Reading Year In Review 2025

Like a lot of people I had big hopes and dreams for 2025, and it was, in fact, not all gloom and doom. I had life-changing surgery (this is not hyperbole) to fix a hiatal hernia that made eating anything (spicy chili peppers, plain oatmeal, literally did not matter) an exercise in pain and actual restful sleep impossible, I saw Lemon Drop compete in a major equestrian event, I rang in my 50th with a sisters trip to NYC and then in September my big sister and I played hooky for two weeks in Ireland. My reading though? Let's just say my reading mojo had definitely left the building. And not because of the books (see below) but more me not having the spoons and just being mentally exhausted about everything. My hope for 2026 is to carve out more time for reading (even if it's just a couple of chapters a day!), be kinder to myself, and fully embrace my Cranky Old Lady era with more DNF'ing with impunity.

I only got through 56 books this year. My goal every year is 100, and while I fall short more often than not, 56 is (very likely) my worst showing since I started this blog nearly 23 years ago. Here's how the numbers stacked up:

A Grades = 2

B Grades = 28

C Grades (and low B) = 18

D Grades = 3

DNF = 5

While the numbers are down, I can't really complain about the quality. I'm notoriously stingy with A grades, but any time my B grades are significantly higher than the Meh C grades I take a victory lap. Also, no F grades this year because I was smart enough to DNF and not get sucked into Hate Reading.

So what books stood out for me this past year?  Let's take a look...

Note: These are the best books I read in 2025, regardless of publication year.

Title links will take you to full reviews

What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane (2024) - Contemporary suspense - Local celebrity doctor with hero reputation dies under mysterious circumstances and suspicion immediately falls on his younger second wife who he had only been married to for 100 days. His death throws a wrench in the works for her, not because she loved him, oh no. She blackmailed him into marriage and had big revenge plans. Now she has to figure out who killed him while navigating a viper's nest. The opening chapter of this book is a master class and Kane keeps her foot on the accelerator throughout. She also, god bless, reads the room here - with the nasty vile people getting everything that's coming to them. 

When I Think of You by Myah Ariel (2024) - Contemporary romance - My biggest surprise of the year because this book wasn't even on my radar and I ended up reading it for a work-related program. A dynamite, highly emotional second chance romance about a filmmaker hero born into privilege and the girl who got away, an aspiring producer stuck in a dead end receptionist job. This one ripped my heart out but what stands out for me to this day is how thoughtful and amazing the world-building was in this story. This book couldn't take place anywhere else other than Los Angeles and Ariel nailed it.

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen (2023) - Contemporary suspense - Tiny Purity, Maine has a secret, several of it's residents are retired CIA agents. Maggie Bird is living a quiet life, raising chickens on her small farm, when her past comes back to haunt her in the form of a dead body left in her driveway. Interspersed with flashbacks from Maggie's time in the CIA is the story of the local interim chief of police who immediately suspects something is up with Maggie and her friends.  This follows the recent trend in mystery fiction of Old People Solving Crimes, but Gerritsen avoids the cutesy (praise the Lord). Her characters read like actual former CIA operatives and behave as such. I've been dragging my feet on reading the second book in the series because I'm a nutjob, I need to rectify that in 2026.

Cowboy's Last Stand by Jill Sorenson (2025) - Contemporary romance - Sorenson's first book in several years, and lordy how I missed her. While not romantic suspense (per se), this book features a Sorenson trademark - messy people with messy problems. Hero blows into tiny Last Chance, Texas to take care of some unfinished business he has with the heroine, a widow with a young son. Never mind she doesn't know him from Adam. He's got a Big Secret and almost immediately runs afoul of the local lowlifes, and she's a woman with a lot of responsibilities and vulnerabilities. Honest to goodness passion and tension - oh how I've missed both.

Deception by Gaslight by Kate Belli (2020) - Historical mystery with romantic elements - Wealthy heiress from socially conscious family making her way in Gilded Age New York City as a reporter is looking for her big break running down a story about a Robin Hood-like thief when she meets our hero, Five Points born and bred who inexplicably inherited a fortune from a blue blood. This first book represents the fact that I glommed my way through the entire four book series this past year. It's not without problems, but I got sucked into the world-building and plots to the point where it undeniably cannot be ignored. By all accounts Belli is done with this series, but she's got the chops to go back to historicals if she has the desire to do so.

The Wife Deserved It by Darby Kane (2025) - Contemporary thriller novella - A perfect bon-bon of a thriller. Reid Cavanagh thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, that the divorce his soon-to-be-ex is dragging him through is all her fault, and frankly it's time for her to die. One minor detail? What he thought was the perfect plan runs aground in a hurry and this vile sack of crap soon gets what's coming to him. Again, Kane reading the room in 2025. 

A Deal with the Devil by Alyxandra Harvey (2025) - Historical romance - A morally gray hero soon meets his match in a naughty bookseller heroine determined to save her younger sister from marriage to a vile Lord who has already buried three wives. It's making my honorable mentions for a few reasons, but mostly for the tension and sizzle. I mean, this exchange y'all:

"...I just want you to have everything you need. Let me take care of you.” 

“Why?” 

“Because no one else does,” he said severely. “And because it would be my fucking privilege.”

Rain Shadow by Cheryl St. John (1994) - Historical romance - St. John's debut back in the day that sounds like it should be Problematic AF, but skirts the red flags. White heroine rescued by her adopted Lakota Sioux father when she was a toddler wants to provide a better life for her son and learn more about her past. When a train derailment causes her son to become injured, they're temporarily sidelined and relying on the hospitality of the hero - a widower working the family farm whose never met anyone like the heroine before. 

The Davis Deal by Jennifer Hayward (2025) - Contemporary romance - A single title debut and the second book in a series that started in Harlequin Presents, Hayward gives readers all the glitz, glamor and sizzle of a Presents with a kinder, gentler (yet still Alpha) hero and a dynamite friends-to-lovers trope. Football (soccer), reality TV and plenty of family drama baggage. I lapped this one up.

The Bikini Car Wash by Pamela Morsi (2010) - Contemporary romance - All the small town charm one expects from a Morsi romance while not ignoring the harsh realities of small town economics and busy bodies all up in your damn business. Heroine returns to hometown after her mother dies to help out her father with her developmentally disabled twin sister, but work is hard to find. When she reopens her father's car wash, with a twist, she runs afoul of some of the good townsfolk, but not the hero, who is struggling to keep the family grocery store afloat.

