As 2019 is.. gone.. It’s time for those amazing, wonderful and torturous “favorite” posts! I have a couple lined up, but thought I’d start with my favorite fantasy and science fiction novels of 2019! These aren’t only ones released this year – at all – since I did try my best to get a grip on my backlist and failed, shhh.
FANTASY
~ IMBER and TELLUS are the first two books in Tyffany’s Thanatos Trilogy. I remember having an eARC of Imber for ages before finally diving in and.. well.. Let’s just say I regretted not reading it sooner! You can read my review of Imber in this post.
~ Do I even need to explain why A CURSE SO DARK AND LONELY is on this list? The hype says it all – and I truly believe this hype is deserved! I adore fairytale retellings, I adore Brigid Kemmerer’s writing and.. the combination of those two loves? Gave me one perfect ACSDAL-baby! You can check out my review here!
~ There’s been mixed opinions on Renée Ahdieh’s THE BEAUTIFUL, but I really can’t help loving it. As I mentioned in my review on this book, I was in the mood for an atmospheric read and The Beautiful delivered on that front. Which is, of course, why it ended up being one of my favorite reads. Sometimes it’s all about reading a book that fits your mood perfectly after all.
~ Another less known book is EXIT PLANS FOR TEENAGE FREAKS, a book I came across thanks to the lovely ladies over at Book Princess Reviews. There’s a whole load of queer rep in this one, which.. well.. I absolutely live for, okay. I’m ashamed to say I never reviewed this book but.. like.. take my word for it, please?
~ SKY IN THE DEEP was another month’s favorite fantasy novel. I remember loving the writing, living for the characters and appreciating the way their bonds and characters grew throughout the book. I also remember ahving a tiny issue with the world-building but.. Like.. It was still my favorite fantasy of August! Here’s my review!
~ Last, but definitely not least is CORAL and.. this is probably my favorite book out of this entire post. It’s a fantasy with amazing, bloody brilliant, mental illness rep and I cannot recommend this more. Please, please if this is something you like reading about, be sure to add it to your TBR or get yourself a copy asap. It’s worth it. So worth it.
SCIENCE FICTION
~ When it comes to science fiction, I really cannot decide which one is my ultimate favorite but ONCE & FUTURE is definitely a big option. Genderbend King Arthur, amazing rep and action-packed story anyone? Read my review here!
~ You cannot expect me to not have AURORA RISING on this list. I might not have liked Lifel1k3 all that much, but I did fall in love with Aurora Rising and cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of its sequel. Pretty sure I’ll buy everything written by both Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman.
~ I discovered the amazingness that is Neal Shusterman, people. I read SCYTHE and THUNDERHEAD in the same month and I absolutely fell in love with his writing, his world-building, his characters. Everything really. I haven’t had the chance to read The Toll yet, but that’s more to do with my other half currently reading it, haha. Read my review on Scythe here!
~ Lastly, I’m only shortly mentioning ILLUMINAE because I reread it by listening to the audiobook. It was an amazing experience, especially since I’m not usually fond of audiobooks but I did enjoy that one!
Are any of these books favorites of yours as well?
Do you still need to read some?
What are your favorite reads of 2019?
Books & Munches 
Coral was such a surprise to me but I loved it so much.
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Right? Same! I did a happy dance when my finished copy arrived too.
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Illuminae is one of my favourite books, it was so unique and an amazing read. I must admit I’m not sure how much I would enjoy the audiobook, the format doesn’t seem conducive to audio, but I think that’s just me 😅
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I bought A Curse So Dark and Lonely and I really need to read it soon! Great list.
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Ooh nice! I picked up a copy of Scythe at YALC on the recommendation of one of the booksellers and am looking forward to reading it (hopefully at some point this year haha)
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I really hope you’re going to love it! It HAS to be even better than I think since my OH is loving the books as well, haha.
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I haven’t read any of these but I’ll be checking them out. Thanks for sharing. My favorite 2019 reads include The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie and the Deadly Seven series by Lana Pecherczyk. I also loved the webtoon ‘Collide’ by Wann.
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A Curse So Dark and Lonely was so good! I want to get The Beautiful on audio but it doesnt seem to be available yet (and I’m sad!!!)
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Glad to hear that someone else enjoyed Scythe! I’ve been loving all of Neal Shusterman’s stuff since I read Unwind years back. With that said, I really need to go ahead and finish that series haha! And Ooo I’ve heard so many good things about specifically the audiobook version of Illuminae! I read it in book form a while ago, but, after hearing so many good things about the audiobook, I might have to reread it via audiobook form at some point!
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