What I Read In 2018 - Fiction

I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me or follows me on Facebook or Twitter that I love to read.  

I read every day for at least an hour.  It is how I start and end my day.  When I wake up, I grab a coffee and read, usually a nonfiction or heavier read.  At the end of the day, I climb into bed an read a more lighthearted book, like a Young Adult or Chick Lit novel.  Anytime I have 5 minutes here or there is sure to be spent reading.  Reading for me is like breathing.  

I get asked for recommendations all the time so thought I would compile this list of the top 10 fiction books that I read this year. 

1. Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

This book was gripping.  It is a story of a female private investigator who specializes in finding children who are missing, a unique talent she has because she was once a "lost girl" . Rene is the perfect author for this book as she herself is a private investigator!

2. The Silent Wife by A. S. A Harrison

I liked this book because I found both characters despicable, a couple who are in a troubled marriage who make horribly selfish decisions that lead to murder.  Part of the reason why I read is to expose myself to people I wouldn't normally, especially people I would despise because it allows me a greater capacity to empathize.

3. Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Another thriller, I really started last year off wanting to read thrillers, I tend to go through phases like that.  This book twists and turns and every time you think you are making sense of it all, it quickly changes again!  This is a story of a group of 5 employees who go off on a wilderness retreat but only 4 come out again.  There is suspense, the woods, many suspects and not a single reliable narrator - so it pretty much has everything you want in a thriller!

4. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

Nina is a librarian who is laid off.  She moves to the Scottish Highlands and opens a mobile bookstore.  It has a career change, love story, books and it takes place where I want to go most in the world - pretty much a book made for me!  Other great books by Jenny are: Cafe by the Sea (another career change on a Scottish Highland Island!) and Little Beach Street Bakery.  Both of which have follow up books.

5. We Were on a Break by Lindsey Kelk
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A couple go on holiday with a plan to get engaged but instead they break up. We hear from both of them throughout the book and how things got adrift and their attempts to make sense of it all. This book was a nice and funny read!

6. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

If you read and loved Educated by Tara Westover (on my Nonfiction list) then you will love this book.  This book is about a family in the 1970's.  The father is a Vietnam War vet who uproots his family and moves to Alaska to homestead.  Kristin is an incredible writer and this book pulls you into Leni, the daughter's, world.  I'm just diving into the other Kristin Hannah books and I'm sure they will be present on next year's list!

7. All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffen

Emily Giffen is known for Something Borrowed and Something Blue but this book is no Chick Lit.  It is about a scandal at a Nashville prep school between a boy from a well off family and a girl who goes to the school on scholarship (she is Latina and from the "wrong side of the tracks").  I happened to read it during the Judge Kavanaugh hearings which was quite fitting.  For me, it opened my eyes even further into that world.

8. When Life Gives you Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger

Did you ever read The Devil Wears Prada, well this book follows Emily - the other assistant.  Emily is now a "fixer" for celebrities who has seen a downturn in work.  Emily is a great character and it was fun to check in on her and "hear" her voice!

9. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

This is based on a true network on women spies in the WWI.  It travels back and forth between 1915 and 1947.  In 1915, we are with one of the new recruits and we see her story as she becomes a spy for the Brits.  In 1947, we are with an American travelling to Europe to get her pregnancy "dealt with" before she escapes to try and find her cousin who disappeared during WWII.  It was a fascinating story and one that I learned a lot from which is the best part of historical fiction! 

10. On A Beautiful Day by Lucy Diamond

This story is about 4 friends who are out having lunch and who witness a vehicle lose control and drive into a group of pedestrians.  Not surprisingly, this event changes all of their lives and we are witness to those changes.  A week after I read this, the same thing happened here in Burlington, so I think about the people involved and who witnessed that accident and I know that their lives will never be the same.  Books open my world up to different types of people, situations and problems, and this book and that accident reminded me of that.

What books did you love this year?