of Year Book Survey; this is my third year in a row! And even though we might be two months into 2017, it’s always worth talking about amazing books. FYI the reviews/posts mentioned below are all from my posts on Gone with the Words. Without further adieu, here’s my End of Year Survey!
Reading Stats
Number Of Books You Read: 105
Number of Re-Reads: 12
Genre You Read The Most From: fantasy
Best in Books
1. Best Book You Read In 2016?
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne- if I’m absolutely forced to choose one book, this is it. It was everything I’ve always wanted in a contemporary romance and I read it twice in one week.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard and Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst both really disappointed me.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo- I was sure it could never live up to the hype but once I got my bearings a few chapters in, it was incredible. Burnt cinnamon rolls ftw!
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (I think we all pushed this on each other, but I pushed it a lot!), The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by Lily Anderson.
5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?
Series: And I Darken by Kiersten White
Sequel: The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May
Series Ender: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?
Melina Marchetta. Ellis will be so proud of me.
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
When A Scot Ties The Knot by Tessa Dare. I hadn’t read adult historical romance before and this book was hilarious and sexy!
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. This duology is the definition of thrilling and action-packed, yet somehow there are enough quiet & humorous moments for us to really embrace the characters.
9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016?
Starflight by Melissa Landers. Shiny!
11. Most memorable character of 2016?
Kaz Brekker is pretty damn memorable.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016?
Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole. It was so lovely and I like epistolary novels.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016?
This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read?
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta (and the rest of the Lumatere Chronicles)
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?
“I heard your song the moment we were born.” Froi of the Exiles, Melina Marchetta
“My body and brain are conditioned for combat whenever I’m in his immediate radius. When he looks over, I jerk back. He puts his hand between us on the couch, palm up, and then looks back at the TV. It’s like he’s put out a dish of seed and is now sitting very still, waiting for the cowardly little chicken to make a move. And it does take me a while. I tentatively pick up his hand and lace his fingers into mine.” The Hating Game, Sally Thorne.
Shortest: The Healer by Virginia Boecker, 32 pages
Longest: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling, 870 pages
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta shocked me because I didn’t think I would like Froi at all based on the previous book and he turned out to be a remarkable character. And Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake actually left me with my mouth hanging open.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
JOSH AND LUCY from The Hating Game. The definition of OTP you guys. I love them so much and they are so perfectly suited for each other. I’m tempted to write all of my 2016 OTPs though…maybe I’ll do a twitter thread 😉
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Sloane and Vera from This Adventure Ends; I loved their friendship so much. Also Blue and Ronan from The Raven King; I will always love Blue and Ronan.
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2016 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. It blew the Grisha trilogy out of the water.
21. Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Oh the pressure!!!
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016?
Lord Blackwood from A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess. It’s hard to resist a character who inspires tweets like “He is so Darcy I die” (thanks for that masterpiece, Gillian!).
23. Best 2016 debut you read?
The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You by Lily Anderson. Nerdy, shippy perfection.
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Worldbuilding: Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta
Vivid Setting: And I Darken by Kiersten White
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Smile: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Fun: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?
I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella by Megan Morrison
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Heartless by Marissa Meyer.
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?
My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I was so angry at Catherine and so shattered when everything came to a head (pun intended. Har har).
My Blogging/Bookish Life
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2016?
I need to keep better track of book blogs I discover and when… I definitely followed a bunch of new bloggers from twitter and often click links from there! I did really enjoy finding Maren’s blog The Worn Bookmark and Jade’s blog Bedtime Bookworm 🙂
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2016?
For pure clarity, I really liked how I formatted my review of And I Darken; it’s clean and easy to read. Content-wise, I LOVED The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You and I had a lot of fun writing the review and picking the gifs!
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
I really loved my Raven Cycle Celebration post where I compared the Gangsey to cookies, and I had a ton of fun creating my own Captain America Book Tag with input from Alexa Loves Books!
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
BEA! BEA was as magical as I hoped it would be. I had an excellent time at the conference, I got to meet some of my best friends, and I got to explore a new city. It was awesome.
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2016?
I got to meet Maggie Stiefvater at BEA and tell her how much The Raven Cycle means to me. Omg. I was shaking. It was awesome and she was so nice.
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
I think keeping your blogging motivation throughout the year is always a challenge at certain points; keeping up with commenting because I love reading other blogs; and since I tend to review books I enjoyed on the blog, it’s a challenge to phrase to reviews differently enough when I always like similar elements, to make sure the unique essence of that particular book is really shown.
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
The post I wrote with the most comments was my Top Ten Historical Settings post, which is awesome because I loved writing it!
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
My review for The Raven King – I worked so hard to make it compelling but spoiler free, and it’s filled with Seb gifs!
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
The Copperfield’s Books that opened in my town!
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I completed my Goodreads goal by a wide margin and also reread quite a few books without guilting myself about it.
Looking Forward
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2016 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?
The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2017 (non-debut)?
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli, All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater
3. 2017 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, The Valiant by Lesley Livingston
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2017?
Series Ending: The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May
Sequel: Chainbreaker by Tara Sim, Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017?
