I’m back to finish up my favorite reads of 2019. There are fewer categories today because YA took a considerable spot because it was my most read genre of the year. Let’s hop right into it.
Biography
Fate Came Calling, Kurt Bryan
Purchase on Amazon for $3.99, it’s enrolled in KU.
Fate Came calling tells the story of Warren Vests, who in his desire to become a pilot, joins the military and later moves on to fly for some impressive airlines. His story was thoughtful and well-told. Read my review here.
High Achiever, Tiffany Jenkins
Purchase on Amazon for $9.99
Tiffany shares her life from her addiction to recovery in this refreshingly honest biography. She doesn’t hold back and I believe that’s why she has almost over 3,000, 5-star reviews on Amazon. Read my review here.
Thriller/Suspense
No Exit, Taylor Adams
Purchase on Amazon for $9.99
This has a super-strong main heroine, who was stuck in a really bad situation, and every time you think things are under control, they get worse. Wonderful characters, the good and the bad. So many twists, this one was non-stop action. Read my review here.
The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides
Purchase on Amazon for $13.99
The Silent Patient starts with a murder 6 years past and then leads us to that event. So many suspects, impossible to know who to trust, and an amazing twist. Such a fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller, I loved this one. Read my review here.
The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell
Purchase on Amazon for $12.99
I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan and this one did not disappoint. This one was broken up into 3 different perspectives with varying timelines, with a huge cast of characters, all of which did confuse some readers, but I had no problem following along. I found myself screaming at some of the characters they were so well-written. Read my review here.
YA
The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern (I would also add The Night Circus here too)
Available on Amazon for $14.99
This one was so amazing that I sat on my review for a few days and I couldn’t give it a proper review. We’re given small stories that work their way to slowly interconnect and it’s a magical experience. I still can’t stop recommending it enough and everyone that has read it at my recommendation has loved it. As I didn’t post my poor excuse for a review on my blog, so I will share my The Night Circus review also read this year here.
Six Goodbyes We Never Said, Candace Granger
Available on Amazon for $9.99
I read this one as an e-arc, and then bought the physical copy to share with my daughter. Granger included real-life issues such as PTSD (a huge appreciation), abandonment, death, OCD, GAD and more in a relatable way. I loved this one, it’s heartfelt and touching and incredibly witty. Read my review here.
Two Like Me and You, Chad Alan Gibbs
Available on Amazon for $3.99
This came to me as a review request from a first-time author. The characters were amazing. Everything from the cast to the storyline, to the inter-character dialogue, was incredible. This was such a super smart, witty, and crazy fun read, I can’t wait for more from Gibbs. Read my review here.
180 Seconds, Jessica Park
Available on Amazon for $4.99, it’s enrolled in KU.
I had posted on Facebook that I was looking for some good books to make me cry, and this was the first one I chose from those recommendations. It left me the really good kind of wrecked that a fantastic book does to you. The connection between Esben and Allison was wonderful. I wasn’t sure what I was going to get with this because I didn’t want to read any reviews ahead of time to spoil it, and it was filled with goodness and tears, so make sure your tissues are handy. This is another book I had shared with my daughter. Read my review here.
My Life as Kelsey, Victoria Anders
Available on Amazon for $3.99, it’s enrolled in KU.
This one came to me as a request as the freshman novel of an Indie Author, and I readily agreed to read it based on the cover alone, the book was flawlessly edited. This is why I will always read indie books because there are always gems like this one. Kelsey is a fun character who is learning to navigate life and relationships. I’ve finished out the series (all great books) and yesterday the signed paperbacks that Anders graciously sent me arrived in the mail, such a treasured gift. Read my review here.
Her Crown of Fire, Renee April
Purchase on Amazon for $8.99
This was another freshman novel that came to me as a request and the cover is as stunning as the content inside. The characters are inclusive, the storyline is very imaginative and magical, and Rose is a badass. Read my review here.
The Impossible Vastness of Us, Samantha Young
Available on Amazon for $7.99
This was another one I needed to share with my daughter. It’s incredibly inclusive, with a wide variety of issues facing teens today. I loved the characters, the reasons they came together, the heartbreaking stories each of them had. So much of this book resonated with me, it really is wonderfully done. Read my review here.
