Kendall Grey's Blog, page 3

Loki: Quarantine, Day 1

“What do you mean, we have to stay indoors and not have contact with the outside world for two weeks?” I ask as Gunnar Magnusson stares at the newscaster yammering about Corona beer. Or something.

“I mean we’re stuck here for a while. We’ll just have to make the best of it,” he replies, his fair brow furrowed. He looks cute when he’s full of consternation and broodiness.

A vein throbs in the ridge between his eyes, calling to me. ‘Loki,’ it whispers. ‘I triple-dog dare you to lick me.’

I’ve only just discovered the formidability of the triple-dog dare. The cats—Wiggles and Sparky—explained it when they triple-dog dared me to chug the dregs from a milk carton whose expiration date read January 3, 2020. That’s when the full impact of triple-dog dares hit me. In more ways than one. Because I totally drank that milk—if one could still call it milk—and paid for it instantly. Painfully. Regretfully.

Maybe it should be called the triple-cat dare. I think that sounds far more imposing than anything a dog could do. Cats are wild-arse heathens. I sort of love them in a twisted I-hate-you kind of way.

“You can’t keep a good god down,” I declare, jumping on the couch and wielding Huginn the chicken like a weapon. Huginn’s claws could rip a man’s throat out, but he’s controlled. For now. #BattleChicken

“Squark! Put me down, you fool,” Huginn clucks. A couple feathers drift from his sketchy plumage.

“We gods gotta stick together,” I protest and set him on the floor. Sparky and Wiggles lift their eyebrows and lick their lips.

“Neither of you is a god anymore,” Freddie snarks from the couch. His eyes are bloodshot. He’s watching the TV with distracted interest and munching popcorn from a huge bowl. Alex the magician sits beside him, gnoshing bubbly-looking white bits too.

“Which is why you should heed the quarantine, Loki. Because death is definitely not your color. Aren’t you guys worried about this virus?” Gunnar Magnusson asks the rest of us, incredulous.

“Are you kidding me?” Freddie says. “Fourteen days locked up with you asshats? These oughta be the best two weeks ever.”

“We’ll need to stock up on supplies,” Alex says, shuffling a deck of playing cards from out of nowhere.

“That’s what Amazon’s for,” Freddie replies.

“What are you planning to do about food?” Alex asks.

“The kitchen is fully stocked with gobs of canned goods,” Freddie replies. “We’ll be fine.”

I leap off the couch and dart into the kitchen. “I don’t see any goats in here,” I fire over my shoulder. “If you’d listened to me and rounded up that herd we saw on our road trip to Vegas, we’d be set for at least three days. But nooooo. Freddie was afraid of getting goat guts on his precious van.”

“Screw the goat,” my lawyer Darryl Donovan interjects.

Now, that’s one animal I haven’t screwed. Get your mind out of the gutter. I used to be a shapeshifter, back when I had powers and was a badass trickster god. I glance down at the breasts poking my shirt out. How things have changed. Ugh.

“What have you got in the way of veggies?” Darryl Donovan continues as I return to the living room. He looks up from his phone. Pretty sure he’s listening to Amon Amarth in his earbuds. “I can whip up a mean vegan stir fry for dinner.”

Four sets of human eyes roll in sync, and moans emanate from every corner.

I point at Darryl Donovan. “If anyone goes psycho and kills everyone, it’ll be me because Darryl Donovan forced me to eat vegetables.”

“Nobody’s going psycho,” Gunnar Magnusson says. “We’ll be fine. If we have to make a quick run for perishables, I can go tomorrow. We have good company—”

“Good booze,” Alex interrupts and lifts a glass from the coffee table in salute.

“Good WeedPops.” Freddie holds up a half-melted sucker.

“Good TV.” Darryl Donovan nods to Asgard Awakening, which has come back on after the mean news lady told us to stay inside.

“Good gods,” I mumble. “Pass me a WeedPop, Freddie. It’s gonna be a long two weeks.”

Happy Book Birthday, DRAGGED!

DRAGGED, book 3 in my Asgard Awakening urban fantasy comedy series, is now live on Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, and Amazon AU. It’s FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

If you haven’t had a chance to read this series yet, RUNED, book 1, is FREE (Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU) and GILDED, book 2, is $0.99 (Amazon US) now through March 25, 2020. Snap these gems up while they’re hot!

