End of Year Book Survey + Reading Wrap-Up | 2019 Edition

Hey guys and welcome back! Today is the 7th day of 2020 and life is finally getting back to normal. Yesterday was the first day of school again, and to be honest, I kind of missed having classes and assignments. I know. I can barely believe that I even thought that myself. But of course, when assignments properly start, I’m going to be wishing for another break once again.

Anyways, today I’m going to be wrapping up my 2019 reading year.

To help wrap up my past reading year, I’ve decided to do Jamie’s End of Year Survey with a twist. Instead of answering all her questions (46!!), I’m going to pick a handful to answer, and also do a wrap-up my way. Initially, I was going to do 2 different posts, one with the survey and the other with my wrap-up, but that’s going to be repetitive, so I’ll be combining both.

(This is the 10th year that Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner has hosted this tag, so if you’d like to do it, head right over to her lovely blog to see all the prompts and questions!)

This is probably going to be rather long, so without further ado, let’s get started!!!

2019 Reading Stats

Number of Books Read: 98

Number of Re-Reads: 3

Genre You Read the Most From: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense


I didn’t make it to 100 books. But that’s okay. Because I got to 98, which is still a pretty good number and I’m really proud of myself for making it that far.

The re-reads were The Fixer and The Long Game, both by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter. The first two were great, and I loved re-reading them. The third one was a little cringey, and I can see why it appealed to a Younger Rukky, but it was not for Current Me.

Lol, no surprise. Mystery/Thriller/Suspense was by far the genre that I read the most from, with Fantasy coming in second, and Contemporary in third.

I made a little pie chart to break down my reading even further, and I’m so relieved that it turned out looking okay.

if it’s a little fuzzy, I apologize!

I also did another chart showing my year in books by rating, so here you go:

I like how most of my books were 4 or 3 stars. The books were either mediocre or pretty good, just not super great, and I’m happy with that. I think it also shows that I’ve figured out what books work for me, and what don’t, and so hopefully next year, this will have much less 2 or 1 star books.

I did have a couple of DNFs (Did-Not-Finish), and most of them, I plan on trying to re-read another time, while some I absolutely did not like.

For Blanca and Roja, Ninth House, and Blindsighted, I don’t think i was in the right mood when I picked them up, so I was really bored and impatient with them. These are the ones I plan on picking up some other time.

Marshall Law just wasn’t for me. I got it for review from Reedsy, but I didn’t like it and never finished it.

Captive Witness was disappointing, because I loved Nancy Drew once upon a time, and when I picked this up, I couldn’t get over how old fashioned it was. I was cringing so much, and decided to stop so that I wouldn’t ruin all my great memories of reading all the various series.

The Perfect Husband was a nightmare. I am so done with that book. Usually, when there is extra stuff going in books, especially in thrillers and mysteries, I just skim past and move on. But this book had stuff in pretty much. Every. Single. Chapter. I can’t believe I got to 74%. SEVENTY-FOUR, guys. And you’d think that they don’t have time for any of this extra drama, and so called “romance” when the MC is being hunted by a pure 100% psychopath. But no, they can’t stop their “love” for five seconds.


So yeah. 3 of them, I might try later, 2 of them were just not for me, and 1 of them was a true nightmare. But I’m still pretty glad that I only had 6 DNFs the entire year.

Best in Books

Best Books Read in 2019:

Mystery:

  • Hell’s Corner by David Baldacci
    • This was more of a political thriller, but I still loved the mystery of who was behind the attack. I’m also a huge fan of any book with “secret agents” and Mary and Stone were amazing and made me love the story even more.

Suspense:

  • I Found You by Lisa Gardner
    • It was interesting being told what happened to Frank in bits and pieces, and what brought him to that beach. There was so much suspense, as things were slowly revealed and I liked that. The book wasn’t perfect in other aspects, but the suspense was really great.

