These are some of the better fantasies I read this year, most of them falling into the urban/supernatural category, but with a couple historical fantasies thrown in (from when I couldn’t find a historical mystery I wanted to read).

Supernatural and Urban Fantasy

Paul Cornell : Lychford
These are two utterly delightful urban fantasy novellas. The three main characters are women, one of whom, Judith, is elderly. All are strong characters—and highly amusing.

“You said he was a being of tremendous power and evil, but I’ve looked him up. He’s got a wife and family. He’s on LinkedIn.”

The telemarketers who called her up now seemed either desperate or resigned to the point of a mindless drone, until Judith, who had time on her hands and ice in her heart, engaged them in dark conversations that always got her removed from their lists.

Witches of Lychford (2015) Paul Cornell  10/10
The Lost Child of Lychford (2016) Paul Cornell  9/10

Shadow Police
Paul Cornell’s other series is very different from his Lychford series; I can see that it may well not be to everyone’s taste. I, however, really like it.

This is the second book in his Shadow Police series, and although you could read it on its own, I think you’d be better served going back and reading London Falling first, because a LOT happens in that first book.
The Severed Streets (2014) Paul Cornell  9/10

Charles de Lint : Newford
Charles de Lint is one of my favorite authors.

He writes urban fantasy—magic/fae exist, but they’re not the super-sexy, uber powerful creatures of supernatural fantasy. The magic in his books is that of folklore and myth—the Green Man, the Raven. It is the magic that exists just out of the corner of your eye.

Charles de Lint also writes some of the strongest female characters of any fantasy writer today. And I read a LOT of fantasy with female characters. His women are faliable creatures with whom you’d love to have coffee or go to a show with.

But these are not children’s stories any more than the original Grimm’s tales were stories for modern children. There are often monsters in his stories, but they tend to be human.

How can a smile, a laugh, a good deed, stand up against the weight of such a history?”

“I… I guess it can’t,” Jilly said. “But you still have to try.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s all you can do. If you don’t try to stand up against the darkness, it swallows you up.”

And I adore the Crow Girls.

 “And now I feel like I’m forgetting what it’s like to be happy,” I said, finishing up. “It’s like that stupid ghost boy stole all my happiness away, and now, ever since I talked to him, all I meet are unhappy people with very good reasons to be unhappy, and that makes me wonder, how could I ever have been happy? And what is being happy, anyway?”

Zia gave a glum nod. “I think it might be catching, because now I’m feeling the same way.”

“You see? That’s just what I mean. Why is it so easy to spread sadness and so hard to spread happiness?”

All of these books are short story anthologies—you don’t need to read them in any order, because in addition to being one of the best writers of strong female characters, he is also the best short story writer of any I can think of.

I just wish his Dreams Underfoot would come out as an ebook so I could easily reread it.
Muse and Reverie (2009) Charles de Lint : 10/10
Tapping the Dream Tree (2002) Charles de Lint : 10/10
Newford Stories: Crow Girls (2015) Charles de Lint : 9/10

Daniel José Older : Bone Street Rumba
There are not enough squees in the world for how I feel about Daniel José Older.

The Bone Street Rumba books are not YA books, but they have an utterly marvelous teen character, Kia.

A textbook lies open on the counter in front of me; I don’t even remember taking it out. It’s trig, some shit I already know how to do, and can’t be bothered answering a bunch of mindless questions about. I know this is a terrible reason to be getting Cs, but the truth is, I’m bored out my mind almost every day in school.

I also don’t have enough squees for how much I love Kia.

I mute the TV— you have to stand up and turn the remote at some hypotenuse-ass angle while pressing the button eighteen million times to get it to work…

Midnight Taxi Tango is the second book in this series; you should definitely read the first book before this one, because it’s just as awesome. But if you’re not sure if this is for you, check out his short story collection, Salsa Nocturna. It’s also marvelous, and will give you an idea of whether you’ll like his stories or not.

Also, he is the reader on his audiobooks, which initially concerned me, but he is quite good. (Although I’ll admit that although I like the idea of his daughter reading the raps Kia listens to, I’m afraid she’s not quite strong enough to do them justice.)
Midnight Taxi Tango (2016) Daniel José Older : 9/10

YA Standalone
This is a standalone set in a similar (the same?) world as the Bone Street Rumba series, but is not a part of that series, and doesn’t have boinking and quite as much language as that series.

But he understands teens—and women—very well.

(T)he words crept in, made a home in Sierra’s mind no matter how much she fought them off. Her wild, nappy hair. She ran her hands through her fro. She loved it the way it was, free and undaunted. She imagined it as a force field, deflecting all Rosa’s stupid comments.

Further down Gates Ave, a couple of guys were throwing dice in front of the Coltrane Projects. “Why you frownin’, girl?” one of them called out as Sierra walked past. “Smile for us!”

Sierra knew the guy. It was Little Ricky; they’d played together when they were small. He’d been one of those boys that all the girls were crazy about, with big dreamy eyes and a gentle way about him. A few years ago, Sierra would have been giddy with excitement to have his attention. Now he was just another stoopgoon harassing every passing skirt.

“I ain’t in the mood, jackass,” Sierra muttered, hugging herself. She was still shaky from the horrible night and she knew any sign of weakness would encourage them.

The guys let out a chorus of ohs and pounded one another. “I’m just saying, Sarcastula,” Ricky called after her. “C’mon back when you in the mood …”

This is such an amazing book, I really cannot encourage you enough to read it.
Shadowshaper (2015) Daniel José Older : 9.5/10

Mercy Thompson
I’m currently re-reading this series for the second time this year, which probably tells you how I feel about it.

Mercy is a half Native American WV mechanic who can change into a coyote, but aside from that doesn’t have much in the way of super powers, although she does have a propensity for getting herself into trouble.

