2019 Fourth Quarter Book Haul: Closing Out the Year

I feel like I was pretty good not buying too many books the last quarter of 2019 (only eight books in three months); however, there were definitely several that I didn’t plan on getting at the beginning of the quarter but yet here they are. I know it’s super cliche, but I really am planning to be more discriminatory when it comes to my 2020 book buys. I’m usually really good at not preordering a ton of things, it’s the impulse buys I need to work on. How does one resist a good coupon though? Also, apologies for these photos. I did not have a lot of time to take them and then of course it was all cloudy and grey when I did. Let’s take a look at what books I’ve acquired…

Preorders: 

1. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern – I blame Twitter entirely for this preorder. I was itching to buy something, ran a poll, and this was everyone’s chosen book. See, it isn’t entirely my fault. Anyways, I have high hopes for this one after waiting years for more from this author after The Night Circus.

2. The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco – I haven’t read this one yet, but I am really excited to dive into more Rin Chupeco novels. One day I will actually finish their Bone Witch series as well.

3. Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri – Of course I preordered this companion novel to Empire of Sand (have you read this one yet, you need to!!!!). This one was just so lovely and made me unexpectedly emotional.

4. Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – I was sad to see this series end, but was pretty satisfied with the ending. I am wondering what else Black has planned, if she does for this world, because I would be interested in visiting again.

Couldn’t Resist Books:

5. Crier’s War by Nina Varella – I’ve heard so many good things about this one and I absolutely love the hate-to-love trope, which is about half the reason I ended up buying this one.

6. Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes – I want all the books with Latinx characters in space, but unfortunately, there aren’t many. This was my last read of the year and it was so so so much fun.

7. Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender – I have been wanting to read this one since it came out and then all those holiday coupons and deals came around and how could I resist?

8. Monstress, Vol. 4: The Chosen by Marjorie M. Liu, Illustrated by Sana Takeda – Yes, at one point I thought Volume 3 was the final volume, but then I learned and also took advantage of another holiday deal to get this fourth one. I will be catching up on this series in 2020.

ARCs, Giveaways, and Publisher-Sent:

9. Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine – Penguin Random House was kind enough to send the Latinx Book Club a couple of books by Latinx authors to promote during Latinx Heritage Month. I selected this one because I loved it so much.

10. Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras – I also selected this novel that I haven’t read yet, but I am eager to get to.

11. Into the Tall, Tall Grass by Loriel Ryon – I won a Twitter giveaway of this ARC from the author and I am so excited to read this magical sounding MG.

12. Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina – I also won a MG book from Loriel Ryon and I selected this one. I really need more Meg Medina in my reading life.

13. Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – (not pictured, because I always manage to forget one book when I take all these pics) – Was sent this one from the publisher for review which should be up on the blog at the end of January (approximately).

14. Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega – Had to add this one to this post because right before the new year, I received an ARC of this one from the publisher. You can’t imagine how wide my smile was when I got this in the mail.

Christmas Gifts:

15. Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger – I am so excited for this fantasy book and if I didn’t have a handful of ARCS to get to, this one would probably be way higher on my TBR.

16. Only Ashes Remain by Rebecca Schaeffer – I avoided getting this one when if first came out because the price was really high for some reason. Glad I finally do have it because I was really impressed with the first novel.

17. Capturing the Devil by Kerry Maniscalco – Maybe, just maybe, that I have the final book in the series, I will find time to read the third book and finish the series with this one. Maybe.

18. Jade War by Fonda Lee – I still haven’t read Jade City, but I trust all of the praise and went ahead and put this one on my wish list.

Did you get any good books for Christmas? What’s your last 2019 book purchase? Let’s talk in the comments!

