What I’ve Been Reading Lately: All The Remaining Books I Read In 2017 Edition

I was horrendous at talking about the books I read last year so I’m just going to go really quickly through some books I read in 2017 but didn’t talk about. I was just going to start fresh and then I kept feeling guilty at least not mentioning some of these books I read!

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

I received this book  from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear!

This was the first book I read postpartum and it was absolutely the right pick for me! I needed a really good adventure to dive into and this book was fantastic. Vivid world-building, time-traveling goodness, ships galore (real ships & like romantic ships!!). I am definitely going to be picking up book 2 soon because I cannot even fathom what kind of time-traveling shenanigans they will get into next.

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

I received this book  from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear! 

This was just one of those quietly beautiful books that I feel like got overlooked a lot last year! It’s not going to be one of those books that you can’t put down because it’s a page-turner but it’s one of those that you might just get lost in because of how Nina just draws you in with the atmosphere she builds and the unfurling of the relationship and all that happens on the page which collides with the very palpable emotions that come out of some of the most quiet moments of the book. I was captivated by this book in those quiet moments — the longing, the loneliness, the grief.

The Careful Undressing of Love by Corey Ann Haydu

I received this book  from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way swayed my opinion. Pinky swear! 

That moment when you go on to Goodreads to grab the book cover for a book that you REALLY loved only to see horrendously low Goodreads average for it. WHAT! It’s definitely one of those moments where I’m like…..I don’t understand?? I mean, for sure, this book was strange…but I thought it was like delightfully strange. I could not get enough of this book….like I said it was delightfully strange, haunting and quite magical. It had this dream-like quality to it that I can’t even explain and dammit now that I’m thinking about this book that I haven’t read since last Spring I want to reread it. It’s a bit magical realism if I could compare it to something (though I know that’s typically reserved for Latin American works). I was fascinated by this alternate America Corey built and I was obsessed with the celebrity of the Devonairre Girls. It’s about grief and love and friendship and girlhood. I am obsessed to be quite frank. It felt like NOTHING, and I mean nothing, I’ve ever read before.

 Roomies by Sara Zarr

I really enjoyed the format of this book and oh boy did it make me nostalgic for that summer before college where it feels like things are ending but also beginning. I knew my college roomie beforehand so I loved watching two girls get to know each other through emails and figure out just who that person they’d be sharing a room and life with really is. I loved each of their stories a lot and I loved how different they both were but they were able to find common ground slowly but surely.

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

Big Shondaland fan over here! I have loved her since the very beginning of Grey’s and have watched every show she’s done since. This book was inspiring and I LOVED learning more about Shonda the person who was a lot different than who I thought she was. It was also fun to get a little insider info behind some of my favorite shows and characters (although you definitely don’t HAVE to be a fan of the shows to read this book). I found the book really relatable and dog-eared quite a few passages!

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

I had this on my shelves for YEARS and decided I was going to try to get through some books that have been on there for a long time and I’m super glad I picked this one up! If you are in the mood for a historical mystery/coming of age story (set in 1906), I recommend picking this one up! I REALLY loved Mattie..she was such a great main character and how she works so hard to get closer to her dreams despite what life has given her. Plus she’s a reader and total word nerd! I loved her and Weaver and Mattie’s sisters. This is a gem of a book!

All The Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry

I listened to this one on audio and, while it took a little bit to get into, I was HOOKED. I was honestly kind of okay when I got stuck in traffic on my way home from work because I just wanted to keep listening. It’s definitely very unique and the setting feels like a Colonial/Puritan type setting though I don’t recall it ever being stated. I love how the story unfolded and we learned what happened to Judith who had been missing (with her best friend) for two years and only she returns unable to speak as her tongue had been mutilated. It was so hard to listen to how terrible she was treated — even by her own mother. I did love the relationship we saw grow between her and her brother. I’m SO glad I finally picked this one up! I mean, I was super pregnant at the time so the fact I WANTED to sit in my car any longer than I had to just to keep listening should tell you something!

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

I almost put this one down because I just could NOT get into it..but once I finally did I really ended up enjoying it and found it to be hard to put down! I loved the samuri world Renee created and Mariko was a clever badass who saved herself over and over again because of her brain…I mean seriously people wanted her dead!! I reallyyy enjoyed watching her disguise herself as a boy and join the Black Clan and I really loved getting to know more about them. The plot aligns in such great ways and I don’t want to give anything away! But woo boy I’m glad I didn’t put that one down!

Have you read any of these? What did you think?! Any of these going on your TBR? Tell me what you’ve been reading!

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