Top Ten Reads Of 2018 and a look forward to 2019

I can’t believe we are at the end of another year, but what a wonderful year it has been for books. In the past twelve months I have read one hundred and ten books, which is quite an achievement for me, but it has been a pleasure to read and share them with you. There have been so many fabulous books that choosing my top ten has been a difficult process, but finally I have narrowed it down, so here are my top ten reads of 2018, in no particular order.

 

The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley.  It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Lucinda Riley’s books and in particular her Seven Sisters series.  This is the fifth book, and tells the story of Tiggy and where she originally came from.  Like the previous books we travel to some wonderful places, Spain, Portugal, South America, and meet some unforgettable characters, like her great grandmother Lucia. This is a tale of love and passion, flamenco and self discovery and Lucinda Riley seamlessly weaves it all together into another perfect read.

 

 

 

Tombland by C.J Sansom.  This book was the big surprise of the year for me.  Like many others I thought Lamentation was the last Shardlake novel, so I was super excited to learn of a new book.  Set three years after the previous book, Shardlake goes on business to Norwich on behalf of the Lady Elizabeth and finds himself caught up in the peasant rebellion.  With the return of many familiar characters, some memorable new ones and the impeccable attention to historical detail, this book is immersive, erudite and entertaining.

 

 

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton.  I always enjoy Kate Morton’s books and for me this is her best yet. This a beautiful read in all senses; the writing, the plot, the characters and the atmosphere.  The Location of Birchwood Manor is very much a character itself, and is the focus point where all the different threads comes together.  The book centres around artist Edward Julius Radcliffe and his relationship with his muse, that all came to an end one night in 1862.  The different story lines radiate out from this one event that ended with a death and a theft.  Love, loss, art and a mystery combine to make this such a compelling read and reminds me why Kate Morton is on my list of top ten contemporary fiction authors.

 

The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah.  I read this at the beginning of the year and it is a book that has stayed with me.  Ernt Albright moves his family up to Alaska to try and make a fresh start.  He is a troubled POW from the Vietnam war, who can’t hold down a job and can be violent to his wife.  In the vastness of Alaska Ernt, his wife  Cora and daughter Lent have to learn to fend for themselves.  Kristen Hannah captures the vastness and harsh reality of living in Alaska and how Ernt’s emotions mirror  the change of the seasons.  This is a powerful read full of emotion and drama.

 

 

Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh.  Before I even got to the book, Thirteen was on my radar from the hype alone, and it didn’t disappoint.  What drew me was the premise that at the murder trial, the real murderer is on the jury. This is such a clever concept and had me gripped throughout.  This is the fourth book in the Eddie Flynn story but can be read as a standalone, which is whatI did. Thirteen is a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat with tension until you reach the shocking final chapter.

 

 

 

Cuckoo by Sophie Draper. Cuckoo had my attention from the first page and finished with me thinking WOW, and that is why it is part of this list.  We all remember the fairytales from our childhood with the wicked step-mother, naughty children getting their comeuppance, and strange occurrences, and this sums up Cuckoo.  At her step-mother’s funeral Caro reconnects with her estranged sister and moves back into their family cottage, where her step-mother died.  But whilst there she starts having flash backs to her childhood and strange occurrences happen in the house. Caro needs to understand her past, but at what cost.  This is a dark, chilling and breathtaking read.

 

 

 

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.  A Little Life is a book that will stay with me forever, and one of the few books I have kept to read again. This was on the Booker Prize Shortlist in 2015, and in my opinion should have won.  The book follows four friends who meet at college as they go through the ups and downs life throws at them.  The writing of this book is sublime, and although it deals with some very difficult subjects, Hanya Yanagihara is able to keep the prose lyrical and a pleasure to read. This is an emotional book to read in parts, due to some of the subject matter; depression, self-harm and abuse, but it is well worth reading.  In my opinion this is a monumental novel, fiction at it’s absolute best: perfect.

 

The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse.  Kate Mosse has been one of my favourite authors  for thirteen years now so I am always excited when she releases a new book.  In The Burning Chambers Kate Mosse takes us back to Carcassone and the history of the Heugenots that were in the Labyrinth Trilogy.  This time we are in the sixteenth century during the religious wars that were the result of the Reformation in Europe.  Full of historical detail this book seamlessly blends fact and fiction to make an outstanding read.  Even more exciting is that this is the first in four books that will span three hundred years from sixteenth century France to nineteenth century South Africa and the displacement of the heugenots.  This is a must for fans of historical fiction.

 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.  This was one of the most highly anticipated novels of 2018 and I think it has lived up to expectations.  Based on the lives of Lale and Gita who met at Auschwitz, this is a remarkable and thought provoking book on so many different levels.  Lale is the tattooist who marks each prisoner as they enter the camp and this post gives him some privileges that are denied other prisoners.  He obviously sees some terrible things, and has to go to incredible lengths to survive, but what stands out in this book is Lale and Gita’s self survival, their belief that they will get out of the camp and their love for each other.

 

 

The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.  Technically this could be seen as cheating, as it is three books, but I couldn’t just choose one.  A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life opened up a new literary world to me as I never read fantasy or magical books.  These books follow Diana and Matthew, a witch and a vampire, who are thrown together in the Bodleian Library when Diane calls up the enchanted manuscript Ashmole 782, that has been lost for hundreds of years.  This is the beginning of their journey across continents, a visit to Elizabethan England in the quest to unlock the secrets of the manuscript.  Deborah Harkness is an amazingly talented author, her characters come to life, her attention to detail draws you in and her historical knowledge  shines through.  I fell in love with these books and have kept them to read again.

 

I am now looking forward to 2019, and already have a list of some exciting books due out in the New Year, including a new Eddie Flynn book from Steve Cavanagh, a stand alone thriller from M.J.Arlidge,  and some books by new authors; The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal and The Familiars by Stacy Halls.  Below are the ten books I am most looking forward to read.

 

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and thank you for all your support over the last year; it means such a lot to me as I am virtually housebound due to heath problems.  I look forward to sharing more book love in 2019.