My Top 10 Surprises of 2019

For this week’s Top 10 Tuesday I decided to go with a list of the top 10 books that I read in 2019 that surprised me! 

You by Caroline Kepnes – I honestly didn’t think I was going to like this book. I had heard all of the hype about it when the series came out earlier this year but I kind of dismissed it. Then when I read the book I actually loved it!

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes – This is another series that I really had my reserves about. I didn’t know a lot about it going in and I kept putting it off for months thinking I wasn’t going to enjoy it. Then I finally bit the bullet and gave it a read and I was immediately sucked in!

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto – when this book first came out there was tons of people talking about it and praising it and then things got really quiet and no one really talked about it anymore. This was kind of a sign for me that this book would be forgettable but I really taken back with how immersive and action packed this book was!

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff – I just had this feeling that because Illuminae Files was so good and very well loved that they wouldn’t be able to back it up with another good sci-fi series. I was wrong, this is one of my favourite books of the year and I can’t wait for Aurora Burning to come out!

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – I thought since this series was quite old that it wouldn’t age very well and I wouldn’t end up liking it. Totally opposite, I absolutely loved this series, super engaging, fast paced and addictive!

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang – this is on the other side of the spectrum. I thought I would 100% love this book just because it’s a high fantasy that people have been hyping up ever since it was released and I just couldn’t get on board. Rin just didn’t get with me as the main protagonist and the pacing was a little off.

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young – with debut novels I always kind of go in with low expectations, just in case it’s not the best book, but I ended up really loving this book! Definitely not as hyped as what it should be!

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I think this book takes the cake for the most hyped book of the year. It was because of this that I really didn’t think I was going to like it, when I read the blurb and heard all of the review I had no intention of even reading it, but when I saw it at my local library I couldn’t miss the opportunity to read it and I was pleasantly surprised how much I actually enjoyed it!

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – another series that was released quite a few years ago now and I just thought this series wouldn’t be as fresh and unique as some of the newer fantasy series out there but boy was I wrong. I was invested right from the start, the magic system was unlike anything I’ve read before and the books kept getting better as the series went on!

Paper Towns by John Green – I have only read one other John Green book which I really enjoyed, so I went into Paper Towns thinking I would like it equally if not more than that previous book but I was a little underwhelmed. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters and it was a little unremarkable for me.