Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books I Read In 2019

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke And The Bookish and now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

I didn't read as much this year as I have in the past few years, but there were a few books that I just absolutely loved! I always love this topic because I love spotlighting my favorite reads. 

It was hard picking my favorite read of the year, but I settled on Serpent & Dove because I kept thinking about this books for days and days. I adored this slow burn enemies to lovers. Lou and Reid captured my heart. My review.

Zayne got his time to shine and OMG it was incredible. This was a great return to the world from the Dark Elements series and as always JLA delivered the swoon and the action. My review.

My disaster Squad 312. They are such a mess and I love them with every fiber of my being. Great story and a fantastic set of characters and don't forget the SPACE ELF. My review.

I finally dove into this series this year and oh man has it become my latest obsession. I absolutely adore Mercy and Adam and all of the secondary characters. It is such a great world and these books are addictive and this one in particular has been my favorite of them all so far.

I have yet to read a KA Tucker book that I didn't enjoy but this one is my favorite of them all to date and I didn't think anyone would knock River out of that top spot. I loved Piper and Kyle and I loved that this was told in dual timelines and most of all I loved that Piper was able to be a successful business woman and have a romance. My review.

I adored this book! This stole the top spot as my favorite Katie McGarry book. The romance was so sweet and I loved the little paranormal twist thrown in there. My review.

This return to the Lux world has been so wonderful and I never thought I would come to love Luc as much as I do. So many twists and turns and new information coming to light. My review.

This series has been one of my favorite overall this year and this book is my favorite of the bunch. They are all just so much fun. Such quick reads and Lucky's antics are hilarious. My review.

This was such a good fantasy read! It was a great world and I adored the characters and really it was just right up my alley. My review.

Yes I am featuring two books from the same series and I do not care... I love Mercy and Adam so much and in this one Sam absolutely broke me. My review.

Mini Review: Carnival Row: Tangle In The Dark by: Stephanie K. Smith

Release Date: October 3, 2019
from Audible Original
Goodreads | Audible

"Tourmaline Larou lives an idyllic life of learning by day and partying by night. An aspiring poet, her future promises nothing less than brilliance.

Then, Vignette Stonemoss walks through the door, and Tourmaline’s world is upended.

As she struggles to understand the effect this stranger has on her, Tourmaline and her fellow fae face a looming threat from the human world. War is on the horizon, and their very existence is at stake.

And Tourmaline will discover whether love will save her - or destroy her.

Tangle in the Dark is set in the world of the Amazon Original series Carnival Row, created by Travis Beacham and René Echevarria.

PLEASE NOTE: This story contains adult material and graphic language. Listener discretion is advised."

My Thoughts:

Carnival Row is one of my more recent obsessions. I’m pretty sure that show was written specifically for me, so when I saw that audible had an audible original story that was a prequel; I knew I had to dive in ASAP. This prequel is told from Tourmaline’s perspective and it was very awesome that they got the actress to do the reading for the audio. This prequel fills in some of the gaps from the show in regards to Tourmaline and Vignette’s past. It was really interesting getting to see how they met and how their relationship grew and ultimately how it all came crashing down. It was also a great look into the early days of the war and how things got to be the way they are when we catch up with the characters at the start of the show. This one was definitely a bit heartbreaking, but if you’ve watched the show you know what you’re signing up for with this story. All in all, if you’re a fan of the show I highly recommend this story, even if you haven’t watched the show yet this could prove to be a good introduction to the world.

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke And The Bookish and now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

My Winter TBR

Cover Reveal: Kiss Of Vengeance by: S. Young

Kiss of Vengeance (A True Immortality Novel) by S. Young 

Photo: Wander Aguiar

Cover Design: By Hang Le

A standalone paranormal romance from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young, writing as S. Young.
Fionn Mór was once a high king of Ireland; a fierce warrior who led his tribes against the invading fae. It was a war he couldn’t win and to save his family he turned consort for the Fae Queen. Fionn escaped as the thing he once despised, and the people he loved betrayed him for it. Now, centuries later, it’s time to reopen the gates to Faerie to take his revenge against the Faerie Queen.
At sixteen Rose Kelly discovered family secrets that changed her forever. Years after, she’s still lost, traveling across Europe in search of that elusive missing ‘something’. When she’s attacked by a vampire, not only is she wrenched into a supernatural underworld she never knew existed, a knock on the head releases a spell on her mind and unlocks powers beyond her wildest imaginings. And with them more questions. Questions Fionn Mór claims to have answers to.
Following the powerful and enigmatic Fionn to Ireland, Rose quickly realizes she’s a pawn in his plan for vengeance. What begins as a passionate battle of wills leads to an inexplicable but undeniable connection. One that will force them to face an impossible choice between the deepest love… and the darkest revenge.

Out March 3rd 2020

 Goodreads | Apple Books | Kindle US |  Kindle Worldwide |  Nook | Kobo 

On My Shelf: One Winter Night by: Ali & Weston Parker and Zoe & Blythe Reid

On My Shelf is a feature I started here on the blog and I'm sure there are a ton of similar ones out there, but basically I just wanted to start spotlighting some of the MANY backlist titles I have accumulated on my shelf and kindle. The idea is to spotlight an older book I have on my massive TBR. I also thought it would be a fun way to discuss these books with my fellow bloggers, get some of your thoughts and figure out which ones I need to read ASAP and which ones can wait a bit more. And if you want to join in too, I would love to see what is on your shelf! Just leave me a link in the comments.

