BLOGMAS DAY NINE: Books That Surprised Me in 2018

(Thanks to Hailey in Bookland’s Bookmas schedule for this idea)

Note: These are books that I read in 2018, they are not books that came out in 2018.

Going into a book, knowing little to nothing about it, and then falling absolutely in love with it is one of my favorite feelings. However, going into a book, thinking I’ll like it, and then hating it is the worst. I felt both of those emotions this year. Which I guess when you read a lot of books is bound to happen. But, still.

Books That Surprised me IN A GOOD WAY:

From Lukov with Love: Believe it or not, I had no idea who Mariana Zapata was before this year. This time last year I had barely started reading romance. I am so glad someone on Bookstagram posted about this book because she has become one of my favorite authors and Lukov was one of my top books of the year. (Check out my full review here: BOOK REVIEW: From Lukov with Love). 

The Scorpio Races: I read this book for the first time last year and I liked it. But, the audiobook is PHENOMENAL and now I am in love with this book. I listened to the audiobook twice in a three month period. (SEAN AND PUCK FOREVER!!!)

Always Never Yours: I had no idea this book was a thing until the LA Times Festival of Books and was lucky enough to grab an ARC at YALLWEST. I thought this would be a cute contemporary and I was right, but I did not anticipate how much I would love this/how much I would ship the characters. I thought I was done with high school romance books, but this changed that. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: I knew nothing of this book going in and it blew me away. I was engrossed in the book within the first ten pages.  It is now one of my favorite books of all time. 

The Nowhere Girls: All I knew about this book was that a BookTuber had enjoyed it. But, this is a gorgeous story of female friendship and deals with some serious issues. It is also diverse. This book deserves more hype. (There are a lot of things that could be triggering in this book so please research them if you have triggers dealing with rape and abuse).

Books That Surprised me IN A BAD WAY:

Angels & Demons: I really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, but have been more meh on the other books in this series. My dad recommended I read this one, saying it was really good. But, I did not enjoy it. Dan Brown does not know how to write female characters;  this book really showcases that and damped my enjoyment significantly.

You’d Be Mine: I received an eARC from NetGalley for this one. I was really excited for it, but unfortunately this one fell flat. I had issues with the plot and had to force myself to continue with it. The characters just did not seem real to me, they only tended to react to their traumas at exactly at the right moment to advance the plot. Although, a lot of people have enjoyed this, so maybe it was more on my end, than the book’s.

My Oxford Year: To be fair I thought this was a cute romance and DID NOT expect what this was about. I also thought the main character had an unrealistic job; she has a job in politics and rarely does any work?? I also, did not like the main plot. I am not a fan of student/teacher romances and this book heavily features that trope. 

Love Hate and Other Filters: I thought this was going to be a book dealing with terrorism and Islamaphobia and it sort of does. But it focuses heavily on the love story, which I did not care about. I do love love stories. But I wish this one had not been at the forefront of this story. I am still planning on reading this author’s other works. 

Queens of Geek: I expected to love this book. I wanted another story like Geekarella, but instead I just kept comparing this to Geekarella. It does have a diverse cast, but I just could not get to caring about these characters. 

American Drifter: To be fair, just because Chad Micheal Murray’s character on One Tree Hill is a bestselling author does not mean he is. But, I figured this would at least be semi thrilling. IT WAS NOT. Nothing happening in the first 100 pages and there is a “plot twist” that is literally in the synopsis. 

And we are going to end there! I read so many good books in 2018 (and a lot of bad books). But, here is to a good reading year for 2019!!

xoxo, Tree