The Best Books I Read in 2018

I know that I say this every year, but 2018 was a difficult year. 

I only had four five-star books. In fact, a majority of the books I read were three stars or below. I am not sure if I was just heard to impress this year or if I was just extremely unlucky with my choice of TBR. Even though there is nothing wrong with three star books (for me the rating means that I liked the book without loving it), not many stories managed to WOW me this year. In the end of the year, when I finally had time to read, I hit a streak of three-star reads that wasn't necessarily a slump, but did disappoint me. 

The stats are not on my side, but that is where the complaining ends. My reading journey this year taught me that not every book will earn five stars, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't worth reading. 

Regardless of the ratings, I still managed to find books that I love and will scream about for the next year(s) to come. Out of the 50 books I read this year (which accomplished my Goodreads Challenge!) I still managed to have some favorites.

Since I loved all of these books so much, I have already written posts about most of them. Instead of trying to rearticulate my ramblings, I have included the links to my original posts if you want to learn more about them. 

Here are my top 10 books of 2018!

Moral Ambiguity is my Cup of Tea | My Favorite Anti-Heroes and Gray Villains

My favorite villains are the ones who may not be evil. I love a good villain who can convince me that they are the hero of their own story. I love conflict between right and wrong that doesn't have a clear answer, as the line between good and bad is rarely clear in the real world either.

In short, I like it when villains make me think. They need to have a good backstory. They might even be masquerading as heroes. Sometimes a main character is neither unequivocally good or bad, and I think that the gray area in between is the most interesting. I am interested in where the lines meet, when a character is not necessarily a hero but doesn't exactly fit the bill of a villain either.

Authors who can make me love a villain or root for an unlikeable anti-hero have clearly mastered the art of the character. Here's a list of my current favorite complicated villains and morally ambiguous heroes (and heroines!).

I Promise I Still Love You | Books By My Favorite Authors I Haven’t Read

Hello, my name is Tessa and I am really bad at keeping up with series. I have talked about this before in a discussion post, but the time has come again to shame myself into actually finishing some series.

Unfortunately, this problem even affects my favorite authors. Even though I have loved their past writing, I cannot bring myself to read their other books. Sometimes it is due to the fear of being disappointed (a girl has to have high standards) or sometimes I just get distracted by shiny new books. Regardless, I still love each and every one of these authors, even if I haven't gotten to one (or maybe three) of their books yet.

Fun fact: Most of these books can be found in my TTT from 2016. Yes, my procrastination problems span years, not mere weeks.

Looking on the Bright Side | Books I am excited to read this semester

Even though it comes the same time every year and I am fully aware of its impending doom, the start of the school year always surprises me. When I am in summer mood, it feels like nothing will ever harm me again (or at least make me do homework again). Alas, every summer comes to an end at the same time in August and I have to grieve my last of free time and freedom. However, the great thing about college is the opportunity to pick your own classes, and being an English major, my classes mostly revolve around my passion, literature. So, in an attempt to look on the bright side, I am going to share the required texts that I am actually excited (or at least not dread) to read.

Hyped Books that Earned Their Stars

Even though we try to ignore it, gossip is a part of a reader's life. We are enthusiastic creatures by nature, and the only way to get us talking is to mention books. Then all of the dirt comes out.We love hearing the dark secrets of characters, relishing in their tragic backstories and all the details of their relationships.  

When it comes to books, gossip does not always have a negative connotation. In fact, hyping up books, the main practice of book lovers and bloggers alike, is just spreading enthusiastic word-of-mouth about books. Instead of using gossip to break down the community, we tend to use it to proclaim the praises of stories we love.

Whether it is through reviews, discussions, enthusiastic Twitter threads, gorgeous bookstagram pictures, or even in real-life conversations, book lovers live to scream about their new favorite books, authors, and characters.

I will never shame book-lovers for their intense passion to spread the joy of books, but all of the hype can be overwhelming. Hype isn't necessarily a lie, but it is more subjective than we really want people to believe. 

However, there are some cases when books lived up to, and even surpassed, the amount of hype they received. Every mention of these books was justified. I will spend the rest of my life screaming from the rooftops about these books, constantly contributing to the hype that I was unnecessarily afraid of in the first place. Without a doubt, these books earned their stars.

