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Genres
11genres
312books sorted
Have a favorite genre you like to read? Every book I've reviewed in it is consolidated here, grouped by the rating I gave it — so you can start with the five-star shelf and work down, rather than scrolling a whole year to find the thrillers.
Fantasy
38 reviewed · 4.1 avg rating★★★★★Five stars
15 books
Book
Rating
Genre
Race the Sands
Sarah Beth DurstBEST OF2020#3 of 2020
★★★★★BEST OF2020#3 of 2020
Part Seabiscuit, part palace politics, part commentary on societal boundaries and castes -- this novel was great on multiple levels.
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Final Strife
Saara El-ArifiBEST OF2022#3 of 2022
★★★★★BEST OF2022#3 of 2022
A land where one’s blood color determines their race is the setting while a secret sect try to infiltrate to infiltrate the government
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Will of the Many
James IslingtonBEST OF2024#5 of 2024
★★★★★BEST OF2024#5 of 2024
A truly excellent start to a trilogy about an orphan who infiltrates an Academy for societal elites in order to uncover a conspiracy.
★★★★★
Fantasy
Fourth Wing
Rebecca YarrosBEST OF2023#6 of 2023
★★★★★BEST OF2023#6 of 2023
Perhaps the most-hyped book of 2023 lives up to it, as we follow the journey of a young girl as she attempts to become a dragon rider.
★★★★★
Romantasy Fantasy Romance
Things in Jars
Jess KiddBEST OF2020#6 of 2020
★★★★★BEST OF2020#6 of 2020
A private investigator in 1860s London looks into the disappearance of a young girl who may have special (and dangerous) powers.
★★★★★
Mystery and Thriller Fantasy
Iron Flame
Rebecca YarrosBEST OF2024#7 of 2024
★★★★★BEST OF2024#7 of 2024
Yarros gives us a rarity -- a sequel to a force-of-nature debut that's just as good as the original, and in some ways possibly better.
★★★★★
Romantasy Fantasy Romance
Starling House
Alix E. HarrowBEST OF2023#8 of 2023
★★★★★BEST OF2023#8 of 2023
Harrow returns to top form with a genre-blending story of a young woman trying to scrape by in a town haunted by its past and secrets.
★★★★★
Fantasy Literature & Fiction Mystery and Thriller
The Strength of the Few
James Islington#8 of 2026
★★★★★#8 of 2026
The sequel to The Will of the Many sees the footprint expand from a single world into three, an ambitious choice that is impressively executed.
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Everlasting
Alix E. HarrowBEST OF2025#9 of 2025
★★★★★BEST OF2025#9 of 2025
A time-traveling tale that dissects the most famous legend in the land, Harrow once again creates a binge-worthy blend of fantasy and creativity.
★★★★★
Fantasy
King Sorrow
Joe Hill#13 of 2026Audiobook
★★★★★#13 of 2026Audiobook
An epic story about friendship and betrayal, this behemoth of a novel follows six college friends who make a Faustian deal with a dragon.
★★★★★
Horror Fantasy Literature & Fiction
The Silverblood Promise
James LoganBEST OF2025#13 of 2025
★★★★★BEST OF2025#13 of 2025
A strong start to a new fantasy series that can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel, a roguish young man travels to a distant city to solve the mystery of his father's death.
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Battle Drum
Saara El-Arifi#14 of 2023
★★★★★#14 of 2023
El-Arifi builds on her stellar debut The Final Strife (my #3 book of 2022), and does so both ambitiously and successfully.
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Blackfire Blade
James LoganBEST OF2025#14 of 2025
★★★★★BEST OF2025#14 of 2025
A worthy continuation of what started with The Silverblood Promise, Book 2 is filled with heists, mini quests, and more of everything you loved in Book 1.
★★★★★
Fantasy
Onyx Storm
Rebecca YarrosBEST OF2025#15 of 2025
★★★★★BEST OF2025#15 of 2025
The most anticipated book of 2025 mostly delivers, as author Yarros continues the Empyrean series and Violet Sorrengail's evolution.
★★★★★
Romantasy Fantasy Romance
Silver Elite
Dani Francis#22 of 2025
★★★★★#22 of 2025
A young woman with special powers infiltrates a training program for the military while working undercover for a resistance organization.
★★★★★
Science Fiction Fantasy Romance
★★★★★Four stars
15 books
Book
Rating
Genre
The Blacktongue Thief
Christopher BuehlmanBEST OF2021#10 of 2021
★★★★★BEST OF2021#10 of 2021
A thief with a wry sense of humor is reluctantly paired up with a badass female knight on a quest to save the knight's queen.
★★★★★
Fantasy
Lore
Alexandra BrackenBEST OF2021#12 of 2021
★★★★★BEST OF2021#12 of 2021
When Lore Perseous makes a deal with the goddess Athena, she is thrust into the middle of a once-every-seven-years event.
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Children
Melissa Albert#19 of 2026
★★★★★#19 of 2026
A haunting, dual-timeline tale of estranged siblings reckoning with a traumatic childhood serves up a unique blend of family drama and dark fairy tale.
