My Favorite Books of 2018

Last year, I did a post just like this.  And somehow, it's time to do another one?  Excuse me?  2018???

So I was looking on my Goodreads to try and plan ahead for this post and... uh... this is going to be hard.  I read a lot of really great books in 2018, and I mean. I read 104 books, there were bound to be some gems in there.  That and my average Goodreads rating for the year was 4.5.  So yeah, I found a few new faves.

(also 104 books, I'm pretty sure, is the most books I've ever EVER read in a year.  I am very happy.)

To keep this from completely exploding my head with indecision, I'm excluding re-reads, because I also re-read a LOT of books (PJO, HOO, HTTYD, The Underland Chronicles, and various children's classics, to name a few).  Let's get started!


January:
 
Starting off with a tie... this is not a good sign xD  I absolutely loved reading the "Guardians of Childhood" series for the first time between December of 2017 and January of 2018, so the top spot here has to go to books 3 and 4: Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies and The Sandman and the War of Dreams.


February:

 

Another tie because I genuinely could not choose.  Both Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Breadcrumbs moved me deeply, in different ways, and I can't not hold them both up as favorites.  I want to re-read them both already.  So that says something. 


March:

Cute romances!  Small towns!  Childhood-friends-to-lovers!  Fish and chips!  As Easy as Riding a Bike has all of my favorite things!
{Honorable Mention: Dissemble}


April:

This book was everything I wanted and didn't know I needed.  You can find my full review of At Her Fingertips here!  An adorable romance with loveable characters and a heart-warming message.


May:

Big, magic-filled, ballgown-wearing fairytale retellings were basically all I read for a solid year and half of my life at one point.  I've since kind of fallen out of the genre, not because I don't love them (they were an important part of me becoming me, tbh) but because I struggle to find ones that are of good quality and genuinely surprise.  Entwined was such a pleasant surprise.  It was pure magic and like a trip back in time.  I loved it.
{Honorable Mentions: The Rebellion and Dagger's Sleep}


June:

Feelzy middle-grade packed with friendship, family relationships, and eggs?  Sign me up!  The Science of Breakable Things is a book I didn't expect to love as much as I did, and I can't wait to see what Tae Keller comes up with next.
{Honorable Mentions: Perfect Scoundrels, Kiera, and School of the Dead}


July:

Some of y'all probably know that Winnie-the-Pooh is my all-time favorite classic and one of my all-time favorite books, so when I saw Return to the Hundred Acre Wood for cheap at a library sale, I had to grab it.  What I found was absolutely everything I wanted.  More adventures with Pooh and the gang (plus some new friends), adorable illustrations (in color!), and endearing stories.  Fantastic.
{Honorable Mentions: Gentle's Holler and The Real Boy}


August:

A mystery set in steam-punk London, following the niece of Sherlock Holmes and the sister of Bram Stoker, plus a good-looking inspector and a few mysterious boys.  It's great.  I participated in a buddy-read for the first time with The Clockwork Scarab, and it was awesome, I really enjoyed it!
{Honorable Mention: Not if I Save You First}


September:

Um?  I'm emotionally destroyed?  But that was awesome?  So I'm not really mad I'm just conflicted?  I have a lot of emotions about The Burning Maze, okay?


October:
  
I CAN'T CHOOSE AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME.  this is my blog post I do what I want.
No but genuinely, these were three of my absolute favorite books of the year, so I honestly don't think I can really pick.  October was my best reading month in 2018 in quality (if not quantity).  I really liked every book I read, but A Certain Sort of Madness, The Storm Runner, and Beyond Her Calling all now have proud places on my "absolute favorite books" list.
{Honorable Mentions: [see, I told you it was an amazing month] The Screaming Staircase and My Plain Jane}


November:
 
It's about time a Sarah Addison-Fox book showed up on this list, lol.  Discerned was so good!  Sad saying goodbye to my babies but a satisfying way to leave them.  And oh my gosh, y'all I started reading Blades of Acktar in November and Dare was amazing?  This whole series was amazing??  I loved it so much how have I not read it before now???


December:
 
Several absolutely incredible books came into my life in the last month of the year, and these two were the top of the line for me.  Blank Mastermind was everything I hoped it would be and more, and Deliver started out as my least favorite Acktar book and then skyrocketed to the top spot?  Dunno how that happened but here we are?  Both of these were just jam-packed with character development and healing and sass and I loved them.
{Honorable Mentions: A Christmas Carol and East}


And there you have it!  My favorite books of 2018.  What were your favorite books you discovered last year?  Any favorite re-reads?  Tell me all about it in the comments!

~ Abby