2019 Book Survey

This is my first year doing Jamie's end of the year book survey and I am so excited to finally participate; I've been reading these for years!  I don't read as much as a lot of people (I had a really slump-y year!), but I really enjoyed everything I did read for the most part. Hope you enjoy my 2019 book survey.

 

Number of Books You Read: 30  

Number of Re-Reads:  1 (All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover)

Genre(s) You Read The Most From: mystery/ thriller/ suspense (12 total), and romance (12 total). 

Average rating for the year: 4.3 / 5 stars. Makes for a great overall reading year!

 

1. Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas: 4 / 5 stars
2. Grip by Kennedy Ryan: 5 / 5 stars
3. Flow by Kennedy Ryan: 5 / 5 stars
4. Hot Shot Doc by RS Grey: 3 / 5 stars
5. The Year of Starting Over by Karen King: 3 / 5 stars
6. A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena: 5 / 5 stars
7. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell: 4 / 5 stars 
8. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: 5 / 5 stars
9. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid: 5 / 5 stars 
10. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah: 5 / 5 stars 
11. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James: 4 /5 stars 
12. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas: 4 / 5 stars 
13. The Girl Before by JP Delaney: 4 / 5 stars 
14. A Killer's Mind by Mike Omer: 4 /5 stars 
15. An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen: 5 / 5 stars 
16. Naked In Death by JD Robb: 4 / 5 stars 
17. Glory In Death by JD Robb: 4 / 5 stars 
18. The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware: 3 / 5 stars 
19. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas: 4/ 5 stars 
20. Immortal In Death by JD Robb: 4 / 5 stars 
21. Mixed Blessings by Danielle Steele: 5 / 5 stars 
22. The Simple Wild by KA Tucker: 5 / 5 stars 
23. The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez: 5 / 5 stars
24. The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves: 4 / 5 stars
25. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams: 5 / 5 stars 
26. The Obsession by Nora Roberts: 5 / 5 stars
27. The Witness by Nora Roberts: 3 / 5 stars
28. All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover: 5 / 5 stars (reread) 
29. The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare: 4 / 5 stars 
30. One Day in December by Josie Silver: 3 / 5 stars

Currently Reading: Dark Lover by JR Ward

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2019. 

There’s no way I can choose just one, so I'm going to mention five: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Simple Wild by KA Tucker, The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah, An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekannen, and The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams. 

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t.

Hot Shot Doc by RS Grey. I thought this was just OK.  I haven't found a book of hers that I have loved as much as The Fox and the Hound. That book was hilarious and all the others I have read from her have just been "OK". I don't think I am going to continue reading her books.

The Witness by Nora Roberts was a letdown as well, because I had been riding the Nora Roberts hype train and had just read The Obsession. I still enjoyed it but didn't love it as much as I loved The Obsession. I thought it was a bit boring compared to her other books and overall, I think my expectations were too high. Considering she's written over 200 books, I can't expect everything I read from her to be 5 stars. She's still amazing, though and I adore her writing style. 

Besides those two, there were also so many books that I put aside because they weren't grabbing my interest. I think next year I will try to record which books were DNF'd as well as those that were finished. 

3. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did). 

I recommend Colleen Hoover to everyone- most recently, All Your Perfects, Verity, and Ugly Love. And I got my friend to read her entire backlist last year. I just love her, and she is my favorite author. 

  

4. Best series you started in 2019? Best Sequel of 2019? Best Series Ender of 2019?

I was about to say that I don't really read series but looking back at my GoodReads I did dive into quite a few this year. I have really liked reading the In Death series by J.D. Robb. I am already on book 4 and for someone who doesn't normally read series, that's pretty big. My favorite sequel was A Court of Wings and Ruin and I am also counting that as the best series ender of 2019 since that was the only one I read this year. Let me tell you, A Court of Wings and Ruin was an epic finale to the ACOTAR series. I highly recommend it. I loved all 700 pages of it! 

5. Favorite new author you discovered in 2019.

Hands down, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Kristen Hannah, K.A. Tucker, and Nora Roberts.  

6. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/ was out of your comfort zone.

I continued my exploration of the thriller genre and that expanded to serial killer novels, suspense, and futuristic police procedurals- from those sub-genres I'd have to say that I loved the In Death series and The Obsession, both by Nora Roberts/ J.D. Robb. Since I usually gravitate towards domestic or psychological thrillers, it was different for me to read those kinds of stories. Honestly though, I have been loving dabbling in such a prolific author's backlist. And I have plenty of reading material!