A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau (2025) - Historical mystery with romantic elements - Lady private investigator but make it early 20th century NYC and Sapphic. Heroine who inherits her family's food packaging business comes into work early one day to discover a cryptic note next to the dead body of her dead father's retired assistant. She needs to tread lightly for a scandal could upend everything, so she hires a female PI keeping her father's investigation business afloat as he slowly descends further into dementia/Alzheimer's. Great characters, great setting, and a mystery that read like a breath of fresh air.

While it was a disappointing year for me in terms of quantity, I really cannot complain about the quality. I discovered some good reads this year and one wonders how many more I would have found if I had managed to find some spoons. Here's hoping my spoons turn up in 2026 because I know there's an embarrassment of riches waiting for me in my TBR.

Reading Year In Review 2024

2024 was a year. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, or the fact that I haven't really unpacked any baggage from the pandemic, or maybe I'm in recovery from another busy year at work, or maybe it's the fact that I spent all of 2024 dealing with medical nonsense related to my newly diagnosed bouncing baby hiatal hernia - but I'm kind of ready to kick Old Man 2024 to the curb. I'm hoping for better things in 2025, namely surgery to fix the hernia, some travel, and seeing my niece, Lemon Drop, compete in a major equestrian event. I also hope for fewer slumps, more reading in 2025, and a renewed plan to tackle my obscene backlog of neglected ARCs. Hope springs eternal after all!

My reading goal every year is always to get through 100 books. Well, this year I stalled out at 78, which all things considered, I'm fine with. My reading this past year came in two speeds: either not reading a single word for weeks at a time or inhaling an entire book in one sitting. There was very little in between. In 2025 I'm hoping to get more "in between." Here's how my grading broke down for the 78 books I did get to:

A Grades = 8

B Grades = 26

C Grades = 25

D Grades = 13

F Grades = 1

DNF = 5

That's a good number of A grades for me, but I don't know about you all - when my B and C books are in a dead heat I'm always a little depressed.  I'd rather read "good" than "meh, it was OK" any day of the week, but that's how things landed this year. Also, an F grade is rare for me because I'll normally DNF instead, but what can I say? I got sucked into a "hate listen" audiobook against my better judgement. Less of that next year Wendy!

I tend to draft these Year in Review posts in a manner that my reading kind of dictates, so I'm going to start with the books I really loved and move through to some of the memorable that stuck with me. 

Title links will take you to full reviews.

Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown (2021) - Historical suspense, romantic elements - At over 500 pages, this slow burn suspense with romantic elements centering around illegal moonshining in Prohibition-era Texas hooked me but good. A number of trigger warnings but amazing world-building - once I started I didn't want to come up for air.

Funny Story by Emily Henry (2024) - Contemporary romance - A romance that hinges mightily on the fake relationship trope but doesn't fall into the trap of having the trope do the heavy lifting for conflict. Nice depiction of small town librarianship and two damaged people falling in love was pure Wendy catnip. I started it thinking to read a couple chapters before bed and stayed up until 3:00 AM to finish it. 

The Collective by Alison Gaylin (2021) - Contemporary suspense - Gaylin is the best suspense author y'all aren't reading.  This book is a breathtaking example of writing emotion, in this case those emotions being grief and rage. Her teenage daughter raped and left for dead after a fraternity party, the heroine can't get past that the killer continues to live his best life - and then she falls into a vigilante group masquerading as a support group. I couldn't put it down and it's got the mother of all twists at the end.

Never Look Back by Alison Gaylin (2019) - Contemporary suspense - Told in duel timelines between the 1970s and present-day, the heroine is confronted by a journalist who suspects her apple pie, milk and cookies mother is the presumed dead girl who went on a crime spree with her teenage boyfriend back in the 1970s.  I loved the dual timelines in this one and the fact that the author takes twists and turns with this story that kept me on my reading toes.

Blind to Midnight by Reed Farrel Coleman (2024) - Contemporary suspense - Coleman writes about New York City the way I like to read it, dark, gritty and problematic as hell. A "fixer" for the NYPD is tasked by his shadowy bosses to look into the only unsolved murder from 9/11 - instead he gets tangled up in the execution-style murder of a family friend. Recommended for those who are OK with books with no heroes or who wish we could keep Lawrence Block alive forever.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth (2024) - Contemporary suspense - Three emotionally damaged women, sisters thanks to their time in the same horrific foster care situation, are called back "home" when the body of a young child is found on the property.  Hepworth could teach a master class in writing tension, and it drips off the page here. I wanted a tidier ending, but holy hell can this woman write.

Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself by Crystal Hefner (2024) - Memoir - I'm not a Playboy fan nor did I watch the Girls Next Door reality series back in the day, but Hefner tells her story with honesty and such raw vulnerability that I was instantly reminded of how gross the early 2000s were for women. I finished this book feeling quite strongly about the motives Hefner had for finally writing this book - namely to help other young women who are just as lost as she once was. 

Circle in the Water by Marcia Muller (2024) - Contemporary mystery - Muller created her female private investigator, Sharon McCone, back in 1977 and readers have followed her adventures over the course of 35 books and several short stories. I started reading this series in high school and my nostalgia runs deep. Over the years Sharon has chased down leads through the streets of San Francisco, made friends, left her job, started her own business, had a few boyfriends and eventually got married. By all accounts this is her final hurrah. I'm likely never going to meet Muller in real life, but if I did I'd thank her for everything.

Murder Buys a One-Way Ticket by Laura Levine (2024) - Contemporary cozy mystery - The 20th book in the Jaine Austen (no relation) cozy mystery series was also the character's send off. No more dating disasters, no more wacky emails from her parents living in a Florida retirement community, no more Prozac the cat. Has this series been problematic over the years? Yes. Have I gotten more than a few laughs from it? Also, yes. And what made my genre-lovin' heart sing? The author sends Jaine off with a very appropriate happy ending.

Expecting a Royal Scandal by Caitlin Crews (2016) - Harlequin Presents #3438 - Come for the delicious banter between the romantic couple stay for the truly bananapants elements, including a thrice-married heroine who is somehow still magically a virgin. Y'all do I always love Crews' work in Presents? No. But that woman leans in HARD on the bananapants and I defy anyone to be bored. 

