Reader Favorites – Amy’s Best Books of 2018 List

It’s Amy’s turn! She’s my book-twin (we love the same type of jaw-droppers, or devastating reads), so I’m always excited to see her recommendations.

This year, its a short and sweet list (she explains why – and she’s got a GREAT plan for this year!!) but I loved a few on this list like crazy, so I know the others  she names are absolute MUST-READS for me!!

But first… some AMY 2018 “Life” highlights (in her own words) 😉

About food: I am OBSSESSED with meatballs right now. Turkey meatballs, ground beef meatballs, ground chicken meatballs, Swedish, Korean BBQ, Italian, even flavored with Lipton onion soup mix *drool*! They freeze well so I can make a bunch in advance and then just thaw them out. But tonight, it’s a fresh batch, and I can’t wait!

I love my slow cooker! I have a couple hundred recipes saved on Pinterest, and I use it at least once a week. I recommend getting one that you can set the timer for a certain number of hours and then it will automatically kick over to warm at the end of that time so nothing is over cooked. It’s definitely worth paying a little extra for a slow cooker.

Amy: When I thought about making this list, some books immediately came to mind but I knew there just had to be others. Then, in looking back over the books I read in 2018, I was pretty surprised by how few stuck with me. I came across many where I thought, “I read that last year??” because I couldn’t remember a dang thing about them.
In other words, my list will be short but ohhhhhh so sweet. 😉
But that’s what I get for simply trying to clear out my TBR collections instead of reading the books which had blurbs that *OOMPH!*ed me…guess I know what will direct my reading choices this year!

In no particular order, here’s my list of 2018 favorites/books that stuck with me:

The True Story of Atticus and Hazel by Fisher Amelie <— The writing was okay, nothing fantastical (and the medical events needed some serious professional input) but the events delivered a gut punch which I still feel the effects of almost a year later. How can I forget watching the Olympics couples figure skating and sobbing while hearing Mariah Carey’s My All? I still hear the damn song when I see the beautiful cover.

Amy: What book has charmed you? The True Story of Atticus and Hazel…even though it gutted me at one point, I loved how they continually used each other’s names in conversing with each other (it wasn’t even close to being annoying), and I wanted to be a part of Atticus’ big, loud, crazy family.

Atticus and Hazel…you guuuuuuyyyyys, read it! I’m still feeling feels from it days later. MARYSE MY BOOK-TWIN!!! I know, know, KNOW you will love it as well. 

Sadie by Courtney Summers <— This one is heavy. There is nothing feel-good about it. It starts off with a horrible event and just continues from there, but y’all know I love heavy. It is heartbreaking. It is frustrating. It is just so damn unfair. But it is great.

The use of a transcribed podcast to help tell the story was ingenious and actually made me want to listen to the audiobook just to hear those chapters as podcasts (since I am currently addicted to podcasts). What I wouldn’t give for the author to release a novella to follow up the ending…

Amy: I just finished Sadie.
And now I’m in turmoil.
I’m not used to THAT sort of ending.
My heart is heavy.
So, now I need a drink.
Amy: I’m STILL having the hardest time wrapping my head around that ending. I expected it to end one way or the other, but I was NOT expecting the way it did end. I’m just having a tough time sorting out how I feel about it. 
Amy: I loved Sadie. It’s a HEAVY read but so very good. In fact, it will be on my list of favorites for 2018 because of the way it’s stuck with (and haunted) me since reading it.

My Oxford Year: A Novel by Julia Whelan <— My eyes watered but I didn’t shed any tears. My throat tightened up but I didn’t sob. Even so, months later I still find myself reflecting on it as if I actually know them and as if they actually exist, wondering what is happening with them and hoping for an update.

THAT is what propelled my initial rating of 4-4.5 stars to 5 stars. The scene at the end where he is standing under the waterfall? Oh, my heart.

Amy: Anyone considering reading My Oxford Year really SHOULD read it, even if it means waiting for it to drop in price again…

…it was really, REALLY good. I didn’t cry (although I did get teary-eyed a couple of times) and the ending was bittersweet but lovely. No angst, but a couple of tense moments.

Binding 13 and Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh <— Good LORD these books were long, but never did they feel like they were dragging. Never did I look at what was left and feel overwhelmed or frustrated. The characters may be in high school and often act as high schoolers would be expected to act, but the writing itself was not immature which is what I want when reading a YA-themed book. Nothing is over the top dramatic, and the situations are so very real and believable.

Amy: I never should have waited to read B13. I am thoroughly and completely wrapped up in Keeping 13 right now. I keep making the mistake of picking it up when I’m supposed to be doing other things, and next thing I know an hour has passed. LOVE these books.

…They are the type of YA books where the characters often act their age and are immature, but the writing itself isn’t immature. And due to the heavy, serious nature of what’s going on, they sometimes act and talk older than their age. The books are loooooooong and require a commitment, but I have never once felt like they are dragging. Yeah, obviously I’m a cheerleader for them. 

…if you haven’t made it to the part where he’s all high on painkillers, just wait. It’s hilarious. HILARIOUS.

I have to share the part which made me literally snort out loud from Binding 13. A little background, he calls her “Shannon like the river” because that’s how she introduced herself, and at this part he is freaking HIGH on painkillers:

“Not too much longer to wait.” I sighed. “Thank f*ck, ’cause I’m in love.”

“You’re in love?”

I nodded happily. “And she’s a river.”

“Well that’s… lovely, pet,” Mam coaxed, sounding confused. “Good boy.”

“I’m gonna sail my boat down her river,” I snickered. “My dick boat.”

“Can they knock him back out?” Ma grumbled. “He’s going to give me a stroke with all this talk.”

“It’s okay, Ma,” I coaxed. “I’m gonna keep her, too. Make all my babies with her because my balls work–and Da says I can pull on my dick again. Woo!”

“John!” Mam gasped. “What have you been telling our son?”

Dad laughed. “He’s seventeen, Edel. It’s the first thing he’s going to ask about after a surgery like that.”

“Oh, dear Jesus,” Mam groaned.

LOL!!!!!

And last but by no means least, my absolute favorite of the year…
Transcend and Epoch by Jewel E. Ann!!! <— They need no explanation. The guy… *ahem* COVER on Transcend was always eye-catching, but reading how it was tied in and explained in the story made it simply heartbreaking knowing the emotions and turmoil he was experiencing when it was taken. And the epilogue. Oh, the epilogue. So. Freaking. Perfect.

Amy: Still hungover from Transcend and Epoch. *dreamy sigh* Such a beautifully unique story. …I didn’t think I could adore Nate and Griffin more after Transcend, but Epoch took both of them to a new level. They. Are. Amazing. And human and REAL.

Here’s to a better year with filled with more amazing reads than I had in 2018! And since my list was so short, I’m throwing in the soon-to-be-released books I am just DYING to read!

• The Paper Wasp by Lauren Acampora (that cover HAUNTS me!)
• The Work Wife by CJ Martin (*oomph!*)
• Forget You Know Me: A Novel by Jessica Strawser (if that isn’t a WTF blurb…)