I also read some fantasy this year, which isn't usual for me. I really enjoyed both books I read from this genre, thanks to Sarah J. Maas. Throne of Glass and A Court of Wings and Ruin were both excellent. 

7. Book You Read In 2019 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year.

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez. The sequel is coming out in April, and I plan reread the first book since I loved it so much to prep for book 2. It showed such a different side of infertility and I appreciated the representation. Some hated the ending, but it gave me hope. 

8. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2019?

The cover of The Broken Girls by Simone St. James is so cool. I also love the illustrated/ watercolor-like cover of The Girl He Used to Know by Tracy Garvis Graves.

9. Most memorable character of 2019?

Way too many to count! 

First of all, I adored Roarke, from J.D. Robb's In Death series. He is the extremely swoon-worthy hero of the series and I just love him. I love his sarcasm, his love for Eve, and his (dirty) comebacks.

I also loved Mack from The Bromance Book Club. He was a hilarious character and I am so excited the sequel will feature his story next! He made me laugh out loud so many times. 

Can I say one more? Camilla from Daisy Jones and the Six was such a strong woman. And with the way her story ended, I closed that book with tears and a huge smile on my face. She was wonderful. 

10. Most beautifully written book read in 2019?

Oh my goodness, I adored the writing in both Flow and Grip by Kennedy Ryan. 

11. Most Thought-Provoking Book of 2019?

Mixed Blessings by Danielle Steele. I related to this book on so many levels and it was amazing to literally see my own thoughts on paper. Because of my own personal experience, infertility representation is really important to me. Subjectively this book is not the best thing I've ever read, but I appreciated that it showed several different sides of infertility and journeys to becoming parents that gave me so much hope.  

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

Throne of Glass. It was released in 2012 and I had owned it since then. I really enjoyed my time with it and want to continue on with the series soon. Naked In Death was also published in 1996 I believe, and I just read it this year. I'm loving reading through the series. 

13. Shortest & Longest Book you Read In 2019? 

Flow by Kennedy Ryan- 126 pages

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas- 699 pages

14. Book That Shocked You The Most.

I had a few this year, for different reasons. 

The Girl He Used to Know shocked me a lot, mostly because I didn't realize that the main character had Autism. It was a pleasant surprise to see the representation done really well. 

An Anonymous Girl had the best plot twists and I loved the ride of reading this psychological thriller. 

Then She Was Gone also had a great plot twist that I didn't see coming, either. The book kept me guessing the whole time. 

The Broken Girls was so spooky and I loved every minute of it. I loved the paranormal spin and the dual timeline. It was such a page-turner. 

15. Favorite Book You Read in 2019 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

The Death of Mrs. Westaway was pretty good and so far has been my favorite Ruth Ware. I have a love-hate relationship with her books so I'm really glad I enjoyed this one. 

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2018? 

I LOVE that Kindle has a highlighting feature! So I naturally have so many answers to this question. 

"If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim." -Colleen Hoover, All Your Perfects

"None of them know the real story- of why I'm here, of why I'm already thinking about going home. They can't sense loneliness, or the knot in my stomach. That's the magic of social media, I guess. But there's also an odd comfort to hiding behind the illusion." -K.A. Tucker, The Simple Wild 

"So this was what it was, this was how it fit. How his half fit, anyway, he thought. It fit, all those moving parts, because he was in love with her. Shouldn't the universe have given him a heads-up on that? He needed a little time, needed to adjust, regroup, needed to- Then she glanced over, and her eyes met his. It blew through him, that storm of feeling, all but took his breath. For an instant he wondered how people lived this way, how they could carry so much for someone else inside them." -Nora Roberts, The Obsession 

"Libraries were full of ideas- perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons." - Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass 

"Choosing Harry Potter over her own flesh and blood?! I would do the same, but how dare she?"- R.S. Grey, Hot Shot Doc 

"Wit was something that happened to other people, and if it happened to Zoe at all, it was usually three hours too late." -Mike Omer, A Killer's Mind 

17. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2019?

Xander from Nora Robert's The Obsession. I love how he pushed Naomi out of her comfort zone and helped her realize she was worthy of love and happiness, regardless of what her family history is like. 

I also fell in love with Gavin from The Bromance Book Club. I love a second chance romance marriage story. It is an accurate depiction that marriage isn't always rainbows and unicorns and that sometimes, you need to work at it. 

17. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Definitely the world in A Court of Wings and Ruin. Sarah J. Maas does and amazing job writing descriptive settings that make you feel like you are there with all the characters. 