2019 Reading Stats: Who and What Did I Read This Year

I am so excited for this post. In all my years as a book blogger, I’ve never done an in depth, statistic-oriented post looking back at my reading habits. I didn’t have any major reading goals for 2019, so it’s interesting to see what I ended up picking up without any reading challenges requiring me to pick up specific things. A few things were not surprising like what genre I picked up the most, but others, like how many books by Latinx authors and by authors of color I read were pleasant surprises. I think this year has been my best year in terms of book ratings. Picking up more diverse books really improved the enjoyment I got out of books this year and I want to continue this in 2020. Let’s take a look at my stats…

Do you do statistic-oriented reading posts for yourself? Did you read more diversely this year? What genre did you pick up most in 2019? Which stat are you looking to improve? Leave me a link if you did a similar post!

Monthly Wrap-Up: December ’19

I had high hopes at the beginning of the month that I was going to get through so many books, including some early 2020 ARCs, but I ran into a roadblock and it took me a while to get back on track. In the end I only read five books but three of those were ARCs, so that’s something. I got some really amazing books for Christmas which I can’t wait to share in my book haul post. I also got some amazing book mail from a publisher that I am really excited about. Will be posting about it on IG and Twitter soon. Everyone has been doing decade lists, but I’m over here just tired and ready to turn the page, so don’t expect any of those from me. I did do a statistic-based post which should be coming your way very soon. In January, I am concentrating on taking care of a couple more ARCs and finally getting to some much anticipated reads I have put off.

(Book covers below are linked to my reviews, unless otherwise specified.) 

Favorite Book This Month:

My favorite read this month was Dark and Deepest Red. I always worry that my reviews can never do Anna-Marie McLemore books justice and in the end, I am just hoping to spark enough interest in all of you so you can check out their novels. Each one is a masterpiece in itself. Review for this one coming in the next week or so. Cover linked to Goodreads.

Least Favorite Book This Month:

No book received less than 3 stars.

Reviews Posted This Month:

Books I Read, Review Coming Soon:

(Covers linked to Goodreads)

Notable Blog Posts This Month:

Twelve Days of…Latinx Book Recommendations – I put together this series on whim and it ended up being a lot of fun. You can check out all my posts and recommendations.

2019 End of the Year Book Survey – I love doing this tag every year. Be sure to check it out!

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter Releases I’m Excited About – There are so many amazing books on the horizon!

Top Ten Tuesday: My Five-Star Reads of 2019 – Come take a look at my favorite reads this year!

January Releases I’m Excited For:

Which book did you read to close out 2019? What do you have planned as your first read? Let me hear from you in the comments and feel free to leave me a link to your own wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to visit. Happy New Year!

2019 End of the Year Book Survey

Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner has once again posted her end of the year survey and I am so exited to share all my answers. This year I had so much fun reading amazing books and meeting new blogging friends. Shout out to all the Latinx bloggers and authors in the community who really made my year. I read a little bit more books this year than last year, reread a lot of favorites, and tackled a handful of buddy reads. Leave me a link in the comments if you are also doing this survey, I’d love to check out your favorite reads!

**2019 FINAL READING STATS**

Number Of Books You Read: 73 (will be 74 by the time January 1st rolls around)
Number of Re-Reads: 10
Genre You Read The Most From: Fantasy

1. Best Book You Read In 2019?

Nina Moreno’s Don’t Date Rosa Santos was EVERYTHING. I cannot praise this book enough. It’s one of those books that felt written especially for me and I haven’t felt like that in a while. If you haven’t been charmed by this beautiful contemporary, do yourself a favor and get it!

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Oh, I really really really wanted to love Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal. I’m always on the lookout for horror novels and horror novels by Latinx authors are so rare in the YA world, but alas, this one was a letdown.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

I have enjoyed all of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books, but hadn’t yet read her debut novel. What was I waiting for? Signal to Noise is just as impressive and ended up being one of my favorite reads of the year.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I think I pushed Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri the most this year. It was my last read in 2018 and I have been thinking about it every since (even fit in a reread at the end of the year). Please, please, PLEASE read this work of art. You will not regret it.

5. Best series you started in 2019? Best Sequel of 2019? Best Series Ender of 2019?

Why does it feel like I read Roshani Chokshi’s The Gilded Wolves two years ago? It took me a good minute to realize it came out this year. I loved it so much and with a reread fell even more in love with these characters. You are all not prepared for the sequel.

