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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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Extraordinary Book Titles

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is books with extraordinary book titles. I have chosen 10 books from this year with interesting book titles that played a factor in making me want to pick them up! These could be books I’ve never heard of before, super hyped books or random books that immediately intrigued me because of its name.

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

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The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

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Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

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The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

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Birthday by Meredith Russo

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Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

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The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

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Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

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Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

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Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl

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Quarterly Reading Recommendation

This is my third installment of my quarterly reading recommendations for 2019. Every 3 months I will be looking over all the books I’ve read in that time and picking out my top 10 favorites. Then at the end of the year I will compile my lists and pick my top 10 overall from the books I’ve selected where I will be going a little more in depth! If you want to check out my second quarterly reading recommendations click HERE.

So in no particular order my reading recommendations for July-August-Sept are:

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman

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Vow of Thieves by Mary E Pearson

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The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

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Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

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Birthday by Meredith Russo

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Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

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The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

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Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

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China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

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September Wrap Up

The month started a little flat for me and I wasn’t all that motivated in picking up any of the books from my TBR so I once again got swept into a romance/smutty series that was just an easy, fun, entertaining read for me. However, the last few weeks of the month I actually really got stuck into my TBR and managed to finish a couple of series off! I was overall very happy with the amount I was able to get through!

Whiskey Chaser by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley⭐️4/5 stars

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo⭐️5/5 stars

Sidecar Crush by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley⭐️4/5 stars

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary⭐️4.5/5 stars

Moonshine Kiss by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley⭐️4/5 stars

Bourbon Bliss by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley⭐️4/5 stars

Gin Fling by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley⭐️4/5 stars

Highball Rush by Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley⭐️4/5 stars

Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman⭐️5/5 stars

Stardust by Neil Gaiman⭐️4/5 stars

Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan⭐️4/5 stars

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo⭐️4/5 stars

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden⭐️4/5 stars

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson⭐️4/5 stars

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden⭐️4/5 stars

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan⭐️4.5/5 stars

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan⭐️4/5 stars

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden⭐️4/5 stars

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Aurora Rising Review

They’re not the heroes we deserve. They’re just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.

9781760295738This was amazing!

Tyler is the best cadet at the Aurora Academy and he is about to recruit the best squad the academy has ever seen. That is until an incident occurs that forces him to miss the draft and he ends up with the dregs that nobody wanted.

I liked that the story was told in multiple perspectives; it really gave me the chance to get to know each of these highly distinctive characters individually. Granted at times I was a little confused as to whose perspective I was reading from but as I got a feel for each of the characters that went away pretty quickly.

I really enjoyed the whole premise and concept of the story, it felt really unique and original. I had qualms before reading this that it would remind me a lot of the Illuminae Files but I really didn’t get that at all. This is a completely fresh and creative plot that had me highly engaged throughout.

Aurora felt a little soft spoken and passive at the start of the book, but granted she had just woken out of being in cryo for 200 years in the fold so I wasn’t expecting her to come out guns blazing. I could really feel how lost and lonely she was, and how she was trying to come to terms with the fact that everyone she has ever known is dead basically. I like how she almost subtly evolves over the course of the story and she starts to get a feel for who she truly is.

Also the fact that even though Tyler is the one that saves Aurora they aren’t going to end up together. I thought for sure that these two are going to fall in love as they are the main male and female protagonists, but I don’t think that is going to happen, which was a nice twist I didn’t see coming. I like that the history between Tyler and Cat is valued and isn’t immediately dismissed because Aurora came into the picture.

I liked learning about the different species of Aliens and how they each have their own look and customs. I really took a shine to Kal; his broodiness and angst really captured my attention.  I am a sucker for a bad boy! Finding out about his history and the different clans of the Syldrathi and how their whole species was nearly eradicated and how he bonded with Aurora was touching!

I for some reason didn’t think I was going to like this book. I thought maybe since Illuminae was so good they wouldn’t be able to top it, but I love me a ragtag group of misfits who somehow fit together and have to save the world. The whole dynamic between Tyler and Scarlett and how everyone else seems to fit in so well despite being so different really pulls me in and has me wanting to see them succeed!

⭐️5/5 stars blew me away!!!