The Spaniard's Last Minute Wife by Caitlin Crews (2023) - Harlequin Presents #4139 - A librarian heroine from the Midwest who finds herself inexplicably wed to a Spanish billionaire when she crashes his Lake Como wedding. It defies logic, it's patently absurd, but ask me if I was bothered? I was, in fact, not bothered. Compulsively readable in that way only well-executed Presents can be.

A Treasure Worth Seeking by Sandra Brown (1982) - Candlelight Ecstasy #59 - Edited by the legendary Vivian Stephens, this book has an opening chapter that has to be read to be believed. The heroine shows up on the doorstep of her long lost brother and the man who answers the door, the man she thinks is her brother, ends up planting the mother of all smoldering kisses on her. From there the bananapants doesn't let up - it's quite literally an everything and the kitchen sink romance. 

The Rana Look by Sandra Brown (1986) - Loveswept #136 - A former supermodel starts a new life in Galveston, Texas and disguises herself as a dowdy spinster to fly under the radar.  Then her landlady's nephew, an NFL quarterback moves in. Problematic in that special mid-1980s kind of way but worth the read if only for the delicious dressing down the heroine gives the hero in Chapter 3. Seriously, Chapter 3 is magic.

Parting Gifts by Lorraine Heath (1994) - Historical western romance - A desperate heroine ready to sell her virginity to the highest bidder at a brothel is rescued by a terminally ill man who wants to leave his children with a mother. What nobody ever tells you about this book that I do? The terminally ill man lives for the vast majority of the book while the heroine and her brother-in-law get pants feelings for each other. It'll raise an eyebrow but damn if it won't make you cry.

The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (2006) - Historical Georgian romance - Honestly the bits with the brothel could have landed this one under bananapants, and yes it's wacky, but damn if I didn't inhale this book in one greedy gulp. Widowed heroine in desperate need of a job becomes the grumpy hero's secretary. Beauty and the Beast meets Grumpy/Sunshine meets Hero Has A Magic Wang. Toss in an amiable dog of indeterminate pedigree who goes nameless until the heroine browbeats the hero and I was charmed.

Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown (2023) - Contemporary romantic suspense - Brown takes the big risk of centering this story around a mass shooting where the heroine's toddler is killed. The hero was a hero that day, but prior to that this guy is a real son-of-a-bitch. They're drawn together by tragedy and find themselves in danger when the cops realize that the suicide on the scene was not the killer, but another victim. Brown reminded me of how great a standalone romantic suspense novel could be and hot damn, what a storyteller! What a pro!

Nobody's Sweetheart Now by Maggie Robinson (2018) - Historical mystery - Pure delight from start to finish. Heroine hosting a country house party is thrown for a loop when her neighbor's estranged wife is found dead in her barn and the ghost of her dead, profligate, husband starts to haunt her. A fun little mystery with a soupçon of romance between the heroine and the police inspector assigned to the case.

The Scandalous Spinster by Alyxandra Harvey (2024) - Historical romance - Look, it's not perfect, but it's been a dog's age since I've been this excited by a new-to-me historical romance author and desperately looking forward to more books in the series. Heroine who works for a secret society infiltrates a notorious house party to find a missing comrade. The hero, a former sailor, is along for the ride to offer assistance and protection. I enjoyed the sizzle of romantic tension and there's a nice little mystery.

It wasn't exactly a boon year for quantity, but looking back the quality was there. As I get older I realize the actual "final grade" of a book doesn't matter so much as how memorable the reading experience was for me and how long a story sticks around after I finish it. I hope you all found memorable reads this past year and here's to many more in 2025!

Reading Year in Review 2023

2023 is dead. I would say long live - but let's be honest, it's a year I think a number of us would like to put behind us.  I spent a good chunk of 2023 just wanting to crawl into bed and stay there - mainly because my ability to compartmentalize took a long walk off a short pier.  I also completely threw over my health and well-being - so 2024 will be the year I knuckle down, make long overdue doctor's appointments and get serious about better habits.  All this adds up to a rather rocky reading year, as it was difficult for me to sustain any real momentum. My goal every year is to get through 100 books and well, I got to 81 in 2023.  Not great, but not a dumpster fire either.  Here are how the grades broke down:

A Grades = 5

B Grades = 35

C Grades = 25

D Grades = 10

F Grades = 0

DNF = 6

Even though I read fewer books this year than last, I'm happier with my grade spread this year. My A grades were low (honestly, they're always low...) but for the first time in 2 years my B and C grades are not in a dead heat!  My D grades were down and I didn't have a single F grade. Deciding to take a break from contest judging paid dividends. 

I am perpetually behind on my reading, so a reminder that my Best Of 2023 list features titles I read in 2023.  Publication dates vary.  Now, on to the books!

Title links take you to full reviews

Meant-To-Be Family by Marion Lennox (Contemporary category romance, 2015) - A heartbreaking second chance gem from Lennox who infuses tragic realism (infertility, death of a child) to spin a hard-fought emotionally satisfying happy-ever-after. I was rung out in the best possible way when I finished the last sentence.

The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson (Historical fiction, 2023)  - Yes, we really did need another World War II historical fiction novel. Thompson mines the true story of the Bethnal Green Library that operated in an unfinished tube station during the war. Two dynamite heroines, and a story that is equal parts triumph and heart-break. Oh, and did I mention both heroines get happy ever afters?  Y'all know how I feel about "long" books - at over 400 pages I didn't want this one to end. It's my number one with a bullet for 2023.

Desert Phoenix by Suzette Bruggeman (Historical fiction, 2023) - Based on a true story and set in a backwater Nevada mining town, a young German immigrant left for dead falls in love with a prostitute 12 years his senior.  A dynamite Hero In Pursuit story, it needs to be read simply for how the author handles consent. It's pure gold. This one reminded me a lot of the sagas that were so popular in the 1970s/1980s but without many of the problematic elements those stories featured. It's a big sweeping story that I got completely lost in.

Pretty Little Wife and The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane (Contemporary suspense, 2020 and 2021) - I burned through Kane's backlist in 2023 and the first two books, both stand-alones, were my favorites.  Pretty Little Wife features a missing husband, which comes as a shock to his wife who left his body in a place where it was sure to be found.  The Replacement Wife takes gaslighting to new heights thanks to a twisty suspense thread and the heroine's instability isn't because she's gorking herself out on booze and pills (shocking, I know).

