Books Read ... So Far This Year

Read So Far in 2016
At the beginning of the year I started a pile of all the books I've read in 2016 .... and it's fast becoming a little source of pride.

I read a LOT of books. And, of course, this stack doesn't reflect the many audiobooks I listen to on my commute and dozens of ebooks I read on my Kindle.

To be honest, I'm usually reading three stories at any given time -- across all those mediums. And it's only when a book is truly amazing do I halt all other reading.

Here are a few quickie reviews: 

The Night Circus: The best book I read on this pile -- but only by a slim margin. It wasn't an exciting page-turner but more of a very slow build and a magical payoff at the end. I bought the book years ago but ended up listening to this on audiobook with the very wonderful Jim Dale narrating.

The Conspiracy of Us and Map of Fates: This is an action-y series about a secret society that runs the world and the girl who can bring it all down ... or save us all. Or something like that. It's totally wild and unbelievable but so action-packed with an intriguing love triangle that I can easily overlook the silly conspiracy.  I read each of them in less than a week.

Crimson Bound and Cruel Beauty: These are very twist-y fairy tale retellings that's heavy on romance. I got the books for free at work, but found the audiobooks way more appealing.

Made For You: Maybe the least favorite book here. I've loved this author's other work but Southern gothic doesn't do much for me. I skimmed to the end.

Other finished books worth mentioning:

The Winner's Kiss: The last book in the Winner's trilogy and what a FANTASTIC trilogy it was. Kestrel is edging out many action-fantasy leading ladies as a favorite. I listened to this whole series on audiobook and loved the reader's wild accents.

The Glass Sword: This is the sequel to The Red Queen and it was, much like the second book of all trilogies, slow and all for the building-up of the third book. The last chapter, though. WOW!

Changeless: This is the second book in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger. It's a steampunk series with supernatural creatures, heavy on dry English wit, and a few characters from her Finishing School series (which I highly recommend). Because of the way this one ended, I immediately started the third book. Alexa! Gah!

What are you reading? 

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