This time of year, you see a lot of yearly wrap-ups, lists of favorite reads of the year that’s gone by, and so on. I’m terrible at keeping track of what I’m reading, absolutely terrible. I used to do it. Used to love it. I kept a reading journal, a physical one. Then I discovered Goodreads and did a lot of reading challenges, had a lot of shelves, and so on.
Then I created an author account, and things went to hell.
I started to realize what a negative space Goodreads is, and these days, I mostly stay away. I don’t track my reading, but part of me wants to. So for 2025, I’ve created a StoryGraph account, and maybe it will make me keep track again. Maybe.
Anyway, while setting it up, I tried to remember what I’ve read during 2024, and… yeah, it’s mostly a black hole LOL. I’ve reread a lot of old favorites, but I’ve read a few new ones too. I figured I’d do a post with my favorite reads of the year…of those I can remember reading 🙄
Forsaken Fae by R.A. Steffan
This was a reread. I’ve read them before, but this time I listened to the audio version. Tinkerbell *sighs*
There’s an unconscious Fae drooling on Len’s couch.
That’s not even the weirdest thing to happen to him this week.
Len’s been told that not all Fae are scheming, manipulative pricks. A moot point, since this one definitely is – he knows that much from bitter experience.
So, when his vampire ex-coworker dumps Albigard of the Unseelie on Len’s doorstep, he gives her two hours to find a better hiding place for the Fae fugitive before tossing him straight to the curb with the rest of the garbage.
He should have known better, of course. Because if there’s one thing Len’s learned since being thrown into the deep end of the seedy paranormal underworld, it’s that nothing is ever so simple.
Now he’s on the run from a cataclysmic primal force trying to tear its way into the human realm, stuck with an annoying bastard who already knows way too much about the inside of Len’s messed-up head. The first time he met Albigard, Len punched the Fae in his too-perfect face. This time, they’ll have to learn to work together – or risk having their souls torn apart and consigned to the void, with the rest of humanity facing the same fate soon after.
The Wild Hunt has slipped its chains.
Darkness is coming for the world.
The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles
This is a comfort read for me. When I don’t know what to do to read, this is most often the book I reread.
A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.
Exiled to China for twenty years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn’t expect it to turn up angry.
Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude… and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual.
Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane’s dangerous appeal isn’t the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can’t find a way through it—they’re both going to die.
Amazon (It’s free!)
Maz Maddox
This was a new-to-me author in 2024, and I’m in love. I’ve seen the name before, but haven’t gotten around to reading anything until now. I take a little break after each book, because while I love the characters, they’re a bit much, and I need a breather, but I will read more. I’m currently in the middle of both the RELIC series and Wilde Contracts, so I will continue when I’m in the right mood.
Frog by Mary Calmes
This is another one of those I’ve read more times than I can remember. I was in the mood, so I read it again. It’s a quick read, and it’s probably not the last time I read it.
Weber Yates’s dreams of stardom are about to be reduced to a ranch hand’s job in Texas, and his one relationship is with a guy so far out of his league he might as well be on the moon. Or at least in San Francisco, where Weber stops to see him one last time before settling down to the humble, lonely life he figures a frog like him has coming.
Cyrus Benning is a successful neurosurgeon, so details are never lost on him. He spotted the prince in a broken-down bull rider’s clothing from day one. But watching Weber walk out on him keeps getting harder, and he’s not sure how much more his heart can take. Now Cyrus has one last chance to prove to Weber that it’s not Weber’s job that makes him Cyrus’s perfect man, it’s Weber himself. With the help of his sister’s newly broken family, he’s ready to show Weber that the home the man’s been searching for has always been right there, with him. Cyrus might have laid down an ultimatum once, but now it’s turned into a vow—he’s never going to let Weber out of his life again.
Claimings by Lyn Gala
This is another one that I’ve read before but listened to the audio version this time around. I love Ondry and Liam, but I still haven’t read the last one. I will, someday.
Liam loves his life as a linguist and trader on the Rownt homeworld, but he has ignored his heart and sexual needs for years. After escaping the horrors of war, he wants a boring life. He won’t risk letting anyone come too close because he won’t risk letting anyone see his deeply submissive nature. For him, submission comes with pain. Life burned that lesson into his soul from a young age.
This fear keeps him from noticing that the Rownt trader Ondry cares for him. Ondry may not understand humans, but he recognizes a wounded soul, and his need to protect Liam is quickly outpacing his common sense. They may have laws, culture, and incompatible genitalia in their way, but Ondry knows that he can find a way to overcome all that if he can just overcome the ghosts of Liam’s past. Only then can he take possession of a man he has grown to respect.
Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon
Fatal Shadows, the first story in this series, has been out for over 20 years, and I read it when it was fairly new. I read the first two books, I think, and then I dropped the series because I was too angry with Jake. But it’s a classic, and I told myself to sit my ass down and read it. So I did, and while I still wanted to strangle Jake several times over, I’m glad I forced myself to read it.
Hidden Species by Louisa Masters
I reread both this and the Here Be Dragons series, but the Hidden Species is my favorite. I love the dragons! But Sam…
Indulge in all the shenanigans at CSG in one volume! Hellhounds declaring a glitter fight? Vampires at war with accounting? It’s another day at the Community of Species Government.
Edition contains the following
Demons Do It Better
Naughty Neil (novella)
One Bite With A Vampire
Hijinks With a Hellhound
Sorcerers Always Satisfy
N.R. Walker
I’ve read a few stories by N.R. Walker in the past, and while I liked them just fine, none of them has blown my mind. But in 2024 I read both The Weight of it All and Galaxies and Oceans, and I loved them both!
After being dumped by his long-term boyfriend for being overweight, Henry Beckett decides to make some drastic changes. In a vain attempt at getting his boyfriend back, Henry does the most absurdly frightening thing he can think of.
He joins a gym.
Reed Henske is a personal trainer who isn’t sure he’ll ever be ready to date again. He’s sick of guys who are only interested in the perfect body image, never seeing him for who he really is.
As Reed tortures Henry with things like diet and exercise, Henry enamours Reed with recipes and laughter. As the friendship lines start to blur, Henry is convinced there’s no way Thor-like Reed could ever be interested in a guy like him.
Reed just has to convince Henry that life isn’t about reaching your ideal bodyweight. It’s about finding your perfect counterweight.
Seizing his one chance to escape, Ethan Hosking leaves his violent ex-boyfriend, leaves his entire life, and walks into the path of a raging bushfire. Desperate to start over, a new man named Aubrey Hobbs walks out of the fire-ravaged forest, alive and alone. With no ID and no money, nothing but his grandfather’s telescope, he goes where the Southern Cross leads him.
Patrick Carney is the resident lighthouse keeper in Hadley Cove, a small town on the remote Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. After the tragic death of his lover four years ago, he lives a solitary life; just him, a tabby cat, the Indian and Southern Oceans, and a whole lot of loneliness. He’s content with his life until a stranger shows up in town and turns Patrick’s head.
Patrick never expected to be interested in anyone else. Aubrey never expected to be happy. Between Aubrey’s love of the stars and Patrick’s love of the ocean, these two fragile hearts must navigate new waters. If they can weather the storm of their pasts, they could very well have a love that eclipses everything.
Hidden in Darkness by Alice Winters
Normally, I read paranormal stories, and I’ve read a few by Alice Winters before, but never anything contemporary. I enjoyed this a lot!
When Felix is hired to take care of a recently blinded man, he thinks his life might finally be turning around. It has to be better than where he came from, but he has no idea what he’s signed up for. Lane is depressed, rude, and difficult to be around. It doesn’t help that Felix is clearly not qualified for the job, especially since he can’t even make oatmeal right. But Felix is trying to make his life better, so he’ll put up with the man even if it requires some unconventional methods. Felix’s humor soon pulls Lane out of his depression, and Felix feels like things are finally going right in his life.
That is, until he’s attacked by someone who wants to keep Lane quiet. It’s clear that Lane isn’t who he’s pretending to be, and Felix should probably walk away. But Felix has finally found a place where he belongs and he’s willing to go to great lengths to stay by Lane’s side. Even if it involves kidnapping, stealing, and Felix’s overwhelmingly bad ideas, Felix will do just about anything because Lane is there for him unlike anyone else has ever been. Felix might be out of his element, but one thing he is sure about is that he doesn’t want to leave Lane… even if it costs him his life.
Shadows of London by Ariana Nash
I read the first three of this series, and it’s a great paranormal adventure with magical artifacts and evil people. I enjoyed it a lot and have every intention of continuing the series, but I needed a little break first.
Something wicked is moving in the shadows of London…
In the underground world of glitzy illegal auctions, fast cars, and stolen magical artifacts, John “Dom” Domenici knows he’s out of his depth. But he needs the job at Kempthorne & Co like he needs to breathe. The alternative—going back to the organized crime gangs of London’s East End—is unthinkable.
So when Alexander Kempthorne, boss of Kempthorne & Co Artifact Retrieval Agency, wants him on a special case to track down an illegal artifact dealer, Dom can’t say no.
It shouldn’t matter that Kempthorne’s world is full of deadly secrets. It shouldn’t matter that the billionaire is sexy as sin, and it really shouldn’t matter how there’s an American agent stalking Dom, an American who knows more than he should about Dom’s case, including the real reason Alexander Kempthorne hired Dom.
