Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Hi everybody, and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday!
Today’s all about the top ten books we read in 2019 and I’m sorry but I just could not reduce this list to just ten books. Which is a good problem to have, I suppose. So without further ado, I present to you my FIFTEEN favorite books of 2019!
The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing
by Holly Black
I’m still so happy we got BOTH these books this year! I adored The Wicked King, and then Queen of Nothing – it’s been a while since I read such a satisfying conclusion to a trilogy. It’s been a while since I was so transfixed by a book in general. I finished this book in one day because I couldn’t stop reading! My only complaint is that these books are so short and I could have easily had these books be double the size because I would have gobbled it all up. I just love Jude and Cardan so much, okay?
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
A witch and a witch hunter bound together in holy matrimony. YES PLEASE, be still, my enemies-to-lovers beating heart. This was worth all the hype, a fun witchy story with amazing characters and a lovely angsty romance.
Taming Demons for Beginners and Slaying Monsters for the Feeble by Annette Marie
Can I say anything else at this point other than ” STOP SLEEPING ON ANNETTE MARIE, WORLD”? Every single book this lady writes is gold and this latest release is no exception. I can’t decide which Guild Codex series I like more – this Demonized series or the original Spellbound series. So let’s not decide and love them both equally!
Even more by Annette Marie
THREE more Annette Marie books this year? Why yes, the lady is an actual superstar with the rate at which she writes and yet I’ve never once been let down by the quality, so BRING IT ON!! I love this series more and more with each book I read.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I listened to this on audiobook on the commute to work and back, and I got so entranced by it that I looked forward to going to work and didn’t mind getting delayed by traffic. I LOVED this book. Evelyn Hugo was such an interesting character and her story felt so real to me that I was even tempted to look up her movies (sadly, they’re not real). I loved the romance in the story (interestingly, not with any of her seven husbands), I loved the friendships, and I loved the depiction of fame and how it affected our heroine Evelyn, a bisexual woman of Cuban heritage. I’d recommend this to anyone. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn is worth ALL THE HYPE.
Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata
When Ruby Santos signs up to write a soldier overseas, she thinks she knows what she’s getting herself into. But when she’s assigned to Aaron, the two strike up a friendship though their letters neither of them have had before. A friendship that blossoms into something more over the months they write each other. This story was the sweetest – it’s a big slow-burn that’s told only through letters and texts for the first 60% or so of the book, but trust me when I say that the slow-burn is worth the wait. I fell in love with both Ruby and Aaron so much throughout the story.
Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer
A book I’ve been procrastinating for so long and I shouldn’t have, because this was just beautiful. Letters To The Lost tells a beautiful story of loss and mourning, while also featuring one of my favorite tropes: the penpal romance. I fell in love with both Juliet and Declan fairly quickly and already want to revisit their story. Also, Rev, who may be the sweetest character ever <3
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Okay, let me first say that this is by far THE BEST Beauty and the Beast retelling I ever read (that’s right, move over ACOTAR. Not you ACOMAF, I still love you, but you’re not really a BatB retelling anyway…). Anyway, this book is an amazing and fresh take on the tale as old as time that mixes up urban and epic fantasy, has a bad-ass disabled heroine, a swoon-worthy “beast” and a villain you’ll love to hate. BUT. BUUUT. For some reason I thought this was a standalone. And then it turned out it’s not and I had to wait until January for the sequel? NO FAIR! I felt so betrayed. But also really, very, extremely excited to get to this sequel!
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
Circe by Madeline Miller
I don’t know why I put off reading this one for so long. The Song of Achilles is one of my favorite books of all time and it was already proof of Madeline Miller’s gorgeous writing and amazing storytelling. So it only makes sense that I would ADORE Circe just as much. And I did. Wow, I really fell in love with Circe and her story. Also, highly recommend the audiobook, because Perdita Weeks has the most beautiful voice and does Circe so much justice.
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
It was hard to escape this book, since it was pretty much EVERYWHERE and the most hyped book around right now. And I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been highly anticipating this book as well. I mean, enemies-to-lovers? Royalty and politics? And loads of text and email conversations? YESSS! And despite my high expectations, I am happy to say this book was AMAZING and lived up to all of them. The sass. The banter. The chemistry. The friendships. The e-mails, did I mention the e-mails??? Overall, this book was just a fresh, cute, hopeful ray of sunshine and was a welcome reprieve from the sometimes ugly world we live in nowadays.
Tell Me:
What is your number one favorite read of 2019?
I loved Letters to the Lost, too! And Queen of Nothing. 🙂 Hope you have a great New Year’s eve and be safe!
They’re such great reads indeed! Happy New Year!
I’m planning on doing a challenge in which I read some of my favorite bloggers “best of” lists, and yours looks like so much fun! I definitely want to try one of Annette Marie’s series, because I’ve seen you talk about them so often.
Happy 2020!
That sounds like such a fun challenge! Oh, I hope you’ll give Annette Marie’s books a try (and that you’ll enjoy them of course 🙂 )
Dear Aaron does look like a good read.
My TTT.
If you love the penpal romance trope, Dear Aaron is definitely a great read 🙂
Love your list! Serpent & Dove was my number one for 2019.
Serpent & Dove was such a great read!
Excellent choices! I need to read Annette Marie. 🙂
Check out my TTT
Thanks! Hope you’ll love Annette Marie’s books as much as I do when you read them!
I read Circe this year, too, and really loved it. I also loved how Evelyn Hugo felt like a real person!
Circe and Evelyn were both such amazing characters indeed 🙂
I got Evelyn Hugo for Christmas and will be reading it this month. I’m super-excited to see what the hype is about.
Hope you’ll enjoy Evelyn Hugo as much as I did 🙂
Red, White, and Royal Blue was amazing – and yes, the emails!!!! I really need to read Circe!
-Lauren
RWRB was sooo good, I even reread it two times already 🙂 I love Circe, hope you enjoy it too when you get to it!