Read more of the books I already own, complete my reading challenges, keep my Netgalley percentage at 80%!
6. A 2017 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller- the pirate book I’ve always wanted!!! Action-packed from the first page, a compelling mystery, romance, hints of fantasy, badass women, and a wicked MC best described as Elizabeth Swann meets Celaena Sardothien.
Frostblood by Elly Blake- a fast-paced book with fantastic characters, lots of magic and action, and the best hate-to-love slow burn romance! I SHIP IT. The strength of the writing makes you care about well-worn fantasy tropes, and it was a lot of fun to read.
How did your 2016 reading year go? Any 2017 books that you’ve read and I should be on the lookout for? Let me know!
The Bookish Beagle 
Should I give SoC a chance again? I tried it twice but could never get past chapter two!
I adored both “The Hating Game” and “The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You”!!
I couldn’t get into Finnikin of the Rock 😦 Should I give it another shot? I think I got like 3 chapters in and wasn’t feeling the POV’s!
SO MANY OTP’S!! Also Seb gif ❤
HEARTLESS HURT SO BAD. I loved Jest so much, SOBS.
Don't give up on The Unexpected Everything, btw! It's definitely slow in parts, but Clark is so DREAMY AND NERDY AND LOVELY.
When Dimple Met Rishi sounds SO cute!!
I'm dying for ACOWAR to come out! Along with Always and Forever, Lara Jean.
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I think it’s worth trying one more time! It took a few chapters for me to feel comfortable in the world, and about 100 pages to be totally invested. It’s a slow build and then it really takes off. Yes, two of my faves!! Finnikin is another one that might be worth another shot. I loved the second half in particular and the trilogy gets better each book. SEB 😀 I am super excited for TUE and I’ve heard Clark is a dreamboat. Yes, I really want both of those as well!
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The Hating Game!!! That book is everything. Josh and Lucy are the absolute best. I don’t reread books but I think I will be rereading that one. I need to get to Six of Crows. I have owned it for so long!! I hope you love The Unex[pected Everything. I LOVED it and Clark was so good. I can’t wait for When Dimple Met Rishi either. Love these posts 🙂
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IT IS EVERYTHING. I love it so much. It’s worth the reread! Oh man, I put Six of Crows off for so long (intimidated + hype) but I’m really glad I read it. Hope you love it too! I bet I will, I’ve adored the other MM books I’ve read! Aww thank you 🙂
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Woo! 105 reads! Way to go Morgan!
The Hating Game was definitely one of my favorite reads last year too. Lucy and Josh 5EVA. I still feel the need to reread it — AGAIN. I really hope the author publishers her next one soon.
I am still sadface over Of Fire and Stars! *shakes fist at universe*
I am so glad you’ve joined the SoC club lol. Now you can flail with us and feel the acute pain of loving these burnt cinnamon rolls!
YES MELINA MARCHETTA QUEEEEEEN. I really hope we get more Lumatere from her some day, though it will probably break my emotions/brain.
I reaaaallly need to buy Letters to Skye, don’t I?
I WAS THE EXACT SAME ABOUT FROI. Like “No way NO WAY am I gonna love this kid nope not happenin no way” and then MARCHETTA MAGIC.
*waits for Twitter thread of OTPs*
ASBaB! REVERSE HAREM! DARCYNESS. It’s so good. I cannot wait for the sequel
Ah man, BEA 2016 was super fun and I miss it and wish we could do it all over again.
Also, yes, I am doing this thing where I don’t guilt myself for rereads anymore. For me 2017 is the year of the reread!
I have to get Frostblood, don’t I? Damn you Morgan (and Gillian).
ALSO: Congrats on 80% on NG!! Once I hit that I found myself weirdly proud? And now I also try really hard to keep it at/over XD
Happy reading in 2017, Morgan!
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LOOK AT THIS COMMENT, you are too much!! I love it! I think her next book comes out this summer, waiting anxiously for an exact date and cover!! I still want my Josh & Lucy sequel though. Maybe if I get desperate enough I’ll write my fanfic hahah. I am super glad to join the SoC club, I only wish I joined earlier! YES you will love Letters to Skye, it’s so lovely. Marchetta Magic- there’s no other way to describe it! I want to make 2017 the year of the reread, after I get ahead of my small arc pile and library books. Then it’s reread time!! YES Frostblood is so funnnnn, I think you will enjoy it!! It’s cliche but written well and the ship is such a ship. I’m back down to 76% but yes, it feels good for sure! I want to clear out my queue haha.
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I love this post strictly for all the Lin-Manuel Miranda gifs. I must get to The Hating Game. It sounds like the perfect Hate to Love romantic story. And I Darken was incredible, as was Crooked Kingdom and The Vanishing Throne (that ending!). Also, I can’t wait for When Dimple Met Rishi. Hope you have a fantastic 2017!
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Hahaha thank you! One of the best parts of finding a new fandom are all the gifs suddenly at your fingertips 😀 If you love hate-to-love, it’s a must read! The Vanishing Throne was brutal- she sure knows how to write a cliffhanger.
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