2018 End of Year Survey

This annual survey was developed by Jamie over at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

**2018 READING STATS**

Number Of Books You Read: 147
Number of Re-Reads: 8
Genre You Read The Most From: Mystery/Thriller and Romance/Contemporary
**These are the stats as of 12/26/18, it’s likely to go up by one or two before the end of the year

1. Best Book You Read In 2018?

      

I can’t pick one, so here are the three that I gave 4.5 Stars in 2018: Close to Home by Cara Hunter, Beartown and Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

My Plain Jane by the Lady Janies. I absolutely adored My Lady Jane and I expected to love this one just as much, but it was probably my biggest disappointment of the year.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

I mean come on, does Let’s Get Textual by Tegan Hunter look like a book I would enjoy? But I totally did enjoy it. I read it in a day and laughed all the way through it.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

So I don’t actually feel like I pushed many books on people this year. I will say that I told my mother about Healing from Hidden Abuse by Shannon Thomas and then when I started sharing some quotes with her she said she wanted to read it so I bought it for her for Christmas.

 5. Best series you started in 2018? Best Sequel of 2018? Best Series Ender of 2018?

      

Started: Beartown by Fredrik Backman, Sequel:  What You want to See (Roxane Weary #2) by Kristen Lepionka, Ender On Magnolia Lane (Blue Ridge #3) by Denise Hunter.

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2018?

Cara Hunter and Fredrik Backman

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. I don’t read a lot of horror and while I had my issues with this one, I mostly enjoyed it.

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

I can’t really think of any books that were really action-packed, so I’m going with one of my re-reads for this year, Golden Son (Red Rising #2) by Pierce Brown.

 9. Book You Read In 2018 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Beartown

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2018?

The Promise (DS Imogen Grey #4) by Katerina Diamond

11. Most memorable character of 2018?

Benji from Beartown

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2018?

I mean, not to sound like a broken record, but Beartown. 

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2018?

There were a lot of good lessons in the The Faithful devotional.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2018 to finally read? 

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover. Brandie bought me a copy for my birthday in 2017 and it was almost a year later before I read it and I really enjoyed it.

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2018?

“When we decide that boundaries are needed, they can be hard to set – and maintain – if we doubt ourselves and our assessment of the situation. Survivors often wonder if they are overreacting or being too sensitive…Another reason setting boundaries is difficult to do? We internally worry that we are withholding forgiveness and staying resentful. Boundaries have nothing to do with forgiveness or resentment. They have everything to do with the quality of our interactions with the people in our lives.” – Healing from Hidden Abuse by Shannon Thomas.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2018?

   

Shortest: My Sweet Friend by H.A. Leuschel

Longest: Oblivion by JLA (this was a re-read!)

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

The subtle twist at the end of Our House by Louise Candlish is probably my favorite shock of the year.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Bellarke forever!!! This is more about the show than the book, but I’m counting it.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

The group of friends in My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2018 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

The Smallest Part by Amy Harmon

21. Best Book You Read In 2018 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

Have to go with Beartown again. I wouldn’t have ever picked it up if Brandie hadn’t lent it to me.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2018?

Chase from One Small Thing by Erin Watt.

23. Best 2018 debut you read?

Close to Home by Cara Hunter.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) by Pierce Brown

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Let’s Get Textual by Tegan Hunter.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2018?

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

The Paris Wedding by Charlotte Nash.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Beartown and Us Against You

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2018?

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Restore Me (Shatter Me #4) by Tahereh Mafi. I was so excited for this series to continue, but the majority of this book was just the characters taking major steps back and rehashing old drama. It seemed like really lazy writing and it made me mad because I expect more from this author.

1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2018?

I always feel too bad to answer these questions. Add to that I always forget how long I’ve been following someone, so I’m going to skip this question. I love you all, though!

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2018?

Favorite Mysteries and Thrillers

3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2018:?

This beautiful book-themed cake my former co-worker made me for my goodbye party.

4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events,  etc.)?

This year I went to events for Linda Castillo, Karin Slaughter, and Linwood Barclay and they were all fun.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2018?

I hit over 1,000 blog posts and reached over 1,000 followers.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Due to real life, I ended up taking two month-long (or almost month-long) hiatuses.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My review of Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I mean, honestly, all of them.

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I don’t really feel like I made a bookish discovery this year?

