2017 was a pretty crap year – for the country as a whole, and for me in personal ways. A few great things happened for me personally, but it was mostly just a crap year full of stress, heartbreak and change, so I’m really glad it’s over. I’m still trying to stay hopeful than 2018 will be better, but I’ve been saying that for years now, so….

Anyway, my reading slump that started in 2016 hasn’t ended yet, so this was a terrible reading year for me – my worst since I started blogging in 2013. I’m a bit scared to fill this out because of that – and I honestly almost just skipped doing this altogether – but we’ll see how it goes! Maybe posting this will help me get back into the blogging spirit? One can only hope!

This survey is hosted by the lovely Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner. All questions and images belong to her! Thanks, Jamie!!

So, here we go!

Please note: I’m not going to count Harry Potter in the “best book you read” questions because of course HP is the best, that goes without saying. I’ll only count it in questions about number of books read, re-read counts, etc.

Number Of Books You Read: 32 … Which is sad and pathetic :( (I mean this for me and my personal goals. If this was your goal and you’re excited, I mean no offense! It’s just disappointing to me to fail my Goodreads challenge two years in a row…)
Number of Re-Reads: 8
Genre You Read The Most From: My usual science fiction/fantasy, thriller, retellings, etc.

1. Best Book You Read In 2017? There were 4 I truly loved, and since I didn’t read many I truly loved in 2017 because of my reading slump, I’ll list all 4 (in no particular order):

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather
Freya (Freya #1) by Matthew Laurence
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? There were four:

The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye. Biggest disappointment of 2017, since I LOVED LOVED LOVED The Crown’s Game. You can read my review to find out why I didn’t enjoy it :(

Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I don’t know if it was my reading slump or me, but I wanted to love it and didn’t.

Blood of Wonderland by Colleen Oakes. Queen of Hearts was one of my absolute favorite books of 2016, and this book was so weighed down by Second Book Syndrome that it was just a huge letdown. Still torn on whether I’ll be reading the third book or not…

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake. Three Dark Crowns got me out of a reading slump, and I actually re-read it before reading One Dark Throne. I was so excited and then.. wow. Another one that had Second Book Syndrome, which was REALLY disappointing since this was supposed to be the conclusion to the duology and now it’s going to be a four book saga. I can get it being a trilogy, but I don’t feel it needs to be four books and I’m still uncertain if I’ll continue with the series or not.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read? Okay, I know I said I wasn’t going to include Harry Potter books in these kinds of questions… But I have to answer this one with Prisoner of Azkaban because honestly, the last re-read I did (from Dec 2016-Jan 2017) made me realize that PoA is actually my favorite HP book, which shocked the crap out of me because I always thought it was my least favorite (and had felt that way for 18 years, so it came as quite a shock). And this most recent re-read I did (like a week ago) confirmed for me that it is, indeed, my favorite book in the series. My mind is still blown by this revelation.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)? I always push Leigh Bardugo books and Sarah J. Maas books a lot, so of course those. Also, How to Hang a Witch and Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather because they were epic beyond words.

5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017? For best series started, I’m going to have to go with Freya by Matthew Laurence – loved so much! Best sequel of 2017 would have to be Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco. And best series ender… I can’t answer that, because I didn’t read many series enders in 2017 – and the ones I read weren’t so great :(

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017? Adriana Mather, definitely. I can’t wait to see what she does next!

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone? I didn’t really read out of my comfort zone this year because I was in such a bad reading slump, I was trying to read what WAS in my comfort zone, hoping those books would break me out of my reading slump. Sadly, this didn’t work. So maybe I DO need to read out of my comfort zone some more in 2018…

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? Another for How to Hang a Witch and Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather. Definitely some of my favorite books of 2017.

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year? I don’t really see myself doing any re-reads, unless it’s Harry Potter.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

 
11. Most memorable character of 2017? Freya. She was hilarious and spunky.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017? The Hummingbird Heart by A.G. Howard. Anita is a master storyteller. She creates these incredible worlds and her writing just sucks you in.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017? The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read? I read mostly new releases, so I don’t have any backlist to answer this question with :(

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017? I don’t think I have one.. :(

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017? Longest was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, shortest was Katana at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee

17. Book That Shocked You The Most I… have no idea. I guess One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake because I’m shocked the series is getting 2 more books and I’m sad that ODT had Second Book Syndrome as a result.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) Audrey Rose and Thomas from Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco!!!

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year Mina and Lynet in Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously Definitely The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure: Again, I was in such a reading slump, I really just read within my comfort zone and based on my TBR and review pile, so… :(

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017? I don’t think I have one..

23. Best 2017 debut you read? Another one for Freya by Matthew Laurence

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year? I know I said I wasn’t going to use Harry Potter for these but.. I’m gonna have to go with Harry Potter #sorrynotsorry

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read? Harry Potter, of course.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017? None.. :\

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year? Another one for Another for How to Hang a Witch and Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather. These really were incredible and everyone needs to read them!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul? …. Don’t have one :( Stupid reading slump…

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017? I mean… I guess Harry Potter: The Cursed Child. But only because it’s a screenplay and I don’t usually read those. Also, it sucked. So I guess that also made it unique because I LOVE everything HP.. except for this atrocity.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)? See above. And I 100% didn’t like it, for the record.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2017? I was very disconnected from the blogging community this year because I had a lot going on in my personal life, so I didn’t discover any new blogs, sadly.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017? Don’t have a favorite :(

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog? Television Tuesday: Breaking Up (Or Not) With a Television Show

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)? Didn’t participate in any :(

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017? In addition to my reading slump, I was also in a blogging slump so I don’t think I had any… :(

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year? My reading and blogging slump. They’ve haunted me since February 2016 and it’s been a struggle to get through the little bit of reading and blogging I HAVE managed to get done.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)? 2017 Debut Authors Bash: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love? On Meredith’s Mind #7: Happy 20th Birthday, Harry Potter!!!!!!!

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? Spearcraft Book Box Subscription

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year? Nope. I failed so hard on my Goodreads challenge, it’s not even funny. Second year in a row I haven’t reached my goal, too. For 2018, I’m lowering my goal substantially because it’s very disappointing to not reach it two years in a row.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018? HAHAHAHA…. With a reading slump that’s going on for almost two years now? Too many to list..

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)? Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3) by Kerri Maniscalco

3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? Sea Witch by Sarah Henning. Those of you who follow me on social media know just how badly I’m anticipating this one!

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018? My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies, #2) by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashton

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018? I REALLY MORE THAN ANYTHING want to get out of this blogging and reading slump. I’m so frustrated by them, I just want to cry. I miss reading and I have SO many blog discussion post ideas and blog features I want to share with you guys..

6. A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable): Haven’t read any :(

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So there you have it! Hope you guys enjoyed the survey, despite how sad and pathetic my answers were *sobs.* Don’t forget to head over to the Perpetual Page Turner to see the linky list of all the other blogs who participated. And of course, feel free to leave a comment with a link to your best of 2017 survey so I can check it out, or just answer a few of the questions in the comments!

Happy New Year, and may 2018 be better than 2017!!