I read over 35 books this year, and here are my favorites. I won't be that person that lists every book i've read but here are some good ones you should check out .... and some you should pass on!
Jake and I both will admit we were in tears multiple times during this book - especially during the end. Most of the book is development, and while still interesting and captivating throughout, the real stuff comes at the end. So many themes, so much to think about, and full of adventure and emotion. This will tug at your heart strings but also allow you to live the Alaskan adventure you always wanted. The family struggles, the stories of grief and death, the growth of a girl into a woman and the lessons that shaped her, the racial issues, the conspiracy theories....there's so much going on, you'll be on an adventure reading it.
I read this right before The Great Alone and if you would've asked me in early November, this book would've been my all time favorite of the year. I laughed, I cried, I couldn't stop reading. It's about a "marsh girl" who lives alone since she was abandon by everyone and it recounts the struggles she faces as she grows. Will she ever get out of that shack? How will she eat and survive? It's a story of family, love, abandomnment, hardship, race, survival, and of course , murder!
This one you need to read. There are so many separate story threads that weave perfectly together. A good reader will see the parallels between the characters and the many themes discussed in this book. Themes of order vs chaos, altruism vs manipulation, mother vs daughter, identity vs belonging, and so many more. In both Jake and I's opinion this one is one of the great pieces of literature that should be passed down and read by many.
I read this book on and off on my cell phone during a Trauma day when we had few traumas and a lot of residents working. I was hooked. It's about a woman trying to steal another woman's husband but things are definitely not what they seem and the book has plenty of twists and turns. It takes a little while to figure out which character's side you are rooting for, and then you'll change your mind halfway through. I loved reading this book. Although, I would say it's definitely "R rated" for a few inappopriate- for - all-audiences scenes.
By now I'm sure everyone's heard the buzz on this book. Supposedly Reese Witherspoon's company is making a movie out of it and Amy Adams will star in it. That alone makes it a worthwhile read, but the story about a woman with agoraphobia (afraid to leave the home) paints a good perspective on mental illness. The author has bipolar disease and you can tell he did his research before writing this book. The woman witnesses a murder next door and she gets tangled in the web of it with multiple untrustworthy characters.
I enjoyed my time so much reading this book. It's lighthearted, makes you laugh, and gives you a glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich suburban housewives outside of New York City. The same author who wrote The Devil Wears Prada gives us this updated version and the modern references are fun. Fixing a major celebrity scandal while avoiding the drama of suburbia is the main point.
For another light read full of laughs and views into the world's richest people on earth go read these. Easy, breezy and you feel like you were dropped into their fancy world. Crazy Rich Asians is about a girl who unknowingly is in love with one of the world's richest people. She visits his family in Asia for the first time and is overwhelmed. Also the mother in law doesn't approve of her, and the cousins are strange. One of the most fun trilogies I've ever read.
The writing style of Stephanie Meyer (Hello twilight fans) is refreshing in that it's so basic and light that you can read this book anywhere. No matter how distracted you are, this book is so easy to read it's like watching a TV show. That being said, the story still has a lot of drama but the writing brings you in fast and you feel like you are a character in the story. The book is about an ex secret government worker that the government is trying to chase and kill. She gets into serious trouble as she runs away from them. For such a serious and complicated topic, it's an easy read that you'll enjoy.
I really thought this book was about a girl in an actual cabin in the woods. In this book a journalist goes on a private cruise with a small group of elite people and she witnesses something tragic that either everyone else is denying or involved with. It's the perfect whodunit book where you are on the edge of your seat the entire time wondering who, what, when, where, why.It's a creative storyline and left me wanting more from this author!
Dark. Not as dark as Gillian Flynn's work, but it brings up a lot of tough topics. I can't really describe it without giving it aways but something awful happens in the first/second chapters and although you think that's the main storyline, more awful things happen and this family must figure out how to handle it all. It's one of my favorites because it challenges how you think about punishing the guilty and also the people who defend them. It makes you think about family, morality, and loyalty. It was chilling to think about all of this and I was a little shaken when I finished!