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I did the Good Reads reading challenge with a goal of 105 books and I surpassed that (147 at the time of writing this, but it will probably go up before the end of the year).

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2018 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2019?

I don’t think it will be my number one priority, but I really wanted to read Archenemies by Marissa Meyer. I got it from the library, but my hold came in at a bad time and it expired before I got to it.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2019 (non-debut)?

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.

3. 2019 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

The Winter Sister by Megan Collins

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2019?

Dark Age (Red Rising #5) by Pierce Brown

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2019?

Review more books. It feels like I only properly review ARCS and a few select other books and I want to get back into reviewing the majority of what I read again.

6. A 2019 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):

   

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing and I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

Review: On Magnolia Lane (Blue Ridge Romance #3) by Denise Hunter

From the bestselling author of The Convenient Groom (now a beloved Hallmark Original movie) comes the final book in Hunter’s Blue Ridge Romance series.

Pastor Jack McReady has secretly carried a torch for Daisy for two long years. She’s a member of his congregation, after all, and she’ll never see him as more than a trusted counselor. Jack’s best friend Noah has taken every opportunity to encourage his lovesick friend, but when Noah catches wind that Daisy has joined an online dating site, he takes matters into his own hands and orchestrates a meet-cute of the most unconventional kind.

Owner of the local flower shop, Daisy Pendleton is content with her small-town life, but she’d sure like someone to share it with. After several disastrous first dates, she’s about to give up—and then she finds a seemingly wonderful man online. Daisy gets to know TJ through a series of messages but finds herself spending more time with Pastor Jack outside of the church at the same time. What she doesn’t know is that her online prospect and Jack are one and the same.

Just as Daisy’s love life starts to look promising, a mysterious woman appears in town. Daisy is faced with a revelation about her family that turns her world upside down, and she looks to both TJ and Jack for help.

Jack must find a way to reveal himself as her online suitor without breaking her heart and losing her trust. As Daisy faces Jack’s betrayal, she’ll have to learn to extend grace to herself, her family, and the man she’s grown to love.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.

On Magnolia Lane will be available November 6, 2018.

I’ve enjoyed the other books in the Blue Ridge Romance series and On Magnolia Lane just might be my favorite of the series.

I found both the lead characters, Daisy and Jack, to be likable. Sometimes I struggle with the likability factor of this author’s female leads, but I really liked Daisy here. She was kind and I felt like all of her reactions to some of the bad things she found out about were reasonable. I really liked Jack, too, though the whole dating site deceit storyline did keep me from really loving him.

Speaking of the dating site, that part of the plot really reminded me of another one of Hunter’s books. In the interest of full disclosure, I only read a couple of chapters of that book before I decided it wasn’t for me. I have to admit that while it didn’t ruin the book for me or anything, I really didn’t like it any better here. In a different book, I probably would’ve been ok with the male lead being a little dishonest about being the online suitor. I got that he wanted her to get to know him without the Pastor title she associated with him. BUT, I feel like as a Pastor he should’ve handled it better. I have a really hard time excusing his deceit in light of his occupation.

Which brings us to the message of forgiveness. Even though we have a tendency to place certain people on pedestals, everyone is just human and fallible. It’s only by grace that we are forgiven. This is a really easy truth to accept until you’re faced with being betrayed by someone you care about. In addition to Jack’s deceit, Daisy finds out things about her parents that was hard to get past. I found myself in a similar situation over the past year so I found this very relatable and it’s probably the biggest reason this is my favorite book of the series. It made me realize I still have a little ways to go when it comes to forgiveness, too.

Overall, I enjoyed On Magnolia Lane. It was a quick, easy read that I flew right through. I liked the characters and the message of forgiveness and grace. I believe this is the last book in the Blue Ridge Romance series and I thought it ended well. I recommend it to fans of Contemporary Christian Fiction.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

Reviewing the Unreviewed: August 2018

I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. Reviewing the Unreviewed is my monthly post where I share my few thoughts on all the books I didn’t formally review.

A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay. Read July 30 – August 1. 4 Stars.

I thought this book was a little more psychological suspense than the other books I’ve read by Barclay have been so it was different than I expected, but I liked it. I thought I had absolutely everything figured out, but it turned out I was only partially right. The story took a turn I definitely didn’t expect and while I do wish it had maybe gone a little differently, it was a ballsy move and did serve the story well.

