Top Reads of 2019

Hello everyone,

Well, 2019 was a bit of an experience, I had so many plans and high hopes going into the year. Producing this blog, staying up to date with it (and my bookstagram account) and still reading. Alongside this, I started a new job and hit a few bumps along the road. I didn’t quite meet my reading goal of 25 books, I was 2 shy as the new year’s bells rang. I figured for my first post of 2020 I would share my top reads of 2019 and have a wee look back on the year that has gone by. Before I start on my favourites, I figured I should first list all the books I managed to get through in 2019, going in the order I read them:

• The Witchfinders Sister by Beth Underwood – 3.5*
• Circe by Madeline Miller – 4*
• Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan – 4*
• The Beauty of the Wolf by Wren Delaney – 2.5*
• Queen of Sea and Stars by Anna McKerrow – 4*
• Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Mass – 5*
• A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer – 4*
• Nocturna by Maya Motayne – 4*
• Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – 4*
• Romanov by Nadine Brandes – 5*
• Rebel Heiress by Fiona Mountain – 3.5*
• Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco – 5*
• The Bed Wife by Suzanna Lynn – 3*
• The Heir by Suzanna Lynn – 4*
• Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco – 4*
• This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay – 4*
• The Empress of Ice Cream by Anthony Capella – 3*
• Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco – 5*
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon – 5*
• The Queen by Suzanna Lynn – 4*
• Twas the Nightshift before Christmas by Adam Kay – 4*
• When Gargoyles Drown by Ashley C. Harris – 3*

So, 23 books for me in 2019. My reading was a bit all over the place throughout the year. Some months I didn’t read at all, other months it is all I seemed to do. As you can tell from the ratings above, I enjoyed a lot of what I was reading. However, I did have some favourite reads throughout the year. I was going to limit this to 5, however, I couldn’t quite do that so my top ‘six’ (not quite six as one of them is a series, so it’s more like 10…) are below.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

This was one of my first reads of the year. Having received it in a FairyLoot box way back in 2018 I was determined that 2019 would be the year I read it. This is one of the books that I managed to read super quickly and I fell in love with the world and storyline that was started in this book. I adored the characters and found myself rooting for them. The only downside of this book to me was that all of the action seemed to happen in the last 150ish pages, as the start of the book focused on world and character building.  I had hoped to make it to the sequel before the end of the year, however, that is yet to happen. It is however defiantly high on my wish list for 2020. You can find my review for the book here if you are interested.

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Mass

So, I was very late to the game when it comes to the Throne of Glass series (I was also super late to discovering A Court of Thornes and Roses too – thanks Kelcy!) Anyway, this was my first 5 star read of the year, and it was very much deserved. I was a wee bit sceptical about this book initially as Chaol had never been my favourite character and I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a book entirely dedicated to him. I shouldn’t have worried as not only did this book fill in some of the blanks from the storyline in Empire of Storms, but it was overall an enjoyable read. Again, if you are interested my full review can be found here.

Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Another 5-star read for this. However, I feel I fought my way through this during my reading slump (which seemed to last most of the year). Despite this, once I was able to sit down and read, I found the story enjoyable. Having not read any of Nadine’s other works I was unsure about how weaving fiction with reality would work. However, everything is woven together seamlessly – everything in the story is so detailed and in-depth it meant the story stayed with me, even after I finished the book. You can read my full review here.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

This was one of my last reads of the year. I have owned this book for about 5 years. I picked it up in a charity shop after getting to watch the stage production and falling in love with the storyline. When I picked this up, I was after something a wee bit different and this book did not disappoint. I could not put this book down once I started and I loved the inclusion of all the images and diagrams. I found this book refreshing and insightful and I found myself rooting for the characters from page one of the book right until the very end.

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

This is another book I have had my eye on for a wee while and I was super happy to receive it as a birthday gift back in August. I picked this book up when I discovered it would fit in my coat pocket which meant I could carry it around with me. This was extra helpful, and I found myself constantly with this book in my hand – on the bus, in a coffee shop, in the queue at the post office, literally anywhere. I had heard mixed things about this book, however, I found it insightful into one person’s experience of working as a junior doctor. It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me appreciate that I not only have my health but that I also have a service who will be there to help me if I need it. 

Stalking Jack the Ripper Series by Kerri Maniscalco

So, I am cheating here a wee bit. This is not one book, but the entire series which I read in 4 months. I honestly couldn’t do a top read’s of 2019 without including this series. However, if I were doing a ‘Top 5’ this series would have made up 4 out of the 5 books which (while a fair representation of my feelings) I also read other wonderful books I wanted to share with you all as well. So, I honestly don’t know what to say about this series. I fell in love with it from the get-go. I was rooting for Audrey-Rose and Thomas from page 1. Through all the murder, mystery, mayhem and heartbreak I honestly just wanted them to come out on top. I enjoyed the fact that we have a female protagonist who is going against the norm in Victorian society who found a steadfast companion who was willing to champion her throughout and not expect her to fit into the norm. I could honestly do a whole blog post about this series. Instead, I will link my review for each book here (SJTR, HPD, EFH).

So, there we have it. My top reads of 2019. This blog post has turned out way longer than I expected so I am going to end it here. I hope you have all had a fantastic reading year. What were your top reads in 2019? Do you have any books you can’t wait to get to in 2020?

Love,

Alanna x