My 5 Favorite Reads of 2018

I made a goal at the beginning of 2018 to read at least 40 books. My typical yearly goal is around 80 so I thought 40 would be completely doable. Turns out I was vey wrong! Trying to fit in 40 books while working full-time, going to school and blogging is not an easy task! I ended up only reading 25 books in 2018 which I’m still going to consider an accomplishment.

Out of the 25 books I read, I thought I would share my favorite reads of the year. The majority of the books I read fell under the Mystery/Thriller/Gothic Ghost Story category. There were 5 books that stood out to me, all in those genres, and I have dubbed them my favorite reads of 2018! If you are looking for a new book, I would definitely check out the list below!

The Last Mrs Parrish by Liv Constantine

This was a wild ride of a story and I couldn’t put it down until I was finished. I just wanted to know what was going to happen! This book follows Amber Patterson, a woman who believes she deserves more out of life, and her plan to befriend a wealthy socialite named Daphne. Amber finds her way into Daphne’s life and family and will stop at nothing to get everything she wants from them. The end has such an interesting twist that I didn’t see coming!

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

If you are looking for a creepy and unique read, The Silent Companions is the one for you! I love a good victorian era ghost story and this one did not disappoint! Elsie, who is pregnant and recently widowed, is sent out to her late husband’s family estate for the duration of her pregnancy. She starts to hear noises in the house and upon inspection comes across painted wooden “companions”. She originally finds them fascinating…that is, until they seem to have a life of their own! This story was so unsettling and you could feel Elsie’s fear while reading.

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

I would consider Burnt Offerings to be more of a psychological ghost story than an apparitions and ghostly figures type of story. It follows the Rolfe family who want to escape a Summer in Brooklyn and come across a mansion upstate for rent for $900. They can’t believe their luck and decide to go for it. The only catch is that an elderly woman named Mrs. Allardyce lives in a distant wing in the house and they must prepare her meals for the duration of the Summer without disturbing her. I honestly had no idea where this story was going to go and that was part of the fun! If you like spooky stories, this one is for you!

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

Oh this was SUCH a good story! I read Behind Closed Doors by the same author as well but personally I loved this one so much more. This story follows Cass who saw a woman sitting alone in her car on the side of the road during a storm. This woman turns up dead the following morning and Cass is haunted by the thought that she could have done something. Suddenly, Cass is forgetting things and receiving strange phone calls which leads her to believe she might be the next woman to turn up dead…or she’s losing her mind. I really enjoyed this book and the twist was worth the read for sure!

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Peter Swanson just may be one of my new favorite authors! The story follows Ted Severson who meets a beautiful woman named Lily on his night flight from London to Boston. They share intimate life details with each other and when Ted reveals that he believes his wife is cheating and he could kill her for it, Lily offers to help. This was a definite page turner and I read it over the course of a couple of days because I just had to know how it was going to end!

Have you read any of these books? Do you have a favorite read of 2018?