Wrap Up: Best Books Read in 2019

Hello readers, what a great year of reading this year. I ended up reading 77 books this year with 30 being published in 2019, I’m going to do a top ten of books published in 2019 and a top five of books read this year but not published in 2019. I look forward to reading and comparing every one’s list while expanding my TBR.

Top 10 of books published in 2019: (one through five were so hard to place)

1. Recursion by Blake Crouch – This book was so mind minding and trippy, A cop is exposed to FMS (False Memory Syndrome), a new epidemic plaguing the world, where people start to remember a different lifetime of memories other then their own which is driving people insane and doubting if the life there living is real. The book really stuck with me and made me think long after it was over. It won the Goodreads choice award in Science Fiction.

 

2. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides –A woman is found in a catatonic state as she is covered in the blood of her husband, who had been shot multiple times, a psychotherapist believes he is the only man to make her talk again. A fantastic debut thriller, with a twist ending that changes everything. This book is a little Hitchcockian with the added bonus of a Greek tragedy that will keep you on the edge of your seat until you know the truth.

 

3. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid – This is the follow up to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo another 5 star review from me.  This novel had sex , drugs, and rock and roll, a great character piece that examines the good and bad of people living the rock and roll dream. Daisy Jones and the Six follows two rock groups rise The Six a good rock group that’s not great, and Daisy Jones the solo artist, with a soulful voice, that wants to write her own material but does not have the clout. They come together when Billy the lead singer of The Six writes a duet and needs a female singer, he never planned on her joining the band and that’s what happens as we get to read about how the group only put out one record.

 

4. An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen – on my half of the year review for books, I had this book at number 1.  This is a well-plotted thriller with no big twist but a lot of really clever small twist and turns that kept adding tension.  This follows a girl who lives in New York desperate for money to help her and her family just get by, ended up sneaking into a college study, and becomes the main test study for a manipulative doctor who desires their own result in a study that becomes very personal for both parties.

 

5. Dark Age by Pierce Brown – is epic on every level; this is a novel of loss, sacrifice, redemption, heartbreak, political moves, and tyranny. This is book five of the Red Rising Saga. This book was so welcomed by me, because I thought that book four Iron Gold was the weakest in the series. So this was a much-needed return to form. The Red Rising series was one of my favorites of the decade. The plot is too big for a quick summary to do any justice.

 

6. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig – a novel that is an epic tale that manages to balance the worship of both technology and religion, while throwing in the end of the world as we know it type scenario. An epidemic has started in America that make people start sleepwalking but can’t be woken, their family members at as shepherds guiding them to their final destination, when and where ever that will be. People don’t know if they’re angels or devils. This Novel is written in the vein as Stephen King’s The Stand.

 

7. Little Darlings by Melanie Golding – a modern day Grimm’s Fairy tale a new mom has her twins go missing and when they are brought back she’s convinced that the twins are not her’s and have been replaced with evil ones.  The writing make your skin crawl with it’s descriptions and the pace is a fast read.

 

8. Th1rt3en by Steve Cavanagh – a really good thriller with an amazing tag line, The Serial Killer is not on trial, he’s on the jury, that made me have to read it. This novel reminded me of the early James Patterson novel.. The twists and plot is very clever, there’s a couple twist at the end that I didn’t see coming, but was pleasantly surprised.

 

9. Violet by Scott Thomas a creepy, dark, horror, about an imaginary friend that’s all too real. This one was trippy but also had a lot of heart. The story is a slow burn with an exciting climax, and a meaningful epilogue that puts a nice bow on the story.

 

10. On the Come Up By Angie Thomas – The follow up to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. In this story we follow a young up incoming female rapper, as she tries to make it in the rap game and still keep her voice.  It is both coming of age and thought provoking. Not as good as The Hate U Give but another fantastic story that has it’s own unique voice.

My Top 5 Books Read, but Not Published in 2019:

1. The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton – This one was an instant favorite for me.  What sets this mystery apart from all the others is the way that it is told.  The mystery gives you 8 days to solve the crime of who murdered Evelyn Hardcastle, the catch is everyday you are a different person full of their own personality and faults.  You can work together with your future selves, but beware two others are playing the same game. This mystery was really fun and sucked me in completely. You have no idea where this story is going at the end, it is such a fantastic ride.

 

2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Reid Jenkins – This was a great novel easily one of my favorites, I was drawn in to the story so quickly. I enjoyed this one over this year’s release of Daisy Jones and the Six.  I like how it used the life of Marilyn Monroe combined with Elizabeth Taylor to develop a story of love, betrayal, secrets, and fame set during the Silver Age of Hollywood. The interview style really works in this story.

 

3. The Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly – A book that takes real people and actions during World War II and creates a compelling work of fiction that fells very true. Lilac Girls follows three women Kasia a Polish teenager who works for the underground against the Nazis, Herta a young German doctor that works at women’s German prison camp, and Caroline an American that volunteers at the French Consulate and helps the war effort. These tales are all connected in some way and intermingle at times.

 

4. LoveCraft Country by Matt Ruff – A fantastic novel that’s told in anthology of short stories that all connect and blends the real life struggles of an African – Americans living in 1950 Chicago and traveling south, with supernatural and horror elements.  I was shocked how perfectly it balanced real life struggles of the time, supernatural elements, and humor. Jordan Peele the director of Get Out is adapting this for an HBO series in 2020 with J. J. Abrams.

 

5. The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom – An excellent sequel to The Five People you Meet in the Heaven, where it expands on characters from the first book, and catches up new readers that don’t have to read the sequel to know what happened.  This novel will give you the feels, and I think it makes a great case for what happens to pets in heaven. This book will not leave you with dry eyes.