Best Books of 2018

What 'Cha Readin'?'s Best of 2018

For me 2018 was full of ups and down both in my reading life and my personal life.  My Goodreads Reading Challenge was to read 85 books.  I didn't quite make it to my goal, I read 81 out of the 85.  Even though I didn't reach my goal, I've set my goal for 2019 to 100 books.  I think I can do it.  For my reading this year I had 13 five star books, 38 four star, 28 three star, and 2 two star.  I was able to finish all of the books I started this year, except for The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer, but I plan to come back and read that one, when my mind is ready for it.  Below I will give you my top 10 for 2018.  Click on the book covers to buy the book and the title for my full review.  Share with me your favorites of 2018 and what you are looking forward to in 2019.

2018 Top Ten

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Roy and Celestial have been married for almost two years when their relationship takes a hit no one could ever anticipate. As they are in rural Louisiana visiting Roy's family, he is wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit. Sentenced to twelve years in a Louisiana prison, the time they have spent married will be much shorter than the time they are about to spend apart. Will they both be able to survive the predicament they are in? With Celestial in Atlanta trying to continue to live her life and Roy in Louisiana, writing letters back and forth and having sporadic visits, will their marriage survive?

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
Fifteen years ago, Emma Davis attended Camp Nightingale for the first time. She shared a cabin with three older girls, Vivian, Allison and Natalie and one night they snuck out of the cabin and never came back. This is something that has haunted Emma all this time. So much so that she has included these girls in all of her paintings since that time, hidden in the woods they disappeared into. Now, Emma has been invited back to camp which is reopening after fifteen years. She is determined to find out what happened to the girls so that she can move on with life. But will she be able to do that? Will the people who are responsible for the girls disappearance and maybe death, try to stop her?

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Ten years ago, Ellie Mack went missing. The police think she is just another teenage runaway, but her mother, Laurel, doesn't believe that for a second. Ellie's disappearance destroyed the family and now that her remains have been found, Laurel will finally have some closure. When she meets Floyd, it's like she's getting a second chance at life. But when she meets his daughter, Poppy, life comes to an alarming halt. Poppy looks so much like Ellie, but why? Of course people look like other people all the time, but there is just something about this child that keeps Ellie at the forefront. When Laurel discovers a connection between Floyd and her family, she embarks on a journey to find out exactly what happened to her daughter and who did it.

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris 
Ten years ago, Finn's wife, Layla disappeared. They were on their way home from a holiday in France, when they stopped at a rest area for a bathroom break. When Finn returned from the restroom, Layla was gone. He tried to find her right away and contacted the police and told them everything that happened from the time they pulled in until he walked out of the bathroom and his wife was gone. But he left out one detail. Now Finn is dating Layla's sister, Ellen, and things keep popping up to bring Layla back to the forefront. Is Layla alive or is someone playing a twisted game to stop Finn and Ellen from being together?

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Starr Carter lives in Garden Heights, which is the ghetto. She goes to the predominately white private school, Williamson, where she has to pretend to be someone she is not. When she witnesses the murder of one of her closest friends, Khalil, from the neighborhood, by the hand of a white police officer, she has to take a closer look at herself, her neighborhood, and the friends she chooses to hang with.


The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Dr. Anna Fox has been in her house for the past ten months. After an accident involving her husband, daughter and herself, she became agoraphobic. She now spends her days staring out of her windows, spying on her neighbors and keeping up with all the comings and goings of the neighborhood. When a new family moves in across the park from her, she is immediately drawn to the mother and the son, a single child family like her own. They come over to introduce themselves and she feels an instant connection. But then Anna thinks she sees a crime being committed at the neighbors house. Did she really see something or is the combination of medications and alcohol blurring the lines of reality and fantasy? Will the authorities believe her or will they believe the family and the rest of the neighborhood that Dr. Fox is just a crazy, drunk, cooped up lady.

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
It is the one year anniversary of the death of Anna Johnson's mother when she receives an anonymous note that makes her question everything about her parents deaths. The previous year both her parents had taken their lives within months of each other, but did they really? When Anna goes to the police with her note, more disturbing events take place and she doesn't know what to do. Full of twists and turns you won't see coming, this book is definitely one to read.

Dares, Lies & Geminis by Kat Alexander
Tristana and Peter live as roommates in a boarding house in Virginia. When they first meet, there is an instant connection between the two. Tristana, though, is too involved in her work and Peter is still working out issues of his own after the death of his brother. Seraphina is a club girl who likes going out and finding the bad boys. Men that are willing to cheat to have a piece of her. Nathan stand on the sideline and watches her, trying to figure out why she is doing this to herself. But he is always there to step in in case there is a problem. Will these couples ever get their lives together in order to be much happier as partners instead of singles? Will Tristana be able to break out of her shell around Peter? Will Nathan ever reveal himself to Seraphina and tell her his true feelings?

Never Be Alone by Paige Dearth
Joon is eight years old when her parents are killed and she is put into the foster care system. For 4 years, she is with the same family, but the way they treat her is worse than you would an enemy. When Joon has her chance, she runs away an tried to make a life for herself on the streets. She sees more in her short life than many people experience in an entire lifetime. Will Joon be able to survive on the streets or will she succumb to the pressures of drugs and prostitution?

