2019 Book Releases I’ve Read (and the ones I’ve got to read)

Hey everyone!!

It is day 15 of blogmas!! What?!?!?! That means it is only 10 sleeps until Christmas, whoo!! I am pre-writing this but I am going to guess future me is going to have everything under control and be prepared for Christmas by this point. Anyway…..

This year has involved me reading the most new releases ever (as for once I haven’t been on a book ban) which makes me feel very excited and very fortunate that I got to get my hands on so many new books!! So today I thought I would talk about them all and if I would recommend them!

King of Scars

My Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The next series in the Grishaverse and I did think the plot could have been better I still really enjoyed it. Nikolai is amazing and I think the ending was interesting. I think the next one will be even better than this one. I also absolutely adored the bits of Genya and David that we got, they are my favourites!! This book covered emotions really well so I applaud Leigh for that but like I said the plot didn’t have everything I was looking for. BUT this was my first EVER preorder and it felt so nice to be in the buzz within the bookish community when it was released.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes if you like the Grishaverse and have read all the books.

The Boy Who Steals Houses

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

This was a really fun but emotional contemporary which had an absolutely amazing family at the centre (and amazing food). The DeLaineys were a great family which were so easy to love as they were fun but had a really close bond which made reading about them obviously enjoyable. They also had their problems and I appreciated the realism. I also loved the relationship between Sam and Avery, the brothers. It was complex but still really nice and sweet. I loved Avery and thought the autism representation was great. The reasons I didn’t love it was because I didn’t particularly love one of the main relationship between Sam and Moxie, I liked it but I wasn’t strongly invested and as it was the main relationship it affected the overall experience and the plot was slightly (only very slightly) lacking and felt like I couldn’t get absorbed into it.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes if the plot appeals to you especially if you are looking for autism representation and characters that need love.

Descendant of the Crane

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Chinese inspired fantasy which focuses on Hesina, the newly appointed queen in a land where magic is feared and punished. The land is also on the edge of conflict between neighbouring Providences but Hesina is focused on what happened to her father. I thought it was a complex plot which all linked together really well. My favourite things about this was that it had a different set up to a typical fantasy and I really enjoyed the political intrigue side and how Hesina handled being queen. It handled the complexities and the burden really well which gave it a fleshed out, realistic view. I also liked how the book included the depths of history of the world and how it is affected present day. However it wasn’t flawless, the pacing was off, the characters were lacking in some ways so I can see why some would rate it lower but for me it earned the 4 stars.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes but it’s not for everyone as the characters were slightly lacking but I still loved the political intrigue and the drama.

Red, White and Royal Blue

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed reading this book. It was a happy contemporary story focusing on the First Son of the United States of America and The Prince of Wales. It was about their relationship and the challenges they face but at the core it has a really inspiring message and I think a lot of people could take something away from it. The characters were all likeable and the relationship was special. I appreciate the protagonists being in their early 20’s as it is an age group I want to read more of. My favourite chapter is chapter 4 as I have mentioned before. Whilst I liked the characters I didn’t have the strongest connection with them. Overall it didn’t have the ‘5 star’ feel for me but still enjoyable.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes, I found it a fun read which had a really uplifting message at its core.

A Different Time

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

This was a unique story which focuses on two main characters which exists in two different times. I really liked that it focused on the ‘coming-of-age’ theme and the feelings of the characters as I felt like it helped you really connect to the characters. It was a story which touched on the emotional side as well. The book did have a bit of insta-love which isn’t my favourite but it still had many aspects I like such as being a fan of the x-men, the talk of growing up, what to do with the future and the deep conversations.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? If the premise intrigues you and you don’t mind insta-love then yes.

We Hunt the Flame

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really liked this fantasy and I loved the cast of characters. They have the deeper emotional side whilst also having a brilliant banter which I adore. It was an Arabian inspired fantasy and I really loved the setting.  It involves quite a few common tropes but there were actually ones I really loved so it didn’t bother me but it did make it more of a standard fantasy but in its own way if you know what I mean. Also the second part of the book is much stronger as the pacing is slightly off at the beginning and I felt like the middle part had some unnecessary scenes but as I love the characters and felt like the ending was strong so overall I did love this book a lot.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes, it is not a flawless fantasy as its pacing is slightly off but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sorcery of Thorns

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

I just have to mention (again) how beautiful this cover is!! I did enjoy this book and I really liked the characters. I mean Elisabeth, Nathaniel, Silas and Katrien were all wonderful but they were your typical YA characters if you know what I mean. The plot was enjoyable and I love the whole warrior librarian concepts and the books (I mean books set in libraries are always awesome). But none of it really blew me away and you’d kind of seen it before but I really did enjoy my experience and would definitely recommend this to people starting out in YA fantasy.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes but I would be slightly sceptical as I think it depends on the reader.

