I’ve been trying to think of a way to “Wrap Up” my year in reading when I stumbled across this survey created by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page-Turner. It was the perfect way to give a rundown of what I read this year! Make sure to head over to Jamie’s post where you can actually link up your own answers to the survey.
Covers = Goodreads
Fun drinking game for your New Years celebration: 1) Take a shot every time I mention The Raven Cycle 2) Try not to pass out and die!!!!!!
Number Of Books You Read: 127 which sounds a lot more impressive than it really is the majority of those were short stories, novellas and graphic novels. In regards to actual novels it was probably around 50 which I’m still really proud of because this is my first year reading after like 3 years of not reading anything except comics so.
Number of Re-Reads: 1 – I read Gemina and then listened to the audiobook.
Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy which is surprising because normally it’s horror/thriller.
Best Book You Read In 2016?
I went into this way more in my Fave and Not So Fave Reads of the Year post so here’s a quick run down:
Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Like above I won’t go into this too much because I already mentioned them in my previous post!
Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
The Yellow Wallpaper and The Book Thief are from two genres that intimidate me so much: classics and historical. However, I loved both of them so so much. I was also expecting Night Film to be your typical mystery/thriller book but it was so so so much more. I read another book by the same author of Living Dead Girl and it was pretty terrible so I wasn’t expecting much, but this turned out to be one of the most brutally honest and hard hitting reads ever.
Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I know Casey @ Adoptabook Aus read Illuminae because of me 😀 If anyone else did please let me know!!!
I also hope I got people into reading comics and graphic novels!!
Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?
Best series I started
Best sequel
Best series ender
Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?
- Yaa Gyasi
- Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
- V.E. Schwab
- Maggie Stiefvater
Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2016?
Most memorable character of 2016?
Blue and her Raven Boys ♥ and my Six of Crows children ♥
Most beautifully written book read in 2016?
Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2016?
Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read?
Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?
Literally everything from The Raven Cycle.
Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2016?
Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers by Alyssa Wong (16 Pages)
Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (672 Pages)
Book That Shocked You The Most
THERE WERE SO MANY PLOT TWISTS IN THIS BOOK I COULDN’T DEAL WITH BYE
OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
I don’t really do OTPs anymore??? but I guess Ronan and Adam ♥♥
Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
I’m repeating so many answers in this, but I don’t care. Again, it’d be Blue and her Raven Boys and the Six of Crows kids.
Favorite Book You Read in 2016 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Best Book You Read In 2016 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure
AND IT WAS 100% WORTH IT
Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2016?
Ok. So I’m like 10 years older than most of the characters I read about. So this is kind of a cheat answer but maybe not because I did read the FBAWTFT script this year, BUT
LOOK AT THIS ANGEL!!!! We’re gonna get married and raise a herd of Mooncalves together. Sorry Tina.
Best 2016 debut you read?
I’m never gonna shut up about this book until every person in the entire universe has read it.
Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?
“Nearly cry” lmao
Honestly every book I read makes me cry, but these were some stand outs.
Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Book That Crushed Your Soul?
See the books that made me cry.
Most Unique Book You Read In 2016?
Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
This book made me mad because it deals with sexual assault and was extremely realistic and I just kept thinking about what people have to go through and how victims are blamed/shamed whilst the attacker can just get away with it.
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2016?
Bloggers:
Adoptabookaus • Betwixt These Pages • BexnBookx • Black Cat Kai • The Bookkeeper’s Secrets • Bookshelves & Biros • Bookshelves & Paperbacks • Chapter Adventures • Chic Nerd Reads • chocolatenwaffles • Drizzle & Hurricane Books • Fabled Haven • Freadom Library • Following Muses • Genie Reads • Happy Comes First • Happy Indulgence • Hey Ashers • Hollieblog • Inked in Pages • Inky Spells • Inisde My Minds • Kirsty’s Book Reviews • Kourtni Reads • Lair of Books • Magiverse • Mortal Reader • Mud & Stars • Rant & Rave About Books • Read Diverse Books • Read Think Ponder • Reading Every Night • The Sassy Book Geek • The SFF Bookshelf • She Latitude • Sparkling Letters • Teacher of YA • Upside-Down Books • Word Wonders • Words & Other Beasts • Written Word Worlds
BookTubers:
A Clockwork Reader • abookutopia • Aprilius Maximus • BooksandLala • booksandpieces • ChapterStackss • faeriedrugs • gracewithabookinherface • Heather Forever Books • ItsJaneLindsey • Jean Bookishthoughts • jesssethereader • Katytastic • Lauren and the Books • Michael BookLion • mynameismarines • perpetualpages • PeruseProject • Piera Forde • PixieTonic • ProblemsofaBookNerd • ReadLikeWildfire • Riley Marie • Sarah Sunbeemz • sarawithoutanH • SavidgeReads • squibblesreads • The Boy Who Cried Books • thebookvagrant • Thoughts on Tomes • Tilly And Her Books
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2016?
