Happy New Year, everyone! May your 2018 reads all be fabulous. 🙂 Even though I missed the Top Ten Tuesday date for this topic, I really wanted to acknowledge my favorite reads of 2017 before diving into 2018. So without further ado, here are my top 10 books of last year, in the order in which I read them:

1. Connie Willis, Crosstalk — This was my first read of the year, and it was a great one! It combines two seemingly incongruous genres — science fiction and romantic comedy — effortlessly, and it also touches on the serious themes of communication and alienation in a near-future world.

2. Sally Thorne, The Hating Game — I feel like I’ve been praising this book a lot, and I don’t want to overhype it…but seriously, it’s that good! If you enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, you absolutely can’t miss this one.

3. Katherine Arden, The Bear and the Nightingale — Luscious writing, a vivid historical setting, and the influence of Russian folklore made this book a favorite for me. Can’t wait to read the sequel, The Girl in the Tower!

4. Tana French, The Likeness — I don’t usually gravitate toward contemporary thrillers, but there’s something about this series! While the premise of this book is a bit farfetched, I was completely caught up in the suspense and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I’ll definitely be continuing with this series.

5. Darcie Wilde, A Useful Woman — Regency era + mystery = sold!

6. Keigo Higashino, The Devotion of Suspect X — I really enjoyed reading a contemporary mystery set in an unfamiliar (to me) part of the world.

7. Jenny Colgan, The Café by the Sea — I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this British chick lit novel as much as I did! At the beginning of the book, the main character really wanted X to happen, and I was like, “Ugh, I hope X does not happen,” but by the time X did eventually happen, I was totally on board! Gotta admire an author who can bring me around to her side like that.

8. Leo Bruce, Case for Three Detectives — The audience for this book is fairly specific; you have to be familiar with the fictional detectives Lord Peter Wimsey, Hercule Poirot, and Father Brown. But if you happen to know and love them, you’ll love this parody as well!

9. Stephanie Burgis, Congress of Secrets — Everything about this book was interesting to me, from the setting (the Congress of Vienna!) to the magical system (evil alchemy) to the romance to the fact that one of the main characters is a con man. I can’t wait to read more by this author!

10. Melissa McShane, Burning Bright — Another book that checks a lot of my boxes: Regency setting, magic, romance, and war on the high seas!

What were your favorite books of 2017? And if you’ve read any of the ones on my list, did you enjoy them as much as I did?