Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books of 2018

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: 

Best Books I Read in 2018

I actually thought about putting these in order. That lasted about, oh, 2.7 seconds until I realized how impossible that would be. So, in no particular order (mostly), here are my Top 10 Reads of 2018.

THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Read in: February 2018

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Evelyn was one of the most complex and commanding characters I've ever encountered. She was so well-written and so full realized that I found myself wanting to watch all her old movies... and would then remember she was fictional. In Evelyn, Reid created an unforgettable character with an unforgettable story.

EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN

Jessica Redmerski

Read in: August 2018

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Redmerski's post-apocalyptic dystopian tale was epic. At over 600 pages, this story presented a terrifying world of lawlessness, filled with danger, so realistic that I was drawn in from the very beginning. With its themes of good vs evil, light overcoming darkness, survival, and love, I was utterly captivated from start to finish. 

AUTOBOYOGRAPHY

Christina Lauren

Read in: January 2018

Rating: 5/5 Stars

One of my first reads of 2018, Autoboyography was also my first book from Christina Lauren. This story delivered in every way and Tanner and Sebastian became entrenched in my heart. Their story brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes and I know this is one I will revisit again and again.

LOVE AND OTHER WORDS

Christina Lauren

Read in: March 2018

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

This absolute gem had so many elements that I loved: first love, second chance romance, a dual timeline. Teenage Macy and Elliot were absolutely precious and had a delicious push-pull relationship that felt so honest and realistic. Adult Macy and Elliot trying to find their way back to each other did my heart all sorts of good. 

THE SIMPLE WILD

K.A. Tucker

Read in: July 2018

Rating: 4.25/5 Stars

Sometimes you read the right book at the right time and that's what happened with The Simple Wild. Reading this one just weeks after the loss of my father, I ached for Calla as she struggled with her father's illness. Equal parts romance and a look at family dynamics, Tucker totally delivered with this emotional and heartfelt story.

ONE DAY IN DECEMBER

Josie Silver

Read in: October 2018

Rating: 4.25/5 Stars

One Day in December wasn't filled with action and adventure, didn't transport me to another world, and didn't impart great wisdom, but there was something magical about this story that just got to me. The feeling of there being that one special person, and ending up with that person despite all the odds , no matter how long it takes... it made my romantic little heart practically burst.

FOREVER, INTERRUPTED

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Read in: November 2018

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Fact: I love a good tearjerker. If a book can capture my emotions, throw in some cruel twists of fate, trample my heart and make me cry... chances are I'll love it. Forever, Interrupted did just that. A whirlwind romance, a tragic accident, and the heartbreaking aftermath. Elsie's grief was almost a tangible thing at times and I shed many tears for her and for Ben. The relationships that are formed and the wisdom gained along way made this one worth every tear.

STEADFAST

Sarina Bowen

Read in: October 2018

Rating: 4.25/5 Stars

I adore Sarina Bowen. And I love her True North series. And Steadfast was the one that stood out from the rest and really pulled me in. Jude and Sophie had been dealt a raw deal and both were suffering for it. Jude especially captured my heart and I was so in awe of his strength, his selflessness, and his sacrifice.

THE KISS QUOTIENT

Helen Hoang

Read in: August 2018

Rating: 4.25/5 Stars

The Kiss Quotient was everywhere this year and for good reason. It was impossible not to be charmed by this story. Stella and Michael absolutely brought out the very best in one another and I read page after page with a big, goofy smile on my face. This book is this physical incarnation of the heart-eyes emoji.

MORE THAN WE CAN TELL

Brigid Kemmerer

Read in: August 2018

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

I fell in love with Rev when he was a secondary character in Letters to the Lost. Getting his story in More Than We Can Tell was everything I wanted. This kind, introspective, mature, self-aware young man made a huge impression on me and is one of my favorite fictional characters ever. 

Have you read any of my top picks?
What was your favorite book of 2018?

Top 10 of 2018: Favorite Couples (OTP's)

I love romance. I'm all about romance. All romance, all the time. :) So picking my favorite couples from the year was easy. The only hard part? Narrowing it down to only ten.♥

May + Elliot | Love and Other Words
Calla + Jonah | The Simple Wild
Stella + Michael | The Kiss Quotient
Beth + Chase | One Small Thing
Gavin + Penny | Blind Kiss
Laurie + Jack | One Day in December
Jude + Sophie | Steadfast
Tanner + Sebastian | Autoboyography
Henry + Sarah | Royally Matched
Ren + Della | The Girl & Her Ren

Who was your favorite couple this year?

Top 10 of 2018: Captivating Characters

I am all about the characters when I read. I get attached. And I'll always choose characters over plot. Yes, a strong plot is important, too, but give me a character that I love and I'll follow them anywhere.  I can't always pinpoint what draws me to a certain character or what makes one more memorable than another, but certain characteristics seem to be a constant. One of those being vulnerability. A character - man or woman - who can be vulnerable, and let that show... gets me every time. Also characters who are more than they appear to be. The whole 'still waters run deep' thing. Characters who have a depth that is only hinted at, that is only shared with a precious few... that's another trait that pulls me right in. So here are the characters that, for a myriad reasons, were utterly captivating and truly memorable this year.

