Looking Back At 2018 – A Review Of My Most Anticipated Books

Ahead of 2018 I pulled together a list of books I was really looking forward to in 2018 and split them into two posts – one focused on Young Adult books and one on other books.

Now as we reach the end of 2018 I’m looking back at the list and seeing how many of them I actually read and whether they lived up to my expectations!

Young Adult

Everless by Sara Holland

Everless was my first read of 2018 and I absolutely adored it! I can’t wait for Evermore to land on my doormat!

Cadaver & Queen by Alisa Kwitney

Cadaver & Queen is sitting very prettily on my shelf but I’ve not read it yet. It has a fair rating on Goodreads and there’s a second book set in the same universe due for release in 2019 so I’m hoping to get to it in January

More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

I was lucky enough to be granted this on NetGalley but I’ve had a really rubbish reading year and haven’t got to it yet. It’s got a great score on Goodreads and the idea of more of Rev from Letters To The Lost means this stays a must read for me!

Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon

I’ve not got round to picking this book up yet but the plot still appeals to me so maybe I’ll get to it in 2019…

Truly, Wildly, Deeply by Jenny McLachlan

I don’t own this one yet, but I have just added it to my Amazon shopping list so I don’t forget it, I absolutely adored Stargazing For Beginners so I really want to get around to this one.

Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

This one didn’t disappoint me in the slightest. I’m hoping that one day we’ll hear more from Ally about Maddie and Logan

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

I was also granted this one from NetGalley but haven’t read it yet. I loved Heartless but Renegades has joined The Lunar Chronicles in this realms of Marissa’s books that interest me but I’ve not actually got around to reading

Everywhere You Want To Be by Christina June

This still sounds interesting to me but I’m not really sure I still want to read it in the same way I did back at the end of 2017

My Box-Shaped Heart by Rachael Lucas

This is the second book by Rachael Lucas I’ve read after The State Of Grace and I absolutely adored it! I’m living in hope of another Rachael Lucas YA novel in 2018

City Of Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

This is the second book in the Royal Bastards series by Andrew, I own the first book in the series but I’ve not read it yet, the third in the series is out in 2019 so I really need to get around to it soon!

Wild Blue Wonder by Carlie Sorosiak

I adored If Birds Fly Back by Carlie and I think in a normal reading year there’s no doubt I would have got around to this one so it’s on my shopping list to buy in 2019

The Brink Of Darkness by Jeff Giles

The Brink Of Darkness is sitting on my bookshelf, I adored The Edge Of Everything so I really need to get around to this one sooner rather than later.

It Ends With You by S. K. Wright

I pre-ordered this one back in 2017 and was surprised when it arrived on my doormat just over nine months later! It’s still to be read though, life since July has just been crazy!

Bright Ruin by Vic James

I adored both Gilded Cage and Tarnished City so there was no doubt the final book in the Dark Gifts trilogy would make this list. It had a lot of expectations to live up to and it smashed every one of them!

Adult

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn

I’ve never got around to buying or reading this one. The plot still appeals to me but maybe not enough to actually buy it…

The Gathering Dark by James Oswald

This one is sitting on my shelf happily read! I really cannot rate this series of novels highly enough! Roll on book 9 in February!

Hangman by Daniel Cole

Hangman was just as dark and twisted as Ragdoll and I absolutely loved it. I’m hoping the third in the series will be just as good!

The Memory Chamber by Holly Cave

This is another where the concept still appeals to me, but now as I didn’t buy it when it was released I’m not sure I’ll get round to it

Splinter In The Blood by Ashley Dyer

I don’t own this one, it has fair ratings on Goodreads though and is supposedly the first in a series so maybe I’ll still give it a go…

The Smiling Man by Joseph Knox

I really enjoyed Sirens the first in this gritty Manchester set crime series but I’ve not got around to picking up The Smiling Man yet. It’s still on my list though, I don’t like leaving series part read…

No Safe Place by Patricia Gibney

This is the fourth novel in the Detective Lottie Parker series, I have both this and the fifth book sitting on my iPad waiting for me to read. I’ll get there at some point…

How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne

A lot of bloggers I know rave about Holly’s YA novels and I’ve still to pick them up but I thought I’d give her debut adult novel a go. Although I finished it I have to confess it really wasn’t for me, I just didn’t really like any of the characters. I’m assured I’ll like her YA stuff more so it’s not completely put me off

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

The seventh book in the Rivers of London series is my current audio-book listen. So far I’m loving it as much as those that have gone before!

The Fifth To Die by J. D. Barker

I read The Fourth Monkey and really enjoyed it, but haven’t got round to picking up the follow up. Like with The Smiling Man I’ll probably get around to it at some point so I don’t leave the series unfinished.

No Time To Cry by James Oswald

This is the first book in a new (yet slightly connected) series by James Oswald. I pre-ordered the paperback which arrived with me in November but I’ve not got round to it yet. It’s got a really good Goodreads rating though!

So looking back at my most anticipated reads of 2018 it turns out I’ve read depressingly few of them! Are there any on my list I should make a priority in 2019?