In the past, I would make a best of list for books I read, but I hate holding off on talking about my favorite reads. Instead, I plan to make a few of these posts throughout the year as I find books I loved. The links below are affiliate links, so I get a tiny kick back if you purchase through that link.
- Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire- this is the tenth book in the Wayward Children series, but I think this one can be read out of order. The story follows a Russian girl who was born without an arm who was adopted by an American family who tries to change/fix her. She falls into a water world and finds that she is capable of far more than her adopted parents ever thought she could be while still staying true to who she is.
- Two Friends in Marriage by Jackie Lau- once again, this is the third book in the series, but they can be read out of order. This story is a queer MF romance where both characters are queer! We have a demisexual FMC and a bisexual MMC. I loved how both characters are queer and stay true to themselves throughout the story. It was just super sweet to watch this marriage of convenience become a romantic and sexual relationship as their emotional intimacy builds.
- 10 Things that Never Happened by Alexis Hall- after getting a concussion while having an argument with his asshole boss, a man fakes amnesia in order to keep his coworkers from being fired, but when his boss takes care of him after his head injury (which is real, unlike the amnesia), he finds the man is far more complicated and caring than the jerk they all know at work. It’s very much gay, reverse Overboard, but I loved it.
- The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alex E. Harrow- a short story packed with so much post apocalyptic goodness. An old knight arrives in town with his hawk to slay the woman who has turned into a demon only to have her lover (and the town memory-keeper) step in. It’s about love, subverting regimes that want you dead, and so, so much more in a very concise package.
- The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar- it’s the tale of two sisters, magical willow trees, and a river of grammar. The story is short but has so many layers. Magic is grammar, grammar is magic, both are words, meaning, etc. It is fascinating and beautiful. I highly recommend the audiobook version as the author and her sister play the music for it and sing as well. It is immersive and gives a fuller experience than just reading it.
- When the Earth was Green by Riley Black- a nonfiction book that is about how plant life evolved over eons. What I particularly love about Black’s books is that she weaves history, science, and narrative in such a seamless way. This is the opposite of a dry textbook. If you’ve ever wondered about plant life evolution, especially in the very distant past (think dinosaurs and before humans), this is a great place to start. There are also cool illustrations peppered throughout.
- Time Loops & Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau- a workaholic woman who is feeling unfulfilled by her life eats some dumplings and ends up in a time loop. This story is sort of a Ground Hog Day meets 50 First Dates where the main character has to figure out how to get out of the time loop while slowly falling for the man she meets nearly every day in the loop.
- Don’t Sleep with the Dead by Nghi Vo- a loose sequel to her retelling of The Great Gatsby, The Chosen and the Beautiful, this story returns to Nick twenty years after the end of the last story. He is facing his own demons in magical New York City alone, or is he? When he hears Gatsby’s voice in his ear, he goes looking in the shadows. It’s a story of unrequited love, desire that borders on gluttony and greed, and fantastically grotesque creatures.
- A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbane- even though this book was published in the 1990s, it was a fantastic nonfiction read about the world of book collecting. I think I liked it because it takes place before the digital age, and we get to see the world of trading, collecting, and how the world’s most famous book collections came to be. Basbane also talks a lot about bibliomania, and the history of book collecting.
- Death in the Spires by KJ Charles- because this is a mystery, I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a historical murder mystery that takes place in the late 1800s at Oxford where seven friends met and became embroiled in the death of one of their best friends. A decade later, Jem sets out to figure out once and for all how his friend died and who killed him. As with all KJ Charles books, the texture of the world is rich, and the characters are complex and wonderful (even when they’re awful).
Kara Jorgensen 