- I’m Ruined Forever // Review: Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff [Spoiler Free]
- SIGH // Review: Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige
- She Was A Story, Not An Epilogue // Review: Every Heart A Doorway (Wayward Children #1) by Seanan McGuire
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
- A Guide to Marvel Comics / So You Want to Start Reading Comics and Graphic Novels
- Let’s Talk: Blogging Burn Out
- Let’s Talk: Reading Outside Your Comfort Zone
- Hamilton Appreciation Post
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I didn’t physically go to any events (yay for living in the middle of nowhere!), but I hosted a Halloween Readathon which was really cool. I also participated in a bunch of fun readathons.
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2016?
Does starting blogging counting? Otherwise, I guess receiving my first physical ARC from a publisher was really cool.
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
Just trying to get a schedule and manage my time. My anxiety definitely interfered a lot too.
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
- Newbie 2 Newbie Blogging Tips
- Reading Outside Your Comfort Zone
- Diversity is Not A Bad Word: Diverse BookTuber and Book Recs
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
None really? I’m pretty content with all the views my posts got. It’s not something I really think about it.
9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
In general, discovering that the Bookish community exists. Otherwise, discovering the Goodreads Right Click plugin from Alyssa @ Pucks and Paperbacks. Honestly, that plugin saved me 😂😂
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
So, I pretty much failed every challenge I took part in except my Goodreads goal, which I surpassed so 🎉🎉
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2016 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2017?
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2017 (non-debut)?
3. 2017 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2017?
and THE FINAL BOOK IN THE ILLUMINAE FILES SERIES 😭😭
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2017?
- Finish all the series I’ve started
- Review the books I read
- Read more diverse books
- Purchase a domain / self hosting
6. A 2017 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
Definitely recommend both of these! Caraval is such an amazing fantasty and A Quiet Kind of Thunder has such a great representation of anxiety and has a deaf side character who has an important role.
Ahhhhhh Lauren I’m one of your faves ❤
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Of course 😘
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Honestly I didn’t know that Gr right click feature.My life will be so easy now 🙂 And I think you got me to read comics and my first ever comic was Stereotypical Freaks and then I read Montress.I loved them both ❤ So thank you 🙂
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It’s so useful!! It saves so much time. And ahhh, yay!! That makes me so happy to hear 😀 I’m so glad you enjoyed them!! I really recommend Nimona if you want some more GNs to check out ♥
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I just used the right click feature to search Nimona 🙂 this looks good
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Haha, yay!!
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Ahhh!! Thank you, thank you ❤ I agree, it's made my life easier too! I love Simon, I hope you enjoy it!!
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No worries!! I can’t thank you enough for bringing it to my attention, haha. Thanks!! I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet, but it’s 100% a priority in 2017.
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Thanks so much for the shout-out Lauren ❤ I love your blog and I'm so glad that we met each other through blogging!
Aaaand how did I not know about this Goodreads extension?! I could've saved so much time hahaha Well at least I have it now 😛
I'm hoping to read Simon vs in 2017 too. I bought it a few months ago and thought I'd read it before the end of the year but that didn't happen (no surprise there with my millions of books, haha). I really want to read Last Seen Leaving, too. I've heard a lot of great things about it plus I've been loving mysteries/thrillers lately (and literally any book is better if it has LGBTQIAP characters hahaha).
Glad to see you had a good reading year and I hope 2017 is even better! 🙂
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No worries!!! I’ve loved reading all your posts, especially your discussion ones!!
Haha, right!! At least you’ll have it for 2017 😀
I bought it at the start of the year and was like “I’m gonna read it this month” every month 😂 it’s definitely my #1 priority for 2017 though! Hopefully we’ll both love it! Last Seen Leaving was so good! Everything I want in a thriller. I hope you enjoy that one too!!
Thank you!! Same to you ♥
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My OTP is Albus and Scorpius!