This book continues the issues with the Fae and the rest of the US, and takes us for the first time Underhill.

This is the 9^th book in this series (there are currently four books and a novella in the Alpha & Omega series) AND graphic novels, so if you want to start at the beginning you have your work cut out for you, but I do love this series, so I think it’s well-worth your time to do so. Additionally, there are generally no cliffhanger endings, so you can read a book and then stop with no ill effects.
Fire Touched (2016) Patricia Briggs : 8/10

Faith Hunter : Jane Yellowrock
I am a huge fan of the Jane Yellowrock series—in fact I’ve been slowly working through the audio versions (I listen to audio books when I’m doing repetitive tasks or exercising, but it has to be something I’ve read before or else I get nothing done).

Jane Yellowrock is a skinwalker and a vampire hunter. She is also currently the enforcer for the head of the New Orleans vampires.

Shadow Rites is book ten of the series, and although you could start here, you probably want to go back to the beginning, because Jane does a lot of growing and learning through this series.

And there is Beast.

Beast perked up at the description of the food. Gator. Human killed gator? Human man is good hunter! Hungry for gator. And the picture she sent me was a whole gator, snout, teeth, feet, claws, tail, skin, and all, crusty with batter. I chuckled and sent her a more likely mental picture. Inside she huffed with disappointment.

You can, however, pick up the short story collection, Blood in Her Veins, if you’d like an idea of Faith Hunter’s writing and Jane’s world. The Jane books do not have cliffhangers, so you can read one and come back to the series.
Shadow Rites (2016) Faith Hunter : 8/10
Blood in Her Veins (2016) Faith Hunter : 8/10

Soulwood
Soulwood is a new series that parallels the Jane Yellowrock books.

Nell Ingram appears in a Jane Yellowrock short story, and I was quite pleased to discover that these is also a good series. Some of the characters from the Jane stories appear here—one being Rick LeFleur, who I don’t much care for. But at least he isn’t a love interest for Nell.

One thing I especially liked about this series is that although Nell left the religious cult in which she was raised, and the cult is seen as very negative in the short story, Nell’s relationship with her family is far more complicated than “escaping a cult” would make it sound. I may not be religious, but I appreciate the effort to make Nell’s family and religious faith complex.

One thing I did not like is that the second book ended on a cliff-hanger of sorts. I despise cliff-hangers. Let me be clear, I like story arcs that develop over the course of several books. I love bits that crop up again several books later. But I hate left in the dark as to what has happened when the narrator knows damned well what has happened. So the second book was dinged for the ending.
Blood of the Earth (2016) Faith Hunter  : 8/10
Curse on the Land (2016) Faith Hunter  : 8/10

SPI Files
This is an utterly delightful series. Mac is a seer for the SPI—the group in charge of policing the supernatural. Her only talent is that she is a seer, which puts her at a disadvantage when going up against supernatural monsters, which is one of the things I like about this series.

Mac knows her limitations. Which is something I very much appreciate.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Ian drew his gun, which was loaded with silver-infused hollow points. “Stay here,” he told me.

“I can do that.” Not only could I do that, I was glad to do that.

We’ve also listened to the first two books of this series, and they were quite enjoyable.
The Brimstone Deception (2016) Lisa Shearin : 9/10

Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls (1994) Jane Lindskold : 9/10
This is a single book story that is part fantasy, part SF, but only that there is advanced technology (a technology that is in some cases indistinguishable from magic). I read this years ago and was pleased to enjoy it just as much coming back to it the second time.

The Dark Side of The Road (2015) Simon R. Green : 8/10
This is a Simon R. Green story that is—best I can tell—not part of a series, which is unusual for him. Nope. Just checked, it’s a new series, but it’s certainly written as a stand-alone.

I tend to either love or hate Simon Green’s series. I adore the Nightside series, but didn’t care for his Secret histories. This book fell into the Like Very Much category.

My reflection met my gaze with a cold, mistrustful stare. A very familiar face because it hadn’t changed in so very long. Not the one I would have chosen; but good enough. I was tall, slim, dark-haired and handsome enough if you weren’t too choosy. A long rangy figure who appeared to be in his mid twenties. Dressed well, but anonymously. The kind of stuff you can buy anywhere, so you can fit in anywhere. An easy smile, a casual look, and dark eyes that gave away absolutely nothing.

Historical Fantasy

The Sarantine Mosaic
Guy Gavriel Kay is an author I absolutely love, but whom I have to be careful reading for two reasons. First, his books are complex and absorbing—not something I can pick up and put down, or read in a couple hours. Second, his writing and story-telling are phenomal, and I usually have trouble finding something to read after I finish one of his books, because everything else pales in comparison.

This series is set in alternate Byzantium, and the main character is a mosaicist, gone to the capital to decorate the rebuilt sanctuary.

To say of a man that he was sailing to Sarantium was to say that his life was on the cusp of change: poised for emergent greatness, brilliance, fortune— or else at the very precipice of a final and absolute fall as he met something too vast for his capacity.

Although there are touches of magic, this isn’t a fantasy in the traditional sense. It is instead a past the was never quite ours, and a glimpse into a great empire at its peak.

If this was the world as the god— or gods— had made it, then mortal man, this mortal man, could acknowledge that and honor the power and infinite majesty that lay within it, but he would not say it was right, or bow down as if he were only dust or a brittle leaf blown from an autumn tree, helpless in the wind.

Do not look to Guy Gavriel Kay if you are looking for a quick read, or a book you can easily put down. Look here is you want to become immersed in a world so like our past, yet that never happened.
Sailing to Sarantium (1998) Guy Gavriel Kay : 8/10
Lord of Emperors (2000) Guy Gavriel Kay  : 9/10

Magic and Manners (2016) C.E. Murphy : 9/10
This is historical fantasy of the what-if-magic-existed type. The world is much as we know of it, except that humans have the ability to use magic. It’s a re-telling, of sorts, of Jane Austen.

