Top 10 of 2017: Favorite YA Books

 Top 10 of 2017 is "a fun-filled week where we look back at some of the best of all things books of 2017 and look ahead to what we can’t wait for in 2018." It's hosted by Rachel at Fiktshun, Jaime of Two Chicks on Books, Nancy and Christy of Tales of the Ravenous Reader, Bridget of Dark Faerie Tales, and new this year, Fallon of Seeing Double in Neverland and Take Me Away To A Great Read.

Today's topic is:

Best Books We Read in 2017

We actually split this topic into multiple posts. Today we're talking about our Top 10 YA books of the year.

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

This has been my most talked about book of the year. I'm pretty sure all of Bookstagram knows how much I loved it. It was just so much fun! And the sequel is just over a month away - woohoo!

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

I know this came out last year but I finally got around to reading it and it was everything! This book was absolutely adorable and perfect! I loved that it was diverse and so positive. It's kind of like a YA You've Got Mail but without the whole enemies to lovers subplot. The only problem I had with it was that it ended. I just want more Simon and Blue goodness! And maybe an oreo milkshake. I seriously can't wait to see the movie this next year.

You can check out Rose Red's review here.

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

I'm still dazed and in awe of this book. It's one of those ones that had me smiling like a goofball while making me a bit uncomfortable and making me super emotional. It's a book with a ton of heart, love, pain, and wanting. It's one of the most beautiful and poignant books I've read this year.

You can read Rose Red's review here.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

This book is pitched as "the big gay road trip novel set in the 18th century you didn't know you needed!" which set the bar high and it was abso-bloody-lutely amazing! It's a coming of age story that kind of read like historical fanfiction and I mean that in the best way possible! This was the adventure novel of my heart given an actual physical form with words. Just go read it! 

You can check out Rose Red's review here.

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

I loved everything about this book! The mystery, the gothic horrorness of the location, the adventure, the characters, Audrey Rose and Thomas working together, the banter, and of course, flirty Thomas. Let's be real, we all need more flirty Thomas in our lives. It was just so perfect! I can't wait for book three! 

You can read Rose Red's review here.

The Dire King by William Ritter

I can't believe that this is the last Jackaby book and I'm not ready for the series to be over. This one was darker than its predecessors and it was so action-packed and full of twists that I was all in on page two. It was freaking fantastic but it was also an emotional roller coaster. I'm still not okay and it's been months since I finished it. 

You can read Rose Red's review here.

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

 Who knew that a comic convention and fandom would make such a perfect setting for a modernized Cinderella?!? This book had everything we've come to expect from a retelling of Cinderella: the horrible stepmother you can't help but hate, the mean stepsisters, the swoony Prince Charming, the fairy godmother, the ball, and a pumpkin turned into a coach. I loved everything about it! 

You can read our review here.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

I loved this book even though it kind of broke me. It's a book about friendship and grief and about life and living yours to the fullest. It was an emotional roller coaster and made me feel a whole hell of a lot of things. And while it is sad, it's also a kind of happy one filled with love and hope. 

You can check out Rose Red's review here.

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

I'm a huge fan of Jenn Bennett and her books but her retelling of You've Got Mail was everything I didn't know I needed! This classic hate-to-love story felt fresh and modern while staying true to the original! The classic movie references and the quirky museum setting was so great along with the amazing banter! It's my favorite YA rom-com of 2017. 

You can read Rose Red's review here.

Hunted by Meagan Spooner
I'm a sucker for Beauty and the Beast retellings and this version of the classic story is the retelling I've been waiting for! It's unique and heavily influenced by Russian folklore. Yeva was a smart and extremely capable heroine and I loved that we got parts of the story from the Beast's POV. The romance was a delightful slow burn and this whole book makes me long for more fairy tale retellings from Meagan Spooner.

What were your favorite YA books of 2017?

and

Want to see what books are everyone else's list?  Visit one of the host blogs to find the Linky.
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Miss one of our Best of 2017 posts?
Favorite Movies
Favorite TV and Streaming Shows
Favorite Non-Book Things

Did you see our Super Giveaway? Check out Wednesday's post.

Best of 2017: Favorite Random Non-Book Things

2017 has been a rough year. We don't know about you but we've tried to find happiness in the small things this year. As we say good bye to this year and welcome in 2018, we were inspired by this Tor.com post to share with you posts that list the TV shows, movies, and the random things that brought us some joy these last twelve months. And of course we'll tell you about our favorite books, but not until next week. Today, we're going to be talking about our favorite random non-bookish things!

Rose Red

It's been a really long time since I have fallen in love with a whole album that wasn't a soundtrack and even longer since I've bought one. I usually just listen through an album once or twice on Spotify and then purchase individual songs if I liked them. I knew on my first listen through that Memories... Don't Open by The Chainsmokers was going to be an album I loved and that I needed to own. I don't know how many times I've listened to it but I love it as much now as I did the first day I listened to it. That doesn't happen near enough for my liking anymore.

