I’ve been seeing videos and blog posts everywhere where fellow bookworms tell us what their favourite books of the year were, and finally, on the last day of 2019 – I’m proud to showcase mine. And as always, to add some dramatic flair, I’ve brought back my Golden Awards to keep things short and sweet.
Here are my 2019 favourites:
Best YA Fantasy
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
This is a recent read that I absolutely loved, had great comedy, romance and plenty of action to go around. Overall so happy that this book lived up to the hype and that I enjoyed it so much.
Honourable Mentions:
Best YA Contemporary
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
You’d be silly not to know that this is one of my absolute favourite reads of the year because I feel like I never shut up about it. It’s beautiful, diverse and so well written – all-round beauty!
I also read so many amazing contemporaries this year, it was definitely the year of YA contemporaries for me that I have quite a few honourable mentions of amazing reads I really enjoyed.
Honourable Mentions:
Best YA Sci-Fi
Oasis by Katya de Becerra
While some might think I’m biased since I’m friends with Katya, I can say that her second novel Oasis is even better than her first and was such a ride. It gripped me wholeheartedly and the ending made me want to reread it. It’s just an amazing sci-fi that I hope way more people read soon.
Best YA Mystery/Thriller
Sadie by Courtney Summers
I read this on audiobook and it was the best decision I had ever made. An amazing novel but even better with the full cast of narrators involved. This was a great thriller; engaging and full of depth, highly recommended.
Best YA Comic Or Graphic Novel
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
I literally just read this yesterday and based on all the graphic novels I read this year, it definitely topped it off well. It was such a cute story, I absolutely adored the art style and it was just so freaking cute.
Best Adult Fiction
The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts
I honestly feel like I haven’t shut up about this book this year. I have seen it nowhere on social media and it is such an amazing mystery/thriller that I absolutely loved. It had me crying and yelling and it’s just so good. So, of course, it won my best adult fiction for my mid-year and end of year awards.
Best Adult Sci-Fi Fantasy
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Another that I loved at the start of the year, that was totally worth the hype online. A beautiful book inside and out and I really hope we get more stories from this world in the future.
Best Adult Romance
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
This book was and really shouldn’t have been such a surprise. I randomly picked it up at the library based on a recommendation online and having previously read Autoboyography (which I enjoyed). This book was just the exact recipe for romance novels that I look for and was wholesome and enjoyable. Looking to buy my own copy soon for a reread.
Best Debut Novel
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
A new category I created just to give this book a shoutout – another standout YA novel that happened to be an amazing diverse debut by Elizabeth Lim. It made me want to sew again and was definitely a lot of fun.
And that is it for my 2019 favourite books! What did you think of the award winners? Were any in your favourites too?
Until next year 😉
2 Comments
Linda @ flourishreader
Really enjoyed reading this post! It showed me that I definitely need to read Spin the Dawn because it really seems to be worth all the hype. 💙
Tracy
Thank you! And yes, it was such good fun 🥰