I was looking for some escapism, this fit the bill to a T.

Tremontaine: Season One Volume One (2016) by Patty Bryant, Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Paul Witcover : 7.5/10
This is a prequel of sorts to Swordspoint, written by various authors as a serial novel. If you have not read Swordspoint, there it is difficult to explain Tremontaine to you. There is no magic here, just a world and time that could have been our past, but wasn’t.

If you click through any of the Amazon links and buy something, it’ll get me hapenny or so, which will eventually let me buy another book.

These are some of the better mysteries I read this year. With the except of the three series at the end, I’ve noted only the books I particularly like. If you’d like to see all the books in the series, click on the author and you’ll see all the books listed in publication order at the top of the page.

I read a lot of mysteries this year–more mysteries than fantasy at current count (this could change as I am currently tearing through the Mercy Thompson series for the second time this year).

Most of the mystery I read was historical. For those who are particular about the historical mysteries, or just interested in reading about an unfamiliar era, I’ve noted the years in which the stories were set. (I recently started this, so if you go too far back in the archives, you won’t see the year(s).)

Mystery

Inspector Rebus
This is a collection of all the Rebus stories, including a couple written just for this volume.

Rebus is a fascinating character, with a past in the military before joining the Edinburgh police. He’s a loner and has a sense of justice that doesn’t always see following the rules as the best course of action. If you like police mysteries, this is a good introduction to Rebus. (I think the first story is one of the weaker ones, so don’t judge Rebus on that story.)

I own this series mostly in paperback, and am hoping the ebooks go on sale soon so I can re-read them.
The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (2015) Ian Rankin : 9/10

Inspector Montalbano
I adore Inspector Montalbano, even though in real life I might be tempted to punch him.

If you are not familiar with Montalbano, then this short story collection, Montalbano’s First Case and Other Stories, would be an excellent place to start. It’s in no way a complete collection (Andrea Camilleri is very prolific) but it gives you a good taste of the characters and the stories.

Some of my favorite exchanges in this series are between Montalbano and Cat. I especially like how Montalbano’s attitude towards Cat changes over the course of the series.

“Catarella, I want you to do me a special, important favor.”

“Chief, when y’ax me poissonally in poisson to do yiz a favor poissonally in poisson, yer doin’ me a favor jess by axin’.”

The baroque courtesies of Catarella.

A Voice in the Night (2012/2016) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli 8/10
Montalbano’s First Case and Other Stories (2008/ 2016) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli : 8/10

Susanna Horenbout and John Parker
Set in England in 1525

I read all available books in this series, but this one I particularly liked. Susanna Horenbout is a Flemish painter sent by her father to the court of King Henry VIII to be his illuminator. John Parker is a trusted courtier of King Henry. Both were real historical figures about whom little is known, aside from their names and that they eventually married.

There is boinking in this series.
In a Treacherous Court (2011) Michelle Diener : 8/10

Regency London
Set in London in 1812.

Giselle Barrington is the daughter of a folklorist with a fascination for cooking. After witnessing the murder of her father, she goes into hiding with the hopes she can pass on the message her father died for.

Although they are not historical characters, they are historically grounded, and the mystery was very good.

There is boinking in this series.
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener : 9/10

Lady Darby
Set in Scotland, England, and Ireland 1830-1831

The first book was interesting, but didn’t especially impress me. The succeeding books were much better done, and very enjoyable.

Lady Darby has spent the last year and a half hiding in Scotland with her sister and brother-in-law, after the death of her husband and the scandal that arose following that. Sebastian Gage is the son of a famous London inquiry agent. When a murder occurs, both Gage and Lady Darby look into the death—Gage because of her father and Lady Darby because of her past scandal.

The mysteries here are particularly good.
Mortal Arts (2013) Anna Lee Huber : 8/10
A Grave Matter (2014) Anna Lee Huber : 8/10
A Study in Death (2015) Anna Lee Huber : 8/10
As Death Draws Near (2016) Anna Lee Huber : 8/10

Malcom & Suzanne Rannoch
Set in London in 1818

This is an interesting series that often jumps back and forth in time—the books are written jumping through time, although most of the books stick to a single timeline. This book is latest in the timeline, and like all the books in the series, can be read without the previous books.

Malcolm and Suzanne are spies—Malcolm for England and Suzanne for France. In this book, Malcolm knows of Suzanne’s past, and they are continuing to work through the issues caused by this (and other) revelations.
London Gambit (2016) Tracy Grant : 8/10

Sebastian St. Cyr
Set in England in 1813.

I picked up the first book in this series What Angels Fear  back when it came out in 2005, and I’ve pre-ordered every book in the series since then.

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is a young noble who returned from the Napoleonic wars far more bitter than when he left. A lot has happened to Sebastian since the start of the series, including a marriage and a child. I love this series, but you really should start at the beginning, for there are all kinds of revelations as the series progresses.
When Falcons Fall (2016) C.S. Harris : 8.5/10

Kat Halloway
I started the Captain Lacey series and abandoned it several books in. Theoretically there are supposed to be more Kat Halloway mysteries coming, but I haven’t seen one yet.

Set in London in 1880.

Kat is a cook for Sir Lionel Leigh-Bradbury, and better than he deserves, but since he allows her an unusual numbers of days off, she is fine with the situation. They mystery is good, and I especially liked Kat.
A Soupçon of Poison (2015) Ashley Gardener : 8.5/10

I tore through several series–some completely through from start to finish–so rather than listing the books and ratings, I just listed them all in order. If you click through to the author page you can find my reviews on the individual books (and any other books written by that author).

