Reader Favorites – Rebecca’s Top Books of 2018 List

So here’s a little backtracking!! Rebecca just sent us her Best of 2019 list, but in the process, she sent us THIS one too!! YAY US!! She says:

I realized I never sent in 2018! So–here is a double scoop of my reading greatness the last two years. I hope it isn’t too later to share–for 2019, I mean. 🙂

I am completely unable to keep either list to 10–please forgive me and know that I whittled even this down from way more. You give great recommendations which leads to me finding great authors–which leads to *lots* of amazing books!

Top Reads 2018 (whoops!):

1) Tripping on a Halo (Alessandra Torre)

This book had me laughing out loud–reading excerpts to my husband is always a sure tell that a book is fantastic. It also made me weep. I read everything she writes and love all of it even though it is all so different from one book to the next.

2) The Idea of You: A Novel (Robinne Lee)

read this because of your recommendation and it was definitely good and definitely a wild ride.

3) Court of Thorn and Roses (series, Sarah J. Maas)

These are so good–I read her other series first and liked them very much so went to this after those. I think I like this series even better! This is a fantasy/Fae world/love triangle series.

4) The Birthday List (Maysen Jar Book 1) (Devney Perry)

I almost wasn’t sure I wanted to read this. The precipitating idea of this book (spoiler alert) is she is a widow and she wants to finish the “birthday list” of stuff her deceased husband left behind, unfinished.

My absolute biggest fear is my husband dying before we are old and gray when we will hopefully walk into whatever comes next together, at the very same time, I mean a couple of minutes might be okay, but… yeah. So I was worried it would be traumatic. It was but it was also wonderful and beautiful and a great love story.

5) In Harmony (Emma Scott)

I love everything she writes and this was no exception. Makes you smile. Makes you laugh. Makes you sob. Difficult and sensitive secret (spoiler alert) that the girl is struggling with and trying to cope with the trauma and her pain was visceral and real but there was healing as well.

6) Birthday Girl (Penelope Douglas)

Whew. This one is a little taboo/forbiddeny and so I wasn’t sure going into it how I felt about that. This ended up being one of my five star reads–my favorite of the year.

7) Transcend/Epoch (Jewell E. Ann)

Duet written by one of my top favorite authors who could write my grocery list and make it beautiful and special and probably funny and heartbreaking too. However, this was not a grocery list and it was a heart-breaking, sob your eyes out, beautiful and painful and sweet and everything Jewell E. Ann makes her books.

(IF YOU DO NOT READ THE JACK AND JILL SERIES…girl. You are killing me with that. 🙂 )

8) Drive by Kate Stewart

Read this at the same time as most of the book crew. Loved it. She is a one-click author for me automatically but I don’t love every single thing the same way–I did not love, love Method, for example. This? I loved, loved.

9) A Man Called Ove: A Novel (Fredrik Backman)

A beautiful story about life and loss and friendship and family. Highly recommend.

10) Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel (Jesmyn Ward)

I was trying to remember how I came to read this because it was so different than my normal reads. Turns out it was on President Obama’s best of list for the year and I try to read at least five of his recommendations every year–so that I mix up my normal “fluffy” reads.

This is an interesting and riveting read. If I had to compare it to something, I think I would pick “Where the Crawdads Sing” but it isn’t the same at all–but something about it makes me think of that.

11) First (Kimberly Adams)

This book rips your heart out, throws it on the floor, kicks it across the room, and doesn’t care even a little bit. But. It is also beautiful and romantic and incredible.

One of her books was on your Top List for 2019 and when I realized who it was/which book I had read of hers previously–I immediately went and got the one you recommended too.

12) Red Queen Series (Victoria Aveyard)

For fans of the Hunger Games, this is a great series.

13) Without Merit: A Novel (Colleen Hoover)

For some reason, other people didn’t seem to love this one like I did. Goodreads reviewers were downright harsh. I said earlier that Birthday Girl was my favorite of the year but then I remembered this one was my favorite. I think they were both my favorites.

I loved it. I love her writing, her humor, the stories–my sister-in-law lives in the town where Colleen does and many things from the town appeared in the book and that made it even more special to me.

14) The Unrequited (Saffron A. Kent)

I am almost embarrassed to put this one on my list because it was…whew. Steamy is not doing it justice. If you are completely unable to do *spoiler* cheating–this is not the book for you. The way it ends up you understand more of the circumstances but it is still a rough, rough road.

It is also professor/student. It was angsty and hot and scandalous and good.

15) Until It Fades: A Novel (KA Tucker)

Story about a waitress in a small town who rescues a man from a car accident…who

*spoiler alert*

turns out to be a famous hockey player. The media descends and romantic tension ensues. She is a single mom with no desire for publicity–she was previously the “talk of the town” in less than ideal circumstances and wants to say incognito. Really loved this story!

16) Magic Binds (Kate Daniels Book 9) (Ilona Andrews)

This was a great addition to the urban fantasy series–one of my favorite of the series.

17) Look the Part (Jewell E. Ann)

Oh, what’s that? Another hit for Jewell E. Ann? No surprise that this was another fabulous read! He is grumpy and mean and she is a free spirt and lovely and moves in to his (he owns the property and works there as well) business building–where he likes it *quiet*–because he forgot to ask what she did for work…which is music therapy for children. 🙂

READ JACK AND JILL, MARYSE!

18) Six Feet Under (Mad Love Duet Book 1) (Whitney Barbetti)

This is incredibly angsty and difficult and painful–the woman struggles with mental health issues that are challenging and she constantly lives in chaos and making terrible (and dangerous, destructive) decisions, including self-harming behaviors. She has a childhood friend named “Six” who is determined to love her, no matter how hard it might be.

19) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel (Taylor Jenkins Reid)

This was definitely different from the other TJR reads and I know not everyone loved this but I found it captivating, interesting, tragic, and beautiful.

Thank you for letting me share–and thank you for all of the great reads. 🙂

Like Rebecca’s Book Style? Check out more of her favorites:

• Reader Favorites – Rebecca’s Top 13 Reads for 2015
• Reader Favorites – Rebecca’s Top Books of 2019 List