Another Christmas read I grabbed and never got to! This one has an ex-military hero and a best friends sister romance. It sounds like a fun one for Christmas, but of course I tend to collect Christmas books and never read them.

So tell me. Have you read it? Did you love it? Hate it? Was it meh?

Book Review: River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6) by: Patricia Briggs

Release Date: March 1, 2011
from Ace
Goodreads | Amazon

"Being a different breed of shapeshifter-a walker-Mercy Thompson can see ghosts, but the spirit of her long-gone father has never visited her. Until now, on her honeymoon with the Alpha werewolf Adam. An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-and innocent people are dying. As other walkers make their presence known to Mercy, she must reconnect with her heritage to exorcise the world of the legend known as the river devil..."

My Thoughts:

I have been binging my way through this series and you would think at some point I would start to get sick of it, but it just hasn’t happened yet and I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon. I just adored this world so much and I cannot get enough of Mercy and Adam.

In this one, Mercy and Adam try to have some time alone on vacation, but because trouble follows Mercy around of course their vacation takes a detour. We learn a lot more about Mercy and her background in this one and there is so much more to Mercy than meets the eye. I have come to love Mercy so much and she is just such a fantastic heroine. We would get along so well and I love how she has developed over these books. She has opened up more and learned to lean on Adam a bit but she has never lost her independent spirit.

The plot to River Marked wasn’t my favorite of the series, I enjoyed it but I just loved the last few I’ve read more, but what I did love about this one was all the Mercy and Adam time we got. Also, I missed Sam in this one. But back to Mercy and Adam. We get so much progression with these two in this book. Their relationship has truly grown and developed and I love how that has happened. I love how they communicate and really lean on one another and I love that we never create stupid issues and drag them out. Mercy and Adam have enough problems without relationship drama getting in the way. My favorite thing about this book was how we got to really see Adam and Mercy’s relationship in action and see how strong their bond has gotten. I love these two as a couple and Adam just holds my heart in his hands.

River Marked was another great addition to the Mercy Thompson series. Now I am excited to go check up on Charles and Anna again as I continue my way through the Mercyverse.

Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie: Sequels That Were Better Than The First Book

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke And The Bookish and now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

I saw Frozen 2 over the weekend and it was INCREDIBLE and I thought it was even better than the first, so that has inspired my freebie topic choice for this week. Book sequels that were better than the first book. It can be hard for sequels to live up to the first book, but these lived up to them and more.

On My Shelf: The Bookworm And The Beast by: Charlee James

On My Shelf is a feature I started here on the blog and I'm sure there are a ton of similar ones out there, but basically I just wanted to start spotlighting some of the MANY backlist titles I have accumulated on my shelf and kindle. The idea is to spotlight an older book I have on my massive TBR. I also thought it would be a fun way to discuss these books with my fellow bloggers, get some of your thoughts and figure out which ones I need to read ASAP and which ones can wait a bit more. And if you want to join in too, I would love to see what is on your shelf! Just leave me a link in the comments.

I grabbed this last year around Christmas because it sounded like a good holiday read, it has beauty and the beast themes, there is a doggo on the cover, and sweet romance is promised. This sounds like a recipe perfect for Teresa. Sadly I didn't get to it last year, but with Christmas coming maybe the time is right to read it now.

So tell me. Have you read it? Did you love it? Hate it? Was it meh?

Book Review: Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson #5) by: Patricia Briggs

Release Date: March 30, 2010
from Ace Books
Goodreads | Amazon

"Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, never knows what the day - or night - may bring in a world where "witches, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters live beside ordinary people" (Booklist). But she is about to learn that while some secrets are dangerous whose who seek them are just plain deadly...

Mercy is smart enough to realize that when it comes to the magical fae, the less you know, the better. But you can't always get what you want. When she attempts to return a powerful fae she previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secrets - and the fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side - leaving Mercy to cover for him lest his own father declare Samuel's life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she may not have many more..."

My Thoughts:

This series just continues to get better and better. I am just flying through these books and they are all so easy to devour.

Mercy just feels like my new best friend now and I just adore her so much. She’s just so much fun and so feisty and so strong. She continually finds herself in trouble, but she is always up for the task. And now that she’s in the pack she is dealing with all the ramifications of that and dealing with those who are not thrilled she’s there. But she’s up for it and she’s got this. And Adam is worth the trouble. I adore Adam. He is just so good and he clearly worships the ground Mercy walks on. These two have such great chemistry and they work so well together. And as they both open up more their bond just gets stronger and stronger. They’re seriously one of my favorite couples. And then the side characters. Ben has sealed the spot as my favorite. Which did not see that happening but I love him now. Warren is still wonderful and Bran is just such a great character. And then Sam. Oh my heart Sam hurt me in this one but I love him so.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. It was action packed from beginning to end and there was just so much constantly going on. I love all of these storylines and how it all wove together. And certain things come back to play here and just OH MAH GAH. ALL THE THINGS.

All in all, Silver Borne was an addictive book from beginning to end. This series has such a great cast of characters and is such a fun world and I’m ready to keep diving in.