Top Ten Tuesday - Favourite Books I Read in 2019

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week the topic is

Favourite Books I Read in 2019

 

10. Obsidio (The Illuminae Files, #3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Rating: 4/5 stars


While this was my least favourite of the series, I still really enjoyed it.




9. Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Rating: 4/5 stars

This didn't quite live up to Illuminae for me and I didn't like new characters as much.





8. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Rating: 4/5 stars

It took me a while to get into this but I enjoyed it a lot more towards the end.




7. Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer

Rating: 4/5 stars

Brigid Kemmerer writes my favourite contemporary books and I really enjoyed this one.



6. Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman

Rating: 4/5 stars

This was an interesting, heart-wrenching read. I didn't even know that Vincent had a brother or how important he was in Vincent's life.



5. The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy, #2) by S.A. Chakraborty

Rating: 4/5 stars

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first book, The City of Brass, but it was a very enjoyable read.



4. Under a Dancing Star by Laura Wood

Rating: 4/5 stars

I originally rated this five stars but I don't feel as excited about it anymore so I lowered the rating.
I did really enjoy it though and I loved the romance.



3. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Rating: 4.5/5 stars


I loved the mythology in this and the romance is one of my favourites ever.



2. Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Wow. This book. I loved the sci-fi elements and the characters. I totally cried.



1. A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1) by Brigid Kemmerer
 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

 This was very nearly a five star book.
It's my favourite Beauty and the Beast retelling that I've read.
I loved the plot, the setting and the characters.





What are your top books of 2019?

December Wrap-Up

*Contains spoilers for the December FairyLoot book*

Here are the books I planned to read this month . . .

WHAT I READ

I didn't read as much as I hoped I would this month, but seeing as I've met my Goodreads goal of 90 books I don't mind too much. 

Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) by Susan Dennard - hardback - DNF (1/5 stars).

Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer - eARC - 4/5 stars - read my review here.

 King of Fools (The Shadow Game, #2) by Amanda Foody - eARC - DNF (1/5 stars) - read my review here.

Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes - eARC - 3/5 stars - review to come in January.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - hardback - 4/5 stars.

HAULED BOOKS

Hortense and the Shadow by Natalia O'Hara and Lauren O'Hara - this is a signed copy and was a Christmas present.

The Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson and illustrated by Mina Lima - this was a Christmas present and it's such a gorgeous edition.

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne - I got this in a trade. It's a Jane Eyre retelling set in space, which sounds amazing!

Eight Will Fall by Sarah Harian - this was the December FairyLoot book and has an exclusive cover. It's signed and has character art under the dust jacket.

Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco - this in an exclusive ARC which was also in the FairyLoot December box.

Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Gabriel Picolo - this was a Christmas present.

Jade City by Fonda Lee - this was a Christmas present from the lovely Kate who blogs at Reading Through Infinity.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusack - I asked for the ten year anniversary edition for Christmas.

 

CURRENTLY READING

Spellhacker by M.K. England




What did you read in December?
Did you get many books

 
 

My Year in Film - 2019

I went to the cinema twenty times this year which is a new record for me. 

Here are the films I saw and my general thoughts about them . . .




JANUARY

The Favourite

 The hype for this film had me worried that I would be disappointed by it, but I ended up really enjoying it. The cast were all brilliant, but Rachel Weiz was my favourite.




 FEBRUARY

Mary Queen of Scots

I didn't know much about Mary Queen of Scots going into this, so I found the history interesting. Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie were both really good in this.

 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

I'm so sad this trilogy is over! While it wasn't my favorite of the series, I did still really enjoy it. I tear up everytime I think about the ending.




MARCH

Aftermath

I won't lie, I went and saw this because it had Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgård in it. I don't like films about/with adultery, but I found the setting really interesting and I did enjoy it overall.

Captain Marvel

I am a HUGE Marvel fan and I LOVE Captain Marvel so I was super excited to watch this.
I really enjoyed it and love Brie as Carol.
I actually ended up seeing this twice - once with my sister and the second time with fellow book blogger Kate, who blogs at Reading Through Infinity.




APRIL

Shazam!

This looked like it was going to be a fun film and it was, but I was a bit disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more.

Avengers: Endgame

After Infinity War I wasn't sure what the hell was going to happen next! And Marvel continued to surprise me with Endgame.
There were some brilliant moments in this and I can't think about certain scenes without tearing up still.
This is without a doubt my favourite film of the year.