Stepsister

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I would probably say this is my favourite ever retelling so far as you might have guessed it is a retelling of Cinderella but on the stepsister’s side and this is 100% a feminist story. It is set after Cinderella about how the world treats the stepsisters and how they feel. It talks a lot about societal pressure such as what being a women means to society and how women handle this. It is slightly dark and full of complex characters. It also has fate and chance as characters which were SO interesting. I would recommend it just for them. It didn’t reach 5 stars as it has a few minor problems but overall I thought this was a powerful, inspiring book that deserves lots of love.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes, absolutely.

The Flatshare

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was different to my usual reads because it is an adult romance but I think it was a good one as the characters were complex and really likeable. I think this book highlighted emotional abuse in relationships so well and what they feel like. It also had a really strong character growth that I thought was SO important and many could benefit from reading this. Also the other relationships were respective and supportive which I really appreciated. It made me laugh out loud at times and it was a unique, sweet story that I feel lots of people would enjoy.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes

The Infinite Noise

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a sweet, unique contemporary stories about Caleb who is an empath which is effectively a ‘superpower’ but it was more about handling this power in school and in a new relationship through the use of therapy. It was also able to explore depression through the love interest, Adam. I really like how is showed the benefit of therapy and I think the main characters are so sweet and precious. I loved them already from the podcast so getting more was great. But without the podcast I think the plot would have lacking and maybe the connection to the characters as well.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes if you’ve listened to the podcast.

Call Down the Hawk

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I enjoyed this book as it involved some of my favourite characters ever and being a fan of The Raven Cycle meant this book contained many things that I loved. I keep describing it as very Maggie in terms of writing, plot and characters. I like the new story as we got more dreamer magic and so many potential “villains”. It was certainly the start of something which is again true Maggie style so I can’t wait to read more. I think it has a theme of loneliness running throughout for many characters which was heart-breaking but I did miss the group dynamic so that it why it is 4.5 stars for me but I feel like if I reread it with the rest of the series it would be a 5.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Yes especially if you loved The Raven Cycle. You can see my long ramble of TRC here.

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The writing is so easy to read and I flew through this book easily. Plus I do still love the characters so I’m interested to see more from them. BUT this book was lacking. I thought the plot didn’t seem like it had a big point and the character development was minimal. It still had moments that I really enjoyed though. Overall I expected more and I thought it suffered from second book syndrome. I would have also loved to have seen more from the characters individually. As well as for more time to be covered as this book only took place over a few days which isn’t my favourite thing and I think you need either a strong plot or character arc to do this which I don’t think this did.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? Well if you’ve read Carry On I think you get make your own decision from there. 

I’m pre-writing this but I plan to read 2 other 2019 release by the end of the year. So you will have to see my December wrap-up to see my thoughts but I will put 3 words which I think I will feel about them. (Exciting, I know.)

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid/ Unique. Band. Drama.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo/ Dark. Mysterious. Intriguing.

SOME of the 2019 releases I haven’t gotten to yet but want to read:

• The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
• The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
• Crier’s War by Nina Varela
• We Set The Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
• How To be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters
• The Fever King by Victoria Lee
• Bloom by Kevin Panetta
• The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf
• Master of Sorrows by Justin Call
• The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
• The Stars and The Blackness Between Them bu Junauda Petrus
• The Candle and The Flame by Nafiza Azad
• Technically You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson
• I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver
• With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
• The Dragon Republic by R F Kaung
• A Girl Called Shameless by Laura Steven
• Famous in a Small Town by Emma Wills
• You Asked for Perfect by Laura Silverman
• The Surprising Power of A Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
• The Library of The Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith

…..and so many more.

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What 2019 new releases have you read? Which one was your favourite?

Which 2019 releases do you want to read?