Top 10 Books of 2018!!! | WE’RE RANKING THEM FOLKS!

Hi friends! Today is the day.

i sadly can’t procrastinate any longer.

We’re counting down my top 10 books of 2018, and I hope y’all are happy because I’m low-key sure I killed part of myself ranking these.

so these are in order! And before you leave: THERE ARE NO SHADOWHUNTER BOOKS ON THIS LIST. I’ll be doing an entirely separate ranking of those after I read QoAaD!

Because let’s be real, eight or nine of these would be Shadowhunters and we can’t have that. So let’s just jump right in!

Number 10: The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw!

I’m not gonna lie, this had quite a few flaws. But honestly? I don’t care. Shea Ernshaw is a DEBUT author which is amazing in itself, but her writing blows me away every single sentence. Her ability to create atmosphere is INSANE! I enjoyed myself so much while reading this that I couldn’t help but put it on this list.

Number 9: Spectacle by Jodie Lynn Zdrok!

So this technically comes out in 2019 but who cares? Not I, Sir Carl. Anyways, I just finished this one and it instantly made it onto my favorites of the year list. Sure, there are some minor quips I have with this novel but for a debut YA mystery, it’s at the top of the short stack.

Number 8: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee!

It has happened.

I actually have a classic on my favorites list.

I had to read this for school (of course) but for some reason had never picked this up before. But this is so powerful, and so jaw-dropping in the themes it tackles, I just sat there. It was like I was glued to the chair*. Harper Lee’s prose isn’t stuffy or condescending, rather, it’s timely and fresh. I did NOT see this one coming!

*which is entirely possible considering that I was never particularly adept at arts and crafts

Number 7: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater!

Yeah yeah, I know I did an entire post about my complicated feelings feelings for this series but I can’t denyyyyy the pulllllll. There’s something so…otherworldly about this series. The characters are somehow more than three-dimensional, they’re fifth dimensional and ten-dimensional*. Stiefvater has a writing style that I’ve never experienced before, and it honestly overcomes the dismal plot.

*i think i broke science

Number 6: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern!

Am I the only one who thinks of Valentine Morgenstern every time I see the author’s name? Yes? Okay then. Anyways, this book also had some issues. Slow plot, all over the place, not the best of characters…but I can’t stop thinking about this book, and I read it in March. This is a story that doesn’t leave you. Erin Morgenstern managed to capture the type of magical atmosphere usually only felt at Disney World or something. There are literally no words.

Number 5: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness!

YES SADNESS. I low-key read this in one sitting (which to be fair, isn’t hard) and was blown away. I feel like this is the sort of story that would take literal hours to unpack??? I cried for forever after finishing this. I can’t even begin the describe the metaphors of the journey of hope and grief, loss and gain. This story is, again, beyond powerful.

Number 4: Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young!

So…I’ve kinda been screaming about this book since I started my blog but I honest-to-goodness adore it. I wasn’t expecting to love it quite so much or even like it but Adrienne Young blew me away with this debut. Her prose is effortlessly atmospheric, her romance perfectly developed, her characters gorgeously written. I am so hyped for the sequel to this world because MORE OF FAVORITE CHARACTERS.

Number 3: Legendary by Stephanie Garber!

Caraval was one of my favorites of 2017, but after seeing such mixed reviews* of Legendary, I was terrified to pick this up. But despite me not really liking Tella and NOT AT ALL liking Dante, Stephanie somehow made me love this one soooo muchhhh. It’s just fun and twisty and addicting, and although it makes me literally want to eat the paper, the writing is GORGEOUS. I ended up on the side of “BETTER THAN CARAVAL” even though it’s so different.

*i’m not kidding, half the readers thought it was even better than the first and the other half decided it had lost the magic.

Number 2: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black!

Originally, I had set this at a 4.5 star rating. But honestly? This was so enjoyable, and so twisty. Cardan and Jude made me want to DIE of shipping feels and I can’t deal with that endinggggg. I can’t help but fall deeper and deeper in love with this book as time goes on, because it is just such a unique and unforgettable YA story.

Before I reveal the my top book of 2018, I just want to restate that technically the Shadowhunter books are my favorites of the year but I’m not talking about them right now. ALSO I think I need to not write reviews until, like, three months after I read them? I MEAN LOOK AT HOW MUCH I CHANGE MY MIND. So with that little rant, let’s finish this countdown!

Number 1: If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio!

This book came out of literally nowhere. I’m not kidding you, I knew nothing about this, didn’t even know if I wanted to read it…but I did. And let me tell you: this book isn’t for everyone but for me? It was very nearly perfection. The depth of this book transcends the words written so very beautifully on the page. The setting leaps off of the pages and every conversation, every interaction, has a purpose. Every act adds something new and slowly, painstakingly, builds up the intensity. The climax. And that ending. It leaves you thinking. It leaves you wondering. But most of all, it leaves you longing for the beginning of the book.

So that’s it! I’m so sorry this is late, I meant to write it up sooner but my order of books kept changing. Lol! I hope y’all have a great year of reading in 2019, full of surprises!

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