Full confession here: 2017 was long year. There were job changes, crazy schedules and the general upheaval in the world. There were times when I was hanging on by a thread, trying to keep the balls in my life from crashing spectacularly to the ground – and days that, despite my best effort, they crashed anyhow.

So this year was the year of comfort books. I subscribed to Kindle Unlimited. I revisited the romance genre- contemporary and historical.  I didn’t read much that strained my brain and while part of me feels badly for that- I mainly just enjoyed the hell out of everything I read this year. And I plan on doing the same thing this year.

So, here’s what I loved last year:

My Most Favorite of 2017

Stand-Alone
Beartown by Fredrik Backman. Beartown is the story of a small town on the edge of being forgotten. The only thing the town is proud of is its junior hockey team full of talented high schoolers. Hockey is life and these boys are raised up – more myth then almost-men. So what happens when one of does something unthinkable?

As a mom raising a male athlete, this one hit me right between the eyes. I still think about this book months later and cannot wait until I can slip it into both my kids hands so we can talk long and hard about it.

Series
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah Maas: I preach my love of Sarah Maas loudly and proudly- and this series shows exactly why. An engrossing, far reaching novel with amazing character development, twists and turns- it’s pure escapism at its finest.

Honorable Mentions

Stand-Alone Books

• Kulti by Mariana Zapata: truth be told, I loved most of the books by Zapata that I read this past year. Wonderful slow-burn romances filled with grown up who talked about problems, reacted appropriately and are sexy as hell.
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: The Hubs is a police officer and, the past few years, the way police officers have been portrayed has broken my heart. That said, this book- about a police related shooting- was outstanding as it examined the repercussions of such a shooting.
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn: this story was about the strength of women during WWI and WWII- their grace, their passions and their sheer determination to make a difference. Much like The Nightingale, this book wasn’t always easy to read- it was it was well worth it.
• The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer: I’m not a huge Amy Schumer fan- I didn’t care for her TV show and thought she was OK in her movies- but this book made me laugh out loud. I read it as we were stuck in traffic trying to get to our beach house at the very tip of Corolla, NC. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes and I seriously wondered if the Hubs was going to kick me out because he was so mad at the traffic as I laughed like loon next to him.
• Something like Happy by Eva Woods: I am, at my core, an optimist. This book grappled with how to hold on to that optimism when your world crumbles around you. How do you keep that sense of wonder and joy when the worst has happened. I laughed and cried .

Series

• Rock Kiss by Nalini Singh: Super sweet, super sexy rock-star romance.
• Fever by Karen Marie Moning:  This series went up and down for me, but the last book came out in 2017 and it tied things together really well!
• Wraith Kings by Grace Draven: I don’t even know how I found this series, but I listened to it on audio book and it was outstanding. I inhaled all 3 books and cannot wait until the 4th comes out.
• The Wallflowers by Lisa Kleypas: This series was my first taste back into historical romances and the whole series was sweet, funny, saucy and sexy.
• Lost and Found by J.M. Madden: This series, about a detective agency that employs injured vets, was smart, funny and suspenseful.
• Cainsville by Kelley Armstrong: I preordered this book when it was released in October and I sat on it for 2 months. I adore this series to the point I didn’t want it to end so I simply didn’t read the book. But once I did, I’m so glad I made the leap. While it wasn’t everything I hoped it to would be, it was a great ending to a fantastic series.

So tell me- what you have loved? What can’t you wait to read in 2018?