Hello everyone! Today I am going to be talking about my favorite books from the last ten years!

I feel like this list was kind of hard to put together. Like there were the few books that I have just been going on about non-stop lately, but like, I didn't have a ton of books that I just wanted to add to this list. I feel like it shouldn't have been this hard! I just scrolled through my "year in review" feature on Goodreads from like 2012 to the present and just added the books that made me happy when I saw the covers.

I tried to make this one another short, sweet, and to the point post and any reviews I have will be linked by clicking on the title.

1. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

I don't think about this book very often, but when I do, I just remember trying to sob quietly in my bed after I finished The Mirror King so I wouldn't have to explain to my boyfriend why I was sobbing.

2. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Absolutely no one is surprised that this book made it to my favorite books of the decade list. This is my favorite series of all time and I would die for any of the characters.

3. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

I enjoyed WWII historical fiction before this, but this book really ignited my love for it. Especially books about the little known events of the time. This book is about the worst maritime disaster in history and I had never heard of it until I picked this book up!

4. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

This was such a lovely and magical book. And it was also the first ARC I ever received from a publisher, so that was super exciting!

5. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

I love Audrey Rose and Thomas and their relationship and their banter. They are one of my all time favorite fictional couples. I love how Audrey Rose kinda challenges society's view of her and her interests throughout the series. And I love that this series goes into a little bit of gruesome detail about the murders that take place.

6. The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

This series is easily my second favorite of all time. Rin Chupeco is SUCH a good story teller. Oh my goodness, I was absolutely hooked on this story because I had to know everything that happened! I loved the kind of then and now format that the whole series had with the now portion of the books being told through a traveling Bard's point of view and the then portion being Tea's story that she is telling to the Bard. It kept it so interesting. I might have to start pushing this series at people more.

7. Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz

This is another super interesting WWII historical fiction story about something I didn't really know about before! This story follows one of the Russian female pilots during WWII who was in the squadron known as the Night Witches!

8. Well Met by Jen DeLuca

I think I have flailed enough about this in recent posts, so just know that I loved it and that I think you should read it.

9. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Like I've said before, I was a reader before I read this book, but this was the series that made me an AVID reader. Requiem was the first book I ever preordered. I almost drove to the nearest city to me in the middle of the night after I finished it so that I could buy Pandemonium. I kind of want to do a reread of this series, but I'm scared it won't hold up!

What were your favorite books of the 2010's?

Least Favorite Books of the Decade

Alright, saddle up, friends! Today I'm going to be listing my ten least favorite books that I read in the last ten years!

I don't actually have a comprehensive list of all the books I've read in the last ten years, I didn't use Goodreads all that much until apparently like 2013 or 2014, which is as far back as my year in review goes. So, I have no idea what I read in the first few years of the decade, but these are the most notably bad (for me) books that I know I read in the last ten years.

Most of my list consists of books that I read before I started blogging, which I think shows that blogging really helped me to be better at picking out books that I was going to like! So if I happen to have a review for these books, I will have them linked if you click on the title.

And this list only consists of books that I finished, I didn't include any DNFs in this list.

Let's just get right on into it.

1. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

When I was first thinking of my worst books of the decade, this was one of the first ones that came to mind. This is the most recent book to make this list and is probably the biggest disappointment. It's the only book that made this list that was a super anticipated book. I couldn't stand the main character of this book or the repetitive phrases. Repetitiveness is something that bothers me a little bit in any book I read, but it was SO unbelivably bad in this book.

I think most notably, the thing that bothered me was the problematic portrayal of sex in this book. Liesel doesn't seem to think anything positive about herself until she gets the D and then she manages to find her worth. No. Bad. You don't need a man to have worth!

2. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

World War II historical fiction is one of my all time favorite genres to read. And this is probably the worst one that I can remember reading. And it's particularly sad that the book could be so bad, but the movie so good.

I absolutely hated being in the main character's head. It was so infuriating. I mean, I know the MC is a nine-year-old little boy, but I can't believe that he would be as clueless about what was going on around him as he was. And the way he interacted with Schmuel made me so angry. I just really don't believe that even a nine-year-old boy could be SO incredibly dense.

If you're interested in this story, just watch the movie.