★★★★★
Literature & Fiction Horror Fantasy Mystery and Thriller
The Lost Metal
Brandon Sanderson#21 of 2023
★★★★★#21 of 2023
A fitting and satisfying conclusion to what author Sanderson refers to as "Era Two" of his outstanding Mistborn series.
★★★★★
Fantasy
A Court of Mist and Fury
Sarah J. Maas#22 of 2026
★★★★★#22 of 2026
Following the events of A Court of Thorns and Roses, the story continues in a longer and more polished follow-up that's a step up from Book 1.
★★★★★
Romantasy Fantasy Romance
In the Lives of Puppets
TJ Klune#23 of 2023
★★★★★#23 of 2023
A sometimes dark exploration of a world where humans and sentient machines coexist, balanced by Klune's trademark humor and heart.
★★★★★
Fantasy
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas#24 of 2024
★★★★★#24 of 2024
After a bit of a slow and clunky start, the story of a young human woman imprisoned in faerie lands barrels to an excellent climax.
★★★★★
Romantasy Fantasy Romance
Starside
Alex Aster#34 of 2026
★★★★★#34 of 2026
A young woman enters a deadly competition to retrieve a goblet of magic in this romantasy that feels like the love child of The Hunger Games and Silver Elite.
★★★★★
Romantasy Fantasy Romance
Broken Dove
Dani Francis#35 of 2026
★★★★★#35 of 2026
Wren Darlington's journey picks up immediately where Silver Elite ended, continuing to explore the conflict between the Uprising and Command.
★★★★★
Romantasy Fantasy Romance
When Among Crows
Veronica Roth#35 of 2024
★★★★★#35 of 2024
A memorable novella, inspired by Polish folklore, that follows a guilt-ridden hero's journey through the magical underbelly of Chicago
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin#40 of 2024
★★★★★#40 of 2024
A uniquely creative fantasy novel, it's ultimately a struggle between those in power and those powerful enough to overthrow them.
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Book Witch
Meg Shaffer#43 of 2026
★★★★★#43 of 2026
A "Book Witch" must use her ability to teleport into books to solve a mystery in her own life when her grandfather and most prized possession go missing.
★★★★★
Fantasy Literature & Fiction
The Book of Doors
Gareth Brown#43 of 2024
★★★★★#43 of 2024
An inventive concept suffers a bit when the inevitable potential plot holes that come with time travel emerge. Entertaining but flawed
★★★★★
Mystery and Thriller Fantasy
Heir
Sabaa Tahir#45 of 2024
★★★★★#45 of 2024
A mostly average offering from an author I normally enjoy, which follows the next generation of her "An Ember in the Ashes" heroes.
★★★★★
Fantasy
Tidal Creatures
Seanan McGuire#50 of 2024
★★★★★#50 of 2024
McGuire's unparalleled creativity is again on display as she explores Lunar deities working to solve a murder of one of their own.
★★★★★
Fantasy
★★★★★Three stars
7 books
Book
Rating
Genre
Habits of the Sea
Shea Ernshaw#48 of 2026
★★★★★#48 of 2026
A woman returns to a mythical floating island she once visited as a child, only to become stranded with the ageless man who is living there.
★★★★★
Romance Fantasy
Sunderworld, Vol. I
Ransom Riggs#52 of 2024
★★★★★#52 of 2024
The first book in a series with plenty of potential, it establishes characters and foundation but fails to deliver a full story arc.
★★★★★
Fantasy
Legends & Lattes
Travis Baldree#54 of 2024Audiobook
★★★★★#54 of 2024Audiobook
A sweet little story about friendship and starting over, focused on an orc who tries to leave violence behind and open a coffee shop.
★★★★★
Fantasy
Somewhere Beyond the Sea
TJ Klune#57 of 2024
★★★★★#57 of 2024
A continuation of the "Cerulean Chronicles", but lacking the sweetness, joy and novelty that made the first book delightful & special.
★★★★★
Fantasy
The Familiar
Leigh Bardugo#58 of 2024
★★★★★#58 of 2024
A rare ho-hum effort from an author I enjoy, Bardugo's novel of 16th century Spain struggles to blend history, fantasy, and romance.
★★★★★
Historical Fiction Fantasy Romance
Faebound
Saara El-Arifi#59 of 2024
★★★★★#59 of 2024
A new set of characters and worlds from El-Arifi, but a book that is far more in the "romantasy" category than her previous novels.
★★★★★
Fantasy Romance
The Warbler
Sarah Beth Durst#65 of 2025
★★★★★#65 of 2025
A woman tries to break a curse which causes the women in her family to transform into a tree forever if they stay in a place too long.
★★★★★
Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction Fantasy
★★★★★One star
1 book
Why this page isn't a single ranking
Each book's rank is its position within the year I read it. That makes it directional, not absolute: the best book of a thin year and the fifth-best of a strong one can't be stacked against each other honestly. So these are grouped by the rating I gave them, which is comparable across years, and ordered within each group by how they placed in their own year. Where I have ranked an author's books against each other, that list says so and shows the numbers.
Want more like these?
One email on the first of every month with a summary and rating of each book reviewed over the past 30 days, and a look at where the year's ranking stands.