Goodreads tells me I’ve read eleven books thus far this year. They are:
The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini
Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise
Devil’s Kitchen by Candice Fox
The Duchess Takes a Lover by Jillian Eaton
The Queen of Dust by H. E. Dare
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Middletide by Sarah Crouch
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
The Maid by Nita Prose
The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Till Death Do Us Part by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
Many of these are coming out this year and some I can’t wait for you to read. My favorites from this list are Funny Story, my first Emily Henry book and now I see what the fuss about her is, Devil’s Kitchen, and The God of the Woods. Of those that have already been published, I enjoyed The Woman on the Ledge (my review will run next week) and Never Blow a Kiss.
My reading has been mystery heavy–that is the genre I love as much as I love romance–and while nothing has been as great as First Lie Wins, I eagerly finished all the thrillers on this list. I’d never read Candice Fox before–have you?–and I’d like to check out more of her work. I was thrilled to see a new mystery by Liz Moore–there are few better recent works of literature with crime in them than Moore’s Long Bright River and I’ve been waiting for her to pen another read.
What have you read this year? Anything you adored? Hated? Think everyone should give a go?
How to Tame a Wild Rogue by Julie Ann Long and By A Thread by Lucy Score are the two best books I’ve read so far this year. My definition of a great book is one I hate to put down and can’t wait to pick back up. I’m a very forgiving reader. If it meets these two criteria, it’s a great book!
Books that stay in my mind after I’ve read them, ones that I can’t stop reading (even when I know I should be going to sleep!), and ones where I try to slow down my reading to savor the story are ones that tend to end up on my best of the year lists.
I’ve been doing a reread of the Crescent City series by Sarah J Maas. I’m going a bit slower to kind of savor it and then read number 3.
Goodreads says I’ve read 27 books so far this year. I’ve reviewed several of them here already and I read quite a few non-review books while I was on holiday. The Evening Wolves, the final book in Gregory Ashe’s brilliant crossover series, Iron on Iron, is superb; the whole series has been amazing, but this one – in which Hazard and Somerset take centre stage – is my favourite. I also really enjoyed Jax Calder’s Playing at Home, Natural Enemies by Roan Parrish (Em reviewed it here), The Redemption of River by Eli Easton (the final book in her Expanded Horizons series) and A World Apart by Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo, the exciting follow-up to A World Away. Before I left, I listened to (and reviewed) the new version of Alexis Hall’s Glitterland, which I loved. The reissue includes new bonus material, but is – yay! – once again narrated by the incomparable Nicholas Boulton.
i’ve got some good stuff on my TBR – Jay Hogan, CS Poe, more Alexis Hall – which I’m planning to review, and I’m really looking forward to the release of Season Two of Cole McCade’s Criminal Intentions series in audio.
I have read the Crimson Lake series by Candice Fox – set in Australia (where I live). Engrossing mystery books. I came to romance via mysteries, and read both genres.
I couldn’t put Devil’s Kitchen down. I’ll try the Crimson Lake series!
I’ve read 17 so far this year – mostly books from AAR’s various Best of 2023 lists.
I really enjoyed the first three books in Rebecca Zanetti’s Laurel Snow series (all “A” reads here at AAR). This series is more thriller than romance but there is a nice romantic relationship cooking along throughout the books. (Although I think Laurel really needs to catch her sister in the act pretty soon or I’m going to lose interest out of frustration 😉
I went back to pick up Karina Bliss’ Rock Solid series and particularly enjoyed Fall (A-) (ghost writer is hired to write rock legend’s memoir). Laura Mohr’s Curves for Days (B) and Amy Morgan’s Marrying Off Morgan McBride (A) are more recent releases I’d also recommend.
I’ve read 14 books so far this year–and two of them (both recommended here) have ended up on my favorite reads of 2024 list: Jax Calder’s BEAUTIFUL HEARTS (a story with a completely unexpected twist that raises the story from good to great in how the MCs deal with it) and Briar Prescott’s AND THEN YOU (an incredibly angsty book about recovering from grief). I’ve also read a couple of books that I really liked although I could see that some readers might have trouble with the premises: Jesse H. Reign’s RENT: PAID IN FULL is a roommates-to-lovers romance with the wealthy MC paying the working-class one for sexual services. It sounds ick, I can’t deny, but I found it well-written with engaging MCs who just clicked together. The other book with a questionable premise is THE BASTARD AND THE HEIR by Eden Finley & Saxon James. There’s a propulsive plot (with on-going questions about how the MCs will ever achieve their HEA) but for a while it’s buried under the pseudo-taboo nature of the relationship between the MCs who are (presumed) half-brothers.
