WHAT. A. YEAR. I feel like I tried to read a LOT and there were so many books I had to slog through. But I did fulfill my 2018 goal of just putting a book down if I’m not feeling it, and recognize when I’m just never going to pick it back up.

What I loved:

– The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan – In June, I said this was the best book I’d read all year, and I stand by that. This is the best book that came out in 2018.

– Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

– Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

– The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton – Also Sam’s dumb review (Editor’s Note: RUDE)

– Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds – talk about a book that 1,000% needed to be written

– The Black Prism by Brent Weeks – I totally forgot I read this book this year. It’s FANTASTIC.

– Wolf by Wolf and Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin – I hate duologies. I loved this duology.

– Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor – maybe I don’t hate duologies, maybe they were just poorly executed til now (Sam’s review here)

– The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – I tried writing a review for this a few times and couldn’t because I just cried. But it is absolutely beautiful and the voice is perfect.

– The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wrecker – a little weird but absolutely beautifully written and structured, it’s somehow both a fairytale and a historical fiction.

– The Crescent Stone by Matt Mikalatos – we randomly picked this up at BookCon and I am overjoyed I got to read it (Sam’s review here)

– Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart

– Lethal White by Robert Galbraith – DAMMIT JK ROWLING

(Editor’s Note: Linz clearly has no self control in picking her faves…. just sayin’)

What I did NOT love this year:

– Glitter by Aprilynne Pike

– Warp by Lev Grossman – Quentin Coldwater’s predecessor, like most John Green protagonists, is a punk bitch. DNF. (But the show is EXCELLENT.)

– The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine – I think the tone was supposed to be witty-dark, but it just didn’t land and everyone was obnoxious

 – Artemis by Andy Weir – What worked in The Martian did not work here. DNF. (Ginny’s review here)

– All of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor – I’d still read a book with Ramona Singer as a character.

– Legendary by Stephanie Garber

– I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells – I liked it better when it was I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Hope you had some good highs and few lows this year!

FBGM,

linz