As noted previously, I had a lot going on in 2006 (and 2007, really) so a lot of things fell to the wayside; I only read one book in November of 2007, which should give you some idea of how busy I was.

~ Frontlist ~

Mystery

~ When Gods Die ~ C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #2) 8/10
Avg Rating 8.0 | read 3X | Historical

This barely made the cut as frontlist, as I didn’t read it until November 2007.

Because I really had a lot going on in 2006.

Comics

~ 1001 Night of Snowfall ~ Bill Willingham et al (Fables) 9/10
Avg Rating 9.0 | read 2X | Fantasy
~ Arabian Nights (and Days) ~ Bill Willingham et al (Fables Vol 7) 6/10 | Fantasy
~ Wolves ~ Bill Willingham et al (Fables Vol 8) 7/10 | Fantasy

Even when I didn’t love individual volumes in the Fables series, I adored the series as a whole, and eagerly awaited each new graphic novel.

~ Innocence Lost ~ Craig Kyle et al (X-23) 9/10
Avg Rating 9.0 | read 2X | Superhero

~ Wannabe ~ Joe Quesada et al (NYX) 9/10
Avg Rating 9.0 | read 2X | Superhero

X-23 might be my favorite Marvel character, and it annoys me we haven’t gotten more stories about her.

~ Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams ~ Phil & Kaja Foglio (Girl Genius Vol 4) 8/10 | Steampunk!

This is a delightful series. The problem is it published slowly, and the stories can be kind of complicated, so once I fell behind, I never got caught up.

~ Escape to New York ~ Brian K Vaughan et al (Runaways Vol 5) 7/10 | Superhero

~ Parental Guidance ~ Brian K Vaughan et al (Runaways Vol 6) 8/10 | Superhero

~ Marvel 1602 ~ Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove | 8/10 | Superhero, Historical

~ Backlist ~

Comics

~ Digger ~ Vol. 2 by Ursula Vernon | 8/10 | Fantasy

Ursula Vernon is also T. Kingfisher.

This is a comic series about a wombat. 

Do you really need to know anything else?

Non-Fiction

~ Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment ~ David Bodanis 8/10 | History, Biography, Science & Math

Mystery

~ The Guilt of Innocents ~ Candace Robb (Owen Archer #9) 8/10
Avg Rating: 8.3 | read 2X

~ The Naming of the Dead ~ Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus #16) 8/10

Now it’s 20 years we’re stepping back. Not that it feels like some of these books are twenty years old. Though that could be because they’re fantasies and tend to have less of the “I’m talking to you on my expensive new car phone!” that mysteries can have.

~ Frontlist ~

These are books published in 2006 that read in 2006 or 2007 and rated 8/10 or higher.

There are books that belong on this list which I’m going to save for the post on rereads, as back in 2006 I wasn’t doing a yearly roundup.

~ The Privilege of the Sword ~ Ellen Kushner (Riverside) 9/10
Avg Rating: 9.3 | read 3X | Fantasy of Manners

I love Swordspoint. This is a sequel of sorts, about Alec’s niece, who is coerced into moving to Tremontaine and learning the sword so her uncle will forgive the family debt and also settle a sum of money upon them.

She doesn’t want any of this, but does it anyway, and although she isn’t quite accepted, she also isn’t outcast, as Alec is the duke and has lots and lots of money.

~ Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth ~ Simon R. Green (Nightside #6) 9/10
Avg Rating 9.0 | read 3X | Supernatural Mystery, Horror

~ Hell To Pay ~ (Nightside #7) Avg Rating 7.0 | read 2X

John Taylor is a private detective from the dark and desperate world that exists under London. He uses his gift to find things–usually ways out of the bad situations he’s gotten himself into.

Confession: I still haven’t read the final book in the series.

~ Nightlife ~ Rob Thurman (Cal Leandros #1) 8/10
Avg Rating: 8.3 | read 2X | Urban Fantasy

This is another series I haven’t read the final book in, but that’s because she never finished the series, and the last book published is said to have ended on a cliffhanger. So I just pretend that book doesn’t exist and go on loving the other books in series.

Like Nightside, this series is quite dark. Cal is a monster,  but he’s kept from falling victim to his nature by his brother.

Honestly, the series is really a love story between Cal and Niko.

