In June, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 108 books. I also DNFed 15 books—yikes! (I think it’s because I was behind on reading, so I was less tolerant and far less likely to keep reading to see if the story picked up). Of those 20 books, three were really excellent.

The Iron Sword, by Julie Kagawa. I’ve been re-reading this entire series since last year, one book a month, and thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering the world and the characters. I’m reading the final book in the series in July, and I’ve never read it, so I’m excited.

The Mountain Between Us, by Charles Martin. This was the last remaining Martin book I hadn’t read—sob—and it was so, so good! He is a master at his craft, and, as always, manages to work the gospel in there between the lines of the fiction. Now I need to watch the movie.

The Rom-Commers, by Katherine Center. I have yet to read a Katherine Center book I didn’t love, and this was no exception. Emma really made me laugh, but so did Charlie. This was a wonderful, fun read.

In April, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 66. I’m behind, but I’m catching up! Of those, several were really excellent reads, but I narrowed it down to three favorites.

The Last Bloodcarver, by Vanessa Le. I really liked the unique magic system here that was combined with an early scientific culture. The characters were great, and I enjoyed even the secondary characters a lot. Can’t wait to read more in this world.

Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt. A POV character is a curmudgeonly octopus named Marcellus? Are you kidding me? That’s all I needed to know to buy this. In hardcover. And it was worth it! I had to ration this and only read a few pages a day, because I loved it so much1

The Bourbon Thief, by Tiffany Reisz. First of all, this cover is gorgeous. Secondly, a friend suggested this after we were talking about the voice of a story I’m writing and how I felt like it should be more of a Southern fiction feel. And she was 100% correct! Beautiful Southern fiction feel, although parts of this were truly horrifying. I was fully invested from the very beginning.

In March, I read 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 45, and DNFed 14 books. Of those, some were really excellent, while others were very good. My four–sorry, can’t narrow it down to three–favorites were:

The Iron Traitor, by Julie Kagawa. I can’t remember it this was a re-read or not, but I still love this world and these characters. The author is so great at creating believable characters and worlds, and I’m always so immersed when I read her books.

Heir, Apparently, by Kara McDowell. Do you know how excited I was to get approved for this galley? This book (and the one before it) was just so much fun to read! Completely unrealistic, but entertaining on all levels, and I loved it.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrik Backman. I was just as transported on this, my second reading of this book, as I was the first time. I love the characters in this, and all the stories are so vivid to me! Can’t recommend this enough.

A Life Intercepted, by Charles Martin (audio). Yes, Charles Martin is my favorite author. And let me tell you why: I do not like football in the slightest, but he made football sound fascinating and compelling in this read, and his characters, like always, are both flawed and so interesting that it’s hard to put it down.

In January, I read 14 books towards my goal of 225 books for the year. Most of them were decent reads, but several of them really stood out.

I enjoyed my re-read of Matched, by Ally Condie quite a bit, although the idea of such a tightly controlled society isn’t quite so far-fetched these days.

All Rhodes Lead Here, by Mariana Zapata. I enjoyed this so, so much! The voice is phenomenal and it was so much fun to read. Aurora’s mental stream-of-consciousness was hysterical to me, and I laughed out loud several times. Such a great contrast to the taciturn Rhodes.

South of the Buttonwood Tree, by Heather Webber (audio). This was a fantastic Southern fiction read! Both the main characters were engrossing and I was totally enmeshed in their stories—even the secondary characters in this book were fascinating, and so well done.

In November, I read 17 books, bringing my total for the year to 188 books read. Of those, some were just meh read, some were solid, and some were fantastic.

This Cursed Light, by Emily Thiede, was a fantastic end to this duology. I love the society and culture, the main characters, the dialogue…everything. And the ending totally made me cry, which isn’t a common thing.

Shards of Glass, by Michelle Sagara. I love this world and the main series, but I’m really enjoying these spin-offs and the new characters, too. A really well done fantasy setting.

And a re-read of one of my favorites, gods in Alabama, by Joshilyn Jackson. I discovered Southern fiction the first time I read this novel—and fell in love with the genre. The author completely captures the flavor of life in a small Southern town, and you should absolutely read this. Plus, she captivated me from the very first line…”There are gods in Alabama…”

In October, I read 17 books, bringing my total for the year to 171 books read. Most of those were solid reads, but a few of them were really good.

The Iron Daughter, by Julie Kagawa. This is a re-read of this series for me (Well, a re-read of the original books with Meghan and Ash anyway.). I love these characters and this world, and if you haven’t read them, you should. Actually, anything by Julie Kagawa is a pretty solid bet.

Send Down the Rain, by Charles Martin. Yes, another Charles Martin book is one of my best reads for the month. I can’t help it. He’s phenomenal, and he has an extensive backlist that I haven’t read yet. Also, his newest book, The Last Exchange, by Charles Martin, is very highly recommended—and not on his backlist, as it just came out in October. Go read it. And anything else by him.

The Unmaking of June Farrow, by Adrienne Young. This wasn’t quite what I expected, but I loved it. I’ve read all of her novels and loved them all, and this is another great read. The time travel aspect might mess with your mind a little bit, but you’ll be fine.