Thriller:

  • No Exit by Taylor Adams
    • This is a master thriller. It was honestly the first time that I’d been truly petrified and nervous, and anxious about how things would end in a book. It was a little over the top, and would probably be better as a movie than a book, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Fantasy:

  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
    • I loved this. I loved the characters. I loved Kaz’s cunning ruthless and brutal, I loved Inej, Jes, Wylan, Nina and Matthias, I loved everything about it. Well, it was slow until the heist at the end, but I liked the build-up and relationships between the characters, and how we got to know them so well. This is honestly my top fantasy book of 2019.
  • The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
    • This is a fantasy that I loved because of it’s worldbuilding. The way Allomancy was described, the way the Empires and cities felt so real that I could literally picture everything happening clearly, that was amazing. I loved the heist, and was shocked at how things turned out, but what I loved the most about this was how real, and possible, and well-thought out the world and Allomancy was.
  • The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stievfater
    • I got a recipe for November Cakes. That’s honestly enough to bribe me into loving this book. But really though, I sincerely enjoyed the story. The happiness, calm, and peace that came after I finished reading it. The deadly but utterly beautiful horses. Puck and Sean fighting for what they want, what they love. It was really beautiful, and I’m so glad that Meegs pushed me to read this.

Contemporary:

  • A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
    • He’s grumpy. He’s strict. He’s mean. But underneath that tough exterior, Ove is hurting. And this book is about what caused it, and what happens when a new bustling family, with a fiery and delightful mother, moves in next door. I loved this because of the characters, and because the found family relationship that all the neighbors built with one another. Ove is also really endearing, and it was heartbreaking reading about everything that went wrong in his life. Even if it was fictional. This book made me so happy, because Ove learned to live and love again.

Historical Fiction:

  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
    • I may have loved this solely because the ending shattered my heart. But I’m also a big fan of coming-of-age novels, and this is one of them. At first, I didn’t like many of the characters, and I was a little annoyed, and maybe bored. But as the story continued, and the years passed, and the war dragged on, I began to feel for all these characters. I began to understand them, love them. And when that ending came, even though I knew, even though I’d been warned, it still shattered me when that happened. It’s a book that made me laugh, made me smile, made me cry. And I don’t think a book has ever done all three to me.
  • The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
    • This was a great book about a woman fighting society’s sexist and racist views through a newspaper column in 19th century Georgia (aka the 1800s). Jo was a great main character, and I loved Old Gin, Noemi, and Nathan so much. She’s brave, she’s fierce, and she was risking so much to write her Miss. Sweetie column and using it to inspire change in her community. This was one my most anticipated books this year, and it did not disappoint.

Best series you started in 2019?

Honestly, it was Mistborn: The Final Empire, but to pick a different book, I’m going to go with the Shades of Magic trilogy.

I’ve already read the first book, A Darker Shade of Magic, and even though it was slow in the beginning, I loved the magic and the world, and I can’t wait to read the second book.

Best Sequel of 2019?

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab. This was such an awesome sequel, and I loved the new villains, as well as Victor’s search for a cure. The ending was really great, but I hope that there is still a 3rd book! Mitch, Syd, and Victor were so sweet together, and honestly, this book was just perfect.

Best Series Ender of 2019?

Nope, none. The only Series Ender I read in 2019 was The Queen of Nothing, and that was most definitely one of the worst I’ve ever read. I’m just really disappointed and salty about it.

Favorite new author you discovered in 2019?

My new top three authors that I discovered in 2019 are:

Maggie Stiefvater (The Scorpio Races), V.E. Schwab (Vicious), and Brandon Sanderson (The Final Empire).

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2019?

It’s a tie. I can’t pick one over the other! Both covers are just so beautifully gorgeous.

 Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2019 to finally read? 

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus. I’d seen it in my library a lot, and I can’t believe that I never picked it up until earlier this last year. It was one of the first YA mysteries that I read, and I really loved it.

Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2019?

