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!

Review // Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: April 4th, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Purchase

Format: Paperback

Pages: 388

Add it on Goodreads!

Summary (from Goodreads):

Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “Alex.” Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new arch-nemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever-it-is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

In this delightfully charming teen spin on You’ve Got Mail, the one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.

I decided that I was finally going to pick up Alex, Approximately because I have recently been hit hardcore with ALL the reminders of the boy that I used to talk to online and was just SO in love with in high school.

I was going through my old email that I used to use MSN Messenger for, which is where I primarily talked to this person. I had saved conversations that I was dissecting via email with my friend who spent that school year in Texas. I sent pictures of him to my mom after she moved away and I told her just how SEXY he was. *ultimate face palm*

It also inspired me to to decipher my old, scribbled out journal entries about him, which is a whole new level of cringe. I was just so very head over heels. Oh my goodness.

Anyway, all of that finally inspired me to pick up this book about Bailey, who moves across the country to live with her dad in the beach town where Alex, the boy she has formed an online relationship with, lives. She calls herself an Artful Dodger, meaning she has turned dodging social/confrontational things that she doesn't want to deal with into an art form. So, naturally, she doesn't tell Alex that she moved to his town.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There really wasn't as much emphasis on the online relationship part of the story as I thought there would be. In the beginning, Bailey spends a lot of time scoping out the town, trying to see if she can figure out who Alex is and make sure he's not some kind of creeper. But as she starts to get to know one of her coworkers from her summer job more, she starts to look for and talk to Alex less.

I loved the relationship between Bailey and Porter. They both work in a museum for their summer job. Bailey usually works the ticket booth, Porter is security. Bailey doesn't really care for Porter at first, but he grows on her as they get to know each other more. I also really liked the friendship between Bailey and her fellow ticket booth worker, Grace. They were a fun set of friends.

The story was interesting. I liked watching Bailey and Porter's relationship grow. I liked learning about the traumatic parts of their pasts that they don't really talk about with other people. I liked the conflict with Davy. I liked the family relationships in the story. I just overall adored this story.

The only complaint I have, doesn't have anything to do with the story, but more the writing. In the first couple of chapters, the Artful Dodger thing gets SO repetitive, it started to drive me nuts. Like, the fact that Bailey is an Artful Dodger is so relatable, but like... I got it. I didn't need to hear the term 900 times in like 20 pages. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but repetitiveness in books is probably my biggest writing style pet peeve.

Overall, I really liked this book. I would recommend it if you're looking for a cute, fun, summer-y romance. It doesn't have as much of a focus on the online relationship as I was expecting, which was what I was looking for going in, but it was still so much fun.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Guest Post // First and Last Lines of Iconic Books

Reading the first line of a book is like reading a written invitation addressed to you. If you like what the invitation says, you read on. If you don’t like it, or it doesn’t interest you, you close the book and read a different story. Authors know the importance of those first few words. Some authors even devote several months of time to develop the opening line of their book. Famous author, Stephen King revealed that he has spent up to several years on opening sentences, claiming that the extra time has contributed to the success of his works. 

Though formulating the ideal first line is critical, formulating the last sentence of a story is arguably just as important. While opening sentences invite you in, the last sentence wraps the story up and leaves you with an impression that can last a lifetime. Invaluable created this visual that highlights the beginnings and endings from famous novels. 

What are the first and last lines of your favorite stories?