FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2019

Since becoming more of a reader in 2017, 2019 was my worst reading year and I'm perfectly happy with that. In 2017 and 2018, I challenged myself to read the inverse number of books, e.g. in 2017, I read 71 books. See what I mean? I barely managed 80 books in 2018. I felt as if I was pressuring myself to read books as such a breakneck speed that, ultimately, I wasn't enjoying them and I was sacrificing books that I wanted to read in favour of shorter books that I could read quickly; therefore, staying on track for my Goodreads goal. As a result, in 2019, I said to myself that I wasn't going to put that pressure on myself and set my goal at an attainable, 52 books. Essentially, a book a week. 

I was on track for a cracking reading year because I had reached book 45 by July. Then I hit the wall and I hit that sucker hard. I ended up in the worst reading slump I have been in since I discovered a new love of reading. I couldn't bring myself to read. No book on my shelves was enticing me to pick it up. I scraped past my reading goal of 52 thanks in large part to audiobooks and art books. Nevertheless, I did read a lot of amazing books in 2019. In the following list, there are some five-star reads and even some four-star reads that have that certain something about them. 

VENGEFUL - V.E SCHWAB

This book introduced me to my favourite villain ever; Marcella. If I were to describe what I loved most about this book, I would only need one word and that would be, 'Marcella.' For the first chapter, I simply adored this character and knew that she was going to be my favourite and that I would cheer her on through everything. I was right because I did and I had no regrets. V.E. Schwab created a character that I knew that I was supposed to dislike because she was the 'baddie' but whom I ultimately would want to be when I grew up. I honestly cared little for what Victor and Eli were up to because of that fact that I was reading as quickly as I could to get back to Marcella.

From the first page to the very last, I was hooked. Like with its predecessor, 'Vicious', 'Vengeful' is one of those books that has me staying up to the wee hours reading by torch-light. At first, I found the chapters a little confusing because each chapter is set at a different time, e.g. five years ago, present-day, five hours ago, ten years ago, etc. It's a little confusing but once you get a few chapters in, you get the swing of things and I eventually grew to love it. Schwab has you constantly wanting more and more. I loved this book and I cannot express how much I love this series. I cannot thank Schwab enough for scraping her original draft and writing this masterpiece in three months because it truly is exceptional. Marcella's story, the characters, the new characters, everything. Superb. It is intoxicating and I've only recently learnt that there will be a third book. My heart nearly leapt for joy. More from this universe? Where do I sign? 

KING OF SCARS - LEIGH BARDUGO

'King of Scars' was probably my most anticipated read of 2019 because this book is about my favourite character from the popular Grisha Trilogy; Nikolai Lantsov. Since his introduction in book 2, Siege and Storm, Nikolai has been my favourite character in this universe. So when this book was announced, I was counting down the days to its release. I loved it so much that I bought a second copy from Barnes & Noble when I was in New York City. 

Admittedly, this book is probably the lowest-rated on my Favourites list but it still holds a place in my heart. I didn't care so much for Nina's storyline but I was living wholeheartedly for Nikolai's storyline and it rekindled my love of Zoya. Most of this book was quite a slow burn because I felt like it was building up to the next book and setting the groundwork for it. The last third of the book was my favourite part because Nikolai and Zoya had a storyline that made me sit up and pay attention. Especially, Zoya. She cemented herself as my favourite character in this extended universe. Maybe a little ahead of Nikolai at this point. Don't tell him. Needless to say, I need the next book, pronto. 

SKYWARD - BRANDON SANDERSON

'Skyward' was my holiday read for February. I brought it with me to America where I read it on my various flights. I made quite the dent in it because it was a page-turner. It was the first book that I physically read by Brandon Sanderson, having read others through audiobooks. From the get-go, I was intrigued by Spensa and this world that she was on. It gave me Battlestar Galactica vibes when originally I had thought about Captain Marvel in terms of Spensa's determination to prove herself and the 'villains' being called the Krell - not far off the Kree from Captain Marvel. Instead, I found myself increasingly thinking more about Starbuck from the aforementioned Battlestar Galactica. 

I quickly fell in love with Sanderson's writing and by extension, the worlds, and characters that he creates. A lot of characters are extremely flawed characters and you, as a reader, are not entirely sure who you're supposed to support or dislike. I loved that about his writing. His writing is vivid enough that you can easily imagine yourself on this planet, underground, in that cockpit and in that battle and feeling those Gs pull upon your body. I loved it. This was a four-star read yet there was something about it that captured my imagination and my heart. I just finished the sequel, 'Starsight' before writing this post and it made me appreciate what I loved about 'Skyward'. I can see why I easily read 70 pages on a flight when the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe was available on the in-flight entertainment. I was that invested in this book. 