This post is already over 1,500 words long, so I’m going to stop here. I think I’ve covered all the major questions, and if you’d like to see all the books I read last year, check out my 2019 Year in Books on GoodReads. I’ll probably be doing a Blog/Life Wrap-Up next, and I may do a Most Disappointing Books of 2019. Not sure yet, but keep an eye out for another wrap-up!

Chat with me

That’s it for this post! What was your favorite book of 2019? Have you read any of the ones mentioned above? What did you think? How many books did you read in 2019? Chat with me in the comments below!

Tag Thursday – 2019 Mid Year Freak-Out Tag

Good morning (/afternoon/evening/night depending on where you are) my dear friends!! I hope your week was spectacular! Today, I’m going to do the 2019 Mid Year Book Freak Out tag. I know, it’s halfway through July, and the middle of the year was June, but late is better than never right? This is my first year doing it, and hopefully I’ll continue doing it for many years to come! I think there are different versions of this with different questions (I think??) so this version is one I saw on Paws and Paperbacks!

Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2019

There are so many amazing books that I’ve read so far this year, but Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo definitely tops them all!


Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2019

The Wicked King by Holly Black. I really didn’t like The Cruel Prince, but this sequel made me really like the characters and also managed to make me super excited for The Queen of Nothing!


New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. This sounds so cute and also seems to be what my life will possibly be like in the future (minus the cat!!), so I definitely want to read this!! It’s also a book about a girl who loves books so…


Most Anticipated Releases For the Second Half of the Year

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black and Mother Knows Best by Kira Peikoff


Biggest Disappointment

I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I was excited to read one of her older books, but Nobody was such a huge disappointment. It was so cliche, and so boring, and the MC annoyed me so much.


Biggest Surprise

I really didn’t expect much from My Lady Jane because it was a historical fantasy with a bit of romance. To my surprise, it turned out to be amazingly hilarious, super entertaining, and refreshing. And the cover is beautiful as well!


Favorite New Author

Lisa Gardner. I loved her D.D. and Flora Dane novel, Look For Me, and I’m definitely going to check out the rest of her mysteries!!


Favorite New Crush

KAZ BREKKER!!! 100% no doubt about it. Actually, the whole crew from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardguo is my new favorite crush!


Favorite New Characters

Kaz, Inej, Jesper, and Wylan from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardguo, Nasir and Altair from We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal, Nate from Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, Nate from One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus, Shirin from A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi, Aza from Turtles All The Way Down by John Green…and I think I’m going to stop here.


Books That Made you Cry

No book has made me cry yet…I don’t really get emotional like that when I’m reading.


A Book That Made You Happy

The Restaurant Critic’s Wife by Elizabeth LaBan was different from my usual read, and the struggles of Lila as a stay-at-home mom of two who is married to a food critic made me laugh a lot and definitely made me feel happy.


Most Beautiful Books You’ve Bought So Far This Year

Lol, I haven’t bought any books this year? But I think that the cover of Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore is gorgeous!


What Books Do You Need to Read Before the End of the Year?

Including my most anticipated releases: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman, Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle, and The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall

Tagging/Nominating:

So it looks like no one gets tagged for this? People just do it, so I’m not going to tag anyone! If you’d like to do it, go right ahead!

P.S. No pressure. If you don’t want to do the tag. That’s absolutely fine. If you’ve already done it, please share the link so I can check it out!

And that’s it for today! Have you done the 2019 Mid Year Book Freak Out tag? Have you read any of the books above? What did you think? Let’s chat in the comments below!

The Liebster Award #2 – Thank You So Much!!

It’s time for Tag Thursday! Today’s tag (or I guess I should say award) is The Liebster Award! I was tagged by the always and forever amazing Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads. Go check her post and blog out and then come back to finish reading this! I guarantee that you’ll love it!

Thank you so much Meeghan for tagging me!! However, I’m going to be shortening the questions, answers, and nominees to five.

Btw, this is my 100th post!!! YAY me!!!!