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They were sooooooo cute.
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They really were.
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What a fun way to wrap up the year! And the way you repeat the same books over and over again really shows how much you love them! 😀
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Thanks, Izzi ♥♥ I really did love them!! And I also just have a terrible memory 😂
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Aww, thanks for the mention! I’ve just added Homegoing to my TBR, it looks incredible. Love that you named Newt as your newest fictional crush, I just ADORE him <3<3 Loving your drinking game idea too – if I played it with A Court of Mist and Fury on my own end of year survey I'd be incredibly drunk also.
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No worries ♥♥ Yay!! It’s such a beautiful and important read. I really hope you love it. He’s the cutest and the fact that he’s a Huffepuff just makes it even better 😍 Hahaha!! Even though last year was pretty terrible at least we both have a book that we loved to pieces 😀
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Hufflepuffs are the best kind of people ❤
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I saw this survey on Jamie’s blog and I’m going to be taking part this year as well. I actually saw it last year but by then I’d already posted an end-of year review and didn’t think I should do two in one year!
Also thanks so so much for mentioning me as one of your favourite bloggers, you’re definitely one of mine as well and I always look forwards to seeing posts from you or comments so we can discuss something! 😀 You’re one of the best people I’ve met on WordPress so far. ❤
I think if I was going to do a drinking game based on how many times you mentioned TRC I'd be on the floor now! But I feel the same about my blog recently and the amount of times I've mentioned the Shades of Magic series! Favourite books are like that aren't they?
I loved reading all your answers for these, I reckon some of mine will be the same because you featured so many amazing books on this one, but I will say oh I love Newt so much as well! ❤ 😀
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I can’t wait to see your post 😀
Aww, Beth. You’re the sweetest! You and your blog inspire me so much, so thank you for that ♥
Hahahaha. Yeah, it’s probably better for both of us if we don’t partake. Shades of Magic was one of my favourites too. I love the world and characters so much. At least we both had books that we loved to pieces last year!
Thank you ♥
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Hopefully I’ll be able to post it tomorrow. I have it in my drafts folder just waiting to be finished and then published! 😀
That’s wonderful to hear, honestly it means so much to me that you think that Lauren. Yeah I learnt a while back alcohol and blogging don’t mix!
It’s one of the reasons we read I guess, to find the books we love to pieces! 😀
That’s all right. ❤
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Wow that was certainly an epic post! And thank you for the mention 😂I so so so need to get onto V.E. Schwab! I think that might be one of my challenges for this year. I always find it so weird writing these end of year wrap up posts because now we have a whole new year just ahead of us and anything could happen! I feel like yes! I can totally read 5,000 books this year haha
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Haha, thank you Kirstie!! And of course. You and your blog are amazing. I remember freaking out when I found out you were from WA 😂 Gotta show love to my fellow West Aussie bloggers ♥
Ahhh yesss! The Shades of Magic series is so good. I haven’t read any of her other works, but it’s definitely something I want to get to this year.
And saaaaaame. Can’t wait to see what bookish things it has in store for us all.
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Yep, can confirm, your blogging year has been awesome.
“Honestly every book I read makes me cry”
Ha! It can be such a burden, feeling all the feels, and definitely wastes a lot of tissue. I’ll be sure to have a box on-hand when I read any of those books.
Hope 2017 is just as great for your blog, if not better!
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It was pretty great!!
Being extremely empathetic is definitely a tough job, but someone has to do it 😎
Thank you!! Same to you ♥
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The Book Thief absolutely crushed my soul. IT WAS PHENOMENAL. illuminae was also great! Maggie Stiefvater was also one author that I read this year only, but she has been promoted to one of my all time fave ones. I am feeling sad that we don’t have a new book from her to look forward in 2017…
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Ahh, riiiiight. I know everyone talked about how sad it was, but I still had NO IDEA!! I love Maggie’s writing so much. I’m hoping to read some of her older works this year. I knowww!! It’s a shame. At least we have the Ronan trilogy to look forward too!!
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Aww thank you for featuring me! ❤ I hope 2017 is just as good a blogging and reading year for you! I definitely have quite a few books to add to my wish list after reading this post haha
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Oh and btw you’re definitely one of my favourite blogs too, I so look forward to when you post!
