Of my favorite reads 2019, surprisingly few already were on my TBR at the beginning of the year, so the year was at least as much a year of "great new catches" as it was for catching up with my TBR.

 

Just looking the books already on my TBR at the beginning of the year, the biggest "catches" of 2019 would have been (in reverse order in which I read them):

 

Terry Pratchett, Guards, Guards

Arthur Conan Doyle, Danger

Diarmaid MacCulloch, Thomas Cromwell

Tom Reiss, The Black Count

Kofi Annan, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace

Clea Koff, The Bone Woman

 

(Task: St. Andrew was a fisherman by trade: Which book(s) from your TBR that you read this year turned out to be the year’s greatest “catch”?)

 

A great biography of an extraordinary man.

This biography of Alexandre Dumas’s father delivers everything promised in the title and more. Come for the fascinating life of a former slave turned aristocrat turned French Revolution war hero, stay for the equally fascinating (and horrific and depressing) overview of how France sort of managed to create an equal-ish society, changed its mind, got itself a despot, and seriously f***ed over its citizens of color, black people in particular.

Parts of this are fascinating, but the play by play descriptions of military campaigns are really not.

 

Oh, and the revolutionary Jacobins were ... nuts.

White Knight - C.D. Reiss I know that some of my followers are going to say I'm broken. This is the second book in a series where I, the Series Referee, say, "Nah, go ahead. This can be standalone."
WTH?
I know.
But it's true.

I find that if the writer has the ability to provide just enough backstory to any re-occuring characters for a new reader to not get lost, I'll bow to recommendation for standalone. However, for this series, although interconnected, CD Reiss makes a mark in each subgenre that is a delight to the fan. As everyone is well aware, I am a huge sucker for second chance. So I'm going in that this is trope I'm a fan and can't wait to see the characters journey.

And Catherine & Chris have such a unique and touching second chance that you don't want to miss. And I do ramble on at the blog here: http://www.myownbookshelves.com/2018/03/white-knight-all-new-romantic.html

Just take my word for it: Read the other - pick up this book. Hesitant in picking up the others but would love a unique spin on second chance, do not hesitate to one click. 5 out of 5 stars.