Here is a look back at the year 2018 and some of my favorite reads!
Wow, I can't believe that 2018 is already gone!
This past year a lot happened. From me becoming more active on this blog to slowly finding my way in the bookstagram world things I plan to carry on through the foreseeable future!
I also managed to complete my goal of reading 30 books for my Goodreads challenge! In fact, I met that goal by sept and by the end the year finished with a total of 40 books read! WOOT WOOT!
2018 was also our first year living in the new house, over the summer we put up 2 dog runs, fixed and chicken coop and run as well as put in a large garden and small orchard all by hand.
all in all lots of exciting and fun things happened this past year.
My reading game was fairly on point and some of my favorite reads of 2018 will be listed below:
1) The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lillian Baun
From Goodreads:
Jim Qwilleran is a prizewinning reporter who's been on the skids but is now coming back with a job as a feature writer (mostly on the art scene) for the Daily Fluxion. George Bonifield Mountclemens, the paper's credentialed art critic, writes almost invariably scathing, hurtful reviews of local shows; delivers his pieces by messenger; lives with his all-knowing cat Koko in a lushly furnished house in a moldering neighborhood, and has a raft of enemies all over town.
He offers the newcomer a tiny apartment in his building at a nominal rent, and Qwilleran grabs it, surmising the deal will involve lots of cat-sitting. Meanwhile, a gallery whose artists get happier treatment from Mountclemens is owned by Earl Lambreth. The acerbic critic has praised paintings there by a reclusive Italian named Scrano; the junk assemblages of Nino, who calls himself a ``Thingist,'' as well as works by Lambreth's attractive wife Zoe.
It's Zoe who, one night past closing, finds her husband stabbed to death in the vandalized gallery. Days later, Qwilleran, guided by an insistent Koko, finds Mountclemens's knifed corpse on the patio behind his house.
Do I have a review up? Not yet, however, I did do a Highlight on it in Paw-itive Reads
Link: Paws-itive Reads Episode 1
My Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars!
2) The Earth, My Butt, and other round things by Carolyn Mackler
From Goodreads:
Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves has a larger-than-average body and a plus-size inferiority complex, especially when she compares herself to her slim, brilliant, picture-perfect family. But that’s before a shocking phone call — and a horrifying allegation — about her rugby-star brother changes everything. With irreverent humor and surprising gravity, Carolyn Mackler creates an endearingly blunt heroine who speaks to every teen who struggles with family expectations, and proves that the most impressive achievement is to be true to yourself.
Do I have a review up? Not yet but I will soon!
My Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars!
3) Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
Plot Summary: Audrey Rose is a very typical seventeen-year-old who’s the daughter of a lord living in historical London, but she is way more interested in solving crimes and performing autopsies as an apprentice to her uncle than she is in acting proper and finding a husband. So she assumes a faux male identity in the evening and sneaks to her uncle’s where she learns about anatomy and how to make incisions on corpses. When Jack the Ripper starts wreaking havoc in London, she’s eager to help solve the case no matter how improper it may be but suddenly things seem to be hitting much closer to home than she expected.
Critique: I very much enjoyed Stalking Jack the Ripper. I found it interesting and heart pounding all at the same time!
Audrey is an intelligent and fun main character and it’s a pleasure to read the story through her eyes. The lengths she is willing to go to follow her passion and break free of societal norms is very unique and made for a very stimulating read.
Then we meet Thomas Creswell who is undeniably awkward in a way that makes him very endearing and he’s also incredibly charming. He and Audrey become close in their pursuit of Jack the Ripper and the romance between them is very sweet and very cute.
Thomas never assumes she can’t do something because of her gender and he’s very supportive of her extracurricular activities. Another thing I loved about Stalking Jack the Ripper is that despite taking place in the late 1800’s it reads similar to books set in this age with nods to certain historical events and certain other nods to the time period that Kerri Maniscalco managed to slip in here and there.
Be warned, however, if you’re a bit squeamish, all of the medical terms during the autopsies may get to you and make you wince. I enjoyed it though because I am a vet tech student and found the autopsies very interesting!
Do I recommend? 1000% I really enjoyed this story and I can't wait to read the next two books in this series: Hunting Prince Dracula and Escaping from Houdini!
5 out of 5 stars!
So with that, I'd like to know What thing's did you guys do last year? did you meet or exceed your reading goal?
What things are you looking forward to in the new year?
Let me know in the comments!
This is Lynn, Over and out!
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