2025 in Books

I read a lot this year. In truth, my family had an extremely stressful and challenging year. Compounding health issues for several of us, moving, financial strain, and the world at large really caught up with us. Books, as always, have been my escape.

Like 2024, I want to do a rundown of every book. As always, noting, these didn’t all come out in 2025. I just read them in 2025. I’ve decided to do my reading stats for the year in another post.

Below is the StoryGraph cover collage for each month and my brief reviews after reading each book.

I have Bolded the books I think were the best and I most recommend!

The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson: This was a really fun book. Our main character is neurodivergent and of poisonous plants. Murder, science, a Brazilian retreat. It’s got everything. I flew through it.

Bad Reputation by Emma Barry: This was a relaxing little book. The characters were a bit too perfect and emotionally intelligent but I loved the angle with Maggie’s career change and the *interesting* character discussions that led to!

Tumble by Celia C. Pérez: I read this to my 9 year old daughter. She said, “I liked how it had real situations, like how she felt abandoned by her dad.”

A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney: This was cozy and fun. I appreciate that the author allowed some characters to go un redeemed into the night, but still a little too perfectly wrapped.

Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher: This was silly but the premise was so good. A paladin with a dead god. A perfumer? Adults with actual lives and boundaries, who are still hopelessly awkward? Swoon.

The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn: This didn’t go where I expected (the romance element is truly lovely) but I was extremely charmed by it and by every character. I also learned a lot about birds.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman: I listened to this as an audiobook, which I was pretty, unsure about given that it’s written as a dossier of collected documents, however, I think it really added to the experience. This was incredibly unique and engaging. As much as I’m sort of done with stories that have 18-year-olds as the focal point, this worked. It’s definitely character driven science fiction rather than tech and science driven – but generally, that is still my preference within the genre. I was also sort of surprised to notice halfway through that it’s technically classified as young adult. I suppose it’s no more traumatic and violent than say Divergent or The Hunger Games. I would just be thoughtful to be clear – this is not a middle grade book so much as a late middle school to high school book.

Gemina by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman: More of the good stuff: tension, violence, fantastical plot, banter, and romance.

The Cloisters by Katy Hays: This had so much going for it and overall, I very much enjoyed it. From the occult tarot perspective, working in New York museums, to the affairs and the drama: it was all very alluring. It’s a very slow burn and while technically a thriller it didn’t have a ton of very high suspense moments – just puzzle pieces clicking together. I did actually find one of the twists at the end surprising, but it truly fit the story and the narrative as we’d been presented it. So in that way, it was tightly crafted. It was, however, a little slow and dry.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson: So many one-liners in here that made me bark out loud in laughter and well-up with tears. This is just a lovely little fantasy tale. It reminded me a lot in tone of Discworld and Terry Pratchett novels. It was clever, sentimental, oh so charming.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill: Barnhill is a master. This was my first adult fiction of hers, and it was truly moving. The metaphor, the sorrow, the joy – the feminine experience was all there.

Obsidio by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman: Nothing beats the first one but I loved this trilogy.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman: My son is very into these books and wanted me to read with him. Very dark but super interesting premise. I also love all the details with their names in the different regions.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan: This was charming! I thought we’d get more individual stories from the set up but I see that was setting up the series. I got, truth be told, a little bored or distracted here and there but I suspect that might’ve had more to do with me than an issue with the writing.

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich: This was… bad. But fun and ridiculous. Got me through a multi state roadtrip.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (recommend series): This is dungeons and dragons, video games, alien movies, wacky hijinks, and social commentary. A heavy lift and well crafted! Great escapism with enough meat to not be fluff.

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell: Read this out loud to kids. Beautiful and imaginative story. Heads up, actual character death in this, which startled us and was tough.

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida: This was charming and sweet. Great for cat people.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman: I liked the first one better probably, but man I love an AI story. Last 1/4 of this one was really good. Slower start.

Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert: Definitely thought this was some fun fairy tale themed romantasy when I grabbed it. Welp. I mean it was vaguely on theme. This was straight up erotica, but hey, that’s fun too.

The Dollmakers by Lynn Buchanan: This was a really creative and fun premise! Shean goes through a lot of growth. She is initially pretty intolerable. I think this a stand alone part of a larger series/universe? Some of the lore toward the end was pretty complicated.

The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning: I didn’t know this was a trilogy when I started and maybe sometime I’ll read #2? For a romance the romance portions were vague and unsatisfying. The story was too.. too perfect? On the nose?

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett: I love this trilogy (series?) but this was my least favorite of the three. I’m not sure why exactly it just didn’t hook me like the others. Regardless, I love Emily!

The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West: Some of these essays hurt – knowing what’s coming in the 5 years since she wrote this – but damn it I needed this book, right now, in this moment. I love her humor, tenacity, and rage… which helps me love mine.

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros: I definitely thought this was a trilogy and not 3 of 5 (in which 4 and 5 are coming at some undetermined future time) and was devastated by that cliff hanger – and by devastated I mean enraged. Threw the damn book. Throughout it, Yarros thought I remembered more details and characters from book 2 than I did. I found the first half of this to be a slog, but got caught up in the back half.

Single Player by Tara Tai: Read this in a single day on flights. The gaming references were almost a little too much (we get it!) but a sweet little queer nerdy story with a happy (but also pretty realistic) ending. They won, but the mediocre white guys failed up.

Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema by Lindy West: If you are 30-50 and watched all of these films? Chefs kiss. I love this woman.

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer: During the first chapter or two I didn’t think this would live up to the hype, but by the end it delivered. It’s funny and fast paced. You just have to go with it and have fun.

Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis: This was fun! I like that when the double cross enters the characters awareness (this is not a spoiler, that plot is in the summary) it’s not immediate rage – Rian is curious, frustrated yea, but namely motivated to figure it out.

Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating: A Step-By-Step Guide for Overcoming Selective Eating, Food Aversion, and Feeding Disorders by Katja Rowell, Jenny McGlothlin: My 10 year old has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and her team recommended this read. This year has been really tough. A lot of the material in here was extremely helpful. Much of it was targeted for younger kids and specific eating challenges but good over arching information if this is an issue you face.

Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer: These are so fun. Silly but with a ton of heart. The slow burn will-they-won’t-they gets a little tired though.

River of Spirits by Shana Targosz: 5/5 from my ten year old (I read it out loud). Her review: the art on the cover is pretty and I like how it’s themed on the underworld and Greek mythology. Em was my favorite character. My favorite scene was all the clocks in Hana’s cabin.

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean: Very charming and relaxing. Kept waiting for the major conflict, which didn’t arrive until 80% and was entirely predictable but that was sorta the point. Animals, magic, love.

If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens: This was a sweet book – a fun ghost story about authors trapped in a Scottish castle on a writing retreat with some very spicy scenes!

The Great British Bump-Off by John Allison: This was better than expected – silly goofy fun that pandered to fans of the show.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney, Jeff Kinney: Read out loud to my 4th grader at bedtime. These are some of her favorite books, and she’s read this many times but it brings her joy to hear me read it too. Greg Heffley is not my favorite tween character out there but I liked this book better than most!

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis: The writing was beautiful and well crafted but I struggled for some reason. I had to push myself through this one. The mystery just wasn’t catching me.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney: Read aloud to my 10 year old. He’s (Greg, the main charactor) growing on me, admittedly.

Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch: A real dark horse (snort!) This was so creative and fun and unexpected. I really enjoyed the pony’s voice and that cast of characters contrasting the bleak situation Penny faced.

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman: These books are just too fun. Donut’s emotional growth is a character study that’s equal parts silly and poignant. Carl is an every-man hero. There is just a magic something about this series.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 16. Big Shot by Jeff Kinney: Reading these to Eleanor at bed – started out deeply annoyed by Greg but I guess my empathy kicked in and I’m finding myself amused by these middle grade romps.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst: This was sweet and creative but the female lead was frustrating and the male lead was too perfect. But that’s the deal: charming and relaxing. PS: this is all sweetness, no spice. It’s a romance but not a spicy one.

The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman: Still enjoying this series but I felt like this one was a little too needlessly long. The complicated theme/map didn’t bother me so much as the seemingly constant action. It loses its punch over 500 pages.

Quicksilver by Callie Hart: This held up to everything I’d heard about it: the good and the bad. The whole fated mate thing. Calling people “males” and “females.” The 24 year old savior of the whole world. But the world building was fun and the romance scenes were good. Audio book performances really carried a lot of weight on this too. They were excellent.

Road to Ruin by Hana Lee: I’m glad to learn this is a “first” in a series because woof, that ending briefly had me pissed – though I’m not fully sure I’ll seek it out. Good world building and character development but something felt flat?

The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao: I love mythology and beautiful writing and this had both. The imagery was gorgeous. I did get a little tired in a few spots: she was constantly questioning everything.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney: This was a twisty dark little mystery. I was, at first, annoyed by the largest twist, but the wrap up paid off. If you like psychological mysteries with an old school Christie bend but with modern surprises, this is a winner.

True Biz by Sara Nović: Probably one of the best books I’ve read yet this year. I loved the extra educational inserts on ASL and deaf culture. This was a great novel while also being an effective piece of advocacy.

Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher: I was getting tired of 18-year-old, thin, “chosen ones” in all my recent romance-fantasy book leads. So I asked my romantasy sub Reddit for recommendations with bigger and older main characters. This was suggested, and I very much enjoyed the quirky and Woody riding style from the first in the series and so I decided to start here. It didn’t disappoint! Is it particularly deep? no. But the characters are thoughtful and the approach is a breath of fresh air. Clara and the sisters of St Ursa forever!

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn: This started strong but started to lose me. The sardonic snarky British banter got old by the end. The mystery was… outlandish… though fun.

Moon Rising by Tui T. Sutherland: Remember how I already read all of these once? She wants me to read them out loud at bedtime again, and who am I to refuse?

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming: This was filthy and goofy, as advertised, but the swiftness of the conflict and the villain… it felt like fan fiction. Wait? Are these fan fic?

The Honey in the Bones: Poems to Rewild the Soul by Caroline Mellor, Caroline Mellor: This is an absolutely lovely collection of poems. I plan to use “go slow” in my public speaking class as a reminder to my students. I appreciate that it’s organized by season so that I can use it in my spiritual practice. Beautiful words.

I Think We’ve Been Here Before by Suzy Krause: Holy shit this was a good book. Observationally detached but sincerely emotional. Bleak and hopeful. Playful and tragic. It’s a study in human nature. Probably in the top 5 I’ve read this year for sure.