3. The Word for Yes by Claire Needell

This is a book about rape culture that also features a few instances with the point of view of the rapist. That sounded really interesting to me. Unfortunately, I didn't care for this book at all. I didn't like any of the characters and there were some POVs in the book that felt like they didn't add anything to the already too-short story. For all the growth the characters had and all the resolution there was, I feel like I might as well have nor read this book at all. 

4. Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

Before I started blogging or found book Twitter, I found a lot of my book recommendations on Tumblr. This is the most notable one that I found on there, and perhaps one of the last times I trusted Tumblr for such things.

I really don't remember a lot about this book at all. What I DO remember about this book were the completely ridiculous weapons that the seekers used in their work. Like the weapon that has a training mode to turn on so you won't actually hurt someone with it?? And also can basically take the form of whatever you need it to be at that time?? Like, talk about unrealistic.

And the super dangerous weapon that basically scrambles your brain if you get hit with it?? What??

Note that I could be totally making this up because it has been AGES since I even bothered to think about this book, but that's how I remember it.

5. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I probably don't need to say too much about this book because if you're someone who has happened to read my blog for any amount of time, you will know that I really did not like this book.

So basically I just did not like the direction the romance was headed and the writing style drove me up the wall. Nothing new here.

6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I want to say that this book didn't live up to the hype for me, but I got this book back in the magical days when I knew about so few books that I actually browsed the shelves to find what I was going to read. I didn't know about the hype for this one until I started getting into the book community.

I am pretty sure that I was not a fan of the writing style of this book and I was also disappointed because I FEEL like the synopsis said something about an epic romance (which I don't care enough to go check if I am making that up), but it was just super anticlimactic for me.

And this is probably the book that I am currently the saddest about not liking.

7. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I didn't dislike this particular book. If the Mortal Instruments series had stayed as just a trilogy, I really might be a Cassie Clare fan. But for some weird reason, I absolutely hated the second part of the series. I don't know what specifically it was about it, but it made me never want to pick up another book by this author. And I haven't. And she hasn't announced anything that is making me want to change my mind either.

8. Paper Towns by John Green

This was the third of the four John Green books that I have read, and it was the beginning of the end. I liked Looking for Alaska and I liked The Fault in Our Stars, but I really didn't like this one.

All I remember about this book beyond the road trip aspect, is that Margot Roth Spiegelman was only ever referred to by her full name and I hated that. I hated reading her whole name. I thought it was a bit pretentious. And in general, I didn't like her character.

9. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I originally picked up this book because a coworker had told me that it was banned for being too "gory". Not gonna lie, not sure if she knows what the word gory means or if she just couldn't come up with the right word for what she wanted to say, but whatever she said sounded interesting so I went home and ordered the whole trilogy. Didn't read the synopsis. I went in so blind.

I was really surprised to find out that it was, in fact, a *gasp* sex book! That was probably the last thing I was expecting when I picked it up. And I didn't like it. And I didn't like any of the other books in the series, but this was back in the day when I was damn sure gonna read a book if I actually went out and got it!

I remember at one point in the second book, I had to rage quit for awhile because I was so frustrated that the only way that Ana's speaking was described was as a murmur. I wanted to send the author a thesaurus so badly. Like.. there are other words!!

10. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

This was the end of my desire to read any books by John Green. I truly don't remember what this book was about beyond that they main character only dated Katherines. But after a certain point, all of John Green's books ran together because all of the characters felt the same to me.

I really and truly can't stand the way his characters talk. Like.. I know I read somewhere once upon a time that he says teenagers aren't stupid and that's why he writes his characters the way he does. And like... he's not wrong, teenagers aren't stupid. But no one talks like that in real life! Let alone ALL the people!

I think it wouldn't have mattered what order I read his books in, my feelings would be the same. I might have liked whichever couple I read first and wanted to tear my hair out by the end of whichever ones I read last.

So there you have it, ten of my most notable bad-for-me books of the decade! Did any of these books make your list? What are some of your worst books of the decade?

Least Favorite Books of 2019

Hello lovely people! It's finally time to share our best and worst reads of 2019! I feel like I'm lucky because I didn't really read very many books that I just truly didn't like. I think of the five on this list, only one of them was a book that I actually did not like. Most of these on this list were moreso disappointments for me personally, or books that just simply didn't vibe with me for whatever reason.

