I love looking back on the previous year and remembering the books that brought me so much pleasure. So in the interests of sharing, these are my favourite books for 2016…
Category Romance
I had two favourite category romances. They’re both from the Romance / Cherish / Forever line, but they’re also very different in tone and theme. The first I read in January: Jessica Gilmore’s PROPOSAL AT THE WINTER BALL (fabulous friends to lovers story). The second I read in July: Marion Lennox’s HIS CINDERELLA HEIRESS (and as the title says, it’s a perfect Cinderella story). Such utterly wonderful and heartfelt stories!
Honourable mentions include: Rachel Bailey’s THE FINN FACTOR, Cathryn Hein’s SANTA AND THE SADDLE, and Annie West’s THE DESERT KING’S SECRET HEIR.
Oh, and gosh darn it! I want to also honourably mention Scarlet Wilson’s HIS LOST AND FOUND BRIDE, and Nikki Logan’s STRANDED WITH HER RESCUER. Both of these were seriously emotional reads.
Historical
I discovered Ashley Gardner’s CAPTAIN LACEY REGENCY MYSTERY SERIES last year, and I gobbled it up. It’s not just that the last time I was in London (in 2014) that I stayed in Drury Lane, and Captain Lacey lives just off Drury Lane, but the world Gardner creates and the community that forms around her eponymous hero is complicated, compelling and captivating.
Honourable mentions: Anne Gracie’s AUTUMN BRIDE
Favourite Non-Romance Book
Neil Gaiman’s THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE. My book group read this and it’s part fairy tale with a dash of horror and… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, but I loved it. It captures childhood perfectly. Plus there are great examples of female power—both good and bad—which I found hard to resist.
Honourable Mentions: DADDY LONG LEGS by Jean Webster HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE by Diana Wynne Jones and GOOD OMENS by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
Favourite Re-Read
Enid Blyton’s Mallory Towers: I hoovered these back like there was no tomorrow. I then went and read THE CHILDREN OF CHERRY TREE FARM. Seriously, Blyton is kiddie crack.
It’s so much fun looking back over the books that made me laugh, cry, and heave happy sighs, and also books that made me think…that stayed with me a long time. What about you—what were your standout reads in 2016?
That is an awesome list Michelle and there are some that I should add to my ever growing list LOL
ReplyDeleteChoosing best reads is one of the hardest things for me to do but I did it for a blog and truly there were so many more that I could have added I love category romance and there were time slip stories and erotic historical contemporary so many. I thank all of the authors who give me such fav stories :)
Have Fun
Helen
It's *really* hard, Helen! So many fabulous books to choose from. :-)
DeleteOh, and there are always books to add to the list isn't there? I love reading other's fave lists, but it always adds to my ever growing TBR pile.
I finally got around to the Jill Shalvis Lucky Harbour books, Michelle and read 6 in December :-) So you could say I'm loving them ;-)
ReplyDeleteAh, they're on my get-to-in-the-future-sometime list, AA. But 6 in one month! Maybe I need to bump up the list further. :-)
DeleteLOOOVE that series. I gobbled them up when I discovered them. Her recent Cedar Ridge trio was lovely too.
DeleteOoh, more recommendations! Thanks, Ally. :-)
DeleteI loved Mallory Towers. When we lived in South America, my best friend was sent back to England to boarding school and I read these books to imagine what her life was like.
ReplyDeleteI read so many great books last year, Michelle, but with this heat wave my mind is melted and I can't think straight.
I'm hearing you on the heatwave, Jen. I'm just grateful I wrote and loaded this post yesterday. ;-)
DeleteOh, and long live Mallory Towers! :-)
Michelle, how great that you've made a list of excellent books. I'm noting some of the titles, though some I know. 'Howl's Moving Castle' is my daughter's favourite, and I've been reading Connie Brockway again too, and just finished Cathryn Hein's 'Santa and the Saddler' - such a treat! So chuffed to see my Desert King and his Secret Heir made you happy!
ReplyDeleteHoping for a good year of reading ahead!
Connie Brockway was a real find this year, Annie. I'll have to explore her books further. And I'm sure more Diana Wynne Jones will feature in my future too. :-) I really enjoyed Cathryn's 'Santa and the Saddler' too -- it was *so* romantic.
ReplyDeleteAs for your Desert Kings -- what's not to love about your sheikhs? ;-)
Love "Ocean at the End of the Lane". My first Neil Gaiman. Isn't it weird and warm and wonderful?
ReplyDeleteIt was strange and magical and eerie and heartwarming! An extraordinary book, Ally. I need to read more Gaiman. :-)
DeleteI love seeing the 'best of 2016' type posts! I really need to read The Ocean at the End of the Lane - I've heard so many good things about it. Thanks for putting it back on my radar :)
ReplyDeleteMy top picks for 2016 (that I read in that year, not necessarily published then) were Wrong by Jana Aston (hilarious rom com NA read), Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (fantasy YA with a Russian bent) and Girl Underwater (survival drama with a very light love story). Highly rec all three!
I think you'd really enjoy the Gaiman, Stef. If you do read it, let us know what you think of it. :-)
DeleteLoving your top picks as I've not read any of those authors...but those books sound fab! Thanks for the recs. :-)
I love reading "favourite reads" list, even though it always adds to my considerable TBR pile...which I am trying to reduce. I also agree with how difficult it is to compile a favourites list. There is always that moment of, oh, but what about... Always so many wonderful books!
ReplyDeleteBut at the time I read them, in terms of enjoyment/pleasure at the time, these were my favourites read in 2016: Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series (Faithful Place was my favourite), The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, The Most Scandalous Ravensdale by Melanie Milburne, and After You by JoJo Moyes.