Books of the Month December 2019

Last year ended on a high note with plenty of great books to keep our readers entertained as they entered a new decade. The last month of 2019 offered plenty of great choices for all of the most popular genres. Check out which books were chosen by our readers to read while they relaxed over the festive season and bid a farewell to 2019.

Best Romance
 
Trust

by Casey Diam

 
Trust by Casey Diam is the first book in her Things That Matter series featuring the characters Paige and Caleb. Paige has been on the run ever since her entire family was assassinated, but then she meets Caleb Connor. Caleb has his own demons to battle as Paige was someone that he should have stayed away from for very good reasons. In addition to the steamy romance Trust also features plenty of heart-stopping action and intrigue.

Best Action & Adventure
 
Overland

by Ewen Levick

 
Getting from Australia to Switzerland is as simple as boarding a plane and relaxing until you arrive. However, in Overland by Ewen Levick, the author reveals the true story of what an adventure it is to accomplish this feat without flying. Standing between him and his destination is vast deserts, slow trains, wolves, thieves, nomads and more. It is definitely the adventure of a lifetime and will entertain anyone who has ever yearned to strike out on an epic journey.

Best Mystery and Thriller
 
Cold Malice

by Toni Anderson

 
Cold Malice by Toni Anderson is part of the Cold Justice series and it had readers on the edge of their seat this December. It is the story of Steve McKenzie, the leader of a task force investigating malicious crimes, and Tess Fallon, the innocent daughter of a cult leader. Tess has spent the past twenty years trying distance herself from her family's bigotry, but the anniversary of her father's death appears to be inspiring someone to commit evil crimes. While trying to uncover the truth her paths once again crosses with Steve, the man she idolized when she was ten years old but thought was dead.

Best Biography
 
Henry

by Katrina Shawver

 
Henry by Katrina Shawver sees her retelling the story of a man who went from champion swimmer to political prisoner. It is a true story of the Holocaust and World War II but also showcases the resilience, wit, humor, and friendship that got Henry through trying times. Henry not only provided Katrina access to the exceptional memories he still recalled at age eight-five but also the cache of original documents and photos that backs his stories.

Best Children's Book

Welcome to Moonshine

by Jethro Punter

 

Welcome to Moonshine by Jethro Punter is the second book in the Daydreamer Chronicles series that is filled with magic and fantasy that is perfect for younger readers. Adam, the hero of the dreamworld, finds that his skills are needed in the city of Moonshine. It is a place that is full of chaos and oddity, which means most people give it a wide berth, but something very bad is growing in the heart of Moonshine. This means that Adam and his friends have no choice except to venture there and find out what is going on.

Best Young Adult

A Thief in Time

by Cidney Swanson

 

Cidney Swanson combines time travel and romance in her novel A Thief in Time. Against all odds, an earl from 1598 falls in love with a girl from the 21st century after some accidental time travel. However, along with having to deal with this strange situation, the couple also has to flee from the inventor of the time machine who will stop at nothing to ensure nobody else finds out about time travel. This novel is filled with action and historical detail to complement the wholesome young adult romance.

Best Fantasy

Shattered Magic Beginnings

by Jayne Faith

 

Jayne Faith is known for her popular urban fantasy books and this collection is the perfect introduction for those yet to delve into them. It features Stone Cold Magic, the first book in the Ella Grey series, Blood of Stone, the first in the Stone Blood series, as well as Oath of Blood, the prequel book in the Tara Knightley series. Together these books offer plenty of magic, action, and adventure as well as the ideal entry point for three great urban fantasy series.

Best Historical Fiction

The Case at Barton Manor

by Emily Queen

 

Readers who prefer their historical fiction sprinkled with a dash of mystery will love The Case of Barton Manor by Emily Queen. It is set in 1920's London where Rosemary Lillywhite has no intention of becoming a lady detective. She enjoyed working cases with her husband Andrew, but after his death didn't think that there would be any way that she could continue to run his investigative office on her own. This changes when a desperate woman knocks on the door and begs her to take on a case that hits close to home.

Best Horror

Dark Water

by Barry Napier

 

Dark Water by Barry Napier is the first book in his Cooper M. Reid series, starring a former Special Agent within a shadow branch of the government. As weird as his time with the agency was, things became even stranger when Cooper went rogue and started investigating for himself. Reappearing after a one-year disappearance, with no recollection of what happened to him, Cooper begins investigating strange occurrences at a beach-side community in North Carolina. Children are drowning by inexplicable means and Cooper is determined to find out what is drawing them to the ocean.

Best Literary Fiction

The Madness of Grief

by Panayotis Cacoyannis

 

The Madness of Grief by Panayotis Cacoyannis is a coming-of-age tale of friendship, betrayal, and loss set in the late 1960s. The protagonist, Jane Hareman, is a sixteen-year-old girl who finds her life in London taking a few unexpected turns. Along with falling in love with her best friend Karl, Jane also uncovers some interesting facts about her father's girlfriend. What follows is a series of events and revelations that nobody could have predicted.

Best Science Fiction

The Legacy Human

by Susan Kaye Quinn

The Legacy Human by Susan Kaye Quinn is the first book in her Singularity series and asks the question, what would you give to live forever? This is the dream of the protagonist, Elijah Brighton, who wants to become an ascender. Not only are these human/machine hybrids smarter, more enlightened, but they are also more compassionate and beautiful. Unfortunately, Elijah is a legacy human, which means he is preserved and cherished for his unaltered genetic code. However, Elijah has a plan to win the right to ascend and it involves taking the gold at the creative Olympics.

Best Non Fiction

You Aren't Worthless

by Kristin N. Spencer

 

You Aren't Worthless by Kristin N. Spencer is a book about embracing the freedom that stems from confidence. It is aimed at anyone who has ever felt worthless or wished that they were someone else. She also wrote this book for anyone who longs to feel loved and cherished. It is a transparent and practical book with principles that can assist anyone with living in the fulfilled freedom that godly confidence creates.

Best Paranormal

Touched by Madness

by Nicole Leclercq

Touched by Madness by Nicole Leclercq is the first book in her Erin Holland series and features a possessed mortal along with a powerful, unscrupulous vampire. The protagonist, Erin Holland, has spent her whole life with four supernatural voices twisting her mind and she has had enough. Her desperation to free herself from this mental torture causes her to cross paths with a vampire and she strikes a deal with him that binds them close together. This is just the start of an adventure that ends up in a shadowy mystery that threatens to pull Erin and her savior under.