The Best Books I Read in 2017

Hello readers!

These are the books I’ve read throughout the year which have left a strong impression on me, for one reason or another. Although many of those were published this year, I’ve decided against writing a post on the best books published this year, since it would be a much shorter assortment of books to choose from.

Best Contemporary Novels

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng was the novel I looked forward the most to reading this year and it didn’t disappoint! She has amazed me with Everything I Never Told You and this novel blew my mind and kept me turning pages. This novel deals with racism, privilege, sexism and prejudice. Celeste has officially made it to my auto-buy list and she definitely helped me start reading contemporaries.

Young Jane Young impressed me so much, too! I knew Gabrielle Zevin’s writing from another book I read by her, and this one is so absolutely amazing! Definitely a great feminist book, telling the story of a girl who becomes national news after being caught as the lover of a famous politician. It made me so angry, but also so emotional. Amazing book!

Books That Came Out In 2017 I Have Yet To Read

Hi bookworms!

The end of the year is here and there’s no way I can read everything that came out this year, because this year was fabulous for the reading world, so much good stuff came out and honestly, I could spend the year just reading new releases and would not run out of things to read. I am pretty sure this list is incomplete, but that is what I came up with after racking my brain!

Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman

Goodreads

I have never read a book by Neil Gaiman before. There, I said it! Among all the stuff he wrote, this one really called my attention – my knowledge of Norse mythology is very superficial but I find it very interesting and I think this book will be a great way to get introduced to his work. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with this theme before, and this cover is SO gorgeous! I also have my eye on American Gods, Coraline and Neverwhere, but I need to start somewhere and I think this one is perfect. 

Birthday and Christmas Book Haul!

Hello bookworms!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! This is definitely my favorite time of the year, with all the excessive food, the loud talking after some glasses of wine, the cheerful spirits of it, the fairy lights, the gifts under the tree! My family is very fond of Christmas, so we always try to get together and open gifts on the 24th and spend the 25th playing, resting, eating leftovers and generally nursing the hangover after a hectic Christmas.

Awesome Bookish Stuff That Happened this Year

Dear bookworms!

It’s Christmas! I hope you’re all comfy and had way too much food and have a lazy happy smile on you faces! I LOVE Christmas, so I wish a happy holiday to all of you!  ❤ Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, whether you’re having a white Christmas or like me, a beach-weather one (I’m in Brazil!), it’s always a great time to see family, friends, get gifts or simply enjoy some peace and quiet (unless you have a Latino family, that is).

In this spirit of cheer and candy, I decided to write a cheerful post, with some awesome bookish stuff that happened this year to me! It’s nothing too grand, really, just small things I am happy about.

My life in Books (It’s My Birthday!)

Hello bookworms!

It’s my birthdaaaay! Yayy!

And because I’m travelling right now and going to watch Star Wars VIII and eat lots of cake while contemplating my mortality, I decided it would be fun to do this tag! Because I’m a strong, independent woman I tagged myself (also it’s my birthday), and thought it would be fun doing a tag that is both more personal and bookish (like me!! The Birthday Girl!!)

1. Find a book for each of your initials

Nevernight, by Jay Kristoff

A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas

To The Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

Adulthood is a Myth, Sarah’s Scribbles

Leia, Princess of Alderaan

Inside Out And Back Again, Thanhha Lai

Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

Guess who only realized “Initials” and “Name” aren’t the same word only after answering this. Oh, well!

ARC Review: Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genres: Mystery, Crime

Goodreads / Amazon

I have received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was among the first books I received from Netgalley a few months ago, and it took me a while to read it, for the simple fact that I couldn’t connect to the story. It was a quite interesting premise – a double murder only two days apart from each other in a small town in East Texas where racism is rampant and justice is dealt in dubious ways. Ranger Darren Mathews is suspended, but he knows is aware of how crime is dealt with in those places, and decides to take matters in his own hands to find out who killed those people and how the murders are connected.

Review: Young Jane Young, by Gabrielle Zevin

Rating: ★★★★★

Genres: Contemporary fiction

Goodreads / Amazon

Young Jane Young was one of my most expected books of this year, I love Gabrielle Zevin’s writing and the story of this book just caught my eye immediately.

This is the story of Aviva Grossman, an ambitious girl who starts working as an intern to the Congressman she admires the most. She has plans for her future and loves to work in politics – but she makes the mistake of having an affair with the Congressman. While he escaped with his reputation almost untouched, Aviva’s life was destroyed. No one will employ her, date her and she falls into depression. She decides to change her name and move to a small town to start over – but when she decides to run for mayor of the city, her past catches up with her.

ARC Review: Dead Man’s Chest, by Kerry Greenwood

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genres: Crime, Historical Fiction

Goodreads / Amazon

I have received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries series, as I have expressed before in this review. Miss Fisher is outspoken, fearless, very talented, sharp tongued, feminist, gloriously elegant and very sassy – I love her personality!

Dead Man’s Chest is the story of Miss Fisher, Dot, Ruth and Jane going on vacation at the seashore. They’ve rented a house, but once they get there, the butler and his wife are nowhere to be found and lots of things are missing – there’s no food, some vases and paintings have been moved, doors are unlocked with no sign of forced entry… while trying to enjoy their vacation as best as they can, Miss Fisher will also have to find the missing couple and solve the mystery.

Winter & Christmas Book Recommendations

Hello bookworms!

so, the colder months are here, and thus we sink deeper and deeper into our couches, under fluffy blankets, hot beverage on one hand, a book on the other. Grab your Butterbeer and come check out some books recommendations that will be perfect for the cold months!

ARC Review: Depression & Other Magic Tricks, by Sabrina Benaim

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Non-fiction, Poetry, Mental Health

Goodreads / Amazon

I have received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had read that this book was a collection of poems about depression, love and heartbreak, and normally I don’t love poetry much, so I hesitated for a long time before getting it. Still, I’d forgotten it was a poem collection when I got this book in Netgalley, and the first poem threw me off: I’m not a fan of modern-looking poems which read like a stream of thoughts, stressful and not entirely constructed to make sense to a reader outside of the author’s head. So I glared a bit at the book and mentally scowled at myself for having gotten it. Then I kept turning pages.