The Best Books I Read in 2018

Hello readers!

This is the second year that I get to write a Best Books of the Year post, and I’m super excited! I love talking about books (wow, really?) and I got to read so much this year, so I have lots of new loves and lots of recommendations. This has been a brilliant year reading-wise and I am glad to share with you my favorites. I have read almost 200 books (no kidding) and while I will never repeat this feat again, it gave me the opportunity to read lots of different genres! What were your favorites this year? Tell me in the comments, leave the link to your own blog posts, tweets I want to know what you’ve read and loved! 🙂

New Favorite Authors

(only counts if I’ve read more than one book by the author)

Alyssa Cole certainly made a huge difference on how I see the romance genre. Her novels are so brilliant, so addictive and emotional without being cheesy. Gosh, I love them. I need all her books in my life. A Duke by Default is my favorite so far!

I had not read Patrick Ness until this year, but wow, I’m in love with how emotional his books are. I have lots more of his books on my TBR. I was so heartbroken after A Monster Calls, although it was such a short read. Just wow.

But I do think the medal goes to… Elise Kova. I devoured her Alchemists of Loom series and I am so excited to get to her other series. I think Air Awakens is a bit more popular in the YA bookish community, and I look forward to reading it. Although I don’t see how it could be better than this steampunk fantasy world with girls with big guns and deadly half-naked hot guys who are secretly soft in the inside. Just sayin’.

Best Contemporary Fiction

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Best Books to Come Out in 2018

Hello readers!

I have a post of best books I read this year coming out, but I thought it would also be interesting to list which of the books that were published this year, regardless of when I read them, were the best ones in my opinion. Since I read a lot of eARCs, I thought this would be a list a bit different from the other one and still interesting to read!

Not necessarily all books I put here will be on my “Best Of” post. For example, for the Wintersong duology, I loved both books, but I don’t want to be repetitive, so I added only the first book to that post. I also created this post separately in order to have a master list of books published this year which I liked very much, so I will keep updating this as I read more.

  

Books I think are probably fantastic that came out in 2018 but I haven’t read yet:

                

If You Liked This, Try This! – Books and Boardgames Edition

Hello booklovers!

This week Clio from Clio’s Boardgames and I got together to create this post! It’s Clio’s second post with me in this blog, and if you love boardgames or history, do give a follow! We came up with four book and boardgames matches for you guys, and they are awesome gifts, in case you’re looking for a Christmas gift for a bookish friend and don’t know what to gift that isn’t more books. Or if you want to try out some cool new hobby! I have been taken with boardgames lately, and you can see my games with Clio on Twitter from time to time! We even tried a card version of Monopoly!

So the first two recommendations below are from me, and the next two by Clio. I hope you guys enjoy this post!

Stalking Jack the Ripper & Letters from Whitechapel

Stalking Jack the Ripper, by Kerri Maniscalco / Letters from Whitechapel

Stalking Jack the Ripper is one of the most exciting historical fiction books I’ve read, its story revolving around Audrey Rose, the daughter of a lord and who secretly studies forensic medicine. When she finds herself entangled in the serial murders by Jack the Ripper, her life gets a lot more complicated. This book has a mysterious atmosphere, it’s thrilling and a bit sinister. It keeps you immersed in the world of Victorian England and those dark times around the murders.

Books to Read Instead of the Misogynistic & Racist “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kasey

Hello book lovers!

It’s probably no surprise that I absolutely despised the misogyny, racism and general buffoon style of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. While the story itself was interesting and engaging, it left a sour taste in my mouth and I can’t recommend this book. I know this is a very popular classic and I hope I don’t get too much hate for this, but I am standing to what I think about it: it’s a narration of hating on women and a need to battle any sort of power women may hold. A woman with power is a bitch, according to this book. I do not mean to say with this that the Big Nurse is an angel of goodness, but the discourse from this book isn’t about her in particular, and instead refers to women in general. I will not got into detail too much, as this has been discussed already and I would not like to have to re-read certain parts to make my point with accuracy that I would like to. It suffices to say that it is problematic and I will be linking below a few articles to support that.

Immersive and Atmospheric Books to Read on Rainy Days

Hello readers!

