MY TOP 10 FAVOURITE READS OF 2018

Well it’s the end of the year already! It’s that time when everyone is making their favourite books from the year. I’ve been holding off doing mine because I’m always scared I’ll read something in the final few days I’ll love and it won’t be included if I do the list too early … and this ACTUALLY happened this year with two December reads so I’m so glad I held off. But I don’t think I’m going to get the time to finish another book this year so I’m ready to write my list

It was so hard to narrow my list down! There was so many books I really enjoyed. But ultimately I managed to choose my ten favourite reads of 2018. Just as a note, these are not in any order or anything! I don’t even know which of the ten are my most most favourites.

Anyway, lets just jump right into it.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Before we get into the ten, lets do five Honourable Mentions because I loved these books and while they didn’t quite make the ten they deserve the attention anyways.

1: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty: This was so excellent, just as good as the TV show. I love the characters so much. This book tackles so many topics and does it so well.

2: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson: I didn’t expect this book to stay with me for so long but I haven’t stopped thinking about this since I finished it. The mystery was so well written and I loved the setting. So so hyped for the sequel.

3: Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh: I loved this book! It’s a fantasy involving necromancers and the main character is bisexual! I really loved the characters and the central friendship group in this one.

4: Now I Rise by Kiersten White: I also read this whole series this year and this is my favourite of the three. Following Radu was great and I loved how exciting this was.

5: Peter Darling by Austin Chant: THIS WAS SO CUTE. This is a retelling of Peter Pan and I loved it soo much. The romance was adorable and I think about this all the time still.

THE OFFICIAL TOP TEN

 

 

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book absolutely enthralled me. It follows an old movie star called Evelyn Hugo who does a tell-all about her life with a journalist called Monique.

I loved this story so much. It had me feeling every single emotion under the sun. Evelyn Hugo was such a well written and complex main character, and I couldn’t put this book down. It made me laugh and cry and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

 

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To Kill a Kingdom
by Alexandra Christo

This book took me by surprise, I didn’t expect to love it so much. It’s a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid with sirens, and a really great enemies to lovers romance.

I could not stop listening to this. It immediately plunges you into the drama. The worldbuilding was great but it was the ROMANCE that won my heart. This was such perfectly executed enemies to lovers and I freaking loved how slowburn it was. I need more books like this.

 

 

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Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro

I’ve talked about this book on here so much recently. It’s about a woman called Kathy reflecting on her school years at a boarding school in the English countryside and how it may not have been everything she thought.

I found this so compelling. The characters were extremely flawed and messy but also this book evokes so much sympathy for them. I also thought this was such an interesting take on dystopian and definitely did something new.

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Vengeful
by V.E Schwab

I actually ended up liking this more than book one! Vicious is about two roommates who gain super abilities and set out to kill eachother and it is one of my favourite Schwab books.

I loved how this explored relationships and the growth of Sydney. The character work was so excellent and I loved all the new characters. It was also well put together and had excellent writing as usual.

 

 

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The Poppy War
by R.F Kuang

EASILY one of the best debuts I’ve ever read. This is an epic military fantasy following an orphan called Rin who is thrust into a deadly war. There’s shamanism, battles, military school and more.

I loved this so much. The world was epic and so well constructed. I loved the characters, especially Rin who is definitely not a conventional hero and Altan, who was an incredibly intriguing character.

 

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The Fifth Season
by N.K Jemisin

This is probably the most original fantasy I’ve ever read and it’s extremely clever. It’s hard to explain the plot but it basically follows three women trying to survive the apocalypse and there’s magic.

I was soo stunned by the worldbuilding here and the serious attention to detail. This was so well crafted and fresh. It had a diverse range of characters, and the characters were so well written. Absolutely amazing!

 

 

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Before the Devil Breaks You
by Libba Bray

The Diviners was a series I read from beginning to end (or the end of whats out so far) and it’s become one of my favourite series ever. This is set in 1920’s New York and follows a group of teens caught in a paranormal government conspiracy.

This was my favourite of the series so far. I loved how intense this book was and every single story arc. The character work continues to be PERFECT and I’m so intrigued about what will happen next.

 

 

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Circe
by Madeline Miller

Circe was one of my most anticipated releases for 2018 because I loved The Song of Achilles soo much. This follows Circe and is basically just a retelling of her life.

As expected, the writing was so beautiful. Madeline Miller’s writing is always a highlight. This was so quiet but also so powerful, I loved following Circe as the main character and I loved how many Greek myths were incorporated into this book and Circe’s story.

 

 

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I Was Born For This
by Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman is one of my favourite authors and I was thrilled to receive an early arc of this in March. This follows a band called the Ark, and one of their mega fans Angel, when Angel goes to see them play in London.

This was so much fun and I haven’t read many YA like this before which was fun. Oseman knows how to write teens so well and I loved the exploration of fandom and internet culture. Also, Lister Bird? we stan.

 

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P.S I Still Love You
by Jenny Han

I read this entire series this year and I think P.S is my favourite though this kinda represents the series as a whole as a new favourite of mine.

I love Lara Jean so much and the romance in this series is so perfect. I loved the characters were flawed, but also so sweet. This book gave me so many feelings and heaps of nostalgia and I think Jenny Han writes so wonderfully. I didn’t expect to love this series as much as I did.

 

Alright, those are my top ten favourites of the year. It was so hard to narrow this down, ESPECIALLY the honourable mentions because I feel I had so many books that *just* missed out. What books were your favourite this year?

until next time