Us staffers here at Open Book Society read a lot of books each year, as I’m sure you can imagine. Some of those books stick with us a little more than others. So as we embark on another amazing year of reading, we have decided to take the time and remember some of our favorite reads of 2017. I hope you will enjoy our journey down memory lane. And we wish you an amazing year of reading in the New Year!
Heidi’s favorite reads of 2017:
Always by Sarah Jio
This is a highly emotional read that I loved! What would you do if your life seems perfect with a job you love, engaged to a great man (who also happens to be rich), but then stare into the eyes of a homeless man and realize it’s the love of your life … the one that disappeared on you years ago that you hadn’t heard from since… You know you must help him, even if it destroys the life you now lead.
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine
I didn’t get this book by our usual means, but instead got it as a First Read off of Amazon and didn’t really expect much from it.
Gina thought she had the perfect marriage and life until the day a drunk driver crashed into her garage and revealed her husband’s dark dirty secrets for all to see. Now she is constantly living on the run with her kids, changing identities along the way, to avoid the horror that comes being associated with him. They finally start to settle in somewhere and a body is found floating in the lake, just like Mel’s victims …
This was a chilling suspenseful book and the action never stopped!
Game On by Victoria Denault
I’m a huge hockey fan so it shouldn’t come as much of a suprise that a hockey romance made my top books of the year list.
Hockey playboy Alex has never had it easy, as he’s still traumatized from his trauma while living in an abusive foster home. He never thought anybody could love him until Brie, but in order to keep her, he must face the demons of his past. He learns that they may have more in common then anyone could have dreamed!
On a Tuesday by Whitney G
This is a great second chance romance! They met on a Tuesday … every Tuesday so that she could tutor him so they could both graduate. They never expected an amazing romance to bloom from those weekly meetings though. But then they get seperated due to outside sources, both thinking the other was at fault. But they are forced to finally face each other once and for all at their class reunion they got talked into going to. Can they get past the anger and hurt they think the other has caused?
Caro’s favorite reads of 2017:
The Royals Series by Erin Watt
Paper Princess, Broken Prince, Twisted Palace, Tarnished Crown, Fallen Heir
It was exactly at the start of 2017 that I discovered the first two books in this series from comments on Twitter. The description from the comments caught my attention and I started reading the first book. A few hours later, I was hooked, awake until past 4 a.m. and I had class early in the morning. Ella Harper and the Royals were just what I needed to start off my new year. The book had romance, drama, angst, sarcasm, and great character chemistry. I was instantly in love with Ella and the Royal boys, one just couldn’t hate them.
Now in waits for the fifth book, which is centered on the third Royal son, Easton, who has become one of my favorites, I can’t wait for the book to come out and find out how Watt is going to solve that huge cliffhanger at the end of the previous book. I’m biting my nails off here!
Rocky Mountain Riders Series by Sara Richardson
Hometown Cowboy, Comeback Cowboy, Renegade Cowboy
I started reading this series just by luck with the second book. I don’t recall reading a cowboy series before this one, but boy was I in for quite the ride. The second book is centered around couple Naomi and Lucas whose high school love was wrecked apart by tragedy, until years later family brings them back together. This book’s plot was intense, funny, romantic, and plenty of cowboy sarcasm. When I was done with this book I went looking for the first one to read how it all had started.
I have to admit that the first book in the series is my favorite, along with brother Cortez number one 😉 “Leave Pork Chop at home and wear jeans,” Lance has some of my favorite quotes. The third book was recently released and it is as good as the other two. And I have just seen that a fourth book is coming out summer 2018, which I can’t wait for!
Andra’s Favourite Reads for 2017:
The Trouble With Christmas (Christmas, Colorado #1) by Debbie Mason
I recently discovered this wonderful Canadian author (who actually lives very close to me). From the very beginning I was entrenched in the lives of the townspeople of Christmas, Colorado and just could not put this story down. It had everything I love in a good romance read: relatable (i.e. humanly flawed) characters, romance, a hiccup to overcome in the relationship department (in this case….a business deal for the town gone bad), hunky male character and finally…..a happy ending. All that and set during Christmas time. Pure magic! Can’t wait to carry on with the remainder of the series.
