Do note that I said reviewed in the title and not read. I did read some of the books I reviewed in January back in December of 2018 and I am still reading books (of course I am), but those reviews won’t be posted until January and February of next year. I honestly can’t remember which books I started reading this past January, so I’m forced to simply talk about the books I reviewed over the past year.
The Stats in Paragraph Form Because I Prefer Words to Numbers
I wish I knew how many books I have actually read this year as I’m curious to see how close I got to last year’s (failed) goal of 52, but I think the 39 books I reviewed is a very good number. There are many prolific book bloggers out there who read a dozen or more books in a month, and others who only read a few a month. I’ve never been one to compare numbers, but I’m very proud of having reviewed 39 books, and participated in a blog tour for The East End by Jason Allen. I think I’m actually more proud of myself for actually getting reviews written than actually reading the books. Trying to write balanced, hopefully mostly objective reviews often paralyzes me!
Of the 39 books I reviewed, 26 were fantasy or science fiction, 2 were mysteries and thrillers, 9 were women’s fiction, and there were 1 each for general fiction and nonfiction. I suppose I know what I really enjoyed reading this past year! I rated most of them as 4 cups of tea books (21 books), but was pleasantly surprised there were 9 books I thought were perfect and fantastic. Sadly, I did rate two of them as being 2 cups of tea books, but one of the authors did say he was in the process of having his novel professionally edited (Killer Domes and the Chosen One by Gibbo Gibbs), so I’ll be looking out for a new and improved edition. The author of The Unfettered Child (Michael C. Sahd), which was a 3 cups of tea book for me, also had his novel professionally edited and I look forward to reading the new edition in the next month or so.
The one thing that made me a bit sad was that I only reviewed 8 self-published books, meaning 31 of them were published through a publishing house. Though I am please 18 of those were from small presses, which means 13 books came from the big publishing houses. I’m hoping to read more self-published books next year, though. So, if there are any self-published authors out there, I’ll be open to requests in January…
Some Noteworthy Books (15 to be exact)
The Music of the Mind by Ash Adler – I love that this was all about a bard and music
Cryptofauna by Patrick Canning – a seriously humorous global game I never want to play
The Perfect Assassin by K. A. Doore – an impossibly perfect book (and start to the Chronicles of Ghadid series) that features LGBT characters
The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith – first in the Hell’s Library series where books come to life
Oracle’s War by David Hair and Cath Mayo – the second book in the Olympus series that’s perfect for fans of Greek mythology
The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier – first in the Warrior Bards series, it has a harp! Actually more than one harp. Harp! (Sorry, I’m a harpist. Wait. I’m not sorry.)
Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri – second book in the Books of Ambha series (I haven’t read the first yet), it’s seriously perfection
The God Queen by M. L. Tishner – first book in the Rebirth series, it’s more fantasy and science fiction than romance, but it has the most beautiful romance ever
The Dragon’s Banker by Scott Warren – a dragon and a banker. Need I say more?
A Hero Born by Jin Yong – this one really brought back childhood memories. Great for kung fu fans
The Poison Garden by A. J. Banner – well, my head was in knots reading this one
The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen and The Unexpected Past of Miss Jane Austen by Ada Bright and Cass Grafton – the first two books in the Austen Adventures series, they make me so jealous of Rose and her friendship with a time traveling Jane Austen
After the End by Clare Mackintosh – I sobbed. So hard. Too often.
Beside Herself by Elizabeth LaBan – this must be the worst book with a cheating husband ever
To see all of the books I’ve reviewed here over the past couple of years, check out my Reviews.
Want to know my thoughts while I read?
The Lily Cafe 