2018 has flown by! I read just over 100 books this year and discovered so many fantastic stories. Here is my list of favorite books read in 2018, in no particular order.
Look the Part by Jewel E. Ann
I devoured every single page of Look the Part. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing. For me, this moving book is flawless, with just the right blend of laugh out loud humor, poignancy, and swooning galore.
Flint Hopkins finds the perfect tenant to rent the space above his Minneapolis-based law office.
All the t’s are crossed and i’s dotted on Ellen’s application. Her references are good. And she’s easy on the eyes.
Until …
Flint discovers Ellen Rodgers, Board-Certified Music Therapist, plays music. Bongos, guitars, singing—not Beethoven administered through noise-cancelling headphones.
The cut-throat attorney serves up an eviction notice to the bubbly, constantly humming redhead who’s too sexy for her own good. But luck is on Ellen’s side when Flint’s autistic son, Harrison, takes an instant liking to her. A single dad can’t compete with guitars—and rats. Yes, she has pet rats.
This woman …
She’s annoyingly happy with a constant need to touch him—adjust his tie, button his shirt, invade his space, and mess with his mind.
Still …
She must go.
Their lust-hate relationship escalates into something beautiful and tragic. This sexy, romantic-comedy explores the things we want, the things we need, and the impossible decisions parents and children make to survive.
Transcend (The Transcend Duet Book 1) by Jewel E. Ann
I continue to be amazed by the creative capacity of Jewel E. Ann. Her books refuse to be contained in tidy, predictable boxes. Transcend is aptly named because it surpassed all my expectations in terms of originality, intricacy, mystery, and poignancy.
“In another life, she was my forever.”
An unexpected tragedy leaves Professor Nathaniel Hunt a widower alone with a newborn baby.
He hires a nanny. She’s young, but well-qualified, with a simple life, a crazy name obsession, and a boyfriend she met at the grocery store.
Over time, he discovers she knows things about him—things that happened before she was born—like a hidden scar on his head, his favorite pizza, and how he cheated on a high school Spanish test.
She speaks familiar words and shares haunting memories that take him back to over two decades earlier when he lost his best friend in a tragic accident.
“I’m afraid of what’s going to happen when you realize I’m not her.”
Transcend is a sexy, mind-bending journey that uncovers possibilities, challenges beliefs, and begets the age-old question: is there life after death?
Epoch (The Transcend Duet Book 2) by Jewel E. Ann
Book duets can be a risky business. Expectations are high when the first book is well received. Transcend was easily a 5-star read for me, so Epoch had huge shoes to fill. Jewel E. Ann makes it look easy because Epoch stole my breath time and again.
Some lives end unfinished, and some transcend time.
After a horrific incident, Swayze finds herself trapped between two lives. Patchy memories and fear for her own safety thrust her into a gut-wrenching journey to uncover the truth.
Will she let her dreams slip away to seek retribution and find the missing pieces to a puzzle that existed a lifetime ago?
“I’m not going to watch you self-destruct. I’m not going to watch you fall in love with another man.”
Or will she discover the only truth that matters?
Epoch pushes the boundaries of what we believe and what we know. It redefines fate and proves that the only thing separating the heart and the soul is an infinite timeline.
“I think a part of you will be mine to love in every life.”
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
This is Helen Hoang’s debut novel, and she slays the heck out of it. I was hoping for a nice feel-good romantic comedy, but I felt like I won the lottery. This book is complete perfection—every single sentence.
A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there’s not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.
Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases–a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.
It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice–with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan–from foreplay to more-than-missionary position…
Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he’s making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic…
The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen
I have long been a fan of Sarina Bowen’s writing, but I think this is among her best work yet. It is her first Young Adult novel and she nails it! The story is breathtakingly haunting in the most wonderful way. Even my feels had feels!
A YA novel from USA Today bestselling author Sarina Bowen.
Never ask a question unless you’re sure you want the truth.
I’ve been listening to my father sing for my whole life. I carry him in my pocket on my mp3 player. It’s just that we’ve never met face to face.
My mother would never tell me how I came to be, or why my rock star father and I have never met. I thought it was her only secret. I was wrong.
When she dies, he finally appears. Suddenly I have a first class ticket into my father’s exclusive world. A world I don’t want any part of – not at this cost.
Only three things keep me going: my a cappella singing group, a swoony blue-eyed boy named Jake, and the burning questions in my soul.
There’s a secret shame that comes from being an unwanted child. It drags me down, and puts distance between me and the boy I love.
My father is the only one alive who knows my history. I need the truth, even if it scares me.
From Lukov With Love by Mariana Zapata
Mariana Zapata slays all day with this utterly entertaining enemies-to-lovers story set within the world of professional figure skating. I listened to the audiobook which is 15 hours long (524 pages), and I can honestly say that I did not want it to end.
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.
After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.
But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
Including Ivan Lukov.
Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid
The Knitting in the City series is officially over (insert ugly cry) and what a sendoff. Marriage of Inconvenience is a fitting conclusion that embodies all the affection and hilarity that are hallmarks of this winning series.
From the USA Today Bestselling Series There are three things you need to know about Kat Tanner (aka Kathleen Tyson. . . and yes, she is *that* Kathleen Tyson): 1) She’s determined to make good decisions, 2) She must get married ASAP, and 3) She knows how to knit.
