Best & Worst of 2019

I had a better than an expected year of reading, although I didn’t manage to keep up with any goals, I did read some really great books and some that were not so great. Since starting the book blog life I have definitely been more on top of tracking my reads and take great pride in reviewing the books I read. So I wanted to do a yearly wrap up and choose my top 10 in both categories!

I love this Goodreads feature because I love looking back on the year and seeing what kind of books I have read and enjoyed! I overachieved this year, blowing right past my target of 80 books and managing 107 books! I’ve managed to choose 10 of my top reads and 10 of my least favourite.

• Circe – This was a complete surprise read, I can’t believe how much I loved this book. It held my attention and I loved the way that the book ended up retelling a wonderful Greek myth.
• Bird Box – I had read this book after watching the new film on Netflix and wanted to see whether the book was as creepy! It was and I can still remember my heart beating all the way through the book.
• The Kingdom – As a huge Disney fan this book was right up my street, I loved the idea of a theme park taking the idea of enjoyment too far and the problems human-like robots can have when interacting with actual humans.
• The Testaments – I struggled to read The Handmaid’s Tale but this book was probably my favourite book of the entire year purely because we learn so much about Aunt Lydia and the world of Gilead.
• The Priory of the Orange Tree – I love everything that Samantha Shannon writes and this book was no different. I loved the characters and the dragons and the politics of this book made me so happy. I think this was my perfect book.

• A Time to Kill – This was a shot in the dark and I really loved the way this book made you questioned what you would in the same situation and I’m not even sure what the answer is now.
• Ace of Shades – Another series that has wormed its way in and I’m so glad I made the time to read this one and its sequel. It gave me serious Six of Crows vibes and I love a good bad-boy main character.
• The First Time I Saw You – An E-ARC that took me by surprise, I thought that the drama and romance were going to put me off but I actually really loved it all and the characters.
• A Curse So Dark and Lonely – A Beauty and the Beast retelling that I really loved, I think the way that the curse winds itself throughout the story made more sense than other retellings that I have told.
• On The Come Up – I loved this book, it gave me so much more perspective on the culture of rap music and how everything within that business works. It was a really well-written story.

• The Taking of Annie Thorne – This book was a real disappointment, it was badly written and didn’t have the detail that I would have liked especially as I still have no idea what happened at the end of it.
• Rivers of London – I would have loved this book if it hadn’t been the main character who ended up being the worst male I have ever had the pleasure to read about.
• Girl, Wash Your Face – I read this one because I thought it might have offered some insight into life but all it contained was a hypocritical preachy mess.
• The Day We Meet Again – Romance is definitely not for me, this book didn’t make much sense and the ending was a little predictable and I wish that it hadn’t been.
• Watch Us Rise – This one was on the same vein of thought as On the Come Up but it wasn’t executed quite as well as it should have been. I found it really hard to read and get into the actual storyline.

• Love, Rosie – I really wanted to love this book but it was so unbelievable and I hated both of the main characters. The reason why they weren’t together was ridiculous and not actually real reasons.
• Mortal Engines – I had heard such great things about this series but actually ended up hating it. I wish that there had been more about the characters and the reason why everything worked the way they did.
• Sea Change – This book just didn’t really make any sense. I still have no idea what the actual point of the story was and I can’t remember being particularly invested in the characters either.
• The Morning After the Wedding Before – Another book that ended up being completely not my cup of tea, I thought that I would like the characters but they all ended up being completely stereotypical.
• 100 Days of Sunlight – I don’t have too much experience with dealing with illness or loss of sight but the main character was one of the most unlikeable people I have ever read about.

What were your favourite reads of the year? Let me know in the comments!