Nineteen 2019 Reads Check-In

I'm doing this post a little later than I usually do, but it's time for us to check in and see how I'm feeling about my Nineteen 2019 Reads thus far. (As in the past, if I reviewed a book, I've linked to the review instead of its Goodreads page.)

READ AND LOVED/LIKED

Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills (5 stars)

Hungry Hearts by various authors (4 stars)
I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn (4.5 stars)

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (4 stars)

Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon (4 stars)

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett (4 stars)

Summer of a Thousand Pies by Margaret Dilloway (4 stars)

READ AND FELT NEUTRAL ABOUT

Enchantée by Gita Trelease (3 stars)

In the Key of Nira Ghani by Natasha Deen (3 stars)

In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton (3 stars)
I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest (3 stars)
The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf (3.5 stars)
When the Ground Is Hard by Malla Nunn

READ AND DISLIKED

The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin (DNF)

Opposite of Always by justin a. reynolds (DNF)

Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok (3 stars)

REMOVED FROM TBR LIST

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman
Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton

The Raven's Tale by Cat Winters

STILL NEED TO READ

An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

Symptoms of a Heartbreak by Sona Charaipotra

YET TO RELEASE IN 2019

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

Color Me In by Natasha Diaz

Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen

A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao

She's the Worst by Lauren Spieller

Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz

Songs from the Deep by Kelly Powell

Suggested Reading by Dave Connis

Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker

PUSHED TO A LATER PUB DATE

It's not as many as the last few years, thankfully.

Dust Boy, Ash Girl by Andy Fukada (I'm guessing, at least, since its pub date hasn't been updated and if it were still gonna be pubbed in 2019, I feel like it would have a cover and summary by now)

Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed

The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord

Reconnected by Catherine Tinker

At least this is a smaller section than in past years!


Well, that's it for now. I'll do a final wrap-up in December. :)

Nineteen More 2019 Reads

Time for my second and last round-up of (hopefully) 2019 releases that I'm stoked for. Get ready for lots of book hype!


1. I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest
Ballerina stories are getting kind of old...but not when the protagonists are women of color. Plus there's a road trip involved. What more could I ask for?


2. Summer of a Thousand Pies by Margaret Dilloway
 I am always here for baking...plus the main character is a Great British Bake Off fan!

3. Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen
Historical fiction plus Jane Austen? Yes please!!

4. The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman
The Goodreads blurb for this one is still pretty short, but it says "for fans of Stranger Things and The Raven Boys" so sign me up.


5. A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai
I don't know if my Slytherin-ness hides it, but I adore rom-coms, and A Match Made in Mehendi sounds like the perfect one.


6. In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton
This one's been on my radar since December, and I needed it, like, yesterday. It's non-Holocaust historical fiction about a Jewish girl, which we always need more of.


7. The Blood of Stars by Elizabeth Lim
Non-European fantasy is on the rise, and for good reason. This one especially sounds excellent cause who doesn't want a book about fashion and adventure?

8. Reconnected by Catherine Tinker
I'm extremely biased when it comes to this book, but it's my blog, so I can do what I want.

Basically, it's a contemporary Persuasion retelling by one of my best writer friends, and I read an earlier draft of it on Swoon Reads, and it was already excellent then, so I can't wait to read it after more edits.
(Note: That is not the final cover; it's the one Catherine used when the book was available on Swoon Reads, but it's so darn cute, I couldn't help but use it.)


9. She's the Worst by Lauren Spieller
Anything pitched as "____ meets Ferris Bueller" is already a win in my book.

10. The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf
My favorite type of historical fiction, I think, is the kind that touches on events we don't talk about enough. Since The Weight of Our Sky is about the Chinese and Malay riots of 1969, it seems to be right up my alley.

11. Cacophony by Kelly Powell
Historical murder mystery set around a lighthouse? Yes please.

12. The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco
The world in this story sounds so ridiculously cool. It's been split in two and ruled by two vastly different goddesses.

13. The Raven's Tale by Cat Winters
YA historical fic about Edgar Allan Poe!



14. Enchantée by Gita Trelease
15. An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley
I paired these two together because they're French historical fiction (albeit, one is during the time of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and the other is during Louis XIV's reign). But don't they sound opulent, lush, and fun?

16. Untitled by Morgan Parker
Listen, this one doesn't even have a title yet, so that should tell you how hype I am. I'm really looking forward to how the themes of depression and race are explored.

17. I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn
This. Sounds. So. Cute!!!

18. Nira Paints the Sky in B-Flat by Natasha Deen
I was just asking recently for YA protagonists who play an instrument other than guitar, and Natasha Deen is delivering with a heroine who plays the trumpet.

19. Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz
This sounds so cute (and also like it'll break my heart into a thousand pieces).


So there you have it! The last of my nineteen 2019 reads. I'll be checking in on my eighteen 2018 reads in a few weeks, and then we'll have to wait and see how my thirty-eight 2019 reads fare.

Nineteen 2019 Reads

This is my fifth year of doing __teen 20__ Reads, and I'm so excited to continue the tradition. I've picked what I hope will be a great crop of books, so let's get started!

1. Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
Jenn Bennett's next title sounds absolutely wonderful - from the mystery-loving protagonist to her unique job.

2. Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok
The first historical fiction pick, with magic and a mystery/thriller vibe. I have a feeling this one will be a big hit.

3. Misaligned by Gloria Chao
Absolutely here for small Midwestern towns plus East Asian-American protagonists.

4. Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton
Basically two classic '80s and '90s films in one YA book. EXCELLENT.

5. Opposite of Always by J.A. Reynolds
Everything, Everything meets Groundhog Day? Sign me the heck up.

6. When the Ground Is Hard by Malla Nunn
It's a boarding school story, plus there's hopefully gonna be some important issues.

7. Color Me In by Natasha Diaz
Hooray for more Jewish protagonists!

8. Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills

After Foolish Hearts, I have no doubt Emma Mills's next book will be great. I'm just cranky we have to wait til 2019 for it.

9. Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon
The Goodreads blurb is pretty short, but I always love friendship stories.

10. Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau PReto
It's a readalike for The Winner's Curse apparently, PLUS there's warriors who ride phoenixes into battle!!!

11. Hungry Hearts by various authors
Do y'all know how many From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen posts this may spawn?

12. The Map From Here to There by Emery Lord

I have been waiting for a sequel to The Start of Me and You for so long.

13. The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin
It's a modern-day imagining of Henry VIII and his wives. I have much higher hopes for this one than Anne & Henry. 

14. Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed
I'm just gonna leave the Publishers Weekly blurb here for y'all, because doesn't it sound amazing??

"A YA thriller told in dueling narratives that weave between past and present follows a Muslim-American teenager who partners with a descendant of French author Alexandar Dumas to unravel the mystery of a 19th century Muslim woman who appears in letters between Dumas and Eugene Delacroix."

15. Suggested Reading by Dave Connis
A secret book hustler who starts a reading rebellion sounds like one of my wildest dreams.

16. Ten Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
It's a holiday story, plus one of its "____ meets _____" comparisons is My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

17. Prognosis: Love & Death by Sona Charaipotra
Smart heroine? A love story? 

18. Dust Boy, Ash Girl by Andy Fukada
I'm tentative because this will probably be an epistolary novel, which isn't my favorite thing. BUT it's about pen pals at the onset of World War II, one of whom is Japanese-American, and the other is French.


19. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

NIKOLAI IS GETTING A DUOLOGY.

I'll see y'all halfway through the year for the second and final group of Nineteen 2019 Reads! Also stay tuned for check-ins on my Eighteen 2018 Reads!