RUNED is also available in audio on Audible US, Audible UK, and Apple. GILDED is now live on Audible US, and Audible UK.

If you enjoy the books, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Reviews help readers find new books.

Thanks for your support! I hope you fall in love with Loki, Gunnar Magnusson, Freddie, Huginn, and the rest of the crazy Rune Protectorate crew. Let me know what you think.

*Affiliate links were included in this post.

WANTED: Audible Reviewers

I’ve become a huge audiobook lover over the last couple years (check out my reviews on Goodreads–and, hey, while you’re there, let’s be friends!). I usually listen to books while I’m on the treadmill or running errands. It’s the only way I can read anymore. Audiobooks ROCK!

Since last year, I’ve produced four audiobook titles of my own: STRINGS, BEATS (books 1 and 2 of the Hard Rock Harlots series), RUNED, and GILDED (books 1 and 2 of the Asgard Awakening series).

I’m always looking for reviewers, and now I have an easy way for listeners to request free download codes. All I ask in return is that you post an honest review on Audible and Amazon if you can.

Interested? Click the cover below to request a review code. There are a limited number of codes available, so hurry!

Better Than Chicken Noodle Soup

Kendall’s Weekly Book Round-Up
Review: A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES

With so many of us book lovers hibernating during this trying time, what better way to pass a few hours than with a good book? I’ll be posting book reviews and sharing links to friends’ new releases and bargains here every week.

My first read of 2020 was A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES  by Sarah J Maas, which I thoroughly enjoyed. You can read my review here. Description for the three people in the world who haven’t read this one yet

Find a New Kindle Unlimited Urban Fantasy Series

Are you a Kindle Unlimited Reader?

If you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber (or not!), I have a few ideas for your TBR pile. Check out these first-in-a-series urban fantasy titles and let me know what gems you find. Click the book cover, and it’ll take you to Amazon.

And don’t forget to leave a review–especially if you liked the book! Reviews help readers find new books. You’re doing your fellow humans a favor every time you write a review.

Get DRAGGED

It’s been a while since I posted, but I’m back! Why not kick off my return to civilization with some kickass book news?

DRAGGED, book 3 in the Asgard Awakening urban fantasy comedy series, is now live on Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and Google Play. The book will be available on these retailers until March 23, at which time I’ll pull it and enroll DRAGGED in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon for release day on March 24. You can pre-order DRAGGED on Amazon right now, or sign up for my newsletter for a reminder on release day.

Also, GILDED has been submitted to Audible, and it should go live any day now. Stay tuned for more about that. In the meantime, if you haven’t listened to RUNED, you can pick it up on Audible or Apple today.

DRAGGED Description:

Friends can be such a drag

Hello again. It’s me, your favorite reincarnated Norse trickster god, Loki.

I still have boobs.

I’m also suffering from a health issue that has a 99.43% chance of permanently ending me (assuming the Norns don’t get to me first). And I can’t find my immortality rune. And the runes I did recover are playing fisticuffs with each other. And I’ve been cursed with an inability to lie. One by one, my new friends are turning out to be old foes. Oh, and did I mention I accidentally on purpose destroyed Odin’s gazillion-dollar business investment, and now he’s sharpening his spear for me too?

I hate Tuesdays.

But I finally got a lead on another rune. With a trip to a drag queen pageant in San Francisco in my future, I just have to convince my friends Gunnar Magnusson, Freddie, and Darryl Donovan that they’re destined to change the world in dresses and heels. That would transform this terrible Tuesday into the funnest Frigg-ing Friday since Ragnarok.

Stay tuned to this page. I’ll be posting a lot more in the coming days and sharing some cool links and deals from other authors every week. Can’t wait to share what’s been going on with me and to hear more from YOU!

Add DRAGGED to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50805428-dragged

Add DRAGGED to BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/dragged-asgard-awakening-book-3-by-kendall-grey-and-kendall-grey

Follow me on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kendall-Grey/e/B006BA1V06/tag=kendgrey-20

 

RUNED – Chapter 1

RUNED, the first book in my new urban fantasy comedy series, releases on March 19, 2019. I haven’t had this much fun writing a book since I penned a little ditty called STRINGS in 2013.

