[BEST OF] My favourite and most memorable books of 2017

I have been seeing a lot of posts from other book bloggers on Best books of 2017 and I liked the idea of showcasing my favourite and most memorable reads of this year because I have read a lot of pretty great books which I think deserve a shoutout! With every book I mention I will be writing a brief comment (my thoughts, impressions) on it. Let’s begin:

MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2017

The Girl with a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson

I remember reading The Girl with a Clock for a Heart in the beginning of January and what made me do this was The Kind Worth Killing by the same author which was absolutely brilliant. I rather enjoyed this novel by Swanson and would definitely recommend his works to anyone who loves psychological thrillers!

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed

Gather the Daughters still remains one of my top 5 books of all time. I loved reading this book during the summer. It felt really magical and it made the book much more real in my head. Even though the story is very dark it still keeps you intrigued and makes you miss it after you’ve read it. There’s no doubt that Jennie Melamed is an author to follow! I still think about this book from time to time.

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman

Now onto the book that ruined me and scarred me. Call Me By Your Name is a wonderful and terrible book which I adored and hated reading. CMBYN is so amazing and the way the author makes you care for his characters amazes me. This book left me feeling depressed for two weeks but I still loved it and would love to re-read it in the future! Definitely recommend this one!

The Baltimore Boys by Joël Dicker

I actually own Dicker’s first book and plan on reading it after reading this one. The Baltimore Boys is so wonderful and it’s beautifully written that I have no words! It made me happy and it made me feel sad and that’s the power it holds. I still remember the story inside this book and I’m sure I will for a long time. Read it!

Nothing Holds Back the Night by Delphine de Vigan

I remember buying this book many years ago for just an euro and what made me read this book was the release of her newest one called Based on a True Story. I wanted to read her first book and then get to this one and I am so glad I did! Nothing Holds Back the Night is so good: from the story to the writing! De Vigan has such a talent for sentences and I especially loved that the story revolved around her bipolar mother. I highly recommend it!

Final Girls by Riley Sager

I will always remember this book as my first ever ARC! I remember seeing everyone reading and loving this book and I was no exception. Finals Girls is a great thriller with great twists that keep you reading on and wanting to find out more. After reading this book I watched every Halloween movie and enjoyed watching them all. This kind of story is so intriguing and scary!

MY MOST MEMORABLE BOOKS OF 2017

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

Even though I did not adore this book it still left a mark on me. My Absolute Darling is a book you will definitely remember for a while because of its unusual story. I have encountered one of the most evil characters in this book which says something: the author did a great job at writing the story. If the blurb intrigues you I would say give it a go and read it!

On Edge: A Journey Through Anxiety by Andrea Petersen

As someone who suffers from anxiety this book gave me a lot of insight into it as well as scientific research which was fascinating to read. To anyone who suffers from anxiety I would suggest this book because while it shows the author’s own experience with it, it also provides the reader with a lot of interesting scientific studies and information.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Celeste Ng. What is there to be said? Go, run, read it!

The Reminders by Val Emmich

This book was such a lovely surprise. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. It’s such a heart-warming story between someone who wants to remember and someone who can’t forget.

This Close to Happy: A Reckoning with Depression by Daphne Merkin

My interest in mental health books began two-three years ago so when I saw this book I had to read it. Merkin shows us an insight into her struggle with depression and how it affected her life. It’s a very interesting book!

Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me by Bill Hayes

Hayes’ memoir is truly wonderful. The story of him and Oliver Sacks is so touching and I loved reading it as well as the photographs the author included. I still remember parts of the book I enjoyed the most.

Ragdoll by Daniel Cole

Ragdoll was my second ARC I got approved for and I remember the exact date. January 20th. I was so happy to have gotten a chance to read it because it was pretty great. Definite recommendation for detective/thriller lovers!

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

This is the memoir which out of all of them I can say I remember vividly. The storytelling, the story, Lesnevich’s experience with combined with the killing of a boy. A very good book for any memoir or true crime lovers out there.

