Last year I read some amazing books and some horrible books. I don't recall reading so many books that sounded good and turned out to just be horrible or very meh. I don't think i've given out so many one or two stars ratings ever. However, I was still pleased to find some wonderful books that made the top of my list, books that I would recommend to others and reread again. 

I took a chance with paranormal romance and read an author's debut, and although I don't read romance really ever, The Sunbound Curse was the perfect one for me to try out. The book moved along at a pace that reminded me of watching a Supernatural episode. The characters were interesting, and I can't wait to learn more about them in the sequels. Let Us Descend is magical realism about a young woman enslaved in the American south. I do love magical realism, although at times I know things go over my head. This book was beautifully written although the content was hard to take at times. However, that's the truth of our country's bloody past, and I appreciated the raw honesty of what black people experienced at the hands of white slavers. 

Banyan Moon is about three generations of Vietnamese women and how their choices they make as mothers and daughters affect each other. At times slow and frustrating to read because of understanding everyone's reasons for how they handled things, the book is well-written. While I only gave Sun of Blood and Ruin three stars, I love how new fantasy series are popping up that are based on the history and mythology of different parts of the world. This book takes place in Mexico and blends together Aztec mythology and the fight against Spanish colonial rule. I had some issues with how the story was told, but it was still a fun and refreshing fantasy novel. I'll probably continue on with the series.

Matt Haig might be slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. The Midnight Library is only the second book of his that I've read, but he has a knack for writing humans in a way that makes me laugh and cry and love the messiness of humanity. His stories, at least the two that I read, include some fantastical elements, but each one provides a lasting lesson about what it means to be human. Speaking of favorite authors, Michael Crichton is definitely one. Everyone knows about Jurassic Park due to the film franchise, but the book is just as good. This was a reread for me inspired by the latest Jurassic World movie that came out in 2025, and it Is just as suspenseful as the first read through and movie. I highly recommend reading this book at least once if the story interests you at all.

When I saw The Wager come out, I knew it was a book that I would have to read. I finally got around to reading it, and it mostly didn't disappoint. I felt like the summary made it sound like it was going to be about the investigation of what transpired to determine who the courts would side with, but that was a very small part of the end of the book. The book actually details the crew's experiences based on a couple men's personal journals. So maybe it was due to bad marketing that I didn't give it five stars, but overall it was a thrilling read and an incredible story about survival at sea. The Berry Pickers was challenging to read at times just due to the subject material. It's hard to say it was an "enjoyable" read, but it was an impactful story. I do not recommend finishing it in a public setting unless you are comfortable crying in front of strangers.

My reading goal for 2024 was to read at least 12 books. With a toddler in tow, my reading time is quite limited, and I find that my attention span is even shorter than it had been before having a child. Which, since college, was pretty horrible to begin with. Most of the books I read were book club selections for my work book club as well as one I have with three of my best friends. Despite my less than ideal hours spent reading, I was able to surpass my reading goal, and I read 22 books. Looking over my list, I read a fair bit of fantasy, several nonfiction, and, for me, a surprising amount of mysteries and thrillers. As I have done the past few years, here are my 2024 reads, ranked by nothing more than just my general opinion and overall enjoyment of the book. 

I might have ranked Mirrored Heavens higher had I reread the first two books of the series right before the third and final book was released. While a satisfying conclusion to the Between Earth & Sky series, there was a lot to keep track of, and I felt a bit lost trying to remember everything from the previous books. However, the world Roanhorse created is so refreshing and beautiful that I'll be rereading the series in the future. I read Fourth Wing for a book club. I wasn't too excited to read it because I felt that the synopsis was just like a different book I had read that was kind of meh. I devoured Fourth Wing, and it kept me distracted while I fought off a cold. It was the first book in years that I had actually had to force myself to put down so that I would go to bed. After I finished it, and reflected on the story, I had some issues with the plot, but I had to rank it pretty high for how much I could not put it down.