Let’s get started!

The Rules:

  1. Acknowledge the blog that gave it to you and display the award
  2. Answer 11 questions that the blogger gives you
  3. Give 11 random facts about yourself
  4. Nominate 11 blogs and notify them of their nomination
  5. Give these blogs 11 questions to answer

Questions:

If you had to describe yourself in three characters, which ones would they be?

Aza Holmes from Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, Josephine March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and I don’t know. A friend of mine says that I am a lot like Inej Ghafa from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo so I guess I’m going to go with that.


What movie can you watch over and over without ever getting tired of?

Home Alone!!! The first movie and the second one. I LOVED them both and I can always always always always re-watch them! The other two movies were pretty awful in my opinion


How many books are on your TBR?

243 books. And it’s still increasing!


What inanimate object do you wish you could eliminate from existence?

Slime. It’s disgusting, makes me want to puke, and gets everywhere. And once it sticks in the carpet, it sticks. Yuck.


What was the last book you DNF’ed?

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore. I just wasn’t in the mood for it.

5 Facts About Me (just like Meeghan, I think I’ve said some of these before, but there isn’t much to tell so sorry):

  1. I hate nails on paper, or walls, or chalkboards. It is such an irritating sound and makes me feel super uncomfortable.
  2. I was born with six fingers on each hand. Note the was – I now have only 5.
  3. I’m one of those people whose favorite color changes depending on their mood.
  4. I think I’ve said this before, but I don’t know what else to say. I love cooking and baking!
  5. I love love love love landscapes or still lifes, but I’m a pretty horrible painter.

Tagging/Nominating:

Umairah @ Sereadipity | Kat @ Novels and Waffles | Aoife @ Pretty Purple Polka Dots | Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink | Jaime @ Books and Waffles | and YOU (if you’d like to do it!)

P.S. No pressure. If you don’t want to do the tag. That’s absolutely fine. If you’ve already done it, please share the link so I can check it out!

Your Questions:

I’m going to post the rest of Meeghan’s questions, if you’d like to answer them and some of my own:

Meeghan’s:

1)Which character would you swap lives with?

2)Who is your favorite villain and why?

3)What’s your go-to book recommendation?

4)What was the last book you read that made you cry?

5)Which fictional character do you think would be the most frustrating to meet in real life?

6)What social stigma do you think society needs to get over?

Mine:

1)If you could live in a book, which one would it be?

2)What are some of your other hobbies besides reading and blogging?

3)What’s your favorite snack or drink?

4)What was your last 5 star book?

5)If you could ask an author, who isn’t alive, a question, who would you ask and what would you ask them?

That’s the end of Tag Thursday! Thank you so so so much Meeghan for tagging me!! I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I’ll see you guys next week!

Monthly Wrap-Up: April 2019

Hi friends! I hope you are having a fantastic Saturday! Today, I’m going to share with you my Monthly Wrap-Up for April 2019.

April has been a great month for me in terms of reading. I’m still ahead on my Goodreads goal, I managed to read a lot more books, and I’ve been catching up with my book tags! I also didn’t take any hiatuses, so that’s also very good! Let’s break everything down!

Books:

Covers are from Goodreads

This month was pretty good for me reading wise. I managed to finish 9 books, which is roughly two books a week which I think is pretty good. Click on the titles to visit my reviews.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A great mystery with twisted characters and a satisfying end.

Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An engaging historical mystery with great characters, and an intriguing, yet predictable plot.

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins // ★★★☆☆ One sentence summary: A confusing, yet interesting book with a satisfying ending.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: An intriguing mystery with a slow build-up and a great, yet predictable, ending.

No Exit by Taylor Adams // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An action-packed thriller with a determined, and courageous main character.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A cute contemporary romance with an important message.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A painful yet amazing read with a great main character. (Review to Come)

I also had, sadly, one DNF. Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore. I wasn’t in the mood for it, so I DNF’d. However, I may try to read this some other time.