The Sister Fidelma series by Peter Tremayne
Set in England and Ireland in 664-

This is a series I own most of in paperback, and am trying to find on sale as eBooks so I can re-read them. Peter Tremayne was the pseudonym for the scholar Peter Berresford Ellis, and the books are full of historical tidbits, many of which are surprising to the modern reader.

Clergy, even bishops, took spouses; even the religious of houses, whether mixed or not, could have wives and husbands, under Brehon law and custom. But the position of an abbot and abbess was in a different category for they were usually bound to celibacy.

‘Easter?’

‘The Saxons have accepted most of our teaching of Christian faith but as for the Paschal feast they insist on naming it after their pagan goddess of fertility, Eostre, whose rituals fall at the time of the Spring equinox.

The mysteries in the first two books are fine, but improve (IIRC) over the course of the series.
Absolution By Murder (1994), Shroud for the Archbishop (1995)

The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters
This series is set in England and Wales from 1137 to 1144.

Brother Cadfael is a Welsh Benedictine monk and herbalist living in Shrewsbury, on the Welsh border. He lived a full life as a crusader before he came to take his vows, which makes him far more worldly that many others in his abbey. This series intertwines the fictional characters of the abbey with the historical events of the English Civil War between factions of Maud and Stephen.

The mysteries are good, but what I like best is brother Cadfael.

Meet every man as you find him, for we’re all made the same under habit or robe or rags.

(L)eave agonising too much over your sins, black as they are, there isn’t a confessor in the land who hasn’t heard worse and never turned a hair. It’s a kind of arrogance to be so certain you’re past redemption.”

What you yourself did, that you may rue, and confess, and do penance for, to your soul’s content, but you may not lift another man’s sins from his shoulders, or usurp God’s right to be the only judge.

There is no one who cannot be hated, against whatever odds. Nor anyone who cannot be loved, against all reason.”

A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977), One Corpse Too Many (1979), Monk’s Hood (1980), The Leper of Saint Giles (1981), The Virgin in the Ice (1982), The Sanctuary Sparrow (1983), The Devil’s Novice (1983), Dead Man’s Ransom (1984), The Pilgrim of Hate (1984), An Excellent Mystery (1985), The Raven in the Foregate (1986), The Rose Rent (1986), The Hermit of Eyton Forest (1987), The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988), The Heretic’s Apprentice (1989), The Potter’s Field (1989), The Summer of the Danes (1991), The Holy Thief (1992)

The Owen Archer series by Candace Robb
This series is set in England and Wales from 1363 to 1373.

Owen Archer was the Captain of the Duke of Lancaster’s archers until he lost an eye, after which he became the Duke’s spy. After the Duke’s death, he takes a position for John Thoresby, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York. The first book is all from Owen’s POV, but the following books (with the exception of A Gift of Sanctuary) splits POV between Owen and Lucie Wilton, the apothecary of the first book.

There are both fictional and historical characters throughout this series, and the author tried to be as true to both the historical characters and the time as she could. Lucie is a Master Apothecary not because women in such positions were common, but because the town needed her services and the Archbishop owed them a favor.  It is these historical bits that most fascinate me.

“Lucie examined her, Tom. Got her hands in all that blood. What will that do to the child, Lucie looking at all that blood? And the horror of it all?”

‘With each visitation of the pestilence folk have become more inventive with their precautions. A wealthy merchant asked yesterday for enough crushed diamonds to strew round his bed and cut Death’s feet to shreds.’

Yet some things remain the same.

‘Do not leave,’ Phillippa said as Lucie began to walk away. ‘I am relieved to have spoken of it. But I do not remember— oh Lucie, it is the cruellest curse, to be witless one day, lucid the next. It is as if I have been sleepwalking and everyone has witnessed my foolishness. All look at me with such pity— and fear that they, too, might come to this end if they live so long as I have. It is horrible. Horrible.’ Her jaw was set in anger and frustration.

The Apothecary Rose (1993), The Lady Chapel (1994), The Nun’s Tale (1995), The King’s Bishop (1996), The Riddle of St. Leonard’s (1997), A Gift of Sanctuary (1998), A Spy for the Redeemer (2002), The Cross-Legged Knight (2006), The Guilt of Innocents (2006), A Vigil of Spies (2008)

If you click through any of the Amazon links and buy something, it’ll get me hapenny or so, which will eventually let me buy another book.

It’s the end of 2016 (which seems nigh near impossible to me, yet there it is), so it’s time to look at the books of 2016.

The following links will be live as I publish (or write) those posts. This is just a handy place to link to everything.

In this year-end round-up, I’ve made note primarily of books I have not read before. I made an exception for two authors I hadn’t read in years. I figured if I didn’t have a real review for the books, I was good mentioning those books here.

Mystery
Fantasy
Romance
Graphic Novels
Non-Fiction (aka Cookbooks)
Good Covers of 2016
– Modern
– Historical

If you click through any of the Amazon links and buy something, it’ll get me hapenny or so, which will eventually let me buy another book.

Previously:
Books I loved (Published in 2015)
Books I Loved
Covers I loved
Covers I hated

Although I did a LOT of re-reading this year, I still managed to find some new-to-me authors: two historical romance authors and two comic series.

Joanna Bourne
The Spymaster’s Lady (2008)
My Lord and Spymaster (2008)
The Forbidden Rose (2010)
The Black Hawk (2011)

The series I read was historical romance with elements of mystery (spies, duh) and since I love historical mysteries, this was catnip to me. The series is set between 1794 and 1818 with the upheavals in France being at the heart of most of the escapades.

The first book I thought was phenomenal, and the next two were very good. Oddly, the third, which had my favorite character, Adrien, was the weakest book of the series. Which I found terribly disappointing.

Carla Kelly
Miss Grimsley’s Oxford Career (2012)
Summer Campaign (2012)

These books are set during the Napoleonic era, and are not part of a series–or even much similar to each other–but both are delightful. The first finds a young lady attempting to go to Oxford, however, this isn’t the story you’re probably expecting with that set-up. It was lovely.

