Top 10 of 2019: Books I Wish I'd Made Time to Read in 2019

Top 10 of 2019 is hosted once again by Kimberly Faye Reads, and this year she has a co-host Ginger @greadsbooks.   The first topic of this is books I wish I'd made time to read in 2019.  And that was easier than some of the other topics, because I narrowed it down to just those published in 2019.  So here we go!

1.

So I read the first one, and then the one after, but I had so many other things booked when the second book came out, I was unable to fit it in. But I need to do that!

2.

I didn't get a physical ARC before it was published, but I did get one through books for trade on Twitter after, and I just need to fit it in!

3.

Another one that I didn't get a physical ARC, so didn't request the e-galley because I had so many other books already scheduled for reviews.

4.

Definitely need to read this one.  I bought it for my students, so when it's not checked out some time, I'll try to read it!

5.

Another one that I love the author, but didn't get a physical ARC until after it came out from books for trade.  Still need to fit it in!

6.

I think this one is similar to another Helena Hunting book that I didn't get to read right away, Good Luck Charm, but I do own this one, so hopefully in 2020!

7.

Another one I'd really hoped to get an ARC of, but didn't.  I again bought it for my school library and when the popularity dies down with students, I'll try to get it read!

8.

Now, I love every book by Maggie Stiefvater that I read, but often I do end up getting to them late.  And that's where I'm at once again.

9.

So I've only read one book by Ruta Sepetys, Between Shades of Gray, but I really had hoped to get the jump on this one.  We had an ARC at the bookstore where I work, but since it was a young adult book club pick, the person who runs those got it.  I hope to get to it soon!

10.

Okay, so, no, this didn't come out in 2019, but I had really hoped to get this second book in the Outlander series done and move on to the next.  But I didn't.  Here's to next year!

Tell me, did you read any of these this year?  Are any on your TBR?  What other books do you wish you'd made time to read?

If you're interested in joining in to the Top 10 of 2019, you can go to the links at the top for the hosting blogs.  Here are the other topics you'll see coming up:

And by the way, Merry Christmas!

Also, while you're here, make sure you go enter into my weekly Cleaning Up My TBR Giveaway HERE.  It's open till Friday night at midnight!

Falling in Love With English Boys by Melissa Jensen

Believe it or not, as much as I enjoy chick lit, I normally don't get into teen "romance" novels anymore. What I prefer in chick lit is that I feel a connection or similarity to the main character, in other words, she can't be married or divorced or have children, as I have or am none of those things. And as I am not a teen, I usually don't get into their romance. (Don't bug me about Twilight, I know it's a teen romance, and I love it because Bella reminds me of myself!)

Anyway, I got this as a stripped copy from the bookstore. I picked it up because I too enjoy a good British accent, I prefer an Irish one, but British is good too. This story also has a diary in it, reminds me a bit of another book I read recently, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, only not as serious. Our main character is Cat, and she has had to travel with her mom, or (s)mother as she calls her, to England so her mother can work at the British Museum on an author named Mary Percival. Apparently Mary had a daughter named Katherine, same name, just with a K, and Cat's mom gives her Katherine's diary to read. The diary is a fun read and look into the past, back into days of going to parties, and the time of going to war with Napoleon. While she is there, there is of course a cute British boy that Cat meets, and of course develops a crush on. Issues arise as you would expect, and so therein lies the romance.

I also found it amusing that the character wants to run into Prince William and hook up with him, as this prince just got married and is no longer on the market.

A fun, humorous read that I really got into. I tried to just keep it for reading during bubble baths, but I really got caught up in the story and ended up finishing it in bed one last week, well last week depending on when blogger lets me publish this post.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

I got this book as an advanced reader's copy back in October, right before the author was coming to our bookstore to do a signing. I didn't get to go to the signing because it was right when our parent teacher conferences are, so didn't feel the urge to pick it up and get it read. Now that I have however, I am very excited to go back and read her first teen book, A Northern Light.

Revolution is a historical fiction about the French Revolution. Our main character is Andi, she goes to a very exclusive school called St. Anselm's in Brooklyn. Her father is a famous geneticist, and her mother an artist. However, her brother died a couple years ago, and we don't find out exactly how until later in the story, but we get some kind of idea, that Andi, who is hanging out with pot smokers and druggies from her school, may have been somehow responsible for his death. Andi is currently not able to do anything other than her music lessons. Music is the only thing that makes her feel okay. As she gets close to flunking out and messing up her chances of getting into a good college, her father who left the family, comes home. He sees that her mother is a mess and puts her mother in a hospital. He then makes Andi go with him to Paris. In Paris he will be working to prove whether a heart preserved in a glass jar is really Louis-Charles, son of Marie Antoinette's heart. While Andi is there she is expected to work on her thesis for school, which is kind of handy because the person she is researching is from Paris, his name is Amade Malherbeau, and supposedly he came up with some of the unusual note combinations modern musicians use today. The people Andi and her dad stay with are old friends of theirs. The man is a historian and the woman is an artist. They have all kinds of historical documents and artifacts where they are living because they are preparing to turn the building into a museum. There is even a guitar from the time of the French Revolution, and Andi finds a secret compartment in which there is a diary and a picture of Louis-Charles. The diary is of a girl who was a servant to him and how she tried to be there for him in whatever way she could, even when he was walled up alone in his final prison.

I loved this story, could barely put it down when I needed to. It made me eager to read more about this time period. I think a good historical fiction is one that makes you want to learn the real stories, and this totally does it. I could even see it being read in a classroom to tie in both literature and history. As I said, I will now have to go back and get her book A Northern Light and read it soon.