I have enjoyed books by Eden Finley and Saxon James individually as well as their collaborations such as the CU Hockey series. The Bastard and the Heir is on my list to read!
Alas, I’m having a very slow start to 2024.
I’ve read one book so far this year. The Stage Kiss by Amelia Jones. I was assured by someone in publishing last fall that it was going to be THE romance of the winter, but I found it to be meh-to-disappointing at best. The description says it’s comparable for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon and Abby Jimenez, and I remember thinking when told about it, that if it’s a theater-based romance, why aren’t you comparing it to books by Lucy Parker? Turns out because there is no comparison! Lucy Parker is the ne plus ultra of theater/stage romances.
I just started Random in Death by J.D. Robb. She is one of my comfort reads, so I’m hoping it will help me reset. I am so ready to be out of this reading slump.
In the meantime, I just started binge-watching The Brokenwood Mysteries. Maybe it’s a sign I’m ready for some cozy mysteries? But if mysteries, I need romance as well (obviously!), so if anyone has any suggestions, I’m open. (I’ll look into your list, Dabney!) Thank you!
This is a list I’ve made at Amazon of romances I love. I don’t know if any of them call to you, but here it is!
Like many of you, I started my year reading some of the best-of-2023 titles and especially liked:
Second Best Men by Fearne Hill
Something Wicked by Lily Morton (but beware – it’s scary!)
Best Supporting Actor by Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm
Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly (loved the unique setting and how thoughtful it was)
I also recently read The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren, which is just a little sliver of a novella, mostly epistolary style via e-mails, but really charmed me.
I am currently reading the Heart2Heart, vol 7 anthology, which has a story by Fearne Hill that I really enjoyed. Up on deck in the next few weeks are:
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Amid Our Lines by Zarah Detand
Bloom by N.R. Walker (releasing next week)
I hope Fearne will be able to publish her novella separately at some point – that often happens with these anthologies, so I’ll keep an eye out for it.
I’m afraid I was so disappointed in the Zarah Detand book I listened to recently (You’re My Beat) that she’s not someone I’m going to be scrambling to read again (but I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it).
I haven’t been impressed with anything of NR Walker’s in the last couple of years – I reviewed one of her latest Storm Chasers series here, but as a whole, it was pretty disappointing. She’s written some of my favourite m/m romances, but has gone off the boil in recent years, IMO, which is a real shame.
I have liked all of the Zarah Detand books I have read so far but some more than others. You’re My Beat wasn’t one of my favorites. Amid Our Lines actually features a side character from You’re My Beat (Eric). My favorite of her books is Wear It Like a Crown – I really adore it. I also liked Pull Me Under. So if you ever give her another chance, please try one of those.
I agree with you that N.R. Walker has been hit-or-miss recently. I didn’t really care for the Storm Chasers series and doubt I will ever re-read it. I did like To The Moon and Back and Enemies with Benefits from 2023. And I haven’t read a lot of her backlog so I will probably work on that this year too.
Don’t miss the Thomas Elkin series! That was my introduction to Walker and I’ve relistened to them at least twice since. I also really enjoyed the Red Dirt Heart series, and Spencer Cohen series. My favorite standalones are Galaxies and Oceans and Switched.
I have actually read and loved all of those!
I have finally read Beautiful Hearts by Jax Calder.
Yes, a wonderful book, a very very well done plot twist, and the length is perfect for one long reading session.
Thank you for your repeated recs!
I am so glad you liked the book! Book 2 in the series (Reckless Hearts) is coming out at the end of the year. And I have enjoyed the other books I have read by this author too.
Yes, I have gone and read a few more, I like her novellas too, Anonymous Hookup was so cute. I do not care about sports romances, but going by recs here Sarina Bowen hockey MM works for me in her two Guy books, Jax Calder is also good, via her royal romance (unlikely Heir – good book) I moved to Zarah Detand royal book Wear it like a Crown and like her characters too.
I will need a break from it all soon, there is a limit on how many sweet but still same-y books I can read in a row, still, once I am through the backlist, enjoying the occasional new book will be perfect.
One surprise to me: I loved Sarina Bowen‘s MM hockey books, especially the Guys, so I tried her MF in the same hockey world. I like them less. They are nice reads, but just less. I have no clue why. Does anyone feel the same? Or have an idea for me?
