Top 19 Books Of 2019

 

Hello there lovelies and welcome to the first of many book related posts this year. 2019 was one of my best years for reading and creating content based around the books I'd read, the one's I wanted to read and the ones I'd happily stay away from. I didn't hit my GoodReads goal of reading sixty books in the year but I did manage to double the amount of books I read than that of 2018. And there were a lot of good books in that range. Which brings me to today's post, today I'll be sharing with you my Top 19 books from the last year.

I'm going to kick things off with my least favourite book of the year and work my way up to my favourite. The first is The Hazel Wood By Melissa Albert. I read this relatively early on in the year after hearing mixed reviews for it. It follows Alice and her mother as they move from city to city trying to lose the bad luck that's forever following them. Yet when Alice's mother is taken, she must dive into the land of her grandmother's infamous fairy tales called Into The Hinterland which are all of a sudden coming to live. The premise of this book is fantastic as is the first two thirds of of it but the ending felt extremely rushed and lacking in surprise from the build up it was given. It wasn't the worst book I read in 2019 and I'll happily be purchasing it's sequel when it's released but it didn't bowl me over like I hoped it would.

The Thousandth Floor was a book I read last January and at the time I enjoyed but discovered many more better written books later in the year. The Thousandth Floor is a futuristic version of Gossip Girl with the Blair Waldorf's of this world living at the top or highest depths of the tower whilst the Dan Humphries live down on the lower or ground floors. It follows a group of teens who's lifes all intercross at some point be it romantically, friendly or with a bit of bad blood. The story starts with the death of one of these teens and then takes you back to where it all began and what lead to the untimely and sad death of one of the many characters. It was a good book, I read it fairly quickly because I wanted to see where the twists and turns would take it but I wouldn't carry on this series now. After reading a preview of Book Two, it seems like it takes a slight nosedive and makes this book more of a standalone read than that of a trilogy.

This next book I couldn't tell you a thing I remember about the plot but I can tell you that I enjoyed it's very twisty nature, the ending a real plot twist. Twisted is a physcological thriller that'll have you thinking from the get go. I found it very hard to follow at points but the ever constant plot twists had me reading on, even if it took me longer than most books. It was the first book of Steve Cavanagh's that I'd read, I have to say I'd happily pick another on of his up. It had twists, turns and shocks galore but is definitely more of a thinking book than one that you can just breeze through.

2018 was the year I discovered the bestselling crime author Chris Carter. And 2019 was the year I read not one but two of his latest releases. The first is Gallery Of The Dead, the ninth installment in the Robert Hunter Series. This series follows LAPD Detective Robert Hunter as he and the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit work to solve the most gruesome of cases. Gallery Of The Dead follows them as they work to stop a mass murderer who's killing people at random but leaving them for the UVC to find as if they're works of art in a gallery. Between this, The Caller and Hunting Evil the next book in the series, this wasn't my favourite of his. It seemed a little laboured and it took longer for the clues to come together in the hunt for the killer. As always the crimes and the deaths were gruesome but it lacked the shock value slightly that his previous novel The Caller did.

Circe by Madeline Miller was one of 2019's most raved about books and whilst I'm not usually a fan of historical style fiction, I had to give it a go. Another longer read but highly entertaining, each chapter hooking you in more. I adore everything about Greek Mythology in general but this was a deeper, older style mythology that gave a nice change to what you'd usually be reading about. It's definitely a book I'd recommend checking out in 2020 if you haven't already and I'm looking forward to picking up Madeline Miller's other novel The Song Of Achilles this year.

A middle grade series I started and loved in 2019 was A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan. I read this in a day, I was hooked. Following Violet and her parents as they move into the seemingly quaint town of Perfect, this follows as they learn to adhere to the strange obessession the townspeople has with wearing glasses every second of every day. That's until Violet meets Boy who shows her the deadly secret that Perfect is hiding. I adored this book, it was such a quick read but not because it was rushed, because I needed to know what was going to happen next. In fact I just picked up the second book in this series so I can continue and hopefully finish it in 2020.

