I’ve read a lot of really great books over the years. Since the beginning of book blogging, I started to really understand which books resonated with me and drew me in. These days I know my reading interests so well that I rarely read a book that I end up rating less than 4 stars. I think I just know how to pick books that I know I’m going to love. I don’t really have to guess anymore. As a result, I have a lot of 5 star reads over the past 5 years. I thought it might be fun to highlight one from each year…
What Feasts at Night, T. Kingfisher (Read in 2024)
I’ve learned over the years that T. Kingfisher will always be a slam dunk for me. I honestly don’t think she’s capable of writing a bad book. I knew I’d love this novella.
After their terrifying ordeal at the Usher manor, Alex Easton feels as if they just survived another war. All they crave is rest, routine, and sunshine. But when Easton and his companions arrive at the family hunting lodge, they find the caretaker dead, the lodge in disarray, and the grounds troubled by a strange, uncanny silence. The villagers whisper that a breath-stealing monster from folklore has taken up residence in Easton’s home.
Hunt the Stars, Jessie Mihalik (read in 2023)
I have to highlight how much I love a good space opera! I’m not big on romance novels but set them in space, or give them a STEM twist, and I am all in! This is a fast paced novel with lots of danger and high stakes action.
Octavia Zarola would do anything to keep her tiny, close-knit bounty hunting crew together—even if it means accepting a job from Torran Fletcher, a ruthless former general and her sworn enemy. When Torran offers her enough credits to not only keep her crew afloat but also hire someone to fix her ship, Tavi knows that she can’t refuse—no matter how much she’d like to.
Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (read in 2022)
I read 82 books in 2022. It was a phenomenal reading year and I had a crazy amount of 5 star reads to choose from. I finally settled on Piranesi because I still think about it to this day. That book held me in its clutches the entire time I was reading. I’m not even sure what it was about the book that I loved so much. It’s such a unique story with a plot that is difficult to explain. I loved the intrigue, mystery, and beauty of it.
Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge.
Hairpin Bridge, Taylor Adams (read in 2021)
I love a good thriller!! Insert a bunch of crazy twists and jump scares and that’s even better. Reading the synopsis for this book I knew that I’d love it. I’d never read anything by Taylor Adams before but this was right up my alley.
Three months ago, Lena Nguyen’s estranged twin sister, Cambry, drove to a remote bridge sixty miles outside of Missoula, Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. At least, that is the official police version. But Lena isn’t buying it. Now she’s come to that very bridge determined to find out what really happened by interviewing the highway patrolman who allegedly discovered her sister’s body. It’s not long before she realizes that something is very, very wrong and now she’s in the middle of it.
The Broken Girls, Simone St. James (read in 2020)
Another thing I love in my books… paranormal elements. Simone St. James has a way of weaving the paranormal into her realistic fiction plots. I knew this book would be a winner for me because of the setting. I have a love of historical architecture and I cannot get enough of mysteries set in creepy, old buildings.
Vermont, 1950. There’s a place for the girls whom no one wants–the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It’s called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it’s located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming–until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .
Have you gotten better at picking books you know you’ll love over the years?
