Bookish Item| Top 10 Backlist Books We Read In 2017

We have read a lot of good books this year, so trying to make a Top 10 is a disaster. To make it a bit easier, we have divide the lists we are making. Today you read our Top 10 books published before 2017 – also known as backlist book. Tomorrow you guys get a list of our favorites that were published this year. Time to show you all some of our favorites.

Candyce

These books are all amazing, so they aren’t in a particular order of how much I like them.

1. Emergence – S.G.D. Singh If you have been following us you know we are big fans of this trilogy. We had the honor of reading all three books to review. These books are very unique and the author is really sweet. If you want to read our reviews you can find them here: book 1, book 2 and book 3.

2. Archer’s Voice – Mia Sheridan This book was published here this year and Dutch and I heard a lot of good things about it. This was such an emotional story. Archer hasn’t had an easy life and to see him finally have someone that is willing to give him the attention he has wanted all of his life. Mia Sheridan has a beautiful way of telling stories. I definitely want to read more by her in the near future.

3. The Raven Boys – Maggie Stiefvater Isabelle actually recommended these books to me. There was a buddyread in a Facebook group I’m in, so I decided it was the perfect time to give it a try. It took me a bit to get into the book, but I was really impressed by the end. I read The Dream Thieves right after this one and loved that one as well. The last two books are on my list for next year.

4. A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab This is a trilogy I saw everywhere the last couple of years and I was really curious. Isabelle was a big fan, haha, and once again she got me to be curious about this book. I read it this summer and it was a book I read in no time at all. It’s such an interesting story and world and I have been wanting to continue reading this trilogy, but other books keep getting in the way, haha.

5. The Deal – Elle Kennedy This is another series I saw all around me in different groups. And I can say that I am very happy that I decided to read these. The humor and the love stories are amazing and I just couldn’t get enough. The only book I still need to read is The Goal, but I kind of don’t want it to end, haha.

6. Scoring Wilder – R.S. Grey This is another author who knows how to write a good romance. The characters are amazing, tons of humor and Liam is just wow! I did a buddy read of this with a friend and almost all romances we read now, the male main character is compared to Liam, haha.

7. Slammed – Colleen Hoover I am definitely a fan of Colleen Hoover and there hasn’t been a book I have read by her that hasn’t made me cry. She knows how to write emoional rollercoasters, but the books are beautiful. This is a trilogy I read earlier this year and was done within a week. I really recommend this book to everyone!

8. Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor Yet again another author that created an amazing and unique world. I have never read a story like this before. It is a story that you need to really focus on. A lot happens, but it’s so good. Next year I really need to read the last book. I’m starting to sound like a broken record.

9. Full Measures – Rebecca Yarros She is another author that really knows how to write emotional books and has made me cry with her books. A friend of mine is completely in love with these books and keeps saying that I need to read the other three. I don’t know if my heart can handle them though.

10. The Naturals – Jennifer Lynn Barnes When I read this was a Young Adult version of Criminal Minds I was sold, haha. I have read three out of the four books and I love how these are written. It feels like you’re there with the characters. Once again, the last book is on my list to read next year.

Isabelle

Quite some of the books I’ve read this year have been books that were published before 2017 (61 if I counted correctly…), so narrowing it down to just 10 was pretty brutal… This list isn’t really in order, it’s from the latest I read this year to the first. Here we go!

Truthwitch – Susan Dennard

This was my most recent read! I had this book on my shelf for about half a year and when Willemijn (one of our bookbuddies) got this book for Sinterklaas it was the perfect time to do a buddy read. I loved that we did that, I might’ve waited for quite a while to read this book and that would’ve been such a shame! It was pretty hard to get into the book as there were so many words I didn’t understand, all ‘made up’ words that were part of this intriguing world Susan created. But once I got used to them and I got more invested in the story I read it quicker and quicker! I loved it a lot and this is absolutely a new favorite. I already own the second book and can’t wait to read it!

Descent – SGD Singh 

Candyce already talked about this series and like she said we have reviews for all three books. I picked the second one because this was where for me the series really took off. I enjoyed the first book but the series just got better with each book. I really hope SGD Singh will come back to this world at some point. She made some bold choices and I absolutely loved it. I can’t recommend this series enough, it might seem like a pretty generic urban YA fantasy at first but I promise you it isn’t!

 Snow Like Ashes – Sara Raasch

I’ve been looking longingly at these hardcovers for quite a while, and when Willemijn decided to sell them I knew what I had to do! I read the first one almost immediately and enjoyed it a lot. It’s not the most complex YA fantasy ever but the world is interesting and I really like the main character. I hope to read the next books in this series soon.

Until Friday Night – Abbi Glines 

This is actually the only contemporary on this list! As a massive fantasy fan it says quite a lot that a contemporary made my favorite list 😉 This book had been on my TBR for quite a while and I hope to read the next books in this series next year. I really enjoyed the sports aspect of this novel. It was a very emotional read and I liked that the problems the main characters had didn’t get solved simply by being in love. Instead they both were there for the other to find the strength and face their own issues.

 Poison Study – Maria V. Snyder

I had heard a lot about this series, everyone seemed to love it. So this summer I decided to pick it up and just flew through the whole series haha. It’s a great series with a great world. There are actually more books in this world, I hope to read those soon. There are amazing characters in these books and I loved the friendships and other relationships in this one most of all. The plot is definitely interesting and a bit creepy but the characters and their relationships is what made this such a great read.

The Last Ever After – Soman Chainani 

Oh how I loved the first book in this series! The second was pretty good as well and once I was absorbed by the third book I couldn’t put it down. This series is incredibly cute and seems quite fluffy but it has some really great messages for the reader and it does get pretty dark. If you’re a lover of fairytales (like me) you NEED to read this series. Another series in the same world just started, can’t wait to get my hands on that first book.

 Outlander – Diana Gabaldon

Another book that had been on my TBR for quite a while. Willemijn really loves this series (or at least the first 3 books haha) and one day I decided it was time to pick up this book. I enjoyed it so much! It is a pretty big book though and it took me while to read, that’s the reason I haven’t read the rest yet. I have started the second book and will finish it next year. I liked Claire and her resourcefulness a lot, I hope her character stays that way. Jamie is very swoon worthy and I like that he’s pretty openminded compared to the time they live in.

Air Awakens – Elise Kova 

Another book everyone seemed to love. I loved the cover but the books in this series are pretty expensive since Elise is a self-publishing author. I did decide to pick up her book at some point since everyone seemed to like it so much. The main characters were a lot of fun and the magic was interesting. I enjoyed reading about this world and I can’t wait to see where the rest of the books will take us.

 Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor

Another one that is on both Candyce’s and my list, we did a buddy read of this book with our group of bookish friends in February. I wasn’t really interested in these books at first, mostly because I hated the cover I saw everywhere. However there was another cover that I loved and I got all three of the books right away. I still need to read the third book and have been putting it off for way to long. Hopefully next year though!

A Torch Against the Night – Sabaa Tahir 

And last but most definitely not least, the second book in the Ember series. This was the first or second book I read this year and I loved it! It was quite emotional and never went the direction I expected it to go. I enjoyed the setting and the world a lot, it was very brutal but that usually makes for a good fantasy 😉 I’m happy we’re getting the third book this year and we get to continue this series!

Those were our favorite backlist books we read this year! Tell us yours in the comments. Did you read any of these books? And what did you think of it?