And thx again – I went through those authors strictly because of recs here – sports romance is not my thing, I understand none of the sports and am not much interested in them.
I’m not into sports either, but I manage to enjoy sports romance provided there’s not too much sporting minutiae in them – then I tend to zone out. I generally steer clear of royal romances – I can count the number that have worked for me on the fingers of one hand – (I do recommend Lilah Pace’s His Royal Favourite duology though) and wasn’t very impressed with Detand. Like you, there’s only so much sweet and same-y I can take, which is why I tend to go for tomance “and” something else (mystery, suspense, fantasy etc.) and I stick to a handful of tried and trusted authors for contemporary romance. I don’t read m/f contemporary anyway and never did, even before I switched to reading mostly m/m, because it rarely worked for me (apart from Lucy Parker!)
Interestingly, I really enjoy sports romances even though I am not sporty at all! One thing I like about them is that for sports romance series, the team members become like a family and you get interactions with characters from the previous books. I think the sports events themselves add a bit of excitement to the books as well. And when a main character is an athlete, they have a built-in reason to have a great body! (Shallow, I know, but the fantasy is part of the reason to read romance!)
In case you were not aware, Jax Calder is releasing a companion novella to The Anonymous Hookup on 3/21 called The Unforgettable Hookup. It’s the same story told from Sam’s point-of-view. I think it will be fun.
I really like Sarina Bowen, both her M/F and M/M. I like the Brooklyn Bruisers series (M/F, hockey) but some of my favorite M/M books by her are her collaborations with other authors, such as Him and Us, both with Elle Kennedy and The Best Men with Lauren Blakely.
I agree with you about getting burned out by reading too much of a single author’s backlist all at once. When I started reading Zarah Detand, I spaced out her books by reading others in between. I still haven’t read her latest!
I’m becoming a fan of hers, but I wish she’d write more full length books! Novellas don’t always work well for me.
I was surprised at her novellas. They feel like a book, nearly, in a good way. I am also rather cautious with novellas, many are just an extended intro or extended epilogue and do not stand at all on their own. I do not like that. It actively puts me off authors.
I only support authors who fairly label what they do – either a true full story in a novella like Jax Calder or like Sarina Bowen with her collected epilogues to the Ivy Years.
Jax Calder does well with novellas for me, until now.
As of now, I have read 31 books this year and presently reading Tania James: Loot ( fictional story of real stolen artifacts) and Christoffer Carlson: Blaze me a Sun (Scandinavian noir)
Of the 31, 24 are by Dick Francis, who wrote extremely popular and several times Edgar award winning mystery/thrillers set in the British horse racing world. I had read all of his 34 books way back in the 80 and 90s, so this is a re-read for me. Most of them hold up quite well even now.
Four books from Curtis Sittenfeld: Romantic Comedy (reviewed here at AAR), Rodham, Eligible and American Wife.
Claudio Pineiro: Betty Boo
Two non-fiction: Jennifer Ackerman: What an Owl Knows; Katie Blake: What Kind of Collage is That
I’ve recently gone back to reread/relisten to a few Dick Francis books, as well. With my love of mysteries and background in racing, these were no-brainers for many eyars ago and I agree they have held up pretty well. Audible has several of his books on Audible Plus, and I just recently listened to Bolt.
I also recently listened to Bolt on audio. I prefer reading to listening on audio. I can finish reading two books in the time it takes to finish one book on audio 🙂
I always have a print book and an audiobook goiing. I like audiobooks because I can listen to them while I do other things, like chores, cooking, walking, driving, drawing, or relaxing with the hidden object tablet games I enjoy. For me, a talented narrator can really elevate the experience. It often takes me longer to finish print books because I’m not great at sitting still if I don’t have anything to occupy my hands. 🙂
Same – I usually have one ebook and one audiobook on the go. I drive to work and often have to sit in traffic – bring able to listen to a book keeps me sane while crawling along at 5 mph!
Goodreads says I’ve read 24 books, although I’ve relistened to 8 or so books on audio that I didn’t record again. The 24 does include a couple of rereads (the audiobook for a print books I’ve read) and several memorbable novellas, like Curio by C.S. Poe, Playground Games by Lily Morton, and Reindeer Games by N.R. Walker.
