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.