How many of my Anticipated 2019 Releases did I actually read? 📚

Hello fellow bookworms 📚 Initially I wanted to talk about all the 2019 releases that I haven’t read yet, but then I expanded upon the idea to reflect back on all the books that were on my two most anticipated releases list for 2019! I love statistics, so I went through my lists and marked the books in 3 categories: read (with the rating), unread (also mentioning if I own the book already), and removed from my TBR. I had a lot of fun going back to my most anticipated releases and looking if I had read them yet and if so, how many of the books I was excited for, I actually ended up enjoying. This post is already long, so we’ll get right to it and uncover the mystery of how many books I ended up reading 👀

For reference: My Most Anticipated Releases Lists: 2019 📚

• Most Anticipated 2019 Releases (Jan-June)💕
• Most Anticipated Releases for the rest of the year 💖

The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi) ➽ Published: January 15th ➽ ⛔ Unread (on my physical TBR)! I’m SO SO SO excited for this but why haven’t I read it yet??? I keep putting it on Readathon TBRs but somehow it never. happens. This time will be different though, as I have it on my TBR for the Reading Rush later this month and definitely want to finally read it, as I love Roshani Chokshi’s stories ❤

King of Scars (Leigh Bardugo) ➽ Published: January 29th  ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love all the Grishaverse books and this is no exception! It feels more like the Grisha Trilogy in terms of tone, but expands upon some aspects and brought up more interesting plot points. I might also be one of the only ones who liked the ending, though it’s a bit controversial 😈

Courting Darkness (Robin LaFevers) ➽ Published: February 5th ➽ ⛔ Unread (on my physical TBR)! Still VERY excited for this one as I cannot wait to come back to the His Fair Assassin world and experience this new duology! I know that we follow new characters, but will probably also revisit old favorites. I just got this for Christmas, so this is a priority book for me 🥰

On the Come Up (Angie Thomas) ➽ Published: February 5th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 4.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Another fantastic book by Angie Thomas!! I loved Bri and her story so much, even though I don’t know much about rapping. However, the author really transported the love for rapping in her story and made it so accessible 😊

Bloodwitch (Susan Dennard) ➽ Published: February 12th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Of course, I LOVED this!! It was my most anticipated release of 2019 and I immediately preordered the book and read it as soon as it arrived 💗 It’s the third book in my favorite Fantasy Series – the Witchlands – and it’s been better than the previous books. Every book in the series keeps getting better and better and this one was focused on my favorite character Aeduan 🥰

We Set the Dark on Fire (Tehlor Kay Mejia) ➽ Published: February 26th ➽ ⛔ Unread! My library has got a copy of this book and the sequel, I’m just currently not in the mood for it. However, I’m still excited about the story, especially as fellow bloggers like Marie have really liked it, which makes me really hopeful, that I’ll enjoy it as well! 😊

The Fever King (Victoria Lee) ➽ Published: March 1st ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I cannot believe this was only released last year?? Anyways, it was such a fantastic sci-fi story with a really cool and innovative magic system. I loved the little history that we got and the way abilities worked in this universe. The book explores so many important topics like immigration, grooming, and first relationships. The sequel is amazing as well, though it does contain hard-hitting topics as well! 

The Last 8 (Laura Pohl) ➽ Published: March 1st ➽ ❌ Removed from TBR! I was really excited about this sci-fi story but I’ve since taken it off my TBR because the author’s behavior on social media made me feel increasingly uncomfortable. Not to mention that I’ve heard her going after a reviewer who criticized her book (in an overwhelmingly positive review) and bringing her followers into it as well. I’m just not here to support authors that don’t respect the boundaries of their readers.

You Asked for Perfect (Laura Silverman) ➽ Published: March 5th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 4.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Oh this one was SO good!!! I read it basically in one sitting because it’s on the shorter side and honestly such a fast-paced book. I loved the discussions about academic pressure and mental health in school because they are very relevant topics. The pressure that was on the main character really broke my heart and made me root for him so much, as I just wanted to see him happy!

Sherwood (Meagan Spooner) ➽ Published: March 19th ➽ ⛔ Unread! I’m still excited about this Robin Hood retelling, especially as I’m always looking forward to reading more historical fiction books and I liked Spooner’s previous retelling a lot!

Internment (Samira Ahmed) ➽ Published: March 19th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I haven’t heard many things about this book since it released, which is a shame because it’s such a well-written and important story! Internment is set 5-minutes into the future and deals with camps being set up to detain Muslims, whose rights are already being taken away and who are continually being harassed. I liked that this was a heartwrenching, yet also hopeful story!

White Rose (Kip Wilson) ➽ Published: April 2nd ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 4.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 I basically devoured this in a couple of hours because it was so good! This was a fantastic historical fiction/memoir written in verse about justice fighter Sophie Scholl during the second world war. It was such an emotional and haunting story, especially as I already knew how things would end, yet it still tore me apart when I got to the part. Definitely a well-written story!