A darkness runs deep beneath London…
Reeling from recent revelations and forced to lie for Kempthorne, the unthinkable happens: Dom fails the latent competency test. One more strike and he’ll be deemed unstable, have his registration stripped, and the life he’s come to love at Kempthorne & Co will be over.
If that weren’t bad enough, someone is stalking him, taunting him. Someone who knows what Dom did all those years ago.
While Dom juggles Kempthorne’s lies and his own shady past, latents are being murdered. The police won’t help, so it’s up to Dom, Kempthorne & new-recruit Kage (Hollywood) to find the killer, before they strike too close to home.
It’s not just Alexander Kempthorne’s secrets bubbling to the surface of London’s streets…
Time is running out for John “Dom” Domenici.
Outmanoeuvred at every turn by the figure known as “M”, only Kempthorne can free Dom, but juggling the horrors of his own past, containing a rising preternatural threat and the twisted machinations of “M” might just be too much, even for Kempthorne. Can Kage Mitchell be trusted to help?
Alexander Kempthorne lost an agent before. He’ll not lose another. He’ll do anything to save Dom, and if that means revealing who and what he truly is, then his time has come.
The Spectral Files by S.E. Harmon
I love this series! But I haven’t gotten around to reading the last one yet. I will! Ghosts, cold cases, and fun stuff.
SSA Rain Christiansen used to be the agency’s golden boy. It just takes one moment of weakness, one slight, tiny, itty-bitty paranormal sighting, and all of a sudden, he’s the agency’s embarrassment. His boss gives him one last chance to redeem himself – go down to Brickell Bay, play nice with the local police, and leave the ghost sightings behind. Rain is determined to do exactly that, even if it kills him.
Cold-case Detective Daniel McKenna’s latest investigation is going nowhere fast. Five years earlier, high school student Amy Greene went missing after leaving her part-time job and was never seen again. Daniel is glad to finally have the FBI help his department requested, even if it does come in the form of his ex.
It doesn’t help that Rain is pretty sure he’s falling in love with Danny all over again – if he ever stopped. Add to that the frustration of seeing ghosts at every turn while he works a case that’s stalled in its tracks, and Rain is starting to wonder if second chances and happy endings are just for fairy tales.
Big Bad Wolf by Charlie Adhara
If we’re picking favorites, this series is mine. I read it twice. Awesome! Simply adding it here has me wanting to read it again. *chef’s kiss*
An ex-FBI agent is partnered with the enemy in this suspenseful first installment of Charlie Adhara’s Big Bad Wolf series
Hunting for big bad wolves was never part of agent Cooper Dayton’s plan, but a werewolf attack lands him in the carefully guarded Bureau of Special Investigations. A new case comes with a new partner: ruggedly sexy werewolf Oliver Park.
Park is an agent of The Trust, a werewolf oversight organization working to ease escalating tensions with the BSI. But as far as Cooper’s concerned, it’s failing. As they investigate a series of mysterious deaths unlike anything they’ve seen, every bone in Cooper’s body is suspicious of his new partner—even when Park proves himself as competent as he is utterly captivating.
When more people vanish, pressure to solve the case skyrockets. And though he’d resolved to keep things professional, Cooper’s friction with Park soon erupts…into a physical need that can’t be contained or controlled. But with a body count that’s rising by the day, werewolves and humans are in equal danger. If Cooper and Park don’t catch the killer soon, one—or both—of them could be the next to go.
The Alpha’s Warlock by Eliot Grayson
The entire Mismatched Mates series is great! Lots of growly alphas and such, but it’s ten books, and I don’t have the energy to list them all, so here’s the first one! Fun!
Cursed, mated, and in for the fight of their lives…
Warlock Nate Hawthorne just wants a cup of coffee. Is that too much to ask? Apparently. Because instead of precious caffeine, all he gets is cursed by a pack of werewolves who want to use him for his magic. Now the only way to fix the damage is a mate bond to a grumpy and oh-so-sexy alpha in the rival pack, who happens to hate him. This is so not how he wanted to start his day.
Ian Armitage never intended to take Nate as his mate. The Hawthorne family can’t be trusted. Ian knows that better than anyone. The fact that he’s lusted after the way-too-gorgeous man for years? Totally irrelevant. Ian’s just doing what is necessary to protect his pack. This whole mating arrangement has nothing to do with love and never will. That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.
Nate and Ian will have to work together if they have any hope of staving off the pack’s enemies and averting disaster. That’s assuming they can stop arguing (and keep their hands off each other) long enough to save the day…
Ofelia Grand 
I’ll bet you were even angrier with Jake after book 3! 😁 Did you know there’s a 6th book in the Adrien English series? So This Is Christmas ties things up nicely.
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Galaxies and Oceans is one of my all time favorite books 😍
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I loved it!
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