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Another a year, another almost impossible task trying to each choose our Top 10 Reads of the year! For me, the word “favorite” is an important part of this list. As I go through the last year’s worth of reading, I often found that some books would strike particular chords within me more deeply than others, even if, quality-wise, another book might be stronger. Of course, this just makes it all that much harder to put them in any order. But here it goes! Today I’m going to countdown my favorites reads, five through 1. And since it’s the end of the reading year, don’t forget to enter our “12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!” on Instagram!
5. “The Jasad Crown” by Sara Hashem
I’m going to do my typical, rather cheaty thing at the end of this post where I include a bunch of runners up to this list. Most of these are sequels in series where I included the first book in a previous “Top 10” list and wanted to keep this list open to new entries, rather than just re-highlighting the same books again and again. However, I did want to include one sequel, and this is the one that really stood out this year! I loved everything about this duology: the complicated fantasy world, the action-packed adventure, and, most of all, the romance which was given the proper time and attention to be fleshed out in a believable way, something that I think is incredibly rare to find in the modern romantasy genre. If you enjoy romantasy and want a book where the author trusts her readers to stick with a story beyond just the romantic plotline, this one is for you!
4. “The Raven Scholar” by Antonia Hodgson
Here’s another one that took me completely by surprise. I’ll be honest, this one wasn’t even on my radar until I saw that it was going to be featured in a book box. I’m so glad that I didn’t miss it! On its face, this is another magical competition book with an unlikely female hero. But it was so much more than that! I loved the detailed politics and religion of this world. And, what’s more, I loved the detailed mystery plotline, something that you rarely find in epic fantasy! What’s more, the main character was excellent and there was a sweet, if very secondary, second chance romance included. It’s definitely a door-stopper of a book, but one well worth its page count!
3. “Wild Reverence” by Rebecca Ross
It’s no surprise to find Rebecca Ross on a list like this for me! I’ve loved so many books by her that it’s almost a given that I’ll enjoy whatever she comes out with next as well. However, this one stood out to me. While I enjoyed the “Divine Rivals” duology, it wasn’t my favorite of Ross’s books up to this point. Instead, I have preferred her adult fantasy series. So this was really a perfect marriage for me! More of the “Divine Rivals” world, but packaged in a stand-alone adult fantasy novel! What’s more, this was set in the extreme past of that original duology, so while readers of “Divine Rivals” may make extra connections, this one is definitely approachable on its own! I highly recommend it!
2. “The Second Death of Locke” by V. L. Bovalino
“The Second Death of Locke” Review
Almost all of my favorite books include some element of romance (though I definitely fall strongly in the “fantasy romance” category vs. “romantasy” as far as my preferences go). But this one probably stands out as having one of the more central romances to the story and boy, did I love it! This will be the book I will point to as an example of true yearning and slow-burn tension for quite some time, I think. I’ll pass on the possessive alphas, the “touch her and die” machismo, and the shadow daddies. No, give me the focused, committed, “never takes his eyes off her” devotion of this romantic hero any day! This book proves that you don’t need to add ridiculous levels of contrived angst to still have a tension-filled romance! Definitely check it out if you want a fresh approach to romantic fantasy!
1.) “The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow
I’m sure this will be showing up on many people’s “Top 10” lists; it’s just that good! This was one of those cases where I cracked it open and was immediately a bit wary as the story was being told in second person. But I had faith in Harrow’s abilities, and that faith was returned tenfold! This was a beautiful, heart-wrenching tale of history, storytelling, and the power of love. Add in a powerful lady knight and a twisty, time travel based plot, and you have a whopper of a book! I highly recommend this for pretty much any fantasy fan! D
So, there we have it, my top reads for the year! Now it’s time to cheat and include some honorable mentions that didn’t make the list. As I said above, some of these I would have included but for the fact that I listed another book in the series last year, so I didn’t want the list to get repetitive. Others were just shy of making the cut on their own, but still well worth a shout out! Here they are:
“The Things Gods Break” Review
“Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales” Review
What were some of your favorite reads of 2024?
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