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

My Favorite Books of 2017

We have come to the end of another year, and personally, I'm kind of offended at 2017 because excuse me??  Did I give you permission to go so fast???

I read a ton of books this year.  70 books, to be exact.  Which is insane and a great deal more than last year's 43.  So I thought that instead of doing a typical "Best Books of the Year" (which would just be way too difficult), I've decided to choose my top book from each month.  Which is probably still going to be hard, but here we go

January:

The top spot for the first month has to go to the first book I read in 2017.  Moon Over Manifest was absolutely gorgeous, and a fantastic way to start off my reading year.


February:

I have (hopefully, by the time you're reading this) finished the HTTYD books this year and I am SO proud of myself.  How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel was really great.


March:

Another new favorite series this year was started with The True Meaning of Smekday.  It was hilarious, heart-warming, and so original and creative.  I absolutely loved it. 
{Honorable Mention: The Silent Songbird}


April:

Lost in a Book was beautiful, inside and out.  I mean, look at that cover!  The domestic scenes of life in Beast's castle, the whole idea of being swept into a story, everything about it was pure magic and I adored every minute of it.
{Honorable Mention: The Reluctant Godfather}


May:

This month's top spot has to go to A Time to Die.  This book absolutely stunned me, so much so that I still haven't continued because honestly, this book messed up my emotions and I've needed this much recovery time just to handle it.


June:

For sure, this month's best book was Heist Society.  It was so fun and awesome and reminded me of Leverage and I am obsessed with this series now and Kat and Hale are so shippable I just.  I loved it.
{Honorable Mention: Payback}


July:

The Screwtape Letters blew me away.  It was my first time reading it, and I'm so glad I did.  It was so deep and powerful, and I will definitely be rereading it in the future.
{Honorable Mentions: Andora's Folly and Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover}


August:

You know what, I'm going to give The Noble Servant the top spot for August because I really loved this book.  It was funny, it was sassy, and I genuinely think that it may be my favorite Melanie Dickerson book. (So far, at least)


September:

September wasn't even a question, I just immediately knew it had to be The Goldfish Boy.  This is one of my favorite books now, and it was beautiful, and I need everyone to read it please.  It was so good.  I'm going to cry just thinking about it.


October:

This. was. awesome.  The top spot has to go to The Ship of the Dead because oh my word.  Rick knows how to do it. 


November:

The Coronation was amazing.  I loved it, I got to do an awesome review of it, and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. 
{Honorable Mention: United We Spy}


December:

As I was looking through the list of books I read this month and trying to decide which one was my favorite, the first one that sent a jolt of pure happiness through my heart was Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King.  I thoroughly adored this book.  It was so magical and friendship-filled and just wonderful all around.  Highly recommended from me.
{Honorable Mentions: Stay Where You Are and Then Leave and Unafraid}


And there you have it!  My favorite books of 2017.  I greet 2018 and it's reading opportunities with open arms (and a good deal of nervousness).  Hopefully you found some more books to put on your TBR pile from these suggestions.

{What were some of (because obviously, picking just one is too hard) your favorite books of the year?}

~ Abby