~ His Majesty’s Dragon ~ Naomi Novik (Temeraire #1) 8/10
Avg Rating: 8.3 | read 2X | Historical Fantasy

~ Throne of Jade ~ (Temeraire #2) Avg Rating: 7.5 | read 2X
~ Black Powder War ~ (Temeraire #3) 7/10

Speaking of books that are really romances–these books may be Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey–Maturin series except with dragons, but really, they are the love story of Laurence and Temeraire. Just not in a “monster romance” kind of way.

He had been in many actions, no less deadly or dangerous, but this one had differed in the crucial respect: when the enemy took aim at his charge, they were threatening not his ship, but his dragon, already the dearest creature to him in the world.

Three times I have read the start of the series, and then wandered off and forgotten to go back and read the rest of the books.

~ Dzur ~ Steven Brust (Vlad Taltos #10) 8/10

Vlad is a mob boss and an assassin and a human in a world of beings who are stronger & more magical & much longer lived. For most of the series Vlad has been on the run, although things sometimes jump around in time, giving you Vlad’s past as much as his run from the mob.

There were five years between Isolla and Dzur, and then two years between Dzur and Jhegaala and I kinda fell out of the habit of keeping current with the series. I’m pretty sure I own all the books that have been published, but I would definitely want a reread before I jumped back in.

~ The Line Between ~ Peter S. Beagle 8/10 | Anthology

Series I Dropped

Failed to Keep Reading

~ Greywalker ~ Kat Richardson (Greywalker #1) 8/10 | Supernatural PI

~ A Fistful of Charms ~ Kim Harrison (Rachel Morgan #4) 8/10 | Supernatural

Quit in a Rage

~ Proven Guilty ~ Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden #8) 8/10 | Supernatural PI

~ Definitely Dead ~ Charlaine Harris (The Southern Vampire Mysteries #6) 8/10 | Paranormal Romance

~ Backlist ~

~ The King of Attolia ~ Megan Whalen Turner (The Queen’s Thief) 9/10

~ Instead of Three Wishes ~ Megan Whalen Turner 8/10 | Anthology

“I can see you’re in a hurry…”

…then proceeds to talk at me for five minutes.

Old white men are the WORST.

OK, we’ve also had rain.

But it’s time for ephemeral spring wildflowers!

Trout lilies! (Erythronium americanum)

Large White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)

Spring Beauties (Claytonia virginica)

Wood Anemone (Anemonoides quinquefolia)

Star chickweed (Stellaria pubera)

Romances are perfect for comfort reads, since you know you’re going to get the HEA. They can have their issues, but most of my favorites tend to have external conflicts, rather than the third act break-up because the characters were too damned stupid to talk to each other.

• Loud and Clear by Aidan Wayne | Average Rating: 9.2 | Rereads: 7
• And Everything Nice by Ada Maria Soto | Average Rating: 8.6 | Rereads: 7
• Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter by R. Cooper | Average Rating: 8.2 | Rereads: 6
• Kneading You by C.S. Poe | Average Rating: 7.9 | Rereads: 6
• Blank Spaces by Cass Lennox | Average Rating: 8.6 | Rereads: 5
• A Gift for Guile by Alissa Johnson | Average Rating: 8.4 | Rereads: 5
• Glass Tidings by Amy Jo Cousins | Average Rating: 8.5 | Rereads: 3
• After the Scrum by Dahlia Donovan (Sin Bin) Average Rating: 8.0 | Rereads: 3

Blank Spaces and A Gift for Guile are mystery + romance, which made them prime comfort reads.

Many of the others are shorter reads.

• And Everything Nice – 44 pages
• Loud and Clear – 88 pages
• Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter – 108 pages
• Kneading You – 44 pages

Novellas are a perfect escape when my brain needs a reset. Usually less than 100 pages so I can gobble it down quickly, but enough of an emotional punch to get my head out of whatever rut its wallowing in.

Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter is particularly interesting as it was 7.5 on first read, but every time I read it, I picked up little things that made me like it just a little bit more.

There are a LOT fewer of these, because there aren’t a lot of stand-alone mysteries, and most series have ten or more books, which is a pretty big lift.