Hide by Tracy Clark (Contemporary police procedural / thriller, 2023) - The first in a new series from Clark, our detective heroine returns from an administrative leave to a new precinct, new partner, and a new case that soon morphs into the hunt for a serial killer. A gripping story that mines current events (the first victim was last seen at a Defund the Police rally) and features dynamite world-building. 

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth (Domestic suspense, 2023) - A disquieting domestic suspense novel that pulled me out of month-long reading slump. The mystery of why a couples' new home along the rocky coast came so cheap is answered when they learn the hard way that an area near their property is a "favorite" spot for people choosing to commit suicide by jumping off the cliff. The heroine's husband has managed to talk down several people already, until the day he doesn't - and the heroine thinks she sees her husband push the woman off the cliff.  But surely, that can't be right?

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates (Contemporary suspense / horror, 2023) - Folks, this is horror adjacent so that's your warning that the gore level in this one is high. The heroine and her boyfriend are on their way to a secluded lodge in the Rocky Mountains when their tour bus gets stuck due to inclement weather.  Soon they and their fellow travelers find refuge in a secluded hunting cabin to wait out the storm - and that's when the bodies start dropping.  Part locked room, part survivalist story, this one kept me on the edge of my seat. 

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin (Contemporary suspense, 2021) - This was a great listen on audiobook given that the story follows a true crime podcaster.  The heroine decides her next series will cover a rape trial in a small coastal town, which will put her listeners "in the jury box." She's not in town long though before she's distracted by a stalker, someone who wants to look into a "suicide" of a young woman 20 years earlier. This was a very difficult book to read and I was seething with anger by the end of it (content warnings for rape, gang rape, rape culture and slut-shaming) - but hot damn, it's amazing. 

Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman (Contemporary hardboiled / crime, 2023) - A book where everybody is a villain. Hero, ex-military and a cop, from a family of cops (all with checkered pasts and presents) finds himself with a mysterious new boss when he takes on the roll of "fixer" for the department. Everyone is skating edges here or just flat-out crossing every line they come to. The world-building is breathtakingly fantastic, there's soapy edges (the hero has a Secret Baby because of course he does...) and to be frank it scratched the itch I've had since finishing Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder series. I'm hoping there's a book two in the near future.

Down the Drain by Julia Fox (Memoir, 2023) - Sex, drugs and rock n' roll.  OK, mostly sex and drugs. This is one of those seedy underbelly memoirs, and honestly Fox kind of scares the sh*t out of me.  Here's the thing though, she can write her face off.  This is one of the best celebrity memoirs I've read from a writing standpoint, and by all accounts, Fox didn't use a ghostwriter.  Also the world-building here is fantastic, Fox transports the reader to New York City in the 1990s/2000s. 

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (Memoir, 2023) - Is this well-written? Quite frankly, no. But it's like reading the literary equivalent to a primal scream. There's a raw honesty to Britney's memoir, that largely focusses on her 13-year conservatorship, that is riveting, impossible to dismiss or ignore. This is a dynamite listen on audiobook thanks to Michelle Williams' narration. Her ability to convey emotional vulnerability and rage in her reading is superb. If she doesn't win a Grammy for her performance it'll be a tragedy. 

Do I wish I had read more in 2023? Yes. But I certainly can't complain too much as I found a number of quality reads.  Only five of these were A grades, but these were all books that were memorable enough to stick with me.  Also, looking back, 9 out of the 12 books mentioned here were ones I got from the library (either The Day Job or another jurisdiction that I have access to). Did I find myself on wait lists? Yes. Did I rightly care? No. 75% of the quality reads I had in 2023 came from that most American of institutions - the public library.  Support your local library folks - we're doing the Lord's work. 

Reading Year In Review 2022

2022 was not easy. I mean, I doubt it was really easy for anybody - but I feel like it was the continuation of a marathon I started in 2020 but the rehydration stations got further and further apart. This was reflected in my reading this past year.  Yes, I managed to hit my reading goal of 100 books for the first time since 2019 and that was in large part to glomming through two suspense series, thank you Lawrence Block and Marcia Muller. Beyond that? My reading was seriously all over the place.  Here are how the grades broke down:

A Grades = 4

B Grades = 36

C Grades = 37

D Grades = 18

F Grades = 1

DNF = 4

The good news first, my F Grades and DNFs were way down. The bad news? I read 8 more D grades than in 2021, my B and C grades were once again in a dead heat, and my A grades were down (I never have a ton of these, but 4 is low even for yours truly). My resolution for 2023? I think I'm going to take a sabbatical from contest judging.  While there is one contest read reflected in my Best Of, remember those 8 more D grades I had?  Yeah, all 8 were contest reads. Hope springs eternal, but I'd like to spend the next year digging out quality reads in my own TBR. We'll see how long I stick with that! 

I'm perpetually behind on my reading, so my Best Of list reflects what I read during 2022, not just what was published in 2022.  Title links will take you to full reviews:

The Summer of Lost Letters (2021) and Eight Nights of Flirting (2022) by Hannah Reynolds (Contemporary YA) - Teen romances with Jewish main characters, incredible world-building on Nantucket Island, and uncovered family secrets running through both. I hope Reynolds continues to write books in this world because these were a revelation for me this past year.

Seven Days in June (2021) by Tia Williams (Contemporary) - It's dark, it's angsty, it leans more to the women's fiction end of the spectrum, but I was sucked in by the characters, the writing, and all the messy problematic "stuff." I was engrossed and could not put this down.

Big Chicas Don't Cry (2022) by Annette Chavez Macias (Contemporary) - I was sucked into the world-building and fell HARD for the Garcia cousins to the point where they now live rent-free in my brain. It's definitely women's fiction, but there are strong romantic elements here and Macias wrung out every drop of emotion from my cold, black heart. I cried y'all.

Claiming Her Legacy (2022) by Linda Goodnight (Historical Western) - This wasn't a perfect book for me, but I fell in love with the heroine, there's still plenty of grit even with the small town setting, and the romantic tension was very well done (I yearned for the first kiss!).  The heroine has two sisters, please Dear Lord, let this series continue.

Beyond Innocence (2001) by Emma Holly (Historical, Victorian) - A lot of folks in Romancelandia like to talk genre history and canon and what that all means, and this book, while not perfect, is making my Best Of list for all those reasons.  What Holly did here with the relationship between the hero and his gay younger brother is fantastic. Trailblazing in 2001, and it was published by a major NY house (Penguin / Berkley). 