MAY

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

I didn't know how the John Wick films could getter any better or more intense but boy did this one deliver!
The stunts were amazing and I loved the dogs.
The next film is going to be insane!




JUNE

Rocketman

I didn't know much about Elton John's past before watching this, but I liked his music.
I ended up really enjoying this. I thought the cast were amazing and I love the soundtrack.





JULY

Yesterday

I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but I like Lily James. I went and saw this because my sister is a huge Beatles fan and needed someone to go to the cinema with her.
While I did enjoy this overall, I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

I love Tom Holland as Spider-Man and I really enjoyed this film. I'm undecided if I preferred it to the first film.
I thought Jake Gyllenhaal was very good as Mysterio.

 Toy Story 4

I thought Toy Story 3 ended perfectly so I didn't think a fourth film was necessary. However, I did end up enjoying this. Ducky and Bunny were so funny.








AUGUST

Blinded by the Light

I enjoyed this film. It wasn't amazing but it was full of heart.


 

Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood

This was a really good film. The actors were all very good.
The ending was . . . surprising and a bit disturbing. Very Tarantino.




OCTOBER

Joker

I thought this looked good from the trailers, and while I did like parts of it, I found it very disturbing and thought it could have been handled a lot better.
This is my least favourite film of the year.

The Farewell

I really enjoyed this. I like films about family and other cultures so it was right up my alley.




NOVEMBER

Last Christmas

I saw this because of the main actors in it, and while it wasn't perfect, I did enjoy it and would watch it again. It made me cry!








DECEMBER

Knives Out

This was a brilliant whodunnit.
I liked the characters and the plot was engaging and surprising.
This is one of my favourite films of the year.

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

This film has divided fans but I ended up really enjoying it. 
I thought it wrapped everything up nicely and I cried A LOT.
I enjoyed it more than The Last Jedi (which I did enjoy initially but other people ruined it for me).
This is one of my favourite films of the year.




What films did you see at the cinema in 2019?
What was your favourite or least favourite film?

Books I DNF'd in 2019

I DNF'D a lot of books this year and I like reading posts by other people about the books they stop reading, so I thought I'd do my own one.

JANUARY

How to Hang a Witch (How to Hang a Witch, #1) by Adriana Mather

Why I Stopped Reading:

I couldn't get on with the writing style and had to stop at page 58.

Once I noticed how many 'I's there were I couldn't stop seeing them.

FEBRUARY

 

Tempests and Slaughter (The Numair Chronicles, #1) by Tamora Pierce

Why I Stopped Reading:

 I put this down at 22%.

I struggled to get into the storyline and to get on with the writing style. I found the plot really dull which is a shame as I loved the Lioness Quartet.

 Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak


Why I Stopped Reading:

I found the time jumps quite confusing and not much happened. I lost interest and decided not to continue. 

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera


Why I Stopped Reading:

This is probably a controversial one but I struggled to connect with the characters and the plot didn't interest me. 





MAY

Sorceror to the Crown (Sorceror Royal, #1) by Zen Cho


Why I Stopped Reading:

I really liked the sound of this but I just couldn't get into it.





 JULY

 The Tesla Legacy by K.K. Perez


Why I Stopped Reading:

I was so excited for this one but I really didn't like it.




AUGUST

  
The Orphanage of the Gods by Helena Coggan

  
Why I Stopped Reading:

I didn't find the characters very interesting and I didn't care what happened to them. I lost interest in the plot which didn't seem to have much direction.








SEPTEMBER

These Rebel Waves (Stream Raiders, #1) by Sara Raasch


Why I Stopped Reading:

There were too many info-dumps and I didn't care for the characters or the writing.

 

The Antidote by Shelley Sackier


Why I Stopped Reading:

I struggled with the writing style from the first page and couldn't get into the plot or connect with the characters.
 




NOVEMBER

  
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik


Why I Stopped Reading: 

I was so sure that I was going to love this, and I was enjoying it to begin with, but I got really bored and couldn't bring myself to read any more.


 

 DECEMBER

Truthwitch (The Witchlands, #1) by Susan Dennard


Why I Stopped Reading:

 This is another book that I was really looking forward to reading.
I did enjoy this to begin with, but then things started to bug me and it began a chore to read.

King of Fools (The Shadow Game, #2) by Amanda Foody

Why I Stopped Reading:

I enjoyed the first book in the series, Ace of Shades, but I liked the main characters less in King of Fools. I lost interest in the plot and didn't care what happened.








Do you DNF books?
What books did you DNF this year?