How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis: This is a fun series. I love how book two is a heist following an environmental rescue in book one. Quick, witty scifi romps! I liked this one even better than the first.

Last Chance to Save the World by Beth Revis: Another scifi romp. I love the family angle in this one.

Nocticadia by Keri Lake: This is a fun listen. I suspect the audio performances brought a lot to it. Lots of graphic sex in the second half but there’s still an organized plot.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin: I love classic mysteries but had never heard of this! My middle schooler hadn’t either, but one of his friends at another school read this and did a huge project on it! There are dated pieces, of course, but this is a fun and well crafted character study. The reveals had more to do with the characters than the murder. You could feel it was meant for youth in the end though. Too perfectly tied in a bow.

Winter Turning by Tui T. Sutherland: More Wings of Fire for Eleanor at bedtime.

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki: Beautiful book. Moments of irreverence with philosophy and deep meaning tossed in. I appreciated the trans perspective and the musical education as well. Another of my best reads of the year.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh: I really liked this! Strong YA sci-fi that isn’t pandering and focused on a “chosen one saving the universe.” This was a rich cast of people, all flawed and all redeemable. It was well crafted and felt plausible and speculative all at once.

Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer: This is another series that should be a trilogy. Another cliff hanger had me rolling my eyes. Too many characters with too many love interests and I’m losing the plot. That said, I love how she writes Evie and the quick wit and humor. These are fun to read.

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall: This was pretty tightly crafted! One of the big reveals felt very obvious and predictable but other details were more surprising and still fit the narrative. There are also some inconsistencies that I realized later were very intentional. As in two characters would discuss something. A few chapters later one would say they had no idea regarding that. It was cleverly woven and made me go back and doubt my own memory.

The Lost Heir by Tui T. Sutherland: Hey! More Wings of Fire! Eleanor’s review: my favorite part was when Tsunami was clever and tricked the queen to keep her friend safe. My favorite character is Glory – she’s really really really like me.

The Toll by Neal Shusterman: This was a solid third and final installment. I enjoyed the continued exploration of an ethical AI overlord. While I like how the story wrapped up plot wise, I didn’t love how the last 20 pages were executed. I think it failed to end Citra and Rowan’s story lines meaningfully, in particular.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher: Knowing this was novella I’m kinder to the quick resolution in the final few chapters. The ending is well foreshadowed without being entirely guess-able. Over all a fun horror mystery with an interesting main.

Journeys Beyond the Fantastical Horizon: A Galaxy’s Edge Anthology: This was a great anthology. I read one a night, which means I kept it home from the library for way too long. I particularly liked the stories “the measure of a mother‘s love,” “Giant mechs in the distance, forever fighting,” and “worry wart” but there were many good ones.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig: I mostly bought this because the main characters name is Elspeth, which is very close to mine and that never happens. Story premise is creative. Didn’t really feel the heat in the romance, and his name being spelled Ravyn deeply annoyed me.

The Witchstone by Henry H. Neff: I liked this. A few parts really dragged for me, but overall it was creative and fun. This is also a positive example of a male author writing female characters well. No fetishizing here. Maggie is awesome.

The Heap by Sean Adams: This was intensely creative and unlike many standard sci-fi/fiction novels. It dragged here and there and I never found myself deeply interested in the characters though.

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker: I almost never read nonfiction for pleasure so this was rare. I let myself read it like an academic piece (an approach the author encouraged) jumping from section to section. Of course I enjoyed the dream chapters the most.

The Housewarming: A Novel by Kristin Offiler: This was a good airport day read. I wanted the storyline with the investigator to end a little more interestingly. I love a book critique of true crime obsession though.

Young Rich Widows: A Novel by Kimberly Belle, Kimberly Belle, Cate Holahan, Layne Fargo: This surprised me. It’s silly and flippant but another good plane read. Only hiccup bothering me is that I don’t feel like the prologue was congruent with the ending.

Star Bringer by Tracy Wolff, Nina Croft: Very breakfast club in a spaceship in a really appealing way. Some sections dragged but overall kept me interested. Wish it would’ve been a stand alone novel.

The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman: I liked this one and appreciate the character development that made it feel more angry. He foreshadowed the hell out that epilogue and I have to admit that turn of events doesn’t particularly interest/excite me , even though I was expecting it.

The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose: I can see why this book might not be for everybody. It’s quite slow and is definitely a love letter to artists and performance art, which is a type of art which never actually particularly resonated with me. However, this was just what I needed in this moment of time. I wept multiple times. Marina spoke to me and after googling, I was delighted to learn that she appreciated this novelization and supported the project. the audio book performance is simply stunning – the flow of accents and her care with this cast of characters added so, so much.

The Hidden Kingdom (Wings of Fire #3) by Tui T. Sutherland: Yep, another Wings of Fire for my daughter.

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley: Ooohhh mannnn this was a nostalgia hit I didn’t know I needed. I inhaled this book. This playlist. This time in space. I’m just slightly younger than the main character and this hit. My life is nothing like hers but the relationship of music to moments and awkwardly finding your way are universal 20-something feelings.

Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood: Despite the 3.75 out of 5 score I gave on StoryGraph, I enjoyed the hell out of this. Low conflict, romantic story, with fun video game references. It was a palette cleanser. Like a hallmark story applied to video games, concluding with graphic sex scenes. But still a 3.75 because I mean, this is not great literature.

The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner: I like The Lost Apothecary by this author and this book used the same formula: jumping in time and stories to solve the mystery of a place. Only this time the modern story felt rushed and superficial. I couldn’t have cared less for the personality-less leading dude and the after-thought best friend. We got some backstory but zero personality. I did like the 1800s story more. Wish the whole book had been Mari.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher: This was a relaxing read with that unique fairytale ability to take on awful subjects with some whimsy and humor while managing to not minimize the emotional impact of said awful subjects. I think Kingfisher writes with a character voice that you either love or hate. Her characters are best described as earnest and feel… real. Some find them dispassionate but I disagree. I want a Dust spin off please.

Infinite Archive by Mur Lafferty: This is a fun continuation of the series and I appreciate Mallory’s growth. Needed more cats 😉

The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman: I liked this one a lot more than the last two. It’s bleaker and sadder, but a whole lot more heart and character building. I get a little lost in the weeds (not unlike the actual rpgs i hold so dear) but am always along for the ride.

The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night by Steven Banbury: Rated by Eleanor! Her review: “give this pony more pudding!! I liked how emotionally realistic this was – like her nightmares.” My review: This was a perfect Halloween/October before-bed book with my 5th grader. Sweet friendships! I did have to answer some questions about why the book assumes orphanages are the awful stuff of nightmares and her quick adoption in this story left some lingering confusion – but let the fantasy take you.

Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie: Another fun Christie novel for the pile. Outdated language aside this was a good puzzle – unique in that the victims were children – but the novel was not overly heavy.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell: It’s been a while since I stayed up until 1:30 reading and of course it was a Rainbow Rowell book. The way she writes dialogue is masterful and shows off her work in comics. The local flavor is also so charming. It’s rare that Nebraska is a setting without it being a farm.

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino: This was a quiet thoughtful little book, reflecting on humans, culture, and norms. The audio book performance was beautifully done. A whole life is shoved into these pages. I appreciated the ambiguity of the conclusion. This is scifi for people who don’t like scifi.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver: I love Kingsolver but her works are often bleak, given that I opted to do this as an audiobook. The performance was truly magnificent. I know there was moments I would not have been able to push myself through with a physical book. This story was tough but had moments of levity. The conclusion felt plausible and not over done. Clear to see why it won the Pulitzer.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling: A pallet cleanser after the latest Barbra Kingsolver. It’s exactly what you think it will be. Fun, frivolous, sexy.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Well researched and inspiring look into NASA at the start of the shuttle program and the reality of gay culture in the 80s. The last page(s) sort of missed for me, but this was a moving and engaging book worth the hype!

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman: These grow more and more epic. I love seeing the character growth around the silly and crass storylines. Carl got some more depth in this one and I really enjoyed that piece even if it is a touch cliche/obvious.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides: Attention grabbing and keeping thriller in a lovable setting with the Greek theme baked in. Didn’t totally see the ending and I’m not convinced every part of it held up for me, but the clues were there.

Roll with It by Jamie Sumner: My Elly liked this one – though there are some pretty heavy themes for bedtime reading.

The Unwedding by Ally Condie: The mystery narrative was strong and worked here. Fantastic setting and forced proximity. It just got heavy handed near the end for me. I wish it had maintained a more group centric resolution.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: Weir shines again here – and pushes further. I loved Ryland (and Rocky). There were a few moments where the science and engineering recaps lost me, but the narrative kept me going. His writing style is so casual but energetic and engaged.

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky: This was so charming for an apocalyptic novel. Robots finding sentience and humanity is one of my favorite plots. There are horrible moments tempered through the eyes of an unemotional, emotional robot. I listened to the audio book performed by the author which I very much recommend.

Reef Mind by Hazel Zorn: Picked this novella up at a local con writers booth. It was definitely graphic horror and skin crawling but some interesting commentary on environmental disaster baked in. If you are triggered by pregnancy loss or body horror, sit this one out.

Books still in progress this December:

The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

Hey Harry, Hey Matilda: A Novel by Rachel Hulin

My 2024 Books Month-By-Month (in which I cover 102 books)

The days are short and the air hurts my face. It must be that time again! Time to wrap up our calendar and talk about everything we read this year. Each year (and sometimes in between) I share my book lists. Instead of a list of favorites for 2024, I opted to go month-by-month this year and cover them all. I’ve saved my StoryGraph monthly cover collage and will share my reactions by month. You can also check out my science fiction fangirl post from earlier this year for some scifi specific recommendations.

I read 102 books this year and I switched to StoryGraph for my tracking. I love their data and their lack of affiliation with Amazon (heh). What does it all tell me? I like to read fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and/or romance stories, often featuring LGBTQA+ characters, written by women, around 300-500 pages, usually in printed hardcopy, that can be described as adventurous, emotional, mysterious, and dark. I am happy to break or live in this mold. I’m not bound by the data, but it sure is fun to look at!

All the statistics aside, let’s get to the most important bit. The books!

