The Best of 2017


THE BEST BOOKS I READ IN 2017

After only reading 40 books in 2016, I was determined to read more in 2017.   At the beginning of the year, I set my Goodreads goal for 100 books.  Quickly I realized that was not a realistic goal especially after reading less than half of that the year before, so I changed my mind and reset it to 75.  I'm happy to say I met and surpassed my goal, finishing the year with 78 books read.  For me 2017 was a great year for reading.  Here is a breakdown of my reads:

★★★★★ - 4 Books

★★★★ - 35 Books

★★★ - 37 Books

★★ - 1 Book

For 2018, I've pledged to read 85 books.  I'm working my way up to 100.  So let's take a closer look at my favorites for the year!

FIVE STAR BOOKS

In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Nora Shaw has been invited to her "friend" Clare Cavendish's hen weekend(a bachelorette party). But Nora and Clare haven't spoken to each other in ten years and if their mutual friend Nina wasn't attending, then Nora sure as hell wasn't going to go. Nora doesn't even know who Clare is marrying. Arriving a a house made completely of glass in the middle of the woods, with snow on the ground and no cell reception, Nora instantly regrets her decision to come. When disaster strikes, despite Flo(the maid of honor) trying to make this the best hen weekend ever, Nora tries hard to remember exactly what happened, but it's difficult. Will she be able to put the pieces together before she is charged with a serious crime?

Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens
Lindsey and Sophie are mother and daughter. They live together in Dogswood Bay. Sophie is in here senior year in high school and Lindsey owns her own cleaning company. When Lindsey finds out that her ex-husband, Andrew is about to be released from prison after 10 years, she goes on the alert. He was very abusive and manipulative towards Lindsey, but Sophie wants her dad to be a part of her life. When things start to happen that can only be explained by Andrews controlling behavior, the pair try to hide from him in any way they can. Will they be able to stay away from him, or will he try to hurt Lindsey again?

A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
Karen and Tom Krupp have been married for two years and they are very much in love. When Tom comes home from work one night, he finds his front door unlocked and dinner half way done in the kitchen, but his wife and her car are no where to be found. After calling her best friend and neighbor Brigid and having no luck with where Karen, might be, Tom calls the police to report her missing. Shortly after, the police arrive at his door to let him know that Karen has been in a terrible accident and is in the hospital. Tom is instantly worried because none of these actions sound like his wife. But does Tom now Karen as well as he thinks? Is she keeping secrets from him?

Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy
Liv and Nora are cousins and practically sisters. They decide to take their families on a two week cruise down the coast of Central America. Both women cautious, they spend the first several days aboard the ship. When they finally decide to take an excursion, the men head for golf and the women take the kids on a zip line tour. This is when all hell breaks loose! From the bus breaking down, to six children going missing in a foreign country, this family vacation is definitely not going to plan. Told from the perspective of the children and the parents, as well other key characters that are introduced throughout, you dive deep into the story and it's hard to get drawn out!

My Four-Star Faves

The Wife Between Us by Sarah Pekkanen & Greer Hendricks 

An American Cage by Ted Galdi

All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig

Solo by Kwame Alexander & Mary Rand Hess

Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown

FAVORITE AUTHOR

I have enjoyed reading James Patterson books for a long time now.  I know a lot of people think his books are just cookie cutter these days.  He writes an outline and then another author does the hard work.  But I still enjoy his books and I will continue to read them.  I'm up to date on two of his series, The Women's Murder Club and NYPD Red.  It's so hard to keep up with his writing since he puts so many books a year.  With at least 17 books coming out this year alone, keeping up has proved to be challenging.  7% off the books I read this year were James Patterson books.  I hope to continue in my quest this year to read his standalone books and stay on top of the series I'm already reading.  I would also like to start the Alex Cross series again.  I've read a few of the books in the series but this was many years ago.  

Here are the 11 James Patterson books I read this year:

The Best James Patterson book of 2017:

The Black Book by James Patterson

Detective Billy Harney comes from a family of cops. His dad is a cop, the head of detectives and his twin sister is a cop. Billy likes to play by the rules, he's a good cop. When he takes down a brothel in the middle of Chicago filled with the city's most prominent people, the mayor, the arch bishop, etc., he is faced with a few difficult situations to get him through this arrest and trial. With the help from Goldie, a family friend and the head of Internal Affairs, Billy will get to the bottom of this case one way or another. But then those involved in the case end up dead, including himself, briefly, and his memory leading up to the trial is erased. Will he be able to find his memory before he is charged with the deaths? 

BINGE READING

In late October, I was determined to get caught up with the Helen Grace series.  I had a copy of Hide and Seek, which is the 6th book in the series, from First To Read.  When I was ready to read it, I found out I needed to catch up with the series, because the first paragraph had me confused.  Then I realized that I only had 16 days to read 5 books.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to Hide and Seek, but I did catch up with the remainder of the series.  Helen Grace Series

MOST VISITED POST IN 2017

I'm thankful for all the new followers I've received throughout the year and each person who takes a few minutes out of their life to read my posts.  The most visited post this year was from Hit The Ground Running by Mark Burley

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2018

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp -- January 2018

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn -- January 2018

Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse -- January 2018

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones -- February 2018

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeny -- March 2018

How To Walk Away by Katherine Center -- May 2018

Dreams of Falling by Karen White -- June 2018

Thank you to everyone for joining me on my blogging journey.  I hope to bring you more content this year and more reviews.  I plan to review more of the audiobooks I listen to, which I haven't done in the past.  What are your reading plans for 2018?  I would love to hear about them in the comments. 

