July 10, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I've Read In 2018 So Far

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Topic:

Best Books I’ve Read In 2018 (So Far)

1. A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOTAR #2) by Sarah J. Maas - I absolutely loved this book and it by far is my favorite of the series! I just love all the twists and turns and emotions in ACOMAF! I wasn't expecting to fly through this book when I started it (its pretty big), but I read it in about a day/day and a half. The fae story line, Feyre, Rhysand, the Night Court, Velaris. Everything about this book just kept me wanting more. I just love how SJM wrote this book (and series).

2. A Reaper At The Gates (An Ember In The Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir - I just started this series in May, so just in time for Reaper to come out. Guys. Reaper seriously shattered bits of my heart. Everything with Elias and his storyline throughout the book. How his storyline is at the ending made me so sad with what it involved him doing. Ah. hurt heart. And Laia and the certain person she finds and then has to lose by the end of the story. Ah. Again, my heart. The feels guys. But this book genuinely made me love Helene finally. I was never her biggest fan, but her actions and growth in Reaper really transformed by view of her.

3. Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - I can't believe I waited so long to read this! This is honest to god one of the best sci-fi books I've read. It was incredibly unique and fun to read in the format of reading reports, files, messages, etc. I also loved Kady and Ezra's POVs and their realistic working through their issues. I loved the being in space, the story with the crazy AI, all of it. Such a good read! And I read this whooper in a matter of hours because the format of it kept me so engrossed!

4. Strange The Dreamer (Strange The Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor - I absolutely adore Laini Taylor's writing! She seriously built such a beautiful and magical world in Strange! She wrote an intriguing backstory for it, incredibly interesting characters, and a plot that kept me thoroughly engaged! This is another book I can't believe I waited to read! I had it sitting on my shelf for almost a year before I decided to pick it up. But for real though. Lazlo and Sarai's stories as we follow the humans and the godspawn were just so interesting and wound a great story together!

5. Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha #1) by Tomi Adeyemi - So in all honesty, I had no plans to read this for quite a while. But then I saw a Read-Along for it and thought why not. With all the good reviews its been getting why not. Best decision ever. This book is over 500 pages and I read the majority of it in a little over 2 hours. It was easy reading, a fantastic engaging storyline, and some great characters! Even my fiance was surprised with how fast I was reading it. It made him feel good though because I had him pick out my next read and he chose this and was happy he made a good choice! :)

6. Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young - So this was a surprise for me. I honestly requested it on NetGalley because lots of people were raving about it. I had no idea it was going to end up on my favorites list for this year so far. There's not exactly a whole lot of YA viking books around, so I was definitely intrigued by that. I really fell in love with the whole story when i read it though. The rival Aska and Riki clans. Eelyn finding out her brother whose supposed to be dead is alive with the rival tribe. The tribes having to find a way to band together to avoid being wiped out by another stronger, legendary Viking tribe. The love interest. I really just loved all the aspects of this story and thought it was so well written.

7. Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi - So I finally got all caught up on the Shatter Me series this year. And I can see why everyone loves Warner and sees Ignite Me as the favorite of the series. Warner was amazing in this story despite my not liking him going into it. I was so strictly Team Adam before this and Warner just changed my mind completely in this while Adam solidified my hatred of him. Not to mention I just loved how Juliette embraced herself and because a force to be reckoned with. She showed so much growth and I loved seeing that in her.

8. Nyxia Unleashed (The Nyxia Triad #2) by Scott Reintgen - So I made no secret that I really liked Nyxia as a sci-fi novel when I read it in May. I read an advanced copy of its sequel, Nyxia Unleashed, shortly after and it just blew my mind away. So many new secrets revealed, new allies, new lies brought to light. The story taking a direction I never even expected it to go in. I am incredibly excited for what should be an amazing 3rd book after this because Nyxia Unleashed just upped the ante so much with the plot twists.

9. London (Surviving The Evacuation #1) by Frank Tayell - So this is a zombie book I got for free on Amazon. I wasn't expecting a whole lot going into it. But I was thoroughly impressed by this book. We follow an older character named Bill whose hurt at the beginning of the outbreak and has to survive in his apartment until he is healed enough to head out. I loved this because I feel like this was a realistic look at how people would survive. You don't see some bad ass martyr type, you just see a guy trying to find food and shelter and maybe, just maybe, help another survivor in need. Plus is takes place in London!

10. Queen Song (Red Queen #0.1) by Victoria Aveyard - So I've made no secret that I only honestly really liked Red Queen. Books 2, 3 & 4 were not that great honestly. They were all 3-3.5 stars. The only book I gave 5 stars to in this series was the Queen Song novella. I really loved this. It was so interesting getting to read about Cal's mother, the previous queen of Norta before Elara. I loved getting to know Coriane. I loved getting the backstory of her and how Elara played such a huge role in her death in turn also putting her plans in motion to have a child with the king which she would groom to overthrown the rightful heir (Cal). This novella really made me wish Coriane wasn't killed and could have been in the series.