House of Striking Oaths by Olivia Wildenstein is the 3rd book in the Kingdom of Crow romantasy series, and it was good enough to wrap up a fun series. It relied on the two main characters being kept apart from each other, etc, and the whole thing has a lot of tropes, but a good time if you’re into that sort of thing (hot shapeshifters, magic, and some smut).
If you love graphic novel, greek mythos, and modern retellings and you haven’t been reading Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe, what are you doing? Stop reading this and go read those.
The Book of Witches: An Anthology by Jonathan Strahan is a collection of short stories centered around witchcraft and women’s stories. The poems didn’t do much for me, and like any collection of short stories I had to push myself through some while others I deeply enjoyed. My favorites were The Luck Thief (Tade Thompson), As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand (Indrapramit Das), Her Ravenous Waters (Andrea Stewart), and John Hollowback and the Witch (Amal El-Mohtar). Wonderful diversity of authors, themes, characters, and tone while still feeling unified.
The Song of Fae was the first in a series… that I read no more of.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo is book number two in this series, and I definitely enjoyed the first one more but I still love this crew. In the author interview in the back she mentions that she had to write this book quickly, or at least more quickly, and near the end, you could feel that as a reader. Kaz is a fun and darkly damaged Jonny Ocean character, but some things just felt too slick. Even when she has them tripped up and failing in the middle, he still felt too smooth to be relatable or real. Spoiler-ish: The character death at the end felt random, rushed, and almost forced into the story.
I LOVED Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal. I thoroughly enjoyed this. A peak into another world and culture, a flawed but relatable main character, female relationships, some funny and sexy stories written by older women, and a murder plot.
Wings of Fire is a series I read out loud to my kids. It’s dragons and adventures. Formulaic fun for elementary into early middle school readers.
The Empress of Time is the second book in this run by Kylie Lee Baker. I love the setting of this series, the Yōkai, and the characters. It’s just that most of this book is spent on Ren’s internal monologue of self doubt and guilt. That’s important, sure, but I got tired of her. Meanwhile the conflicts came and went too easily. I found Neven’s storyline particularly disappointing, particularly in the first half. There was so much more to explain and cover there. Book one was better.
Neil Gaiman’s short story collection is masterful, as always.
Brooms by Jasmine Walls was a fun graphic novel about race and broom races.
Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg starts strong and has a great premise. It’s overall a fun mystery and had good stakes, but didn’t quite hook me.

I’m marching through the Christie library. The Seven Dials Mystery is much more thriller/capper than a pure murder mystery.
Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty was a really fun combination of two genres I love: scifi and mystery. Mallory was the quintessential murder mystery female lead, but I loved that by the second half of the book she was almost rarely our narrative voice. The author weaves a pretty complex mystery. I’m not sure every piece of it really held together for me by the conclusion, but it made enough sense, and I hadn’t guessed it!
A stand alone Wings of Fire prequel. Read this out loud to kids. Eleanor, age 9, says “ I liked it a lot more than I expected. My favorite character was Wren, because she seems to be very brave and intimidating. I love the element of a dragon loving snails.”
Now You See Us was my second read by Balli Kaur Jaswal. This was darker and sadder than her other book, but a glimpse into a world I am generally totally blind to. I found myself so moved by the end. This is maybe one of my favorites of the year.
I love a sweet Holmberg novel and Keeper of Enchanted Rooms didn’t disappoint! As always a thoughtful plot, fun characters, magic, friendship – all the boxes checked.
The Canopy Keepers by Veronica G. Henry was a creative exploration of environmental disaster, firefighting, and forest fires. I feel like it needed more development and editing to take it to the next level though.
I LOVED Brandi Carlile’s memoir, Broken Horses. You must listen to the audiobook version where she plays songs at the end of each chapter. I deeply appreciate and love this artist. The details about the industry, juxtaposed with her day to day life and background were so charming.

Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet by Taylor Lorenz is a real deep dive into social media, influencers, and creators. She touches on how the platforms themselves work, but the primary focus is on the users. It also made me strangely nostalgic for the early days of Twitter. It wasn’t perfect, but I miss that little bit of Internet magic.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers was my first Chamber’s book – and WOW. This short-ish story manages to be deep and philosophical while retaining its whimsical and easy quality. It was charming, relatable, and challenging – all at once. One of my best of the year.
Underbelly Yoga (online) got me through COVID. I love this human. If you love yoga but have questioned the wellness world that orbits it, check out Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance by Jessamyn Stanley.
McGuire is one of my fav authors, and I loved Middle Game but Seasonal Fears was too slow and repetitive for me. The constant refrain of the “boy who loves a broken girl” was boring.
Just take it from BookTok, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros scratches the fantasy romance itch! It’s pretty derivative of other books (Divergent with dragons), but the twists are fun. It could’ve done with a bit more editing, as the “will they won’t they” got a little eye rollingly annoying at times (they will). I listed to this one mostly over a 9 hour drive home from Colorado and the GraphicAudio production was pretty good. I read the second one on my Kindle in their voices.
Sea Change by Gina Chung was more sad than I expected, but also pretty great. You find yourself relating and its jarring.
Exalted by Anna Dorn had me judging others and occasionally feeling judged. This book makes you feel bummed out, but you still can’t put it down. It’s grimy, gritty, nasty, fascinating. Darkly funny in moments, and bitingly earnest in others. Dawn and Emily are extremely unlikeable and don’t hold your breath for redemption.
Kelly Barnhill is a master. I read The Girl Who Drank the Moon out loud to my 9 and 11 year olds. This is so witty and sophisticated while still perfect for elementary kids. We loved it. The story is simply beautiful.
Monster of the Week is a game guide for running the game. I ran this game last spring for a gaming group and it’s fun! Slightly less complicated than D&D.
The Night & Its Moon by Piper C.J. is a nice lesbian love story set in a fantasy world – and the cover art is killer – but it needed a little more development and work I think. This felt undercooked. I believe there is more in this series, but I didn’t feel moved to continue.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is a cozy blanket for academic nerds who love fairy mythology. It’s a slow (sloooow) burn romance that never gets on-page spicy. It’s a cup of tea. It’s snow falling while you make a fire in the hearth. It’s a warm hug.
You already know I loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers follows it up. This sequel truly builds on the nurturing honest nature of the first. The audio books are also excellently performed.