The second tells of a young woman who is about to make a terrible marriage, but has little to no choice in the matter. Because social strictures were quite different at that time, you spend the book wondering how on earth she’s going to escape her engagement.

These are also boink-free books, which I especially liked. :)

Daniel José Older
Salsa Nocturna (2012)
Half-Resurrection Blues (2015)

These are supernatural fantasy with Hispanic characters, which is a sub-genre you don’t see a lot of. But that isn’t why you should read it. You should read them because they’re good stories, and come at supernatural fantasy from a different point than much of what is currently out there: for one thing, the main character doesn’t have super-strength or super-healing or anything except his ability to walk in the human world and the world of ghosts, and a sword to help him out.

The short story collection, Salsa Nocturna, came first, and is a lovely introduction to both the world and many of the characters in this world.

Ms. Marvel
No Normal (2014)
Generation Why (2015)
Crushed (2015)

This a a fabulous YA comic. The girl who becomes the new Ms Marvel is Muslim, with strict (but not unrealistically so) parents, a brother who seems to be embracing a form of Islam that worries her family a little, and two best friends–one of who is a Muslim who chooses to wear the full hijab, and the other a Catholic boy who is most likely in love with her.

The first volume requires no familiarity with the Marvel universe; the following volumes left me feeling a tiny bit lost, since I don’t follow the referenced volumes, but they are still good, and this is a series you should get for teen girls in your life AND read for yourself.

Black Widow
The Finely Woven Thread (2015)
The Tightly Tangled Web (2015)
Last Days (2015)

This series is NOT for young teens, and the end is very dark, but it is very very good, and I highly recommend it. Black Widow is very much a damaged character, trying to make up for her past as a Soviet assassin (the last volume delves deeply into her past, and is as depressing as it is good).

As I’m a fan of complex, complicated, conflicted characters (yes, I did run out of “C” words) I very much loved Natasha. She’s all those, but she’s also competent (another “C” word!) and does what needs to be done–things that other Avengers won’t do.

Very lovely, and well-worth checking out; just be aware that it’s dark–especially the final volume.

Previously:
Books I loved (Published in 2015)
Covers I loved
Covers I hated

These are the books I loved that weren’t published in 2015, but that I want to point out, in case you haven’t read them. There are only two re-reads here–books I love so much I just wanted to note again how happy they make me.

Graphic Novel

Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal (2014) G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphonsa

This is an absolutely delightful comic. The following two volumes aren’t quite as good as the first, in keeping a story that is understandable to those not already immersed in the Marvel universe, but the first volume does a lovely job of that, and I highly recommend it.

Historical Romance

The Spymaster’s Lady (2008) Joanna Bourne (10/10)
My Lord and Spymaster (2008) Joanna Bourne (9/10)

These are (rather obviously) part of a series, with spies set during and around the Napoleonic wars.

As someone who read the James Bond novels as a teen, I’m a sucker for a good spy novel. (Yes, I know how unrealistic the James Bond stories are. That doesn’t mean they aren’t fun.) And these are fun.

The women in the stories are no wilting flowers, but do what they can to save themselves (after all, espionage means danger) which I always appreciate.

Plus, how can I not love a series where a heroine says, “I am England’s expert on skullduggery in accounting.”

Shadows of the Heart (1996) Tracy Grant
Shores of Desire (1997) Tracy Grant
Rightfully His (1998) Tracy Grant

This is another series set in a similar time frame, by another author I quite like.

First, the heroines in these stories are generally not shirking violets and virgins, in fact, the heroine in on story is pregnant when she is rescued by the hero.

Second, these are also mysteries, and good mysteries at that. The heroines are involved in helping to resolve the mysteries (especially when the mystery for one is who she is). And there are lots of fun historical bits, which I always enjoy.

Fantasy

The Very Best of Charles de Lint (2010) Charles de Lint

I love Charles de Lint, and this is a (mostly) fan selected selection of some of his best stories. I own most of these stories in other collections (because seeing Charles de Lint in an anthology makes it an automatic buy) but it was a pleasure to read all these stories, both the handful of new stories and the many stories I’d read (and re-read) before.

One of the things about Charles de Lint is that many of his characters have been hurt and broken in the past, but with very few exceptions, the stories leave you with a sense of hope.

Legion: Skin Deep (2014) Brandon Sanderson

This is a novella, the sequel to Legion. It’s got a fascinating premise, which is that the main character has multiple characters and personalities living with him—he is aware that they are not real people, but instead the way in which is super-intelligent mind parses and deals with things—a new person/personality appears often in response to his needing to become an expert in something.

Like I said, it’s a fascinating idea, and the stories are interesting as well, so it’s a win-win.

Audio Books

The Devil You Know, Audible Version (2006/2007) by Mike Carey and narrated by Michael Kramer

British magical detective of sorts, with a complicated past and an even more complicated present. My book catnip, and the narrator does a lovely job with the story.

Mercy Blade, Audible Version (2011/2011) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam
Raven Cursed (2012/2012) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam
Death’s Rival, Audible Version (2012) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam

I am thoroughly enjoying listening to this series. The narrator does a very good job of making the voices of Jane and Beast (and the other characters as well) distinct and sounding like the book describes them.

Plus, I get to hear all the details I frequently miss when I zip through a story.

Fantasy Re-Reads

The Lions of Al-Rassan (1995) Guy Gavriel Kay

This is possibly my favorite Guy Gavriel Kay story. I love the research and history he puts into creating his fantastical world, and how these are not even true fantasies in the sense they don’t have magical usage or creatures, they just exist and interact in a past that never existed.

Child of a Rainless Year (2005) Jane Lindskold

This is an unusual story, of a woman who was orphaned at a young age, coming to discover who she is not as a teen or twenty something, but as a settled, middle-aged woman.

