FAVOURITE READS OF TWENTY SEVENTEEN

☆ Autumn by Ali Smith
review
Sometimes, a book comes along that simply, unexpectedly, blows you away. Other than a beautiful cover, and my favourite season for a title, I knew very little about the content of this novel before reading it. Never having read an Ali Smith book before, I was unsure of what I would think of her writing style. After closing the final page of this book, Ali Smith’s entire works found their way into my TBR! This is a melancholic, yet hopeful examination of post-Brexit Britain, and it was done thoughtfully and with just the right amount of wit. It was easily my favourite read of the year.

☆ Caraval by Stephanie Garber
review
Caraval was pure fun to read. It felt like a Night Circus meets Professor Layton mash-up – in the best possible way. Not often do I finish a book and want to open it up and start again immediately, but this was one of those books. I’ve already planned my re-read to prepare for the release of the sequel in 2018.

☆ Magic with Skin On by Morgan Nikola-Wren
review
2018 has been a year of discovering lots of modern free-verse poetry. I think I’ve read seven or eight new collections (much more than my usual one or two poetry books a year). So I’m saying a lot when I say that Magic with Skin On was my favourite poetry collection of the year. This collection of poetry and prose was moving, lyrical and utterly breath-taking in its crafting of language. It has become the poetry book I recommend to all, whether poetry reader or not.

☆ A Million Worlds With You by Claudia Gray
review
This was one of the first books I read in 2017, so it clearly stuck with me
throughout the year. A Million World With You is the conclusion to one of my recent favourite sci-fi series, and it was so refreshing to read a final book that satisfied every loose end, character arc, relationship and still kept me on my toes.

☆ Of Dreams and Rust by Sarah Fine
The sequel and conclusion to the Of Metal and Wishes duology; a steam-punk Phantom of the Opera retelling (yes, it is very cool). I enjoyed the first book, but the sequel made these books into some of my favourites. The characters were wonderful, and their development in this second book was brilliant. The exploration of culture and war was so interesting when set against a steam-punk backdrop.

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What were your favourite reads of the year? Let me know in the comments!

CHRISTMAS BOOK HAUL

Books usually make up a large proportion of my Christmas gifts. This year, I had asked for only one. Which turned into two. Which turned into five. You can relate, right!?

At least I’m putting some new shelves up soon, and will be able to fit all of the extras into my little room without doing the annual book clear-out (don’t make me give away any more books!).

I thought I’d share which books I received with you, and tell you why I asked for each one.

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