Below you’ll find the first chapter of the book, as well as the audio version of the first chapter. FYI, I recorded this audio myself, just for fun. This is NOT the actual audiobook, which should be out shortly after RUNED releases. I am (obviously) not a professional narrator, but I enjoy playing around with audio and video on occasion. Stay tuned for more about the Audible of RUNED (and STRINGS!) soon

Without further ado, I give you the first chapter of RUNED, written (and read) by yours truly.

http://www.kendallgrey.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/RUNED-ch-1atest.mp4

CHAPTER ONE

There is a forever of nothing.

Until there is a hint of something.

A whisper.

Like the gentle dusting of snow tickled by a light wind, sliding along a plane of ice as far as the eye can see.

Wake, Trickster.

I can’t place the voice, but it strums a chord that resonates at my core.

Wake … it says, softer, yet more compelling than the first time.

So, I wake.

In a frozen tomb.

Freezing.

I see a butterfly through the pane of ice pinning me in place.

No, not a butterfly.

Bigger. Faster. With the brilliant iridescence of a shifting aurora.

I am cold.

The cold bites into my skin and gnaws straight down to bone, buries itself within, carving away marrow, crystallizing into permanent residency. It’s the kind of cold that only shows its face in deep winter when the primary source of light is dancing, surreal colors—eerie greens and blues and purples with the occasional saucy red thrown in to tart things up—splashed across the endless night sky. This kind of cold dresses Mother Earth’s green and brown skin in a sparkling, pristine gown of purest white.

It’s terrifying. It’s beautiful.

And it’s bad news for testicles.

You can literally freeze your balls off in this shite.

Ball-freezing cold. That’s what I’m talking about.

Bracing myself for the possible death of my nads, which I cannot feel, I stare wistfully past the clear, hard membrane separating me from the arctic air I sure could use a breath of. If I were out there, I’d pack up my bits like eggs in a puffin burrow and sit on them until the frost broke and spring floods came. For what is a man without his clackers? No man. More like wo-man.

Damn, it’s cold.

I look around, but I can only move my eyes. The rest of me is frozen solid.

Why the Hel am I buried in ice?

Before the whisper, the last thing I remember is sweating profusely against an influx of poison and fire and death and mayhem that had descended on my person. It was almost like something bad happened. Like the cold had been smitten by something far worse than itself, and frozen testicles were highly preferred to the alternative of toasty nuts simmering over the local lava field.

I scan my memory for details, but everything’s fuzzy.

I vaguely recall the realm-splitting baritone blast of Heimdall’s Gjallarhorn rousing me and the other Æsir to battle. The ground shaking with a violent earthquake. The swelling sea. The chaos. Gods, how I love the chaos.

I’m getting a woody just thinking about it. Well, assuming there’s any wood left to be pitched down there. Must find out.

In the interest of testicle preservation, I wiggle. A loud snap! answers. My glacial tomb groans a colossal protest.

Wriggle, push, shove.

CRACK!

Success! I free my head from the ice and snag a breath of fresh, cool air. I gulp in and blow out. I close my eyes for a moment while my lungs retrain themselves. More snapshots of memory coalesce …

An eerie green sky frothing with rainbow ribbons of energy serves as the backdrop to the battlefield in my mind’s eye. Ichor thrums through my veins. The fire, the murderous entropy in the sky magnifies the raging anarchy within me.

There’s a snake. A really big one.

Ah yes, how could I forget? That’s my son Jormundgandr, the Midgard Serpent, whose body spans the girth of the world. He and Thor are having a wee wrestling match. Their jerks and splashes obliterate entire coastlines and drown civilizations.

And Fenrir, my wolfling child, has a go at Uncle Odin. His intelligent canine eyes and flaring nostrils blaze like hellfire. Acidic saliva streams from sharp, blackened fangs to sizzle holes the size of small villages in the earth. That’s my boy!

Such delightful children.

Under the dim rays of sun that barely brush the horizon, shiny golden armor stained with blood gleams, the contrasting red defiling the surrounding pure snow.

Swords drenched in gore swing left and right, up and down. Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer, flies hither and thither. My daughter Hel’s grin spans her two faces—one side virginal white, the other black as pitch—as she gathers souls like the sky gathers storm clouds in spring.

Fire, venom, blood, death.