 A book I picked up, put down, picked back up and very nearly put back down was The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding. Another middle grade series, this book follows the story of Prosper who believes himself to be the only unremarkable member of his extraordinary family. That's until he becomes the host to a malevonent spirit who's intent on destroying his family's good luck. I'd heard really good things about this book but after reading a third of it, I was very tempted to put it down and leave it be but I'm so glad I pushed on through. This book had a really good plot twist at the end and set up for it's sequel perfectly. I'm dying to get my hands on the next book even though I know it means I'll be saying goodbye to this dsyfunctional bunch of characters.

Up next we have one of two Holly Black books I read and loved in 2019. The first is The Wicked King. This is the second installment in her Folk Of The Air series and I absolutely adored this book. It had backstabbing plot twists, the classic hate to love trope and a whole intriguing mystery that left me hooked. I'm so looking forward to finishing this series in 2020 even though I've heard that Queen Of Nothing is the most disappointing of the three books.

And then we have The Cruel Prince. The first in the Folk Of The Air series, this book tells the tale of Jude as she and her twin sister Taryn learn what it's like to grow up in the land of Fae. And unlike their counterparts the twins are decidly human which makes them lower than low in the opinions of the Fae Court. Yet the worst of them is Prince Cardan who makes it's personal quest to cause Jude as much humiliation as possible. That is until Jude decides to fight back and things take a surprising turn. Holly Black has created the most divine world in this trilogy. I didn't think anyone could write Fae better than Cassandra Clare but Holly Black has knocked it out of the park. I would love to read her other novels centred around this world but I've heard that they're not as good as this trilogy.

Another book that I took me a while to get into but that I thoroughly loved by the end of was Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. This follows two different timelines in the same setting, Ellingham Academy. You have a modern timeline that follows Stevie as she attends the academy to study her love of true crime as well as to try and solve the infamous Truly Devious case that happened at the academy in 1936. Which is what the second timelines follows as it tells the tale of the founder of Ellingham Academy as him and the police work to find out who kidnapped and killed his wife and daughter. I found that the first two thirds of this book were a little dull, it was mainly painting the picture and setting the scene but once it picked up in pace and more relevant story arcs started to appear, I adored it. I've recently brought myself the second in the series so I can continue and hopefully be all caught up by the time the third book comes out this year.

I read a second Chris Carter book in 2019 and this one was amazing. Hunting Evil is the tenth book in the Robert Hunter series and followed as Hunter and his partner Garcia hunted for an escaped convict who had a connection to Hunter's past. Oh I adored this book, Chris Carter is an amazing author but he surpassed himself with this one. It had so many twists and turns I was never sure if I was coming or going and the ending had me hooked/ The cover doesn't lie when it says these are as addictive as a box set. I felt like I'd watched an entire series of this show by the time I finished this book and I'm really looking forward to seeing where Chris Carter takes this series next.

Up next we have House Of Salt And Sorrow by Erin A. Craig. I read this back in October and whilst it was one I definitely had to concentrate on, I thoroughly adored. This is a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling that follows a family who are constantly grieving as four of their twelve daughters have died in a series of gruesome manners. Yet when a handsome stranger enters the picture and the girls discover a world of hidden balls, things start to take a creepy and somewhat deadly turn. This had a creepiness to it that could easily send a shiver down my spine but wouldn't put it firmly in the horror genre of book. If you're looking for a really good atmospheric read then I highly recommend you check it out.

A Study In Charlotte was a book I picked up on a whim back in the Summer and whilst it took me a while to warm up to it, I'm now thoroughly engrossed in what the rest of the series holds for Charlotte Holmes and her partner in crime Jamie Watson. If you didn't already know this is a genderbent Sherlock Holmes, following his great granddaughter as she attempts to live a peaceful live, well until she met Jamie Watson that is. Now the pair of recreating that camaradrie of their ancestors but there's a hint of romance that I was egging on throughout the whole book. It did take me a while to really get my teeth into it but I loved how this book played on the character of Sherlock Holmes and what it would be like to be a future generation of his family. The second book in this series is sat waiting for me in my Amazon basket and I definitely plan on attempting to finish this series this year.