The Highlander's Inconvenient Bride (2021) by Terri Brisbin (Medieval) - My one contest read of the year that blew the doors off for me, and when it didn't final I decided I needed to take a break from judging contests for a while. The heroine's growth arc is fantastic and Brisbin really makes her couple work for their happy ending. 

Best Friend to Doctor Right (2020) by Ann McIntosh (Contemporary) - This is a perfect example of a book that didn't blow the doors off, but it was such a comforting, cozy read that McIntosh is now on my list of "comfort read" authors with a host of her Harlequin series brethren. Lovely characters, beautiful setting, and an evil mother character who stays off page and isn't "forgiven" in the end.

Eight Million Ways to Die (1982) by Lawrence Block (Suspense) - I rang in 2022 working my way through Block's Matthew Scudder series but didn't blog about any of them. Why? They're grim-dark AF and the series started in the late 1970s, so just insert every single trigger warning you can think of. I have a strong constitution for crime novels of a certain age, but some of the books in this series even left me questioning my sanity (Why am I reading this? Why am I enjoying this?!).  Anyway, this is book five in the series and the gold standard for me. The New York City setting is well drawn and Scudder is very early in his sobriety, which gives the mystery some added punch.

Like a Sister (2022) by Kellye Garrett (Suspense) - I am utter trash for suspense novels that explore the seedy side of celebrity and Garrett sets this one around the death of a social media influencer, who could have starred on Growing Up Hip Hop. I loved the heroine in this one, the victim's estranged sister, who has a complicated relationship with her family but knows immediately her sister wasn't "just another overdose." 

Listen to Me (2022) by Tess Gerritsen (Suspense) - After a five year hiatus, Gerritsen gave readers another Rizzoli/Isles story this year, and it was really well done. While Jane is trying to figure out why someone would brutally murder a nurse who had zero skeletons in her closet, her mother is snooping on her oddly behaving new neighbors and trying to convince everyone that the troubled girl from the next street over didn't just "run away."

The Nurse's Secret (2022) by Amanda Skenandore (Historical Suspense) - The world-building in this story is fantastic and I fell into it hard.  Pick-pocket heroine witnesses a murder and the cops think she did it.  She needs to lay low for a while and finagles her way into the new nursing program at Bellevue Hospital. However it's not all fun and games. Nursing is hard work and it seems the killer may have followed in her tracks...

Wham! George Michael & Me (2019) by Andrew Ridgeley (Nonfiction / Memoir) - It's not a tell-all and that's what makes this book so enjoyable. Ridgeley tells the story of his friendship with George, first meeting him in school, discovering their mutual love of music, the formation of Wham!, and becoming some of the biggest pop stars of the 1980s. Read it for the friendship, stay for the nostalgic revisiting of a memorable British pop era.

2022 was a reading year that started and ended with me struggling with fatigue and slumps, but somewhere in the middle I managed to get through some memorable reads. Not all of these were A reads for me, and certainly I had quibbles, but each of these books were ones that "stuck" with me in a positive way. And truly, as we look ahead to 2023, I'm counting that as a victory.

Reading Year in Review 2021

The end of 2021 was an eerie, unwelcome sense of deja vu, in that it reminded me too much of the final months of 2020.  Which is to say my work life sucked harder than a Hoover.  I completely fell off the reading wagon the final two months of the year, which means my goal of reading 100 books in 2021 fell short at 97.  Look, that's nothing to sneeze at (at least for me) and I guess I could be disappointed, but honestly? I'm still standing. And while I know the current work crisis I'm dealing with will still be there come Monday, I'm taking the New Year's weekend to be kind to myself.  So yeah, I was three short but I still read 97 books! Here's how my grading broke down:

A Grades = 6

B Grades = 35

C Grades = 35

D Grades = 10

F Grades = 5

DNF = 6

Six A grades is very good for me (and consistent). I'm less pleased that my B and C reads were in a dead heat and that F and DNFs totaled 11.  For the record, 4 of the 5 F graded books were contest reads. I judged several this year and while it was a pile of mediocre with a few dreadfuls, one contest read is represented on this Best Of. So yeah, that's why I keep judging contests in case you're curious. Now, enough set-up! On to the important part of this blog post: Wendy's Best Reads of 2021!

(Title links will take you to reviews)

Romance:

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins (Historical romance, 2016) - Jenkins writes great heroines as a rule, but Eddy Carmichael might be my new favorite. There's a quiet determination in her that I found vastly appealing and there's a scene early on in the book between Eddy and her sister which is simply perfection. The hero is passing as white and our Black heroine has ambitions of her own, albeit she's temporarily derailed in Nevada. Meaty, compelling conflict and a fantastic array of secondary characters - including other residents at the boardinghouse where Eddy lives. 

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase (Historical romance, 1995) - Yes, this was my first time reading it and while the second half floundered a bit for me, the first 40% of this book is the most perfect romance novel I've ever read - entirely due to the heroine. What I loved is that she always (ALWAYS) came out ahead. Even when you think the jackass hero has finally backed her into a corner?  Nope. Jessica comes out swinging.  And for the record, she was totally justified in shooting him.

The Secret by Julie Garwood (Historical romance, 1992) - This book makes the list for everything other than the romance. The women in this book are amazing. Anytime two female characters were on the page together I positively wallowed in it. I also liked that this was a light historical with humor but it never descended into twee cutesy. Great female friendships and the romance smacks you upside the head in the second half.  

The Billionaire's Christmas Baby by Marion Lennox (Harlequin Romance, 2017) - A cozy bon-bon of a holiday read by a real pro in the category format.  A working class heroine with a history of caregiving bails out the hero when his infant half-sister is dropped unceremoniously into his lap.  Cinderella without the rescue fantasy.

Gingerbread and Jingle Bells by Caro Carson (Novella, 2021) - The shining beacon in this year's round of contest judging. Set between 1970 and 1985, childhood friends reunite in the tiny Texas town where they grew up - he's now the town veterinarian, and she's on break from a corporate job to help grandma with her bakery over the holidays. A sweet treat of a holiday read. Warm, cozy, delightful.

A Place Called Home by Elizabeth Grayson (Historical Romance, 1995) - A sweeping colonial epic about a newly widowed heroine making her way to a Kentucky homestead with two small children, where she hooks up with her dead husband's BFF (whom she despises). I stayed way up past my bedtime, sucked into this epic, sweeping tale - but fair warning, it has a TON of problematic elements.  Read the review before taking the plunge.