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No worries. You and your blog are both so wonderful ♥ Awww, thank you so much!! And haha, I’m always happy to help people add to their TBR 😎
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Aaaah, this is awesome! You had an amazing reading year and I’m super glad we found each other’s blogs! Here’s for an even better 2017 😀 Also, I need to read most of these books ASAP haha. Especially Homegoing. You really sold it.
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Even though 2016 was a mess at least I can say I found some books I really loved 😀 Yesss, me too ♥ I love you and your blog!! Ahhhh you will LOVE Homegoing.
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Thank you for putting Living Dead Girl on my radar! I just snagged a copy from Book Outlet.
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Yay!! It was a really difficult and confronting read, but super important too!
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GIRL. YOU KILLED ME. I TOOK YOUR DRINKING GAME TO HEART. I *conveniently* had a drink while reading this and was like “OK LETS DO THIS” but it never stoppeeeedddd hahahahhah
Jk. You didn’t kill me. But I was able to finish half of my drink lol
Molly @ Molly’s Book Nook
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HAHAHA OH MY GOD!!!!!! I’m glad I didn’t kill you 😂😂😂 I’m just a little bit obsessed with the series.
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You’re right 127 sounds A LOT more impressive than 50 though hahaha 😂😂 buuuut you’ve read a lot of great ones among that 50! I love Homegoing, The Raven King, AGOS, Gemina/Illuminae, The Hidden Oracle, and Six of Crows! ❤ I'm also REALLY EXCITED for Caraval and A Quiet Kind of Thunder!! Been hearing so many great things about it and those covers = perfection 😛 also do you know that you can order AQKOT from TBD already? They say they'll ship it in 2 days but I'm not sure, it hasn't been officially release, right? Anyway, thank you for linking up to my blog and hope you have a fantastic year, Lauren! 😀
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I’m forever grateful to comics and graphic novels providing the illusion that I can read a lot 😂 So glad we share so many of the same favourites 😀 They were all such amazing books!! I feel like you’ll love them both!! And ooh no. I didn’t know that. It’s not released until 12th Jan, but in the past I’ve heard that TBD sometimes ships things off early so haha. No worries ♥ You and your blog are both wonderful!!
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I think so too! The synopsis sounds like something I’d totally love, not to mention all the rave reviews! 😀 yes it’s been available for order since last week, I guess! ❤
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I serously envy you and this post. 😂 My readig and blogging didn’t end well in 2016 thus posting a recap might kill me but cheers to you! And 128 books??? Now that’s an achievement! Happy New Year! 🎊
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Hahaha, awww sorry 🙈 Sorry to hear things don’t go as well as you hoped, but don’t be too hard on yourself 😀 Any amount of reading/blogging is great ♥ Honestly most of those were graphic novels and comics so it looks a lot more impressive 😅 Happy New Year 😀
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AHHH, I’m so excited to read Caraval! I loved being able to read through this post; it actually brought so many memories back from throughout this year :’) Thanks so much, Lauren, and thank you so much for being such a great friend and fellow blogger throughout 2016. Here’s to a great 2017!
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It was so good! I hope you enjoy it!!! Aww, yay ♥ Even if 2016 was a bit of a messy year at least there were lots of good books 😀 So glad we managed to meet this year! I hope your 2017 is amazing too, Katherine!!
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Congrats on surpassing your GoodReads goal! I completely failed on mine 😂. There’s always this year though. Also, that GR plugin. I wish I would have known that existed forever ago. I would have saved my TBR book adding self so much time haha. I really need to get around to finished The Raven Cycle series this year and finally reading Illuminae. Both of them are top after ADSOM. And I can’t wait to read Caraval. I’ve heard nothing but great things about that book. I hope you accomplish all of your goals in 2017 and that you have a great year, Lauren!! 💕
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Aw, thank you!! I feel like I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without comics or graphic novels hahaha. And aww, sorry to hear you didn’t meet yours, but it’s all good 😀 😀 The books will always be there!!
The extension is so amazing. I can’t imagine my life without it now haha.
Yesss!! So excited for you to read all of them because I love them so much!!!
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You’re welcome!! I definitely need to start picking up graphic novels again this year, it’s been so long since I last read one. 😊
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Oh my god THANK YOU SO MUCH for mentioning that Goodreads right click extension thing! I can’t believe I’ve never heard about it before and it’s going to save soooo much time considering how often I look things up and have to type all of it manually. I don’t know how I’ve never thought that Goodreads has an extension before… a lot of those big sites do, haha.