WARBREAKER - BRANDON SANDERSON

My first Brandon Sanderson book and first Sanderson audiobook. I picked this as my first Sanderson read because it wasn't part of the much talked about Mistborn series. Nevertheless, I decided to listen to the audiobook of Warbreaker and found myself captivated by the world that he creates. It had a lot of similar tropes with other Fantasy novels but has its own unique spin on it.

I loved the characters in this bool. Every single one of them had their good and bad points. I loved some more than others and loved to hate others. I loved the twists and turns that the book took, especially where the main protagonists were concerned.

My favourite part of the book was 'Breath' magic. It reminded me of the Johann Krauss character from Hellboy 2 who was a disembodied ectoplasmic spirit. That's how I imagine the breath magic; similar to the way that Krauss animated the dead fairy/pixie creature. My favourite character has to be Vivenna. I felt that she went through better character development. In the beginning, she's the daughter contracted to marry the God King of Hallandren to fulfil the treaty to keep the peace. However, their father sends his youngest daughter, Siri, instead. Vivenna follows her sister to Hallandren to save Siri from her fate. Vivenna finds the magic within Biomemtic Breath and the power that lies within, which is heretical to her own beliefs. For someone that was trained from birth to be the ideal Idrian citizen, Vivenna practically does a 180 turn within the course of the book and I loved it. I loved how down and dirty she got and how someone that was so protected, prim and proper, clawed her way out of the gutter, quite literally.

I would say that I cannot wait to see what happens next but this one is on the back-burner for Sanderson for the foreseeable future. 

THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO - TAYLOR JENKINS REID

Where do I even begin with this book? I fell completely head over heels in love with it. I think that this book may be my favourite read of 2019. I loved it that much. I had heard a lot about this book on the Internet. A lot of people were raving about it on YouTube and it piqued my interest easily because I love the old Hollywood era setting that it had. I underestimated how much I would love this.

I listened to the audiobook and have yet to buy a physical copy of it - you know I love an audiobook when I fork out for the physical book. The audiobook was irresistible. I simply did not want to stop listening to it. I usually listen to an audiobook during work hours when customers are not in. I found myself listening to the audiobook when I was in the warehouse and whipping out my AirPod when any manager came within visual range. It was that good.

I found myself falling for all of the characters that were introduced; even the characters that came in did something and then left, never to be spoken of again. Everyone played a part and every single word that Jenkins Reid wrote had an intention and brought something to Evelyn's story. Evelyn is a wholly imperfect character, something that I found mesmerising about her. She is a wonderfully written female protagonist who is deeply flawed, unapologetically ambitious and somewhat manipulative so that she can have her cake and eat it too. I love her. Evelyn Hugo is probably one of my favourite female protagonists. I cannot wait to read this book again and again and again.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FANGIRL - ASHLEY POSTON

This is one of my favourites purely for sentimental reasons. The characters aren't anything particularly amazing, the plot isn't anything particularly unique and nothing particularly exciting happens but damn it, if my little fangirl heart didn't eat this up and come back for seconds. This is a companion novel to Geekerella which I thoroughly loved. Geekerella was a Cinderella re-telling and The Princess and the Fangirl is a Prince and the Pauper re-telling, both with a modern and geeky twist.

This is where I got way more out of this book than I probably should have got out of it.

As I said, my little fangirl heart lapped this up. It brought me back to the nostalgic days of fandom, particularly Star Trek, Stargate and Sanctuary. It brought me back to my first conventions which were honestly, nothing like what they're like in the books or, to be honest, America. They are on a whole different level to the UK. Nevertheless, it had me pining for a convention. I miss going around vendor tables and getting merch and seeing people dressed up as their favourite characters. The writing wasn't anything special, but I related to it. 

THE NAME OF THE WIND - PATRICK ROTHFUSS

I picked up this book because Merphy Napier raved about it on her YouTube channel. If Merphy loves it, then I know that it has to be something epic. Now, The Name of the Wind is a brick of a book. I didn't own it when I wanted to read it so I went down the audiobook route. It is an ear-numbing 28 hours and 3 minutes long (it's the sequel, 'The Wise Man's Fear is nearly 43 hours long). I went into this book knowing very little. I only knew that it was about a man called Kvothe who is telling his life story to a chronicler.

Kvothe's life is nothing short of spectacular. The first book follows him from childhood up until his late teens. A lot of things happen to Kvothe and everything has you entranced. Nothing was boring about what Kvothe goes through. Sometimes when reading a book this long, you feel somewhat bored by the constant twists and turns. Not with this book and certainly not with the way that Rupert Degas narrates. Degas masterfully brings the large cast of characters to life with his seemingly endless supply of accents. I didn't have to be told who was speaking but I recognised the voices that Degas used. Like with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I felt that every word written in The Name of the Wind had a purpose, it had an intention and that every word was written for a reason. There was not a simple superfluous word in this book. 

