Kris & Vik’s Top 5 Reads of 2018

Posted January 1, 2019 by Kris and Vik in Author & Series Spotlight, Book Love, Home, Our Reviews, Special Content & Excerpts, ♡ Reviews by Kris ❤, ❤ Reviews by Vik ♡ / 1 Comment

Kris & Vik's Top 5 Reads of 2018

Happy New Year Book Friends!

This year we slowed down some. Vik has shifted her focus on reading books that have released and making some sort of dent into the MASSIVE TBR list. Kris continued to listen to/read all the Audible books she could get her hands on both new releases and some older ones that have also been clogging her TBR for sometime. 

With that being said there have been some great releases this year and if you would like to take a LOOOONG peek you can check out this page – Notable Book Release of 2018,

We would like to send the biggest THANK YOU to our team of reviewers – Meli Mel, Sultan, and Jenny (who joined our team this year). Ladies without you it would be tumbleweed central on the page.

Vik would like to thank Kris for pushing her into reading some of her favorites, which she does months and months after – as she gets distracted easily by all the new releases.

And Kris thankful this year as she is every year to Vik for holding down the day to day and most of the work of the blog. Without Vik this page would not be going into the second half of its 4th year!

We wish you only 5-Bean reads in 2019 but first without further ado here are our best reads of 2018 we hope you find some gems that you want to dive into as well… 

 

Vik's 2018 Top 5 Reads Header

✔ 5

Young Adult Fantasy

This is an amazing start to an incredible series to follow! It is a tale of two women who live 100 years apart, while everything is set in fantastically magical universe. The book is brilliant from start to finish with imaginative world, diverse cast of characters, and most of all the features strong heroines who kick ass! Full Review with an excerpt – HERE.

 Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

 

✔ 4

College Sports Romance series

I pretty much binged this series from start to finish. The series follows 4 hockey players who live in the same house as curb their bad boy manwhoring ways by that one perfect girl. Elle Kennedy delivers perfect pre-adult angst and full-on-adult sexual heat with a heavy dose of humor. In the end if I had to pick my favorite it would be… nope can’t choose and I won’t. Case closed!

 Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

 

✔ 3

Romantic Suspense

This new series by much beloved J.R. Ward packed a punch with its raw and intense world of firefighters. The entire time reading this I kept going ‘Oh wow, guess we went there’. The story line was very unique and character development was very thorough. There is a certain romantic quality to the series however at its core it is definitely a thrilling suspense of investigation into random acts of arson all over the city. Best part of the book is that it focuses on a kick-ass heroine who overcomes some major life changes and tries to find her purpose in life again. Consumed can certainly be a book that you can consume in a day without putting it down (real life be damned!).

Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

 

✔ 2

Romantic Suspense

Remember when Colleen Hoover used to write angsty romance novels? Well I don’t remember anymore after reading this twisted story that came out of her beautiful blond curly haired head. The story centers around Lowen who is signs up to be a ghost writer to make ends meet. While staying at the family home she uncovers that Verity, the author who penned a very popular series was working on something else entirely. Something that forces Lowen to dive deeper into Verity’s past, past that drives her closer to her family and husband. This book is definitely a thrilling suspense first and romantic tale second, so before diving in grab your security blanket.

Get your e-book *here* 

 

✔ 1

Psychological Thriller

Do not get scared by the rating you will see either on Goodreads or Amazon. I guess you can describe this book as the one people love to hate… or hate to love. Either way I fell into the category of just LOVE! The series follow a woman whose life takes her to some dark places. Abandon all morals and dive in into this twisted, dark tale of self-discovery.

 Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

**I had a great deal of really amazing reads this year. If we did a top 10 these would round out the remaining five spots for me. 6) Pestilence (The Four Horsemen Book 1) by Laura Thalassa 7) Shadow and Ice (Gods of War #1) by Gena Showalter 8) Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren 9) The Chateau (The Original Sinners #9) by Tiffany Reisz 10) A Nordic King by Karina Halle **

 

 

Kris's 2018 Top 5 Reads Header

✔ 5

Young Adult Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Kingdom of Ash is the final book *maybe* in the popular Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. There are 8 books in this series and often when people are starting the first question they have is about reading order. I suggest not reading Assassins Blade which is a compilation of novellas first but rather to read it in this order: Throne of glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Assassins Blade, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn (YES you do have to read this) and Kingdom of Ash. This book was majorly epic. I know sometimes after a series goes on for too long it starts to wain in quality but this is so not the case in this series. Maas thoughtfully introduced new characters about half way through the series that injected fresh blood and story arcs. This last book manages to wrap up any last questions we have and it is packed full of emotion you will laugh you may cry and you will feel anger and fear as she does kill off characters in this conclusion to the series. Do yourself a favor if you love badass females who inspire strong men and women to follow them and read this!!!

 Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

 

✔ 4 

Contemporary Romantic Comedy

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Penny Reid and her writing this book just made me love her more. While it has all the elements of all the Winston Brothers books including talk of Cletus’ sausages and a heavy dose nerd humor mixed in with a wonderful story of love and a splash of hot sexy times this book has an added piece. Dr. Strange Beard is about Roscoe and Simone. Roscoe is a white man and Simone is a black woman. Penny did not spare any punches addressing what it means to actually be an ally to people of color in this book. She also recognized how difficult it can be at times for people of color who come from smaller towns where generally there is a higher concentration of intolerance and ignorance to be treated fairly no matter the content of their character. She addresses “driving while black” and does it in a way that I thought was very direct while expressing the FACT that someone can want to be treated fairly and with the same privilege that others are afforded while still recognizing that not every person from a small town, not every white person, not every police officer is a racist. More importantly as a white woman she wrote about the importance of those with the power making choices that help those who have less privilege and are in the minority be treated with dignity and respect. The narrator for Simone is Chloe Miller a person of color and as an avid audiobook listener this made me very happy to see! EPIC!!!

 Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

 

✔ 3

Contemporary Romance

If you are a frequenter of the romantic genre you probably have at least heard some sort of rumblings or hype regarding this book. It has recently been optioned for a movie as well so I expect the popularity to grow immensely as that process gets closer to being complete. Do yourself a favor and whether you love audio books or have never listened to one and make this an audio read for you. I cannot say enough about the experience. Robinne Lee the author narrates the book and one her accents are freaking fantastic two the emotion that she is able to convey and pours into these characters will move you to laughing out loud and to tears during the more heart wrenching aspects of the story. If you were ever on the boy band train of the 80s, 90s or even more recently you will find a great sense of nostalgia in this book while also reading something very different than what we typically see. If you are up for a May/December romance with an older woman who is a divorcee and single mother then this might be the read for you. The depth of details and the “inside look” you get into the life of the famous was also something that I enjoyed greatly. It felt so very real. The drama was not frivolous and the barriers that the characters faced could not necessarily be fixed with an easy decision or choice which unfortunately is a plot hole I find myself falling into way too many times in some books. Another EPIC read for sure. FULL REVIEW – HERE!

 Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

 

✔ 2

Young Adult Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

FAIR WARNING: These books are so very good and this series is NOT complete. There are two novellas that are actually a hefty size and Book 3 is expected sometime in 2019 last I heard. With that said I was pleasantly surprised with the world building and quality of writing in this series. I could not put The Black Witch down once I began reading it. It is a great fantasy read for those who enjoy this genre. The author also does a wonderful job of addressing various real world issues that we struggle with daily such as racism, classism, sexism and homophobia to name a few within a context that fits the story. As always you will not find any spoilers here but do yourself a favor and put down those other fantasy novels that are not quite doing it for you and pick this series up now!

 Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

 

✔ 1

Romantic Suspense/Erotic Psychological Thriller 

Christine Reiss is one of those authors that every time some time goes by and I take a break from reading her work I find myself going yeah she is amazing but did I build it up in my head to be more than what it actually was??? Then her next book/series comes out and I go nope definitely did not over sell her and her work. This series hooked me from the prequel and held on tight until the very end! I have not loved a series by CD Reiss this much probably since her Songs of Submission  series. If you love your sex scenes smoking hot and your story lines to be seamless and gripping then this is the series for you. The audiobooks were wonderful and narrated by Maxine Mitchell and Joe Arden who work really well together on audiobooks. Joe Arden did a deliciously scrumptious job of bringing Caden to life. Since its release CD Reiss has also rebranded this with less sex as a psychological thriller called Girl on The Edge. It will be available on January 22nd, 2019 in ebook and as an audiobook depending on your preference. It is available for pre-order.  You can find my review of the prequel and first two books of the series – HERE! The remainder of the series were also all 5 Bean reads for me! This is another series that has a prequel that is best not read first. Read the prequel Cutting Edge after you read Rough Edge, if you get the audio book it is included with the audio for Rough Edge and plays after you listen to Rough Edge.

 Get your e-book *here* 

Get your audiobook *here*

**I had a great deal of really amazing reads this year. If we did a top 10 these would round out the remaining five spots for me. 6) The Bargainer Series by Laura Thalassa 7) The Arcana Chronicles Series by Kressley Cole 8) Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas 9) Midnight Blue by LJ Shen 10) Wild Cat by Max Monroe**

Be sure to check out our Ratings Page to see how many beans we have given the books that we have reviewed as well as those that we were not able to for more recommendations.

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