Top 10 Best and Worst Books of 2018

This post will be accompanied by a giveaway which will be linked right here. It's my favorite time of the year where I get to talk about all my most and least favorite books. 

I rant little in this one so be warned there may be SPOILERS.

Top 10 Worst

10. Fire -The Ninth Circle

This book was so dense I couldn't even get halfway through before I had to call it quits. It was like this book was trying to be Supernatural but couldn't quite do it. I actually shudder to think of reading, what is it, nine? more books in this series.

9. The Hundredth Queen

This was just too instalovey. You know, before I started reviewing books I couldn't even fathom DNFing a book, and now I do it all the time. I don't have time to read books that I'm not enjoying and it sucks that this happened to be one of them. I had hopes for this one.

8. Stephan

This was just one of those books that were a complete waste of time. It's not that I totally hated it, I just feel like I could have used the time I took to read this to write a book review or something like that, cause god knows I haven't written one of those in a while.

7. Othello

I'm pissed because Desdemona and Othello, who seemed to be doing pretty well for a Shakespeare play got such a shitty ending. A lot of the time I hate Shakespeare plays and characters and this is just another in a long line of plays that I hated. Desdemona and Emilia deserved better. 

6. Look Back In Anger

First of all, who wishes for their wife to have a miscarriage so she can "feel the pain that you've felt", your shitty childhood and losing a child are two completely different things. Second, who the fuck sleeps with their best friends abusive husband that they begged them to leave, apparently Helena. Third of all, who the hell gets back together with their shitty husband that wishes for you to have a miscarriage? You know what, I might even post a whole rant about this play because I'm sure I can make a word count.

5. Kim

*cough cough* cultural appropriation *cough cough*. So I guess this is technically in the sphere of books that could be considered classics. Basically, this book was all about some white guy living in India during the British occupation of India, trying to claim that he was "Anglo-Indian" and just being a complete dick to everyone and spying for the government. 

4. Wild Poppy

This book was just a mish-mash of "why does this exist?". To be completely honest it could just not exist and no one's lives would be any different. The plot was just all over the place and it ended in a cliffhanger and there is no next book as of yet, but it's been two years and there has been no news about another book. Why?

3. 1984

I had to read this twice this year. Both for class, and both times I didn't like it. The thing about this book is that I didn't like the content. It's actually a really important book and I understand why. George Orwell is actually an amazing writer and I understand that we weren't actually supposed to enjoy the book. He totally succeeded in that way. Still hated it though.

2. Love Between Enemies

I read this at the beginning of the year so I don't actually remember the characters names, but I'm pretty sure the female lead's name was Zoey. Zoey has such rich people problems. She wants to "earn it" on her own, but what she doesn't realize is that she is taking away opportunities from people that actually need them and then getting pissed off at them for needing them. She was just a horrible person that I couldn't relate to in any way. I was pretty pissed that the female lead forgave her as easily as he did. 

1. Thorn

I couldn't give number one to any of the other books I read this year, this one was just too horrible. I can put aside the fact that there were a lot of grammatical errors as I don't think English was the author's native language and I realize it was probably self-published and it can be rough out there in the publishing world. My problem came with the actual content. Every other sentence was like a teenage girl from 2013 who loved Tumblr threw up on some paper. There was also the fact that there were some serious misogynistic parts to this book that I just couldn't stand. I also know that I actually gave this two stars in my review, but since then I've realized the error of my ways and would more likely give it half a star.

Top 10 Best

First off, I wanted to give an honorable mention to the Black Dagger Brotherhood + Legacy Series’. There are just so many of them and I really loved all the books in the two series' that I just couldn't pick one to put on the list.

10. The Bone Season

This book was a surprise that came out of nowhere. Obviously, a lot of people have been talking about this for a while, but it didn't really sound like anything I would want to read all that bad. However, I won a copy of the second book in a giveaway so I found the first book super cheap at my local bookstore and decided to give it a read. I couldn't put it down. It was so well crafted by the author she knows how to keep her readers engaged.

