my favorite books of 2016!

It’s been a few years since I wrote my roundup of favorite books of the year, and I decided it was time to revive the tradition. I read about seventy-five books this year and enjoyed almost all of them, but I limited my favorites to twelve (one per month). My list includes books I read in 2016, but they weren’t necessarily released in 2016. For one thing, I spend so much money on my reading addiction, I often wait for books to come on sale before I purchase them to keep expenses reasonable. Additionally, my TBR includes more than a hundred books and it sometimes takes me a year to read from the time I bought. Now that my disclaimer is out of the way, I present to you, my 2016 favorites list:

My Not So Perfect Life (chick lit) – Sophie Kinsella. This book won’t be published until 2017, but I was fortunate to get an ARC from Netgalley. I loved it. It was deeper than her other books, but still so funny and charming and everything you’d expect from Sophie Kinsella.

Tell me Three Things – (contemporary YA) Julie Buxbaum. I loved everything about this novel. In fact, I love everything Julie Buxbaum writes. This was another book I couldn’t put down, but didn’t want to finish.

tell-me-three-things

Bond Girl (chick lit) – Erin Duffy –Bond Girl is for 2016 what Party Girl was in 2015 – my favorite chick lit book of the year. From page one, I was drawn in and tearing through the pages like each one contained the secret of life.

Wake-up Call (chick lit) – Amy Avanzino – I am so happy to have discovered this new voice in women’s fiction. This book had all of the feels – funny, sentimental, sad, and romantic. Wake-Up Call struck the perfect balance between humor and depth and I highly recommend it

You (thriller/suspense) – Caroline Kepnes – Creepy, sexy, and Oh so good.

you

The Wedding Sisters (women’s fiction) – Jamie Brenner – The content inside the book matched the beautiful cover. I loved it! As the youngest of three girls, the idea of sharing a wedding with them both intrigued and terrified me and so I knew I was in for a treat. The book had everything: humor, sex, romance, betrayal, politics and loss to name a few.

The Summer I Became a Nerd (contemporary YA) – Leah Rae Miller – I’m a huge fan of humorous, romantic (but clean) contemporary YA where the characters act like teenagers as opposed to adults with less birthdays. This book was a perfect example.

Millie’s Fling (chick lit) – Jill Mansell – I only just discovered Jill Mansell in 2016, and I’ve now read about ten of her books.  Her dialogue is consistently brilliant—always original, quirky, and never stilted. As a reader, I love this author’s books for pure entertainment. And as a writer, I learn something new with each one that helps me with my own craft.

The Devil Wear Scrubs (chick lit) – Freida McFadden – This was a free download on Amazon, and I loved it. A fast, witty read with endearing characters. What a pleasant surprise.

the-devil-wears-scrubs

Say What You Will (contemporary YA) – Cammie McGovern – I don’t think I’ve read a book in quite a while that made me laugh almost as much as it made me cry. I chuckled on the subway and I cried on the stair climber. I felt all the feels.

50 Acts of Kindness (chick lit) – Ellyn Oaksmith – it was a refreshing change to read a book in this genre with a “different” sort of main character – Kylie would never be described as “sweet” or “naive” – she was aggressive, strong-willed, and kind of mean at first. But she was real, and her character arc was fantastic and believable.

The Balance Project (chick lit) – Susie Orman Schnall – This novel reminded me a bit of The Devil’s Wear Prada, but in a good way. And there were enough differences that kept it original. I loved the whole premise of whether it is possible to have it all, and I absolutely stand by the conclusion reached in this book.

And there you have them! Have you read these? What were your favorite books this year?

6 Comments

  1. susieqlaw on December 26, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    I enjoyed The Passenger by Lisa Lutz.

  2. macjam47 on December 27, 2016 at 8:20 am

    All are new to me. I am definitely adding a few to my TBR. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

    • meredithgschorr on December 27, 2016 at 10:12 am

      If you read any of them, I hope you like them 🙂 I had a lovely holiday – I hope you did as well!

  3. Pauline Wiles on December 30, 2016 at 8:09 pm

    I don’t believe I’ve read Millie’s Fling but I agree, Jill Mansell is highly entertaining. And I didn’t realize a new Kinsella is on the way: woo-hoo!
    Happy 2017 to you.

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