It’s almost end of Fall! Meaning we’ll be getting rain for sure (at least where I live), and a cool, rainy weather always puts me in the mood to go under the covers and read all day. So here are some suggestions of books that are…

Immersive and Atmospheric

  

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
This book is an epic, and both immersive in a way that will suck you into the story so that you can’t stop reading, and simultaneously difficult to read. The four men who are the center of this story are bound by friendship and love, which changes throughout the years.
Trigger Warning for depression, self-harm, pedophilia, mental and physical abuse.
Goodreads / Amazon

Book Recommendations If You Liked “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Hello bookworms!

If you have read or watched The Handmaid’s Tale, you are probably still a bit shocked and seething with anger, or deep in thought. Either way, maybe you craved something different, like an empowering story, or wondered what that would look like the other way around with women being the oppressors, or simply want to read a bit more stories around women and their struggles in society – if that is the case, I have some recommendations for you! I will be suggesting from fantasy to other classics, so you have a wide variety of books about women’s struggles to choose from!

I will be referring to The Handmaid’s Tale as THT so that I don’t repeat myself too much throughout the descriptions.

If you liked…

…then read:

Audiobook Recommendations

Dear readers,

Today I am coming with some book recommendations if you don’t know what to start with in your Audiobook app! Listening to books is an easy and practical way to read more, and I found I love reading contemporaries, thrillers and some YA fantasy as audio instead of reading on a Kindle or in paper. Also, it’s much more practical if you’re driving by car, or even in public transport.

Here are the ones I enjoyed most so far!

Contemporary

  

Crazy Rich Asians is such a funny story, full of different accents and it’s very interesting to see the Singapore/Chinese accents being acted out (which I cannot say how authentic it is, but sounded very authentic to me!). I think the audiobook gave an extra layer to the story!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is such a fabulous book, and the narration is equally good! I loved how distinguishable the voices were and the emotion in them.

They Both Die At The End is narrated with one voice for Ruffus and one for Mateo, which made it so lovely and painful to listen to. The different personalities were beautifully represented and it broke my heart.

6 Books to Read if You Liked “Love, Simon” by Becky Albertalli

Hi readers!

I read Love, Simon (or Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda) and I loved it! It’s so sweet, and Simon is such an adorable character. Really, really cute book. So if you want to read other sweet YA books with cute love stories, here are my recommendations!

If you loved…

Then you might also like…

  

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
This cute YA contemporary romance (M/F)  has a Shakespeare play, a sweet love interest and a MC so cute and dorky. Also there is a cute F/F couple that I shipped so hard!!

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Okay, so you want adventure, a lovable but obtuse bi MC, his whip-smart sister and a sweet love interest? This book is a mix of M/M romance, hints of supernatural, a trip through Europe. It also talks about racism, sexism, and it’s so funny and cute.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
This is also a sweet and cute love story. This M/M romance has a bit of sci-fi to it, and a lot of emotion. It tells the story of the last day of both MCs’ life, and it’s so touching!

  

A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
This is possibly one of the cutest books ever written, I literally squeaked while reading. There is a MC who suffers from selective mutism due to her anxiety, her love interest who is a sweet deaf boy, and a trip!

It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura
This is a f/f romance with a Japanese-American girl whose love interest is a Mexican-American girl. It’s not only a sweet story, but also touches on many important topics, like racism, being truthful, loyalty, and so on.

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
This book is a m/m romance, where two boys fall in love during Summer, and they only get four weeks together… it’s cute, heartbreaking and bittersweet.

Cheap AF US Kindle eBooks on Amazon This Week! (under $3)

Hey bookworms!

If you’re like me, you probably spend too much money on books. BUT you also made it to Friday and I think that’s reason enough to celebrate and buy a few books (hehe). So here are some US Kindle book recommendations to buy this week, which are really, really cheap!

Max $0.99

 

Cheap US Kindle Book Recommendations

Hi readers!

Reading is very expensive. If you do it a lot, you probably know that! That is one of the reasons why I got a Kindle, and from time to time I get cheap e-books and feel very content with it! So, if you also want to go book shopping but don’t want to spend too much, here are some cheap books!

These prices are valid as per now (June/18), so maybe if you’re reading it much later, they won’t be applicable anymore.

$2 and under