And in addition to this very unusual main character is a fantastic story.

Graphic Novels

Black Widow
Black Widow Vol. 1: The Finely Woven Thread (2015) Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto (9/10)
Black Widow Vol. 2: The Tightly Tangled Web (2015) Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto (8/10)

I really really liked this series. You’ll note that the final volume isn’t listed here–that’s not becuase it wasn’t good, becuase it was, but because it was very dark and left me feeling terribly depressed. It was a good ending, but it’s not anything I want to revisit ay time soon.

A-Force Presents
A-Force Presents Vol. 1 (2015) by G. Willow Wilson, Nathan Edmondson, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Jason Aaron, Phil Noto, David Lopez, Adrian Alphona, Russell Dauterman (8.5/10)

This is a fabulous introduction to several titles: Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel, Thor, She-Hulk, Black Widow… and Squirrel Girl, which was not for me.

If you want to check out several titles, this is the place to do it. And I’d like to note that aside from Squirrel Girl, I now own the first full volume of each of the above.

Rivers of London
Rivers of London: Body Work (2015) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, and Luis Gurrero  (9/10)

Of course this was going to be on the list.

If you haven’t read the series, this might be an introduction to the series, but I’m not certain, because I can’t really separate the comic from the series. I will note that there are many things that fans of the series will love, so if you’ve read the series, I highly recommend reading the comic.

Mystery

I love mysteries, but stemming back to my discovery of Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple, I especially love historical mysteries. Of course neither was an historical when they were written, but that doesn’t really matter to me.

The Mayfair Affair (2015) Tracy Grant (8/10)

This is the latest volume in the Malcom & Suzanne Rannoch series, which I very much love. These books were not written in chronological order, so you can read them in any order. This book is at the chronological end of the series, but aside from mild spoilers for the book prior to this, it shouldn’t matter. And the spoilers are mostly that Malcolm discovers Suzanne’s past, and yet the manage to move past that betrayal. The first is given in the description of that book, and the second is understood if you’re reading a book that comes after.

Who Buries the Dead (2015) C.S. Harris (8.5/10)

This is another historical series that I adore, and have been reading since it appeared in 2005. Sebastian St. Cyr is a complex character who is very much a person of his times (which does not always happen in historicals, where chracters are basically modern people with modern thoughts and ideas transplanted into the past). And Hero, although harboring some seemingly modern sentiments, does so in a manner consistent in her time (and her wealth and privledge help that).

All that, and they’re good mysteries, to boot–I follow the author’s blog, and am amazed by the steps she takes to keep internal consistency and track of all the chracters and details.

Fantasy

Foxglove Summer (2014) Ben Aaronovitch (9/10)

Of course this was one of my favorite books. I adore this series, and Peter Grant, and all the other characters.

Half-Resurrection Blues (2015) Daniel José Older (8.5/10)

This is a new series, with a main character who was raised/saved from the dead and now lives with no memory of the past, serving the ghost council, which tries to keep the dead and supernatural in order.

And he is very snarky.

Tales from the Nightside (2015) Simon R. Green (9.5/10)

This is a collection of all the Nightside short stories, most of which I have read, none of which matter when enjoying this book. I fully admit that the Nightside is not for everyone. Some of the stories feature John Taylor, but there are stories that don’t, and those are just as good (if not better) than the John Taylor stories.

If you never read any of the Nightside books, this would be a very good introduction, since you get a feel for the stories and the characters, but each tale is a complete story that doesn’t require any knowledge of any other story. (Which does not always happen with short stories written in an existing world.)

The Dragon Conspiracy (2015) Lisa Shearin (8.5/10)

This is the second book in the SPI files, and is a lot of fun. It’s a supernatural mystery, with a character who doesn’t have amazing powers to kick the asses of all the bad guys–she has the powers she has, and does what she can with them, but when fights start, she gets out of the way. Mind you, I like heroines that kick butt, but it can get a little old, without any variety.

Audio

Foxglove Summer Audible Version (2015/2015) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Again, you knew this was going to be on here. I adore Kobna Holdbrook-Smith reading this series. I mean, seriously swoony love of this narration.

OK, now we’ve seen my least favorite cover of 2015, here are my favorite covers of the year.

First up, the final cover of Fables.

Fables Vol. 22: Farewell (2015)

Everyone is in this cover.
 
 
 
 
And another cover, quite different from the first.

Ms. Marvel Volume 2: Generation Why (2015) G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, and Jacob Wyatt

I love the way she’s portrayed as on the surface paying no attention to the world around her because she’s on her phone, but she is paying attention–and doing something about it.

It just pleases me.

Just a note that although I loved several of the issue covers of Black Widow (they were gorgeous in fact) the actual covers of the graphic novels were… meh.
 
 
 
 
And to close, an actual book!

Half-Resurrection Blues (2015) Daniel José Older

In contrast to the worst cover of 2015, this cover depicts the actual main character, acting in a way the main character acts.

AND it depicts something that actually happened in the book, without giving anything away.

I do believe that ROC has some of the best covers, usually getting things right AND being attractive in the meantime.

ADDENDUM the First:

Dark Heir (2015) Faith Hunter

I really do love the Jane Yellowrock covers. Yes, the models don’t always look Native American, but they are obviously trying very hard to get the model to match Jane, and she is never in a submissive or ridiculous position, which I love. (This is ALSO a ROC cover.)

Deadly Spells (2015) Jaye Wells

This one isn’t anywhere near as good as the Jane Yellowrock covers, but it’s still pretty good. It shows Kate in an active position, she looks pretty much like Kate is described, and the background matches what you’d see in the Cauldron. So good job Orbit.

Only one this year! (There were lots of meh covers, but only one terrible cover.)

