2018: My Year in Books

I meant to write this post a few weeks ago, but better late than never, I suppose!  Anyway, each year, I participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge and set a goal for how many books I want to read by the end of that year.  I try to be ambitious, but realistic, in setting my goal, which has unfortunately forced me to lower my expectations the last couple of years as life and work have gotten busier.  My goal for 2018 was to read 80 books, but somehow or another, I managed to read 137.  I'm still not sure where I found the time (probably when I was supposed to be sleeping...), but I have to admit that I am quite proud of myself!

Looking back over all of the books I read in 2018, there were several that stood out to me as favorites.  I've posted reviews of some, but not all, of these books previously.  (Note that these books weren't necessarily published in 2018, but since I read them in 2018, I chose to include them here.)

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite books (and authors) of 2018. 

Favorite Historical Romance: This was a difficult choice because so many of my favorite historical romance authors released really good books in 2018 (Tessa Dare, Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, and Grace Burrowes, to name a few).  In the end, I think it's a tie between "Too Wilde to Wed" and "Born to be Wilde" by Eloisa James.  I've really been enjoying the Wildes of Lindow Castle series so far and look forward to book 4 coming in June 2019.

Favorite Contemporary Romance: This was another tough choice because I read some great contemporaries in 2018, and discovered some new-to-me authors that quickly became favorites (see below).  However, my overall favorite contemporary was "The First Time at Firelight Falls" by an author I have admired for many years, Julie Anne Long.  I first discovered Ms. Long through her historical romances, particularly the Pennyroyal Green series, but her contemporary Hellcat Canyon series has also been excellent.  I'm looking forward to Ms. Long's return to historical romance in February 2019, but I hope that we haven't seen the last of Hellcat Canyon yet.

Favorite Comedic Romance: I've always enjoyed romantic comedies, but I read even more of them than usual in 2018.  While there were quite a few I rated highly, my absolute favorite of the bunch was "The Simple Life" by Tara Sivec.  I love Ms. Sivec's inappropriate sense of humor and ability to deliver emotionally charged stories featuring characters that seem incredibly true to life.  Honorable mentions in this category go to Ms. Sivec's Naughty Princess Club series, which starts with "At the Stroke of Midnight," and Karina Halle's "Nothing Personal." (The antics of the chicken in this story made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair!)

Favorite Royalty-Themed Romance: I was on a bit of a royalty kick in 2018, and thanks in large part to Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle, there was no shortage of books with this theme to choose from.  My favorite was "A Nordic King" by Karina Halle, mainly because it felt like I had to wait FOREVER for King Aksel's story after getting to know him in the earlier books in the series, but an honorable mention goes to "The Royal Treatment" by Melanie Summers because it (and its sequels) were just so darn cute and funny.

Favorite Holiday-Themed Romance Book/Anthology: I'm usually a sucker for a holiday-themed story, but most of the ones I read in 2018 fell flat for me.  The exception was "How the Dukes Stole Christmas" by Tessa Dare, Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan, and Joanna Shupe.  These ladies know how to write a good story! 

Favorite New-to-Me Author: This is one of the few categories where the answer was easy for me: Susannah Nix was my favorite new-to-me author of 2018.  I read all three books of Ms. Nix's Chemistry Lessons series, which starts with "Remedial Rocket Science," in under a week.  An honorable mention in this category goes to Mariana Zapata, who is a master of the slow burn romance.  "The Wall of Winnipeg and Me" and "Wait for It" were both incredible books that I had a hard time putting down.  I look forward to reading more of both authors' work in 2019!

Favorite Non-Romance Book: I don't read a lot of non-romance books (though I do sometimes enjoy a good mystery/thriller or young adult novel), so I didn't have a lot to choose from in this category in 2018.  That said, I did enjoy "Luckiest Girl Alive" by Jessica Knoll.  The book has very mixed reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, and I can understand why.  It tackles serious subjects and the main character does not always come across as very likeable or trustworthy. 

 

The above titles are but a small sampling of the books I enjoyed in 2018.  What were some of your favorites?  Let me know in the comments if there's a book you particularly enjoyed in 2018 that's not listed above - maybe it will end up on my "favorites of 2019" list!