2016 Reading Year in Review!!

January

1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
2. The Mistletoe Promice (Mistletoe Collection) by Richard Paul Evans
3. Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination by J.K. Rowling
4. Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher

February

5. Corrupted (Rosato & DiNunzio #3) by Karen Slaughter
6. Mistborn (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson
7. The Bitter Season (Kovac and Liska #5) by Tami Hoag

March

8. Glass Sword (Red Queen #2) by Victoria Aveyard
9. NYPD Red 4 (NYPD Red #4) by James Patterson and Marshall Karp
10. Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer
11. City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare
12. City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare
13. She’s Not There by Joy Fielding

APRIL

14. Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) by Diana Gabaldon
15. Private Paris (Private #11) by James Patterson and Mark T. Sullivan
16. Darkness by Karen Robards
17. The Beast (Black Dagger Brotherhood #14) by J.R. Ward

MAY

18. Gone Again (Jack Swyteck #12) by James Grippando
19. The Obsession by Nora Roberts
20. The Glittering Court (The Glittering Court #1) by Richelle Mead
21. Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker
22. Most Wanted by Lisa Scottoline

JUNE

23. City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare
24. Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare
25. Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare
26. 15th Affair (Woman’s Murder Club #15) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

JULY

27. The Last Mile (Amos Decker #2) by David Baldacci
28. The BFG by Roald Dahl
29. Matilda by Roald Dahl
30. Cruel Crown (Red Queen #0.1 and #0.2) by Victoria Aveyard
31. The Widow by Fiona Barton
32. Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica
33. Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare
34. The Pursuit (Fox and O’Hare #5) by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

AUGUST

35. First Comes Love by Emily Giffin
36. Tomorrow, When the War Began (Tomorrow #1) by James Marsden
37. The Games (Private #11) by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
38. Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare
39. Damaged (Rosato & DiNunzio #4) by Lisa Scottoline

SEPTEMBER

40. With Malice by Eileen Cook
41. A Torch Against the Night (Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir
42. Blood Kiss (Black Dagger Legacy #1) by J.R. Ward
43. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
44. This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab
45. The Trial (Women’s Murder Club #15.5) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
46. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

OCTOBER

47. Bound to Darkness (Midnight Breed #13) by Lara Adrian

NOVEMBER

48. Bullseye (Michael Bennett #9) by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
49. Missing (Private #12) by James Patterson and Kathryn Fox
50. Heartless by Marissa Meyer

DECEMBER

51. Cross the Line (Alex Cross #24) by James Patterson
52. The Mistletoe Secret (The Mistletoe Collection) by Richard Paul Evans
53. No Man’s Land (John Puller #4) by David Baldacci
54. Turbo Twenty-Three (Stephanie Plum #23) by Janet Evanovich

No. 54 for 2016

Title: Turbo Twenty-Three (Stephanie Plum #23)
Author: Janet Evanovich
Rating: 3/5
Book: 54
Pages:  288 pgs
Total Pages: 20,911
Version: Book
Next up: Blood Vow (Black Dagger Legacy #2) by J.R. Ward

As much as I love this series, I still think it’s time for Evanovich to end it. That being said, this book did get a few laughs out of me and I did enjoy the reference to The Minions.

About the Book:

Larry Virgil skipped out on his latest court date after he was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler full of premium bourbon. Fortunately for bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Larry is just stupid enough to attempt almost the exact same crime again. Only this time he flees the scene, leaving behind a freezer truck loaded with Bogart ice cream and a dead body—frozen solid and covered in chocolate and chopped pecans.

As fate would have it, Stephanie’s mentor and occasional employer, Ranger, needs her to go undercover at the Bogart factory to find out who’s putting their employees on ice and sabotaging the business. It’s going to be hard for Stephanie to keep her hands off all that ice cream, and even harder for her to keep her hands off Ranger. It’s also going to be hard to explain to Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, why she is spending late nights with Ranger, late nights with Lula and Randy Briggs—who are naked and afraid—and late nights keeping tabs on Grandma Mazur and her new fella. Stephanie Plum has a lot on her plate, but for a girl who claims to have “virtually no marketable skills,” these are the kinds of sweet assignments she does best.