What fun!

This is the ultimate fight. The one I’ve spent my entire life waiting for. The one that ends the world and everyone in it.

By Thor’s scraggly red pubic hair, this was Ragnarok!

Which means it wasn’t just a party. It was the party. A party so epic, so all-consuming, so knock-down-drag-out-drunken-orgy-of-violence-and-dismemberment awesome, no one woke up from it the next morning.

Fenrir wasn’t playing fetch with Odin. He was eating him.

Jormundgandr hadn’t been yawning after waking from a long slumber. He was defending his prized globe baby with venomous aplomb against Thor.

Hel hadn’t been toying with gods and frost giants like a set of adorable dolls in her fun house. She’d been welcoming the freshly dead to her underground realm beneath Yggdrasil, the world tree.

I chuckle to myself and shake my head. Those crazy kids. This papa couldn’t be prouder.

Sure, the little tykes might’ve epically failed, but it’s about the journey, not the destination, right?

Also, my kids are what you might call … problem children.

Irrelevant now, as they’re all dead.

But, wait. If they’re dead, then I must’ve died too.

No, that couldn’t be. If I were dead, I wouldn’t be lying under a snow drift with my balls so far up my arse that I can’t feel them anymore.

And why am I feeling anything at all? I’m the god Loki, son of Farbauti and Laufey, Blood Brother to Odin, Burden of Sigyn’s Arms, Breaker of Worlds, Scar-Lipped Trickster.

We gods can sense the temperature, acknowledge its extremes, but it’s not like we suffer ill effects from it. As deities, we don’t mind searing flames or bone-shattering cold. Those things come with the territory. And gods can’t die—not permanently.

So, I’m not dead. By that logic, the others aren’t dead, either. 

But the subatomic, immortal hum that normally shuttles among us on a permanent loop, connecting one god to another, is silent.

I feel no one.

I am well and truly confused.

If the kids are toast and I was buried under an ice sheet, someone must’ve taken me out of commission, at least for a short while. I’m sure Odin would’ve liked to have done it after the little stunt I pulled with his son Baldur, but the Allfather was devoured whole by Fenrir. So, probably not him.

And Thor was too busy staving off poisonous waterfalls dripping from my other son’s fangs into his stupid ruddy face to fight me. Mark him off the list.

I’ll bet it was Heimdall. That golden-eyed guardian of the Rainbow Bridge is a real arsehole. He’s had it in for me ever since I stole Freya’s necklace at Odin’s behest.

Ah, that gig was such fun. I transformed into a seal, and then Heimdall did too, and we got into a pinniped boxing match, and he yanked Freya’s jewels out of my flippers, and bragged to all the Æsir about how he totally kicked my arse when he did not kick my arse, not one flipping flippery bit.

Seal flippers are super slippery.

I slipped.

Also, Heimdall has eyes everywhere, and that shite is just unfair.

Moving on …

I, Loki, am here and participating. Not dead. Alive, though freezing my jewels off. And—

What’s that?

The ground beneath me vibrates. I punch my head the rest of the way through the snow and turn it toward a rumble from the north. The bellow is so guttural and deep, it sounds like the quaking of the world tree.

Maybe it’s a dragon. Or an army of marauders. Or a frost giant belching after a hearty draught of ale.

I fear it’s something bigger than all of the above. Badder. Meaner.

I swallow hard. I need shelter, but I’m stuck in a vast white wasteland of snow and ice with no Valhalla in sight. I squint against the descending sun—

Sun? Last thing I remember, there was no sun. It must be spring or summer now.

The clamor grows louder. When I see what’s causing it, my stomach lurches.

There’s a monster coming at me. It’s huge. Bigger than twenty men. It’s the shape of a box, the color of blood and sea, and has wheels under it. The behemoth growls like thunder. Fearing Thor made it out of Ragnarok alive after all, I check the sky for his mighty hammer Mjolnir or slashes of lightning. I find neither.

The terrifying abomination barrels toward me, its arse farting a gray stream of noxious gas. Its white eyes are more chilling than the spike of ice betwixt my butt cheeks.

I panic. My body held fast by this frozen prison, I can’t flee, so I call upon the sacred rune cuffed around my wrist that lends me my immortal power to whisk me away.

Laguz! I mentally shout.