• Secrets in the Mist by Anna Lee Huber | Average Rating: 8.5 | Rereads: 3
• Jury of One by Charlie Cochrane (Lindenshaw Mysteries) Average Rating: 7.7 | Rereads: 3
• Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon (Gethsemane Brown) Average Rating: 7.3 | Rereads: 3

Secrets in the Mist is a stand-alone gothic-romance-mystery. I have a feeling I read it at least one other time but failed to track that I’d read it.

The Gethsemane Brown series is only five book, which makes it an easy reread, and the Lindenshaw Mysteries are all very quick reads and there are only seven books in the series.

These are the books I reread more than twice.

• Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley narrated by Moira Quirk (Checquy Files #2) Average Rating: 9.3 | Rereads: 7
• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater narrated by Will Patton (Raven Boys #4) Average Rating: 9.3 | Rereads: 3
• Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage C.S. Poe, | Average Rating: 9.0 | Rereads: 4
• Who Killed Sherlock Holmes by Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch (Shadow Police #3) Avg Rating: 8.6 | Rereads: 6
• Midnight Taxi Tango by Daniel José Older narrated by the author (Bone Street Rumba) Avg Rating: 8.5 | Rereads: 3
• The Brimstone Deception by Lisa Shearin (SPI Files #3) Average Rating: 8.3 | Rereads: 3
• Bloody Acquisitions by Drew Hayes (Fred the Vampire Accountant #3) Average Rating: 8.2 | Rereads: 5



• Shadow Rites by Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock #10) Avg Rating: 8.2 | Rereads: 3
• Soulwood by Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam: Blood of the Earth Avg Rating: 8.0 | Rereads: 3; Curse on the Land #2 Avg Rating: 8.3 | Rereads: 3
• Open for Business by Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations) Avg Rating: 8.1 | Rereads: 5
• Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #9) Average Rating: 8.0 | Rereads: 3
• Occult Crimes Unit by Angel Martinez: Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters Avg Rating: 7.8 | Rereads: 3; The Pill Bugs of Time Avg Rating: 7.3 | Rereads: 3

There are several of these that I have listened to more times than I’ve read the stories, namely:

• Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley narrated by Moira Quirk
• Who Killed Sherlock Holmes by Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch
• Shadow Rites by Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam
• Soulwood series by Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam

The Checquy Files and Shadow Police especially are books I listen to when I need to be firmly distracted. In fact, I listened to both series while I was emptying out my parent’s house.

There are four books I’ve read three or more times that did NOT make my end-of-the year favorites.

• Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage C.S. Poe (short story)
• Open for Business by Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations)
• Occult Crimes Unit by Angel Martinez: Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters & The Pill Bugs of Time

Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage is a short story, and it fills me with glee every time I read it, because it is extremely silly.

The Angel Martinez books are also silly–especially the Occult Crimes Unit series, which, honestly, was reread multiple times mostly for books four and five–the ones about Alex Wolf, a wolf who was cursed and turned into a human.

Frontlist is books that were published in 2016 that I read in 2016 or 2017. Backlist are the ones I read late but that still made my end of the year favorites when I eventually read them.

Frontlist

Romance

• A Gift for Guile by Alissa Johnson (Thief-Takers #2) 8/10

A Gift for Guile is the second Alissa Johnson I read, and going through her backlist lead me to one of my all time favorite stories.

Comics

• Mockingbird Vol. 1: I Can Explain (2016) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Ibrahim Moustafa, Joelle Jones 9/10
• Rivers of London: Night Witch (2016) by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero : 9/10

I loved the Mockingbird run, and like X-23, wish there were more stories with these characters as leads.

The Rivers of London comic, however… I feel like Andrew Cartmel took over most of the story lines, and I enjoyed them less and less until I pretty much hated to last one I bothered reading.

Backlist

Romance

• Glass Tidings by Amy Jo Cousins 8/10
• Blank Spaces by Cass Lennox 8.5/10
• Society of Gentlemen series by K.J. Charles: A Fashionable Indulgence 8/10, A Seditious Affair 8/10

The Society of Gentlemen series is not my favorite KJ Charles, but the other two books are ones I’ve read multiple times as those stories stuck in my brain.

Was browsing for clothes I might actually wear ^** when I was stopped in my tracks.

I am pretty sure I had that exact Walkman in the late 80s or early 90s.

Cassette player with AM/FM radio.