Mystery/Suspense:

What You Don't See (2020) and Runner (2021) by Tracy Clark - This is hands-down my new favorite mystery series! Cass Raines is former Chicago PD, now a private detective. There's a heaping helping of Found Family, compelling storylines, and Cass is smart, savvy and so capable I get a heavy dose Competence Porn.  These are books three and four in the series, with What You Don't See holding the slight edge.

A Madness of Sunshine (2019) and Quiet in Her Bones (2021) by Nalini Singh - These were both quiet, slow-build suspense novels and both of them had me sucked in almost immediately.  They're both domestic thrillers, where small towns or quiet neighborhoods are hiding dark and sinister secrets.  While both stand-alones, they're similar in that Singh slowly builds her suspense using a wide cast of characters trapped in insular communities.  They have the feel of a "locked room" mystery without the actual locked room. 

A Spy in the Struggle (2020) by Aya de Leon - A domestic espionage thriller with a Black woman as the lead and a heaping helping of current events.  I loved the feel of this story, a heroine who turns whistleblower when the SEC raids her corporate law firm and soon finds herself back in the town where she attended college infiltrating a Black Lives Matter / environmental group making too much noise for a biotech firm with a juicy government contract. This is a great blend of current events, suspense and romance (a fairly spicy one!). Also, my vote for best cover art of the year (this book was published at the very tail-end of 2020, so honestly I think it should count as 2021!)

Young Adult:

The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto (2021) - Adult Wendy thought this book was great, but the ghostly memory of Teenage Wendy that still lives in my brain frickin' loved this! Teen heroine with a dark secret accidentally (uh, maybe?) kills her Mom's abusive boyfriend - who just so happens to be a cop.  There's a witness to this crime - a boy in school that, unbeknownst to the heroine, is stalking her.  When she figures that last bit out? Yeah, he starts blackmailing her into a relationship.  How will our heroine untangle this tricky web?  Oooooh, boy.

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (2018) - Charlotte comes home from a summer visit at grandma's to discover her best friend, Monday, is missing.  Worse still?  Nobody seems alarmed by this development except for Charlotte. If there is criticism of this book is that it's tragedy porn featuring young Black girls, but I felt Jackson did a good job of providing a multi-layered story with multi-layered characters. It's also one hell of a gut-punch and I ugly-cried through the last 25%.  All the trigger warnings - so I encourage you to read reviews.

Nonfiction:

Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson (2021) - An absolute triumph of a memoir. What a gift Tyson gave to all of us, finally writing her memoirs before her passing. She covers everything from her New York City childhood, her break into modelling, then acting, her turbulent marriage to Miles Davis, and her numerous famous friends. The audiobook is great and if it's not nominated for all the awards I will literally burn sh*t down.

All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks (2020) - The memoir of a single mother who became an unlikely AIDS activist in Hot Spring, Arkansas in the early days of the epidemic. I was a child when HIV/AIDS was known as "the gay cancer," and nobody knew what it was or how it was transmitted. It's amazing how the passage of time, and new treatments, has made it easy to forget these scary, dark, early days.  Burks life experiences up to that point made her the ideal ally, she'd spent most of her life taking care of somebody (relatives, her child, her best friend). She helped these men navigate a confusing and cumbersome social services network, found doctors and pharmacies willing to treat them, and  confronted the "fine, upstanding" citizens when it was called for (which was, sadly, often). She also hit road-blocks from other allies and activists in large, urban areas (New York, San Francisco) who didn't have the first clue about the epidemic in Arkansas.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe (2021) - Details three generations of the Sacklers, the family behind Purdue Pharma and the unleashing of OxyContin on to the world. As they reaped billions by creating a nation of opioid addicts, the family hid behind a series of philanthropic donations like they were 19th century robber barons. It's shocking. It'll make you angry as hell - and yet? Another part of you will wonder just how much hubris one family can own stock in. Turns out?  Quite a lot.  This will be on damn near every Best Of List for 2021 and it deserves every single one of those accolades. 

Like 2020 before it, my reading recollections of 2021 were colored in my mind by the sheer vastness of Real Life fatigue that came down like a weighted blanket trying to smother me to death. As I went tripping through GoodReads and took a closer look however, I realized I had a really remarkable year in terms of quality, memorable reads.  So yeah, missing my goal by three books hardly seems a point worth niggling over now, does it?

Onward, upward, here's hoping for great reads ahead in 2022!

Reading Year In Review 2020

Well, that wasn't very much fun. I think most of us are ready to put 2020 firmly in the rearview mirror and move forward into 2021 hoping for better.  Dear Lord, please be better.  2020 was a challenging year for many of you, for a variety of big and small reasons, and I'm no different.  My reading challenge every year is always to get through 100 books. I'm a slow reader by Romancelandia and blogging standards - so hitting 100 books is a pretty big deal for me. Yeah, 2020 saw me getting through 74.  Not great, especially when you consider I count DNFs, novellas, audiobooks - I count everything y'all, my challenge my rules. Here's how the number broke down:

5 Stars (A grade): 4
4 Stars (B grade): 21
3 Stars (C grade ; low B-): 28
2 Stars (D grade): 11
1 Star (F grade): 3
DNF (Did Not Finish): 7
Audiobooks: 13

These numbers are all in my usual ballpark, but 2020 saw more 3-Star reads than 4-Star reads and I always find that depressing.  Here's hoping that ship gets righted for 2021.  

Now, on to the fun part - the actual books. As a reminder, and for those of you new here, my "best of year" list is the best books I READ during said year. It's not specific to books published in that year.  There's older titles featured - mainly because I am always perpetually behind in my reading.  Now, on to the books:

The Romance (in no particular order):

The Lady's Companion by Carla Kelly (Traditional Regency, 1996) - This was my best romance read of the year and the fact it was published in 1996 isn't exactly lost on me. Gentry spinster heroine whose Daddy has ruined them financially decides to take her destiny in her own hands and accepts a job as a lady's companion to a cantankerous widow. She finds an ally and friend in the widow's bailiff. Compelling conflict, emotionally gut-wrenching, and tightly plotted. It's amazing, it's available digitally. Just read it.

