FAVOURITE READS:

1. The Winner's Kiss 
- Tied with ACOMAF as my favourite read of the year. This was such a fantastic conclusion to the series, It was one of those books that grasps you from the first word and doesn’t let go even after its last. I absolutely adore Rutkoski’s writing style, her world building is strong, the plot dense, full of twists and turns, and the characters well rounded, relatable and incredibly human. I'm going to miss everything about this series.

2. A Court of Mist and Fury
- I cannot describe how wonderful this series is. Having read Maas' throne of glass series last year, it's amazing how much she has grown as an author. The characters are the highlight for me, especially Rhysand, and Morrigan; its refreshing to see multiple well-rounded female characters. Also, the idea of exploring the 'other side' to the story is fab and having it loosely based off Persephone and Hades tugged at my inner mythology nerd. I love that Maas hasn't shied away from Feyre's PTSD and instead made it integral to her character and overall growth throughout the series. 
also, did I mention Rhysand?

3. Six of Crows Duology
- This book was great and made up for the disappointment i found in Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy. I loved being back in the Grishaverse and exploring the other parts of the Ravka, it added more depth to the world and lore of the story. I particularly liked the diversity of the cast, and how they were all in their own way outliers that found family in one another, even if it was through thieving. The suspense and action was evenly balanced by scheming, character development and humour, and the flashbacks were well placed and never felt like information dumps. Again, i like that PTSD is used as a character drive rather than a forgotten trait.
Overall, a great read.

4. An Ember in the Ashes series
- This was a surprising story that took me for a wild ride. From page one this book got straight to the action, entangling the three main characters in a web of freedom, love, power, fate and vengeance. There was never a dull moment with these books, the writing was fast paced, the characters strong and well rounded and the plot ever thickening. Can't wait to see what the next book has in store.

5. The Wrath and the Dawn Duology
- This duology was short, sweet and unforgettable. Lyrically written, full of strong female characters and an envious romance, i fell in love from page one and adored every minute of it. Shazi, from the first page I met her, became one of my favourite female characters in YA Literature, without a doubt. She was everything I’ve wanted in a protagonist and more. Her sharp tongue and defiance proved her willing to stand up for herself, others and what she believed in, yet her vulnerability underlined her humanity, fears and the situations placed before her. She could fend for herself, quite literally, yet didn’t doubt the strength of love and others helping her along the way.
This is at the bottom of my favourites list because i felt that Rose fell short. I loved the way things unfolded, it was a great ending for the characters, but I didn't want a great ending, I wanted plot twists and treachery and a grand build up to an even grander, unpredictable ending. It was what I expected it to be, should I be bitter about that...? 
However, I would highly recommend this series to anyone and everyone, and I am very glad I read it.

DISAPPOINTING READS:

1. The Raven King
- This was the biggest book disappointment of the year for me, mostly because it was my most anticipated and it fell, and fell, and fell, until it hit beneath rock bottom. Not even sorry. I was waiting for a massive plot twist, perhaps a reveal of an un-thought of villain or a gut-wrenching decision that had to be made. (Kavinsky and Persephone should have been dreamed back by Ronan tbh.) But no. Nothing. it was somewhat predictable and left me feeling unsatisfied and angry. At least Ronan and Adam got together.


2. The Grisha Trilogy
- This series started out average, but had so much potential, so i hung in there. I loved the idea of elemental powers and the twist of Russian lore, and The Darkling was so intriguing and drool-worthy, especially by the fact that he didn't want to suppress Alina's power (*cough* Mal) but utilise and enhance it. 
Siege and Storm had the introduction of Nikolai and kept the series afloat until Ruin and Rising literally ruined the day and now i make up my own ending. read my reviews for more salt. 

3. The 5th Wave Trilogy
- I had such high hopes after reading so many positive reviews of this, but i still can't understand where the hype came from. The first book was the best by far. There was suspense, there was action, there was aliens and hot boys and alien hot boys. But then the second book dragged on, and made little sense? and then there was the last star; "A disappointing ending to a great idea and first book, lacking in relevant plot explanation, having incredible character imbalances and plain awful descriptions (especially romantic descriptions). " - my review. *sigh*

4. Nevernight
- I swear, everybody seemed to love this book, but i still have it sitting on my bedside table, bookmark at page 98, where it has been since August. 
This book was just too much info dump. The goddamn footnotes make me want to claw my eyes out, even just thinking about them now, and the plot seemed Throne of Glass-esque. I hope to finish it, one day, but i need to have the patients to decipher the thick writing for that. 