The ear pieces didn’t cover your ears, but weren’t earbuds, and the headphones kinda folded to a quarter of their “expanded” size.

That is not what I was expecting to see in a 2026 ad.

** To clarify, I would not have given that article of clothing a second glance, but the BRIGHT YELLOW of the Walkman caught my eye and I had to check I wasn’t imagining things.

Again, Frontlist is anything published in 2016 that I read in 2016 or 2017. Backlist is anything t I read after 2017.

Same notes for mysteries as for fantasies. 2016 ended up being a rough year, and I cut back on new books at the end of that year.

Frontlist

• When Falcons Fall by C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #11) 8.5/10
• As Death Draws Near by Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby #5) 8/10
• Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli: A Voice in the Night #20 (2012/2016) 8/10, Montalbano’s First Case and Other Stories (2008/ 2016) 8/10
• London Gambit by Tracy Grant (Malcom & Suzanne Rannoch) 8/10

I’m current on the Lady Darby series, and did read the final Inspector Montalbano book. I listened to a lot of the Sebastian St. Cyr series in 2024, but needed to take a break after reading (listening) to 18 books in a row, and really need to get caught up there.

The Malcom & Suzanne Rannoch series fell off for a couple of reasons–one, it didn’t have a regular publishing schedule so I missed a lot of books when they came out, and secondly, the stories are all closely linked, so a couple years had passed, I felt like I needed to reread the previous books to get caught up and… that didn’t happen.

Backlist

• Model Bodyguard by Lissa Kasey (Haven Investigations #2) 8.5/10
• A Geek Girl’s Guide to Arsenic and A Geek Girl’s Guide to Justice by Julie Anne Lindsey 8/10

What is interesting about these two series is how surprised I am at how highly I rated these books. I’m not saying they were bad, because I remember that I tore through the Haven Investigations series. It’s simply that I haven’t felt a pull to reread either series, which is a bit unusual for books I enjoyed so much.

Unlike the fantasy books published in 2016, there isn’t much here that really stands out in my memory, aside from the Montalbano series, and that was in part because he was ninety, so I knew that series was going to be ending sooner rather than later.

I enjoyed this last year, so I thought I’d do it again.

We’ll start with the fantasy books published in 2016 that made my end of the year favorites list. I count as Frontlist anything published in 2016 that I read in 2016 or 2017.  Backlist is (obviously) anything published in 2016 that I read after 2017.

Frontlist

• Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley (Checquy Files #2) 9.5/10
• The Lost Child of Lychford by Paul Cornell (Lychford series) 9/10
• Midnight Taxi Tango by Daniel José Older (Bone Street Rumba) 9/10
• Magic and Manners C.E. Murphy : 9/10
• The Brimstone Deception by Lisa Shearin (SPI Files #3) 9/10
• Ghost Girl in the Corner by Daniel José Older (Shadowshaper Cypher) 8.5/10
• Who Killed Sherlock Holmes by Paul Cornell (Shadow Police #3) 8/10
• Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #9) 8/10
• Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter: Shadow Rites #10 8/10, Blood in Her Veins 8/10
• Soulwood series by Faith Hunter: Blood of the Earth 8/10, Curse on the Land #2 8/10
• Tremontaine: Season One Volume One by Patty Bryant, Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Paul Witcover : 7.5/10

This year and 2017 will be particularly interesting, because I went through a really bad period in 2016 and was struggling until 2018. I also cut back sharply on my book purchasing at the end of 2016 and that lasted through 2018 and a bit beyond.

So I see some series that I really liked, but didn’t follow up on reading any later books as I wasn’t buying many new books for the next couple of years.

Which means I really need to go back to the Lychford, Shadowshaper, and Termontaine series.

And finally read those last Jane Yellowrock and Soulwood books. And get caught up on the Mercy Thompson series…

Backlist

• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (Raven Boys #4) 9/10
• Bloody Acquisitions by Drew Hayes (Fred, the Vampire Accountant #3) 8/10
• In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan (Lady Trent #4) 8/10
• Freaks & Other Family by Lish McBride 8/10
• Rag and Bone by K.J. Charles 8/10

I’d actually pre-ordered The Raven King, but held off reading it, mostly because I didn’t want the series to end. But the follow-up series, Ronan’s series, (heart eyes!) fell through the cracks and I really need to read it.

