Tag: 2019

Top 10 Tuesday: Favourite Book Covers of 2019

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left10 Comments

Today’s Top 10 Tuesday is a book cover freebie so I’ve decided to do my top 10 favourite covers from books released in 2019. There are so many stunning covers out there, these are just 10 that stand out to me in particular. I haven’t actually read any of these books yet but I have some of them on my shelf waiting to be read.

Top 10 Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish, but has now moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. If you’re interested in taking part click here.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim – This cover is just stunning. I love that the character isn’t just static; it’s a great action pose that really brings it to life.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson – This cover is illustrated by Charlie Bowater, who is getting a name for illustrating really gorgeous YA book covers.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow – The colours and fonts used on this cover are really eye-catching. Also that title is so intriguing. I really want to read this one.

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Best Books of 2019

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the LeftLeave a comment

2019 has been a pretty good reading year for me. Although I’m glad I studied English Literature at uni, it did for a while dampen my love of reading. I didn’t have much time to read for pleasure, and when I finished the degree, I still couldn’t get back into loving reading in the same way I had before. In the last few months though I’ve really started loving reading again and I’m excited (having been two years since I finished my degree) to finally be really back into enjoying it again.

I reached my Goodreads reading goal of reading 20 books this year which I’m really happy with. Now that I’m enjoying reading more I’m probably going to up my target a bit for 2020. Most of my favourite books I’ve read this year happen to be fantasy. I’ve read a couple of disappointing contemporary books and haven’t read any amazing sci-fi either.  

The best book I read in 2019 has to be Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. It’s the only book I’ve given 5 stars this year. I can’t even put my finger on why exactly, for some reason this book had a certain spark and I completely fell in love with it. When I finished reading it, all I could think was ‘wow’, because it was just so imaginative, vivid and brilliant.

I’m so glad I discovered Sarah J. Maas a couple of years ago because I’ve loved all her books I’ve read so far. A Court of Thorns and Roses really surprised me as it was slow to start but got really intense and suspenseful in about the last quarter. That ending section Under the Mountain was just so good that it made up for the slowness at the start. I’m currently reading the second book, A Court of Mist and Fury, and loving that too.

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Mid-year Reading Round Up 2019

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the LeftLeave a comment

12406320I can’t believe we’re halfway through 2019 already! Where have the days gone? So far this year I have only read 8 books, which isn’t as many as I was hoping to get through. Though I did spend a while reading George R. R. Martin’s A Clash of Kings, which is a behemoth of a book.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is my favourite book of the year so far. It absolutely blew me away! It was so imaginative and intriguing, and totally pulled me in. Another highlight was Clockwork Princess, the final book in Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices trilogy. Having read so many of her Shadowhunters books, I thought my interest might wane, but that hasn’t been the case so far. I can’t get enough of her world and her writing.

Other highlights so far are Frostbite by Richelle Mead and The Rose Society by Marie Lu. Having been surprised how much I enjoyed Vampire Academy, I was glad Frostbite was a great sequel, and I’m looking forward to continuing that series.

Ringer, the second book in Lauren Oliver’s duology, was a little disappointing. It didn’t quite live up to expectations, and I enjoyed the first book much more. Although it started well, Everything Everything also didn’t quite hit the right notes for me, and I had concerns about the way serious illness was represented in the book. Internment by Samira Ahmed was one of my most 19258492anticipated reads of the year, and although it is a highly significant and important book, it wasn’t executed as well as it could have been.

I’m currently reading The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge and loving it so far. It’s so dark and creepy. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that’s actually creeped me out.

Next on my to-read list is The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli. I haven’t read any of her books before so I’m looking forward to discovering a new author!

Books I Want to Read in 2019

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left2 Comments

This post comes to you a little later than planned as I started off the new year with a horrendous cold. There are so many books I want to read this year, I know I won’t get round to reading them all. My Goodreads reading goal for 2019 is 20 books, as I decided to set it to something more realistic. If I read more, that’s great, but I would like to read at least 20. I don’t have as much time for reading as I would like unfortunately. So, here are some of the books I particularly want to read this year.

9781408855690I started re-reading all of the Harry Potter books over the last couple of years and would like to continue that by reading the next one – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I’m looking forward to re-reading this one as I remember when I first saw the film, not long after reading it the first time, that they had left a lot out.

There are a couple of series I have been reading for a while that I want to continue making some progress with. It feels like I’ve been reading Michael Grant’s Gone series for ages. I’m up to the fifth book, Fear, so I want to read that this year. I’m also trying to catch up on Cassandra Clare’s books. She’s released so many I’m really far behind! I only have one book left in the Infernal Devices series to read, Clockwork Princess. A book that’s been sitting on my shelf for a while is Four by Veronica Roth, a collection of short stories about the character Four from the Divergent series. I bought this book ages ago but as Allegiant was such a disappointment Four has been collecting dust at the back of my bookshelf for a little too long.

display-fc50240451e1a8ad53dfd740b958413fThere are four series I started reading last year that I want to continue. Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray was my favourite book of the year, so I’m excited to read the sequel, Defy the Worlds. Marie Lu’s The Young Elites was also a highlight and I have the sequel, The Rose Society, waiting on my shelf. Last year I read the first two books in Sarah J. Mass’s Throne of Glass series, and I’m totally sucked in, so I need to get my hands on book three, Heir of Fire.

Having finally read A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin last year, I also want to read the next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings. It’s pretty massive though so I need to psych myself up for reading it.

As well as all these series I’d also like to discover some new authors and read some standalone novels as I seem to end up reading a lot of series.

What books are you looking forward to reading this year? Let me know in the comments!