This week marks the 1st birthday of my blog and I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported and followed me throughout the last 12 months, I hope to bring you plenty more reviews next year. To say thanks I am doing a giveaway which I’ll write more about after I let you know what my top reads were for this year, It was a tough choice and I changed my mind about the books and the amount of books I was going to list quite a few times. But here are my final choices in no order whatsoever. As with my books of the decade, they had to be books that have stayed with me all year and that required no prompting for remembering.
T
he True Story of Maddie Bright by Mary-Rose MacColl was a book that evoked many emotions at the time of reading.
The Lost Boy by Rachael Wright was another book that packed an emotional punch.
Sunshine by Kim Kelly, this is a novel I have read twice this year as well as listening to the audio book.
Only a Breath Apart by Katie McGarry was yet another emotional read (I’m beginning to sense a theme here as I start putting these onto the page)
Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard was a very emotional read that everyone should read.
A Lifetime of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird is probably the most emotional book I have read this year, this one had me crying for a third of the book, but it was an incredible story.
Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop by Rebecca Raisin was a book that had me looking at my dreams for my life.
Daughter of the Sky by Michelle Diener was the first book I read in 2019 and a great historical romance in an unusual setting.
Ridgeview Station by Michael Trant was one of a handful of books I read by male authors this year and was a fabulous read.
In a Great Southern Land by Mary-Anne O’Connor was another emotional read.
Under the Midnight Sky by Anna Romer was a book I enjoyed so much I bought it for my mum for her birthday.
The Scream Behind Her Smile by Athena Daniels was brilliant.
Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee was a confronting look at sexual assalt and our legal system.
Lastly, I’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks this year due to a lot of driving and some of these have been great, some just good and some not so good. The narrator makes all the difference to how well a book comes across. I’ve listened to several novels that friends have loved, but as an audiobook, they just haven’t had that impact for me. Here are a couple that stood out for me this year, if you enjoy your audiobooks you may want to check them out.
This Red Earth by Kim Kelly – My Review
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult – My review
The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein – My review
The Locksmith’s Daughter by Karen Brooks
I hope you’ve enjoyed some of these (or not) or are inspired to pick one of them up.
For my blog’s birthday I’m giving two people the opportuntiy to win a kindle copy of their choice from my top reads this year (open internationally). Or a paperback copy of Sunshine by Kim Kelly (open internationally) or a paperback copy of Ridgeview Station by Michale Trant (Australia only). To be in for a chance to win please leave a comment on this blog or my Facebook page. You need to be following my blog of to have liked my FB page to enter (or both).
Happy reading.
Claire's Reads and Reviews 
Oohh Happy Anniversary! I enjoy reading your reviews and watching your book bingo here’s to many more great books in 2020
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Thank you 😊 yes hopefully many more great books in 2020.
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Hi Mel you were one of the winners of my blog birthday competition, if you’d like to message me with which book you would like and if it’s a kindle one I will need your email address to send the gift to. Congratulations and thanks for following.
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I’ve added The Lost Boy and Daisy Jones & the Six on my wish list. I agree with many of these choices, I’m sure they would appear on my top reads list too, if I ever get around to doing it! Happy blog anniversary, what a year it has been! Congrats and here’s to another great year ahead of blogging, reviewing and reading!
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Thank you. I really recommend that you listen to the audio version of daisy Jones. I tried reading it, but the audio was so much better as they use different actors for each part and they did a great job.
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Great tip, thank you! I’m not an audio book fan, but I may have to try it for this one on your recommendation.
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Yes, audio is very difficult. I went to the audio version after hearing several other people say how great it was.
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I don’t have a great relationship with audio, but maybe it’s because I have found the right book, genre or narrator. It’s like my awful relationship with kindle and ebooks, I must have a physical copy of a book!
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Happy anniversary! What a great first year for your blog 🙂
Some great choices on your best books list, lots I haven’t read too so some books to check out
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Thank you! I hope you do check some out, good luck in the draw
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A great list! Eclectic like mine! 😁 I’ll be reading Daisy Jones and the Six soon as it’s our starting book for the next #6degrees.
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I know you hate audiobooks, I tried paperback and audio, the audio was so much better.
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I loved Daisy Jones and the Six too, and Under the Midnight Sky. I listened to The Trauma Cleaner and that was amazing on audio, I went for a lot of drives to hear some more, then sat in my garage on a couple of notable times to get to the end of a chapter… A couple of my favourite reads are Taking Tom Murray Home, Lincoln in the Bardo, and Boy Swallows Universe. Happy Christmas and happy reading in 2020!
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Happy blogiversary. I loved reading Daisy Jones and the Six, and Under the Midnight Sky too. I listened to The Trauma Cleaner on audio and it was amazing! The story and the reader! My favourite reads from this year would be Taking Tom Murray Home, another winner on audio by the way, and I also enjoyed Boy Swallows Universe and Lincoln in the Bardo. Looking forward to more recommendations in 2020! Happy Christmas and happy reading!
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Ooh I’ll see if my library has Taking Tom Murray home on audio, it’s one that’s been on my tbr list. I’ve got boy swallows universe but haven’t gotten to it yet. And I’ve never heard of Lincoln in the Bardi, I’ll have a look for that. Yes the trauma cleaner was very good on audio. Thanks for commenting and good luck in the draw.
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So chuffed that my book made this list – thanks heaps Claire and so glad again that you enjoyed it! 🙂
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😊
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