Evelyn Hugo | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Cardan | The Cruel Prince
Stella | The Kiss Quotient
Monty | The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
Blake | Good Boy
Ren | The Boy & His Ribbon
Jude | Steadfast
Grizz | Nine Minutes
Mal | Play
Rev | More Than We Can Tell

Have you read any of these books?

What character captivated you this year?

Top 10 of 2018: New-To-Me Authors

I thought I wouldn't be able to come up with ten authors for this prompt, assuming that I had mostly stuck with my tried and true favorites this year (a lot of Jennifer Armentrout and Sarina Bowen). Color me surprised when I realized that I had actually read TWENTY new-to-me authors over the course of the year! Some were hits, some were misses (I'm not including those LOL), some I consider new favorites. So here are my top 10 new-to-me authors of 2018 and the book(s) I read.

J E N N   B E NN E T T

 

M A C K E N Z I   L E E

 

E R I N   W A T T 

 

A L Y   M A R T I N E Z

     

R O N I   L O R E N

    

K A N D I   S T E I N E R

    

J O S I E   S I L V E R

 

H E L E N   H O A N G

 

C H R I S T I N A   L A U R E N

    

Have you read any of these authors?

What was your favorite new-to-you author of 2018?

Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag | 2018

I've had the beginnings of this post sitting in my draft folder for weeks, just waiting to find the time to finish it. So here we are in the second week of July and I figure if I don't do it now it's going to turn into something like the Two-Thirds of the Year is Gone Book Freak Out. And since that doesn't exactly flow off the tongue, I better get busy and get this done.

1. BEST BOOK YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2018

    

I'm totally cheating (yes, on the very first question) but I'm picking one adult novel and one YA. Because after agonizing for the last five minutes between these two... why not go with both. I'm living on the edge, people. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a total tour de force from Taylor Jenkins Reid. I feel like she should just retire now (#notreally) because how could she possibly ever top this? Autoboyography by Christina Lauren gave me All. The. Feels. I fell in love with Tanner and Sebastian and my heart ached for both of these special people. This became an instant favorite.

2. BEST SEQUEL YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2018

I'm going with the second book in Emma Chase's Royally series. Henry and Sarah from Royally Matched were both characters I loved and their story was priceless. Plus, the audio narration was sheer perfection.

3. A NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN'T READ YET BUT WANT TO

      

Uh, how much time do we have... ? I'll keep it to just three: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli and 9 Days & 9 Nights by Katie Cotugno. I've been meaning to read these but various factors have prevented that. You know, Life and whatnot. ("Life is not whatnot." Sixteen thousand bonus points if you can name the movie that quote came from.)

4. MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2018

Easy-peasy. Jennifer L. Armentrout's continuation of the Lux series. The Darkest Star releases on October 30, 2018.

5. BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

That would probably be Here So Far Away by Hadley Dyer. It really fell flat for me.

6. BIGGEST SURPRISE

Y'all know that I'm not typically a fantasy reader. It's just not my genre of choice and it takes a lot for me to pick up a fantasy novel. But the synopsis of The Cruel Prince grabbed me and I took a chance. And it ended up being my biggest surprise of the year (so far). I loved this tale that crossed the mortal and Fae worlds, where plotting, scheming and political intrigue was the order of the day.

7. FAVORITE NEW-TO-ME AUTHOR

    

The writing duo of Christina Lauren has me firmly under their spell. Autoboyography became an instant favorite and Love and Other Words sealed the deal. I'm excited to read more.

8. NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH

I'll go with Mal from Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series. His book, Play, was my favorite of the series and I loved his big heart and crazy sense of humor.

9. NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER

Auggie from Wonder. So, so precious.

10. A BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

Again, how much time do you have? I cry in half the books I read. LOL But for the sake of brevity (like I'm really concerned with that at this point - bahaha!) I'll go with Autoboyography. I remember shedding some serious tears for Sebastian during one scene in particular.

11. A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY

Love Scene, Take Two was All Kinds of Adorable and I read most of it with a big smile on my face. Teddy and Bennett were so sweet and basically the epitome of the heart eyes emoji. ♥

12. FAVORITE BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATION

It's not like I've seen a lot of movies this year - in fact I think I've only been to the theater twice. And - surprise, surprise - both times were to see the same movie. :) So picking my favorite adaptation is easy. But even if I'd seen all the adaptations this year, my answer would be the same: Love, Simon. They did an ah-mazing job at translating one of my favorite books to the big screen and managed to capture all of its charm and sweetness and humor and heart. 

13. FAVORITE POST YOU'VE DONE THIS YEAR

Oh geez, seriously? I feel like I've already been working on this post for a year and a half and now I'm supposed to peruse every post from the last six months? Gah! Without actually looking (not happening), two come to mind: my review of Autoboyography and my post about my father. 

14. MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU'VE BOUGHT THIS YEAR

One of my favorites covers so far this year. The Boy & His Ribbon by Pepper Winters.

15. BOOKS YOU WANT TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR

         

         

Um, all the books? Is that an acceptable answer? No? Okay, then I'll go with: Full Tilt by Emma Scott, The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye, Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan, More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer, Roomies by Christina Lauren, Tides of Honour by Genevieve Graham, Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi, and The Smallest Part by Amy Harmon.

Have you read any of the books I've talked about? 

What's the best book you've read so far in 2018?