9. The Peer and the Puppet

B. B. Reid never fails me. When I need an edgy NA romance, she always has my back. This is one of those books that I've reread several times throughout the year. I was on vacation in New York for my cousin's wedding when I read this one and I should have been spending time with my family, but instead, I was reading this gem. Also, I should have been reading It because I told myself I would finally read it this year and I just didn't.

8. The Cruel Prince

I was blessed with an ARC of the second one which I am currently reading, so this story is a bit fresh with me. Cardan is such a little asshole, but he's a fairy so that makes sense. Fairies are the best and the worst. Holly Black knows how to write a good fairy novel.

7. It Ends With Us

I'm giving you no information about this one because I think you should just read it with as little information as possible. Just know that if you don't like heavy subjects and crying, this one is not for you. Now being someone who cries all the time and hates herself, this book was perfect for me.

6. Queen of All That Dies Series

This series also came out of nowhere. I had been reading some of the authors other works and while I liked them, this is the one that really drew me in. We have such a badass heroine and a hero that is so morally ambiguous that you can't help but root for them.

5. Cracked Kingdom

I love Erin Watt, but I hadn't loved one of their books as much as Paper Princess until this one. This book just had everything I loved about that first book in the series. Fallen Heir was just so-so for me, I was afraid to pick this one up because I didn't want one of my favorite series' to be a repeat of that one. We lucked out here though, this one was a real gem. It showed lots of character development.

4. The Darkest Star

So nostalgic. We got a perfect mix of old and new. Well, I mean not perfect, I do wish we had gotten to see more of our favorite Luxen, but I can only assume that we'll get that in later installments of the series. Also Luc <3.

3. Kingdom of Ash

I almost cried when finishing this book. Maybe I did, I don't actually remember. I couldn't have asked for a better finale to such an epic series. I kind of want to go back and reread the series again, because I've actually only read this series once. I know, shocking.

2. Queen of Air and Darkness

This one just barely made the list. I almost didn't finish it in time, it took three days of dedicating all my free time to reading to finish it in time for new years. I felt so much nostalgia when reading this book. If you were wondering if you should read this series, let me give you an answer. Yes, yes you should. It's leagues ahead of her two past Shadowhunter series'.

1. Wolfsong

Although I read this book at the very beginning of the year, I pretty much knew from the get-go that this would be my favorite book of the year. The moment I finished I started from the beginning again. Wolfsong was my 2018 Hideaway. In 2017 I reread Hideaway ten billion times and this year I did that with Wolfsong and I have zero regrets. 

Feel free to add me on social media! And you can follow my blog in the sidebar to be notified when I post!
Follow @Bookballistic0 Follow

2018 Favorites Giveaway

So I thought I would do something a little different this time around because I do realize that only one of the books of my favorites is actually a stand alone. I know a lot of the books I have in my favorites aren't the first in the series and some of them are the beginning of series' where books are already out. So I decided that the winners of the giveaway can choose either my favorites or another book in the series whether it be the first book in the series as they haven't gotten to the one on my favorites, or if they would prefer to have the sequel.

The choices:

Rules:

• The giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to you
• You have to be following my blog
• You have to be 18 or have parental permission
• There will be two winners, each getting one book of their choice
• The giveaway will run from January 1st, 2019 until the end of February 28th, 2019

Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Feel free to add me on social media! And you can follow my blog in the sidebar to be notified when I post!
Follow @Bookballistic0 Follow

Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2018

I almost forgot to write up this post and post it. Usually, I prefer to have it up in the morning, but that just didn't happen today because I don't know what time management is. I hope you guys do enjoy it despite me not having it up right away.

10. Kalen

Kalen is the perfect warrior boyfriend. He doesn't go around constantly brooding and he's witty as fuck. Love him.

9. Ben

“You can’t leave yet. I’m not finished falling in love with you.” 