My Realistic Summer 2018 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a list-based meme hosted by the amazing Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. If the meme sounds familiar, it was formerly hosted by The Broke and Bookish.

Apparently, 2018 is halfway over. On the plus side, this means summer and more books. On the minus side, I have all of the crushing anxiety of the unfinished goals that I need to complete by the end of the year. 

Anyway, I am staying on the plus side today by looking forward to some of the amazing books that I am (probably) going to read this summer. This is by no means an exhaustive list. My TBR is a monster that I can hardly maintain, let alone limit to only 10 books. In an attempt to regain control (or at least the facade of it), I am limiting my goal to these ten books that I am determined to read before the end of summer.

Basically, if I could only read ten books this summer, these would be it. Hopefully, that will not end up being the case, but I would still be happy if I only got to these stories.

I split the list between already published books that I have waited extremely too long to read (yes, I know that it is ridiculous that I have not read them but please forgive me) and soon-to-be published books that dominated my radar.

Update: I now realize that I have done the TTT for 6/19. I apologize sincerely but I hope you still enjoy my recommendations!

Books I Loved but Will Never Revisit

Top Ten Tuesday is a list-based meme hosted by the amazing Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. If the meme sounds familiar, it was formerly hosted by The Broke and Bookish.

My "to-re-read" shelf on Goodreads is pretty much bare with a mere 12 books. Personally, I am not a huge fan of re-reading. In the end, the act of reading a story for a second or third time mostly seems like a waste of time to me when there are plenty of other books I need to read. If I had all of the time in the world, then I would gladly re-read to my heart's desire. Unfortunately, my reading time is limited and I like to dedicate that time to exploring new worlds.

Despite my stance against re-reading, there are only a handful of books that I would never consider re-reading.

Books that Defied my Expectations (for Better and Worse)

Top Ten Tuesday is a list-based meme hosted by the amazing Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. If the meme sounds familiar, it was formerly hosted by The Broke and Bookish.

Let's just throw the whole "don't judge a book by its cover" saying out of the window. Nobody listens to that advice. In fact, I would be more worried if you pick up a book without judging it at least a tiny bit. As a book blogger, my days of wandering through a library and randomly grabbing a book are long gone. I may not always judge a book by its appearance (unless it is shiny, then I am definitely going to love it), but I always make a judgement about the author, the synopsis, or even the genre. The question of whether or not I should be prejudging books is a matter for another time since today I am talking about books that defied my initial expectations and hopes.

To me, there are two kinds of surprises: presents and duds. Presents are the boxes that you find wrapped under the Christmas tree without knowing what it is. I don't know what is in them, but I am pleasantly surprised when I see the goodies inside (which, to be honest, is probably more books). On the other hand there are the dud surprises that catch you off guard with their awfulness. Maybe you pick up the newest book from your favorite author and hate it or maybe a book with a shiny cover was actually terrible (I still think this is impossible, but I am entertaining the idea for the sake of the comparison). 

Books don't always match up with our expectations, which can be both surprisingly good and surprisingly bad. Here is my list of books that destroyed my initial impressions. 

Galentine's Day with my Favorite Heroines | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a list-based meme hosted by the amazing Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. If the meme sounds familiar, it was formerly hosted by The Broke and Bookish.

Happy Galentine's Day!  Since I am a rebel (and by that I mean single and slightly bitter), my Top Ten Tuesday is not going to focus on love and other sappy stuff as it was supposed to. Instead I am going to celebrate a much more important holiday, Galentine's Day.

For those who have not had the enlightening experience of watching Leslie Knope celebrate this holiday on Parks and Recreation, let me educate you. The day before the mushy gushy holiday on February 14 is dedicated to the power of female friendship and the awesomeness that is being a woman, regardless of whether or not you have a significant other. Galentine's Day is about girl-power and self-love, not about crying while watching The Notebook with a pint of Ben and Jerry's as your only companion.

To celebrate this wonderful day, I am sharing with you some of my favorite, kick-butt heroines from YA lit.

Top Ten Tuesday | Books that I need to read with a pumpkin muffin

Top Ten Tuesday is a list based meme hosted by the wonderful ladies at The Broke and the Bookish.

As much as I hate to admit it, summer is over. The popsicles and swimming suits have been packed away. My shorts have been shoved aside for pants and I can't go outside without grabbing a jacket.