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

This is a little boring considering they are the couple in the book, but Pike and Jordan (from Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas) are PERFECT for each other. I loved this taboo romance- Jordan falls in love with her douchebag boyfriend's father. Their love story is beautiful, and I devoured this book in less than 12 hours. Highly recommend.  

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of The Year. 

I adored the friendship between Kristen and Sloan in The Friend Zone. Their friendship was so genuine and I adored every scene I read with the two of them in it.   

21. Best Book You Read In 2018 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/ Bookstagram, Etc.:

I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid solely because of YouTube and I am SO glad I did. It was such a unique yet realistic, old Hollywood historical fiction novel that had me up all night to finish it. I gave that book 5 stars. 

23. Best 2019 debut you read?

Definitely The Bromance Book Club and The Friend Zone. 

24. Book That Put A Smile on Your Face/Was the Most FUN to Read?

In true Felicia fashion, I can't just pick one. I have three: 

Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas, The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez, and The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams. I loved reading all of these! I smiled the whole time and had so much fun. 

25. Book That Made You Cry or Nearly Cry in 2019?

The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah made me cry like a damn baby. That was the first Holocaust historical fiction book I had read in a long time and I loved every page of it. 

26. Hidden Gem of The Year?

Hmmm. I'm not sure about this. I read pretty popular books from well-known authors. I guess I don't hear many people talk about Kennedy Ryan that much, so I'm going to go with Grip and Flow. 

27. Most Unique Book You Read In 2019?

I'd have to say Daisy Jones and the Six, just because of the format it was written in. The entire novel reads like a VH1 Behind the Music documentary, where you hear snippets of recollections from everyone involved with the artists. And it was cool that sometimes, you heard different versions of what happened. I loved that and I'm pretty sure I devoured that entire book in one night. 

28. Best Audiobook Narrator.

It's funny, I just realized that I hadn't listened to an audiobook all year until this question. But I heard that the audiobook for Daisy Jones and the Six is amazing. It features a full cast and I've heard it really brings the story to life. 

29. Book That Crushed Your Soul? 

So many. The Nightingale, Mixed Blessings, and The Simple Wild killed me, that's for sure, and for different reasons. The Nightingale was a tragic war story about sisters, whereas Mixed Blessings showed the heartbreak of infertility from 4 different perspectives, and The Simple Wild discusses father-daughter relationships and grief. All three of these books are so special to me because of what I learned about myself through reading them. 

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

In The Bromance Book Club, I wanted to shake Thea to get her head of our her ass. She was being incredibly stubborn, and her husband was genuinely trying to fix their marriage. The same situation goes for Kristen in The Friend Zone.

 

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2018 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2019?

The rest of the Stillhouse Lake series by Rachel Caine: Killman Creek, Wolfhunter River, and then finally I'll be able to catch up on the series with the fourth installment when it comes out in January, Bitter Falls.  

I also have so many books on my Kindle I'd like to read, but here are just a few I'd love to get to: 

The Diviners by Libba Bray (and the rest of that series!)

Say You Still Love Me by KA Tucker

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Renegades and Archenemies by Marissa Meyer 

Year One by Nora Roberts
At least 4-5 more In Death series installments 

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2019 (non-debut)? 

I might do a whole post on this, but I have so many- mostly romance and thriller releases, which are the two main genres I read from.  

Beach Read by Emily Henry 

You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria

The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
The Switch by Beth O'Leary
From Alaska With Love by Ally James
The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 

Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough

The Dilemma by BA Paris 

The Sundown Motel by Simone St. James 

His & Hers by Alice Feeney

The Girl From Widow Hills by Megan Miranda

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
The Other People by CJ Tudor
The Only Child by Mi-Ae Seo
He Started It by Samantha Downing
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
The Tenant by Katrine Engberg

3. 2019 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I'm not sure yet! I'll have to do more research.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2019? 

Undercover Bromance. This second story in the Bromance Book Club series follows Thea's sister Liv and Mack's love story.  

Wild at Heart. Calla & Jonah's journey continues in this sequel to The Simple Wild. 

The Happy Ever After Playlist. A companion novel to The Friend Zone, following Sloan's story 2 years later.  

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2019? 

I'd like to read more consistently and diversely. Maybe even reach 36-40 books next year?

That's all I've got today, friends! I'm sorry if things got repetitive. I don't read a ton, so sometimes I had to use the same book for multiple questions. I hope that's ok. I'd love to read your version of this book survey! Let me know if you've done one of these. Thanks to Jamie for creating this survey years ago! 

Thanks for reading, 

Linking up with Jamie.