Since it’s almost the end of June and that means we are almost half way thorugh the year, I wanted to do a post to highlight my favorite books I have read so far in 2018.

Some interesting information about the books:

• 6 out of the 8 books were written by new to me authors
• 3 out of the 8 books were written by debut authors
• 7 out of the 8 are female authors and 1 author is non-binary.
• 3  out of the 8 books are 2018 releases, 3 are 2017 releases, 1 is a 2014 release and 1 is a 2007 release. Overall, they are all recent books.
• In terms of genres, there’s science fiction,  fantasy, contemporary, non fiction and literary fiction. Also, there are adult and young adult books.

The Books

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Genre: Adult, Fiction
• Why I loved it?: The main reason I loved this book was Evelyn Hugo, she is a morally gray character that unapologetically does terrible things in order to achive what she wants in life, she sacrifices parts of herlself to succeed, but at the same time she loves deeply and she is undeniably loyal to those she loves. She is calculating, cruel, ambitious, smart, hard working, persistent and so much more. She is such a complex character that I couldn’t help but be fascianted by her and as much as she is an unlikable character I was rooting for her. Evelyn Hugo is a cuban-american bisexual woman and the representation is something more that I loved about this book. Then there is the love story, which is so beautiful, sad and complicated, and you can’t help but want them to be together. Also, this a very thought provoking book with its depiction of the roles and spaces that women were allowed to have in Hollywood in the past and also the way homophobia impacted peoples lives in such a huge way, even in a more ‘liberal’ industry.

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour 

• Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
• Why I loved it?: I tent to love quiet books especially when they deal with delicate subjects like grief in a honest and powerful way, which is the case with this book. I loved the estructure in which the story was told, alternating between present and past. During the entire book there was this sense that a big reveal was coming in the storyline that took place in the past, but when it finally happened it was something I wasn’t expecting and that it actually shocked me a lot and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. Meanwhile in the present, the awkward situation between the main character and her best friend – that are trying to reconnect and forgive what happened in the past, while trying to address all the hurt and the pain-  was really uncomfortable to read about but it was so well done. There was so much loneliness, hurt and grief in both timelines and the way Nina Lacour wrote about those things is so beautiful and so heartbreaking, I found myself crying in certain parts of this book, which I don’t do often.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

• Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Poetry
• Why I loved it?: I loved this book because it explores powerful themes: the main character struggle with inhabiting her body, a body that attracs attention and because of it, it’s unwillingly subjected to the male gaze; it also deals with growing up in a conservative latinx family that it’s extremely religious and that imposes faith and leaves no room for questions. I loved the way it handdled the idea of trying to figure who you are in an enviroment that doesn’t leave much room to do so. Also, I loved this book because it’s written in verse and that allowed me to feel a bigger connection to the powerful emotions that the main character was experiencing and trying to express. Also, the #ownvoices latinx representation is another reason I loved this book.

Secondhand Origin Stories by Lee Blauersouth

• Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
• Why I loved it?: The  main characters, the complex family dynamics and the fascinating world in which this is set made me love this book. But the main reason why I fell in love with this, it’s how diverse it is and the fact that it addresses important subjects: the main characters are all queer, including a non binary main character. Also, one of the main characters is a black girl and there’s conversations throughout the book about systematic racism and especially about racial profiling and incarceration of black people. Additionally, there are deaf characters and there are characters that use ASL to communicate, and while there’s ableism portrait in this book, it’s called out and talked about on page. The deaf representation is #ownvoices and that’s another thing I loved about this book. 

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black 

• Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
• Why I loved it?: I have been in a fantasy slump for a while and this  book made me feel consumed by a world and characters in a way that hadn’t happened in some time. That’s one of the reasons this is one of my favorite books of the year so far, it managed to enthrall me and it made me feel inmersed in a world full of political intrigued, deceitful characters, unexpected turns and so much cruelty from the very beginning.  Another thing I really liked about it is that I was so inmerssed in it that it kept me on the edge of my sit, I was so worried for all the characters throughout the book. Also, it gave me a new couple to root for, which always makes me enjoy a fantasy book more.

The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende

• Genre: Non fiction
• Why I loved it?: Isabel Allende’s writing never fails to captivate me, and when I’m reading her autobiographical books, she manages to make me feel like she is talking directly to me and telling me her story, and she tells it with so much honesty and candor, that it’s imposible not to be fascinating by it. That’s the main reason why I loved this book, but I also loved the structure she uses to tell her story – a letter written for her dead daughter, Paula – because it gives this book a nostalgic and sad tone that made me connect with the story even more and feel touched by it.

The Diviners by Libba Bray 

• Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
• Why I loved it?: The main reason why I loved this book is that it is this atmospheric book with a creepy vibe and some scary scenes, which is not something  I have found in the fantasy book I have read before, so to me this book represents a type of fantasy that it’s new to me and it intrigues me. Also, fantasy is my favorite genre and I love a good mystery, so  finding a book that mixes both of fantasy and mystery was very surprising and enjoyable. Another reason why I loved this book was the characters, they were all captivating and so different from each other and I kept waiting to see how their stories would intertwined.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

• Genre: Adult, Literary Fiction
• Why I loved it?: At the beginning, I wasn’t enjoying this because the main character, Eleanor, was very peculiar (which isn’t a bad thing in itself), but she was judgemental, rude and infuriating. Nonetheless, I completely loved the huge character development she went through, I loved the other characters she met throughout the book and how they changed her and made her see things in a different way. Raymond was a wonderful character: understanding, supportive and empathetic. The subject of depression was delicately handdled and there was a positive representation of therapy. In terms of the plot, there was a mystery surrounding her past that I thought I had figured out early on, but I had not and the twist at the end was really surpising. At the end, I found this to be a really heartwarming book.

Have you read any of these books? Did you enjoy them? What are some of your favorite books of 2018 so far? Let me know in the comments! 

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