I’m not surprised a Cat Sebastian book took this spot because I’ve loved every book of hers that I’ve read. You Should Be So Lucky was such a beautiful story, and I adored the characters so much. Sebastian always manages to strike a great balance between hopeful and realistic with her historical MM romances, and it just works so well.

I loved The Quicksilver Court by Melissa Caruso. There were so many great reveals, and the locked castle fight for survival kept things so tense. The characters endured some stuff, that’s for sure. It led to some interesting and emotional developments, and the end left me screaming for more.

I adored Andrea Stewart’s The Bone Shard Daughter trilogy and have been anxiously awaiting her next project. It is finally almost here, and I’m so excited to finally get my hands on The Gods Below. I know nothing about it other than that I’m sure I’ll love it.

Look at this cover!!!! It is so gorgeous and caused my expectations for A Darker Mischief to be sky high. I love dark academia and was excited by the prospect of a queer boarding school story with secret societies. Unfortunately, this did not deliver at all. The writing was just not good, and the plot and romance did not work. It is rare that I recommend people avoid a book, but I was burned bad by this one. So, readers beware.

I’d never heard of this author before and went into Deep Is the Fen with zero expectations. This ended up being one of my favorite books so far this year. It was creepy and tense, and I loved the setting of the swamp. I definitely plan to read more by this author.

I know Robert Jackson Bennett isn’t a new author, but he was new to me this year. I had such a great time reading The Tainted Cup. I loved the details of the plant-based architecture, and the murder mystery was fun to follow. I’ve already bought some of Bennett’s other books because of how much I enjoyed this one and can’t wait to dive into them.

I really, really liked Will Darling from the KJ Charles Will Darling Adventures series. He was reliable, smart, and down to earth. He also owned a bookshop and just seemed like a regular, cool dude. He’s someone I just think I’d love to spend time with.

Avra from Running Close to the Wind is my newest favorite character. He was hilarious and a total chaos agent. He was the definition of disaster bisexual, and I wish I had even a tiny bit of his energy and luck. lol.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was such an emotional read, and it definitely made me cry. I’m so glad that I finally got around to reading this one. I’m happy that the hype was deserved.

I enjoyed the vibes of Swordcrossed. The sexual tension was exquisite, and it was just a fun read, in general. Marske’s writing is always guaranteed to make me happy. So, this one was an easy choice.