Number of books I read: Work-related + Private = 32 + 54 = 86
Number of rereads: 4 [my personal low]
Genre I read the most from: Contemporary [never thought this would happen]

Please keep in mind that I work for a publisher and, as stated above, read a lot of their books. So it’s bound to be quite a couple of them in here. But this is still my personal non-professional opinion.

1. Best book I read in 2016

Let’s split that up a little [only counting first-reads]:

• Best MG: Lizzy Carbon und der Klub der Verlierer (Lizzy Carbon, #1) by Mario Fesler
• Best YA: Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
• Best drama/non-fiction: Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Best comic/graphic novel: Awakening (Monstress, Vol. #1) by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda

2. Book I was excited about and thought I was going to love more but didn’t

The Rose & the Dagger (The Wrath & the Dawn, #2) by Renée Ahdieh
I adored The Wrath & the Dawn and had high expectations for TR&tD. There were some rather cool twists, but all in all, I was rather disappointed and not interested in quite a lot of plot points.

3. Most surprising – in a bad way – book I read

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
Nope, not going to call it the 8th book in the series – because, no. Well, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was everything I feared for when I found out Harry didn’t die at the end of #7 (yes, I wanted him to die). But I am surprised. Mostly at how much it stole from the A Very Potter Musicals.  As a non-canonical fanfiction, this is quite entertaining, as canon, it is a nightmare.

4. Book I “pushed” the most people to read (and they did)

My job is to push books on people, which they then read and review – so all of the Magellan titles!

5. Best series I started in 2016 / Best sequel of 2016 / Best series ender of 2016

A: Awakening (Monstress, Vol. #1) by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
The art is so amazing! I want to frame every single page and put them all on the walls for me to gaze at. Wouldn’t get much else done.

B: Imprudence (The Custard Protocol, #2) by Gail Carriger
Dandelion fluff fun!

C: “Something Old, Something New” from Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles, #4.5) by Marissa Meyer
So much gushing involved!

6. Favorite new author I discovered in 2016

Mario Fesler. So much dark humour. So much empathy. Can’t wait for the next!

7. Best book from a genre I don’t typically read

Kuschelflosse 1-3 by Nina Müller
Working for a children’s and YA publisher means that you also read books you normally don’t have any reason to pick up. The adventures of Kuschelflosse [Cuddlefin] and his friends are books for children age 4+, so I would normally consider myself a little too old for them, but they are very entertaining with lots and lots of fun details. My favourite scene was the fish finger labyrinth (yes, that’s a thing. Yes, that’s just as awesome as it sounds).

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year

Well, I didn’t read any book that completely fits the description. The one coming closest is Don’t Get Caught by Kurt Dinan, which I enjoyed much more than I initially thought I would. A mysterious chaos club wreaking havoc and a battle of pranks with a group of interesting characters make this a thoroughly entertaining read.

9. Book I read in 2015 that I’m most likely to reread next year

Probably Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, based solely on that I listened to the audio drama and have a beautiful hardcover copy illustrated by my fave Chris Riddell that yearns to be read.

10. Favorite cover of a book I read in 2016

11. Most memorable character of 2016

Hamilton – Although he’s not really a character, since he’s a historical figure. Still, the musical became the soundtrack of my year and since I read the script, I feel like I can name him here.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2016

Apparently, it’s always the rereads: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. Perfection!

13. Most thought-provoking book of 2016

Dead Ends by Erin Jade Lange. That book drove me mad and I itched to shake the protagonists so badly! That made it a kind of uncomfortable read for me, because I really couldn’t deal with my feelings, mostly anger at the situation and the characters – which wonderfully drove the point home, since the protagonist has anger management issues.

14. Book I can’t believe I waited UNTIL 2016 to finally read?

And I can’t quite believe I actually read them, considering that they’re boring as hell and have one of the most insufferable protagonists I’ve ever had the misfortune to come across: Siege & Storm and Ruin and Rising (The Grisha, #2 & #3) by Leigh Bardugo

15. Favorite passage/quote from a book I read in 2016

Copy-pasting last year’s answer: Err, sorry, but I don’t add my quotes to GR and my handwritten notes are a mess, so I have no idea.

16. Shortest and longest book I read in 2016

A: A couple of books in the Grit und die Stute Hanny series by Axel Frank [43 pages each]
B: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories by Eoin Colfer et al. [876 pages]

17. Book that shocked me the most

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
Simply because it exists, but even more so because of the way the trio was depicted.

18. OTP of the year (I will go down with this ship!)

Weirdly enough, I don’t really have a new one (and that’s saying something, I’m a massive shipper!). There’s still Shazi and Khalid (The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh), Prudence & Quesnel (The Custard Protocol by Gail Carriger), and Isis and Duncan (Die Seiten der Welt by Kai Meyer). Apart from them, there were a couple of cute couples in the contemporaries, but none that blew me away.