Ben is dedicated and so sweet. Who the hell would actually be romantic enough to meet with you every year on the same day for was it six years? I think so. 

8. Leka

"I shouldn't keep her. I know this, but she's mine now and I can't seem to give her up. I'm going to keep her for as long as I can."

Leka is whole ass snack. 

7. Cardan

“Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. Often. It's disgusting, and I can't stop.” 

He's such a little asshole and is it any surprise that I like that about him? I don't think it is.

6. Desmond Flynn

“And the mountains may rise and fall, and the sun might wither away, and the sea may claim the land and swallow the sky. But you will always be mine. And the stars might fall from the heavens, and night might cloak the earth, but until darkness dies, I will always be yours.” 

Desmond Flynn is slick af. He's the type of guy that is so fucking smooth he could talk you out of the shirt on your back. I can't say I would be particularly upset about that.

5. John Matthew

“No, you've got it all wrong, John." Reading his emotions, she shook her head. "You're not half the male you could be because of what was done to you. You're twice what anyone else is because you survived.” 

His love needs no words, which is a good thing because he's a mute. I loved watching him grow as a character as the series goes on. Honestly, if you had told me I would love him as much as I do last year I would have thought you were losing your mind. He's earned his place on this list.

4. Rowan

“Fae warriors: invaluable in a fight—and raging pains in her ass at all other times.” 

I don't care what other people say, I love Rowan. Rowan is sass master and he's legit so grumpy all the time. I find that very attractive.

3. Ever

“You feel like you're mine", he growled in my ear. "are you mine?"

"I'm yours."

"That can't be true," he taunted. "My girl would do what she's told.” 

B. B. Reid knows how to write a good romantic interest and Ever definitely caught my eye this year. In the grand scheme of things, he isn't my favorite that she has written, but her worst is still a lot better than many others.

2. Easton Royal

“I’d rather stick my dick in the exhaust pipe of my truck than in you,” 

Is it any surprise? I love the Royals and I would really love to see more of them in the future. I don't think it's going to happen because Erin Watt seems adamant that it ends with Easton, but I mean you never know. 

1. Luc

“His shirt read MUGGLE IN THE STREETS, WIZARD IN THE SHEETS.” 

Luc blew me away this year. I knew I would like him but I didn't realize just how much I would love him. I think he might have actually surpassed Daemon. I mean we'll see with the next book, but I think he might have really stolen my heart.

Who were your book boyfriend/girlfriends of this year?

Feel free to add me on social media! And you can follow my blog in the sidebar to be notified when I post!
Follow @Bookballistic0 Follow

Kingdom of Ash Review

Kingdom of Ash
by Sarah J. Maas

Spoilers

Synopsis:

Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 4.5 stars. As far as finales go, this was a pretty good one. It was not my favorite book in the series, that is still reserved for Queen of Shadows, but it was definitely still highly ranked. And I’ve waited so long for this book and it’s kind of surreal that it’s here and that I finally got to read it after years of waiting.

I’m kinda pissed that I never fucking heard about the magic school until now! Excuse me, Sarah J Maas, I’m gonna need a whole ass spin-off series about them reopening this magic school and having cool as lessons on magic and such. Please and thank you, that would be epic.

This story added a whole new dimension to everything. We got to see a side of Aelin that we never truly saw before. We’ve never seen her quite as broken as she was in this book. Of course, she’s been through some horrible things, but I feel like this hit a whole new low. Honestly, anyone who doesn’t like Aelin at this point is beyond help. She’s one of my favorite characters of all time and will always be. 

Also, I think Aelin and Rowan’s relationship became much more concrete in this novel. There was so much more emotion than previously. Even for those who may not have liked the pairing before, I feel like there is a good chance you’re going to like them now. Those two have been through so much together and have such a strong bond. Honestly OTP material. 