I remain as frozen as the vault of ice strangling me. Gritting my teeth, I push with all my might at the heavy white slab. Why won’t it move? I have the strength of a giant. Hel, I was born to frost-giant parents. Shattering a lousy clump of ice should be effortless, yet here I am.

And the hissing monster rambles onward, intent on my head.

Another shove. An arm free!

Allfather, if you’re listening from the halls of Valhalla, grant me this one wish. Help me find a way out of this mess, and I’ll … I’ll …

I don’t know what.

Because it’s too late.

The steaming creature’s wheels squeal to a halt, spraying my waving arm and face with pellets of white. Its arse end bottom-burps another fog of toxic black gas. I cough and choke and wheeze and flail. In the process, I break free in an explosion of desperation wholly unbecoming of a god of my stature.

Then something horrifying happens. With a bizarre creak, the transparent sheet of ice on the beast’s side lowers and a head pops out.

“You are right?” it asks.

Well, I think that’s what it says. Its speech is pocked with incorrect pronunciation and misplaced accents.

I stare at the strange head and climb all the way out into the arctic tundra, which turns out not to be the complete wasteland I anticipated. I didn’t see the black road snaking through the white plain from my vantage point on the ground.

The head seems human, but I can’t tell about the rest of it. It has lashings of thick, blondish hair and a matching beard. Big blue eyes that seem as surprised to see me as I am to see it peer at me from behind two round, transparent disks framed by black circles.

“You are right?” he says again, more slowly, but equally as awkward as the first.

“Aside from freezing to death from the inside out, thanks to the ice crystals in my nads, yes.”

Whoa. My voice is very high-pitched. Maybe I should warm up my vocal chords. I clear my throat and hum a quick musical scale. Nope. Still sounds like a newborn lamb bleating for its mother.

I must look and sound utterly pathetic.

The monster-man quirks his head and looks at me strangely.

“You’re naked.”

That, I understood perfectly. “How kind of you to notice.”

I glance down at myself … and scream.

Not just any scream. This is the shriek of a maiden discovering on her wedding night that her new husband has two penises.

I don’t have two penises.

I have two things that are much worse.

I have two breasts.

Big ones.

Two no-need-to-stock-up-on-sheep’s-milk-I’ve-got-you-and-the-rest-of-the-village-covered breasts.

I shriek again and run in a circle, kicking a fine cloud of snow into the air, trying to get away from them.

“By Idunn’s ample apples!” I cry.

And that’s when I notice what’s missing beyond the ample apples, farther south, in the valley of my thighs.

Another shriek.

And another.

“No, no, no, a thousand times no!” I jump up and down, stomping my bare feet in the freezing snow.

The creature waits until I stop screaming. He’s patient. Not judging. In truth, he looks like a person that got eaten by a monster made of iron and ice.

Again, with the strange verbiage and accents, he asks, “Uh, you like this ride into the town?”

Not on that thing’s back. It might eat me.

I look around but don’t see any horses. No Sleipnir—another of my spawn from the time when I changed into a mare and birthed an eight-legged steed—or even a mess of goats.

Changed into a mare.

Birthed a steed.

I glance down at my voluptuous figure. A plume of wavy, wet blond hair hugs my shoulders. My fingers have lost their thickness, now thin and genteel with rounded, shiny nails at the tips. I have long, shapely legs—I check behind me—and a great arse.

I shake my head as I trip over the wire stretching across the punch line to this cruel joke.

I’m a woman.

Not a god who shapeshifted into a woman, but a full-blown, V-card sporting lady who’s got all the mountains and valleys to prove it.

The trickster god Loki, son of frost giants, father to the beasts that brought down Allfather Odin and Thunder-Bringer Thor, who masterminded and personally delivered an end to an entire world, wrapped up in a pretty, bloody red bow has finally been bested.

Well.

I can’t say I didn’t have it coming.

You can pre-order RUNED now, or if you’d like to be notified when the book goes live, sign up for my newsletter. Follow me on Amazon, or follow me on Bookbub.