Total Number of Books Read This Month: 9
Did Not Finish: 1

Tags:

Only two. I did a third one yesterday, but alas, it was already May 2nd. However I’ll sneak it on here anyway…

The Bookish Adventure Tag (Thank you so much Umairah!)

Mystery Blogger Award (Thank you so much Meeghan!)

The Liebster Award (Thank you so much Umairah!)

Great Posts From Around the Blog-O-Sphere:

How To Request ARCs From Publishers, Tips To Succeed & Basic Etiquette – A Guide by Jenn @ Jenniely

let’s whisper // DO YOU GENUINELY LOVE THE CONTENT YOU’RE CREATING AND CONSUMING? by Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink

#NewBloggersWelcome! Edition #10 + End of Hiatus!!! by Evelina @ Avalinahs Books

Review + Recipe: The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth + Chicken Parm Recipe! by Christina @ Recipe and a Read

Anything Else?

An announcement. Tomorrow’s post is going to be the last one that I’m doing for a while. May is going to be very packed for me, and I’m going to be taking a month long hiatus, starting from tomorrow, till June 10th. On June 10th, I’ll resume my normal blogging schedule! I might still visit blogs and answer comments so feel free to continue sharing!

I did my first discussion post in a looooonnngggg time (I know this discussion was posted on May 3rd aka yesterday, but I had to include it lol). This is my second one ever, and after the amazing positive feedback, I’ve decided to come out of my shell and do more of these! You can check that post out here.

I also reached 100 followers yesterday!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! I’m so happy, thank you all so much, and be sure to check out my mini letter to you guys here ❤❤

That’s A Wrap!

So, April was a lot better for me compared to February and March. I got some more reading done, didn’t take any breaks, and kept up with my blogging schedule (mostly). I think I did more blog hopping as well. Once I’m back from my hiatus, I plan on discovering more new blogs, doing more discussions and interesting posts (because I know doing the same thing every week is boring and that you might be tired of this cause I honestly am), and definitely doing a lot more reading.

And that’s it for this wrap-up! Thank you guys so much for reading, and for helping me reach 100 followers! I’m glad that this was an awesome month, and I’m sad that I can’t be here for May. However, I do hope you have a great month, and I can’t wait to catch up once I’m back!

How was April for you? Did you get as much reading as you wanted done? Anything you’d like to share? Let’s chat in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday #19

Hey, it’s time for WWW Wednesday! I hope you’re having a fantastic day! WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words.

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Let’s get started!

All covers are from Goodreads

What I Just Finished:

I’m sorry, but I couldn’t do Blanca and Roja. I wasn’t in the mood for it, it was slow, the writing was supposed to be all lyrical and beautiful, but I was just not into it. The magical aspects also weren’t pulling in me in. I only managed to get 10% in, so I didn’t give it much of a chance, and my library copy was due. So this is going to be on my ‘DNF for now’ pile. Maybe when I’m more in the mood for it, I’ll try to re-read it. However, that shouldn’t discourage you from reading it!

After much persuasion by a good friend of mine, I read A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi over the weekend and loved it! Shirin’s character was amazing and I loved the message that the author was sending. You can read my full review here.

Last night, I finished Turtles All The Way Down by John Green after another recommendation by the same friend. It was painful, heartbreaking, and so beautiful all at once. My review will be up hopefully on Sunday.

What I’m Currently Reading:

Yes I know. I read two books that I didn’t plan to, and I still didn’t finish this? I’ve been putting off Where The Crawdads Sing, but it’s actually pretty nice so far. I’m 10% in and I want to know Kya’s story and so I’m going to stick with this, no matter how slowly I go through it.

What I Plan To Read Next:

Actually, I don’t have anything lined up, as I’m planning on taking a hiatus (more on that coming in my Monthly Wrap-Up post on Saturday).

Have you read any of the books mentioned? What did you think of them? Are you a John Green fan? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s so that I can check them out!)