I didn't plan on reading this book in 2019 as it was only available in hardback but I just couldn't wait any longer and I'm so glad I gave into my impatience. The Deathless Girls is a retelling of Dracula's Brides and it is intriguing. It follows a pair of twins as they go through countless horrors all to be thrown to the mercy of Dracul himself, eventually giving up their lives to become his undead brides. I knew I was going to love this as soon as I read the synopsis but I loved even more than I could believe. It has a female/female romance which breaks your heart, our main protagonist is such a defiant badass until she can no longer take it and the journey that these twins take is one that will have you hooked until the last page. This is the first book of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's that I've read but I've definitely found myself a new favourite author and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of her next book The Mercies later this year.

We've gotten to the Top Five Books Of 2019. In fifth place we have The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg. This follows a fantasist called Ana, a synthetic hybrid who works in the fantasy theme park called The Kingdom. Essentially she's the epitome of perfect but when she's arrested and put on trial for the murder of one of the park workers, we get to watch as it all builds up to that fateful day and the consequences of the ruling afterwards. I do warn you this book has a couple of trigger warnings including animal cruelty, sexual harrassment and implied sexual assault but that aside, this book kept me up until the early hours, I just couldn't put it down. I was a little bit wary going into this book, it didn't seem like the plot would hold up but I was so damn wrong and I highly recommend reading it in 2020 if you haven't read it already.

In fourth place we have a book I didn't get to until November but I'm not marathoning books Two and Three. Scythe by Neal Shusterman is the first book in his highly acclaimed Arc Of A Scythe Trilogy. It follows two scythe apprentices Citra and Rowan as they not only learn the skills they'll need to become a sycthe but also how the scythedom is disarayed and that the politics are slowly turning the way of the scythes. This trilogy is an acclaimed trilogy for a reason. It's fast paced, it's full of twists and turns, it's got a good mixture of humour and tension that'll have you staying late to read just one more chapter. I've already finished the second book Thunderhead and I'm currently devouring The Toll but I already know that I'll be more than a little forlorn when I finally finish this trilogy.

I found it extremely hard to order this last three books but looking back on my mini reviews of them, I think I'm finally happy with it. In third place we have The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle. I brought this on a whim way back in January of last year and it was the first book I read in 2019. It's extremely hard to describe without giving too much away but it's an amazing multi perspective crime/thriller than you certainly have to concentrate on or you'll easily get thrown off track. This was my first five star read of 2019 and I like to believe that it helped me set up for what was a good reading year.

I'm not even going to say this book came in second place because really it was a joint first book for me. When I first heard about this book I was like meh, it's not going to be much because it's a retelling but I still brought it and boy was I wrong. If you don't know, A Curse So Dark And Lonely is a Beauty And The Beast retelling. It follows Harper who is one night kidnapped from her hometown in Washington and ends in Emberfall where she meets cursed Prince Rhen and his Guard In Arms Grey. I didn't think I could love a book as much as I love this book. It has amazing representation of both disability and LGBT+, Harper our herorine is a badass who doesn't let her disability define her and it's a mixture of humurous and awestriking to read as she battles against being belitted by Rhen and Grey. I didn't think I could love a trio of characters like this as much as I do but they now hold a special place in my heart and I'm dying to read the recently released sequel which is sitting and staring at me from my bookcase. This is an amazing series and I highly recommend checking it out, even if you think it's not for you. I didn't believe I was going to enjoy it and I absolutely loved it.

And in joint first place alongside A Curse So Dark And Lonely is A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson. I knew I wanted to read this book when I brought it but I didn't realise how much I was going to love it. I took it with me to Sheffield when I went up for Naomi's wedding only because Hunting Evil was too bulky to pack with me. I read the first couple of chapters whilst I was away and whilst I enjoyed it I wasn't immediately hooked. It was only when I picked it back up when I got home did I get thoroughly engrossed into it and can't stop recommending it. This follows schoolgirl Pippa who decides to look at a murder cold case from fives years ago for a school project. She believes it will be a simple project but as she starts to look deeper into the case, more and more secrets begin to reveal themselves and soon enough she discovers herself deep in a game of cat and mouse with the killer. This book had me hooked, I even took it to work and I never read when I'm at work, I needed answers. And I got them and this book has got to be one of the best books I read last year. And my favourite part, apart from that it has a sequel coming out this year. This was Holly Jackson's debut novel. She had never published anything before this and this is a YA masterpiece. If you read two books this year please make them A Curse So Dark And Lonely and A Good Girl's Guide To Murder, both are incredible and take pride of place on my bookshelves.