But fall definitely has its perks, such as pumpkin muffins (which I firmly believe are heaven with frosting), fuzzy sweaters, Halloween candy, Thanksgiving festivities, and crisp apples. Fall also means that I get to curl up with a blanket and a book in my (limited) free time. 

As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, I tend to gravitate toward darker and more disturbing books. I never really read outright horror, but more dark fiction and mysteries creep into my bookshelf. Scary stories that give me goosebumps are perfect to keep me up on Halloween night. Mystery books also give me something to think about while I sip my hot apple cider.

Lucky for you, I have a list of all of the book that will keep me warm and entertained this fall.

Top Ten Tuesday | Our Outer Space Favorites

Top Ten Tuesday is a list based meme hosted by the wonderful ladies at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday was open-ended, so we here at Crazy for YA decided to take it in a direction we find is rare in YA--to outer space! Because interplanetary exploration is slightly rare in YA novels these days, we may have recommended slightly fewer than 10 books this week, but all of our recommendations feature some of the most unique YA settings out there.

Top Ten Tuesday | Series that I really need to start

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish.

I am going rogue this week and writing about a different topic. This week's topic was supposed to be books set outside the US, but I did that a couple of months ago for a freebie. So, I am doing an old topic that I missed.

I am talking about series that I really need to start reading. Some of these are classics that everyone and their mother have been harassing me to read, and others are just ones I never seemed to get to.

Top Ten Tuesday | Books we love but you probably never heard of

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish.

Max here! This week's top ten Tuesday is an interesting one. Today, we're discussing some of our favorite hidden gems--specifically, books that have under 2,000 ratings on Goodreads. This week's topic really provides an opportunity to discuss some books that are just as great as those that receive tons of hype, but don't really get much attention when they're published. 

Top Ten Tuesday | Even More Books I Need to Read This Year

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week we are discussing my reading goals for the rest of the year and my (impossible plans) to read all of the late 2016 releases that I want to read. 

My original goal for books this year was 80 books. We are currently halfway through the year and I am only at 25 books. But I still have hope to reach my goal, especially since there are a ton of late 2016 releases that are motivating me to read.

Top Ten Tuesday | It's Not You, It's Me

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Even though I have no experience breaking up with people, I am going to have to break up with a couple of books today. Sometimes, books are perfect for a certain point in your life, but then you move on and realize that they were never really that good for you in the first place. Today, I am listing some of the books that I originally really enjoyed, but now have to say goodbye to.

Top Ten Tuesday | Books that Fate Wanted Me to Read

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week's topic was surprisingly difficult. The impossible task was to find books that I picked up on a whim, without knowing anything about it before. Ever since I have started blogging, I have read hundreds of book reviews, so it has become a habit to read book reviews before I pick up a book. Now, I hear about books months before they are even released. I had to do a lot of digging in my Goodreads shelves to find these books. 

But there were some instances where I read a book without any previous knowledge, as if fate wanted me to read it. 

Top Ten Tuesday | Books for Travel Lovers

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Since I have a serious case of wanderlust at the moment, I decided to make my post on the theme of travelling. I made a list of my favorite YA books set outside of the United States to try to satisfy my craving for new places. Hopefully, the list can help you explore new places as well!

Top Ten Tuesday | Ten Books On My Spring TBR

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

As spring quickly approaches, today's topic focuses on our TBR for the upcoming warmer weather. 

Top Ten Tuesday | Songs I Wish were Books

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

I am so excited to discuss more music with you guys since the last TTT I did with discussing the songs that have been stuck in my head lately.

Today, we are discussing songs that I wish would be make into books. Some of these picks are because the songs are so lyrical and beautiful that I would love to see more of the writing in novel-form, and others are due to the unique premise or story already shown in the songs.

Top Ten Tuesday | If I Cannot Travel Through Time, Then I Will Read Instead

This is a weekly list meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

First of all, here is a little disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of historical fiction. I do read it from time to time, but it is not my area of expertise. At the moment, my head is too stuck in fantasy and science-fiction worlds for me to attempt to get back into historical reality. 

But, today's topic will helpfully get both me and you into the mood to try some historical fiction. I am going to describe my favorite historical settings that I would love to read about.