HAPPY READIN'!!

August Readin' Roundup!!

Why Readin' didn't go as planned this month!!

After finishing almost 10 books in July, I was hoping that August would be the same way.  But such is not the case.  I did manage to finish 5 books this month.  Moving to a new home played a big part in my slow reading.  Plus, I'm not sure if it was the book I was reading during the move or just the move itself that slowed me down.  Overall, the books I read this month took me to different parts of the world.  I visited Africa, Australia, and a lot of the northeastern part of the United States.  I read a memoir, started a new series, and participated in the One Book, One Maryland reading program.  I only did 2 reviews on the blog this month.  I left out Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, since I read this while I was moving and I didn't feel as though I gave it my full attention.  Also, I don't do blog posts on audio books because I'm usually listening to them over an extended period and it's hard for me to give as rich detail to my review as that of a book I have read.  I do review all books on GoodReads though.  I gave one 4 star review and four 3 star reviews.

Best Book of the Month:

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker  

This is Wendy Walker's 2nd book and right now she is on my radar as an author whose books I will read without reading the description of the book.  She writes a really good psychological thriller that will have you guessing until the end.  If you haven't read either of her books yet, I suggest you do right away.  Her other book is All Is Not Forgotten.

The Other Books I Read in August:

Never Never by James Patterson  

This is a new series from James Patterson.  The main character is a female detective from Australia, Harriet "Harry" Blue.  Her back story will play a lot into future books in this series.  Her and her brother were tossed from foster home to foster home growing up. 

The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand  

Elin Hilderbrand writes a great summer novel.  So far I have listened to three of her books this year. She has a connection to the area I live in and the books make me want to visit Nantucket.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This was this years selection for the One Maryland, One Book program where the whole state reads the same book.  I have had a few of her books on my reading list for a while, but this is the first one I have read.   To find out more about the One Maryland, One Book Program and to find out  about meeting the author click here.

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

I think Anna Kendrick is best known for the Pitch Perfect movies.  My favorite movie of her is The Accountant.  This is her memoir of her life so far, how she became an actress living in Maine and all the gory details in between.  This book made me want to be her friend.

Overall not too bad a month for reading.  September is going to be better I know, I've already finished a book this month.  My birthday was yesterday and I got to go to the National Book Festival which I have been dying to do for years.  In honor of those last two events, I'm hosting a giveaway. Enter  for your chance to win

Order any of the books above by clicking their book covers below:

         

Review: Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cass and Emma are sisters. And like most sisters, some days they are best friends and some days they just aren't. But one thing that keeps them tethered to each other is their shared love/hate relationship with their mother. She is a narcissist and only praise of the utmost will allow her to bring her children any joy. Then the girls disappear and three years later Cass shows up at her mother's doorstep, demanding that they find Emma. Cass describes the place they had been living for the past three years and hopes that the FBI and investigators are able to find this mysterious island and Emma.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book started off a little slow for me. Hearing the background information about what happened before the disappearance, intertwined with what was going on now to describe the place the girls were being held, took up the first half of the book.  Told from the perspective of Cass, the youngest daughter and Dr. Winter the FBI Psychiatrist who did the initial investigation.  After that, the reading went by much faster when the twists and turns started to take place.

Cass and Emma have a mother who constantly needs to be told how beautiful she is and how good of a mother she is. The only problem is that she's not. But hearing these things make her feel good about herself and keep her children on her good side. When things don't go the way she wants, she punishes the girls in unspeakable manners. Buying one a gift the other wanted, favoring one child and ignoring the other. This is a family that has a lot of issues going on inside of their home. They way things are handled are completely out of spite for another member of the family. Although this book had a slow start, it really had a great ending. So stick with it if you have to and it will be well worth it.

Wendy Walker also wrote, All is Not Forgotten which was also a great book released last year. I look forward to what else Ms. Walker has in store.

See all my reviews at http://whatchatreadin.blogspot.com

Order a copy of this book by clicking the book cover below:
  

Review: All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Imagine if you could take a pill and forget a traumatic event in your life. Sounds great right? But what happens when you still feel the emotions tied to that event? And how do you deal with those emotions when you're not even sure why you have them. Months after Jenny Kramer is raped at a party, she starts to see Dr. Alan Forrester to help her deal with the emotions of the trauma. All Is Not Forgotten is told from the Doctor's perspective as he treats Jenny and her family.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

One thing that really struck me about this book, is the perspective it is written from. They say that all therapists have therapists and as a reader of this book, I felt like Dr. Forrester's therapist. You feel as though you are sitting across from him as he tells you the story from his point of view. He talks about Jenny's case, her parents and a couple of his other clients that are relevant to this story that takes place over the course of a year. From the time of Jenny's attack to the time her attacker is caught, you hear the story as it was told to him, by Jenny, her mother, her father, the police detective investigating the case, and even his own involvement in the situation apart from his care of Jenny.

This is a twisted story with lies and surprises around each corner. You never know who you can trust. Trying to attach Jenny's emotions to an event that has been eradicated from memory, is no easy task. Trying to avoid outward influences on the outcome of the situation and trying to make everyone understand that whatever is recovered can not be used in court stirs the emotions of all involved.

Released last year, but released this week in paperback, get your copy today!  Also Wendy Walker has released a new book this year called Emma In The Night released this week as well.  Look for my review to thatbook in a couple of weeks.

View all my reviews

Click the covers below to order copies of these books for yourself.