The Storm We Made is a grim reminder of the untold stories of World War II and how vast the suffering was of civilians around the world. It's a powerful story of colonialism and war, and although it is a good book, it is a difficult read emotionally. The Poisoner's Handbook was written by one of my college professors and it had been on my to read list for almost a decade. It did not disappoint. While I did expect a bit more complete narrative with beginning, middle, and end, I did like the various tales and stories of how poison was used, abused, and thankfully studied so that restrictions could eventually be put in place. My biggest take away is that I'm thankful to be alive in 2025. As long as our regulations on food and contaminants stay in place under our current administration...

My first ever cozy fantasy/sci-fi was A Psalm for the Wild-Built, and it did not disappoint. I read it right before the holidays, and it was the perfect mix of philosophy and science fiction. It didn't require too much brain power, the pacing was peaceful, and the world was calming and thought provoking. As for A Court of Mist and Fury, I found the audiobook on Hoopla and thought, "Why not?" I did enjoy the first book, although the world building was not great. I was curious to know what happened next, and I found that I enjoyed book two much more than book one, which is unusual for me. The world building got a little better, and I enjoyed the new cast of characters.

I read Disability Visibility for a training at my job, and I learned so much that I continue to think about on a regular basis. Some of the essays were hard to read; people can be so heartless and bigoted. But overall, the voices were so strong and uplifting that it made an inspiring read. My next top read was not uplifting, as it was a dark fiction anthology: Never Whistle at Night. I don't read a lot of dark fiction or horror, but this was the perfect amount of terror for me. Each story was eloquently written and filled with Native lore as well as poignant takes on modern issues facing indigenous peoples of the United States and Canada. A few stories have still stuck with me, their visuals hard to erase from my memory.

After reflecting on the books I read in 2021, I decided that in 2022 I would only read books that I truly wanted to (in addition to any book club picks). and if I didn't like a book, I told myself it was okay to set it aside. While my reviews were pretty meh in 2021 and I struggled to really find a favorite, I found it truly difficult to narrow down my favorite books to the top ten for my read list of 2022. I know that some books that are lower on my list may have been more well-written, and I debated about what I was taking into account to my my decision. Ultimately, my top choices came down to how much I enjoyed the book overall. Soon it will be time for my top reads of 2023 (where does the time really go?!), but I love taking a look back at a year's worth of reading and rank my reads, even if it's nine months too late. So, without further ado, here is a very belated recap of the books I read in 2022, ranked from least liked to my favorite book of the year.

(10) Sistersong is a retelling of an old folk song. It is a pretty flawless story and was a book I read early in the year that helped firmly pull me back to fantasy.

(9) Cloud Cuckoo Land is written by Anthony Doerr, the same author as one of my all-time favorite books, All the Light We Cannot See. Doerr's prose is always beautiful, and I will give anything of his a chance. This book was a delayed favorite; I had to take some time to reflect on the ending before I could rate it, but it ultimately belongs in my top ten for it's ability to seamlessly weave multiple time and story lines together with seemingly effortless writing.

(8) I don't know that I would have picked up The Humans on my own, but I am super happy that it was chosen for a book club I'm in. There were so many quotes about many of the wild things that make humans "human" that resonated with me. I think I also laughed out loud, and that is a rare occurrence while reading. 

(3) The City of Brass was an impulse buy when I was trying to use up a gift card at a local bookstore. The series was on display and the covers were so very eye catching. I nearly bought the entire trilogy, but told myself I should just get one and wait on the others until I finished the first book. When I went back a few days later to buy the other books in the series, they were gone. I am interested in giving almost any fantasy story a try if it's not your typical Eurocentric, castles and dragons tale. (Don't get me wrong; I love that stuff, too.) So, when I saw a fantasy set in the Middle East about magical djinns, it was an easy choice. The first half of The City of Brass was a little slow, but once the story truly took off, I was hooked and couldn't wait to read the next book...

(2) ...Which brings me to my second favorite book of the year. It's rare to find a second book in a series that is more enjoyable than the first, but I found that in The Kingdom of Copper. While the series overall has an epic scope, The Kingdom of Copper is filled with political intrigue and familial tension that involves a relatively small cast of characters, as far as fantasies go. It was like a Game of Thrones on a much (much, much) smaller scale, and I loved it. I would reread this book without needing to reread book one beforehand.