The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah – this was wonderful fiction; hard to read at times but her writing is exceptional.
Educated by Tara Westover – this book was highly recommended by a friend and on Netgalley and it was popular everywhere this year for good reason. I read it very quickly and was blown away by it.
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend – this book is possibly the only middle grade book I’ve come to enjoy nearly as much (but never close enough) to Harry Potter.
Circe by Madeline Miller – this is a book I’d recommend for everyone – the audio was great…and I did not really think I loved this world, but I do, apparently.
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny – one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did NOT let me down. It was even more wonderful meeting her again and hearing her talk about the book in Halifax in December 🙂
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center – Close to Happiness for Beginners for me and so impressed with her success this summer. I can’t wait to read her newest one in January (comes out next August)
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee– this book had been on my hold list for at least a year and I just kept suspending it until one day I realized I needed to just give it a try. It was tedious at times but also fascinating (and emotional) to follow one family throughout so many years an
A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn – I love love love love love this series about Veronica Speedwell and this one was the best so far. Historical (kind of cozy?!) mystery is an interesting genre.
Take Me With You by Catherine Ryan Hyde – wow this book was everything everyone says it is and more. I loved it.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – I loved this on audio and it surprised me how much I got into it. Dying to read the next one now.
I’d Rather be Reading by Anne Bogel – intended to read this slowly and savour the essays, but ended up gobbling it up in one sitting and relating to it so much.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy – my favourite might be the second but I liked them all and the movie on Netflix was SO GOOD. Very YA though 🙂
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne – Oh Cyril, what a character to follow throughout life. This was so thought-provoking and good.
Harry Potter 1-3 I can’t stop talking about how much fun I had reading the first three HP books to my family. Aside from my daughter loving the HP world, my husband (who is not a reader and had previously only seen the movie) also loved them (#winning)
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – I’m not crying, you’re crying. I had forgotten how absolutely incredible this book is, and discovering it with Molly and crying together over a spider was a special experience (she would NOT stop crying and it was a new feeling for her to cry over a book).
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman – the second book in the Beartown trilogy and I possibly (maybe) liked it even more. Fredrik Backman certainly knows how to write.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones – this book was so different than what I expected and a true glimpse into these strong character’s lives
Graceling by Kristen Cashore – this was a world unlike any I’ve ever read about and I still intend to continue the series at some point. YA fantasy, I’d say?
Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb – unbelievable epistolary tale set in WWI times in Europe – loved this book so much and it isn’t Christmassy though winter feels like a good time to read it.
Greenglass House by Kate Milford – this was a good middle grade mystery type book that I couldn’t quite figure out for awhile and really soaked up last winter.
Ignore It!: How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction – I loved this so much I bought it for myself for Christmas. The parenting theories in this book really align with how I want to raise my daughters.
Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden – I don’t really read graphic novels but this one was perfect.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – this was a chilling novel that I never would have gotten through in print but is all about books, which I loved.
Romance Favourites
99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne (ARC) – comes out January 29 – this wasn’t quite The Hating Game, but I haven’t read it 5 times yet either. I loved it.
All of Christina Lauren’s standalone books: Roomies, Dating You/Hating You, Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, Love & Other Words, and My Favorite Half-Night Stand <–possibly my favourite of them all.
Tessa Dare’s Duchess Deal and Governess Game – great historical fiction
Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City and Winston Brothers series – these were all SO good and I can’t wait for the conclusion to the Winston Brothers series as well as Penny Reid’s Austen retellings coming in the new year/next few years.
Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews – I liked this infinitely more than I expected to. So well done.
Beauty and the Clockwork Beast and The Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen – super interesting genre that I have not read in the past (steampunk)
Bridesmaids Behaving Badly trilogy by Jenny Holiday
Fatal Affair by Marie Force – looking forward to continuing this series in the new year.
Mister Romance and Professor Feelgood by Leisa Reyvan – these books were not at all what I expected.
Alyssa’s Cole Reluctant Royals series – can’t wait for the third this year.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – this one has been really popular this year and it was a fun read.
Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata – I also enjoyed Kulti, Lukov, and Wait for It in 2018. Her newest wasn’t my favourite but I still read it at breakneck speed…
Leaving Everest by Megan Westfield – I loved her first book and loved this one too, if not a bit more. YA
Burn for You & Melt for You by J.T. Geissinger – just read these books this week and LOVED them, especially the second one, which was one of my favourites this year.
The Maritime Reader 
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