Betty’s Little Basement Garden gave me feelings. I almost didn’t finish it and admittedly sped-read through the last quarter. All the ingredients of a good story were there, but it just turned preachy and felt hastily written. I support the medical and recreational use of cannabis but even I got sick of the constant lectures on “the power of this plant.” The two main male characters that Betty forms relationships with speak to her like super aggressive therapists and then randomly in language coded as… Health food sellers? Hippies? Stoners? Their motivation to hound this woman’s boundaries so intensely is baffling. Her friends are awful stereotypes wrapped in nice bows. There was supposed to be some mystical part of this, but it all fell flat to me.
The resolution is relatively outlandish, but I loved The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill. I was about a half of the way through when I realized it was the same author as ‘The Woman in the Library,’ which I also adored.
The second installment in this series, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett, raises the stakes but is just as cozy.
More Wings of Fire with the kids!
Luster by Raven Leilani. Just… holy shit. That was so good. Hard, bleak, funny, dirty. The writing was so good. Nuanced and elegant while coarse and blunt somehow.
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall was charming, and sweet, but predictable and forgettable. The source material was too close to the top.
I wanted to love The First Bright Thing, really I did. The plot in one sentence: A time-traveler, gay, jewish ringleader leads a 1920’s train circus of superheroes through the Midwest, trying to stop WWII from happening after-work, while outrunning her abusive ex whom she met when accidentally saving him the trenches during WWI. This is a WILD sentence. The messaging was heavy handed and the plot tried to do too much for too many characters. Also time travel almost always fucks up a story. There’s so much more that could’ve been done about the Circus King.
I read The Lady with the Dark Hair by Erin Bartels on planes and that the right settings. Not too complicated and a little too easy, but still complex and arty enough to be engaging.

Iron Flame, the second in the series is a good time, sexy, and hey! Dragons! Is it serious literature? No. Are the characters a little one-note in tone and inner narrative? Yes. Did that make it less fun to read? No.
I struggled to pick up Fables and Spells: Collected and New Short Fiction and Poetry by adrienne maree brown a few times, but then enjoyed it every time I did. I love poetry, but sometimes have to force myself to it. I read a lot of this book out loud to myself which helped quite a bit. I very much enjoyed the short stories. Favorite stories/poems: a moon kind of night, Nikki Giovanni in Space, I’m Rare, The Children (a solstice poem), and Marla and the Creation Committee.
Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson is a sweet middle grade age book I read out loud to my two kids. There’s a sequel and I think we’ll pick it up. We loved all the Irish lore!
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was a beautiful character study and a fun scifi romp. It is the first in Becky Chamber’s Wayfarer’s series, which follows different characters and places in the same universe each time. I fell in love immediately. Chambers is my author of the year.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree… I am admittedly a little done with the whole “dungeons and dragons characters outside of combat” novels, this is sweet and charming and well written. Not a ton of substance here but it was cozy.
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon is one I still think about. It was unexpected and extremely creative. It was so very sad but also so straightforward, veering into dry humor. The tone was really unique.
As a feminist science fiction fan, I always feel a bit ashamed that I haven’t read more Le Guin and that (frankly) I don’t enjoy her work more than I do. I found the first 2/3 of The Left Hand of Darkness relatively tedious to get through but the final third was engaging. It’s a lot of politics. I also understand that her interest in exploring gender and sex was revolutionary at the time she was writing, and I admire and respect that, but in modern reading, the constant discussion of the technicalities gets a little old.

Escaping Exodus: Symbiosis by Nicky Drayden explored more of the other factions and tribes from the first novel, and asked people to question cultures and norms. I didn’t quite fall into this one as much as I did the first one but really enjoyed it.
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang was much more depressing than I expected and less whimsical than described. A gay love story with lots of pain and violence.
I read Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Witchcraft and Mayhem out loud to the kids. It’s full of fun Nigerian folklore and I had to spend some serious time looking up how to pronounce things, but it was worth it.
Poor Things … this … made me feel deeply weird. I still haven’t watched the film, and get the impression the tone may be a little different? I couldn’t get beyond the “she has the mind of a toddler and that’s sexy” part of this, from the perspective of our narrator, to really sink into it.
I feel like Veridian Sterling Fakes It by Jennifer Gooch Hummer may be needed a little more development? The big twist felt a little haphazard and the buildup felt mismatched to the reveal. I also found I didn’t like our main character very much. She just seemed… I don’t know… annoying.
Chambers manages to take dense science fiction concepts, like how we define sentient beings and the ethics of artificial intelligence and labor, and make them feel like a conversation about humanity and individuals. She is a master of characters and such a gift to this genre and A Closed and Common Orbit is a lovely example of her mastery.
The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam was a nuanced look at business, tech, and gender politics. No one was untouchable or infallible. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book – it was not what I expected.
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. Of all the Wayfarers books, this one got me the most emotional. I was initially worried about how many different storylines and characters we were following, but quickly fell into it and sorted them out in my mind. Oh humanity – we so messy.
Hard to capture lightning in a bottle twice. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline comes near to the fun romp of the first novel, but also allows itself to become a less organized carbon copy.

