Every year I make a running list of books I really enjoyed throughout the year that I would recommend to my friends and readers. These aren’t necessarily books within the genres I write, just ones I enjoy. I have tried to give you some info about why I enjoyed them, so use your best judgement and make sure to check for CWs online if you have things that bother you. The links below are affiliate links, so I get a small kickback if you buy something.

1. Nobody’s Baby (#2) by Olivia Waite- You do need to read the first novella in the series to get some context for the characters and the world, but I absolutely loved this mystery. If you want a break from murders, check out “random babies oopsed into a space journey full of supposedly sterile reincarnated people.” It was an interesting concept and a fun story, even for someone who isn’t a fan of babies (aka me).
2. Me and My Beast Boss by Shiroinu- This is an ongoing manga series about a human woman in a world full of half-beast people where humans are seen as lesser. She is desperately trying to carve a path at work only to be abused and overlooked until a full-beast man (a lion who happens to be the boss of the company) takes an interest in her. The story is a bit of an office procedural (think Phoenix Wright but office politics instead of law) with a dash of slowburn romance thrown in.
3. Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti- Technically, this is the third book in a series, but I think it can be read on its own without losing much. It’s a sapphic romance featuring two Gothic novelists who have accidentally written very similar books only to find out, during the confrontation over literary theft, that they knew each other years ago. The two women’s lives were up-ended by the one’s horrid father, but together, they visit a spooky manor and eventually come to realize their lives can be so much fuller together.
4. The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore- this is McLemore’s first adult novel and thriller, and I loved it. It’s a slowburn where we get the intricacies of a mommy-blogger’s family before we get into the who and how of the story. It’s as much about the mystery of who killed Mother May I’s fitness bro second husband as it is about the destructive nature of family vlogging. I absolutely loved the way the characters were fleshed out and how the shapes of their lives are juxtaposed against their mother’s expectations and control. If you’re expecting a more shallow, plot-centric thriller, this isn’t for you. If you want family dynamics and a commentary on online spaces from a queer Latinx author, snap it up.
5. Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian- I saw way too much of myself in Simon: picky, prickly, chronically ill, and horribly anxious. I love the way Simon and Charlie navigate their relationship as two anxious people who have plenty of mental baggage. Costars turned lovers after a road trip to make sure Charlie’s step-dad isn’t dead was a storyline I didn’t know I needed. These two are just such messes, and I love them immensely. Cat Sebastian is so good at building emotional intimacy.
6. The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko- a fairytale-esque story about a disabled made with vitiligo who catches the eye of a man who is slowly turning into a crocodile. It’s equal parts Beauty and the Beast and a tale of making the world into a better place, from the lowest people in society to the highest. I think it’s more enjoyable if you’ve read Ifueko’s Raybearer series, but without having read it recently, I understood what was going on.
7. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe- I am very late to the party, but if you are queer or questioning your gender, I highly recommend this graphic novel. It definitely had me feeling some things because Kobabe’s experience was very relatable as an agender, lightly masc person. The comic is a quick read packed with a lot of gender and sexuality feelings.
8. Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher- I make no secret about my love of T. Kingfisher’s work, and this was one of those horror(ish), Gothic stories that just hits. I loved Mexican Gothic for its atmosphere, and Wolf Worm has that same vibe but with insects. There’s an unsettling history surrounding the house and town, animals acting uncanny, parasites, and a man with plenty of secrets. I’m not a huge scary horror fan, so if you’re a chicken who prefers the unsettling, this is for you, especially if you like your horror historical.
9. Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar- this is an anthology of El-Mohtar’s shorter works, and I was absolutely blown away by it. It is a fantastic mix of fairytales, myths, sapphic pining, poetry, and yearning for places you can never know. I don’t think there was even one work in this anthology that I didn’t think was fantastic. El-Mohtar is quickly becoming a favorite for me as her work always leaves me a little devastated and wanting more.
10. River of Bones and Other Stories by Rebecca Roanhorse- I promise the next list will not be exclusively anthologies, but I really enjoyed this one as well. I am a big Rebecca Roanhorse fan, and I snapped up the anthology of her short stories as soon as I heard about it. Roanhorse is a Black and Indigenous author who writes primarily horror and SFF (with a bit of a horror edge). The collection is a great mix of her smaller works, some of which I read in anthologies or as an Amazon short. If you liked her Sixth World books, there’s a Sixth World novella from the male MCs point of view.

Stay tuned for more great books to add to your TBR pile!