So you may not know it, but every year I set a book goal for myself.
I’m a writer so of course I love reading (I’m trying to get back into it big this year) and I’m an avid fantasy/sci-fi/urban fantasy YA reader. I also read autobiographies since it scratches that same weird itch documentaries do. I love books. I am also a busy person and unfortunately, you can’t really multi-task when reading so I always include audio books in that goal.
Sorry, can’t paint and read at the same time.
Sometimes my goals are small (12 books in a year) and then there was that one time in 2016 I managed 57 out of 60??? I have no clue how that happened since I couldn’t even hit 24 last year. But at the beginning of the year, I always set it and try to keep it updated throughout. In 2019, I managed 17 books. Close, but no money.
I aimed moderately low for 2020 with 24 again but just as a baseline. I do want to hit higher if possible. There’s a lot of books out there and I want to stay current with it all plus get through a lot of previous releases and ones that I’ve had collecting dust.
There were a few standout books from last year, whether that be in a good way or bad, so I figured I’d share them and have that be a yearly thing.
I do have an Instagram account that is mainly books right now, but also games, my youtube, and blog updates so if you want book-by-book reviews as I read them, go to Raicovlogs (you can thank my sister for that name).
Here we go!
The Good
The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black
“Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.”
I’m doing the whole trilogy together because man, I devoured this series so freaking fast. It’s good, like REAL good. I haven’t been this into a series since I first read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. The characters are fully rounded and flawed and the world building is robust without being overwhelming or confusing. And it kept me hooked the entire way through. I finished it last year but already listened to the whole series again because I didn’t realize certain characters were from her older books and had to go read those then come back!
I definitely recommend if you like scheming, a little bit of political intrigue, hate-to-love, and the Fae. It hit all the things I love and I’m so glad I read it.
And fun fact, Holly Black actually bought one of my “Be Terrifying” necklaces when I first opened my shop over 5 years ago. Will have to send her a new one when I redo them.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
“All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.
Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.”
I actually found this series because the cover artist, Charlie Bowater, has worked on other projects I love and I follow her on Instagram. She does amazing work so go follow her for some gorgeous art. This book is very different from other ones I’ve read as it deals with magical/dangerous books, libraries, sorcerers, demons, and almost has a Victorian feel. I loved the characters and their personalities and the relationships between them all. It never quite went where I expected and the ending hit hard in the emotions and has an almost bittersweet feel. But even then, it leaves you feeling satisfied and not desperately hoping for a sequel even if the world is very interesting. I loved this book so it was definitely a 5/5 read!
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
“It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.
Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.”
This was another one that I didn’t expect to hook me like it did. I read the whole thing in like 2 days and definitely lost some sleep. It’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a bit of Alice in Wonderland but done in a fresh new way with great characters, a neat world, and interesting concept. There’s a dark undertone and realness to the situation and characters that I really loved and even the ending isn’t quite as happily ever after as you’d expect. The sequel just came out and is on my To Be Read list, but this one is a big recommend, especially if you like fairy tale retellings!
So those were my stand out favorites that I read. Now, I’m not gonna call these next books bad because I don’t think they’re bad books. What I’ll say is I think they have some problems I found hard to get pass when rating them and was personally disappointed or frustrated. But that might be personal taste.
The Not-So-Good
Ash Princess/Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian
“Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess--a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.”
I’m putting the first book and sequel together because those are the only ones out so far, but as it stands, I’d say the entire series so far is so incredibly frustrating. It’s a “retake the throne” kinda series where the main character’s kingdom was taken over by a tyrant and now they’re trying to take it back. That’s all fine, I love those books. BUT DEAR GOD, the amount of filler and dragging these books do. I have never checked the progression on a book as much as I did with these. It drags, the plot goes no where, a LARGE majority of it could have been condensed down. I could literally take away the entire middle section of the sequel and it would have had hardly any affect.
And then there’s a dumb love triangle which can work but when you only round out one character and are just told the other guy is important “because” then it’s frustrating. Everyone was frustrating, decisions didn’t make sense, and I literally called out plot points a whole book before.
But the most annoying part is with both books I forced myself through 3/4ths of the way, was finally like “I can’t do it,” and THEN it finally gets interesting. So I kept reading. I finished the first. Well maybe the sequel is better. AND THEN IT HAPPENS AGAIN. These books. THESE BOOKS. If you could make the entire book like the last 1/4th of it, they’d be good. But nope, they drag you through 3/4ths of filler and irritation. And now, here I am trying to argue with myself if it’s worth reading the last one when it comes out. Just be entirely bad so I can quit you. Instead, they make me annoyed. Just throw me into the sun now.
Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi
“On paper, college dropout Pablo Rind doesn’t have a whole lot going for him. His graveyard shift at a twenty-four-hour deli in Brooklyn is a struggle. Plus, he’s up to his eyeballs in credit card debt. Never mind the state of his student loans. Pop juggernaut Leanna Smart has enough social media followers to populate whole continents. The brand is unstoppable. She graduated from child stardom to become an international icon and her adult life is a queasy blur of private planes, step-and-repeats, aspirational hotel rooms, and strangers screaming for her just to notice them.
When Leanna and Pablo meet at 5:00 a.m. at the bodega in the dead of winter it’s absurd to think they’d be A Thing. But as they discover who they are, who they want to be, and how to defy the deafening expectations of everyone else, Lee and Pab turn to each other. Which, of course, is when things get properly complicated.”
I read Mary Choi’s first book Emergency Contact and it was pretty good. Had some issues and wasn’t entirely a satisfying ending, but she has a way of making her characters very realistic if sometimes overdramatic. Now I’ll say, this book isn’t bad. But man, it didn’t make me feel good. If anything, it gave me anxiety. And just a heads up, if you have anxiety and depression, it’s very relate-able but that’s not always a great thing because it triggered some of my own ticks. The characters are real and they’re making bad decisions and you’re not sure if you like them or not and the whole plot is like falling downstairs. Like I can relate to them, but I don’t like or particularly empathize with them. Is it an interesting read? Yeah. But I don’t know, I just felt kinda bad after reading it. It’s kinda has a “you need to get your life together” motivational ending but I’m not sure it quite lands. Mostly I think I just have mixed opinions and needed something happier to consume afterwards.
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
“A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts—even as she falls in love with a faerie prince.”
You’re probably saying, “Hey, wait.” Yeah, this is the author of Sorcery of Thorns. I was surprised by this outcome too. This one actually came out before Sorcery. It deals with the Fae and a kinda hate-to-love situation so you’d think I’d be thrilled and in love with it. Mostly I was just disappointed. The plot is kinda all over the place pacing-wise? Like it seems like a very simple plot. Oops, artist ticks off the Fae and he drags her to Faeland for punishment but changes his mind and needs to send her back home. The problem is they try to hide the big baddie in the background as an undercurrent thing then bring it out at the end but then it’s all kinda resolved quickly and easily? It’s like it forgot to have a main problem so instead made a bunch of little problems then tossed it in at the end.
The characters were okay, though they had some dumb moments at times and were a bit cliche. The world was okay too, from what we saw, it just wasn’t very satisfying as a whole and the guy didn’t interest me too much. Maybe if I read this before Sorcery which did wonderful with pacing and having that good overall conflict, I wouldn’t have been as disappointed but it was definitely a let down to go from that to this. It’s like a mediocre read.
And those are my 2019 book standouts!
Like I said, if you want more current opinions/reviews on the books I read throughout the year, go follow my IG @Raicovlogs! And if you missed it, I’ll be doing a monthly bucketlist item video on my Youtube! Trying to keep busy busy busy.
Until next time
-Sam <3