Girl Plus Books

#Blogmas2019 Day 31: Goodreads Challenge

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Welcome to Blogmas 2019!

Blogmas is the creation of Sophie @ Beware of the Reader. This is her third year (I think) doing Blogmas and my second year participating. Sophie has provided some great prompts for this month and I'm excited to participate as often as possible. I'll probably be combining days fairly often, like today. If you'd like to participate, be sure to use the hashtags #Blogmas2019 and #BestBooksof2019.

It's been a great month of looking at the best books I've read this year. Thanks so much to Sophie for creating/hosting Blogmas! For the final day of the year - and the decade! - I'm turning to Goodreads for an overview of the year.

I read a total of 99 books in 2019 (did anyone else just start singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall..."?). I purposely set my goal fairly low so I could meet it and then carry on. No struggling to read X number of books or force myself to reach some lofty goal. I read however many I read. :)

My average rating for the year was 3.9.

The most popular book I read was Daisy Jones & The Six, which comes as no surprise. It felt like everyone was reading Daisy Jones this year! Apparently the least popular was Trusting Winter and I've gotta tell you... that kinda breaks my heart. You all know that I adore Lora Richardson and I sing her praises every chance I get. Her books are such a gift and deserve so much more attention.

That being said, I'm not too sad because the highest rated book I read was also by the wonderful Lora Richardson! How's that for perfect symmetry? ♥ An average rating of 4.54 is phenomenal and Awakening Autumn totally deserves it!

The breakdown by genre is:

And now for all the pretty covers... :)

DID YOU MEET YOUR READING GOAL THIS YEAR?

#Blogmas2019 Days 28, 29 and 30: Best Book to Make a Movie, Best Swoony Book, The Best of the Best #BestBooksOf2019

Welcome to Blogmas 2019!

DAY 28: BEST BOOK TO MAKE A MOVIE

JOSH & HAZEL'S GUIDE TO NOT DATING

WATCHING YOU | WILD COUNTRY

Josh & Hazel would make the perfect rom-com movie. I'd go see it! I can imagine Lisa Jewell's Watching You as a kind of quiet, atmospheric thriller. And I've always thought The Others series would translate well to the screen. With the CGI and special effects available now, Wild Country would be epic on the big screen!

DAY 29: BEST SWOONY BOOK

SAY YOU STILL LOVE ME | SALVAGED | I WANT YOU BACK

I loved the dual timeline in Say You Still Love Me. Getting to experience Piper and Kyle's first love as teenagers and then reconnecting as adults gave me all the feels. Jay Crownover writes heroes that will do anything for their heroine and Salvaged was no exception. The way Hudson treated Poppy was seriously swoony. And I Want You Back featured one of my favorite tropes (second-chance romance) and seeing Jaxson fight to get his family back was all kinds of swoony goodness.

DAY 30: THE BEST OF THE BEST

DAISY JONES & THE SIX | THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW

MRS. EVERYTHING | THE RECKLESS OATH WE MADE | LONG SHOT

I give out 5-star rating very rarely. Those five stars aren't just for every book I really enjoyed. Five stars are very those very, very special books. The ones that become instant favorites. The ones that move me in a way unlike anything else. A book that is head and shoulders above the rest. So I was super surprised to find that I had five 5-star reads in 2019! I'm not sure that's ever happened! But all five of these books were remarkable stories and true stand-outs from the year.

HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS?

WHAT WAS YOUR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR?

#Blogmas2019 Days 23-27: Best Plot Twist, Best Male Main Character, Best Female Main Character, Best Friend Recommendation, Best Ugly Cry #BestBooksOf2019

Monday, December 30, 2019

Welcome to Blogmas 2019!

DAY 23: BEST PLOT TWIST

VERITY | THE WICKED KING | THE BURNING SHADOW

There were so many twists in Verity that by the time I turned the last page I sat back and wondered what I'd just read. And I still know quite know what I believe really happened. The final twist at the end of The Wicked King floored me. It's easy to forget that while Jude is busy with all her machinations... others are plotting, too. And there several fun/exciting twists and revelations in The Burning Shadow that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could go.

