Top 5 Favourite Reads of 2018 #Books #TuesdayBookBlog

My favourite reads of 2018.

I’ve struggled with my reading over the past two years. There was a time when I could easily hit the 50+ books on the Goodreads challenge with time and pages to spare, but then I was hit with the dreaded reading slump, and it was game over.

Last year I only read 30 books. This year – dare I say it – I’ve only managed 14. The problem I have is that the willingness to read exists (as does the TBR pile), but the energy is lacking. It might sound strange to hear that a lack of physical energy can contribute to my reading slump but I can confirm that with the hideous black fog of depression comes a lack of physical and mental energy that creates ripples in every part of your life and leisure activities.

What I can do, however, is focus on the positives and turn this into a success story – yay, I managed to read 14 books, go me!

For this particular post, the number of books is irrelevant; it’s the quality of those novels that counts and I can honestly say that out of my miniscule pile I was lucky to find some gems.

Here are my top 5 reads of 2018:

UK2 (Project Renova Series) Book #3

Author: Terry Tyler

Category: Post-Apocalyptic

The pace steps up in this final instalment of the Project Renova trilogy, as the survivors’ way of life comes under threat.

Two years after the viral outbreak, representatives from UK Central arrive at Lindisfarne to tell the islanders about the shiny new city being created down south UK2 governer Verlander’s plan is simple: all independent communities are to be dissolved, their inhabitants to reside in approved colonies. Alas, those who relocate soon suspect that the promised of a bright tomorrow are nothing but smoke and mirrors, as great opportunities turn into broken dreams, and dangerous journeys provide the only hope of freedom.

Meanwhile, far away in the southern hemisphere, a new terror is gathering momentum…

Although this concludes the Project Renova trilogy, a fourth book will be published in early autumn 2018; it is set in the future and features descendents of Lottie and co. Patient Zero, a collection of short stories related to the series, is also currently available.

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook

Author: Christina Henry

Category: Contemporary Fantasy

There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. Once I loved a boy called Peter Pan. Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter’s idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. He wants always to be that shining sun that we all revolve around. He’ll do anything to be that sun. Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever. Peter will say I’m a villain, that I wronged him, that I never was his friend. Peter Lies.

Six of Crows (Book #1)

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Category: YA/Fantasy

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams – but he can’t pull it off alone.

A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist.

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction – if they don’t kill each other first.

Ashes

Author: Ilsa J.Bick

Category: YA/Post-Apocalyptic

Seventeen-year-old Alex is hiking through the wilderness when it happens: an earth-shattering electro-magnetic pulse that destroys almost everything.

Survivors are divided between those who have developed a superhuman sense and those who have acquired a taste for human flesh…

Alex meets Tom, a young army veteran, and Ellie, a lost girl. They will fight together and be torn apart, but Ales must face the most difficult question of all, in such a vastly changed world, who can you trust?

The Truth Pixie

Author: Matt Haig

Category: Children

Wherever she is, whatever the day,

She only has one kind of thing to say.

Just as cats go meow and cows go moo,

The Truth Pixie can only say things that are true.

A very funny and loveable tale of how one special pixie learned to love herself.

With words by the bestselling mastermind Matt Haig and pictures by the inky genius Chris Mould.

How long the overwhelming lack of energy will last is anyone’s guess, but when I’m having a good day, I’ll be reaching for a book and losing myself within the pages. Here are a few of the books on my TBR pile that I’m looking forward to reading in 2019.

Victor (Eden East Series Book #2)

Author: Sacha Black

Category: YA Fantasy

 

Exhausted from battle and finally bound to her soulmate, all Eden wants to do is attend university and spend time with Trey. When her demon-ex, Victor, suddenly returns from the afterlife, Eden’s convinced he’s out for revenge. The last thing she expects is for him to ask for help, especially when he’s being controlled by evil forces.

But when an enchanted lock and key go missing, she’s no longer sure who she can trust. If Eden can’t find them in time, not only will her life, and her heart, be torn apart, the very world she lives in could be destroyed – forever.

Contagion

Author: Erin Bowman

Category: YA/Sci-Fi

After receiving an urgent SOS from a work detail on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is dispatched to perform a standard search-and-rescue mission.

But when the crew arrives, they find an abandoned site, littered with rotten food, discarded weapons…and dead bodies.

As they try to piece together who – or what – could have decimated an entire operation, they realise that some things are best left buried – and some monsters are only too ready to awaken.

Deepest Midnight (The Immortal Kindred Series Book #1)

Author: Clara Winter

Category: Urban Fantasy

For Millicent, a once French noblewoman turned immortal vampire, forever is a long time to live in despair. The love of her life is murdered the night she becomes immortal. Millicent spends her endless nights in melancholy which never ends. Two hundred and forty years later, she locks eyes with an English actor, who happens to look exactly like her long dead love.

Deepest Midnight is set in modern day Savannah, GA with occasional glimpses back to 18^th century France.

Running With Wolves 

Author: J E Reed

Category: Fantasy

Ten realms will test everything.

For two years she led an alliance, forming bonds with people from around the world – but someone was watching. Chronopoint was only meant to be a game, until she found herself trapped in that world.

Fighting to survive, Kiuno discovers she’s not the only player who has been thrown into this strange land. Hideous, twisted monsters only seen in nightmares plague their every move. Untold powers lie at the hands of the chosen and flames dance at her fingertips.

Can Kiuno find the players from her alliance or will she be too late and discover death has taken far more than she ever imagined?

What are you looking forward to reading in 2019?