The Princess and the Fangirl (Ashley Poston) ➽ Published: April 5th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This wasn’t as good as Geekerella, yet I still enjoyed this book. It’s set at a convention for the Starfield TV show that we know from the first book. I loved all the nerdiness and appreciation of fandom that we got, yet one of the POV characters was incredibly unfair and arrogant in the beginning, especially regarding the ‘Switch’ that room place. I wasn’t a big fan of the romance either, but the discussions about fame and fandom were really great!

King of Fools (Amanda Foody) ➽ Published: April 30th ➽ ⛔ Unread (on my physical TBR)! I still haven’t read this, but I plan on doing so before the third and last book comes out this year. I loved Ace of Shades so much, so I’m really excited for the sequel even though I heard that it ends in a mean way 😱 I own a physical copy, so I’m hoping to get to it soon!

Love from A to Z (S.K. Ali) ➽ Published: May 7th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 3.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐.5 I just recently read this and sadly it didn’t live up to my expectations. The author’s first book was a solid 5-star book for me, so I expected Love from A to Z to be the same. It was enjoyable, but I wasn’t that invested in the romance – which took up a large part of the story – or the characters.

Again, but Better (Christine Riccio) ➽ Published: May 7th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 2 Stars ⭐⭐ Uhm well, this one was not good 😅 I was really looking forward to reading a story about a girl trying to ‘redo’ her college experience by studying abroad, but instead, I got a self-insert main character that made me cringe, so much subtle cheating, a sudden magical twist with no foundation and not much depth.

Nocturna (Maya Motayne) ➽ Published: May 7th ➽ ✅Read! Rated 3.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐.5 I liked the idea of this one, as it has got such an interesting magic system, however it didn’t end up being very memorable. The plot and pacing were all over the place and in general, it all felt a bit too predictable. A little over a year after reading it and I don’t remember much about this one.

There’s Something About Sweetie (Sandhya Menon) ➽ Published: May 14th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 3.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐.5 For some reason a lot of May 2019 releases didn’t live up to my expectations. I was incredibly excited for Sweetie’s book as I loved When Dimple Met Rishi, however, I was a bit let down. I liked the sweet romance and story, yet it didn’t feel properly developed and the secondary characters all blended into the background.

I Wish You All the Best (Mason Deaver) ➽ Published: May 14th ➽ ⛔ Unread! I cannot believe that I still haven’t read this, it’s really sad because it sounds like such an incredible book and I’ve heard fantastic things from the bookish community! I hope to get my own copy soon, so I can finally read this gem 🥰

We Hunt the Flame (Hafsah Faizal) ➽ Published: May 14th ➽ ⛔ Unread! Another book that I’m really excited about and hope to read soon! I heard mixed things, but I feel like this is going to be a really entertaining, indulgent Fantasy book, exactly the type of story that I enjoy to read with a great enemies to lovers ship 💗

The Bone Charmer (Breeana Shields) ➽ Published: May 21st ➽ ⛔ Unread! This hasn’t been on my mind recently, but I saw that the sequel is already released, so it got me excited for this book again! I still think that the premise is really cool and interesting, so I have high hopes that I’ll enjoy this Fantasy bok!

Going Off Script (Jen Wilde) ➽ Published: May 21st ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Jen Wilde is always amazing at writing contemporary books that I enjoyed. Her newest book was about a closeted lesbian who tries to enter the entertainment industry with an internship at her favorite TV show. The story explores queerbaiting, sexism, and racism within the industry and the abysmal treatment of interns by those in power. I loved the main character’s nerdiness and dedication to fight for her favorite show so much!

These Witches Don’t Burn (Isabel Sterling) ➽ Published: May 28th ➽ ⛔ Unread (on my Kindle TBR) I just recently got this for really cheap on my Kindle and now it has moved up my TBR list!! I love the idea of contemporary witches and coven dynamics, plus this one has a sweet f/f romance as well! I’ve been wanting to get to this one for ages 😊

Sorcery of Thorns (Margaret Rogerson) ➽ Published: June 4th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved this!!! I loved Rogerson’s first book as well and I can now say that she writes fantastic standalone Fantasy books that always make me swoon! This one has so much book love, as it’s about a headstrong librarian trying to save her world. It also includes magic, sorcerers, and demon deals, so content-wise it was right up my alley! I loved everything from the characters to the romance!

The Storm Crow (Kalyn Josephson) ➽ Published: July 9th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I really enjoyed this book, as it included mental health representation (depression) in a Fantasy world, something I always need more of! I liked the original magic system the crow-based magic and thought that the story did a great job subverting certain Fantasy Tropes. I’m definitely excited to read the sequel/conclusion which just recently has come out!

The Downstairs Girl (Stacey Lee)  ➽ Published: August 13th ➽ ⛔ Unread! I like that this is a historical fiction story focused on an Asian protagonist writing secret columns and stirring up the conventions of society, it sounds really promising and I hope to pick this up someday!