It is, completely unexpectedly, for a Jeaniene Frost book. I have no idea what she did, but she totally doesn’t deserve some of the abysmal covers she gets.

This isn’t the worst cover she’s ever gotten, but it’s still pretty terrible, since the man on the cover is totally and completely unrelated to the man (vampire) described in the book.

Vlad didn’t show off his seething masculinity by wearing fewer clothes. Instead, he wore more to taunt people with what he didn’t allow them to feast their eyes on.

It’s as if the person doing the cover purposefully and willfully refuses to depict that man described between the pages.

But I suppose I should expect nothing better from Avon–who seems to want to have The Worst Covers Ever.

But I have to admit, that only a single terrible cover this year isn’t doing too badly.

I read 167 books this year, which is just under my best year (174 books last year). The fewest books I read in a month was nine, in May. (When I was out hiking and doing fun outside stuff.)

Unsurprisingly, I read more eBooks than anything else.

Paperback – 24
Trade Paperback – 22
eBook – 111
Hardback – 2
Audio – 8
Total – 167

I had a lot of re-reads this year. 76 re-reads, far more than any other previous year.

Of genres, I read more fantasy than anything else this year.

Fantasy – 101
Mystery – 79
Romance – 37
YA – 11
Comic – 10
Anthology – 6
Non-Fiction – 2

Mystery was up there however, and romance is creeping up. I still could do without all the boinking, but I do historical romances.

And then for author gender.

48% of the books I read were by female authors writing as females, while 31% were written by males. But this, of course, isn’t the true number of books written by women. There are many female authors writing under male pseudonyms or under their initials. (When I was younger, I just assumed that all authors who wrote under their initials were women. I later determined this wasn’t that far-fetched.)

Taking that into consideration, 56% of the books I read this year were written by women, and since 2006, 52% of the books I have read have been written by women (to 41% male)

All things considered, that’s not a bad percentage.

So that’s 2014 in books. Here’s to all the books I’m looking forward to reading in 2015!

The Books of 2014: Mystery, Romance, Non-Fiction
The Books of 2014: Fantasy

And here are the rest of the books I read this year and loved.
 
 
 
Mystery

Why Kings Confess (2014) C.S. Harris  (8/10)
 
 
 
Comics

Fairest Vol. 3: The Return of the Maharaja (2014) Sean E. Williams, Stephen Sadowski, Phil Jimenez  (9/10)

This was a fabulous addition to this series. I loved the main character DESPITE the fact that I hate the male character.

Fables Vol. 20: Camelot (2014) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Russ Braun, Barry Kitson  (8/10)
 
 
 
Romance

The Countess Conspiracy (2013) Courtney Milan (9/10)

Why did I love this book?

Violet narrowed her eyes at him. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to distract me with science.”

The Heiress Effect (2013) Courtney Milan (8/10)
 
 
 
Non-Fiction

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal (2013) Mary Roach  (10/10)

Mary Roach is the best.

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012 (2012) Edited by Dan Ariely and Tim Folger (9/10)

These are some of the fantasy books I read in 2014 that I really liked. I limited this list to books published in 2013 & 2014, first because I didn’t want to count re-reads, but more importantly, because it limits the list.
 
 
 
Supernatural Fantasy

Mercy Thompson

Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson (2014) Patricia Briggs  (9/10)
Night Broken (2014) Patricia Briggs  (8/10)

I love the Mercy Thompson series.

Black Arts (2014) Faith Hunter  (9/10)

The latest installment of the Jane Yellowrock series. Another favorite.

London Falling (2013) Paul Cornell (9/10)
Downfall (2014) Rob Thurman  (8.5/10)

I adore Rob Thurman’s Cal Leandros series. I hesitated to read this, because I was afraid it might end in Cal and Niko, well, ending. The fact that the story was split between Cal and Robin reinforced this fear. But it was really good and worth the wait.

Iron Night (2014) M.L. Brennan  (8.5/10)
Broken Homes (2014) Ben Aaronovitch  (8.5/10)

This series is good, but the narration by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is AMAZING.

Known Devil (2014) Justin Gustainis  (8/10)

This is a fun series. Police unit that investigates magical crimes. Set in Scranton. No, it’s good. Really!

The Grendel Affair (2013) Lisa Shearin  (8.5/10)

This is another supernatural mystery and I liked both the premise and characters.
 
 
 
Young Adult

Eternal: Shadow Falls: After Dark (2014) C.C. Hunter  (8.5/10)

I like this series (the second series in the same world with overlapping characters).

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014) Maggie Stiefvater  (8.5/10) (points lost for the epilogue)

This is an EXCELLENT series. I can’t wait for the next (and hopefully final) book.
 
 
 
Anthology

Magic City: Recent Spells (2014) Paula Guran  (8.5/10)

I love anthologies, and this is good one. A lot of variety and authors I love.

Night Shift (2014) Nalini Singh; Ilona Andrews; Lisa Shearin; Milla Vane  (8/10)

Just to be clear, I only read half the stories–the other authors didn’t interest me.

There were some very good and some very terrible covers this year.

First, The Bad

I’ve already ranted about how much I hated the cover for Burn for Me:

It’s awful. And there was an alternate that was gorgeous, which is just adding insult to injury.

For the other book, I hate to do this, because it’s not a horrible cover, but she’s had such gorgeous covers in the past, I found the cover of Why Kings Confess to be terribly disappointing.

It doesn’t look at all like Sebastian, and there is nothing in the cover that draws me in. But the fact that previous covers were so gorgeous, I have a much higher bar for this series than I do for many others.

Now, The Good

Luckily, there were far more covers I really liked this year.

I really loved the cover of Jaye Wells Dirty Magic:

ML Brennan’s Generation V series also has good covers:

But as the main character is male, that’s not particularly unusual. But they do a good job getting Fort right.

Faith Hunter, as usual, gets fabulous covers for her Jane Yellowrock books.

