My Favorite Books of 2019

Hi all!
I'm super excited to be sharing this post with you today. Since starting this blog early this year, I've been trying to expand my reading tastes, trying out a bunch of new books and genres that took me out of my normal bookish comfort zone. And I'm so glad I did! I've found a ton of new favorite books and series this year, some of which have made it onto my top books of all time list.

So, without further ado, here's my list of favorites for 2019!

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1. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

I usually stick by the mantra "don't believe the hype" because there are so many books out there that just don't deserve it? But The Stormlight Archive? It totally deserves every bit of the hype it's gotten, and far, far more. This book is absolutely incredible. The characters are so well-developed, and the worldbuilding and magic system is phenomenal. And it's so intricate. The book follows a lot of different characters' storylines, but they all come together beautifully at the end and just... oh my word, this book is amazing. 

Seriously. This book is (dare I say it?) better than The Lord of the Rings. I'm serious. Go read it. Right now.

I've also fallen in love with several other Sanderson books this year; namely Mistborn: The Final Empire and Skyward. But The Way of Kings is probably my favorite out of all of them so far, and I don't want to fill this list with Brandon Sanderson books, because that would be kind of boring. :P Sidenote: as of writing this post, I'm well into the second book in The Stormlight Archive, Words of Radiance, which I can also say has been phenomenal so far. 

2. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Now, I don't normally read horror... but the description for this book looked so interesting that I had to pick it up. And I'm so, so glad I did. It is definitely creepy, with a good dose of violence (some of it kind of gory) but the characters, the plot, and the themes were all so amazing! This book delves into some of my favorite types of themes -- good vs. evil, what defines being human, etc. And Schwab pulled off the themes so masterfully, it gave me chills at times. 

This definitely isn't a happy book, but it's a good one. I also enjoyed the sequel, though it isn't quite as good, and my brother had some mixed opinions about it. It's definitely not something everyone would enjoy. 

But I definitely recommend giving the first book a shot! For more information, check out my review. 

3. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

This book. This book is so beautiful. The writing style is incredible and atmospheric, perfectly capturing the "feel" of the book and dragging me head over heels into the storyworld. The characters are so well-drawn, and they all feel like real people -- even the random side characters feel genuine. I'm not one for horse stories, usually. But this book? This book is the exception. And I mean, most horse stories don't include flesh-eating, murderous water horses, either, so...
If this sounds like your kind of book, check out my review!

4. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls is a story about grief and loss and healing, and it's beautiful. It's written in the most simple, and yet utterly heart wrenching way, and I really, really loved it. I want to say more, but because it's such a short book, I'd be giving away spoilers. 

But it really is worth your time! Go read it!

If you're interested, but are still not sure about this book, check out my review. 

5. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

And now for a classic! I read The Outsiders after my brothers read it for school, and I loved it. It's really raw and emotional, with complicated characters and a simple but compelling writing style. I don't have a review for this book up yet, but keep an eye out for it in my collection of mini-reviews that is coming soon. 

And that about wraps it up for now! I still have a month left in 2019, and I really hope I discover a new favorite to add to this list before the year is out. But as it stands, there's my top five favorite books of this year.

Let me know in the comments what your favorite books of this year were! Have you read any of the books I've fallen in love with, and if so, what did you think of them? I'm excited to hear your thoughts! (And also maybe get some new book recommendations... always looking for those. :P)