More Chambers. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is the last Wayfarers. This is the thoughtful introspective science fiction I have wanted my entire life. I have rapidly run through Chambers entire library and I can’t wait for her to write more.
I listened to The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe as an audiobook and read the next two on my Kindle. This checked all the boxes for me. Definitely had elements of hard science fiction (AI, tech, etc), but also real character growth, cultural friction, political intrigue, and a solid mystery. The romance is incredibly compelling and slow paced – utterly charming as it compliments the plot rather than becoming the plot. This isn’t a romance novel, but a science fiction novel that looks at love.
Nine Tailed by Jayci Lee felt really rushed. I loved the lore and exploring that world, otherwise this felt like several book pitches that were all still under development. It needed a slower placed plot with better character development. I also don’t know what the preoccupation with virginity is in romance novels (or more so why that archaic ideal prevails). We’re supposed to believe that she’s crazy hot but also 132-year-old virgin? Why? You can still showcase that two people deeply love and care for one another, and that makes a physical intimacy more satisfying, without having the women be virgins.
The Fractured Dark follows The Blighted Stars. This second installment lacked some of the charm of the first. I lost the threads a little bit as the mystery and character motivations got a little bit more complicated – but I kept going! Still pretty solid.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells is the first of the short Murder Bot novellas. The voice and concept feels so fresh. I only wish they were longer! You’ll see I zoomed through Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exist Strategy.
The Bound Worlds by Megan E. O’Keefe wraps up the triology. Nothing beats the first one for me, but this was a decent wrap-up. I’m wary of time travel stories is it always seems to screw up a decent mystery and plot. This definitely edged that for me. I also could go either way on the ending. There’s a part of me that, while hard, almost wished the author would’ve stuck with the “almost end.”
This was not the first time I’ve read The Fellowship of the Ring, but it was my first time reading it with my son. You forget that the book is much slower than the films. So much hobbit lore and time in the shire.
Network Effect is the only full length novel in the Murder Bot Diaries series. It’s just as charming and well executed. Martha Wells is great.

The Last Animal by Ramons Ausubel is a strange little book. It took a turn about halfway through that I struggled with for a little while, and as we waited through what was a surreal and strange storyline, it wove itself back into reality at the end. The sisters are wry and witty in an honest way, but occasionally felt a little forced.
The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey was written by two people and it felt like it was written by two people. The mystery was pretty good and the writing was descriptive but got a little repetitive (the phrase lizard brain came up like 25 times).
Yes, yes, I’m behind in just now reading several of my scifi picks from this month, including Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. It holds up to the hype. Scifi meets a film noir detective.
Ok, ok. I know everyone else read Andy Weir already and told me to do so immediately as a space nerd. You know that thing where someone tells you that you just have to watch or read something and then it becomes almost physically impossible to make yourself do so? That happened. I started with Artemis which I know was less popular, but I really liked it. A fun moon adventure.
I moved on to The Martian and was partially motivated by the fact that Max’s teacher announced the advanced 7th graders would also be reading it. It’s easy to see why this book was so very popular and immediately picked up for a film. Some of the language did not age well, but overall Mark remains a sympathetic character and funny. I wish that his mental health was explored a little bit more spending a year and a half without seeing another human? That would be extremely difficult.
Finally, I turned back to Christie. I know The Big Four was written in 1927 and is a product of its time, but this one was actually a little tough to get through. The racial terms regarding characters from China was hard. I continue my March through every Agatha Christie novel.

I’ll admit I struggled to engage with The Three-Body Problem. While it’s really well and tightly crafted the characters were not as developed as I’m used to in scifi. A lot of theoretical physics discussions and I’m not that great on applied physics. The show was pretty OK, but changed up a lot.
Caliban’s War is the next installment in The Expanse series. These just scratch every itch! Political space adventure, mystery, tech, romance.
I think Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was a divisive read. I know plenty of people who didn’t love it. For me? This was a truly excellent book, one of the best of the year. It did put me in a weird mood from time to time though and is very character driven. I think it helps if you have a love of games and books that are character driven over plot driven.
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill was probably my favorite middle grade books of the year. I read this to the kids and it was so timely and well written. It really explores the danger of fear, and what fear makes human’s capable of.
The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton was a story that was underdeveloped. We hopped from plot point to plot point too easily and smoothly. I rarely say this, but I think it needed to be longer so that each new discovery, leading to the final, has time to build. The world was interesting and the characters complex, but it felt too simple.
Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty is the second book in the Midsolar Mysteries series, and honestly, I preferred this one! Killer bugs, mental games, old flames? Check, check, check.
I enjoyed the world of Behind the Crimson Curtain by E.B. Golden, and the political mystery was well crafted, but I could not for the life of me care less about this main character and her well-being. The pettiness and stupidity of her actions was just hard to empathize with.

