As promised here is part 2 of my best books of 2016! This time around I’m doing books I loved and read this year that were NOT published in 2016.
Also as with the other post these are in no particular order and I will leave links to my full reviews if I have them!
11.) The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
This is an excellently written historical fiction/horror combo and when I say well written I mean the writing is definitely one of the best parts. Plus it’s got monsters, awesomely creepy and horrifying monsters!
You can read my full review of “The Monstrumologist” here.
10.) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
I don’t think I need to even explain this do I? A group of criminals in a wonderful fantasy world plan and execute a heist, how the heck does this NOT sound awesome? Because it is!
You can read my full review of “Six of Crows” here.
9.) Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
This was a fun, entertaining, and light-hearted read that is full of awesome art and humor too! I adore this book it’s definitely my all time favorite graphic novel.
You can read my full review of “Nimona” here.
8.) Through the Woods by Emily Caroll
This is a quick and super creepy graphic novel full of short stories with some great art. When I say creepy I mean creepy too!
You can read my full review of “Through the Woods” here.
7.) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
This is probably the best sci-fi book I’ve ever read and it has everything! A cool formatting, space viruses, crazy AIs, and just overall space epicness.
You can read my full review of “Illuminae” here.
6.) The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
This book was definitely a huge surprise for me since the covers made me expect some light, fluffy YA Fantasy book which wasn’t the case at all. I especially loved Kestrel the main character because she’s definitely not your ordinary YA heroine!
You can read my full review of “The Winner’s Curse” here.
5.) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Not only does Laini Taylor have the some of the most beautiful writing but this is just such a great, unique, story. The mythology and world building is seriously fantastic as well.
You can read my full review of “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” here.
4.) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Yet another really surprising book for me since it seems almost every YA paranormal book is disappointing to me, I’m glad that wasn’t the case with this one. I loved how mysterious and driving the story-line was and all of the characters are just…wonderful.
You can read my full review of “The Raven Boys” here.
3.) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
This is the book that officially made Jay Kristoff one of my favorite authors and made me want to get my hands on all of his books. For me this is how you write fantasy books perfectly. Great world building, mythology, characters, and mind-blowing plot twists!
You can read my full review of “Stormdancer” here.
2.) Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics
I don’t think there are enough GOOD AND ACTUALLY SCARY YA Horror books out in the world but this is one of the few. It’s short, terrifying, and has a few great twists as well…..but mostly it’s just terrifying.
You can read my full review of “Daughters Unto Devils” here.
1.) Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi
This is a middle grade graphic novel series that is just as fun to read as an adult, trust me! It’s a mix of fantasy and a bit of sci-fi as well and the overall story line is very compelling and fun to read through.
I’m hoping to have a review up for Volumes 1-7 soon as well!
What were some of your favorite backlist reads in 2016?
Were there any that were disappointing for you?
Have you read any of the books on this list?
Let me know in the comments!
thesassygeek.wordpress.com 
A lot of the books that you loved I loved too! I haven’t read any of Jay Kristoff’s books other than Illuminae, but I definitely want to try Stormdancer.
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Awesome, we must have excellent taste haha! I think if you liked Illuminae you’ll like Stormdancer especially if the bits in Illuminae that you enjoyed a lot were the action and plot twists and such since I think that was a lot of Kristoff’s contribution. 😊
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Ah! The Monstrumologist. Such a good read. I’m kinda curious about Six of Crows these days. Hearing about it often makes me want to try it.
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Definitely, I feel like the Monstrumologist is kind of an underrated book that needs more love.
I personally liked Six of Crows even though I didn’t like Shadow and Bone by the same author. I thought it was written much better and even if you don’t enjoy it I’d still love to hear your thoughts on it! 😊
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Chances are I’ll read Six of Crows sometime this year.
I’d love to see the Monstrumologist as a movie. When I saw Fantastic Beasts, it made me realize Monstrumologist would make an awesome, dark movie or even TV series.
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It definitely would! I also think that’s really interesting FBAWTFT made you think of it but now that I think of it they are pretty similar! 🙂
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I read Illuminae, but I was disappointed by it. I really loved how original the format was, but the content just enough bored me.
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I had a few issues with it too but I definitely agree that the formatting is super original! Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it more though.
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I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone thisnyear and fell in love! You are right, she definitely has the ability to write beautifully 😉
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Glad you loved it too! The writing is one of the best parts, I have yet to read anything else like it! 😊
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I read the mustromologist this summer. It was really good. Did you read the rest of the series?
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I glad you liked it I feel it’s a book that’s under appreciated! I haven’t read the entire series but I did read the sequel and enjoyed it just as much if not a little more so it’s worth continuing I think! 😊
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Ok tanks I haven’t had a chance to get the sequel yet but I’ll make sure it’s toward the top of my list 🙂
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I read Nimona, Illuminae and The Raven Boys in 2016 too and loved them!
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They’re definitely amazing books, so glad you enjoyed them too! 😊
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There are sooooo many of my favourites on here!! I loooooved Amulet. I think I’m up to volume 5! Also yessss Nimona, The Raven Boys and Illuminae!! I really need to read Daughters Unto Devils!
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Just so you know Amulet Vol. 7 I think has the worst cliffhanger haha! I can’t wait for the next one to release now! 😁
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Great list! I also read The Raven Boys this past year, and was pleasantly surprised by it! I loved the first three, but have yet to read the 4th book.
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Thank you! I’m glad you liked The Raven Boys too I figured it’d be so full of the usual YA paranormal romance type tropes that I’d hate it but that was not the case at all luckily! I’m also happy to hear that the 3rd book is as great as the first 2! 😁
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I got The Raven Boys for Christmas, even though I’ve been sceptical about it, especially because I wasn’t a fan of Stiefvater’s first series, so to hear you enjoyed it gives me hope as I’m often disappointed by paranormal YA too!
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Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it! I definitely was skeptical with it at first too since like I said I find YA paranormal books to be so clichéd but that wasn’t the case at all for me with this one! So hopefully you’ll enjoy it too! 😁
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I’m really happy to see The Monstrumologist, Six of Crows, Nimona and Through the Woods on your list!! I really enjoyed all four of those books as well. 😀
And I really want to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, The Raven Boys and something by Jay Kristoff (though I don’t know with which one to start). Great list! 🙂
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Thanks Anna I’m glad you enjoyed all of those as well and I feel like Monstrumologist definitely doesn’t get enough love!
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Daughter of Smoke and Bone and any Kristoff book! Especially the Kristoff books though haha I feel like not enough people have read his other books! 🙂
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