I recently finished 25 books, which means I am now halfway done with my Goodreads reading challenge! To be honest I am very impressed with people who have already completed their reading challenge. Some of you even read more than 50 books already! Nevertheless, I’m still excited that I have come this far with my reading, because last year I didn’t even come close to this number.. And to celebrate that I have decided to dedicate a blog post to my ten favorites of the year!
Queen of Air and Darkness
What can I say, I love all Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter novels! And I feel like her books get better with every series she writes. I think the Dark Artifices is my favorite yet, and Queen of Air and Darkness definitely deserves to be on this list. The ending of Lord of Shadows was absolutely heartbreaking, and the start of QoAaD is just as bad. I’m pretty sure I spent the first few chapters crying. I loves all the different character arcs in this book; there were so many! I always like reading from the perspective of many different characters, because it makes the story feel more “whole” to me if that makes sense.
Kingdom of Ash
We all knew this book was going to be big, but I was still caught by surprise when I realized just how big. Over 900 pages! But to be completely honest, I didn’t even notice that while I was reading. I think between class and work it took me a week to finish it. I again liked reading about all the different characters and how they all came together in the book. I also love that all characters are equally important in the entire series. They all had their role to play, and they all played it. I’m actually really satisfied with how it ended. I expected more death, and the critic in me is somewhat disappointed that there was such a high survival rate. However the obsessed reader in me was very happy about this.
The Wicked King
I love a good dark book with twisted characters, and The Folk of Air gives me exactly that. Elfhame is one seriously messed up land, and I’m here for it. I loved how the plot progressed, and even though I should’ve expected it, I was still surprised by the massive cliffhanger ending. It’s a good thing that The Queen of Nothing will come out a whole two months earlier than originally planned! Especially because I’ve been seeing a lot of out of context quotes, and I definitely want to know the context ASAP.
The Kingdom of Copper
The City of Brass was one of my favorite reads in 2018, and The Kingdom of Copper is how sequels should be written. In the first book I was a little confused about Daeva history and the history of Nahri’s family, but that all cleared up nicely in the second book. The plot got very intriguing, and I especially loved reading more about the queen and her schemes. There were a lot of twists and turns in this book, and the huge cliffhanger left me wanting the third book immediately.
Aurora Rising
I really really enjoyed this book. In fact, I finished it in a day! The first pages drew me right in and the book didn’t let me go until the end. I loved the characters; each with their unique personality and flaws. There was also tons of mystery to unpack in this book. I’m really excited for the sequel so I can possibly get some answers. This book also has terror plants, which is a first for me. And because this is a Kaufman/Kristoff book, the ending was heartbreaking and there were plot twists galore.
Our Dark Duet
I knew before starting this duology that it is quite heartbreaking, but after finishing the first book I thought “okay, that wasn’t too bad.” But the second book changed that. This world is so unique; I have never read anything that has come close to this story, the characters, the “magic.” It was very refreshing to read it. But man, the ending is sad.
We Hunt the Flame
I’ve said before in my July wrap up post that this story is indeed a little cookie cutter YA. But I like cliches, okay? I really did enjoy reading this book, and though plot is hugely important, it’s not 100% what makes a book enjoyable in my opinion. Writing and liking the characters is important too. I liked the writing style, and I also liked the characters. I’m also a sucker for Arabian themes, and the book does end with a great cliffhanger, so I am looking forward to the sequel!
Gemina
I feel like I’ve posted a lot about the Illuminae Files lately, but that’s only because I just love this series so much! That said, I enjoyed Gemina more than Illuminae and Obsidio. I think I just liked the characters in Gemina better, and I just love how the entire book is basically deadly hide and seek. It adds so much suspense to the story.
Skyward
This book is on this list because it’s basically space Top Gun, and I love space and planes, so this book was perfect for me. I think what I loved most about this book is the MCs character development. Her world used to be so black and white, until she was forced to face reality and realized there are a lot of gray areas in life. I’m really excited for the next book, because I’m hoping to get some answers after that ending!
So there it, my top ten of the year up to now! I think I’ve had a great year so far, there wasn’t anything I read that I disliked or didn’t finish. I’m looking forward to making my top ten for the rest of the year!