Down for the Count by Martin Holmén

Down for the Count was the first historical fiction/crime book that I’ve read that has a bisexual character. It was so good! Definitely recommend!!

Based on a True Story by Delphine de Vigan

De Vigan’s writing is superb and the story is very complex and keeps you wanting more after each page.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

This is might be my final book of 2017 and it’s actually pretty good. I would describe it as claustrophobic because of its setting. It’s truly scary at times and looking back at it a book that will haunt me for a while.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

The story behind the book is very interesting even though I had some issues with it. I love dark tales and this was exactly that.

*By clicking on the book’s  header you can view my review of it.

Happy New Year!

[REVIEW] Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Before I start this review I want to give a little update since probably many of you have noticed I’m not as active with posting reviews. I started university in October so since then life has been very busy which meant little time for reading but now I’m trying to get back to blogging and reading because I’m very far behind my review copies and am very excited to read them. From now on I won’t be posting weekly but when I get the time to review. Note to publishers: No fear, I will definitely fulfill all my obligations to you and review all the books that were sent to me. Onto the review:

I always find describing synopses of books hard because I feel I’m not good at it but like always I’ll do my best to write a spoiler-free synopsis. The book begins in 1935 London with Jack Miller, who’s a scholar who hasn’t really found excitement in life. His day-to-day life has become pretty lonely and boring but one day he’s offered a chance to join an Arctic expedition which would really give him a thrill so he decides to join the rest of the men who are going. The men who are going are wealthier – we see this in the first twenty pages, how he fears that he won’t have enough money to pay for everyone’s drinks – than him and being in a lower position than the other men makes him kind of uncomfortable but that quickly changes as they head on to Gruhuken. In the first plan there were supposed to be five men who went accompanied alongside eight huskies. Two men were faced with certain difficulties before heading to their destination so there are three left – Jack, Gus and Algie. Their plan is to stay for a few months on the expedition and investigate the land. Gus becomes sick and is in need of surgery so he has to leave Gruhuken and Algie accompanies him because of the potential negative outcome of the operation. Our main voice Jack is left alone in the structure they built. Jack has noticed something dark creeping up on the strange place called Gruhuken. Is it possible his mind is playing tricks on him? Could it be possible that the others have seen what he has seen?

I haven’t read a scary book in a long while so this was quite an interesting read. This book is told in the form of  Jack’s journal entries and we are introduced to the daily routines and life in Gruhuken. The thing I liked about this book is that it’s a really fast and engaging read. It keeps you intrigued and never seems to tire you because you become very invested in finding out what’s happening in Gruhuken. Our main character Jack Miller is a great character and I love how we got to see his psyche change as the novel went on. The character of Gus was my favourite in the book because of who he was – a very lovable kind of guy. I admire Jack’s decision to stay on the expedition even though he’s seen certain things which would scare most people away and that shows his determination and will to not let anyone down. My critique would be that I wish we got to see more of an insight into Jack’s mind even though there were many insights I just wish they were written more in depth. I also wanted a better resolution to the story because Paver WHY!? I wish we would’ve gotten more answers to certain questions but it was overall a very entertaining read. I have to compliment her skills at making you scared at times because some scenes were really scary (especially while reading at night).

Dark Matter is a book any lover of ghost stories will definitely enjoy and also there are topics to analyse in it which make it even more interesting and worth reading.

My rating: 

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Michelle Paver was born in Central Africa, but came to England as a child. After gaining a degree in Biochemistry from Oxford University, she became a partner in a City law firm, but eventually gave that up to write full-time.

The hugely successful Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series arose from Michelle’s lifelong passion for animals, anthropology and the distant past – as as well as an encounter with a large bear in a remote valley in southern California. To research the books, Michelle has traveled to Finland, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Arctic Canada and the Carpathian Mountains. She has slept on reindeer skins, swum with wild orca (killer whales), and got nose-to-nose with polar bears – and, of course, wolves.

Find her on: Website,  Goodreads,  Twitter and Facebook.