PRE-ORDER:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Amazon AU

COLD-BLOODED

Today I published my fourteenth full-length novel, COLD-BLOODED. This is book 2 in the ‘Ohana supernatural suspense series. I’m so proud of this series. It’s different from any of my other books. It’s twisty and dark and sexy with supernatural undertones. I just love the Alanas and all their flaws. I hope you do too. Here’s the description:

As the toughest son with the fewest morals, Manō Alana promised his mother that he’d protect his siblings. Since her death, he’s embraced his role as the family heavy, but killing is the one part of his job he hates. And the awful nightmares driving him to commit violence aren’t doing him any favors—nor is the sinister, ancient magic calling to him from under the slopes of a dormant volcano.

A shakeup in power between rival drug lords reveals a half brother Manō didn’t know he had, complicating the Alana family’s plans to take over the marijuana trade on Maui. Not only that, but one wrong move could turn the sexy cop he’s involved with against the family.

When a crime the Alanas fought hard to bury is exposed, their whole cartel is in danger. Now Manō’s blood has him trapped between two clans: the siblings he’s loved since they were kids, and the ruthless, shadowy kin he just learned he has.

Manō can either succumb to the darkness threatening to drag him under or tap in to its power and embrace his role as a cold-blooded killer.

Book 2 in Kendall Grey’s ‘Ohana paranormal thriller series

“Kendall Grey reminded me why I love paranormal so much! The characters, the world-building, the plot—everything about COLD-BLOODED drew me in from the first page and kept me on the edge of my seat right up until that final, gasp-inducing sentence. Five stars aren’t enough for this book!” –Emily Snow, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

Pick up COLD-BLOODED today:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Amazon AU

Also, to celebrate the release of COLD-BLOODED, I put HOT-BLOODED (book 1 in this series) on a Kindle Countdown sale. It’s $0.99 February 19, $1.99 on February 20, $2.99 on February 21, and it will return to its regular price of $3.99 on February 22. If you haven’t had a chance to read about Keahilani and Blake, now’s a great opportunity! And, if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can get both books for free.

HOT-BLOODED description:

“Hot-Blooded is hardcore; no holds barred, throw you to the floor and rip your heart out.” ― Reviews by Mel

“Hot sex, kick-ass female lead character, paranormal, suspense, and tons of emotion. I couldn’t put it down.” ― Filmchick

To Keahilani Alana, family is everything. When her mother dies, Keahilani must take charge of her siblings, but with an underage brother and no education, she’s out of both money and options–until she discovers the valuable secret her mother hid on the slopes of an extinct volcano.

Blake Murphy is an assassin working to infiltrate a Hawaiian cartel. He’s got his sexy surf instructor Keahilani pegged as a criminal–and not just because the passion between them is too hot and too dirty to be legal.

But the secret Keahilani discovered is bigger–and darker–than ties to a drug ring. As reality unravels and exposes truths about her family that should have remained deep under the mountain, Keahilani must either resist the call of her blood or risk losing everything to its darkness.

When Keahilani’s family is threatened, the only cure for her hot-blooded fury is a loaded clip with a body bag chaser.

Book 1 in Kendall Grey’s ‘Ohana paranormal thriller series

HOT-BLOODED links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Amazon AU

Finally, be sure to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway, which starts on February 20, 2019.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are You ALL IN Reader Group Giveaway

★☆ This year, twenty authors have come together to go *all in* ★☆

During 2019, this amazing group of authors will be hosting six … count them, SIX chances for you to win $200 in Amazon gift cards. We’ve already given away $200 in Amazon gift cards in the Are You ALL IN Reader Group so far. Fun, prizes, and other reader treats will be going on all year, too!

★☆Are you ready for your second shot at $200 in Amazon gift cards?★☆

Visit our Rafflecopter giveaway here, and don’t forget to follow each author on Instagram!

★☆ Facebook, Instagram and Rafflecopter are not responsible for this giveaway. Open Internationally. ★☆

My Favorite Books of 2018

I did something amazing (for me) this year. I read 52 books in 2018.

Did you hear me? I READ FIFTY-TWO BOOKS! For a woman who’s lucky to read one or two books a year, this was quite an accomplishment, and I’m very proud of myself.

2018 was the Year of Audible for me. I discovered I can get TONS of reading done if I use my ears instead of my eyes, so that’s what I did. Long trip? Listen to a book. Doing chores around the house? Listen to a book. Running errands? Listen to a book. Audio took a while to get used to, and I still supplement with Kindle (especially when I get really into a story), but overall, it’s been a game changer for me.

