It’s Top Ten Tuesday time again friends!
These are 10 books that I love that were written over 10 years ago:
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
These are my favourite books that I read this year. I realise not all of them were released in 2019 but it was when I read them all and I absolutely LOVED each and every one of these books.
So in no particular order these are my Top 10 Favourite Books of the Year:
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
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.
This week’s Top 10 Tuesday is book cover redesigns that I either loved or hated. So when I looked up all the covers that I knew had been redesigned I found that I mostly loved all the changes that were made.
So this is my 10 Book Cover Redesigns that I Loved:
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart – I think these are both striking but I personally love the plain cover with the blue background and the pieces of cut hair. I think it works so much better with the premise of the book and intrigues me so much more than the smudged face.
Royals/Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins – I’ve spoken about this cover a few times on my blog but this was the perfect opportunity to say what a great job they did with the new concept for the cover/title of this book. The Royals cover just looks tacky and juvenile and I am drawn so much more to the Prince Charming!
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas – I never liked the original cover for Throne of Glass! I always thought she just didn’t embody who Celaena is. She just looks too innocent and docile to me, the illustrated version is sooooo much more aesthetically pleasing to my eyes.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – as much as I love the original cover the other two books in the series don’t match it and it is soo frustrating to have them next to each other on my shelves being all different sizes and colors. Which is why I think I prefer the new paperback editions as they all match!
Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima – similar to An Ember in the Ashes, I quite love the original cover for Flamecaster, but the rest of the series match the new cover which make me more inclined to like it more because they all match.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson – I’ve always thought the original cover for this was a little too busy. There’s a whole lot going on and it all just looks a little unfocused. However, the new paperback edition is clean and still in keeping with the concept of the story so I like it a lot more!
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – This is an example of a little change with a big impact. Have the VA overlapping the face with the color change is so much more effective in my opinion. The original cover doesn’t really age well either.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi – When I first seen the new cover for Shatter Me I thought it was beautiful and so much better than the original. I thought it was highly original for the first 3 books and then as she kept releasing more they all started to look a little too similar.
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson – I actually love the first cover so much. I thought when it first came out that it looked super original and very pretty, but it doesn’t really give any indication of what the book is really about so I can appreciate the new cover more, especially when Mila is front and centre!
Vicious by V.E. Schwab – There isn’t particularly anything wrong with the original cover of Vicious, but I just love the new edition so much more! Its simple yet effective and had I never heard of this book before I would immediately pick it up just because of the cover!
I had a fantastic reading month, oh my goodness! Nothing below a 4 out of 5 stars. I don’t think that has happened to me since I started my blog so I am pretty stoked with my outcome for June! I think my not having a pre-established TBR was definitely a success and I feel I will be adopting that practice in the months to come because of how prolific my reading was. By far my best reading month I think ever…
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray – ⭐️4/5 stars
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan – ⭐️4/5 stars
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendriks & Sarah Pekkanen – ⭐️4/5 stars
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – ⭐️5/5 stars
Uprooted by Naomi Novik – ⭐️4/5 stars
Sawkill Girls by Clare Legrand – ⭐️4/5 stars
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren – ⭐️5/5 stars
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik – ⭐️4/5 stars
Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence – ⭐️5/5 stars
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – ⭐️4.5/5 stars
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – ⭐️5/5 stars
Frost Bite by Richelle Mead – ⭐️4/5 stars
Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead – ⭐️4/5 stars
Blood Promise by Richelle Mead – ⭐️4/5 stars
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead – ⭐️5/5 stars
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead – ⭐️5/5 stars
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey – ⭐️5/5 stars
Somewhere Only We Know by Maureen Goo – ⭐️4/5 stars
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