The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton. Read August 2-6. 4 Stars. 

Sharon Bolton has written some of my favorite books and I have been eagerly anticipating The Craftsman for quite awhile. Like I have come to expect from Bolton’s books, it was a well done, suspenseful mystery. It was even a little creepy at times. But it definitely took a departure into the supernatural that I was not expecting. Full review to come.

A Boy Like You (Like Us #2) by Ginger Scott. Read August 7-8. 4 Stars.

I’ve struggled with what to rate this. It’s probably closer to a 3 or 3.5, but I’ve decided to bump it up to 4 for a few reasons. There were parts that were really romantic and sweet. I adored Wes and his family. I also found this pretty compulsively readable. Even though it was super angsty (not really my cup of tea) and I was pretty frustrated with Joss quite often I never really wanted to stop reading it. It did take me over half the book to begin to like Joss and even now I’m not really that big of a fan of her. I also got a weird Twilight vibe at times that I wasn’t really expecting. No review I’ve read mentioned this falling into the magical realism category and the book never actually goes there, but it ends with unanswered questions. I didn’t love the direction the story took in the end, but I am really looking forward to reading the next book.

Tell Me No Lies (Follow Me Back #2) by A.V. Geiger. Read August 8-9. 3 Stars.

I was pleasantly surprised with Follow Me Back and have been looking forward to this one ever since. While it was ok, it kind of disappointed me. I thought what was happening was pretty obvious long before it was revealed and then I kept waiting for another twist or surprise to come at the ending, but nothing did. There were still a few good tense moments here and there, though, and I liked the formatting with the police interviews interspersed throughout the story.

A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca. Read August 10-12. 3 Stars.

This was a little longer than it needed to be and was pretty predictable, but there were definitely a few cute moments. I thought Macy was pretty likable. I absolutely adored Ben. I liked the alternating timeline and thought it was used well. One thing I never understood though was Macy’s friendship with Meredith. Even in the “Junior Year” chapters Meredith didn’t seem like a very good friend. She was more like a frenemy. She doesn’t seem like someone Macy should want to reconnect with. She kind of redeems herself at the end, but their whole relationship just rubbed me the wrong way.

 

Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka. Read August 10-13. 2.5 Stars.

I love that the authors who wrote this are a couple. #RelationshipGoals. I enjoyed some of the bantering, there were some cute moments, and except for a couple of things he handled poorly, I really liked Owen. That’s kind of the end of my “likes” for this book, though. It was super over-dramatic. Megan was a really unlikable main character. She was so, so shallow and then she got really upset that people thought she was shallow. She did have some learning/character development moments, but they honestly just came across a little cheesy. I thought all her problems with her blended family was resolved way too quickly. I also thought her views on sex and intimacy for most of the book were pretty skewed and potentially damaging to young readers. I wish it was handled a little more responsibly.

Lies by T.M. Logan. Read August 22-25. 4 Stars. 

Lies is a well-paced, entertaining thriller that managed to surprise me. My full review will post next week.

A Girl Like Me (Like Us #2) by Ginger Scott. Read August 25-26. 3 Stars. 

It may have just been my mood, but I just wasn’t really into this. I found it kind of boring and things weren’t really explained to my satisfaction. I didn’t really care for the fantasy-like elements. This is probably more like 2 or 2.5 stars for me, but I’m bumping it up to 3 because it was a fast, easy read and there was nothing wrong with the writing. I think it’s just not the book for me.

On Magnolia Lane (Blue Ridge Romance #3) by Denise Hunter. Read August 27-28. 4 Stars. 

I’ve enjoyed the other books in the Blue Ridge Romance series and On Magnolia Lane just might be my favorite of the series. Full review to come closer to release date.

The Similars (The Similars #1) by Rebecca Hanover. Read August 28-30. 2 Stars.

I thought that the concept for The Similars had potential. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to it for me. Full review to come.

************************Back on the TBR************************

   

Friday Night Brides by Samantha Chase and UNSUB by Meg Gardiner. I feel like I’ve been waiting to read both of these books for a really long time, but I started both of them and just couldn’t get into them. I don’t want to give up on them entirely, though, so I’m putting them back on the TBR for another time instead of marking them as DNF.

************************Re-Read************************

Better off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg. I really loved this book just as much the second time around. It’s so sweet and oh my goodness the banter!