Below is a run down of my favorite books, broken down by genre and listed alphabetically by title. Let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought! Happy New Year!

Best Literary Works:

CAT’S EYE by Margaret Atwood – I read this one because my son was required to read it for his AP Lit class. It blew me away. It’s a simple story written in a beautifully complex way, and Atwood’s descriptions are the stuff of magic. (Read on Audible and Kindle)

THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood – I picked this book up because I was told it had a similar vibe to George Orwell’s 1984. Though it was written decades ago, its eerie similarities to the real world of 2018 left me feeling gutted. And very, very afraid. (Read on Audible)

THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern – I’ve had this book on my Kindle for ages and opened it on a whim. I instantly fell in love with the rich, dark, complex world and couldn’t put it down. (Read on Audible and Kindle)

THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston – A heart-wrenching glimpse into the life of an African-American woman with some of the most beautiful descriptions I’ve ever read. Also, Ruby Dee’s narration is To. Die. For. (Read on Audible)

Best Autobiographies

BECOMING by Michelle Obama – ***Tie for BEST BOOK OF 2018*** I listened to the entire 19 hours on Audible. Mrs. Obama’s writing was stellar, and her story gripped me like few ever have. This is a true American fairy tale that will stay with me for the rest of my life. (Read on Audible)

BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah – I picked this one up because Trevor Noah is one of my favorite comedians. His story about growing up in South Africa was funny, scary, sad, and inspirational. I loved every second of it. (Read on Audible)

DREAMS FROM MY FATHER by Barack Obama – The former president shares stories from his life as a young boy on O’ahu all the way up to his adult life as a community organizer in Chicago and a U.S. senator. It truly is a story of hope, and it’s a great complement to Mrs. Obama’s BECOMING. Must read! (Read on Audible)

YEAR OF YES by Shonda Rhimes – This isn’t exactly an autobiography, but it’s close enough. I haven’t watched Ms. Rhimes’s shows, but I know who she is and what she stands for. I thoroughly enjoyed her positivity and wit. Her words changed my way of thinking about the world. (Read on Audible)

Best Mythology

NORSE MYTHOLOGY by Neil Gaiman – I’m a huge fan of Mr. Gaiman’s “Sandman” comic series and have read several of his novels. I got a big kick out of his take on the Norse myths, and I especially enjoyed his narration. I loved this one so much, it inspired me to write my own series about the Norse gods. (Read on Audible)

Best Young Adult

SCYTHE by Neal Shusterman – Completely badass utopian story about a young lady and a young man who are chosen to become killers in a society where few people die. It’s disturbing, heart-breaking, and full of intrigue and action. (Read on Audible and Kindle)

THUNDER HEAD by Neal Shusterman – The follow-up to SCYTHE, this book takes the reader deeper into the world of Scythes, but now the intrigue level has spiked to the stratosphere. I can’t wait to get my hands on the last book in the series. (Read on Audible and Kindle)

SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo – This book is billed as young adult, but it seemed pretty adult to me. I had no idea what to expect. This heist story with a grungy, slightly dystopian twist left me with my jaw hanging open. I have CROOKED KINGDOM, the next book in the series, and hope to read it in 2019. (Read on Audible and Kindle)

Best Science Fiction

ESCAPOLOGY by Ren Warom – I’ve been a fan of Ms. Warom’s words since I had the privilege of working on an anthology with her in 2012. Her stories are complex and boast some of the richest, most beautiful language I’ve read. (Read on Kindle)

Best Romance

TANGLED by Emma Chase – I’m not a fan of most romances, but this one snuck up and jabbed me in the funny bone when I wasn’t looking. The smart-ass hero and his hilarious family had me laughing out loud and kept me in stitches. My favorite romance! (Read on Kindle)

Best Thriller/Tie for BEST BOOK OF 2018

THE PRICE YOU PAY by Aidan Truhen – This book. Holy hell, this book. It’s called a thriller, but I laughed my ass off all the way through. If you enjoy high-intensity stories infused with nonstop action and comedy, grab this book.

Disclaimer: The author doesn’t believe in quotation marks, so it takes a little while to adjust to the style, but for me, it was totally worth the minor inconvenience. (Read on Kindle)