No. 53 for 2016!

Title: No Man’s Land (John Puller #4)
Author: David Baldacci
Rating: 3/5
Book: 53
Pages:  420 pgs
Total Pages: 20,623
Version: Book
Next up: Turbo Twenty-Three (Stephanie Plum #23) by Janet Evanovich

Not my favourite Baldacci book but it was a good read. It took me a good 200 pages to get into the book but once it took off, I couldn’t put it down.

About the Book:

Two men. Thirty years.

John Puller’s mother, Jackie, vanished thirty years ago from Fort Monroe, Virginia, when Puller was just a boy. Paul Rogers has been in prison for ten years. But twenty years before that, he was at Fort Monroe. One night three decades ago, Puller’s and Rogers’ worlds collided with devastating results, and the truth has been buried ever since.

Until now.

Military investigators, armed with a letter from a friend of Jackie’s, arrive in the hospital room of Puller’s father–a legendary three-star now sinking into dementia–and reveal that Puller Sr. has been accused of murdering Jackie.

Aided by his brother Robert Puller, an Air Force major, and Veronica Knox, who works for a shadowy U.S. intelligence organization, Puller begins a journey that will take him into his own past, to find the truth about his mother.

Paul Rogers’ time is running out. With the clock ticking, he begins his own journey, one that will take him across the country to the place where all his troubles began: a mysterious building on the grounds of Fort Monroe. There, thirty years ago, the man Rogers had once been vanished too, and was replaced with a monster. And now the monster wants revenge. And the only person standing in his way is John Puller.

No. 52 for 2016!

Title: The Mistletoe Secret (Mistletoe Collection)
Author: Richard Paul Evans
Rating: 3/5
Book: 52
Pages:  320 pgs
Total Pages: 20,203
Version: Book
Next up: No Man’s Land (John Puller #4) by David Baldacci

Pretty good and standard read for Richard Paul Evans. I always look forward to his newest Christmas release.

About the Book:

Dear Universe,
Is anyone out there?

Thinking no one is reading, a blogger who calls herself LBH writes about her most personal feelings, especially her overwhelming loneliness. She goes from day to day showing a brave face to the world while inside she longs to know how it would feel if one person cared about her.

Alex Bartlett cares. He’s reading her posts in Daytona Beach, Florida. Nursing his own broken heart and trust issues, he finds himself falling for this sensitive, vulnerable woman whose feelings mirror his own. Following a trail of clues LBH has inadvertently revealed, he discovers that she lives in the small town of Midway, Utah. He makes his way there just after Thanksgiving, determined to find LBH. Maybe she’s a Lisa, Lori, or a Luanne. Instead, he finds a woman named Aria, a waitress at the Mistletoe Diner, who encourages Alex in his search while serving his pie along with some much-needed sympathy and companionship.

Alex finally finds his LBH, a woman who is as beautiful and kind as he imagined she would be. How can he tell her that he knows her secret? What’s holding him back? Could it be his feelings for Aria?

No. 51 for 2016!

Title: Cross the Line
Author: James Patterson
Rating: 2/5
Book: 51
Pages:  400 pgs
Total Pages: 19,883
Version: Book
Next up: The Mistletoe Secret (Mistletoe Collection) by Richard Paul Evans

I used to love the Alex Cross and look forward to the annual release of the newest installment. Now? Patterson needs to put this series out of its misery. 90% of this book was just pure filler that didn’t help the plot at all.

About the Book:

Shots ring out in the early morning hours in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. When the smoke clears, a prominent police official lies dead, leaving the city’s police force scrambling for answers.

Under pressure from the mayor, Alex Cross steps into the leadership vacuum to investigate the case. But before Cross can make any headway, a brutal crime wave sweeps across the region. The deadly scenes share only one common thread – the victims are all criminals. And the only thing more dangerous than a murderer without a conscience, is a killer who thinks he has justice on his side.

