2019 Year In Review

Another year is over! (Well, almost)

This was a long year. I got sick more times than I can count, my families daily routine was upheaved every time we got used to our new normal, and I made a lot of personal changes.

But let’s focus on the book part of the year because…I met my reading goal! I read 100 of 100 books this year! It might change to 101 but we’ll see… (I’m about halfway through Gods of Jade and Shadow, so fingers crossed I can finish it by Tuesday!)

Let’s talk about some of my favorites from this year!

Favorite books of 2019:

Jay Kristoff and the start of an obsession:
The Nevernight Chronicles, The Illumanie Files, and Aurora Rising

I received a D-ARC of Aurora Rising, read it immediately, and then went out and bought a massive pile of Kristoff books. All seven of these books are some of my favorites from this year!

Leigh Bardugo:
Crooked Kingdom, King of Scars, and Ninth House

I read Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows last year, so Crooked Kingdom was one of my first reads of the year. I loved it so much and bought King of Scars on release day to experience the true merging of the two series. It did not disappoint. And Ninth House was awesome and really shows Bardugo’s talent.

Nora Roberts and the controversy:
The Rise of Magicks

Anyone remember the Nora Roberts/Tomi Adyemi controversy this year? Basically Adyemi accused Roberts of copying her book title to piggy back off her success, even though Roberts is one of the best selling authors OF ALL TIME. I bought Year One on audio to endorse Roberts after all that and fell in love with her magikal world. I haven’t listened to the finale yet, but i highly recommend these books!

Memoirs:
Without You and Becoming

I love Rent, so it was a no-brainer that I’d fall in love with Anthony Rapp’s biography. Michelle Obama’s I was a lot more hesitant about, but I loved her honesty and how she didn’t shy away from the struggles of being First Lady.

Young Adult Sequels:
The Secret Commonwealth, King of Fools, When She Reigns, Soul of The Sword, and The Girl The Sea Gave Back

Holy sequels! I loved all of these books so much, but The Secret Commonwealth and King of Fools are my favorites! And for those of these that aren’t finished yet: I need the conclusions to these now!!!

Debuts:
Spin The Dawn, Sorcery of Thorns, House of Salt and Sorrow, and We Hunt The Flame

So many amazing debut authors this year! All four of these books were wonderful and cannot wait to see where these authors take me next.

Contemporaries, Historical, and Others:
The Great Alone, There’s Something About Sweetie, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and The Lake House

Contemporary doesn’t usually rate high for me, but TSAS was adorable and I loved it. As for Great Alone, Evelyn, and Lake House, I cried, I fell in love, and all three are truly beautiful stories that I will hold on to forever.

Least Favorites:

These I’m not going to touch on too much… but I had five least favorite books this year:

• The Queen of Nothing (read my review here)
• Wicked Saints (here)
• The Exact Opposite of Okay (honestly probably my new least favorite book EVER)
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Morris turned a horrible tragedy into a cute love story where there really was no real danger. It’s truly disgusting)
• Heart of Thorns (this book is just awkward)
  

Other bookish things this year:

I’m slowly trying to be more active on my bookstagram, even though I’ll sometimes go days without posting a thing. I need to be one of those super organized people who take 20+ photos in one day. Come check me out here

I shut down my blog in July – and back in October I restarted it and deleted every single previous post. I felt like I needed a fresh start in order to really commit to blogging again. So thank you to all of you who have read my book reviews and thoughts over the last few months – I really hope to expand my little corner of the internet next year and cannot wait for everything that’s to come!

So, there’s my little bookish year in review, what about you? What are some of your favorite reads this year? Or your bookish goals that you accomplished? Let me know!

And Happy New Year Everybody!