This book is about two strangers who meet on a plane and end up plotting murder. I LOVED reading this book because it was full of surprises and I couldn't believe what kept happening next. If you are looking for another psychological thriller (like I was), this will not disappoint.
Eleanor is an interesting character. She reminded me of a female Sheldon Cooper and living inside her mind during this book was fun. There's a lot of emotion and laughs in this book as Eleanor battles her inner demons and just tries to socialize with the outside world. Reese Witherspoon has also made this to be set to screen soon!
This one is by the same author of Woman in Cabin 10. I read all of her books this year and this one was my second favorite. It tells the story of a girl struggling to get by that receives a letter that she has inherited a lot of money after a family member dies. She knows this letter is mistakenly delivered to her but she goes and gets involved in the family drama post-funeral anyway. The family members are creepy and there's a hidden family secret going on, also she's pretty much in fear for her life while she's there so, it's pretty entertaining.
I've heard so many good things about this author. The story begins with a missing baby and the rest of it is a story of what really happened and false leads. For such a basic suspense storyline, the characters in the book make it a very interesting read. Everyone is messed up. I liked it so much I put myself on the waiting list for her other books ( A Stranger in the House and An Unwanted Guest).
This book takes place in the past and present. The past there's a group of girls sent to a school when no one wants them. They are mistreated and rumors of the school being haunted. In the present a journalist's sister was killed on those school grounds and she's writing a story about the school renovation. She finds bad things along the way about the school but also new things about her sister's death. The spookiness mixed with suspense made this book so enjoyable. The story web was well weaved and it's worth your time.
Supposedly there's a movie of this book with Nicole Kidman (which I do want to watch). In this psychological thriller, the main character's memory is wiped clean every morning by some sort of "medical problem." She wakes up every morning and is trying to piece together what happened with the "help" of her husband and a secret doctor who meets her on the side. It's interesting.
Some of the worst:
Ruth Ware is one of my all time favorites for a quick and fun suspenseful read. This is her original hit, but it wasn't my favorite (Woman in Cabin 10 is) . I thought it was slow. It's about a bachelorette weekend in the woods where a murder happens and the main character pieces it all together a little at a time. Also supposed to be a movie soon.
A classic "whodunit" novel but was predictable by the end because everyone was sleeping with everyone. Interesting to read but definitely didn't hold my attention and all of the characters are unlikable.
I'm a huge BA Paris fan, but her latest book was nothing compared to her first two books. (Behind Closed Doors and The Breakdown - go read those you'll LOVE them!) This book was interesting to read because she is a captivating author of psychological thrillers, but by the end I had figured it out and was not that interested. A man's fiance disappears mysteriously and he moves on with his life but she may or not have returned just as he's about to get married to her sister.
Eek. So boring. Kerry Washington was confirmed to play the lead in this movie and I'm sure the movie will be better than the book. A moms group goes out for one night and someone's kid disappears. There's a lot of suspicious behavior that went on of course too but I just didn't like any of the characters.
This book starts off hard to read as you wonder why a mother in law would be so terrible to her future daughter in law! It was almost disgusting at some points because it seemed absolutely ridiculous for a normal person to go through so much trouble to prevent her son from marrying a perfectly normal character. The middle drags a bit as the story outline the son's mother's attempts to terrorize them. When I got to the ending though I definitely thought it was satisfying. That being said, I had predicted the ending 3/4 of the way through because there are only a few reasons a "normal" person would go to such lengths and the ending was one of them. It was a fun read but definitely not my favorite one of 2018.
I only picked up this book because I loved this author's first book Luckiest Girl Alive (yes add that one to your list), but this one was such a disappointment. I've stopped reading it three times now bored and had to pick it up again just trying to finish it. I don't know where the story is going. It's about a reality TV show like housewives and there's a murder of one of the characters but every character is so unlikable that it's hard to get through.