I loved the entire Lady Trent series, and the audio was lovely. But each book was more than 300 pages, and none was a stand alone, so that’s a pretty big commitment if it’s not something I’m listening to.

I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Lish McBride, but for some reason hold off on reading new books, in fear this one won’t be as good as the others.

All in all, most of the books that made my best of the year are ones I’ve come back to, or that have otherwise stuck in my brain in some manner.

Favorite Book Cover

We’ll start off with my favorite book cover of the year, Copper Script by K.J. Charles designed by James T. Egan, self-published. (Queer historical romantic mystery)

It’s just so very pretty and atmospheric. And again I’ll note this is a self-published book, so  traditional publishers out there: you have no reason not to do better.

I’m not 100% on tracking cover artists yet (it sometimes involves searching), but from what is in my spreadsheet, these are the most common cover artists for books I read this year:

Cover Artists

• Jaime Jones: 9
• Ashley Ruggirello: 5
• Perry De La Vega: 5
• Tiferet Design: 5
• A.M. Ruggs: 4
• Mitxeran: 4

I know of the top of my head Jamie Jones did the covers for most of the Murderbot books, and Perry de la Vega did the covers for the Shady Hollow series. (The only websites I can find for Perry de la Vega are Tumblr and Instagram, and unfortunately, both require a log in.)

Favorite Books

My favorite books of the year were:

Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch (Queer urban fantasy & mystery)

and

After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian (Queer historical romance).

Seeing those titles listed together, I realize both have a major theme of dealing with grief.

Take that as you will.

Series Read

With some series I can read (or listen to) one book right after the other. With others I need a pause after a couple books–or to read slowly (ha).

There are two series here that I went through twice this year: The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells) and the Page & Sommers books (Cat Sebastian).

• Murderbot Diaries:  14
• Miss Marple:  13
• Below Stairs Mystery:  9
• Fred, the Vampire Accountant:  9
• Goldy Bear:  6
• Shady Hollow:  6
• Big Bad Wolf:  5
• Bone Street Rumba :  4
• Brothers Sinister:  4
• Page & Sommers:  4
• Rivers of London:  4
• Chronicles of Brother Cadfael:  4
• Lords of Bucknall Club:  4
• Thursday Murder Club:  4

Publishers

The publisher whose books I read the most frequently was… self-published.

• self-published: 38
• Recorded Books:  20 (RBMedia)
• Tor:  6 (Macmillen: 8)
• William Morrow:  10 (HarperCollins)
• Carina:  8 (Harlequin:  9) (HarperCollins)
• Dreamscape Audio:  8 (Independent)
• Tantor Audio:  8 (RBMedia)

The world of publishing is confusing, because the big companies have multiple imprints that have imprints of their own; I put tordotcom (which is now something else) with Tor, just to make like easier for myself.

The Stats!

As 76% of the books I read in 2025 were rereads, the percentage of backlist I read is large.

What did surprise me is that I managed so many new releases (19).

Because I almost never listen to a fiction book I haven’t read previously, you can see the correlation between audio books (63) and rereads (137).

According to the BookRiot reading log tally, I spent 23 days, 8 hrs, and 8 mins listening to audio books.

I read 180 books in 2025, which is just over half the number of books I read in 2021.

But 2020 and 2021 were outliers, so for the most part the number of books I read each month was on par with previous years.

Again, according to the Book Riot Reading log calculations, I read 31423 pages, and an average of 86 pages a day.

I don’t know why 2017 disappeared from March when this chart was converted to a picture.

Most books I read fall into multiple genres, so that data is always a little wonky.

Much of the romance I read is historical, but I also love historical mysteries, and of course there are paranormal mysteries, so genre often adds up to 200-300% of the number of books read.

Lastly…

I’m still reading diversely.

This is so much easier to do than it used to be, since it’s getting easier and easier to find books that aren’t just straight white characters. (Thank you, ebooks.)

And I think that wraps up the books of 2025.

Happy reading in 2026 to everyone.

Favorite Fantasy Books of 2025
Mystery Books Books of 2025
Audio Books Books of 2025
Romance, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, & Non-Fiction Books Books of 2025

Fantasy Book Covers of 2025
Mystery Book Covers of 2025
Romance Book Covers of 2025
Non-Fiction Book Covers of 2025

I may have read 26 romances this year, but only three of them were new to me books, and only one of those was more than meh.