My grandma decided out-of-the-blue to give me and my sister her Christmas Village. Her village is epic and is the culmination of forty years of collecting. We were only able to set up a very small portion of it but it makes me so happy! I was fascinated with it as a kid and not much has changed now that I'm an adult. My favorite thing to do right now is to turn off all the lights and just stare at our Christmas tree. Although, I now have the utmost respect for the amount of work that her and Grandpa putting this thing up year after year.

A webcomic counts as a non-bookish thing, right? A good friend of mine recommended Check, Please! by Ngozi to me earlier this year and I've kind of become obsessed with it! Like I check the website every day for new updates and have fallen down the fanfic rabbit hole multiple times this year. Check, Please! is webcomic about hockey and pies and discovering who you are during college. It has a diverse cast of characters and lots of hockey action! Plus, it's a queer romance and I ship it so hard. SO HARD! This webcomic is seriously adorable and hilarious and it makes me so happy! If you want to spend an enjoyable few evenings, I highly recommend checking it out! (Haha! I made a pun!) The shenanigans that Bitty and the Samwell hockey team get up to are freaking fantastic! You can start reading it here!

Gretl gave me this awesome Twelve Days of Harry Potter Socks Advent Calendar for my birthday and it has been the best thing ever! I've been like a little kid on Christmas every morning when I get to open that day's socks. And I have loved them all so far! It's given me so much joy and I'm only halfway through it. If you want to see all the socks, I've been posting daily pictures on my Instagram.

Artist Credit
One of my favorite things this year has been seeing all the fanart that people in my fandoms have made. There are some super talented people out there. I frequently find myself falling down the Tumblr rabbit hole for hours looking at just fanart. I have a ton of fanart saved to a folder on my desktop. It's mostly Yuri on Ice, ADSOM, The Raven Cycle, and My Hero Academia art and I regret nothing. It's the simple things in life that really make me happy and this is one of them.

Gretl


If you had asked me my favorite artist a few years ago, I would have said something dark like Airborne Toxic Event. But this has been a year in need of fun, happy music like Fitz and the Tantrums. And a five year old singing Hand Clap is one of the Best Things.

Bookstagram/Photography
Okay, that's kind of a bookish thing. But my Instagram feed, unlike Twitter, has been almost entirely free of politics. So it can be an escape from the news. And I'm having fun sort of relearning the photography thing. My last year of college it was the only class I actually enjoyed, even though I wasn't that good at it. (Okay I got a B, I wasn't awful.) But doing everything in my iPhone is totally different than doing it in a darkroom.

Etsy shopping
Again, this one's a little bit bookish and probably grew out of bookstagramming, but I bought a lot of bookmarks this year, and some candles. I've always been a shopper, but not so much online. I like the idea of supporting small, women owned business. I'm even thinking about making some jewelry and drawing again, though I'm not planning to start an Etsy shop or anything.


My cat
I found Luna last year around Thanksgiving. She just came to the door and meowed til I went to pick her up. I haven't had a cat since I was little but she's been my rock this year. She's been through old dogs and new dogs and a kindergartener and takes it all in stride. Too bad we humans can't all be so even tempered.

What were your favorite non-bookish things of 2017?

and

Did you miss one of our Best of 2017 posts?
Favorite Movies
Favorite TV and Streaming Shows

Did you see our Super Giveaway? Check out Wednesday's post.

Best of 2017: Favorite TV/Streaming Shows

2017 has been a rough year. We don't know about you but we've tried to find happiness in the small things this year. As we say good bye to this year and welcome in 2018, we were inspired by this Tor.com post to share with you posts that list the TV shows, movies, and the random things that brought us some joy these last twelve months. And of course we'll cover our best of books of the year, but not until next week. Today, we're going to be talking about our favorite shows!

Even before all the excitement about The Last Jedi, I was loving Star Wars Rebels. It's set between the prequels and the original trilogy and I'm having so much fun filling in all the puzzle pieces.

I wish there were more episodes of  the Lego Star Wars Freemaker Adventures. This show is set during Episodes 5 and 6 and has appearances from Luke and Leia and even Hera and Chopper from Rebels. Yes, I know it's not canon because Legos, but the way they combine the Master Builders with the Jedi to create Force Builders is still really cool.

I finally joined my godkids on the Voltron: Legendary Defender band wagon this fall. I binge-watched all four seasons and it was wonderful! It was like Power Rangers meets Transformers in Space. It's a bit cheesy in parts and like most Netflix shows, it's really addicting. It made me laugh and was the perfect show to help me destress. I can't wait for Season 5 to come out because I need to know what happens next!

One of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid was Ducktales so when they announced the new Ducktales Remake, I was completely on board. And it is absolutely delightful! It's reminiscent of the old show while being it's own thing. David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck is everything I didn't know I needed. The whole voice casting for the show was amazing actually!

I've been binge-watching a lot of anime this year thanks to my Crunchyroll membership and my favorite of the year (and probably all-time) has been My Hero Academia. It's a different take on superheroes and I am all here for it! This show is the perfect blend of Western superheroes with Eastern culture and I need it to be the spring season so I can watch Season 3!