The City of Veils, S. Usher Evans
Available on Amazon for $2.99
I first read Spells and Sorcery from the library and was instantly hooked on all things Sush and promptly stalked, I mean, followed her. This one is a bit of sci-fi, but more fantasy, and magic, with another badass heroine (see a theme with the books I love?) This entire series is great because Brynna is constantly learning and evolving. The world is creative, the characters are inclusive and wonderfully in-depth. A fun read and series, read my review here.
The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland Rebekah Crane
Available on Amazon for $3.99, it’s enrolled in KU
This cover is what made me grab this when I had KU because it’s stunning. The setting is a camp for teens with varying emotional problems, so you know it’s going to be heartbreaking. But it’s not just that, because the characters are wonderful, they’re incredibly funny and insightful. And this was such a unique and superb storyline. Read my review here.
Not Yet Released-Romantic Comedy
You Deserve Each Other, Sarah Hogle
Available for preoder on Amazon for $11.99
This book had a rough start for me in the first chapter, but I continued, and what a super fun surprise! We have an engaged couple with a lot of friction under the surface and a lot of doubts. So rather than voice those doubts, they both passive-aggressively set out to make each other’s lives miserable. The pranks were super fun and creative and the characters were wonderful. Read my review here.
Very Honorable Mentions
These are some of my most favorite recurring authors that I will buy their ebook and paperback. They get their own category because they all have a special story to accompany them.
Romantic Suspense- One Taste of Redemption, Amanda Siegrist
Available on Amazon for $3.99
I found Amanda last year and became hooked on her books. I didn’t read suspense before her at all, the stress of not knowing was just, too stressful! But I started her One Taste series and loved it so much, that I decided to give the thriller/suspense category a try, and I really love that genre now. The thing about the Redemption book is that it was based on the character Newman from a previous book in the series I really disliked. But he earned his redemption and became a very likable character, which can be hard to do. Read my review here.
Romantic Comedy-The Wedding War, KL Montgomery
Available on Amazon for $4.99, it’s enrolled in KU
So KL writes romance reads, but then she also writes incredibly sexy reads under another penname of Phoebe Alexander. I read both her pennames and love all of the books she self-publishes. I got to meet her this fall at the East Coast Author Convention which was pretty special. Each time she releases a new book, I’ve declared it my favorite because she’s always topping the last one. The Wedding War was hilarious, laugh out loud funny. The characters were wonderful, and because you met a lot of them in previous books, they all had great interactions. This was a perfect blend of romance and comedy. Read my review here.
Contemporary-Into Thin Air, Kristina Beck
Available on Amazon for $3.99, it’s enrolled in KU
So who drives 6 and 1/2 hours to East Coast Author Convention to meet an author that lives overseas? This gal! Kristina lives across the ocean, so getting a chance to have her sign her books that I had been collecting in wait of her visiting the states was an opportunity I wasn’t going to miss. She’s as incredibly sweet and kind in the real world as she is online. I was lucky enough to be able to Beta read Into Thin Air, and it did not disappoint. There’s so much at play in this story that you have to read to find out so it doesn’t get spoiled. But we have Ellie and Sam who meet on vacation and have an incredible and healing connection. The characters are superb and I’m hoping Sam’s sister perhaps gets her own book down the line. Read my review here.
Mythology/Fantasy-Olympian Reckoning, Astrid Arditi
Available on Amazon for $4.99, it’s enrolled in KU.
The first book in this series, Olympian Challenger came to me as a review request. I love mythology and Astrid has done a superb job infusing it with this series. The books are fast-paced, with wonderful inclusive characters. The covers are all fantastic as you can see from this one, and when you link up to my review post, you will see what I mean. Olympian Reckoning was the final book in the series, and it was a bittersweet goodbye to such richly in-depth characters that I have come to love. Our main badass heroine has evolved so much over the three books, and I’m not sure I’m ready to let her, or any of them really, go. Read my review here.
So those are my favorites from 2019. I’ve read such a wide variety of books and genres, I feel really good about this list. What were some of your favs from the year?
Rae's Reading Lounge 