To Dream Again by Laura Lee Guhrke (Historical romance, 1995) - This was a reread for me and the title link will take you to my original blog review from 2005. Second son comes home to England with the dream of making children's toys and buys the heroine's factory after the bank calls in her loan after her husband dies. Never mind she's the one keeping the business afloat while her husband chased one get rich quick scheme after another. A prickly heroine written in a time when those weren't the norm who is all out of f*cks when it comes to men. That said, parts of the story have not aged well which I detail a more in my GoodReads review. At one point the self-published digital edition was widely available but at the time of this post it's available via Kindle Unlimited.

Slow Dance with the Best Man by Sophie Pembroke (Harlequin Romance, 2017) - The Harlequin Romance line is one of my favorites because the books feel like warm hugs. Typecast Hollywood actor falls for the heroine, who is gunning for a managerial position at her hometown's Gothic manor that's been converted to a posh hotel. A fluffy concoction with the pleasing Hollywood star falls for A Nobody fantasy. I'm glad I have more Pembroke in my TBR.

Redemption of the Maverick Millionaire by Michelle Douglas (Harlequin Romance, 2020) - A hero who did the heroine dirty swoops into her adopted hometown looking to make amends, only to end up making a muck of things.  Basically this book is one long grovel, because boy howdy did the hero screw up.  Also, it's a small town romance where the author doesn't completely sweep the challenges of small town living under the rug.

Cinderella Unmasked by Susannah Erwin (Harlequin Desire, 2020) - Erwin wrote a book featuring a hero running for political office and I ended up really enjoying it. That's some kind of miracle for 2020. Heroine whose family was done wrong by hero's family ends up falling head over feet. A smitten hero in pursuit who is genuinely a nice guy (not a brooding, angsty playboy!), compelling family conflict, and a Cinderella trope that avoids heavy-handed rescue fantasy. After just two books Erwin is my newest autobuy.

Not Romance, Still Great (in no particular order):

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe (Nonfiction, 2018) - I read this based off Miss Bates' recommendation and this was easily the book of the year for me. At the end of 1972, Jean McConville, mother of 10, was dragged from her Northern Ireland home by the IRA, never to be seen again. It's a story of violence, of politics, where there are no heroes, and it was by far the most riveting book I had read in a dog's age. I cannot recommend it enough. I made all the incoherent great book noises during and after I finished it.

Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright (Nonfiction, 2017) - I've got Sasha Devlin to thank for this recommendation and this was a great listen on audio. Kind of weird to read a book about plagues that was written pre-COVID, and frustrating in that humans have this uncanny knack for repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Engaging, written with the layperson in mind, with a touch of gallows' humor. I really enjoyed this and even learned some stuff.

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey (Dystopian, 2020) - A dystopian western that's queer and feminist AF.  Fleeing an arranged marriage when her best friend (and lover) is murdered, the heroine hooks up with a subversive band of traveling librarians. It's a slim book (category romance length) so the world building isn't terribly intricate, but I loved the feminist themes of the story and got sucked into the western world like whoa.  Not a typical read for yours truly, and one that I'm hoping will become a series.

Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park (Historical children's fiction, 2020) - After her mother dies, 14-year-old half-Chinese heroine moves with her white father to the Dakota territory. The author grew up loving the Little House series, while recognizing all the inherent problems with that series.  There are a lot of heavy themes in this story (racism, injustice, and the heroine is assaulted at one point - not raped) but it never feels like a heavy book. It's hopeful, with a lovely sense of place and history.  

When I started thinking about this blog post my impression was that I had a pretty dire reading year - but as I looked back I realized that there were gems - it's just said gems were buried in between mediocrity and books I'd rather forget. So long 2020. Please do let the door smack you on the way out.

Reading Year in Review 2019

It's time to look back on my reading year that was 2019.  All in all, I had a pretty good year!  My goal is to always hit 100 books and I finished up with 106!  OK, so I do count DNFs and novellas but whatever...106!  Also, I never do a Best Of for just the past year list because I'm always so perpetually behind in my reading and, quite frankly, if the best book I read in 2019 was published in 2015....I WANT TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT!  So yeah, it all goes into the blender for me and comes out hopefully as a delicious and nutritious smoothie.  Here's how the numbers broke down for 2019:

5 Stars (A grade): 6
4 Stars (B grade): 41
3 Stars (C grade ; low B-): 31
2 Stars (D grade): 14
1 Star (F grade): 5
DNF (Did Not Finish): 9
Audiobooks: 19

My A, F and DNF grades are pretty consistent from previous years. 2019 saw me righting the ship with more B grades than C grades (yippee) but my D grades were up and that's no bueno.  My audiobook numbers are also way down. A byproduct of a shorter daily commute and me not listening while I exercise. I need to spend more time on my elliptical in 2020.

Now, let's talk books.  Here are the ones I really enjoyed this past year. This list includes all my A grades plus the memorable B grades that had staying power.

(Title links will take you to reviews unless otherwise noted)

The Romance (in no particular order):

The Captain's Vegas Vows by Caro Carson (2018) ; Harlequin Special Edition, Contemporary Romance - What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas when the military heroine realizes that the man she hastily married (and has no memory of...) is also stationed at Fort Hood. A category romance that fires on all cylinders, it's got an amnesia plot and a romance that features a couple who hastily weds and then has to try to figure out if they can live together.

The Bachelor's Baby Surprise by Teri Wilson (2018) ; Harlequin Special Edition, Contemporary Romance - Ignore the baby on the cover and the oopsie-doodle we did it once and now I'm pregnant trope - this is a charming, fun, romantic comedy featuring a Most Eligible Bachelor Hero who is smitten from the moment he lays eyes on the heroine. This is screaming for a movie adaptation.

Her Knight in the Outback by Nikki Logan (2015) ; Harlequin Romance, Contemporary Romance - An emotionally hefty romance featuring a heroine desperate to find her missing brother and a traveling-for-work hero who hitches his wagon to her.  Compelling conflict and a black moment that damn near ripped my guts out.

The Million Pound Marriage by Michelle Douglas (2018) ; Harlequin Romance, Contemporary Romance - She's a poor little rich girl who needs money to send her dead brother's fiance to rehab, he's her dead brother's BFF who is being forced to marry by his overbearing grandfather. Naturally, a deal is struck and they both get more than they bargained for. It's the heroine that made this a stand-out read for me. At some point in this book she challenges ever single man in the story. Every. Single. One. She's glorious.

