For Podcast Lovers
I love a good true crime podcast, but sometimes they strike a little close to home or are just too depressing. Sometimes I want a fictional true crime where I know there's going to be an ending, no cold cases left here. All of these titles have a resolution, and a voice I could listen to for hours.
<p>The introduction for the world to Rachel Krall, a true crime podcaster. She is covering a court trial in this book with chapters alternating between her podcast updates and her actively investigating things in the town. </p>
<p>Rachel Krall returns for a special report! Set shortly after the first book (while still readable as a stand alone) Rachel finds herself in Florida at a social media influencer event helping to look for a missing girl…and hoping not to become one herself.</p>
<p>Listen to the title. This books features news coverage with cameras and some documentary style aspects about a girl who is being acquitted for murder. But is she really innocent? We’ll find out…</p>
<p>Woman is suspected of a murder, and despite never being arrested or found guilty, can’t go back home. She’s started her life over, picking up the pieces…until a podcaster picks up the cold case and starts digging into things. With a meddling grandmother, amnesia, and excellent production this was a top listen for me.</p>
I Was Today Years Old When I Learned About...
I've never been a big reader of non-fiction, but a couple of years ago I started doing a reading challenge that pushed me out of my comfort zone. These are the non-fiction titles that have stuck with me.
<p>This was the one I read to satisfy a challenge, and I enjoyed it so much. This is one that really benefits from being listened to rather than read. There are snippets from different interviews that makes this very dynamic. </p>
<p>Ronan Farrow does a fantastic job, and his reading of the book adds another level to everything. </p>
<p>If you follow my book’d lists, you will see the works of Douglas Preston pop up multiple times, usually alongside his writing partner Lincoln Child. This discusses many of the real life stories that later inspired those fabulous books. </p>
<p>While this book did not quite live up to the premise presented by the synopsis, it was a really interesting read that gave a lot of insight to the lives of long haul truckers, as well as sex trade in America.</p>
Best of 2024
I’m back again with some of my favorite books of 2024! Many of these have stayed with me long after I was finished reading, and all of them made me feel things. Some were good feelings, some were not, but all were worth it.
<p>Conclusion of a trilogy. A crossover event of the ages. Read it in something like 11 hours? Not healthy. Couldn’t stop. </p>
<p>I love a dark romance, and TikTok made sure this one came across my radar. It’s a stalker romance, but the stalker is an awkward adorable nerd where this book had me laughing as much as anything else. Audiobook is the only way to go for this one.</p>
<p>What happens after Dracula? Sapphic love affair with vampires, and taking down an MLM cult at the same time? Obsessed. Also very smart integration and reimagining of the classic story.</p>
<p>Ruby McTavish is who I want to be when I grow up - just without the murdered husbands. She was such a delightful character and I love the way the story unfolded.</p>
Add a Little... Spice
From fairly tame to 'hide the cover' steamy, these spicy romances offer something for everyone. Cute single parent romance? Check. Bad men who do good things? Check. Billionaire? You got it.
<p>I'm a sucker for a single parent and the next door neighbor trope. This one is a single mom with a young son and the grump of a man next door. This title has all the romance you could want, but also a story that just makes me feel like I'm being hugged. </p>
<p>The hockey romance that got me to admit that yes, sometimes a sports romance is just what the doctor ordered. What starts as fake dating to make someone else jealous in exchange for tutoring help quickly becomes something very real. </p>
<p>Who doesn't love an enemies to lovers? Josh and Jules are my favorite couple that Ana Huang has created, and I'm delighted that they cameo in so many of her books. </p>
<p>Also from Ana Huang comes this billionaire arranged marriage romance with hints of fake dating. But as expected, things get real—so real for one of the characters that everything falls apart, only to come back together in a wonderful way.</p>
I Scream, You Scream
In these books, we all scream. As an avid horror fan, I love when something can get my heart racing, and these books absolutely did that.
<p>The only rule for the stories collected in this anthology is in the title. There were stories that ended up more sad than scary, and several that stuck with me. Multiple stories have all the energy I love in movies like "Jennifer's Body."</p>
<p>A+ marketing lead me to this book with a book review set to the song by the same name. This has the vibes of "Scooby Doo" with a group of teens hunting after their friend who went missing, ending up on the trail of a serial killer. </p>
<p>Be careful what you invite inside; you might get more than you bargained for. Like instead of a murderous supernatural entity you have to hide from, you might get a pair of serial killers. </p>
<p>In many of these stories, curiosity is the downfall for our characters. Sometimes it is best to let sleeping dogs lie, you know?</p>
We're All Queer Here
This list includes some of my favorite books full of LGBT+ representation, and most of them also have BIPOC representation. All of these books deal with characters who are finding themselves in one way or another.