I never read much SF, I’m backlogged on comics (I really do need to pick up my new reading glasses), and I’m only reading a little non-fiction, so these genres get to share a single post.

Romance

After Hours at Dooryard Books (2025) Cat Sebastian

Coming as a surprise to no one who has read a Cat Sebastian book, this was excellent.

It’s not light and fluffy as it deals with grief and homophobia and the Vietnam war.

“I realize this is wildly hypocritical of me,” Nathaniel says. “But even though I’m very much against emotions when they happen to me, I think it’s possible that refusing to feel anything at all fucks you up fairly comprehensively in the long run.”

But it is good.

Patrick is doing his best to pay back good into the world after one woman saved him when he was a teenager and had no where to turn. Nathaniel has spent his life pretending to be something he isn’t and ignoring the things going on around him until he can’t take it any more.

Add to that grief, folk music, and a new baby and it still doesn’t tell you anything about how the book made me feel.

9/10

Self-published

Historical, Queer

Graphic Novel

Lady Mechanika: The Devil in the Lake (2025) Joe Benítez, M. M. Chen, Siya Oum

Lady Mechanika Volume 8

Lady Mechanika is a steampunk superhero who remembers almost nothing of her past and how she was transformed from a normal young woman into a someone no longer fully human.

You absolutely can’t start here, but you can absolutely find the earlier volumes.

8.5/10

Image Comics

Fantasy, Historical

Non-Fiction

The Drunken Botanist (2013) Amy Stewart

Have you ever wondered how we got the various alcohols we have today?

No?

You should, because a look at the history of alcohol and the plants we’ve taken up into the cause is fascinating.

8/10

Algonquin Books

Food, Science & Nature

SF

Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy (2025) Martha Wells

The Murderbot Diaries #2.5

Murderbot short story, but with ART and his crew.

8.5/10

Tor

Queer

The Books of 2025

I have been listening to a lot of audio books for the past several years. They allow me to get out of my own way when I need to get things done but my brain won’t shut up.

The Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall narrated by Nneka Okoye

Mortal Follies (2023) (#1) 9/10, Confounding Oaths (2024) (#2) 9.5/10

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the books, but Nneka Okoye’s narration is perfect.

Almost as good as Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, which is high praise coming from me.

Random House Audio

Fantasy, Romance, Alternate History, Queer

The Masquerades of Spring (2024) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

(Rivers of London) 8.5/10

Kobna Holdbrook Smith’s American accents have gotten better, but some of them felt a bit off here, however, he was being required to do multiple historic accents from places all over the US.

That aside, listening to this was just as lovely as reading it.

Random House Audio

Fantasy, Historical, Queer

Peter Grant: Midnight Riot (2011), Moon Over Soho (2011), Whispers Under Ground (2012), Broken Homes (2014), Foxglove Summer (2014), The Hanging Tree (2017), The Furthest Station (2017), Lies Sleeping (2018), False Value (2020), Amongst Our Weapons (2022)

Rivers of London: The October Man (2019), Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection (2020), What Abigail Did That Summer (2021), Winter’s Gifts (2023), The Masquerades of Spring (2024)

Shady Hollow Mysteries by Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell

Shady Hollow (2015) 8/10, Cold Clay (2022) 8.5/10, Mirror Lake (2022) 8.5/10, Twilight Falls (2023) 8/10, Summers End (2024) 8/10

Random House Audio

When we finished the Chequy Files we needed something else to listen to, and after Michael insisted he wasn’t at all interested in a mystery series where animals were the main characters, I started the first book and we went through the whole series excluding the most recent book.

Mystery, Fantasy, Cozy, Queer

Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Man Who Died Twice (#2) (2021) narrated by Lesley Manville 8.5/10, The Bullet That Missed (#3) (2022) narrated by Fiona Shaw 8.5/10, The Last Devil to Die (#4) (2023) narrated by Fiona Shaw 9/10

Penguin Audio

The series switched narrators halfway through, so it was a tiny bit confusing when I was listening to the books one after the other, but I adjusted relatively quickly.

One of the best things about the audio books is most had interviews with the author at the end, and I liked hearing him talk about the characters.

Mystery, Queer

The Books of 2025