HOW TO FORGET: A DAUGHTER'S MEMOIR - KATE MULGREW

This book was my most anticipated book of 2019, purely because it is Kate Mulgrew's second memoir and it was the memoir that went into depth about her parents and her relationship with them. It is also the first book that I annotated since my university days. Within the first few pages, I knew that this book would be an emotional rollercoaster. I was right.

Kate Mulgrew's writing style has always been unapologetically raw in her memoirs. Her first memoir, Born With Teeth, was deeply honest but you could tell that there was more beneath the surface. How to Forget is the next part of that iceberg. I always felt that Born With Teeth ended abruptly and that she didn't talk about her mother's battle with Alzheimer's which any fan would have known about. I thought that it was strange. So when this memoir was announced, I was interested in it but also apprehensive because I knew that it would potentially be heart-breaking. It was.

What really made this book so special for me was that I got to see one of my idols in a more vulnerable light. Yes, I saw her vulnerable as a young adult, unexpectedly pregnant and having to wrestle with the dilemma of giving the child up for adoption without the support of the father or her family. This level of vulnerability was completely different. What's more,  I could see myself within that vulnerability. Over three years ago, I lost my father to MS. I didn't and couldn't give words to what I felt during that time. I found those feelings and thoughts reflected in the pages of How to Forget. It was shocking but so cathartic to know that someone like Kate Mulgrew had to same thoughts that I did at one point or another. It took me aback and made me truly think and realise what I had been feeling all of those years throughout my teen years, my young adult years and even as an adult when my father was dying. It was truly something spectacular. 

AURORA RISING - AMIE KAUFMAN AND JAY KRISTOFF

I can't particularly remember why I loved this book so much. It's February 2020 when I'm writing this particular section and I read this book in June 2049. It's been a while. However, I remember loving that this book had quite a few popular culture references embedded within it. I'm not sure whether or not the ones that I picked up on were the ones that Kaufman and Kristoff embedded within the book or whether or not I was over-reaching, For example, one of the vessels is called Bellerophon. Nothing special to a lot of people unless you watched season 7 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine called, 'Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges'. A ship in that episode was an Intrepid-class ship called the Bellerophon. The Intrepid-class is what classification that Voyager is in Star Trek: Voyager. Ergo, Voyager was basically in this book. Also, the villains in the book reminded me of the Borg from Star Trek. I also felt that there were other subtle and not-so-subtle nods to other popular science-fiction programmes and films.

I loved the characters in this book. I love that Kaufman and Kristoff created a wide range of characters and are not afraid to take these characters to Hell in a handbasket (and kill them too). Aurora Burning is out in a few months and I cannot wait to see what happens next. I loved this author pairing. It makes me intrigued to read their other co-author series, The Illuminae Files.

MELMOTH - SARAH PERRY

Melmoth is a surprise favourite for me. I didn't expect that I would read this book. I had been intrigued by it for a while because it was on the shelves at work and it was featured in several promotional emails from Waterstone's. For the longest time, I was happy enough to leave it but then I needed an audiobook for work and I decided to go with Melmoth because the narrator is none other than Emilia Fox. I am a huge fan of Emilia Fox and I have listened to a few of her audiobooks in the past. I didn't like the books that she read but I loved her voice regardless. I went into Melmoth with few expectations. Well, I ate my words. 

I loved this audiobook. Emilia Fox does an incredible job with these characters. The first thing that you hear is a heavily accented character when the audiobook begins. My initial thought was, "Here we go." If I could go back and slap myself, I would. How could I have doubted Emilia Fox? Bad fangirl! Her accents were amazing in this audiobook. Now, I'm no authority on accents. All I know is what sounds good and what doesn't sound good and everything about this audiobook sounded heavenly to the ear. Emilia's narrator voice was divine, her accents were sublime and there were several instances where I completely forgot that I was listening to Emilia Fox. I was simply lost in the story. That's the sign of a good audiobook narrator. I will never doubt Emilia Fox again or I will voluntarily hand over my Foxling fangirl card. 

In terms of the story, I loved that it was told across several centuries and that it had a fantastical and supernatural aspect to it that I wasn't expecting. To be honest, I almost preferred the flashbacks and the historical chapters to the present-day ones. They were intriguing, for sure, but there was something about the past that really caught my attention more so. I enjoyed Perry's writing style. Because I listened to this exclusively in audiobook form, I cannot say how it read but with the way that Emilia Fox narrated it, the writing was brilliantly crafted and perfectly punctuated by Emilia's narration style. I was on tenterhooks. 

There they are. All of my favourite books from 2019 - better late than never. Let me know what your favourite books were from last year.