Random Musings of a Bibliophile

First you get my top 10 of the year regardless of age category. Followed by that I have top 10 lists broken down by age. These are purely and simply my favorite reads of the year. Not all books are 2016 releases. Links are to my reviews. Top 10 Reads of 2016 The Black Hawk  by Joanna Bourne (adult; historical romance) Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina (young adult, historical fiction) Earth Bound by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner (adult; historical romance) Exit, Pursued by a Bear  by E.K. Johnston (young adult; contemporary fiction) The Left-Handed Fate  by Kate Milford (middle grade; fantasy) A Little Taste of Poison by R.J. Anderson (middle grade; fantasy) Rose & Thorn by Sarah Prineas (young adult; fantasy) Secrets of the Dragon Tomb  by Patrick Samphire (middle grade; science-fiction/fantasy) Some Kind of Happiness by Clarie Legrand  (middle grade; contemporary fiction) When I Was the Gre...

It is time for the Quarterly Review Round-Up where I talk about the best of the best, the one's I couldn't finish, and the adult novels I'm reading that I don't review here. The DNFs (links to my reasons why-if I shared them-on Goodreads): I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You  by Ally Carter School of the Dead   by Avi Adult Books (links to reviews on Goodreads): The Catching Kind  by Catie Quinn (contemporary romance) The Courage of Eli Jackson  by Kelly Hunter (contemporary romance) The Engagement Game  by Jenny Holiday (contemporary romance) A Family for Christmas   by Noelle Adams (contemporary romance) Reunited with her Cowboy  by Genevieve Turner (contemporary romance) Round Midnight  by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner (historical romance) You Had Me At Christmas by Various (contemporary Christmas romance anthology) The Best of the Best (the 4.5/5 star reads): The Evil Wizard Sm...

Here are some shorter musings on some recent reads. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristof I thoroughly enjoyed Ezra and Kady (particularly Ezra). They are fabulous main characters. I enjoyed their banter and how much the cared about each other even though that was often hard. The format of the book makes it rather easy and quick to read despite its bulk and I thought it was a clever way to tell the story. However, it still could have been about 200 pages shorter. It has a lot of humor and excellent themes. I'm going to keep reading the trilogy because I do want to find out how this all sorts itself out in the end. The Kidney Hypothetical by Lisa Yee I looked forward to reading this for a while and was so disappointed. Higgs is an awful human being and Monarch is as stereotypical manic-pixie-dream girl as you can get. I kept waiting or Yee to subvert these characterizations and do something clever with the plot but that didn't happen. I'm personally disappointed...

Top Ten Tuesday  is a Meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish This week's TTT topic: Books for Christmas Usually when I do this post, I only do books I'm giving the kids in my life for Christmas. This year I'm including four I desperately want at the end. For Bit (age 12): For LM (age 8): For the Niece (age 4; ALMOST 5): For Nephew (age 1):  (Ummm...I THINK these are the ones I got him. Maybe? I wrapped them and mailed them a while ago so possibly they are different. But two from this series definitely.) What I Want: You know how they've been slowly redoing all of Diana Wynne Jones's books in the UK and they are amazing? Well they finally did the Dalemark Quartet and LOOK AT THEM. This series has needed amazing covers for a looooonnnnggg time. I love them all but especially Drowned Ammet and The Spellcoats . They are so beautiful. What books are you gifting or longing for this holiday season?