The Bulletproof Proposal by Rebekah Louise
After five years of dating Lisa is anticipating that all-important question, will you marry me? Impatient, Lisa decides to take matters into her own hands and propose to Matt, after all it is the 21st Century. Only she takes it one step further and with the help of her best friend Mandy, she prepares the ultimate proposal. What she doesn’t know is whether this will be the beginning of her happily-ever- after or the beginning of the end.

These are my top 10 of 2018.

TOP 3 POSTS OF 2018

Here are my top 3 visited posts for 2018.  My end of the month summaries and my Winning Wednesday posts always seem to get a lot of traffic, but here are three other posts that got a lot of attention.

Review: The Ever After by Sarah Pekkanen






Review: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage





AudioBook Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

2019 READING PLANS

I'm really excited about the books on my reading list for this year.  I'm starting the year off with An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Other books I'm looking forward to this year:

Kissing Princeton Charming by Frankie Love & C.M. Seabrook

The Birds, The Bees and You and Me by Olivia Hinebaugh

Girls Night Out by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser

The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib

Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

Swing by Kwame Alexander

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Under My Skin by Lisa Unger

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Well Read Black Girl by Glory Edim

I hope you will come with me on my reading journey this year.  I would love to hear about yours as well.  Tell me what you are reading and what you are looking forward to this year. 

March Readin' Roundup!!

March was a slow reading month for me.   I was recovering from surgery and I thought I would be reading a lot, but I was very tired.  Plus, sitting up for more than 5 minutes was painful and trying to read laying at the angle I was, was not great for my neck muscles.  So with all of that, I was only able to get in 5 books in March.  

Here is a list of what I read in March.  Click on the title to read the full review.  What books did you read in March, I would love to know!

BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones -- 5 stars

Roy and Celestial have been married for almost two years when their relationship takes a hit no one could ever anticipate. As they are in rural Louisiana visiting Roy's family, he is wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit. Sentenced to twelve years in a Louisiana prison, the time they have spent married will be much shorter than the time they are about to spend apart. Will they both be able to survive the predicament they are in? With Celestial in Atlanta trying to continue to live her life and Roy in Louisiana, writing letters back and forth and having sporadic visits, will their marriage survive?

JUST UNDER FIVE STARS

Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison -- 4.5 Stars

On the outside, Ethan and Sutton Montclair seem like the perfect couple. They are both writers and are crazy about each other. But they have secrets in their past that will soon surface. Sutton has disappeared and told her husband she didn't want to be found. Her friends are convinced, that Ethan has done something to hurt her, but the police are not convinced. When bodies turn up and secrets are revealed, will Ethan be able to maintain his innocence?

Look for Me by Lisa Gardner -- 4 Stars

DD Warren is trying to find out who has killed the Baez family. Mother, Justine; her boyfriend, Charlie; her youngest daughter, Lola; and her only son, Manny. But there is another child, Roxanna, as well as two dogs, Rosie and Blaze. Where are they? Did Roxanna do this to her family? If so, why? But Roxy was the protector of the family. Her mom is a recovering alcoholic and when she was drinking Roxy made sure her siblings ate and made it to school. When the state took the kids away from Justine for a year, this role for Roxy became more prominent. After that year, the girls were never the same. Did something happen during their year in foster care that could have warranted this kind of violence? Will DD be able to find the person or people responsible for this before more people are killed? Will her new CI, Flora Dane prove to be helpful or detrimental to this case?

THREE STAR REVIEWS

Mistress by James Patterson -- 3 Stars

Benjamin Casper has been asked by a friend of his to put some surveillance cameras up in her apartment. Shortly after he leaves her building a body is thrown from her balcony. Everyone says it's his friend, Diana and that she committed suicide, but Ben is not convinced. Trying to figure out what is really going on with Diana and what she was up to is not going to be easy. Will Ben be able to find the answers before he loses his own life? Set in the heart of our Nation's Capital, Ben fights for his life to find out the truth about Diana.

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney -- 3 Stars

Amber is in a coma. She can hear the people around her, but there is nothing she can do. The book travels back to the events leading up to the coma and the diary of a young girl with a lot of troubles. This book is full of shocking events. Is her husband to blame for the accident that put Amber in a coma? Will her sister be able to find out what is going on before Amber wakes up? Will Amber ever wake up? How will the events of her past shape her future if/when she does wake up?

My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me: 

1. I’m in a coma. 

2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore. 

3. Sometimes I lie. 

So there you have it.  I hope you will take a look at the full reviews and let me know if you have read any of these and your thoughts on them.  Here is what I plan to read in April:

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . . 

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced. . . . 

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal.

By Monday morning, one of them is gone.

Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor’s wife who didn’t seem all that bothered by her impending divorce—and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she’d put behind her—and when she’s unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood’s newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions—especially since she’s dealing with a crisis of her own.

As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors—and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else.