The best have been:
A Pirate’s Pleasure by H.L. Day
Best Supporting Actor by Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm
The Art of Husbandry by Jay Hogan (new on audio)
Pinot and Pineapple Lumps by Jay Hogan (new on audio)
I’ve read several good books that ended up with B ratings, like:
To Catch a Fallen Leaf by Fearne Hill (audio)
The Station by Keira Andrews (audio)
The Demon’s in the Details by Meghan Maslow (audio)
To the Moon and Back by N.R. Walker (audio)
Chaos Station by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen (good, but not sure I’ll continue the series)
Fire Season by K.D. Casey (audio)
I’m looking forward to listening to Alexis Hall’s rerelease of Waiting for the Flood on audio, and Jay Hogan’s The Science of Attraction in print.
I’m also hoping to find a good mystery series (not pshychological thrillers) to enjoy. I’ve tried two cozy mysteries this month and they were both so cliche and boring. The most enjoyable cozies I’ve read are the Lady Hardcastle books. I’d love some old-fashioned mysteries like Martha Grimes and Marjory Allingham but I’ve read all of their and most of the other better known mystery authors.
For historical mysteries, have you already read Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey series or her Veronica Speedwell series? I also loved Georgina Clarke’s two Lizzie Hardwicke mysteries. There have been no more published in the series, which is a shame because they are so good.
I’m not sure how current you are looking for if you want contemporary mysteries. If you like books featuring female private detectives, in the 1990s to early 2000s I enjoyed Sue Grafton’s alphabet series featuring Kinsey Millhone as well as Karen Kijewski’s Kat Colorado and Selma Eichler’s Desiree Shapiro series. During the same period, I also liked Denise Swanson’s Scumble River series (features a school psychologist).
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve read at least some of the Lady Jane Grey books, but not the Speedwell ones. I also read quite a few of Sue Grafton’s books back in the day, but I don’t think I finished the series. I may need to go back and revisit them. I’ll look into the other authors you mentioned!
My first introduction to American female detectives was Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone series. She wrote 25+ novels in that series but the first ten or so which wonderfully captured the grime, grit and urban decay of San Francisco, especially the Mission district of the 70s, are my favorites.
Another iconic female detective is Sara Paretsky’s V I Warshawski. Again, my favorites are the early books set in the 80s and 90s which were slim and sharp. I found the later ones bloated and over done.
I adored, back in the day, the Kinsey Millhone books by Sue Grafton, the early Patricia Cornwall books (Postmortem blew me away.),the early Elizabeth George books, and the early P. D. James books.
Me too!
Agree. The early ones were amazing!
But they were also , especially once Cornwall went the serial killer genius villain route, the ones that burned me out on the genre.
And George became darker and more twisted, no one was plain good, everyone had to be a bit dark and ugly, this went too grim for me. At some point, I felt like they were glorifying the ugliness, the villain and the majority of women were gory victims – I just did not want to go that road again and again, sucked in by good writing into a world where everyone is ugly inside and cruelty the norm.
I will never forgive George for the utterly unnecessary murders of Helen and her baby. And the next book was like grim non-fiction. Then, it became clear that she was never going to let Havers have a happy life. I haven’t read her in years.
I gave up on her when she used the appalling murder of Jamie Bulger as “inspiration” for one of her mysteries. No, just no.
I haven’t read that one.
I believe it was THIS BODY OF DEATH. The worst part was, it seemed for much of the book, George was trying to generate sympathy for one of the perpetrators. I was “Check, please!” at the end of that one.
Yes to all this.
I could have taken Helen ´s murder if it it had not seemed so egregious, it was just random violence, and just there so everyone could’ve unhappy so much more.
And yes, havers never to be happy, lynley never to be happy, it just got tiresome.
Agree with DDD about the child murder book – awful, just no. That was the final breakup for me.
It’s a bummer because I loved her early work. She dealt with so many adult issues.
I’m with you. I read the early Patricia Cornwall books but they got too much after a while and I stopped. I never read Elizabeth George but from the comments here, I don’t think I would like them.
I loved Elizabeth George’s books until they became depressing. P.D. James was also a favorite and I read many of her books. Of them all I think Children of Men really stands out. I also enjoyed Ngaio Marsh.
Anyone read Ruth Rendell? I’m not sure I ever read her under that name or under Barbara Vine.
I have read all of Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford series which I liked a lot. She also wrote stand alones under the same name. The standalones veered into psychological territory with dark undercurrents which I did not like at all. I have not read any of her book written under Barbara Vine.
