My favorite books I have read in 2019

Ring in the new year! It is that time again.......what were my favorite books I have read in 2019? So I struggled a bit with deciding what to do as I am sure many bloggers have as well. What if some of the best books I have read are not even published yet?! Well that was the case with 3 yes 3 of my top reads. Well, I have decided to include them because this is the BEST of the BEST that I have READ in 2019.....so here we go!

I am not putting these in any particular order because, well that would just be too hard! I am going to end the year with finishing up 112 fab books but these 10 really stood out to me...thanks for taking the time to check out my top picks! I highly recommend all!

OMG OMG OMG!!! Yes I am speechless as I finished up my most anticipated book of the year! It not only lived up to my expectations, it far exceeded them! Whew, how is this a debut? I mean really I am floored that this is Samantha Downing's first book. New thriller queen in the house!

Gothic, creepy, a house with a hideous history...OMG yes please!!Granted the house has an extensive history, I mean don't all old homes? That is what Rowan told herself when she applied for the job. Okay Rowan, you just keep telling yourself that.  This was hands down my favorite book by Ruth Ware! I always enjoy her books but this one blew me away.

First of all...hello...it's Peter Swanson! He is like the master of thrillers! This book rendered me speechless! Not even out until March 3, 2020! I am such a lucky girl to get my hands on this dark, twisty thriller. Side note........thanks for not killing off the cat...extra, extra bonus points for that! 

 This book was so flipping wrong, but right up my alley! Everyone involved in the book is not really likable but who cares, it made them all the more interesting. I found myself holding my breath during the last chapter because it was just that crazy.

 First I wondered what the heck is a Verity when I saw the title. Then I figured out Verity was going to be one of our main characters and she is something else. If you did not know, the definition of her name is "the quality or state of being truthful or honest." Hmm well that certainly is interesting. The whole book I was shocked, repulsed and quite frankly scared of her. She is an intimidating woman.

Coming soon! Publication date is January 28, 2020! Hands down Tutor's best book in my opinion! An absolute thrill ride that kept my mind in high gear for the entire read. Fingers crossed that you have not pissed off the "other people" and they are crossing you off their list! EEK!

Not out until April 21, 2020...
This was so damn good! I will admit, I went into this blind, didn't read reviews, the blurb, nothing. I just saw that it was the author of one of my top reads last year ( Jar of Hearts) and I grabbed it as quick as I could. First off the title is perfect! Little secrets...more like BIG secrets! These people all have secrets! We are not talking about I went out and bought a sweater and shoes I don't need and hid them at the back of my closet secrets. We are talking about...you are going to jail for a long time secrets- if you are caught! 

 Holy hell this was single white female on crack. I loved, loved, loved this book! I flew through this book in less than a day, staying up late into the night. A story filled with manipulation, jealously, obsession and pure evil. One of my favorite books so far this year! This author has quickly been added to my list of must read authors!

This book touched on something that I can't even put into the words. I felt emotionally overwhelmed for several hours after finishing. I felt a sense of personal loss, which I never feel like this when reading a book. I had to keep reminding myself that it is a BOOK and it is a work of fiction. 

Out on January 14, 2020! I loved this book! Wow! All the stars for this fantastic debut. This book puts the W in WTF!!! I mean this is one twisted domestic thriller. Honestly one of my favorite books I have read this year. 

The Better Liar by Tanen Jones

I loved this book! Wow! All the stars for this fantastic debut. This book puts the W in WTF!!! I mean this is one twisted domestic thriller. Honestly one of my favorite books I have read this year.

Your sister Robin has been missing for 10 years. She ran away from home when she was 16 and is now living in Las Vegas. Leslie is the "good sister"- staying with her ailing father until he passes away. Catering to his every need as your sister Robin is in sin city doing god knows what. You also find the time to care for your family. Then your father springs it to you on his deathbed that his money will be split between you and Robin. The kicker is Robin has to come back home to claim the money or neither of you can claim your half.

No problem, Leslie packs her bags, heads to Vegas. She finally locates Robin, but Robin is dead. While staring down at Robin's dead body rotting away in a rental home in Las Vegas- Leslie decides to walk away. She leaves her sister to rot in Las Vegas with her identity basically being a Jane Doe as she was not going by her true name after she left home. Then she finds someone to pretend they are her sister to claim the money....now that is some sisterly love right there!

