Of course I need to rant and rave about my best books of 2016 so I’ll be doing this in 2 parts. Part 1 will be the best books that were released in 2016 and Part 2 will be the best books I read this year that were published before 2016!
Keep in mind that these are ordered by the dates I read them (oldest to newest) and NOT by favorites, I love all of these books!
I also will link up full reviews for these books if I have them since I won’t be spending too much time going into detail about all of these (there are quite a few!).
13.) The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine
A very unique and refreshing YA Fantasy book with a very interesting magic system. Also the world building and characters are great as well, the pacing got a bit slow sometimes but that’s about my only complaint!
You can read my full review of “The Impostor Queen” here.
12.) The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
An excellent mystery/thriller that gets pretty dark and twisted for a YA book not to mention it’s totally unpredictable making it for one of my favorites.
You can read my full review of “The Darkest Corners” here.
11.) The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
An absolutely fantastic retelling of the Aladdin story along with some of the most gorgeous writing I’ve ever read. I think of this book as I kind of hidden gem since a lot of people haven’t read it.
You can read my full review of “The Forbidden Wish” here.
10.) With Malice by Eileen Cook
Another twisted YA mystery/thriller book where the main character wakes up with amnesia making it a lot of fun to read through and had some great plot twists. Plus I really love when books are set in Italy which this book’s flashbacks do.
You can read my full review of “With Malice” here.
9.) Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
One of my new all time favorite books (and authors) I loved this book for it’s beautiful writing, fantastic world-building, and a downright dirty, gritty, dark, and twisted storyline.
You can read my full review of “Nevernight” here.
8.) And I Darken by Kiersten White
This book has one of the most badass female protagonists that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about, Lada is awesome! Also how can you resist a book that’s a gender swapped Vlad the Impaler retelling? This is very character driven and all of the characters are interesting and complex and very fun to read about.
You can read my full review of “And I Darken” here.
7.) My Lady Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows
This book is charming, silly, and just plain wonderful. It’s a historical retelling of the Lady Jane Grey (or the Nine Day Queen) and it is just so hilarious, light-hearted, and very fun!
You can read my full review of “My Lady Jane” here.
6.) Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
A beautiful book both inside and out full of magic and a kind of dark, twisted version of Wonderland. I loved this book for said magic and the fact that’s it’s something so unique and rarely seen in YA books, I also love the strong family dynamic.
You can read my full review of “Labyrinth Lost” here.
5.) Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West
If there is going to be one true hidden gem of a book that was released this year it’s this one, you all seriously need to read this beauty! We have an original fantasy world complete with magic, world building, and one evil villain and it also includes retellings of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, and Jane Austen’s Emma as well.
You can read my full review of “Kingdom of Ash and Briars” here.
4.) And The Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich
First of all…just look at that cover! This is also one of the creepiest books I’ve read and it also really messes with your mind, in a good way that is. I love horror books and it takes quite a bit to get the hair on my neck to rise in terror and this book definitely had these moments!
You can read my full review of “And The Trees Crept In” here.
3.) This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston
A surprisingly great YA mystery/thriller that actually breaks the mold, it’s definitely not like others that I have read that’s for sure! You also won’t see these twists coming!
You can read my full review of “This Is Our Story” here.
2.) Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Probably the most surprising book for me this year since I did not enjoy Meyer’s book “Cinder” at all and here I am loving this book to bits and pieces. An origin story for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland and it’s sure to be a fun read for any Alice fan!
You can read my full review of “Heartless” here.
1.) The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
This was slow to start but then turned into something absolutely epic! Political intrigue, a badass heroine, a romance that I shipped so hard, and plenty of action! This was a seriously amazing book and I’m hoping to have my full review up soon.
What new releases did you read this year?
Which ones did you like and/or dislike?
Have you read any of these 2016 releases?
Let me know in the comments!
I have to add Labyrinth Lost to my TBR!!
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Ooh so many on here I want to read here!! I love the sound of diabolic and the forbidden wish!! Great post!
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Thank you and I hope you enjoy those books I thought they were both absolutely fantastic! 😊
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You’re welcome! Thank you!! 🙂
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Have been dying to read Heartless and Forbidden Wish. Cover love ❤️😍😂
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Yes both of those covers are so pretty and the insides are as well, haha! They’re both fantastic retellings, hope you enjoy! 😊
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I really need to read The Darkest Corner and With Malice!! I loved Labyrinth Lost. I’m really excited to see what’s going to happen in the next book.
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Both of those are great YA thrillers and I’m excited for the Labyrinth Lost sequel as well like you said to see what they’re going to do next! Hopefully it will improve upon some of the issues I had with the first book! 😊
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Yes! I’m really hoping there’s a lot of character development, because it felt a bit flat in the first book.
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Well I just added a ton of books to my nook wishlist haha
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Haha I always love to hear I’m enabling other reader’s TBRs 😁
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This just added to my need to read Heartless. It sounds so good!!
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Awesome, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 😁
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So many of the books you listed here are on my TBR. Seems like I’m going to have to do some serious reading this year! 😀
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Hope you enjoy them as much as I did! I also have tons of reading to catch up on including 2016 releases I didn’t get to last year! 😁
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Thanks! 😊
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I really enjoyed The Diabolic!! But hmmm too release of 2016 is so hard to choose!! I adored Elite by Mercedes Lackey, but it’s book 2 of a series 😊
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Glad you enjoyed the Diabolic too, I was really impressed with it. I actually have Hunter on my TBR and have yet to read it but hey I at least know what series you are talking about, haha! 😁
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OMG YAAAAAAYYY!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 I hope you read it and adore that series too!
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I absolutely must read Labyrinth Lost now — I kept seeing the cover, but hadn’t convinced myself to get it since my local library doesn’t have it yet. My favorite release of 2016 was Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard, mostly because I read it and Red Queen in the same week.
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It’s definitely a great book and I hope you enjoy reading it when you can get your hands on a copy!
I have Red Queen on my TBR so I’m glad to here you enjoyed both of them! 😁
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