Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I’ve Read So Far in 2017!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and today’s prompt is all about the best book I’ve read so far in 2017! To date, I’ve read around 110 books, and rated 23 of them 5 stars, so narrowing it down to only 10 books was a little tricky! That said, below are ten of my favorite reads of 2017 (so far!) The title of each book links back to Goodreads, so be sure to check them out! I’ve also included the description for each book as well as some quick thoughts on why I loved each book!

#1. Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

 

“Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone.

When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar…who says the kiss was a terrible mistake but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise.

And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend, but she also just happens to be married to David. David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife, but then why is David so controlling, and why is Adele so scared of him?

As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong, but Louise can’t guess how wrong―and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.”

Behind Her Eyes is a psychological thriller that’s unlike any other! It pushes the boundaries of the genre, and kept me so hooked from page one! The promotional hashtag used for this book was #wtfthatending and it could not have been more appropriate! 

#2. Caraval by Stephanie Garber 

“How far would you go to save your sister?

Welcome, welcome to Caraval —Stephanie Garber’s sweeping tale of two sisters who escape their ruthless father when they enter the dangerous intrigue of a legendary game.

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.”

Caraval was one of my most anticipated releases of 2017, largely due to the fact of how many people were comparing it to The Night Circus, which is my favorite book! That said, I can’t lie, part of what drew me to the book was the cover! It’s so stunning and is one of my favorite book covers of all time! I was a little worried that the book wouldn’t live up to the hype, but for me it did! It’s about a magical game that takes place in a carnival type setting, and I loved the world Stephanie Garber created! I got to meet her at a book signing event, and she was such a sweetheart! 

#3. Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

 

“Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.”

Alex, Approximately is a modern retelling of You’ve Got Mail, which is a movie I love! I was really excited to read this and see how how Jenn Bennett recreated the story, and it ended up being such a cute book that I read it in one sitting! This is a perfect summer beach read that will leave you smiling at the end. 

#4. I See You by Clare Mackintosh

“When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it’s there. There’s no explanation, no website: just a grainy image and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it’s just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.

Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make?”

I See You was a fast paced thriller that kept me throughly creeped out through the entire book! What would you do if you thought someone was watching you and that your life was in danger? That’s essentially the premise of I See You, and I could not put it down! 

#5. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff 

“This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.”

I’m a sucker for epistolary books, meaning they are told through letters/instant message/email/text/etc., so I was excited that Illuminae fit that bill! I’d heard SO much about the book, but was worried I wouldn’t like it because it’s a sci-fi book, which isn’t a genre I usually enjoy. Anyway, I’m so glad I decided to give it a chance, because it was excellent! I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the overall story as well as the characters!

#6. Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

“Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminaecontinues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.”

Gemina is the sequel to Illuminae, and after finishing Illuminae, I read Gemina shortly after. I’d heard it was even better than Illuminae, which is so rare for a sequel, but it was amazing! The events of Gemina take place shortly after the events of Illuminae, and are set in the same world with different characters. It really helped the story all come together and allowed the reader to see the bigger picture of how everything relates, and it made me incredibly excited for the third book, Obsidio, which comes out next year! 

#7. Final Girls by Riley Sager

“Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.”

Final Girls is a thriller that was highly anticipated for me! I’d heard a lot about it, but put off reading it for some reason! I recently got around to it, and fell in love! This psychological thriller takes you on a wild ride of emotions that will leave you shocked by the end! 

#8. Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens

“Eleven years ago, Lindsey Nash escaped into the night with her young daughter and left an abusive relationship. Her ex-husband was sent to jail and she started over with a new life. Now, Lindsey is older and wiser, with a teenage daughter who needs her more than ever. When her ex-husband is finally released, Lindsey believes she’s cut all ties. But she gets the sense that someone is watching her. Her new boyfriend is threatened. Her home is invaded, and her daughter is shadowed. Lindsey is convinced it’s her ex-husband, even though he claims he’s a different person. But can he really change? Is the one who wants her dead closer to home than she thought?”

I’m a huge fan of books about stalkers/someone being stalked (that always sounds so morbid, but I can’t help it! It’s true!) so I was really excited about this one, especially because I’d heard amazing things about Chevy Stevens! I was hooked from the first page, and couldn’t put the book down! It was full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming until they were getting ready to hit me in the fact, and I loved every minute of it!

#9. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

“A nightmare, I’d told Tamlin. I was the nightmare.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit—and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords—and hunt for allies in unexpected places.”

OF COURSE this list wouldn’t be complete without ACOWAR!! It was my number one anticipated release for the year, and I was so worried it would suck, because so many series get progressively worse and worse, however I loved ACOWAR. I think Sarah J. Maas did a great job of wrapping up the main storylines while leaving enough open for her sequel (which will feature one of the supporting characters as the main character). 

#10. Lies by T.M. Logan

“When Joe Lynch sees his wife enter an underground car park in the middle of the day, he’s intrigued enough to follow her down.

And when he sees her in an angry altercation with family friend Ben, he naturally goes to her defence – and doesn’t for a minute believe the accusations Ben makes against her.

It’s pure misfortune that, just as the clash becomes violent and Ben is knocked unconscious, Joe’s son has an asthma attack, and Joe has to take him to safety.”

Lies was a fast paced twisty thriller, and I loved it! So many thrillers I read are told from the female POV that reading Lies, which was told from the husband’s point of view was a really nice change. A lot happened in this book that I didn’t see coming, and I loved the roller coaster it took me on! 

**So there we go! My 10 favorite read for the year so far! I can’t wait to do this again at the end of the year and pick my favorite books! Have you read any of the books on my list? What did you think? What have been some of your favorite reads in 2017 so far? Let me know down in the comments!**