As She Fades by Abbi Glines

On the night of her high school graduation, Vale McKinley and her boyfriend Crawford are in a terrible car accident that leaves Crawford in a coma. They were supposed to spend the summer planning for college, for a bright future full of possibility. Together. Instead, Vale spends long days in the hospital, hoping Crawford will awaken.

Slate Allen, a college friend of Vale’s brother, has been visiting his dying uncle at the same hospital. When he and Vale meet, she can’t deny the flutter of an illicit attraction. She tries to ignore her feelings, but she's not immune to Slate's charm. Slowly, they form a cautious friendship.

Then, Crawford wakes up . . . with no memory of Vale or their relationship. Heartbroken, Vale opts to leave for college and move on with her life. Except now, she’s in Slate’s territory, and their story is about to take a very strange turn.

Bridal Girl by Meredih Schorr

Sassy book blogger-turned-author, Kim Long, thought her life couldn’t get any pinker when she received a two-book publishing deal and a marriage proposal in the same night. 

If only she could drown out the conflicting opinions of her overzealous bridal party. 

If only everyone would adore her first book—or she’d take Nicholas’s advice and stop reading reviews.  

If only Nicholas’s past would remain there rather than threaten their future.

The pressure is on and the clock is ticking. Will Kim ever write “The End” on her sophomore novel? And, will she and Nicholas make it down the aisle to say those two precious words: “I do?” 

Put on your reading glasses, fill your champagne flute and prepare to laugh with (and sometimes at) Kim as she rewrites her happy ending until it’s worthy of five pink champagne flutes. 

This book does not come out until July, but I will be doing a blog tour for this book at the end of April.

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

Meet Hanna.

She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.

Meet Suzette.

She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette's husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.

I hope you will come back next month to read the reviews for these books as well. 

HAPPY READIN'!!

Review: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Roy and Celestial have been married for almost two years when their relationship takes a hit no one could ever anticipate. As they are in rural Louisiana visiting Roy's family, he is wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit. Sentenced to twelve years in a Louisiana prison, the time they have spent married will be much shorter than the time they are about to spend apart. Will they both be able to survive the predicament they are in? With Celestial in Atlanta trying to continue to live her life and Roy in Louisiana, writing letters back and forth and having sporadic visits, will their marriage survive?

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. One of the best books I have read so far this year. This has also been selected as an Oprah Book Club Selection.

Can you imagine what you would do if one night you and your husband were asleep in a hotel bed, enjoying some time away from home visiting family. When all of a sudden, your door is ripped open and you both are snatched out of bed. Your husband is being charged for a crime he couldn't have committed. An earlier act of kindness, now turned into something it is not. Then he is tried for the crime and convicted and has to spend twelve years behind bars. How will your marriage survive this? Are you going to pick up the life you have built in one state to move to another and be closer to him, even though you can only see him once a week? Will you continue to live your life and make that journey? Or will you leave him to his own devices in jail, there is nothing more you can do for him and the wait is just too much to bear? What would you do?

Celestial, has not had an easy life. On the outside, her life looks pretty incredible, with parents who had made something for themselves and live in a wealthy part of Atlanta. Roy, though he didn't come from much, had graduated from college and proven himself in the professional world. This is the type of couple you always would think, nothing like this could happen to them. But things like this happen every day. Hundreds of men and women are in prison now for crimes they did not commit.

A heart breaking and compelling story about love, marriage, and life and how we all try our best to survive it one day at a time.

View all my reviews

To order a copy of this book for yourself, click the book cover below:

First Half of 2018 Readin' Plans

So far 2018 has gotten off to a great start.  I've already finished 7 books and am looking forward to reading at least two more this month and a bunch more this year.

Have you ever participated in a Read-A-Thon?  I'm not really one to do too much, but one of my favorites is taking place this weekend the 24in48 Read-A-Thon.  The goal is to read for 24 hours in a 48 hour time period.  Use the link to sign up, learn more, and earn great prizes.  This is for readers all over the world.  It begins at midnight Friday night and ends midnight Sunday.  I hope to read Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn, Missing Isaac by Valerie Fraser Luesse, and After You by JoJo Moyes. 

 It would be amazing to get these all read over the weekend, but we will see.

NetGalley is a great resource for me for finding great new books.  When I first signed up I went cazy and requested every book I could and got some that were "Read Now". So I have quite a bit of catching up to do there but here are a few books I plan to read over the next 6 months from NetGalley.

Just Released this week 1/23/18







Released earlier this month 1/2/18







Releasing next week 1/30/18







Releasing 2/6/18 


Releasing 3/13/18






Releasing 3/20/18






Releasing 3/27/18






Releasing 5/15/18






Releasing 6/5/18






Releasing 7/17/18

Here are a few other books that I plan on reading the first half of the year:


This book will be free on Amazon on Valentine's Day.

Releasing 5/1/18










I'm sure there will be other books that I will read along the way, but my goal is to read all of the above books, and all close or near to their release dates.  Do you plan out your reading?  What do you have planned to read for the rest of the month, season year?  Let me know.