Being a billionaire heiress isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it sucks. Determined to live a quiet life, Kat Tanner changed her identity years ago and eschewed her family’s legacy. But now, Kat’s silver spoon past has finally caught up with her, and so have her youthful mistakes. To avoid imminent disaster, she must marry immediately; it is essential that the person she chooses have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever and be completely trustworthy.
Fortunately, she knows exactly who to ask. Dan O’Malley checks all the boxes: single, romantically indifferent to her, completely trustworthy. Sure, she might have a wee little crush on Dan the Security Man, but with clear rules, expectations, and a legally binding contract, Kat is certain she can make it through this debacle with her sanity—and heart—all in one piece.
Except, what happens when Dan O’Malley isn’t as indifferent—or as trustworthy—as she thought?
Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan
Brace yourself. If you think Block Shot is your run of the mill enemies to lovers romance, think again. This book is simply more – more complicated, more impassioned, and more believable.
𝘼𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨-𝙩𝙤-𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙠 . . .
𝗝𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗗
If I had a dollar for every time Banner Morales made my heart skip a beat… The heart everyone assumes is frozen over. Her anger is . . . arousing. Every glare from those fire-spitting eyes, every time she grits her teeth, gets me . . .well, you know. If I had a dollar for every time she’s put me in my place, I’d be an even richer man. I’m a successful sports agent because I assume “no” means you’ll think about it. I’m sure what you meant to say is “Coming right up.” They say even rich men don’t always get what they want, but those men don’t know how to play the game. The trick is to keep them guessing. Take Banner. She assumes she’s winning, but this game? She doesn’t even know how to play.
𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥
If I had a dollar for every time Jared Foster broke my heart, I’d have exactly one dollar. One night. One epic fail. One dollar . . . and I’m out. I’ve moved on. I’ve found success in a field ruled by men. Anything they can do, I have done better. They can keep the field while I call the shots, blocking them when I have to. And Jared has the nerve to think he gets a second chance? Boy, please. Go sit down. Have several seats. I’ll just be over here ignoring the man carved from my fantasies with a lust-tipped chisel. Oh, I didn’t say the struggle wasn’t real. But I’ve got that one dollar, and Jared won’t have me.
Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Reading this book filled me with undiluted joy from beginning to end. The fact that it is a romance that embraces diversity is a very welcome bonus.
Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.
Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.
Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them…right?
Heartbreak Warfare by Heather M. Orgeron and Kate Stewart
Heartbreak Warfare deserves to wear its title like a badge of honor. This is a military romance unlike any I have read before. It is unflinchingly raw, poignantly real, astoundingly passionate, and compulsively readable.
Briggs,
Remember when we parted ways in Germany? It was the day I broke your heart. What you didn’t know was that I was breaking mine too.
I thought they’d be enough–my husband and my son. That I’d get home and everything would go back to the way it was . . .
Before the war. Before the ambush. Before you.
But, no matter how hard I try, I can’t erase the trauma we shared. I can’t seem to forget the way my heart beat in time with yours.
The truth is I’m lost without you.
I thought the nightmare was over when they pulled us from that hole in the ground, but nothing could have prepared me for the war I’d face at home.I know it’s selfish of me to ask, but, please, I have to see you one last time. . .
All my love, Scottie
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
Love and Other Words is an adult contemporary romance that is equal parts coming of age, friends becoming lovers, loss and heartache, and second chance romance—all combined in one potent fictional cocktail. It is 100% amazing!
The heart may hide, but it never forgets.
Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.
But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother…only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.
Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.
Managed by Kristen Callihan
When I finished Managed I swear I wanted to start over and read it again. It exceeded my expectations on every level. With a clever story, witty dialog, and winsome characters, I had a perma-smile on my face the entire time I was reading.
It started off as a battle of wits. Me: the ordinary girl with a big mouth against Him: the sexy bastard with a big…ego.
I thought I’d hit the jackpot when I was upgraded to first class on my flight to London.
That is until HE sat next to me. Gabriel Scott: handsome as sin, cold as ice. Nothing and no one gets to him. Ever. He’s a legend in his own right, the manager of the biggest rock band in the world, and an arrogant ass who looks down his nose at me.
I thought I’d give him hell for one, long flight. I didn’t expect to like him. I didn’t expect to want him. But the biggest surprise? He wants me too. Only in a way I didn’t see coming.
If I accept his proposal, I leave myself open to falling for the one man I can’t manage. But I’m tempted to say yes. Because the real man beneath those perfect suits and that cool façade just might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I just might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.
Let the battle begin…
Check out some of my blogger friends’ Favorite Books of 2018 lists.
About That Story | Alba and Her Secrets | Book Babes Unite
Alleskelle Blogs But Mostly Reads | Book Twins Reviews | The Bookish Sweet Tooth
Feeding My Addiction | Musings of the Modern Belle | Read More Sleep Less
Relentless Romance | Smokin’ Hot Book Blog
So much overlap in our lists–A few here I haven’t braved touching…Jewel E. Ann’s, actually-and for some reason I’ve just let those new CLs linger too. Great list & happy new year!
I can’t say enough good things about Jewel E. Ann. Her books are filled with angst, though, so you need to be prepared. 🙂
Three of these made my list, but I loved several others of them. This is a great list!
Great list – we share quite a few favorites! Happy New Year! 💕
Great list! I read a few of these as well. It looks like I need to add some others to my TBR too!