19. Favorite non-romantic relationship of the year

1. Lizzy & her Loosers’ Club [Lizzy Carbon und der Klub der Verlierer by Mario Fesler]
   Those misfits made such an awesome team!
2. The Jellicoe Road gangs [Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta]
   I know there were romantic relationships in both groups, but still. Their friendship was so damn heartbreaking, especially of the group in Hannah’s book. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache.
3. Prudence & Primrose [Imprudence (The Custard Protocol, #2) by Gail Carriger]
   They’re epic together! I really love their friendship. And their names sound great together, too.

20. Favorite book I read in 2016 from an author I’ve read previously

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Apparently, Melina has a subscription for this section.

21. Best book I read in 2016 that I read bases SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure

I never read books solely based on a recommendation and most certainly not solely based on peer pressure. If there’s not at least something about the book that piques my interest, I’m not going to waste any money on it. And I don’t consider the books I read for work to fall into this category although I probably read most of them solely because it is part of my job.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book I read in 2016

Um, I don’t have any? (It truly must have been an awful reading year if it hasn’t introduced me to at least one new fictional crush.)

23. Best 2016 debut I read

Lizzy Carbon und der Klub der Verlierer (Lizzy Carbon, #1) by Mario Fesler
Are you tired of hearing that title yet? But hey, it’s certified – sort of! It’s one of the three titles nominated for the most important German prize for youth literature in the category New Talents.

24. Best worldbuilding/most vivid setting I read this year

1. The Grishaverse of The Grisha by Leigh Bardugo
   First of all: I’m well aware of the issues and mistakes made regarding the Russian influences and borrowings (for example, it drove me crazy that the last names weren’t gendered). Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this vivid world, its great mythology and magic. I didn’t like (most of) the characters, I didn’t like the story, but I LOVED the worldbuilding.
2. The Palais des Papillons of A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann
   This 18th century French underground death trap was really intriguing although the story fell a little flat for me. I would much rather have spent more time exploring the palace.

25. Book that put a smile on my face/was the most FUN to read

1. Imprudence (The Custard Protocol, #2) by Gail Carriger
   Gail has a subscription for this section. Her books are just the best when you’re looking for an entertaining read!
   
2. Lizzy Carbon und der Klub der Verlierer (Lizzy Carbon, #1) by Mario Fesler
   Lot’s of sarcasm and black humour! It’s has a serious topic but it’s nevertheless a fun read. [We also had the author for a reading at the Frankfurt Bookfair and I was manning the till right behind the author and I couldn’t help but giggle basically throught the reading.]
   
3. The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash
   Being a total nerd myself, the Comic-Con setting and the hundreds of easter eggs were just so much fun!

26. Book that made me cry in 2016

1. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
   
2. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
   
3. Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake
4. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

27. Hidden gem of the year

1. Lizzy Carbon und der Klub der Verlierer (Lizzy Carbon, #1) by Mario Fesler
2. Awakening (Monstress, Vol. #1) by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda

28. Book that crushed my soul

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
This book is so me. I’m not suffering from OCD but as a HSP I sometimes have similar issues and I could really relate to Sam. When everything’s too much for me, I also find solace in writing – not poetry, just the thoughts and the feelings that come to my mind. So Sam’s story really touched me and also completely broke me into pieces.

29. Most unique book I read in 2016

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Part play, part non-fiction and 100% awesome.

30. Book that made me the most mad

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
I could rant about this for days …

1. One book I didn’t get to in 2016 but will be my number 1 priority in 2017

That would be Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. I loved Illuminae to pieces, but didn’t manage to get to Gemina right away. I have rather high expectations, so let’s see how this will turn out. [Unfortunately, I didn’t like it as much. It was rather average, especially since the plot was so similar to Illuminae.]

2. Book I’m most anticipating for 2017 (non-debut)

I’m not that much into comics but I love the Monstress series, so of course I can’t wait for The Blood (Monstress, Vol. #2) by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda to be published! [And I read it as soon as I got my hands on it!]

3. 2017 debut I’m most anticipating

I think the book I’ve been most anticipating is The Tiger’s Daughter (Their Bright Ascendency, #1) by K. Arsenault Rivera. Unfortunately, I’ve already heard not so good things about it. I really hope I’ll enjoy it anyway.

4. Series ending/a sequel I’m most anticipating in 2017

Lizzy Carbon und die Wunder der Liebe by Mario Fesler [And since I’m writing this after reading it, I can tell you that I loved it! This series is simply amazing!]

5. One thing I hope to accomplish or do in my reading/blogging life in 2017

Um, … I really hope I’ll accomplish refraining from making any promises or setting any crazy goals. I just never stick to them.

6. A 2017 release I’ve already read and recommend to everyone

I have read a couple of 2017 releases due to work, but I have to cheat a little, since my favourite originally came out in 2016, the German edition, however, in January 2017. Anyways, I really enjoyed Suffer Love aka Liebe ist wie Drachensteigen by Ashley Herring Blake. I cried a lot!