Eleni’s Top Five
Hello again dear reader, Imma go ahead and preface this by saying whoever in the BWGB team said we should pick five books is evil and should be put in reader jail! Pick five they said… hmf
In no particular order then here are mine:
Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan:
This deeply emotional book gave me all the feels, with truly the biggest cinnamon roll characters that work towards building a relationship despite heavy past trauma from both sides. With a truly despicable villain that’ll have you raging for days to boot. I would easily rec this to every single person who is ok with reading 18+ content. It’s sexy but not smutty, if that means something to you.
For The Throne by Hannah Whitten
The perfect conclusion to the Wilderwood duology, I waited for it not so patiently for a year and was absolutely delighted to see Whitten take everything great about her first book and turn it up to eleven with its sequel. A mesmerizing read with ambiance to die for (pun intended if you’ve read it) and a magic system that will steal your breath, lead by a powerful duo of women that kick all kinds of ass while their wholesome but grumpy disaster husbands/partners try their best to keep up.
By A Thread by Lucy Score
Again, for mature readers due to explicit sexual content, but this is one truly hilarious romcom reminiscent of Devil Wears Prada, that also delicately and appropriately handles heavy and important subjects of workplace sexual misconduct, or dealing with elderly and sick parents. It was a joy to read and all the characters, be they primary or secondary, dazzled to no end. Aggravated Men™ is where it’s at, and I’ll leave it there.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
A gothic fantasy debut that hooked me from the first page and didn’t let go until the very end. With tarot inspired magic and one of my favorite tropes of history being revealed to be very different from what it’s been passed down as, I couldn’t get enough of the found family dynamic but also of the banter and sass, especially from a character I least expected to be that way. The cliffhanger has me absolutely on edge and I am dying for the sequel.
Ok fine, I said no particular order but the following was my five star, 11 out of ten, number one, favorite read of the year.
The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt
I loved every single thing about this book that I got to read as an ARC, even the chapter titles! From the banter and humor to the found family and band of misfits dynamic, to the horror elements that tied up this Indiana Jones meets Alien and Guardians of the Galaxy plus Suicide Squad love child. Special mention goes to the for once true to life linguistics aspect which tickled me to no end for finally portraying what it really is like to translate and adapt ancient languages into modern ones. Sean Wren has easily earned his spot on my favorite characters of all-time list and I cannot wait till I get to meet him, Tamara, and Indigo, again. It simply had the perfect balance, for me, of humor, depth, high stakes, darkness, and action, and everyone needs this in their lives.