<p>Perfect for spooky season, this sapphic romance is everything I want from a book with this kind of title. There is also a ritualistic competition that adds a sense of adventure at times.</p>
<p>I laughed. I cried. I wanted to hug all of these sweet characters. The romance in this is very sweet, with the desperate desire that all teenagers feel to find themselves and their place in the world heightened by the discovery one's sexuality and identity, and finding the balance between it all. </p>
<p>This was so cute. I read this after the author posted one of the scenes on Twitter and couldn't read it fast enough. </p>
<p>The moral of this is really to stay true to yourself, no matter how the world chooses to perceive you. Don't let anyone tell you who or what you are. This was another story that had me in my feels at times and on the edge of my seat as the adventure and horror aspects unraveled. </p>
Best of 2023
These were my top reads of 2023. Some of them I even read multiple times cause once just wasn't enough, and have lived rent free in my mind ever since.
<p>This was a book I read on a chance after getting it from Book of the Month. I knew it would have magic, and gave it a shot. I devoured this book, and the audiobook. I read it again later in the year and loved it so much, I annotated a copy for a friend. The world building is amazing, the characters are all dynamic. There are romantic relationships, friendships, familial relationships, just a little bit of something for everybody. </p>
<p>This is the other book that I read multiple times, and it is another one that I checked out on a whim because we had copies available, and I heard it had dragons. This gave me all the feels of reading Divergent and Hunger Games back in the day, only there are dragons and magical powers, and enemies to lovers romance. Literally everything I could want in one book. Plus world building with nerdy history facts. </p>
<p>After I read Hide by this author I immediately went to see if she had any other books in the horror genre written, saw this was coming, and put it on my to be read list. Placed a hold as soon as I could. Read most of it on release day, and I loved it. This one has similar themes to Hide, but with a dash more religious trauma that had me sobbing by the end. Loved it.</p>
<p>I read this on a whim, deciding to give Rachel Hawkins a second chance after I didn't really care for a previous book, and I'm glad I did. This converted me to a devoted reader of hers, and sent me on a spiral where I read her entire back catalog too. Covering two different timelines, you see two different infamous murders happen at the same Italian villa, and at the end it's up to you to decide what just is real.</p>
Romance: Humans Optional
Everyone enjoys a good love story, but sometimes humans just get boring. This is for everyone who wants a little extra flair to the story.
<p>We'll start off the list nice and easy with some shifters. This world that Suzanne Wright has created features more creatures, but this focuses on the Phoenix Pack of wolves, with this story seeing their alpha find his mate.</p>
<p>The Phoenix Pack story continues with Dante and Jaime. What happens when it is too dangerous for a shifter to give control to their inner wolf? How long can they go without shifting? Read to find out.</p>
<p>I love a good Christmas novella. They're fluffy and seasonal. This one throws in some purring cougars with a little kidnapping and light torture to keep the story dramatic.</p>
<p>This book is the first step to inhuman partners. The romantic lead is an alien, but unlike Ice Planet Barbarians down below, no one can tell the difference. They have some magic and their eyes are pretty, otherwise this is a classic enemies to lovers romance in space, with an adorable cat like creature for a pet. </p>
Not Just for Children
These are the picture books that make me smile every time they come across the desk. They tackle subjects in fun ways, make jokes for the adults while still being funny for the kids, have great artwork, and are just all around must haves.
<p>A classic. You can't go wrong with any of the Laura Numeroff books. The repetition is good for kids, and the artwork is so fun. Warning: her books may make you hungry.</p>
<p>This has been a favorite since it first came across my desk. Who doesn't love a story with knights, dragons, and pizza?!</p>
<p>I dare you to read this without doing an Australian accent. It's impossible and so much fun. Also very informative!</p>
<p>I love the artwork and it teaches a great lesson in a fun way.</p>
Love and Murder
These were some of the top murder mysteries I've read. These books are filled with more twists than a pretzel and love to see everyone through to the end. Or at least... almost everyone.
<p>"The Family Game" came across my radar because of the similarity to the movie "Ready Or Not." Both feature extravagantly wealthy families with a fondness for games and a girl marrying in who must win the game to survive. But, the execution of the story and ending are very different. The audiobook is read by the author, which was a fun twist. I look forward to reading this again in the future and seeing what I pick up on the second time around.</p>
<p>Daisy Darker has a little secret, and it ends up having rather large consequences. When the family gets locked on an island alone and start dying one by one, they have to struggle to survive until morning. While the twists and turns in this book were not the most original, I enjoyed how they played out. The characters all had their own flare, and (spoiler alert) the dog didn't die which is always a concern when there's one featured in a murder mystery.</p>
<p>I was the target audience for "Twilight" when it came out, and "The Chemist" also appealed to me in other ways. An ex agent for a shady government agency who specialized in poisons and torture has been on the run from said agency, but is offered true freedom if she'll do just one more job. Torturing one more bad guy shouldn't be so hard, right? Unless the bad guy is a cute, cinnamon roll school teacher who never did a thing bad in his life.</p>
<p>This book genuinely kept me guessing. From narrators that aren't always reliable, and so many different versions of the same story, it's so interesting to see how the story actually comes together. While most things are wrapped up in the end, there is still a slight question on if you are left with the actual truth, or just a version of it.</p>