Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, because they love lists.
This week's theme is...
Top Ten Favorite 2016 Releases So Far This Year
This list is actually a Top Nine. I've read ten 2016 releases thus far, but one of them I just couldn't bring myself to include one of the books on this list because any book where I find myself typing "I mean, it wasn't AWFUL..." and "it kind of dragged." isn't one I can bring myself to include on a list of favorites, unless maybe it's "Favorite Books That I Was Glad I Got For Free" or "Favorite Only Okay Books". But, I digress. Let's talk about the nine 2016 releases that I *did* like.
The Forgotten Room
By Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig
Published: January 19, 2016
It's a rare delight to find 3 authors who can co-author a book so seamlessly I can't even tell who wrote what section, but that's exactly what we have here. I also enjoyed how well they made it work to move between the stories, even though there were multiple generations involved. If I didn't know better, I would have thought The Forgotten Room was written by only one author, and I say that in a good way.
America's First Daughter
By: Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
Published: March 1, 2016
Another book where 2 talented authors worked together beautifully to create a literary masterpiece. This book about Patsy Jefferson, daughter of Thomas Jefferson, has been the well-deserved recipient of much acclaim, finding it's way onto multiple bestseller lists including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.
Fall of Poppies
By: Heather Webb, Hazel Gaynor, Beatriz Williams, Jennifer Robson, Jessica Brockmole, Kate Kerrigan, Evangeline Holland, Lauren Willig, Marci Jefferson
Published: March 1, 2016
Published: March 1, 2016
Fall of Poppies is a collection of short stories set in the aftermath of World War 1, sometimes focusing on or featuring Armistice Day, when cease fire went into effect. Nine amazing historical fiction authors bring us stories of life, death, love, loss, and learning to live again in the aftermath of The Great War.
By: Alydia Rackham
Published: January 2016
Alydia Rackham has put together a fascinating novel flipping the script of Beauty and the Beast. I read this book chapter by chapter as she released it on Patreon, and let me tell you, the wait was EXCRUTIATING. Twists and turns keep you guessing without being confusing to keep track of but not so much that the Beauty and the Beast origins are unrecognizable.
Star Sand
By: Roger Pulvers
Published: May 1, 2016
When a journal and the skeletal remains of 3 people in World War 2 era clothing are discovered in a cave on a Japanese island in 1958, it is assumed that the remains belong to Harumi, the Japanese-American girl who wrote the journal, and the 2 soldiers - 1 Japanese, 1 American - she befriended, all determined to survive the War without participating. But in 2011, a female university student reads the journal, has questions, and sets out to discover the truth of what happened in the cave, who died there, and the identity and whereabouts of the sole survivor. A little rushed at times, but worth the read.
Becoming Marta
By: Lorea Canales (author), Gabriel Amor (translator)
Published: February 1, 2016
In Becoming Marta, Canales does a great job of evoking a variety of emotions as she tells the stories of a variety of young people coming into adulthood and learning to navigate the world and the choices presented to them, set against the backdrop of the story of Marta, a young woman who has inherited her adoptive mother's estate upon the woman's demise. Marta must decide whether she will remain a socialite unconcerned with much outside of having a good time, or go a new direction with her life.
The Falcon Rises
By: M. L. Bullock
Published: March 31, 2016
M. L. Bullock's series The Desert Queen, providing Bullock's take on the story of the ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti, continues with book #2, The Falcon Rises. The first book was The Tale of Nefret, but it was published in 2015 and I really wanted to keep this to 2016 books. Anyways. I've loved the story of Nefertiti ever since I read Michelle Moran's books, so this series has been interesting to read and see where Bullock went with it.
By: M. L. Bullock
Published: May 15, 2016
This is book 3 in M. L. Bullock's series The Desert Queen, and the sequel to The Falcon Rises. This installment, I was really happy to see a little more about some of the other characters. I've got some interesting theories about some of the stuff that happened, but I don't want to put spoilers here... My only complaint with this series is that Book 4 isn't out yet. I want to know what happens next and what I was right or wrong about!
By: Alydia Rackham
Published: Book Launch on July 2, 2016.
Alydia Rackham is, in my opinion, the undisputed champion when it comes to writing stories about Loki, and this book is no exception. The story is fresh and exciting, with characters I already know and love but new details and a plot that just won't quit. I read this one as it was posted piece by piece and I'm so excited that it's finally done and being released all as one. Woohoo! Head over to Facebook and RSVP for the Book Launch.
What 2016 releases have you read so far that you would recommend?