As Cross pursues an adversary who has appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner, he must take the law back into his own hands before the city he’s sworn to protect descends into utter chaos.

No. 50 for 2016!

Title: Heartless
Author: Marissa Meyer
Rating: 5/5
Book: 50/50
Pages:  449 pgs
Total Pages: 19,483
Version: Book
Next up: Cross the Line (Alex Cross #24) by James Patterson

Oh my goodness I absolutely LOVED This book. I have to say I was surprised that I loved it so much because Alice in Wonderland has never been my favourite stories. Meyer did a wonderful job with this one and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

About the Book: 

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

No. 49 for 2016!

Title: Missing (Private #12)
Author: James Patterson and Kathryn Fox
Rating: 3/5
Book: 49/50
Pages:  339 pgs
Total Pages: 19,034
Version: Book
Next up: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Not my favourite of the Private series. I found the plot to be boring and the characters were flat.

About the Book: 

Craig Gisto has promised Eliza Moss that his elite team at Private Sydney will investigate the disappearance of her father. After all, as CEO of a high-profile research company, Eric Moss shouldn’t be difficult to find.

Except it’s not just the man who’s gone missing. Despite the most advanced technology at their disposal, they find every trace of him has vanished too.

And they aren’t the only ones on the hunt. Powerful figures want Moss to stay “lost,” while others just as ruthlessly want him found.

Meanwhile, a routine background check becomes a frantic race to find a stolen baby and catch a brutal killer – a killer Private may well have sent straight to the victim’s door . . .

No. 48 for 2016!

Title: Bullseye (Michael Bennett #9)
Author: James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Rating: 3/5
Book: 48/50
Pages:  339 pgs
Total Pages: 18,695
Version: Book
Next up: Missing (Private #12) by James Patterson and Kathryn Fox

This book was just okay. Lots of filler and like 5 pages of real action. Things resolved to easily to wrap the story up in a nice bow and of course Bennett always comes out on top. That being said, it was still an enjoyable read even it was predictable.

About the Book: 

Tensions between America and Russia are the highest they’ve been since the Cold War. As the countries’ Presidents travel to the United Nations to iron out their differences, a fashionable husband and wife team of lethal assassins prowls the streets of Manhattan hunting their prey–a professor hiding a scandalous secret. Their next target: the extremely popular President of the United States of America. Pulled away from his family and pressed into service, Detective Michael Bennett must trace the source of a threat that could rip the country apart–and what he finds may turn the Cold War red hot once again. With allegiances constantly in doubt and no one above suspicion, only Bennett can step into the line of fire to save the President before the deadly kill shot hits its mark.

No. 47 for 2017!

Title: Bound to Darkness (Midnight Breed #13)
Author: Laura Adrian
Rating: 3/5
Book: 47/50
Pages:  298 pgs
Total Pages: 18,356
Version: Book
Next up: Bullseye (Michael Bennett #9) by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Good book but not my favourite of the series. Personally, I think it may be time for Adrian to start winding down the series.

About the Book: 

Carys Chase is accustomed to making her own rules and letting her heart lead the way–no matter what anyone else has to say about it. A rare Breed female and a daywalker as well, headstrong, beautiful Carys is one of the most powerful of her kind. She lives passionately and loves without limits, especially when it comes to the lethal cage-fighting Breed warrior called Rune.

Unbeatable in the ring, Rune exists in a brutal world of blood and bone and death. He’s made his share of enemies both in and out of the arena, and his secrets run as deep and turbulent as his past. A dangerous loner who has survived by his fists and fangs, Rune has never allowed anyone to get too close to him…until Carys. But when the bodies buried in his past rise up to threaten his present, Rune must choose between betraying Carys’s trust or putting her in the crosshairs of a battle neither of them can hope to win on their own.

No. 46 for 2016!

Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Rating: 4/5
Book: 46/50
Pages:  336 pgs
Total Pages: 18,058
Version: Book
Next up: Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore

I really enjoyed this book. It took me until about half way through the book before it really grabbed me but I found that this book kept me guessing until the end.

About the Book: 

EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?