Top 3 Thursday: Favorite Backlist Reads!

As I mentioned in a few of my previous posts, I’m a SHEEP when it comes to reading. I always find myself looking at my TBR saying “you know, I’m gonna read this book that’s been sitting here rejected for 56 million years” and then I see a shiny new release that all my GR and blogging friends are reading and I toss that sentiment to the wind and board the hype-train. Leaving these non-new releases sitting sad and alone, when they deserve to shine too! So tickle-me-pink when I see that today’s Top 3 Thursday post is all about our favorite backlist reads from 2019!

me, following the heard.

Top 3 Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by A Cosy Reader where different topics are explored each week. This week is our favorite backlist reads from 2019. Not the fancy new-releases but the books released prior to 2018. If you haven’t checked out this blog or this fun meme you definitely should! Just remember to link back to A Cosy reader!

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

 This one was suggested to me by my brothers girlfriend for it’s total shocker of a twist-ending. I don’t know about y’all but when someone tells me something is “totally gonna blow your mind” I always go into it thinking “no, no, I can totally figure out what you couldn’t here, lets see if I’m really surprised”. Well, as a certified garbage detective, I did not in any capacity figure out the ending to this one before I got to it. It’s definitely one of the most surprised that I’ve ever been and while it was pretty out there I also didn’t feel like it didn’t make sense. It came out of left field but I think Pinborough did a good job of tying it back into the story. I’ve had multiple friends read this one since and no one saw that end coming.

You can find my review of Behind Her Eyes along with a recipe for a Thai Curry here!

No Exit by Taylor Adams

 I honestly don’t know about this one so excuse me if I’m wrong. I technically had an “ARC” of this one from Edelwiess but it also says it was published in both 2017 and 2018? Since the GR listing calls it 2017 I’m counting it towards this list. I was totally shocked by this little novel and the wallop of a punch it packs for being just 278 pages. I had this sitting on my ARC shelf for five-ever just passing it over for other books. But when I started it, I flew through it at breakneck speed and was surprised by the level of anxiety/thrill that I had while reading it. It’s not the best book I’ve ever read but it is 100% entertainment with an interesting story to boot!

You can find my review for No Exit here! 

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

 The most epic slow burn of all the slow burns out there. I’ll be honest that this one took quite a bit for me to get into and it definitely wasn’t a “race to the finish” for me. However, despite still not having picked up the second installment (book slump y’all) I don’t have enough praise to heap on this novel. It really redefined what “atmospheric” reading means to me and I was totally blown away by the strength of Vasilisa and the beauty of Arden’s prose. I loved the setting in Russia and it was such a wonderful winter read. The following two installments that have been released have all garnered phenomenal reviews and ratings on GR and while it’s taking me forever to get to them, I’ll definitely be picking up the rest of the series…eventually.

You can find my review for The Bear and the Nightingale along with a recipe for Zharkoye (a Russian beef stew) here!

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An exciting reminder that I’ll be launching “Food Friday” tomorrow! Bringing you guys some of my original recipes that don’t necessarily coincide with a read.

Have you read any of these titles? If so, what did you think? What are some of your favorite “older” reads from this year? Drop me a note in the comments and let me know!