A Dead Mother (Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery Book 4) by Anna Celeste Burke
I have been reading this series from the beginning and have never been disappointed but I must say that A Dead Mother is a wonderful addition to the series and shines above the rest in this series. A veritable ‘whodunit’ where I was kept guessing until the very end. I enjoyed how evolved Jessica became. It was also fun to read about her “man” dilemma’s…ah to have both a successful lawyer and a policeman courting Jessica. And as usual, the cast of characters were hilarious in their murder solving skills. But in the end – the murder was solved….but the jury is still out on who will win Jessica’s heart. I do quite enjoy mixing my cozy mysteries with a bit of romance.
Daniele’s Favorite Reads of 2017:
Not a Creature Was Purring by Krista Davis
One of my best books of the year, NOT A CREATURE WAS PURRING will definitely put readers in the holiday spirit. Davis masterfully combines pets, murder, mystery, and family drama with a magical Christmas backdrop worthy of Currier and Ives. The mystery, and the family drama, are compelling reading. And, of course, the magical Wagtail setting keeps me coming back for more.
Where the Dead Lie by C.S. Harris
WHERE THE DEAL LIE might just be the best book to date in the Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series, which is saying a lot. Harris is a master storyteller, writing taught mysteries that are tensely paced, gripping, and atmospheric. This time around Sebastian is on the trail of a most heinous murderer who tortures his young prey before eventually killing them. The subject matter is very dark and disturbing; it will stay with you long after the last word is read.
A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas
Sherry Thomas does a fantastic job reimagining Conan Doyle’s iconic characters. The intricate plot that kept me guessing, the Victorian setting, and a female incarnation that is every bit as brilliant as Sherlock come together to make a stellar read.
Omar’s Favorite Reads of 2017:
The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase by Greg Cox
I’m a great fan of the Librarians TV show and I love fables and old tales, so this book creates the best story combining both of my loves. The Librarians are divided across the globe to look into the real-life appearances of the Mother Goose stories, a woman stuck inside a pumpkin, three blind mice, and a giant Goose. The Librarians have to race across the world to find the pieces of the original copy of the Mother Goose manuscript, before Humpty Dumpty is broken again and the world destroyed. I can’t wait to see what this 2018 season of the show has for us.
The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire
October “Toby” Daye is back with a new story and the Eleven book in the series. This time, the Brightest Fell shines some light into a piece of information that Toby has recently learned, her missing sister, August. Amadine of Faire, Toby’s mother, has come and taken Toby’s friends as ransom until Toby is able to find August and reunite her with Amandine again. This story is a race across the city of San Francisco and other realms following the almost century old trail of August, who took a quest that wasn’t for her, thinking she could finish it.
Things are learned, alliances are broken, people are hurt, and Toby bleeds.
Wildfire by Ilona Andrews
Wildfire is the last book in the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews, it’s the culminations of the of the events that started in Burn For Me. Nevada Baylor and Connor “Mad” Rogan have found the biggest lead and information to take down the secret conspiracy that is trying to overtake the city of Austin. This information has now put everybody Nevada cares about in danger, but has finally let the readers learn the real scope of the members of the Baylor family’s powers.
Great magic, great revelations, and a surprising ending.
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
Like a lot of people in the late summer of 2017, I stumble across the trailer for the movie Call me by your Name and I love it. Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to watch the movie in some time [I still haven’t watched it :(], so I did what a good book reader will do, I went and read the book. I loved the book by André Aciman, it’s a coming of age, first/summer love, that makes you remember or long to have a love like that one. The story is centered around Elio and Oliver on a summer of in the 80’s and jumps to years later at the end of the book where a bittersweet life lesson is learned. The book had great scenes and beautiful dialogs between many characters. I loved it. The music for the movie is the best.
The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz
Lisbeth Salander is back in the newest book in the Millennium series. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye is the second book written by David Lagercrantz and it takes place a couple of months after the events of the Girl in the Spider Web. We find Lisbeth in a women’s prison serving her time for the “kidnap” of August Balder after the death of his father in the previous book and her trying to keep him safe. Now it has come to Lisbeth’s attention a mysterious group that had some interesting in her and her sister when they were children, and did some kind of experiment with twins just like her in the past.
The story reminds me to the first books written by Stieg Larsson, as they have that mystery tone of “what is going to happen” situations. It has many interesting characters, but it really hits home when a beloved character dies.
Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with us. We look forward to another amazing year of books!