DAY 24: BEST MALE MAIN CHARACTER

ARCHER HALE | ALEX CLAREMONT-DIAZ

DEAN WALKER | LUC | GENTRY

Each of these characters possessed qualities that made them memorable. Whether it was a pure heart, acerbic wit, willingness to grow and change, or arrogance and humor that hid a softer side, they were all completely unforgettable.

DAY 25: BEST BEST FEMALE MAIN CHARACTER

DAISY JONES | ANNIKA ROSE | JO

HAZEL BRADFORD | NINA BROWNING

Daisy's impulsiveness, Annika's bravery, Jo's endurance, Hazel's humor, Nina's integrity. These women made me laugh, made me cry, made me cheer, and made me want the very best for them.

DAY 26: BEST FRIEND RECOMMENDATION

LONG SHOT - KENNEDY RYAN

Kennedy Ryan had been on my radar for a while, but it wasn't until Sam and Amber told me I had to read Long Shot that I finally experienced her writing for myself. And what an experience it was. I remember DM'ing with them as I made my way through the book and then as I sat in the parking lot at the office one morning, finishing it. Long Shot is among my top reads of the year and I'm so glad Sam and Amber recommended it!

DAY 27: BEST UGLY CRY

ARCHER'S VOICE | BIRTHDAY

Both Archer's Voice and Birthday had main characters that settled themselves into my heart and had me feeling every painful moment. I wanted to help them, hug them, protect them... and basically make sure nothing and no one ever hurt them again. That kind of connection guaranteed more than one ugly cry.

HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS?

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE MALE/FEMALE CHARACTERS OF THE YEAR?

The Sunday Post #188

Sunday, December 29, 2019

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's a chance to share news - a post to recap the past week on your blog,

showcase books and things we have received, and share news about what is

coming up on your blog in the week ahead. You can find the info here:

Sunday Post Meme

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Or, if you don't celebrate, I hope it was a great week. It was equal parts busy and relaxing on my end. The family gathered at my mom's house on Christmas Eve and it was a great time. Christmas Day is a lot more low-key, which is perfect. The Husband and I exchanged some gifts, I hosted lunch in the afternoon (for part of the family), and it was just a really good day.
I was off work all week and it was fabulous. I'm telling you, friends, I could get used to this. :) But it's back to reality tomorrow and in about 24 hours from now I'll be getting ready to head to the office. At least it will be a short week since I'll be off on Wednesday. Small blessings!
It's been warm all week (over 70 degrees) and rainy the past few days. Anyone want to send some winter weather my way?
So what's everyone doing for New Years? Do you have any traditions? Going out somewhere, staying in and relaxing? Do you make New Years resolutions? The Husband and I will probably go out for dinner but after that I'll be hibernating at home. Maybe watch a movie or engage in some fierce backgammon action. :)
And now for this week's music selection: It seems fitting to end the year with Auld Lang Syne. I really like this extended version from Kenny G with all the clips throughout the years.

Thursday, December 26
#Blogmas2019 Days 15, 16, 17 and 18:
Best Romance Author, Most Original Plot/Story, Best New-To-Me Author, Most Read Author

Friday, December 27
#Blogmas2019 Days 19, 20, 21 and 22:
Best Cover, Most Powerful Writing, Best LGBTQ, Best Audiobook

WHAT I COMPLETED IN THE LAST WEEK:

Bahahaha! Yet again, the answer to this question is: nothing.

(I DNF'd another book - Christmas in Silver Springs by Brenda Novak). This kinda/sorta reading slump I've been in continues. Sometimes I have no interest in reading at all, sometimes the books I choose don't pull me in or hold my attention. It's been a couple months now and I am seriously over it. I want my reading mojo back!

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING:

The One For You - Roni Loren

What He Never Knew - Kandi Steiner

On Tuesday, I started the ARC of The One For You that I'd been highly anticipating, thinking it might snap me out of this reading funk. While I can't say that has happened, I am really enjoying it. This is the fourth (and final, I think?) book in Loren's The Ones Who Got Away series. I really enjoyed the previous books so I'm excited to get further into this one (I'm about 20% in right now.)

Last year I listened to the What He Doesn't Know duet by Kandi Steiner. They were by first books by Kandi, super angsty, and I really enjoyed them. Earlier this year she released a third book, What He Never Knew (moving on from a duet to a trilogy now), giving the story of the guy not chosen in the earlier books. I like that it's the same guy narrating and so far I'm really liking it.