I adore how powerful Jane is.

As always, kudos to the latest Cal Leandros book

That all the covers do such an excellent job of portraying the essence of Cal (and Niko when he makes an appearance) continues to astound me. Every cover in the series is immediately recognizable as a Cal & Niko book, and Cal looks exactly how he is written: like an obnoxious asshole with an obsession with guns.

And I want to draw special attention to Fairest Vol. 3: The Return of the Maharaja

The book had FANTASTIC art.

With caveats, Patricia Briggs also gets good covers.

For some reason they always have Mercy showing more skin than seems at all realistic for her character. But she is shown as strong and acting (as opposed to being acted upon) so I’ll take what I can get.

First, links to the other posts of the round-up:

Genre Grab Bag: Non-Fiction, Romance, YA, Anthologies
Comics
Mystery
Fantasy

And now, if you don’t geek out over statistics and numbers, this would be a good time for you to go pick up whatever book you’re reading and skip this post.

Because I am totally going to geek out here.

I read 172 174 books in 2013, averaging 14.5 books a month.  This beats my previous yearly total from 2006, of 164 books.

Of those 172 174 books, 68 (40%) were re-reads.  And 29 of those re-reads were books I have in more than one format (generally hardback/paperback and ebook).

I overwhelmingly read more ebooks than any other format, coming in with a total of 105 107. Considering that I read zero ebooks in 2010, this is a pretty impressive jump. Mass market paperbacks (39) beat out trade paperbacks (18), and hard back books almost matched the previous all-time low coming in at only five hardback books read in the entire year.

(You don’t have to tell me, I know the chart is off–I realized after I made the image that one of the comics I read last month was hardback and not trade paperback.)

I expect that trend to continue, with the number of hard back books I read becoming limited to cookbooks and the occasional

Considering genre, fantasy took a slight dip this year, as I re-read several mystery series, but this isn’t an unusual trend for me. Also, a single book can have multiple genre classifications, so Liz Williams’ Detective Inspector Chen series is classified as mystery and fantasy, which is actually my favorite flavor of both those genres, but makes the numbers look a little odd.

I read twelve thirteen books that were translated into English from their original language, covering Russian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, and Italian. Not a ton of variety, but all the books were part of a series, so it’s also not surprising. I’ve got other books by non-English speaking authors lined up to read, so I hope the variety will be a little better next year. (Italian is likely to reappear, as I adore Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series and generally order the next book as soon as it is available.

And then there’s the author’s gender.

Females wrote an overwhelming majority of the books I read, 52%, but that’s closer to 57% when you add in women writing under their initials or male pseudonyms.  I read the same number of books written jointly (anthologies, comics, multiple authors under a single name) as I read by male authors, 20%.

Since 2006, my reading preferences average out to 42% male: 51% female. That includes three years where more than 50% of the books I read were by male authors.

I’ll be fascinated to see if this trend continues over time.

One last note: I fully expect to have completed the book I’m currently reading by the end of the day. Yeah, finished up two books last night, so we’ll see what I’ve read by the end of the day today. :)

Fantasy, of various sub-genres.

These are books I read for the first time in 2013, that rating an 8,9, or 10/10. If it was a re-read, I’m not listing it, not matter how good it was.

Fantasy, straight-up

Heaven’s Net is Wide (2007) Lian Hearn   (10/10)

I really love this series, set in an historical, imaginary, Asian country.

River of Stars (2013) Guy Gavriel Kay  (9/10)

He is always astounding, the amount of research he puts into creating a world and time that never actually existed, but is based upon one or more historical places. And this book has an absolutely gorgeous cover.
 
 
 
Supernatural Mystery

Slashback (2013) Rob Thurman (9/10)

I love Rob Thurman’s writing, and I adore the Cal Leandros series.

Peter Grant / The Rivers of London

Midnight Riot (2011) Ben Aaronovitch  (8/10)

Moon Over Soho (2011) Ben Aaronovitch  (8/10)

Whispers Under Ground (2012) Ben Aaronovitch  (8/10)

Peter Grant is a London cop who can see things few other people can, so he’s transferred to the secret unit of the London force–a very very small unit that’s less elite than it is one the department is trying to forget.

Occult Crimes Unit Investigation

Hard Spell (2011) Justin Gustainis  (8/10)

Stan Markowski is a Detective on the Scranton Police Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit. This is the series I pointed out as having absolutely terrible covers. Luckily, the writing was better than the cover.
 
 
 
Supernatural

Written In Red (2013) Anne Bishop  (8/10)

Neurondoc got me this book, saying I’d really like it. She was right. I had quibbles, but they were only quibbles, and the story really was enjoyable.

Magic Rises (2013) Ilona Andrews  (8/10)

The Kate Daniels book for 2013 didn’t hold up in my memory as well as my initial impression upon reading. But I still pre-ordered the next book as soon as it appeared.

Frost Burned (2013) Patricia Briggs  (8/10)

Fair Game (2012) Patricia Briggs  (8/10)

These books are set in the same world, but follow two different sets of characters. In general, I prefer the Mercy Thompson series to the Alpha and Omega series, but there were some amazing events in Fair Game.

Blood Trade (2013) Faith Hunter  (8/10)
 
 
 
Steampunk / Victorian Magical

The Death of the Necromancer (1998) Martha Wells  (8/10)

This is an older book, written before Steampunk / Victorian Magical became a thing, and I really enjoyed it.
 
 
 
Short Stories

Companions to the Moon (2007) Charles de Lint (short story)  (9/10)

I love pretty much everything I’ve ever read by Charles de Lint. That that under advisement.

In Sea-Salt Tears (2012) Seanan McGuire (short story)  (8/10)

This was a free story available from the author’s website, and was a marvelous look The Luidaeg, who is a fascinating character.

And that’s the past year in reading.