Mareli Thalk ink ......

How many Fridays do we have left? Before Christmas? After Christmas? I am seriously suffering from a bit of Scrooge syndrome the past couple of weeks. In more ways than one. Some good, some bad. But I do believe it is Friday and that means we can talk books. I can still do that.  Meet me on Friday @  Friday 56  for a bit of  Book Blogger Hop   to kick-start the weekend with  Book Beginnings . 

The year is just about at an end and not to sound like Scrooge, but b ah humbug to that. Not that I am ungrateful, in fact I am extremely grateful to join  The Broke and the Bookish once again for Top Ten Tuesday and that I managed to read more than 10 books this year so that I can at least make a selection of my Ten Favorite Books for 2017.  As with most books, my selection is strictly based on personal experiences. None of my favorites for 2017 are actually published in 2017. In fact I have two books on my list that were published in the previous century! But that is the wonder of books and the magic of reading. It is always in the present tense the moment you open the book.  I don't really have an ascending order from most favorite to least favorite list for this year. Each of the books listed meant something to me through a really tough year. Let's have a quick look at the books that made my list: 

Title: Queen of Spades Author: Michael Shou-Yung Shum Published by:  Forest Avenue Press Publication date:  10 October 2017  Genre:  General Fiction, Suspense ISBN:  19424363319 Mareli's rating:  3.5 stars Recommend to:  If you have a gambling problem - stay clear. This book reveals the 'magic' of a casino and the luck of the card.  Description:  Queen of Spades  revamps the classic Pushkin fable of the same name, transplanted to a mysterious Seattle-area casino populated by a pit boss with six months to live, a dealer obsessing over the mysterious methods of an elderly customer known as the Countess, and a recovering gambler who finds herself trapped in a cultish twelve-step program. With a breathtaking climax that rivals the best Hong Kong gambling movies, Michael Shou-Yung Shum’s debut novel delivers the thrilling highs and lows that come when we cede control of our futures to the roll of t...

Title: The Girl in the Ice Author:  Robert Bryndza Published by: Bookouture Publication date: February 2016 Read:  August 24 - 27, 2017 Genre: Mystery; Thriller Pages:  396 (kindle edition) Series: Detective Erika Foster #1 Mareli's rating:  2.5  stars Recommend to: Readers of fast paced thrillers. Or if you watch crime series with female detectives, you might like this one as well. Description:  When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.   The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London.   What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?   As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is...

Title: Where the sweet bird sings Author:  Ella Joy Olsen Published by: Kensington Books Publication date: 29 August 2017  Genre: General Fiction ISBN:   9781496705648 Mareli's rating: 3 stars Recommend to: Lovers of adult fiction that deals with loss and grief Description:  People respond to tragedy in different ways. Some try to move on. Some don’t move at all. A year after her young son’s death due to a rare genetic disease, Emma Hazelton is still frozen by grief, unable and unwilling to consider her husband Noah’s suggestion that they try to have another child. As the future Emma once imagined crumbles, her family’s past comes into sharp relief. Searching for the roots of her son’s disease, Emma tries to fit together the pieces in her genealogical puzzle. Hidden within an old wedding photograph of her great-grandparents is an unusual truth Emma never guessed at—a window into all the ways that love can be surprising, generous, and fiercely brave...

Title: The Memory of Water Author:  J.T. Lawrence Format: Audiobook (Audible) Read/listened:  August 4 - 9, 2017 Genre:  Thriller; Black Humor (is that a genre, or just preferred reading?) Mareli's rating: 3.5  Stars (loved the story, didn't care for the narration much) Recommend to:  If you find Jay Gatsby an intriguing character, you will have a field-day with Slade Harris Description:  Slade Harris will do anything for a story, including murdering the woman he loves.   Slade doesn’t think twice about jumping out of a plane or conducting disastrous love affairs to gather material for his work, but his self-indulgent life is catching up with him. Stumbling through his late thirties hopeless and a little drunk, Slade has a dazzling, dangerous idea which will change his life forever. It’s going to be Slade’s ultimate story ... and all he’s hoping for is to survive it.   Goodreads

An opening line like that has the same effect on me as: " You had me at hello".....   A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness  is one of those Russian-doll books.  A gift within a gift that leads to yet another gift. So I just have to share it on  Thursday Quotables  hosted by  Bookshelf Fantasies . This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage during your past reading week. Whether it's something funny, startling, gut-wrenching or just  really  written beautifully - this is where you must share! Just remember to link back to  bookshelffantasies.com