And thank you so much for mentioning me! As you already know, you’re also one of my faves and I’m honoured to be your friend in the blogosphere and can’t wait for another year of continued discussions and interaction and just book chats. 💞
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Haha, no worries!!! I’m so glad I was introduced to it because I honestly can not imagine my life without it now. I used to do the manual thing too and the amount of time the extension saves is insane. It’s great having the “Search Later” option too because it opens a background tab so it’s like yessss.
Of course ♥♥ I remember when I found your blog when I first started blogging and I was like so inspired by it so thank you 😀 It’s so great being able to call you a friend too!! Here’s to an amazing 2017 for both of us ♥
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YES, Lauren, you made me read Iluminae and pushed me to read Gemina a bit sooner than I thought I would, and I REGRET NOTHING. Except maybe I lost my mind a bit over how crazy this whole story is. Otherwise I guess I’m doing okay hahaha.
I am so eager for you to read Simon and Aristotle, both books are so great, I loved them. I hope you will too! 🙂 And I am highly anticipating The Love Interest as well, it sounds SO GOOD.
Wishing you a wonderful 2017 filled with great reads, Lauren!
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Haha, yesssss!!!!! Can’t say I’m sorry 😎 although I do feel your pain for having to suffer while we wait for the next book.
I read Simon!! It was quite possibly the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen and I’m currently halfway through Ari & Dante and the writing is beautiful.
Thank you, Marie ♥ You too!!
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It really is making me suffer, a LOT. I need the next book right now, I mean, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT??!!
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I knowwwww. Especially with that ending!!!
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Ahh Lauren thank you so much for mentioning me! You’re one of my absolute favourite blogs, and I look forward to every single one of your posts. I’m so glad to have met you! ♥♥
Honestly, every time I go into a bookshop I keep an eye out for Illuminae because of how much I know you love it haha! I desperately need to read The Raven King but I’m so bad for not wanting series to end and just…avoiding the last book forever?? I was so excited for it to come out, so I’ve no idea why I’m like this.
Also Newt!! How is he so adorable?? I was so surprised by how much I loved Fantasic Beasts, but he definitely has a huge portion of my love for it hahaha.
I hope you have an amazing 2017!!
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Of course, I love you and your blog ♥♥ So glad we meet too!
Haha, yay! That makes me so happy. It’s honestly so amazing. I hope you can read it soon 😀 I know what you mean!! It’s honestly why I’ve put off finishing so many series. I feel like it was definitely a great ending for the series though.
He is the cutest!! I was surprised by how much I loved it too. I was pleasantly surprised.
I hope your 2017 is amazing too, Amy ♥
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You read so many good ones!! I just love The Raven Cycle series. I am really looking forward to Heartless, so I hope I’m not disappointed. I did really dislike Three Dark Crowns. That was a big disappointment for me this year.
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It’s honestly the best ♥ Heartless wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t for me. So many people loved it, but it was just way too romance-y for me. I did really did enjoy the setting though. I hope you enjoy it!!! Yeah, I was pretty disappointed with that too. I felt like Kendare was holding back because she’s so good at writing darkly.
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Look at this epic wrap up! Lauren you did so much this year and read so many amazing books 😀 I’m so glad I found your blog I mean where would I be with you and Illuminae in my life?! babhaha
Also Newt is the most adorable I love him and I think I liked his just as much if not more after reading the script, seriously though who could resist that mating dance X’D bahahahahahaha
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What a great post! Sorry I’m so behind!
I’m glad to be a new blogger buddy in 2016! And I’m glad you liked A Fierce and Subtle Poison bc I bought it on sale and people haven’t said good things about it…so I was worried!
😊
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I read Night Film last year as well & loved it even though it was waaaaaay out of my comfort zone. Like way, WAYYYYY out xD And aoufoiejio I STILL haven’t read Illuminae (it’s sitting on my shelf, Lauren so IT’LL HAPPEN, I SWEAR!) Simon vs the Homo Sapiens and Ari & Dante have literally been on my TBR since the beginning of time & I still don’t know why I haven’t read them yet! Hopefully we’ll both get to them this year 😉
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I’m so happy you read it and loved it!!!!! Sometimes reading out of your comfort zone can really pay off 😀 YESSS READ ILLUIMINAE!!!!! I read them both in one day at the start of the year 😂 and I LOVED THEM. I hope you enjoy them when you pick them up ♥
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