Predicting My Top 18 Books of 2018
2:38 PM
Earlier this week, Sarah (from Written Word Worlds) shared her predicted top 18 reads of 2018, and I loved the idea, so here I am, sharing my own list. There are so many books coming out in 2018 that I really want to read - trust me, the list just keeps growing longer! - but I was able to narrow it down.
I’ve included covers, where available, but a few are currently coverless, so stay tuned!
Top 18 Books of 2018
In no particular order...
OBSIDIO Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufmann #LoveOzYA
The Illuminae Files is definitely one of my favourite young adult science-fiction series, both for its story as well as its’ unique storytelling format through non-traditional narrative and the use of chat transcripts, ships’ logs, documents and visual elements. Obsidio is the next instalment and I can’t wait to see how Amie and Jay continue the story.
THE CRUEL PRINCE Holly Black
I’ve never read any of Holly Black’s books before, but I requested a review copy of this and received one and I’m so excited. I’ve heard nothing but good things about The Cruel Prince, and I’m looking forward to diving into a world of Faerie High Courts and intrigue.
BENEATH THE SUGAR SKY Seanan Maguire
The Wayward Children series of novellas by Seanan Maguire is one of my favourites, and I loved Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones. Maguire creates such unique worlds that the children in the story step into and the third book promises to be no different. I will pick these books up without any hesitation, but Beneath the Sugar Sky is set post-Every Heart a Doorway and tries to bring back a character I adored from that particular book. Plus, the cover for this book is just gorgeous.
LIFEL1K3 Jay Kristoff #LoveOzYA
I read a preview of LifeL1k3 in Allen and Unwin’s Superproof earlier in 2017 and I was hooked. I love Jay Kristoff’s other works, but this is the one I’m most intrigued by in 2018, because science fiction is my preferred genre, and I love stories that involve androids and artificial intelligence. This is definitely one of my most anticipated reads, and one I’m pretty sure I’m going to love.
AMELIA WESTLAKE Erin Gough #LoveOzYA
I first heard about this book at the YA Showcase in 2017, and since then it’s one of those books that I’ve been thinking of on and off. Set in a private school, Amelia Westlake follows two students who concoct an elaborate hoax at their school in an attempt to bring down a teacher. It sounds like such a fun story that I’m looking forward to picking it up.
GUNSLINGER GIRL Lyndsay Ely
I don’t know much about this book, but the basic summary of the story is enough to pique my interest and put this up there in anticipated top books of 2018, following Serendipity Jones in a post-Second Civil War West. I’m loving things with a Wild West spin at the moment, so this is timely for me.
GREY SISTER Mark Lawrence
This year I read Red Sister by Mark Lawrence and I loved it - the closest analogy I can make is that it’s a grown-up Nevernight (although Nevernight is pretty grown-up on its own), but it’s in a similar vein. I was hesitant going into the first book, but I have no hesitation about the second book. Red Sister was dark, violent and a roller-coaster ride, and I suspect that Grey Sister will be, too. I can’t wait to pick this one up in 2018.
TIN HEART Shivaun Plozza #LoveOzYA
I picked up Frankie this year and was pleasantly surprised by Shivaun Plozza’s tough-as-nails/rough-around-the-edges protagonist. Tin Heart’s main character, Marlowe sounds very different - she’s just had a heart transplant and has a second chance at life - and it sounds like a really interesting story. It’s #LoveOzYA and I know Plozza can write amazing female characters and that’s all I need to know to pick this book up in 2018.
NEVERLAND Margot McGovern #LoveOzYA
Aside from an incredibly beautiful cover design, Neverland sounds like an unbelievably intriguing story. Kit’s parents died in a storm when she was twelve, and at seventeen she remembers the stories her father used to tell her of pirates and mermaids and an island called Neverland where she grew up. The island has since been turned into a boarding school for mentally ill teenagers and Kit finds herself beginning treatment there. I am so excited to read this book next year, I can’t even put it into words. I don’t know if it’s fantasy or magical realism and I can’t wait to find out!
WHITE NIGHT Ellie Marney #LoveOzYA
This is likely one of the top picks for 2018 - I fell in love with all of Ellie Marney’s books this year and was so happy to participate in the cover reveal for this earlier in 2017. Set in a country town, Bo Mitchell meets Rory Wild - a girl who has grown up in the off-the-grid community of Garden of Eden - and he wants to know everything about her. He begins to be drawn into her world, which he discovers may not be all that it seems. This just sounds so mysterious and compelling and I know it’s going to be a page-turner.
CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE Tomi Adeyemi
There is so much hype surrounding this book, but I suspect it’s well-deserved. I actually know next-to-nothing about it, other than it’s written by a Nigerian-American author, has magic and a strong female character, but I’m looking forward to picking it up regardless.
WHISPER Lynette Noni #LoveOzYA
I’ll be honest, this one is kind of a cheat, because I’ve already read it, and loved it, so I know it’s going to be a top book for me. Main character, Jane, has been locked away for over thirty months, experimented on without speaking a single word in the name of a mysterious program. This story is about words and power and knowing one’s self and so worth reading.
GRAEVALE Lynette Noni #LoveOzYA
Lynette Noni has a busy year next year, because Graevale is out, too. The fourth book in the Medoran Chronicles, I can’t wait to step back into this world. The characters are fun, the world is rich and interesting and the writing easy to read. This is one of those fantasy series that is adventurous and fun and I suspect that Graevale will continue this trend.
RECORD OF A SPACEBORN FEW Becky Chambers
Becky Chambers is easily one of my favourite writes out there, and definitely one of my favourite science-fiction authors. She writes characters and family beautifully, building up a wonderful depth to each and everyone one. Record of a Spaceborn Few is the next book in the Wayfarers series and follows what remains of the Exodus Fleet, the last humans who left Earth. I love stories like this and I don’t even need a summary to know I’ll adore a Becky Chambers book.
VENGEFUL V.E. Schwab
It’s a bit cheeky of me to include this one, given I haven’t read the first book yet (I will be reading it in January) but I know I’m going to love it. Everything I’ve heard about Vicious is something that I know I’ll enjoy in a book, and so many people I trust have been waiting for this book. Plus, it’s V.E. Schwab, and she’s yet to let me down, yet.
ESCAPING FROM HOUDINI Kerri Maniscalco
What can I saw? I adore the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco, and what’s not to love about Audrey Rose and Thomas surviving a trip on a luxurious ocean liner wherein the Moonlight Carnival is performing but passengers are dying? I cannot wait!
CATCHING TELLER CROW Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
This is another book I know next to nothing about, except that it’s written by Ambelin Kwaymullina. I adored her The Tribe series and I will be picking this one up with high expectations.
CITY OF GHOSTS Victoria Scwab
How could I not? City of Ghosts is Schwab’s middle-grade venture about a girl who died, a ghost boy who brings her back and their time in a haunted city. What’s not to love?
What books are you looking forward to reading in 2018? What do you think will be your top reads?
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