My Top 5 Books Of 2019

Today I'm sharing my five favourite books of 2019! These aren't necessarily books that were released in 2019, but they're the books I read in 2019. What were your favourite books this year?

My Top 5 Films Of 2019

Today I'm sharing my five favourite movies of 2019! These aren't necessarily movies that were released in 2019, but they're the movies I watched in 2019. What were your favourite movies this year?

THE PLACES I'VE CRIED IN PUBLIC - by Holly Bourne

Goodreads | Book Depository
Published: October 2019 - Usborne Publishing. 
Genre: Contemporary / young adult.
Pages: 368.
Triggers/Content Advisory: Rape / emotional abuse / PTSD.  
Format: Paperback.
Source: Thank you so much to Penguin Random House SA for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts are my own. 

Amelie loved Reese. And she thought he loved her. But she’s starting to realise love isn’t supposed to hurt like this. So now she’s retracing their story and untangling what happened by revisiting all the places he made her cry. Because if she works out what went wrong, perhaps she can finally learn to get over him.

Life Update: The One With The Writing

I cannot believe we're in the last month of 2019. It's ridiculous, and terrifying, and I'm not sure I'm ready for 2020. But let's recap: November was an extremely exhausting month since I was writing three books (a stupid, stupid idea, which I urge no one to attempt) and December's off to a frustrating start with WiFi issues and load shedding (South Africans, you get me). Still, there have been some wonderful moments in my life recently, too, and now I'm simply trying to savour the last moments of 2019 for what they are. 2020 is approaching! I'm in my last year of being a teenager! EEEP. Going into this festive season, my aim is just to trust God for whatever's coming and enjoy Christmas because of Him. That's the goal. I want to treasure this time.

AMERICAN PANDA - by Gloria Chao

Goodreads | Book Depository
Published: July 2019 - Simon Pulse.
Genre: Young adult / romance / contemporary.
Pages: 336.
Triggers/Content Advisory: N.A.
Format: Paperback.
Source: Thank you so much to Jonathan Ball Publishers SA for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts are my own. 

At seventeen, Mei should be in high school, but skipping fourth grade was part of her parents’ master plan. Now a freshman at MIT, she is on track to fulfill the rest of this predetermined future: become a doctor, marry a preapproved Taiwanese Ivy Leaguer, produce a litter of babies.

With everything her parents have sacrificed to make her cushy life a reality, Mei can’t bring herself to tell them the truth—that she (1) hates germs, (2) falls asleep in biology lectures, and (3) has a crush on her classmate Darren Takahashi, who is decidedly not Taiwanese. But when Mei reconnects with her brother, Xing, who is estranged from the family for dating the wrong woman, Mei starts to wonder if all the secrets are truly worth it. Can she find a way to be herself, whoever that is, before her web of lies unravels?

A MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT (Atlee Pine #2) - by David Baldacci

Goodreads | Book Depository
Published: October 2019 - Pan Macmillan. 
Genre: Adult / thriller / contemporary.
Pages: 464.
Triggers/Content Advisory: Violence / sexual innuendos. 
Format: Paperback.
Source: Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan SA for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts are my own. 

Atlee Pine has spent most of her life trying to find out what happened that fateful night in Andersonville, Georgia. Her six-year-old twin sister, Mercy, was taken and Atlee was left for dead while their parents were apparently partying downstairs. One person who continues to haunt her is notorious serial killer, Daniel James Tor, confined to a Colorado maximum security prison. Does he really know what happened to Mercy?

The family moved away. The parents divorced. And Atlee chose a career with the FBI dedicating her life to catching those who hurt others. When she oversteps the mark on the arrest of a dangerous criminal, she's given a leave of absence offering the perfect opportunity to return to where it all began, and find some answers. But the trip to Andersonville turns into a roller-coaster ride of murder, long-buried secrets and lies.

And a revelation so personal that everything she once believed to be true is fast turning to dust.