Bryn’s 2018 Reading Recap.
In 2018 I finished 23 books (well, listened to most of them).
I also started reading 8 others which I put down before the halfway point because I don’t hate myself enough to finish something I’m not at least mildly invested in.
My favorites:
Keep in mind these are not my favorite books published in 2018, but my favorites of the books I read in 2018, which were all published at some point after the stone age.
I did not expect to love this book the way I did, as I’m not really a big fan of (a) old books (b) anthologies and © poetry, but I’m so glad it proved me wrong. Beautifully lonesome and thought provoking. My heart felt things.
The character development in this book was so spectacularly complex, it made my cry. I’m not even joking, I was half-way to work, on the freeway, with gentle tears trailing down my cheeks.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
My official goodreads review still says “This book is amazing, and I have nothing more to say because my brain just keeps screaming incoherently about how much I love it.” And honestly, two months later, it’s equally true.
This magic system killed me and then reanimated my corpse. The beauty and the beast retelling I never knew I needed (probably because it doesn’t actually know it is a beauty and the beast retelling…?)
I just really liked our fierce morally grey lead queen and her wild philosophical life, okay.
Such a fun, witty read. The only thing I’m disappointed with is the fact that it took me so long to finally start this series.
All the How To Train Your Dragon books are fantastic kid’s stories, and the audiobooks are read by David Tennant which makes them even better. I especially loved the twist in the end of this one. Also that Mythical American Vegetable: Vegetable-That-No-One-Dares-Name.
A fun example of what YA (with all the teen emotions and first loves and themes of finding oneself) should be. It’s an easy read, and like… cyborg Cinderella. Cyborg Cinderella.
Honorable mentions:
I found the themes and worldbuilding in this story to be absolutely gorgeous, with such strong female leads and a lovely twist of fairy tales spun from an intriguing angle. It only gets an honorable mention though because the entire thing is written and told in the least convenient way possible and despite loving the story, I hated the act of reading it.
I had the privilege of beta reading this novel and I have to say that the un-finalized version was one of the best things I’ve read this year (and only goes in the honorable mentions section due to not actually being published yet). It was a blast to read, with a cast of fantastic, funny, diverse characters, and hilarious, lovely writing, with a good plot that only gets better the farther in you read.
I read this book a solid six and a half times this spring… so it must be good… right… right?