Best & worst of 2018 // Top Ten Tuesday

Happy New Year! 

2019 has officially arrived, although it will take me a few weeks to adjust to the changeover of the calendar year. Does anyone else CONSTANTLY write the wrong date at the start of a new year?!

Now that 2018 is actually over, it's time for me to reflect on the year that was and look back on all the books that I read in the past twelve months. A full summary of my reading stats will be going live on Friday, but first up – the best and worst of 2018!

The books that made my "Best of 2018" list are those that I absolutely loved and now class as favourites, while the books on the "Worst of 2018" list were ones that I didn't enjoy or found disappointing (most were actually 3-star reads that simply didn't live up to expectations). These are not necessarily books that were published in 2018 but are all ones that I read (for the first time) last year. 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl, with a new topic to respond to every week.

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~ Best of 2018 ~

10. The Tournament at Gorlan by John Flanagan

It wouldn't be a list of favourites without including at least one Ranger's Apprentice book! This one following young Halt takes the cake!

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9. Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

A book set in a bookstore with well-developed characters and a sweet romance, Words in Deep Blue is a beautiful story.

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8. Valentine by Jodi McAlister

This book has it all: murderous fey, snarky girls, and grumpy (but soft) boys. Perfect!

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7. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Confession time: I'd seen the film (starring my fave Saoirse Ronan) at least half a dozen times before reading this so this story has a special place in my heart.

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6. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

What a hilarious, entertaining adventure! Also Monty and Percy are the best. And the audiobook is brilliant!

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5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater's beautiful lyrical prose + a cold, wet island + bloodthirsty horses = YES, PLEASE.

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4. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The hype is real with this one. Very topical and well worth a read.

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3. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

More murderous fey! Are you sensing a pattern here?

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2. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Cath, the anxious little introvert, is so completely relatable and Levi is an adorable little (big) cinnamon roll.

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1. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

There is no question that Nevernight is the best book in existence. Jay Kristoff is a god. But if you need convincing: a smol, stabby girl goes to assassin school to become an assassin and there is lots of blood and gore and smut.

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~ Worst of 2018 ~


10. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Everyone raved about this one so I had such high hopes. The romance was cute but the story had so much more potential.

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9. Wreck by Fleur Ferris

Mysteries and thrillers can be so hit or miss and Wreck was just mediocre.

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8. Frogkisser! by Garth Nix

I think I would have really enjoyed Frogkisser! when I was younger – it was fun but a tad juvenile and not the quality that I expect from Garth Nix.

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7. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

This just didn't live up to the Disney version in my eyes.

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6. Unfiltered by Lily Collins

I really like Lily Collins as an actress and as a person, but her memoir felt a bit formulaic and wasn't as good as other celebrity autobiographies that I've read.

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5. A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

Meh. Just another tropey YA fantasy.

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4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I really didn't like how the story was resolved and everything else was kind of average.

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3. Songlines by Carolyn Denman

Songlines had such an interesting premise (incorporating both Christian and Indigenous Australian beliefs) but I wanted more from the story. It also fell into common tropes, so, no thanks.

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2. The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Maybe I made a mistake by listening to the audiobook of this, but the main character's voice was so whiny and I just couldn't deal with her constant negative introspection.

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1. It Ends With You by S. K. Wright

Another mystery novel that fell short. The premise of It Ends With You was solid but some of the narrative choices were dodgy and unrealistic and, to be honest, it made me a little bit mad. You can see my full review of the book here.


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This was HARD. Picking just a few favourite books and trying to list them in order is practically impossible! I think next time I might have to break it down by genre... Even choosing least favourites is difficult!

What were some of your favourite books in 2018? What books were you most disappointed by? Do you agree/disagree with any of my picks? Let me know in the comments below and leave a link to your TTT so I can check it out! 

Niamh, xo.