The power of fiction, the beauty of words, and the God who made us to wield them for His glory.

Best of 2020 – Emoji Files, Part V: The LOL Awards

Greetings, reader friends! Today we reach the end of my annual Emoji Files celebrating my best reads of 2020. If you’ve missed my previous posts for 2020, make sure you check out The Swoony Awards, Got Me in the Feels, The WOW Awards, and Take Me Away.

The LOL Awards are, not surprisingly, for those books that have made me laugh this year. I’m always on a quest to find books that make me laugh, and for that reason, I’ve branched out a bit in my search for romantic comedy, which means there are some general market reads on this list that aren’t clean reads (Chateau of Happily Ever Afters by Jaimie Admans and Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn). 

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2 January 2021

Best of 2020 – Emoji Files, Part IV: Take Me Away

Welcome back, reader friends! It’s time for Part IV of my annual Emoji Files celebrating my best reads of 2020. If you’ve missed my previous posts for 2020, make sure you check out The Swoony Awards, Got Me in the Feels, and The WOW Awards.

The Take Me Away Awards go to those books that were truly immersive reads, carrying me away to different times and places with authentic historical, sensory, and cultural details and introducing me to some fantastic and intriguing characters who inhabit those worlds. Through these stories I’ve travelled all over the world and beyond—an experience that has had extra significance in 2020!

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1 January 2021

Best of 2020 – Emoji Files Part III: The WOW Awards

Hello again, reader friends! Welcome to Part III of my annual Emoji Files celebrating my best reads of 2020. If you’ve missed either of the previous posts to date, make sure you check out The Swoony Awards and Got Me in the Feels.

Normally, the WOW Awards go to those books that kept me riveted with high-intensity action, pumping adrenaline, plot twists, or just some good old-fashioned suspense. And most of the books in this list did exactly that. This year, however, I’ve included two books that don’t necessary meet that criteria: Lu. by Beth Troy and Heartless by Tamara Leigh, both of which WOWed me in their own ways…

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31 December 2020

Best of 2020 – Emoji Files Part II: Got Me in the Feels

Yesterday I began posting my annual best-of series of posts, which I’ve dubbed The Emoji Files, since I group my favourite reads of the year according to the emotional impact they had on me. It all started yesterday with the Swoony Awards, so if you missed that, make sure you check it out here.

Today, I’m giving you the reads that ‘Got Me in the Feels’. These are the books that made me really emotionally invested in the story, sometimes to the point of tears (sobs, in at least one case!). Stories of consequences and difficult decisions, stories of loss, stories of transformation, and stories that just plain had my emotions in a tangle!

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30 December 2020

Best of 2020 – Emoji Files Part I: The Swoony Awards (and Top Ten Tuesday)

Happy Tuesday, reader friends, and welcome to the final Top Ten Tuesday for 2020 thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl. As always, this week’s topic looks back at our favourite books for the year. I’m also kicking off my annual Emoji Files awards where I break down my favourite reads for the year into the following categories:

The Swoony Awards – all the romance (le sigh!)
Got Me In The Feels – the books that reached in and plucked my heartstrings
The WOW Awards – suspense, thrills, high stakes, and surprises
Take Me Away . . . – fully immersive reads that took me to times and places far away
The LOL Awards – from light-hearted to bust-a-gut humour

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29 December 2020

Best of 2019 – Emoji Files, Part V: The LOL Awards

Greetings, reader friends! Today we reach the end of my annual Emoji Files celebrating my best reads of 2019. If you’ve missed my previous posts for 2019, make sure you check out The Swoony Awards, Got Me in the Feels, The WOW Awards, and Take Me Away.

The LOL Awards are, not surprisingly, for those books that have made me laugh this year. In some ways, this is one of the most difficult awards to give because humour can be such a personal thing. One person’s idea of humour may not even garner a smile from the next person. Then there’s the fact that I didn’t really read that many books that were humorous.  Sure, there were plenty of reads that had funny moments, but books that were memorable for being light-hearted or humorous were few and far between.

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5 January 2020

Best of 2019 – Emoji Files, Part IV: Take Me Away

Welcome back, reader friends! It’s time for Part IV of my annual Emoji Files celebrating my best reads of 2019. If you’ve missed my previous posts for 2019, make sure you check out The Swoony Awards, Got Me in the Feels, and The WOW Awards.

The Take Me Away Awards go to those books that were truly immersive reads, carrying me away to different times and places with authentic historical, sensory, and cultural details. Through these stories I’ve travelled all over the world and beyond and experienced castles, asylums, and so many things in between.

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3 January 2020

Best of 2019 – Emoji Files, Part III: The WOW Awards

Hello again, reader friends! Welcome to Part III of my annual Emoji Files celebrating my best reads of 2019. If you’ve missed either of the posts to date, you can check out The Swoony Awards and Got Me in the Feels.

Today I’m presenting the WOW Awards for those books that kept me riveted with high-intensity action, pumping adrenaline, plot twists, or just some good old-fashioned suspense. And it’s not every year (in fact, not any year so far) that there is an opportunity to include a whole series, but that’s what I’m starting with this year.

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2 January 2020