Speaking of OTPs, let’s talk about Elorcan. Those two are a match made in heaven, they deserve only the very best and all I really want is a smut version of their relationship. I feel like Sarah J. Maas was holding out on us by not giving us all of the details and I would like to kindly ask that that is included along with the magic school book. Thank you very much.

I must admit that I did, in fact, read a lot of spoilers before finishing the book. I just so happened to get this book late and then I had a lot of schoolwork to do so I didn’t always have the time to read this constantly. I came across many spoiler posts for this book and I saved them all in an Instagram album to read when I finished. Yeah for most of them I didn’t actually wait till I finished so I was spoiled for things. However, some of these spoilers were off? It was weird, I would read a spoiler and be like “Oh no! That sounds horrible!” and then I would read the actual scene and it would only be sort of like what the person described or not at all like how the person described it. 

For example, someone said that they were pissed because Aelin didn’t get to kill Erawan or Maeve, that they felt cheated that Fenrys and Yrene got to kill them. When I finally got there I found that this was kinda off. Yrene did kill Erawen, but Fenrys did not have the killing blow. He mortally wounded Maeve, but Aelin was the one to chop off her head. Maybe I just didn’t read the same book as this person.

Another would be that someone was pissed off because apparently nothing was going well for Dorian, they made it out as if he had the worst ending, nothing happy happened for him, he just had a shit hand in the end. I go to read the ending and I find that this is not the case at all. He got closure for the death of his father, he gets to run his kingdom on his terms, he helped take down Erawen, its hinted that he and Manon are going to find themselves together in the future. That definitely is not the worst fate of the characters in this book. It does lead me to believe that there may be a short story or even a novella about Dorian’s future. Probably in  The World of Throne of Glass.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The tiny little scene where Aelin flying through all these different worlds, sees Rhys and Feyre. I know that Sarah J. Maas has said before that the books are in the same multiverse, but now that it is canonical in an actual book, I feel like we need to have some sort of crossover novel/series about them meeting and maybe fighting another big bad. I know it’s a lot to wish for but my fingers are crossed. 

Also, I read somewhere that apparently, Sarah J. Maas said somewhere that if Aelin and Rhys ever got in a fight, it would be close but Rhys would end up winning. I think about this a lot. I just need to share my two cents, it holds less than no weight, my opinion honestly doesn’t matter at all, but I just wanted to say that if Aelin still had the full force of her fire powers I think she would win. I know Rhys has al his super powerful High Fae powers, but you can’t really do anything with those if you’re burnt into a crisp in 5 seconds. Now after Aelin lost most of her super special fat magic, I do think Rhys would probably kick her ass.

It made me kinda sad that Aelin lost most of her firepower. I just can’t seem to get over how epic it was every time I would read a scene with her using her magic. Those scenes were only second to her actual combat scenes, I also loved reading those ones. Sarah J, Maas knows how to write the best fight scenes, honestly, no other author has come close for me.

As of right now, I can’t tell if I’m happy about this ending or not. It’s too fresh in my mind for me to know my true feelings. I’m gonna give it a few days, maybe weeks and I’ll see how I feel about it in the future.

Feel free to add me on social media! And you can follow my blog in the sidebar to be notified when I post!
Follow @Bookballistic0 Follow

November Wrap Up

I had a pretty good reading month as I tried very hard to catch up to my Goodreads goal. Reaching said goal is really hard when I don't want to admit to reading a lot of the books that I did actually read.  Also, sorry this is so late. My dumbass thought I had already posted this, but apparently, I hadn't.

The Birthday Party 

I gave this play 3 stars. It was really fucked up and yet still such an important allegory. If you're interested in plays and allegories I would suggest giving this one a read. 

The Good Place 1 and 2

I gave this show 3.5 stars. I needed something to watch after having finished Brooklyn Nine-Nine and this was just what I needed. It wasn't quite as good, but I still enjoyed having it on.

Blood Vow 

I gave this book 5 stars. Man, this month I just sped through the rest of these two series'. In November I read a couple and at the beginning of December, I've sped through a couple more. A really good book highly recommend. 

