15. Paladin's Grace

By T. Kingfisher (366 pp / ebook)

I have so many ebooks and I often have no idea where they came from. Did a friend recommend? Did I see a review? Was it part of a free book giveaway? I have no idea where this came from. I was expecting a fantasy and there were fantasy book things happened but also it was a super cute romance. I loved this book. I put a list of all this author's books in my phone so I can get more. This is like the Ted Lasso of fantasy romance. It's about a perfumer with a murky past, a paladin with a dramatic past, some creepy murders, and an assassination attempt. It's also funny.

14. Dept. of Speculation

By Jenny Offill (177 pp)

This book is a gem! I loved the writing -- the whole book is filled with tidbits that you want to save to read again later. It's a short book but I resisted the urge to rush through it. It's the story of a relationship: love and pain. Really good.

13. Only the Good Indians

By Stephen Graham Jones (310 pp)

Whew - what a ride! This is a horror novel set in Blackfeet Country and is intense and violent. I had mixed feelings at first -- it didn't seem like my kind of thing but by then end, which I finished on the bus, I was won over. It's about a group of Indigenous men who make a poor choice in youth that leads to a vengeful spirit tracking them down. Suspenseful and surprising.

12. Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure

By Courtney Milan (156 pp ebook)

Novella romance between two older ladies who face a battle with Terrible Men. Quick and fun to read and nice to see characters you don't normally see in romance.

11. The Glass Hotel

By Emily St. John Mandel (307pp)(ebook)

I loved this book. I am still thinking about it. Readers who come to it expecting another Station Eleven might be disappointed but I could hardly put it down. The story follows several characters at different moments in time all connected by a luxe hotel in the wilderness and a Ponzi scheme. Beautiful writing.

10. The Witch Elm

By Tana French (526 pp) (ebook)

I was really looking forward to reading this. I love Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad mysteries. This one (not a Dublin Murder Squad) didn't quite work for me. I loved the setting and the characters and their relationships and even the set-up was good. But ultimately there were some weird side bits that never fit in and the last section went to implausible territory for me with an unsatisfying ending. Like all her books, it's set in Ireland and the main character is a 28 man who seems to have everything going for him until he doesn't.