The Ancient Magus' Bride is one of my favorite animes of this fall season! It's whimsical and dark and so gorgeously animated. My friend, Nikki, made the point earlier this week that this anime is perfect for fans of The Raven Cycle because it perfectly portrays the same sense of longing for Something More even if it could possibly be dangerous. It's just a really perfect anime adaptation of a manga.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie is the anime that I didn't know I needed this fall. I related to the main character so hard and I quickly fell head over heels for this show! I loved it so much that it will be one of the ones I'll be buying when it hits the US market. I just wish that there were more than eleven episodes. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that there will be a season two.


Yes, we actually do watch live action shows too. This fall I've been loving Berlin Station.

First of all, it has the best theme song ever. Second, it amuses me to watch a bunch of Brits playing American spies. And the new season, which just ended on EPIX, dealt with the current political climate in a really interesting way.

The Will & Grace reboot is taking me back to the 90's. Even though the show's addressing very recent events, it feels like I never left those characters. I also love that almost everyone has come back for at least one episode, as long as I don't think about the ones that didn't - like Grace's mom who was played by Debbie Reynolds.


I'm also going back to the 90's, with the first season at least, of Gilmore Girls even though I just started watching it last year. What I first noticed was how sharp the dialogue is, but now I mostly just want to be Lorelei when I grow up.

What were your favorite shows of 2017?

and

Did you miss one of our Best of 2017 posts?
Favorite Movies

Did you see our Super Giveaway? Check out Wednesday's post.

Best of 2017: Favorite Movies (and a Super Giveaway!)

2017 has been a rough year. We don't know about you but we've tried to find happiness in the small things this year. As we say good bye to this year and welcome in 2018, we were inspired by this Tor.com post to share with you posts that list the TV shows, movies, and the random things that brought us some joy these last twelve months. And of course we'll cover all of our favorite books, but not until next week. Today, we're going to be talking about our favorite movies of the year!

Wonder Woman is obviously all about girl power, but what I loved is that we saw not teenaged girls but middle aged women like Robin Wright kicking ass. Even the villain was played by an older actor than one might have expected. This movie broke the mold in so many ways!

 I've been pretty meh about the last couple of Pixar movies that have come out so I had to be talked into going to Coco it's opening weekend. I'm so glad I was! It was vibrant, heartfelt movie all about the importance of family. The animation was stunningly gorgeous and it delivered a few laughs as well. I would highly recommend going to see it.

Thor: Ragnarok was everything I wanted Guardians of the Galaxy 2 to be. It was hilarious and full of action. I love that they finally embraced ridiculous Thor and ran with it. This movie was just so much fun! I came out of the theaters with a happy heart and a huge grin. And it made me excited for Marvel movies again.

your name. was the movie I was dying to see this year. I follow a lot of anime accounts who did nothing but rave about how good this movie was in 2016. And I knew I had to see it when it beat out Spirited Away for the highest grossing animated movie in Japan. And it was absolutely delightful! The animation was gorgeous and the story was amazing and really emotionally engaging. I didn't see the twist coming. If you love Miyazaki, you'll probably love this movie too.

I have been looking forward to The Last Jedi from the moment I walked out of the theater for The Force Awakens. I went and saw it opening night and it was everything I wanted it to be! It was also funnier than I thought it would be. I'm not going to say anything more about it since it's just out. Just know that I loved it a lot. And that I need more Rose in my life. I totally bought a few of the newer Star Wars books so I can know more of the backstory of a few of the characters.

Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast was on my list of movies to see this year and I went opening weekend. I'm a huge fan of the Broadway musical and the animated movie and I loved this just as much. I liked that the writers tried to fill in a bit more about Belle's and the Beast's backstories. I loved the costumes and the story line! And I know this is not a popular opinion but I really liked the soundtrack. I've played "Evermore" and "Days in the Sun" more times than I want to admit this year. 


The Star Wars movies have been on TV a lot the last few months since everyone's getting excited about The Last Jedi. I've watched The Clone Wars animated series and Rebels in the last year so I'm enjoying having more puzzle pieces to fit together. And there are even a few things I like about the prequels, mostly Yoda and Ewan McGregor.


I know Harry Potter weekend is not new this year, but I've caught it a lot more often. (Even though I have the DVDs it never occurs to me to play them.) My daughter's also started paying attention to the movies when they're on and asking questions about the world so I'm getting to introduce it to her.


Howl's Moving Castle is an older movie but I finally got to see it in theaters thanks to the Studio Ghibli Film Festival that has been going on. It's my all-time favorite Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli film and it was even more epic on the big screen. Seeing it was everything I wanted it to be. The animation was gorgeous and the experience was amazing! I got to see it with some friends who had never seen it before and I loved watching them fall in love with Howl and Sophie! I have a goal now to see all of my favorite Miyazaki films in theaters.

One of the other things that makes us happy is giving presents, so we've got a present for one of you. We're giving away a Superhero prize pack that includes a signed copy of Renegades by Marissa Meyer, 12 Days of Superhero Socks, a Wonder Woman Pop! pen and sticky notes, a Black Widow Lip Smacker, and a Spider Girl tattoo.
(U.S. only)

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