This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend. Read the full disclosure here.
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, ten to six. And since it’s the end of the reading year, don’t forget to enter our “12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!”
10. “Heavenbreaker” by Sara Wolf
I don’t get around to science fiction nearly as often as I’d like to. And then I read books like this one that remind me what fun a good sci-fi books has to offer! Not only does this one tackle several of the most popular aspects of space adventures (strange alien creatures, struggles with survival and isolation, political maneuvering) it also included a tournament featuring massive mechs bashing each other. Which was just as cool as it sounded! Even more, I was impressed by how well Wolf managed to make each bout feel uniquely challenging with new ways the joust played out. The main character is new to this competition, and I appreciated that she was immediately just the bestest best ever. I also really enjoyed the political aspects of this story and the set-up of the romance and some of the larger mysteries at play. Can’t wait for the sequel!
9. “The Witchstone” by Henry H. Neff
This was one of those fortuitous situations where a book that was completely off my radar blew me away! I’d seen this title in passing, but it wasn’t until the publicist reached out about coverage that I truly looked into it. And boy am I glad I did! This is one of those strange fantasy novels that’s very hard to place within a subgenre. It’s hilarious and follows a quirky cast of characters who are both found and blood family, so it’d seem like it might fit in as a cozy fantasy. But then it was also incredibly dark, so dark fantasy? It also had a distinct feeling of both urban fantasy mixed with folklore. Somehow, all of these things came together to form an incredible stand-alone tale. While all of these elements worked well (I really loved the two main characters!), I do distinctly remember reading this after quite a low point as far as humor in fantasy books go, and this one returned my faith that it is possible to write a good comedic fantasy story!
8. “A Sorceress Comes to Call” by T. Kingfisher
“A Sorceress Comes to Call” Review
Surprising no one, the new T. Kingfisher book is on my list! I swear, it’s like Kingfisher somehow got her hands on a list of my personal favorite tropes and themes of fantasy stories and then has proceeded to write those books for the last decade. I’ve had favorites, for sure, but we’re talking favorites out of a selection of other favorites! This one was particularly intriguing as it was a loose re-telling of “The Goose Girl” with a lot of added horror and spookiness to boot! How she managed to write a book that had such a slow build of dread throughout while also be laugh-out-loud funny is beyond me! I also particularly liked the second chance romance for the older woman protagonist. Not something you typically find, but so well done, especially as its only a side plot. Feel assured, the next time this author releases a book, it will probably end up on that year’s list as well!
Book: “The Songbird and the Heart of Stone” by Carissa Broadbent
“The Songbird and the Heart of Stone” Review
Here’s another one that will surprise nobody! After discovering Broadbent’s books last winter, I’ve been trying to slowly space out my reading of her back catalog. But there’s always something special about reading a brand new title! And this one was highly anticipated as it follows Mische, a character we met in the previous duology set in this world. There was a lot to like about this book (except perhaps the cliffhanger which is now killing me!), but one thing that stood out was the MMC romantic lead. I’ve liked all of Broadbent’s romantic heroes so far, but this one really stood out as checking off many of the boxes that I personally like to see! Give me the reserved, overly-obsessed-with-the-rules serious man every time! Mische was also great in the sunshine role of this grumpy/sunshine romance, being both a more light character, but also one who has some deep trauma that she must work through over the course of the story.
6. “Buried Deep and Other Stories” by Naomi Novik
“Buried Deep and Other Stories” Review
I typically don’t enjoy short story collections as much as novels, so it’s kind of a surprise to find one on this list! On the other hand, if there ever was going to be a collection like this here, it makes sense that it would come from Novik, an author who has written many different sorts of fantasy novels, all of which I have loved! And this collection was a perfect serving of all of these, rewarding readers of all of her biggest series with additional glances into these worlds. I believe I mentioned in last year’s “Top 10” list that I always seem to include some sort of Jane Austen re-telling on the list. Well, this year, that is covered by the fantastic re-imagining of “Pride and Prejudice” that is transferred into the world of Novik’s “Temerairre” world that is included in this collection. I enjoyed all of the stories here, but this one was probably my favorite! We also got a brief look into the world of her next series, so now I’m even more eager for that to come out.
So that’s ten through six. Next time I will give a countdown of my top five. What have been some of your favorite reads of 2024?
The Library Ladies 