Anyway, here are my five least favorite books of 2019! If I happen to have reviews of any of these books, they will be linked if you click on the title.

1. You'd Be Mine by Erin Hahn

2019 is the year that made me realize that books centering strongly on music are probably just not for me. There really wasn't anything wrong with this book, I just personally found it to be rather boring. After a certain point, it started to feel like it was just dragging.

2. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This just feels like a weird list to find this book on. There was SO much hype around this book over the past year! Unfortunately, it didn't live up to that hype for me. I did somehow manage to read this book all in one day, only because I really wanted to know what broke the band up. I thought that the reason would have to be exciting and dramatic, but it was probably one of the most predictable and anticlimactic endings I have ever read.

3. The Black Coats by Colleen Oakes

This is basically a book about feminist vigilante justice. The Black Coats is basically a group consisting of a bunch of girls who are chosen specifically because they have all somehow been affected by some kind of crime. The group basically helps them exact their revenge on the person who wronged them or someone they love in exchange for doling out punishments for other people who have done someone wrong.

I liked the idea, but I didn't like the execution. It felt like it was basically a bunch of adults who beat on high schoolers and called it training so that they could go out and beat on people.

4. Wilder Girls by Rory Power

This is another case of being let down by the hype. And by the gorgeous cover. I really didn't like the writing style in this book and I really didn't like any of the characters. I'm really not even 100% sure why I didn't DNF this one, I just was really not a fan. I think out of all the books on this list, this is probably my least favorite book of the year.

5. The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

I think that this book was my only DNF in 2019. I think I read 100 pages of it and I just never found anything about it all that interesting. I really didn't like the writing style all that much and I feel like I was never going to really like either of the main characters. It started to feel like a chore to have to pick back up so I just decided not to.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What were some of your least favorite books of 2019?

Favorite Books of 2019

Hello lovely people! Today I am sharing my favorite books of 2019! I kept this post fairly brief just because I feel like I have probably already covered all of this in (multiple) previous posts, but I still wanted to do a post about all my favorite books that I read.

If I have a review posted, you will be able to find it by clicking the title of the book.

1. Well Met by Jen DeLuca

This was my first foray into adult romance and I could NOT have picked a better book to start out on! An enemies to lovers romance with a renaissance festival setting? SO GOOD!

2. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

If you're like me and you're into books about necromancy/reanimated corpses, you might like this. Especially if you're looking for a book where a gravedigger and a mapmaker go on an adventure with an undead goat for a sidekick.

3. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

This one is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a parallel worlds and a main character with cerebral palsy. I was really on the fence about this one before I started it because I really don't like parallel worlds at all, but I ended up really enjoying this one.

4. The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco

This was SUCH an excellent conclusion to a series that has definitely ended up in my top 3 favorite series of all time. I feel like it has a super satisfying ending to a series that seems to give you JUUUST enough in each book to keep you SO excited to read more, but you don't learn everything until the end of this book. Rin Chupeco is absolutely one of my all time favorite authors after this.

5. The Wicked King by Holly Black

I'm still floored by the fact that I even liked The Cruel Prince, but I also really liked the sequel. I am dying to see what happens after that ending, but I'm scared that I'm gonna hate it based on what I've heard about The Queen of Nothing so far.

6. The Last Life of Prince Alastor by Alexandra Bracken

I just don't think it would be right if I could post a favorite books of the year post that didn't include an Alexandra Bracken book. But true to form, I thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion to her spooky middle grade series and would highly recommend it!

Have you read any of these? What were your favorite books of 2019?

End Of Year Survey // 2019 Edition

The End of Year Survey was created by Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner.

**2019 READING STATS**

Number Of Books You Read:

57

Number of Re-Reads:

Seven

Genre You Read The Most From:

I read more mangas than anything else last year, but I don't know that that counts as a genre. If we're going by a specific genre, I read the most YA fantasy.

1. Best Book You Read In 2019?

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read? 

I don't think I read any books in 2019 that I remember feeling surprised by in any way.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I have no idea if anyone has read the books I've tried pushing this year, but I feel like I probably pushed Well Met the most so far this year (read it).

