Five on Friday: 2016 Reads
Five books I loved reading a decade ago
It might be an overdone trend and it might just be a way for the robots to see all our old photos but I didn’t want to miss a chance to talk about five books I read (and loved) in 2016.
I’ve been recording my reads on Goodreads since before 2013 (let’s be friends!) but it was in that year that I finally started keeping shelves for what I read during that specific year. It was, therefore, pretty easy to go through all 103 books I read ten years ago. At the time I was working in a job that didn’t thrill me so I was trying to find all the books to love and escape into fictional worlds.
To help narrow down the list, I selected five books that were also published in 2016. Notable reads that weren’t published that year that I loved reading (or rereading) in 2016 include Arranged by Catherine McKenzie (2010) and Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (1921). I also discovered Karma Brown that year and her books continue to bring me so much joy.
It might be a stretch but are there any books from 2016 that you loved and would still recommend today?
One True Loves
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a well known name these days but, back in 2016? She wasn’t nearly as popular. By that year, she’d already published three books. (My greatest blogger shame? I was sent an ARC of her debut, Forever, Interrupted, and I NEVER READ IT. Shame. So much shame.) I liked 2015’s Maybe in Another Life but One True Loves? That book was something else. It was full of emotions and so well written (unlike some of the other angsty romances of the time). Emma goes through so much in this book and the reader is along for the ride, which means we hit every bump with her. I recommend listening to the audiobook because it’s narrated by the amazing Julia Whelan! (I have yet to watch the movie!) (Review here)
The Break
katherena vermette is an amazing author. Amazing. You have to be prepared for a tough read when you pick up her books but you should definitely pick them up. The Break is a book that stuck with me and I appreciated vermette’s story and her storytelling skills. We meet so many different characters whose lives are difficult in different ways and intertwined in ways we wouldn’t expect. I recently(ish) reread the book and it’s still one I’d recommend to people, especially those who are trying to diversify their reading. As much as I shout about this book, I still haven’t read the two books she wrote that feature characters we meet in The Break. Someday!
We’re All in This Together
In a fun twist, I went to Word on the Street in 2016 to see one particular author. Amy Jones happened to be on the same panel and was talking about her new novel, We’re All in This Together. I was immediately intrigued and read it a month or so later. It was so good! The book was so smart and funny so Jones immediately became an author I pay attention to. I also loved her 2023 book, Pebble & Dove, which stars a teenage girl (Dove) who was trying to save a manatee (Pebble) (review here). I highly recommend them both!
Smut
I went through a huge Karina Halle phase in 2016 and read a ton of her books, including the entire McGregor Brothers series, starting with The Pact. But I also read Smut, one of her standalone contemporary romances. I adored it. I liked that this new adult story took place during the main characters’ creative writing course. A little meta but I love books about books, authors, publishing, or libraries. And this one was fun because the characters are just getting their start with writing and then decide to publish their own spicy books under a pen name. So fun! (Review here)
The Rivals of Versailles
I was absolutely obsessed with Sally Christie’s Mistresses of Versailles trilogy. The first book, The Sisters of Versailles, was published in 2015 and I was hooked - and so impatient for book two, The Rivals of Versailles. I learned so much about the French royal family in the 1700s. Versailles was full of gossip and Christie did such a great job of balancing fact with spilling all the tea. I’ve never read another historical fiction series like this one and think it deserves to have more readers discover it!