There were some really great sequels this year, but shout out to Susan Dennard’s Bloodwitch. I have been waiting for this sequel for two years and the wait was worth it. It was so darn good.

I didn’t finish a ton of series, but one that stood out was Tasha Suri’s Realm of Ash, it’s the conclusion to her The Books of Ambha duology and while it hit differently than Empire of Sand, it was just so beautiful.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2019?

Do you ever get a really good feeling about an author and their work? Something tells me that Hafsah Faizal is going to end up being one of my favorite authors. While her debut We Hunt the Flame isn’t without its flaws, it was so engrossing and I am really looking forward to the sequel.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

When have you seen me pick up a nonfiction book? You haven’t because I just don’t. I was in a reading slump at the time and could not for the life of me find anything that felt right. I ended up reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and just need all nonfiction books to be this unputdownable.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

I loved the action in both Maya Motayne’s Nocturna and Rebecca Roanhouse’s Storm of Locusts. I did not want either of these novels to end.

9. Book You Read In 2019 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I could see myself rereading several of my 2019 reads, but I think I would most likely revisit Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2019?

My favorite cover of 2019 without a doubt was Elizabeth Acevedo’s With the Fire on High. It is breathtaking. And the naked hardback? I’m swooning right now.

11. Most memorable character of 2019?

This was a difficult question and I couldn’t quite decide until I recalled Silas from Sorcery of Thorns from Margaret Rogerson. He’s not even one of the main characters in the novel, but he was my favorite and I grew so attached to him, I almost cried at the end.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2019?

Tasha Suri’s Realm on Ash was so beautifully written. I am really looking forward to whatever she write next. It will be an instant buy for me.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2019?

The Moon Within by Aida Salazar is one of the most beautiful, complex novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading. From menstruation, to gender identity, to cultural heritage, this MG is phenomenal. Please read this important novel.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2019 to finally read? 

It took me way too long to read Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman and it broke me. I might have to put her in the same category of Adam Silvera because this one ripped me apart.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2019?

So I am horrible at tracking quotes, but that really sticks out is from my reread of Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri. I get so emotional thinking about this quote.

“I would have been your clan, then,” he responded, so soft. “I would have loved you without vows or seals. Just my heart for yours, as long as you willed it.”

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2019?

The shortest book I read this year was Prime Meridian by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and the longest was a reread, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most?

I feel like I read The Wicked King by Holly Black ages ago, but that’s just because Queen of Nothing also came out this year. The ending to The Wicked King literally made me gasp.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Maybe it’s because I like anxiety ships and secretly love to be tortured, but I love Zafira and Nasir from We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal. Also, shout out to Dani and Carmen from We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia. My poor girls better get a happily ever after ending.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

I loved reading about Maggie and Ben in Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhouse. I love that Maggie has no idea what to do with this teenage girl and every scene between them was pure gold.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2019 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

There were so many great sophomore books that I can’t just name one. Elizabeth Acevedo’s With the Fire on High, S.K. Ali’s Love from A to Z, and Margaret Rogerson’s Sorcery of Thorns all stood out to me.

21. Best Book You Read In 2019 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

I was looking for some lighthearted contemporaries by authors of color and got recommended The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang and I enjoyed it so very much. I can’t wait to read The Bride Test.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2019?

I reread Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri in November and somehow fell more in love with Amun. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK AND MEET MY PRECIOUS AMUN!!!

23. Best 2019 debut you read?

Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno was my favorite read of the year and it is a stunning debut. I cannot wait for her sophomore novel. Auto-buy time.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson blew me away with its world-building. If you like fantasy worlds that just take you away, you need to read this one.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

I had the most fun reading Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez. I read and listened to the audiobook and I cannot count the number of times I just burst out laughing.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2019?

Several books made me cry this year. Don’t Date Rosa Santos and Starfish are two that really stand out.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud was such a delightful contemporary. You need to read it if romance is your thing and if you are in need of seeing more characters of color (particular black girls) being able to have that swept off your feet kind of story.  Also Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika and Maritza Moulite deserves a shout out as well. I didn’t have a chance to write a review for this one, but I loved this story about a girl learning more about her roots.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Again, I am so sorry to mention it so many times (I’m not), but Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno crushed my soul and then restored it? Brujería.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2019?

