My Favorite Movies of 2017!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be looking back at the movies I absolutely loved last year. Not all of these movies are 2017 releases, but they are all movies I watched for the first time in 2017 and absolutely adored. If you want more info, all the movies will be linked to their Imbd page, and if I wrote a review for it, a link will be there as well! 

With that out of the way, here are some of the best movies I watched in 2017 (in no particular order!)

Blackfish
Before watching this film, I had no idea what atrocities took place at SeaWorld. Orcas are meant to be in the wild, and while habilitation is humane and I encourage it, keeping whales in pools for their whole lives and expecting them to be okay with it, is proposterious. Out of the six I'm mentioning today, Blackfish is my favorite movie of the year and made a huge impact on me. Here is my review.  

Favorite Books of 2017!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today I'll be discussing my favorite books of 2017, whether they are new releases or old. I did posts about my worst books, my favorite 2017 releases, and coming tomorrow are my favorite movies of the year.

Without further ado, here are the 20 (20!!! A fifth of my reads were wonderful!) books that I rated 4.5 stars or higher! All links are to goodreads, and I'll leave my review, if I have one, there as well. The order of these books are by date read, from the beginning of the year to the end.

1) Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame
Genre: YA Contemporary
Series? Yes! The third in a trilogy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.09

2) Dark Tide by Jennifer Donnelly
Genre: YA Fantasy
Series? Yes! The third in a series of four books
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.36
My Review!

3) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Series? Yes! The second in a trilogy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.46
My Review!
 
4) Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
Genre: YA Contemporary 
Series? Nope!
Rating: 5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.02
My Review!

Worst Books of 2017!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be talking about my least favorite books of 2017. As always, these are just my opinions, and if we differ, don't take it personally! I would love to hear why you loved a book I hated. :) At the time I am writing this, I have read 99 books, and am close to finishing three more. Without further ado, here are the books I rated two or less stars.

All of these links are to goodreads, and I'll leave my review (if I have one) right next to the goodreads link. 

1) Never Dare a Dragon by Ashlyn Chase
(my review)
2) Winter Kisses by Addison Moore
3) Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
(my review)
4) A Thousand Letters by Staci Hart
5) Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
(my discussion on why this was disappointing)
6) Recreated by Colleen Houck
(my review)
7) Unblemished by Sara Ella
(my review)
8) Better than Perfect by Simone Elkeles
(my review)
9) The Last Virgin Standing by Tiffany Huynh
10) Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
(my review)

Looking at these books, most of of them I rated two stars. The only ones I rated one star was Winter Kisses and Never Dare a Dragon. Out of those two, my least favorite was Winter Kisses; the novella really wasn't for me and I got nothing out of it. If I were to recommend any book out of these, it would be Mask of Shadows. I was the odd man out with this one. A lot of people loved this, but the writing style just didn't mesh well with me. Also, Throne of Glass is so well loved, and I will eventually be contnuing on with the series. 

I think it's also notable that the majority of the books were traditionally published. By worst books generally weren't ones that were self-published, on wattpad, etc., so let's get rid of that stigma that books that aren't traditionally published are bad! The Last Virgin Standing (which honestly, why did I even read it?) was written on wattpad, with no editors, which is completely different than books that are self-published or traditionally published. So if you are hesitant about reading self-published books because you don't think they'll be good, don't! Most of the time, self-published books do not disappoint. 

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Favorite 2017 Releases!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today, I'll be looking back on 2017 and reflecting on all the books I read that were released in the last year. I read more new releases than ever in 2017, and it's largely because I became more active on Netgalley!

I read 32 books released in 2017, so they accounted for just under a third of my reading for the year! Here are some of my favorite books of those 32, in no particular order!

1) Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
2) Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3) Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
4) Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
5) Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
6) The Empress by SJ Kincaid
7) Run Away With Me by Mila Gray
8) When Dimple Me Rishi by Sandhya Menon
9) Hunger by Roxane Gay

Looking at these nine, all but two (Dear Ijeawele and Hunger) are fiction, which is no surprise to me, considering that's all I read. Of those that are fiction books, 6 are young adult, and one is new adult. Four of them are contemporary, two science fiction, and one fantasy! To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't love more 2017 fantasy releases. I am the most picky when it comes to fantasy though, since I read either fantasy or contemporary. I do have a soft spot for contemporary, and this year was no exception. It does seem like I should read more science fiction though, considering that The Empress and Nyxia were two of the three 2017 science fiction releases I read, and I loved them both.   

If you ask me to pick which one of these is my favorite, I wouldn't have an answer! Dear Ijeawele, Hunger, Breath of Fire, and Alex, Approximately are all up there. However, I would say that Run Away with Me and When Dimple Met Rishi are my least favorite, and yet they still got five stars! At the end of the day, I would recommend every single one of these. :)

Have you read any of these books above? What did you think? What are some of your favorite 2017 releases?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!