Best Books I Read in 2018
Time for part 2 of my end of the year series! We went from a bad note with my Books I DNFd in 2018 post to a good note with Best Books I Read in 2018!
This list will be split into standalones/first books in a series & sequels. Lets jump in!
Standalones & First books in a series
This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada
This is a really interesting and intense YA Dystopian novel. This does have some romance themes in it which I wasn’t a huge fan of but I loved everything else about it enough that I was able to overlook the romance. The romance isn’t bad, I just don’t particularly care for romances. As I said everything else about this book was AMAZING! I honestly loved the writing. The book hooks you and does not let go from the first page! I always describe this book as amazing but a little fucked up and that is 100% accurate. I tentatively compare this book to Harry Potter & J.K. Rowling purely because both authors have a way of throwing all these little things at you, which at the time don’t full make sense, and then by the end everything falls into place and you are able to now see why those little things were introduced and are important. I also loved all the characters in this book. Good and bad guys they are all done so well and fleshed out marvellously. Highly recommend this book!
You can find my full spoiler free review HERE!
This is only the second book I have read by Amanda Foody and she is already an auto buy author for me. I loved Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody which was her debut that released in 2017. So of course I was excited for her second release and I was not disappointed!
Amanda Foody’s writing is amazing! She builds these worlds that are so vivid and unique. She creates these characters that are complex and interesting. She also writes diversity amazingly and also so naturally. Everything in this book just falls together seamlessly to create a spectacular YA Fantasy with a Mystery twist and I loved it!
You can find my full spoiler free review HERE!
I honestly didn’t know what to expect with this book. I had seen the cover around and had always been drawn to it. I knew it was a mystery but had never actually read the synopsis. So I was pleasantly surprised to find out this isn’t just a mystery, it is also fantasy. I absolutely loved this book! The writing was extremely captivating and I loved the setting of 1892! I also adored the characters! Abigail is an awesome protagonist and Jackaby was just so loveable! Also, no romance! Which scores points in my books!
You can find my full spoiler free review HERE!
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Wanna guess how much I enjoyed this book? I’ve read it twice this year and already have the sequel pre-ordered. Also it is on this list. So yes, I loved it! This is YA mystery and I didn’t really know what to expect having known nothing about it except the genre when I first picked it up. Whatever I expected I was not disappointed though! I was guessing the entire time. The characters were very well done and the setting is awesome. A school for unique students up in the mountains with a lake? Sounds like freaking Hogwarts to me! Highly recommend if you are looking for a good YA Mystery.
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Oh my god. This book & series is insane! This is an adult Sci-Fi book that is so freaking impactful you will be tearing up at 20% because of characters that you don’t even remember the bloody name of yet! This book is insane!! I can not recommend this enough to any Sci-Fi lover. Also highly recommend the audiobook. It is spectacularly done.
Something to note is this book is written in a similar format to books like The Illuminae Files where you are reading a dossier of documents. The format was perfect for the story so don’t be scared just because of the format. If you can’t get into it physically then try and the audiobook!!
You can find my spoiler free review HERE!
Sequels
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
This was an amazing finale for this series! I absolutely adore this world and all the characters we get introduced to throughout the 3 books. I love that in Obsidio we follow not only 2 new main characters but also the 4 main characters from Illuminae & Gemina and of course all the amazing side characters. I just love everything about this book and this series. Especially the characters and the format of the books. I also highly recommend the audiobook, especially if you are having trouble with the unique formatting.
You can find my full spoiler free review HERE!
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
This series has been a little all over the place for me but I thoroughly enjoyed this third book in the series! I enjoyed book 1 but then didn’t love book 2, so I was a bit iffy going into this one as I didn’t know what to expect but it surprised me immensely. I loved exploring more worlds in this book and also following characters that were fun and enjoyable. I can’t wait to see what book 4 brings!
You can find my mini spoiler free review, as well as a review of the audiobooks for the series so far HERE!
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
This one I started off a bit iffy. This is the sequel to a book I read and LOVED in 2017, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. When I first started this book I didn’t know it was a companion, not a direct sequel, so we follow new characters. As I said, I loved the characters from book 1, so it was a little disappointing at first. I soon got into it though and fell in love with these characters as well. This series is a very character & world driven story, so it may not be for everyone but if that is something you like then I highly recommend. The world is so vivid and immense and I loved discovering the races that live in this world. They are so interesting and so well developed.
You can find my full spoiler free review HERE!
Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
This was a very long awaited series finale but I also wish it wasn’t over! This series was just amazing and this finale was just perfect. This series is action packed, the characters are awesome and the world is amazingly done! I had so much fun with this book and it’s characters! I can’t wait to see what Alwyn Hamilton does next as this series was her debut, so I’m interested to see where she goes from here.
You can find my full spoiler free review HERE!
This freaking series guys! This is a less known series, mainly because it is only available in Australia by Pantera Press but I wish every fantasy lover could read this as it is just so damn good! I love the characters so much and especially the friend group in this book! Alex, Jordan, DC & Bear are one of my favourite friend groups I have ever read. Only second to Harry, Ron & Hermione! They are just such a fun group and I adore them all! I also love the world, it is so interesting and unique! I just love this series and I still haven’t gotten a chance to read We Three Heroes which is 3 short stories following Alex’s 3 best friends. I really want to read it but as I have very little time to read at the moment my priority has been my ARCs & BOTMs for my Facebook Group, The YA Book Nerds.
Well I think that is it guys!
HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THEM? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!