I think I’ve read everything Rendell wrote (both as Rendell and as Vine). As Rendell, she published a long series featuring DCI Wexford. The books are interesting in that they tend to address social issues of the time (one of the early mysteries from the 1960s includes a victim who was “passing” as someone of the opposite gender) and the inspector and his family do age and go through changes during the decades the books were being released. The books she published as Vine are more psychological in tone—usually about a long-buried secret that gradually comes to light. The Vine books (and even the non-Wexford Rendell books) often feature what Stephen King called “malevolent coincidence” where events & characters collide in a way that feels both organic and inevitable. Vine’s best-known book is A DARK-ADAPTED EYE, an excellent psychological thriller about a woman trying to uncover family secrets about her aunt.
I read a few books in each of these series but never liked them as much as Kinsey Millhone, although I never finished the alphabet series (and Sue Grafton never made it to Z before she passed away, alas!). I liked a more cozy style of mystery so Selma Eichler fit my tastes better.
If you have not already read them, I would recommend Brendan Slocum’s Violin Conspiracy and Symphony of Secrets. As the titles suggest they are set in the world of classical music; as the protagonists are young black men, racism in the classical music world is a running theme in both novels. I like classical music and hence the setting of the stories in that world appealed to me, though the technical nuances of music composition went over my head.
Books mentioned above are mysteries.
Not a huge mystery/thriller reader but I did enjoy a few of Laurie R King’s Kate Martinelli series, about a female detective in San Francisco. I believe the series is well regarded. The writing was stellar as I recall.
For historical mystery series I’d recommend Anna Lee Huber – she has two series, one set mid-19th century Britain featuring Lady Darby and one set in post WWI Britain featuring Verity Kent. Both series have really strong characterizations, well-researched settings, intriguing mysteries, and some romance. Love these.
For complex, gritty contemporary mysteries, Val McDermid and Tana French are good. And for something that falls in between cozy and gritty is Louise Penny’s Three Pines series.
I’ve read quite a few of Huber’s books and enjoyed them, but I’m not familiar with the other authors you mentioned. Thanks!
I adore French and have read all her books. I’ve reviewed The Trespasser here and will be reviewing The Hunter which comes out in March. (I loved it too.)
I loved McDermid back in the day but then her books became too graphically violent against her women leads for me. There’s one with Carol that was the end for me. I should give her newer ones a try. She’s so smart.
Penny is great but IT’S TOO MANY WILD MURDERS IN ONE SMALL CANADIAN TOWN! But I do love her books as well.
Great recommendations! Thanks!
My favourites so far this year are Bride by Ali Hazelwood, If Only You by Chloe Liese and A Dangerous Kind of Lady by Mia Vincy. (so far I’ve read 10 books)
Also Dabney, I’m curious to know what you thought of Queen of Dust?
It was OK. I had a hard time liking the female lead and the plot moved a bit slowly for me. #differentstrokes
So far this year I’ve enjoyed:
Enthraller (Verdant String #7) by Michelle Diener
The Nightmare in Him (Devil’s Cradle #2) by Suzanne Wright
Codename Charming (Palace Insiders #3) by Lucy Parker
Foxed by Jay Hogan
Magician by K.L. Noone
Devastating Magic series by Vanora Lawless
Just starting the Sarah J. Mass Crescent City #3 House of Flame & Shadow
This BI article from a few days ago was interesting/weird…a romance article on Business Insider??? Yay for Love!: https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-love-story-romance-novels-rom-coms-2024-2
I had to laugh at this line from the Business Insider article: “While romance movies and books evolve and draw inspiration from unlikely sources, even the dreamiest, most outlandish plotlines don’t involve two star-crossed superstars getting together — and actually having a good time.” To which I can only say to the article’s writer, “Tell me you don’t read celebrities-in-fake-relationship romances without telling me you don’t read celebrities-in-fake-relationship romances.” Lol
I like your take DDD. 😀 Many celebrity couples are captured perfectly posed, dressed, coiffed and masking true emotions. What struck me with Tayvis / TnT or whatever we are calling them…is that she doesn’t seem to be giving up anything…which is a different experience for her I guess. Also, she is all up in his sweaty, stinky, dirty self after games. Not something we usually see or read about.
Oh… one other blink and you miss it mention “romance-novel fan casts.” Yeah, my Instagram feed is becoming more populated with serialized narrated romance reels. I don’t know what to call them. Are these a good thing or not? IDK