5. Passenger
- I really liked Bracken's Darkest minds trilogy, so i had high hopes for this book, but sadly it fell short of expectation. I did, however, enjoy the beginning of the book when they were at sea on a pirate ship, but that atmosphere dissipated the second the characters left and never came back. i found it lacked in action and excitement. I wanted there to be more suspense, especially to counter the love story, and more twists and turns. It was also, at times, predictable and seemed too-easy. I will probably read the sequel, however, just to see how it unfolds.



FAVOURITE GAMES:

1. Dishonored 2
- Best of the best. I adore Dishonored. It's literally my favourite game - ever. I've played it an embarrassing amount of times and i still never get bored. The characters, the plot, the gameplay, they're all so unique and fit together perfectly. and that's exactly how i felt about the sequel. okay, not exactly, but enough to have it beat uncharted 4, which is pretty high. 
I loved being reunited with Corvo and the Dishonored universe, bringing back the nostalgia but not too much that it felt like a rehash of the first game. Exploring Karnaca was great, it was interesting to see areas that weren't Dunwall and how it was both similar and completely different both through the architecture, lore, people and geography. I felt like this was Emily's game, however, and the choice between playing as Corvo and Emily should have been a DLC option. Corvo's had his time..
It was good to see old characters, as well as the addition of new ones, though i had to play it a few times through to understand how they all fit into the dense plot of the game. 
Overall, I loved this game, though not as much as the first, and can't wait to play it a thousand times through again.


2. Uncharted 4 & The Uncharted Collection
- This year i lost my Uncharted virginity and I'm so very very pleased I did (Thanks to my uncle who let me borrow his, and who isn't getting the collection back, sorry.) I love Nathan Drake. Going in to the games I expected him to be one of those cocky, self serving male protagonists that are completely bad-ass and quite frankly inhuman. Thank the gods I was wrong. Nate is the best action-adventure protagonist I've ever played as, and it's because he's so human. He makes mistakes, he has large character flaws (that are not forgotten by the writers, !!!) and he gets injured - both physically and mentally as a result. The same goes for all of the characters in the series. 
Oh, and if you haven't noticed, I really like plot/character-driven games. 
I enjoyed seeing the characters grow over the course of the games (the graphics too), until finally i got to U4. My favourite of the series. I'm not going to go in too deep, but the addition of Sam and way the writers used him to manipulate Nate was so intriguing (i noticed so much on my second play through, like, wow)  
also, i will probably write a post entirely dedicated to Sam Drake and his characteristics/drive/manipulation so don't be surprised. 

3. Mass Effect 3
- I started this game in 2015 and, for some reason, never picked it up again. I'm so glad I did. ME3 was an incredible game. again, plot and character driven, but like dishonored, utilised the player's choices to determine the outcome of the game. I liked that i had a lot of choices, from the way i looked, to the team i chose and upgrades i utilised. By the end of the game i had grown so attached that choosing the final way to save the galaxy was really hard (i mean, i had to pause the game and pace around before i finally chose an option.)

4. Rise of the Tomb Raider
- I adore Lara Croft, having played the PS2 games including Legend and Underworld when i was quite little (like, twelve-years-old little), so naturally this made my list. I love the idea of going back into Lara's origins, seeing her  i believe the quote used in the trailers "" nicely sums up this idea. Gameplay is smooth, I love that you can use both the bow and guns as weapons, and like my other favourite games, the fact that it's character driven adds to the appeal.

5. The Ezio Collection
- Ezio is the love of my life, so naturally he made my top 5 games of the year list (i was going to put AC syndicate but, well, Ezio). These games hold a special place in my heart and playing them again, in HD especially, brought back feelings of nostalgia. The controls are still the same, which is great besides the fact that Ezio enjoys jumping off buildings instead of climbing them more often than not, but other than that The Ezio Collection is fab and the best AC game there is. 


DISAPPOINTING GAMES:

1. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
- The plot was intriguing, however i was bored with only being able to parkour and occasionally try to punch antagonists with guns. This could have been one of those games that got better as you played but alas i gave up...

2. Thief
- I played this in 2015 and gave up, but tried to give it another shot. I was drawn by the similarities to Dishonored, however I found the controls irritating and the lack of combat bland, so gave up on it again. Maybe this year I'll finish it..?