The Best Books I Read in 2017

Listed in the order I read them in, here are my favourites from 2017 (not necessarily published in 2017). Links are to my reviews.

1. City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett - Written from Sigrud's point of view, the book shows the end result of the work started in the previous two books as the gods of the past die. It made me cry several times as people realize that the world is harder to change than expected. (Review of book 1, City of Stairs.)

2. Dreadnought by April Daniels - When a superhero dies and his mantle bestows a female body - and superpowers - on Daniel, Danielle must face many trials: being outed as transgender in a bigoted world, learning how to use her powers, and a city under attack by the supervillian who killed her predecessor. The author juggles a lot of things here, and does an incredible job.

3. Hurricane Heels by Isabel Yap - A novella about a female Sailor Moon style superhero team now in their twenties and wondering when the world will be saved and their service ended so they can get on with their lives.

4. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty - A locked room murder mystery taking place on a starship with a 6 person crew, all of whom just woke up in new clones. Lots of twists in a claustrophobic setting.

5. Skullsworn by Brian Staveley - Pyrre, a priestess of the god of death, was one of my favourite side characters from the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy, so it was great seeing her in a standalone where she had to kill seven people - but seven specific people - in fourteen days to pass her final test or she'll be killed herself.

6. Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan - The Second book in the Waking Fire series. I'm loving the dragon blood powered magic and the race to figure out how to prevent the end of the world. (Review of book 1, The Waking Fire.)

7. Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw - Several new urban fantasy books are making me reconnect with the subgenre. This book follows a human who heals supernatural creatures.

8. Halls of Law by V. M. Escalada - I really enjoyed the world-building in this female dominated country being overrun by an outside empire. I liked the magic system of flashing, holding objects to learn more about them and the people who'd held them before. I also liked seeing a heroine who isn't always heroic, and who feels guilt over past decisions.

9. Leviathan Wakes by S. A. Corey - The first book of The Expanse series was incredible. I love the show and the book - slightly different - gave some good rounding out for characters. It's tense and compelling.

10. The Core by Peter V. Brett - The final book of the Demon Cycle was as pulse pounding as I could have wished. It touched base with all the characters mentioned in the past (including those from the novellas) and was quite a wild ride. (Review of book 1, The Warded Man/The Painted Man.)

11. Valiant Dust by Richard Baker - I thought this space retelling of part of the pre-WWI colonizing effort in Africa was well done. It showed the complexities of racism as people 'civilize' (as determined by the colonizing power).

12. Hymn by Ken Scholes - The fifth and final book of The Psalms of Isaac. This is a fantasy series with so much intrigue and layers of deception you're constantly guessing what horrible thing is going to happen next. (Review of book 1, Lamentation.)

What were your favourite books of 2017?