Passion's Song by Farrah Rochon (2016) ; Kimani Romance, Contemporary Romance - It has friends-to-lovers and a pretend relationship, which is reason enough to love it.  But what's really memorable? The world-building. The romance is set in New Orleans' Ninth Ward, and there's a fantastic neighborhood backdrop that Rochon drops her characters in the middle of. Delightful.

Seduced by the Badge by Deborah Fletcher Mello (2018) ; Harlequin Romantic Suspense - It was a rough year for me and romantic suspense (So. Many. Idiot. Heroines.) and this book gave me some hope that maybe the sub genre isn't totally doomed.  Cop heroine from out of town hooks up with the hero to bring down a sex trafficking ring.  Great world-building, great neighborhood feel (Chicago!) and a lovely family dynamic (the hero's family) that the author is mining for more books in the series.

Wanted: Billionaire's Wife by Susannah Erwin (2019) ; Harlequin Desire, Contemporary Romance - A tight, well-plotted, well-written debut Desire featuring a heroine with her back against the wall (and not in a good way...) and a hero who hires her to find him a wife so he can close a business deal. Sure the plot is borderline absurd, but Erwin writes the heck out of it and it sings from the first page to very last.

A Debutante in Disguise by Eleanor Webster (2019) ; Harlequin Historical, Historical Romance - OMG, this book! The heroine leads a double-life in order to go to university and practice medicine and the hero is suffering from PTSD thanks to Napoleon.  Emotionally stunning with a heroine desperate for a life but hemmed in by what society deems "acceptable" for her gender. 

Their Amish Reunion by Lenora Worth (2018) ; Love Inspired, Contemporary Inspirational Romance - Amish hero leaves community to become a Navy SEAL and returns home for good when his father takes ill and a mission goes sideways. Coming home also means seeing the girl he left behind, now a young widow (she married his BFF) with two children.  Yes it's an Amish romance and yes there's a lot of "God stuff" but this one is rip-your-guts out emotional and amazingly written.

Broken Rules by Michaela Grey (2018) ; Erotic Romance, BDSM, M/M - Originally published by Dreamspinner, this is now available in a self-published edition. This has BDSM and a sex club (I'm honestly sick of both) and yet I still LOVED this book because the world-building and romance are OMG AMAZING!  Dom hero takes on new sub client, a poor little closeted rich boy who is an epic jerkface. An erotic romance that is more than just "hot sex" - it's seriously kinky (like, erotica kinky) but never, not once, loses sight of erotic romance's most important asset - passion. So. Much. Passion!  The black moments are epic with emotional moments that ripped my guts out - and jerkface gets put through the wringer. These are two heroes who have to work for their happy-ever-after. I finished the last page and immediately wanted to start the book all over again to wallow around more in this world. Don't miss it.

A Distant Heart by Sonali Dev (2018) ; Contemporary Romance - Dev spins an emotionally complex fairy tale about a Bollywood princess held captive by her long-term health issues and the hero from the wrong side of the tracks held captive by his sense of obligation to her father.  Never have I wanted a happy ending more for a romantic couple.

Bad Neighbor by M. O'Keefe (2016) ; Contemporary Romance - I love it when O'Keefe writes with a bit of dirt under her fingernails. Heroine moves into a seedy apartment complex near the airport after bailing out her younger sister (yet again) and falls for a grumpy new neighbor who fights in underground (and illegal) MMA matches. The world-building is on fire and on point.

Off Limits (affiliate link) by Vanessa North (2018) ; Contemporary Romance, F/F - I never wrote a review for this because it was part of my judging packet for the 2019 RITAs (no sense in keeping that quiet now given that RWA is burning to the ground). Heroine who is a concierge at a club that caters an LGBTQ+ clientele, moonlights as a singer in a punk band and ends up falling for a woman who is the daughter of Hollywood royalty. I loved the premise, the concierge angle, and the world-building was dynamite.

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite (2019) ; Historical Romance, F/F - The passion, the longing, oh the romance! Heroine nursing a broken heart falls for a widowed countess while trying to convince men they actually have brains. Smart women weaving their way through societal BS to get their happy ending and working the system to their advantage?  More please!

Lady Be Reckless by Megan Frampton (2018) ; Historical Romance - I have a checkered past with light historicals, having been burned one too many times by the improbably cutesy. This one worked very well for me. A heroine in the mold of Austen's Emma who is playing matchmaker for the illegitimately born hero, in the hopes of convincing her sister's former beau that she is The One for him. Oh, silly heroine. It's a Victorian, but the light, frothy tone reminded me of lighter Traditional Regencies (that's a compliment!), I adored that the hero was smitten right out of the gate, and there's a nice growth arc for the heroine.  Also, dynamite sisterly dynamic between the heroine and her sisters. I plan on reading more in this series. (Disclaimer: Frampton is my former editor at Heroes & Heartbreakers)

Not Romance, Still Awesome:

The Sun Down Motel (affiliate link) by Simone St. James (2020) ; Gothic Suspense - My review will go live on February 18, but do yourself a favor and preorder this now.  Heroine whose aunt disappeared in 1982 retraces her steps to upstate New York, to a town that time has forgotten and a motel that was seedy when it was newly built. Light romantic elements, creepy Gothic atmosphere, with tinges of horror around the edges. What makes this book a must read though is how St. James centers the ENTIRE novel through the female gaze. The heroine, her aunt, a local cop (the only woman on the force) and a freelance photographer.  The subtitle of this book should be Bitches Getting Shit Done.

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts (2019) ; Historical Fiction - The story of Maud Baum, daughter of a famous suffragette and wife to L. Frank Baum, the author of the Oz books. The story moves back and forth in time, from the MGM studio lot and trying to look out for a young Judy Garland, Maud's growing up years, her courtship and marriage to Frank.  You don't need to be an Oz fan to enjoy this book - which casts a 77-year-old woman as heroine.

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee (2019) ; Teen Historical Fiction - Chinese-American teenager uncovers family secrets as she anonymously pens a Dear Abby-style column for a local newspaper, and navigates the upstairs/downstairs world of a wealthy Atlanta household at the dawn of the suffrage movement.  Another great read with light romantic elements featuring a clever girl who learns to move through and around societal roadblocks on her quest for the truth.

Reading Goals for 2020:

The same as usual - I want to get through 100 books. I also want to get back on track with my reread of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone mystery series.  I got through 14 books last year, but only read one this year - getting sidetracked by romance and contest judging obligations. I want to get back to Sharon and the gang this year.