Best Books of 2019

How is it time to be picking a Top Ten yearly reads list again? It feels like we were just welcoming 2019, and now here it is, just hours away from 2020.

For this year's list, I decided to do something different. While I'm still picking my ten favorites, this year I'm not limiting myself to 5-star books as I have in the past. Instead, I'm going with the ten books that have most stuck with me. Ones that I loved (but maybe weren't perfect), ones that I could see myself reading again.

Review: "The Sky Above Us" by Sarah Sundin

Oh, this book! I preordered it, so it arrived in my mailbox on release day, but it kept getting pushed out of the way in favor of review books. But I knew I had several hours in the car ahead of me at the beginning of the week, so I threw it in my purse. And then once I started reading, I couldn't stop!

Review: "It Happened at Christmas" by Christen Krumm

Really, this book had me at "YA spin on While You Were Sleeping" ...

Book or Movie? "The Goodbye Bride"/"Christmas on My Mind"

While many of this year's Hallmark Christmas movies were based on books, I only read one of them—it's one that I first read years ago and then sped read right before the movie's premiere: Denise Hunter's The Goodbye Bride, which was adapted into Christmas on My Mind.

Review: "Wings Like a Dove" by Camille Eide

A few years ago, one of my favorite authors blogged about a new book that she loved: The Memoir of Johnny Devine. Though I'd never heard of author Camille Eide before, I took a chance on the book and loved it. So when I heard about her new novel, Wings Like a Dove, I didn't hesitate—I knew it would be a great reading experience!

Review: "The Wedding Dress Christmas" by Rachel Hauck

I have loved the books in Rachel Hauck's Wedding Collection, and what could be better than a Christmas story set in that world? As soon as I heard about The Wedding Dress Christmas, I added it to my TBR.

Review: "The Dating Charade" by Melissa Ferguson

A great cover is an amazing marketing tool, and The Dating Charade certainly has a great cover! I didn't even need to read the synopsis to know that this was a book I wanted to read.

Book or Movie? "A Shoe Addict's Christmas"

I'm only a year late on this one! I actually just spotted it in my drafts—I wrote most of it last year but never finished it!

Review: "Wyatt" by Susan May Warren

As Susan May Warren's Montana Marshalls series has released over the last several months, I've eagerly devoured each installment. I got review copies of the first several books, but I missed out on Wyatt ... so I bought it myself, as I needed to know what happened next!

Review: "Brand of Light" by Ronie Kendig

I am such a fan of science fiction movies and TV shows, but I rarely read sci-fi novels, and I've certainly never picked up anything that could be classified as a "space opera" before. But when I heard about Brand of Light, something about it intrigued me ... and now I wish the entire series was available, as book one wasn't enough!

Review: "Stay" by Catherine Ryan Hyde

You know how sometimes you finish a book and don't know what to say about it except that everyone should read it? That's me right now!

Review: "Christmas Jars" (2019 film)

At this time of the year, my TV and movie viewing consists almost solely of Christmas movies and specials. So when I was given the opportunity to review Christmas Jars, which aired on BYU TV last weekend and also released on DVD, I jumped at the chance!

Review: "Misleading Miss Verity" by Carolyn Miller

I'm so glad that Carolyn Miller seems to be a quick writer—as soon as I finish one of her books, I'm ready to pick up the next!

Review: The Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls

Christmas seems like the perfect time to give someone a new Bible (at least Christmas is when I received all of my new Bibles as a kid!), and The Beautiful Word Coloring Bible for Girls is perfect for that girl who enjoys coloring!

Review: "Heart of a Royal" by Hannah Currie

If you like YA romance, Heart of a Royal is a book you need to get your hands on!