The Tyrant’s Tomb (Rick Riordan) ➽ Published: September 24th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Obviously I loved this!! Rick Riordan never fails to amaze me and I enjoyed following along Apollo on his adventures again. This book wasn’t as devastating as I thought it would be – which is good for my emotional health – yet this really amazing. I loved seeing how much Apollo has already grown compared to the beginning of the story and I’m eagerly anticipating the last book in the series!

A Match Made in Mehendi (Nandini Bajpai) ➽ Published: September 10th ➽ ⛔ Unread! This is still giving off great summer vibes and sounds like a lot of fun with all the matchmaking (and an Indian main character subverting the dynamics at her local high school), so I hope to read it someday though I don’t know if I’ll get to it this summer!

Ninth House (Leigh Bardugo) ➽ Published: October 1st ➽ ⛔ Unread! The reason I haven’t read this yet is that I need to be in just the right mood because Ninth House is really heavy on the triggers and rather dark. I just haven’t felt up to reading it yet, though my library has got a copy that I’ll borrow sometime. But right now – with the current state of the world – I need some happier stories!

Wayward Son (Rainbow Rowell) ➽ Published: October 3rd ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was very excited to see Carry On getting a sequel (though it’s fine as a standalone) and I liked the banter and exploration of trauma and moving on after the big fight in wayward Son. We so rarely get to see how the characters cope after they’ve saved the world and that was finally explored here. I have to say that I did enjoy Carry On a bit more though, as Wayward Son was a bit weaker in certain aspects and frustrated me a bit with its lack of communication.

Rogue Heart (Axie Oh) ➽ Published: October 8th ➽ ⛔ Unread (on my physical TBR)! This is everything that I ever wanted after reading the first book Rebel Seoul (an amazing sci-fi story that needs more love) and I got the companion book for Christmas! I’m a bit nervous as it has been nearly 4 years since I read the first book but I’m really excited to be reunited with all the characters 🥰

The Burning White (Brent Weeks) ➽ Published: October 22nd ➽ ⛔ Unread! Well given that I still haven’t read book 3 or 4, it’s not surprising that I haven’t read the last book in the series 😂 These books are so huge and slow to read that I haven’t picked them up yet due to being intimidated. I genuinely love the magic system and story though. 

Full Disclosure (Camryn Garrett) ➽ Published: October 29th ➽ ⛔ Unread! I really, really want to read this book as I’ve been hearing so much praise for it recently. It’s about a black teen who is living with HIV and I definitely haven’t read a book dealing with that before, something that I need to change.

A River of Royal Blood (Amanda Joy) ➽ Published: October 29th ➽ ❌ Removed from TBR! I was hoping that this book would be the fierce, deadly sister competition that Three Dark Crowns failed to be, but ever since this one came out I’ve heard that it falls into the same trap as TDC. I’ve grown tired of books that tease a big competition that only starts midway through the book and I hate when the story is so slow in the beginning only to get more fast-paced in the very end. Not to say that this couldn’t be a great book, but I just lost interest in it and know that I probably wouldn’t like it much.

The Toll (Neal Shusterman) ➽ Published: November 5th ➽ ⛔ Unread! Yes, I still haven’t read this because part of me is afraid of how things will end. I’ve heard that this is much more focused on the big picture than the previous books, which makes me a bit sad as I love our original characters and their story, but I hope that this will still be an amazing conclusion!

Supernova (Marissa Meyer) ➽ Published: November 5th ➽ ⛔ Unread (on my physical TBR)! I started reading this a while ago, but then put it down because I wasn’t feeling well, but I do plan on picking it up again. As always, I’m nervous about series finales and hope that this won’t disappoint me, as I love the first two books in the series so much!

Eight Will Fall (Sarah Harian) ➽ Published: November 26th ➽ ✅ Read! Rated 3 Stars ⭐⭐⭐ I kind of expected a bit more from this book. I like that it was a survival story with an interesting magic concept and a large cast of characters, however, the plot was predictable and not as interesting as it could have been. The end sadly felt downright rushed and way too fast.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Tomi Adeyemi) ➽ Published: December 3rd ➽ ⛔ Unread! (unsure if I’ll keep it on my TBR) I was actually really excited for this sequel as I loved the first book, but I’ve heard almost everyone say that they were disappointed by the second book. I’m not sure if I’ll read it to be honest, because I’ve heard that the characters all suddenly act differently and that the book is so unlike the first one. It kind of makes me nervous that I’ve heard so many negative things. I might reread Children of Blood and Bone and then see if I’m still interested in the sequel.

In Conclusion

… out of my 38 most anticipated 2019 Releases

➽ I have read 18 books (47%) containing six 5-star, seven 4-star, four 3-star, and one 2-star books ⭐

➽ 18 books are still on my TBR. Out of them, I own 6 books physically and one book on Kindle 📚

➽ I’ve removed 2 books from my TBR ❌

Have you read your most anticipated 2019 releases? Did they hold up to your expectations? Any books you’ve lost interest in? 📚