5. Best series you started in 2019? Best Sequel of 2019? Best Series Ender of 2019?

          

Best Series Starter: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Best Sequel: The Wicked King by Holly Black

Best Series Ender: The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2019?

Jen DeLuca

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Adult romance is a new genre for me this year. I've definitely gotten more comfortable with YA contemporary romance books, but adult was a new one for me. And this one turned out to be my favorite book of the year!

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

9. Book You Read In 2019 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Maybe A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer if I need a refresher before A Heart So Fierce and Broken.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2019?

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

11. Most memorable character of 2019?

Kalen from The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2019?

I think I would probably say the whole Bone Witch series by Rin Chupeco.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2019?

I have not yet read a book that I would consider life-changing and I haven't read anything super thought provoking lately either. Probably due to my general reading attitude over the past year.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2019 to finally read? 

I don't think that I read anything super backlist that was just like WHY DID I WAIT in 2019.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2019? 

"What is a man's soul made of that a woman's is not?" - Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2019?

     

Shortest: What Was I Scared Of? by Dr. Seuss - 32 pages

Longest: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - 835 pages

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

The Wicked King by Holly Black

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

I am going to go with Rasmira and Soren from Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller because I thought they were cute together.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

The friend group in this series is SQUAD GOALS. I love them all.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2019 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

I'm going to say The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones. I actually DNFed her first book, but loved this one.

21. Best Book You Read In 2019 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

I don't think there was anything I read in 2019 that was based solely on a recommendation. There were a few I read because of the hype, but I didn't really like them enough to call them "best" anything.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2019?

I would die for Simon Graham.

23. Best 2019 debut you read?

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

(Sorry if you're starting to feel like you've seen this book too many times on this list, but it was SO good.)

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2019?

The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Lion Cub by JP Harker

In general, I don't read a TON of books that would be considered "hidden gems," but I really enjoy this series!!

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

It is literally not safe to have favorite characters in this series.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2019?

The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco

The main character is a ghost straight out of a horror movie and it was so interesting.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

I don't think there were any books I read that made me mad in any way.

1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2019?

I honestly don't think I went out of my way to find anyone new to support this past year.

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2019?

I don't know, I didn't really write anything super interesting. I was just trying to get myself to want to read, honestly. I mostly just wrote reviews. Dabbled back in the Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting on Wednesdays again. Nothing super exciting from me.

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2019?

I just really and truly do not care about bookstagram so I don't have one.

4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?

I didn't get to make it to any fun bookish events in 2019.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2019?

Probably getting to be on Rin Chupeco's street team for Wicked As You Wish. For real, I would read her grocery lists. I love her writing.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Honestly? Just finding the motivation to actually do it.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My most viewed post of the year is a cut and paste blog tour post I did, but the most popular one that I wrote is my review for The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I guess any of them could use more love!

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I don't think I really made any bookish discoveries that were super exciting in 2019. I discovered that there is a little indie bookstore in the big-ish town near me, but it is like 90% used books and they sell ARCs and didn't really have a wonderful selection. I will probably stick to Barnes and Noble. Which I guess, I discovered the most magical pair of reading socks from B&N. They are glorious.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I hit my Goodreads goal for the first time ever. Which, is basically only because I read a lot of mangas this past year, but whatever gets me there, right?!

And at the beginning of the year I said I wanted to read a lot of the books that I owned or purge them if I'm not going to read them and I read or purged like 35-ish of them based on the list I made at the beginning of the year. Which, not bad.

I also said that I wanted to read more books beyond just YA and I read 6 books in 2019 that were outside the realm of children's/YA and I feel like that is a solid start.

I will be patting myself on the back.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2019 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2020?

I swear to GOD I am finally going to read this freaking book this year!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2020 (non-debut)?

Brightly Woven: The Graphic Novel by Alexandra Bracken

But also

Well Played by Jen DeLuca

Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco

3. 2020 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Don't Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2020?

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2020?

Actually read and blog.

6. A 2020 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):

I have not read any of them yet. Unless you count that I read Brightly Woven before and I would recommend checking out the graphic novel when it comes out!