My personal top ten books of 2019

My top ten reads 2019:

Everybody's doing it! Compiling lists of their top 10 top 20 or top whatever reads of the year. I usually do this so here are my very best reads of the last 12 months, They are the books I've completely enjoyed reading and which have stayed with me.

Some of them have been books I reviewed as part of blog tours and as always I am very grateful to be included in events for new books. Others are books I chose to read just because they called out to me or because I heard about them from book loving friends. 

I adore books which take me on a journey, whether that is a virtual journey to pastures new from my armchair or an emotional journey, here are the books which carried me away this year.

I have reviewed them either here on my blog, or on Goodreads.

Thankyou to everyone who has helped me discover these books I've loved, I hope this list might help you find one or two too. Click on the book title to be taken to my original blog post and review.

In no particular order they are:

The Glittering Hour - Iona Grey:

My thanks go to Anne Cater of #Randomthingstours for introducing me to this wonderful romantic novel which took me on a journey of the heart.

"an utterly delightful love story, revealed in spoonfuls that I guzzled down. It honestly made my heart ache"

The Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes:

It wouldn't be a list of my favourites if it didn't have at least one book by the wonderful Jojo Moyes who gets it bang on every time.

"heart-warming and lovely, a stunning story, filled with wonderful characters, diverse women and a few totally vile men"

The Ten Thousand Doors of January - Alix E. Harrow

A wonderful fantasy for all ages to rival His Dark Materials, a journey of magical new worlds.

"As soon as I started it, I slipped into a magical world where Doors to other worlds exist"

One for The Blackbird One for The Crow - 

Here to Stay - Mark Edwards

Thrillers by Mark Edwards are always deliciously dark, very twisty and somewhat manic. This one is no exception.

"This is a brain-numbingly intense read, that creates the inlaws from hell, brings them into your beautiful posh house and when you're ready to scream with frustration the bloodshed begins"

Bone China - Laura Purcell

Wow!! @SpookyPurcell does it again, delves into the past and pulls out a ripe juicy plum of a story which carried me back in time.

"Haunting and mesmerising, Bone China is set over 2 historical periods of time 40 years apart."

A Transcontinental Affair - Jodi Daynard

A sweeping historical romance taking me on an epic journey across 1970s USA on the Pullmann Express.

"The main characters are wonderful, especially the women. and I was rooting for Louisa especially"

The Gates of Eden - Nadine LeCheminant

This book took me on a journey of hope and discovery by wagon train, based on the Authors true family history I loved every step of the way.

A story about everyday folk making a pioneering epic trek, overcoming desperation and hardship.

One for the Blackbird one for the Crow - Olivia Hawker

Set in Wyoming this historical novel is a haunting story about friendship and forgiveness.

"lyrical in the lavish and haunting descriptiveness of the wildness of the vast prairie"

The Whisper Man - Alex North

"Whisper man is a fabulous crime thriller which scared me witless and has me in tears more than once."

Attend by West Camel

And last but not least a book i really loved but haven't yet written a lengthy review for as it was just so good it left me lost for words, quirky and different I highly recommend this one.

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My favourite reads 2107 - another darned list!

As everyones doing it at this time of year I may as well join in by listing my favourite reads of 2017. I'm quite disappointed with myself, at how few books I actually managed to read right to the end this year, perhaps because I did end up with quite a few duds which just didn't float my boat enough to finish them but I struggled on trying to get into them and losing time which could have been spent reading something I loved.

Here are a few of the books which did float my boat and kept me joyously entertained throughout.

Starting with possibly the most enjoyable read this year for me, the perfectly stunning Sealskin by Su Bristow an absolutely enchanting and captivating, tear at your heart, love story with the twist that it’s based on a legend yet is completely believable.

Before the Rains is a great historical romantic read by one of my go to authors for escapism Dinah Jefferies

The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull is yet another historical book that stayed with me, a coming of age, a love story and a historical novel about early flight which swept me away.

He said, She Said by Erin Kelly is a delightfully different and darkly convoluted contemporary psychological thriller/ domestic Noir drama that gripped me and twisted my brain.

The very clever Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski blew me away with its quirky take on podcasting and a twisty crime story from six viewpoints.

Exquisite by Sarah Stovell is a darkly twisted story of a toxic relationship between two women. A stunning and immaculately fragmented tale of twisted perfection.

The amazing Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine is an utterly captivating and delightful genre bending book which defies categorization being both hilariously humorous yet darkly profound too.

Maria in the moon by Louise Beech, is also a light/dark book, dealing with a desperately dark subject in a heartwarming and accessible way threaded with wry humour.

The next two books are yet to come for most readers and I appreciate the greatly privileged position I'm in to have had the chance to read them both in advance of publication.

Two to look out for in 2018 are the wonderful

Sal by Mick Kitson

and Three Things about Elsie by the amazing Joanna Cannon

It would be remiss of me to publish this post without a warm mention and LOUD "thank you" to the quite superb Orenda Books from whom many of my very best reads this year have been. 

Many of their titles seem to be tailormade for me and I consider it a real privilege to be afforded advance copies of some of their titles.

If you're reading this maybe we share similar reading tastes, so do yourself a favour and have a browse through their current and forthcoming titles.

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