Top reads to celebrate 200!
I’ve read 200 books this year, and wanted to share the ones that really stood out.
I don’t have a number of books I’m trying to read each year, but I do keep track because I read so much that I often forget what I’ve read by a prolific author or where I am in a series. So keeping a list is the best way for me to stay organized.
If you want to see the full list of books I’ve read (including audiobooks) check out my GoodReads Reading Challenge here.
Best Dark Romance
Satan’s Affair by H.D Carlton
Sybil is a traumatized young woman who has recently escaped from an abusive cult and finds friends and safety in a travelling haunted house called, “Satan’s Affair”.
What I really responded to in this book was the idea of incandescent female rage coupled with pleasure.
Best Spicy RomCom
Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
Come for the romance, stay for the dirty talk. August's dirty talk is off the charts. He needs to host a class or something. You’ll laugh out loud and want to be bestfriends (or more) with both of the main characters.
Best Sci-Fi
Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton
This one is a little unfair to put here, because I received and ARC and this book isn’t out until April 2024 - but it’s my favourite Sci-Fi read this year. Pre-order it now.
Best Unhinged Horror
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
Beautifully dark fairytale with haunting prose. The story squeezes the reader tight, not letting up the pace, while it explores the dark recesses of immortality, love and life.
Best Queer/Feminist Retelling
Inanna by Emily H. Wilson
God-tier level mythology retelling. A must-read for Greek mythology and folklore lovers.
This book is a retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh. While this book is based on text and characters that are thousands of years old, Emily H. Wilson has written a story that reads as fresh and relevant as if it were written today.
Best Indie Published
Linghun by Ai Jiang
A creative, powerful novella about the intertwining of grief, death and life from a must-read Canadian author.
What if you wanted a ghost to haunt your house? Ai Jiang takes the traditional haunted house story and flips it on it's head.
Best Audiobook
Atalanta by Jennifer Saint
If you love Greek mythology but haven't heard of Atalanta's heroic adventures, this is the best place to start.
The audiobook is narrated by Beth Eyre, who also narrated Saint's last book, Elektra. And there is a reason she was invited back again, because her narration casts a spell on the listener that will make it hard to pause until the end. Her voice is Atalanta, and when I read the hardback, I'll be reading it in her voice.
Best Epistolary Romance
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
An enemy to lovers romance, with interdimensional zombies and a talking rabbit with a drinking problem.
Our grumpy and sunshine characters are lonely in their own way, and start a correspondence with each other over letters (delivered by the rabbit with a drinking problem) without realizing they’re speaking to each other.