Wow...I am going to leave that right there. You could have gotten that from the book blurb and I don't want to spoil anything. This one is best to go in blind because hang onto to your hats people...this book was one I couldn't put down. I loved this dark, twisted thriller right from the start. I mean, think how disturbing it is that someone could leave their sister in another state and not report them dead. Left her there to rot...alone...It only gets more twisted from there!

Thank you so much to Random House Publising/Ballantine for this fantastic ARC.

Skin Deep by Liz Nugent

Merry Christmas to me....Merry Christmas to me... Yes I finally did it! I have been not so patiently waiting for Skin Deep to hit the shelves here in the United States. I admit, I am a bit of a book snob and I wanted to have a shiny hardback to sit next to my other two Liz Nugent books.  I could take it no longer! I had to order a copy from Book Depository...anyways.....that is why I have not read this book until just now! The perfect Christmas gift to myself!

Who is Cordelia Russell? I will tell you who she is- she is a psychopath, narcissist, crazy AF woman that thinks about herself 100% of of the time. When this woman isn't thinking about how to advance herself, she is thinking how to take someone down. In true Liz Nugent fashion, this character is extremely well developed and a despicable human being that is impossible to like. Yet that is what is so intriguing! You can't put it down because you are not quite sure of what this woman will do next.

I really loved how we got to look into Cordelia's past, I swear this girl was a manipulator from day one of her life. When this woman should have been down and out she was clinking champagne glasses with the highest of society- with not a  penny to her name.

I have made no secret that Liz Nugent and Peter Swanson are my absolute favorite authors on the face of the earth! So it is no surprise that I loved this book. Unraveling Oliver still stands as my favorite though. I love that twisted dude!

I can NOT wait for Our Little Cruelties to come out! I will not be waiting to order that one! Come on March 26, 2020! Exactly 3 months to go!

The Kill Club by Wendy Heard

Summary:

A haunting thriller about a woman who attempts to save her brother's life by making a dangerous pact with a network of vigilantes who've been hunting down the predators of Los Angeles.

Jazz can’t let her younger brother die.

Their foster mother Carol has always been fanatical, but with Jazz grown up and out of the house, Carol takes a dangerous turn that threatens thirteen-year-old Joaquin’s life. Over and over, child services fails to intervene, and Joaquin is running out of time.

Then Jazz gets a blocked call from someone offering a solution. There are others like her, people the law has failed. They’ve formed an underground network of “helpers,” each agreeing to murder the abuser of another. They're taking back their power and leaving a trail of bodies throughout Los Angeles—dubbed the Blackbird Killings. If Jazz joins them, they’ll take care of Carol for good.

All she has to do is kill a stranger.

Jazz soon learns there's more to fear than getting caught carrying out her assignment. The leader of the club has a zero tolerance policy for mistakes.

And the punishment for disobeying orders is death.

 My Review

So you decided to make a deal with the devil....but the devil doesn't deliver his end.. or does he? Welcome to The Kill Club.

"First rule of murder club, don't talk about murder club." I loved this line! Wendy Heard has dished out a thrilling ride with this book. Upon starting it, the overall theme rang a bit similar  to another book I had just read- The Other People ( which I loved, by the way). Yet the concept may be similar, the story line went into a completely different direction.

Random murders are happening all over the city. People are terrified to leave the house, as people are being killed off in very public places. There is a serial killer on the loose that leaves his calling card...a playing card at the scene of the crime. Every victim is killed by an injection of poison that brings them to a painful death. By the way, if my Starbucks tastes at all funky, it will promptly go in the trash...just saying...yet the detectives are stumped, because the killer seems to get a bit sloppy at times and sometimes he is "dead on" perfect in his techniques.

I loved Jasmine- a gritty, hard working girl, that has seen some very dark things in her life. Working long days at Trader Joe's she is just trying to make ends meet. When her brother Joaquin's life is in danger, she feels she must do whatever it takes to save him. Would she have to draw the line at murder? Would you?

Thanks so much to HarperCollins / Mira for having me along on this blog tour! Thanks so much to Wendy Heard for a thriller that kept me flipping the pages late into the night!

Author Bio: Wendy Heard, author of Hunting Annabelle, was born in San Francisco and has lived most of her life in Los Angeles. When not writing, she can be found hiking the Griffith Park trails, taking the Metro and then questioning this decision, and haunting local bookstores.

Buy Links:

Harlequin

Apple Books

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

Google Play

Indie Bound

Social Links:

Author website

Twitter: @wendydheard

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Facebook: @wendydheard