Alexandra Villasante delivered one of the most unique stories I’ve ever read with her debut The Grief Keeper. An experiment that allows people to literally take away someone’s grief away? The ethic questions this one raises are plentiful. I wish I had been in a better place at the time because this one deserved a glowing review from me.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Is it terrible that I am slightly annoyed that I haven’t loved any of Renée Ahdieh’s novels since The Wrath and the Dawn duology? I didn’t have tons of expectations going into The Beautiful, but maybe I’m just mad that one of my favorite authors is no longer one of my favorite authors.

1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2019?

I found a lot of favorite blogs and bloggers, but I’m going to give a shout out to one of my Latinx Book Club cohosts, Jocelyn @ yogi with a book. It’s always fun to find a kindred spirit in the blogging community and Jocelyn and I are always so in sync.

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2019?

Once again my favorite posts this year was my Latinx Heritage Month series, Talk Chisme to Me. I’m glad I worked on these early because I wasn’t in the best place when it came time to post them, but they helped me get back in the swing of things blogging wise. Check out all my posts below:

Talk Chisme to Me, Part I: The TBR

Talk Chisme to Me, Part II: Favorite Books By Latinx Authors I Read This Past Year

Talk Chisme to Me, Part III: New & Upcoming Releases

Talk Chisme to Me, Part IV: Biggest Influencers

Talk Chisme to Me, Part V: Under the Radar Books Added to My TBR

Talk Chisme to Me, Part VI: Looking Ahead at the TBR

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2019?

I really like this photo I did of Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. You can see it along with other bookish photos on my Instagram here.

4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?

My favorite “event” that happened this year was #YellowforRosa on Twitter. Not only did it give us a chance to promote a Latinx author’s debut (Don’t Date Rosa Santos), but it ended up connecting me with so many wonderful Latinx bloggers.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2019?

The Latinx Book Club’s inception and its interview on Forbes.com felt pretty big.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Deciding whether blogging was still going to be an important part of my life after experiencing a major loss. I still want to keep blogging as it’s become such a sanctuary for me.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My most popular blog post this year that wasn’t a meme was Welcome to My New Blog…Kind Of. It’s not much of a post, but it was my announcement post after I gave my blog a whole makeover. Eight months later, I am still really satisfied with the changes.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I wish more people checked out my review of Blood of a Thousand Stars by Rhoda Belleza. This duology is amazing and I need you all to read it!!!

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I am going to go with Bookstagram. This year I finally gave in and joined Instagram. I am really enjoying the experience though to be honest I am still puzzled when it comes to Stories. Follow me here!

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I set my Goodreads goal to fifty books because I didn’t want to stress too much and it was so nice. I also joined the Beat the Backlist challenge and failed!!! But I am okay with that.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2019 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2020?

There are a few 2019 books I really wanted to get to but didn’t get a chance. High on my TBR is Rin Chupeco’s The Never Tilting World. I preorder this one and still haven’t read this one. I will in January (hopefully).

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2020 (non-debut)?

I am so stoked for Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I am so stoked for her first horror novel. I have high hopes and this cover is one of the most gorgeous I’ve ever laid eyes on. I need it so bad.

3. 2020 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I am so excited for Claribel Ortega’s Ghost Squad. I have been such a fan of her for years and she’s one of those people am wishing all the success for. I will probably preordering this one.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2020?

I need Wayward Witch by Zoraida Córdova so badly! I am literally teary-eyed just thinking of this one. I’ve loved her Brooklyn Brujas series so much. Crossing my fingers I can get my hands on an ARC.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2020?

I read a lot of books by Latinx authors in 2019 and I might low-key aim for an even higher number this year.

6. A 2020 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):

You all must read Anna-Marie McLemore’s Dark and Deepest Red. It was so so so so so good. Review coming so soon!

Did you do this survey? Leave me your link in the comments and I will visit!