Another Christie! Curtain was my favorite of the Christie mysteries I read this year. I’m sucker for Perot and this is his final curtain.
We Ate the Dark by Mallory Pearson was a lot. The prose was lovely if not a little heavy handed. There was lines that were trying very hard and edged into freshman year creative writing cringe. That said, I liked the diverse characters and setting. I’m still a little lost on the mystery resolution. I definitely struggled to like Frankie at all.
I love Lucy Foley in all her formula glory. The Midnight Feast was no exception. Foley is so good at the misdirects and keeps you guessing, always. It’s cheeky and dark, with witty criticisms on class and wellness.
A Lonely Broadcast: Book One by Kel Byron has a fun premise, love the lonely radio broadcast in the mountains. Found the wind up unsatisfying – but I know there’s other books in the series so perhaps we get more closure later on? I haven’t been moved enough to pick up the next one yet, but probably will.
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh moved a little slow for me. It is technically a psychological “thriller,” I guess, but I walked away mostly just really depressed. I don’t get the hype. This book thought it was really smart, I think, but I’m not sure it was.

I read The Graveyard Book out loud to the kids. We finished in November, but it was primarily over October, with Halloween in mind. I love this book.
My daughter begged for Unico: Awakening (Volume 1): An Original Manga by Samuel Sattin at the scholastic book fair (remember those?) and then read it in a few days time. She asked me to read it so we could talk about it and of course I obliged. The art is truly beautiful and I love how it weaves together Greek mythology (sorta) with unicorn legends, Egyptian mythology, and more. Definitely appropriate for 4th graders.
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton was a good read. Turton is such a creative mystery author – different every time and yet he uses the same creative approaches to a wild final outcome. I’m a science fiction, lover, and enjoy a post-apocalyptic tale, so this one really worked for me.
I loved The Paris Apartment and Midnight Feast, so I finally got around to reading the one that made Foley famous: The Guest List. She definitely has themes and types that she loves to focus on, but goodness these are just such wonderfully crafted mysteries. I recommend all of them.
I loved this writing style and the characters in Dinosaur by Lydia Millet. I was a little unsatisfied by the ending and Gil is almost toooo good of a person, but I zoomed through this.
As a self-help book The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Is You: Command an Audience and Sell Your Way to Success by Lydia Fenet is pretty vanilla and obvious, and I will admit I skimmed some pieces, what I found interesting, however, was her! I wanted a memoir. What a career! What stories! A student gave this to me to read and I’m glad I checked it out.
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton was fun! I continue to really enjoy this author. I liked this setting a lot, though I thought the mystery conclusion was incredibly far fetched in this one. Some character points just didn’t make sense. Regardless the characters were a delight.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley stood up to the hype. It was dark but thrilling. Introspective but fast paced. The end was… tough? Glimmers of hope? Sexy with a touch of spice in a couple chapters, but not a romance novel.
Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy’s Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love by Tori Dunlap. One thing I particularly appreciated after reading this was the realization that I was doing better than I thought. As I was reading this book it occurred to me that I am so insecure about my own finances that I wasn’t even recognizing how OK I was doing. She talks about our relationship to money in such a thoughtful way and it really helped me wrap my brain around that. I also took away some great tips.

I’m going to cover Zodiac Academy 1-4 in one bullet. These are… bad. Kind of in that good way, but also in that bad way. After finishing four I just opted to check out the final book (12?!) and just skip to the final few chapters and the epilogue. The whole “bully romance,” enemy to lovers, and 18 year old chosen girls thing was compelling but also a little gross. Spicy scenes were good, but I hated some of these characters so much that they became irredeemable. I also sometimes see these at YA. I wouldn’t let readers under 20ish at these. Not because of the sex, because whatever, but because of the relationship themes. The treatment is not ok and not romantic. Some sexualized abusive behavior here. … at least they weren’t virgins? (see my comments on Ninetailed above)
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker is another BookTok darling, like the Zodiac Academy. It was.. fine. Honestly, a little boring. Again with the star-crossed lovers thing. We know they will get together. Can we move on to better plot points?
Another Foley: The Hunting Party. I will love her mysteries every time. I’m not sorry. She’s so good at what she does.
I listened to Storm and Fury and Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout over a road trip to Minnesota and back, and the Graphic Audio production of these was perfect for that sort of thing. Although I didn’t quite finish Rage and Ruin on the drive and I’m not even sure I get to count this book as finished. I listened to about 60% of the audiobook before I just caved and started skipping around to gather the major plot points. The yearning, trembling, forbidden love can really only go on for so many pages (including book one, so like almost 1000 pages) before I completely lose interest. We both know it’s gonna happen guys, just do it and move onto more interesting tension points in the story. I lost interest. Big time. And yes, she was a virgin, but plot twist, so was he!
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna was the coziest book I’ve read (well listened to) in a while. Also thrilled for main characters over 30 after all my romantasy darlings this month. It was just so sweet and charming.
Last book for the year! Babel by R.F. Kuang was a little slow, but the premise and the prose and the characters?! So good. It’s a little complicated but the exploration of colonization alongside magical realism was really well done.