The Odyssey 

I gave this book 4 stars. I liked this one more than the Iliad. The Iliad was a bit depressing and this one was a lot less so. 

The Grinch

I gave this movie 4 stars. I liked it. I know a lot of people don't, but I still do. I appreciated that the Grinch treated his dog a lot better in this one. Something that always bothered me about the other two versions of the Grinch is that the Grinch is always terrible to Max who does not deserve that.

Pestilence 

I gave this book 5 stars. This was so unexpected. I wasn't planning on reading this one, but when I saw it on the Goodreads best of 2018 list I decided to check it out and I absolutely loved it.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse

I gave this season 3.5 stars. I was really happy to finally get a Coven/Murder House crossover, but there was only one episode that really had Murder House and the resolutions to previous issues were taken back in the finale so it really didn't even matter what happened during the Murder House episode. Still not my least favorite season though.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Film and screenplay 

I gave the screenplay and the movie 4.5 stars. It took me a literal year to finally read and watch Fantastic Beasts. I don't know why it took me so long. I was finally encouraged to finally go see it when my friend asked if I wanted to go see Crimes of Grindelwald and of course I said yes. I finished watching this right before I went to the movie theatre. I did the exact same thing with Jurassic World.

Crimes of Grindelwald

I gave this movie 4.5 stars. I got to go see an early screening of this and they gave out pins and it was really exciting. I honestly didn't even realize it was an early screening until after. The movie theatre I got to just keeps showing movies early and I don't know why but I'm here for it. I loved that in this one we got more in-depth with Newts relationship with Leta. From what we heard in the first movie Leta sounded like a pretty crappy person, but in this one, we find out so much more information that deepens her character. I'm still crying over other things that happened during that movie concerning other characters, but no spoilers.

Rhapsodic 

I gave this book 5 stars. I just started bingeing this authors works, I read a total of 8 of her novels this month and they were all excellent. I would suggest this one to fans of ACOTAR.

The Queen of All That Dies 

I gave this book 4 stars. This was probably my favorite of all the series' I read by her this month. I read it as fast as possible and yet I still want more.

Top Girls 

I gave this play 3 stars. I can't say that I enjoyed reading it. It was confusing to read, but it would probably be really awesome to see being performed. There is almost no stage direction and all the characters speak over each other. I would suggest skipping the actual reading of the play and just go see a production.

The Queen of Traitors 

I gave this book 4 stars. As sequels go, this was a fantastic one. 

The Aeneid 

I gave this book 3 stars. Probably my least favorite epic. I really didn't care for Aeneas and his story really didn't do anything for me.

The Queen of All that Lives 

I gave this book 5 stars. My favorite book in the series, I had such an awesome time reading this. What I loved about this series is that none of the books let me down. They kept gradually getting better but there was never a huge jump in between them.

Reaping Angels 

I gave this book 3.5 stars. It was really fucking cheesy. I had a bit of a hard time reading it because it was so cheesy. 

The Unearthly 

I gave this book 4 stars. This was like Rhapsodic 2.0, but with a vampire instead of a fae. 

The Coveted 

I gave this book 4 stars. I hated how there was a love triangle just sort of thrown in. This one especially makes me really uncomfortable because guy number 2 is creepy.

Princess Switch

I gave this movie 3.5 stars. I love Vanessa Hudgins but I hate the way she pronounces schedule. I'm just not big on romantic Christmas movies. I didn't like Love Actually and I only tolerate The Holiday because my sister loves that movie.

The Chosen 

I gave this book 3 stars. Everyone just lost their fucking minds in this book. Spoiler alert: Vishous was thinking of cheating on Jane, Quinn tried to fucking shoot Layla. Honestly, not J. R. Ward's best work.

Feel free to add me on social media! And you can follow my blog in the sidebar to be notified when I post!
Follow @Bookballistic0 Follow