Stories I Love
Whether the story comes in the form of short or long writing, movies or episodic, if it’s good I am in for the duration. If it can take me on a journey, lead me through a new door, or alter the way I think of something, I want to experience it. Please find below a list stories I may or may not be momentarily obsessed with. This list is by no means comprehensive and I hope to update it regularly.
I had a goal to read 50 books in 2024 and I’ll be ending the year with 70. If you are interested in a complete rundown, feel free to follow me on Goodreads but be forewarned that in between my preferred genres I like to read what I call ‘palate cleansers’ that I wouldn’t talk about with my kids. Aside from those, these are a few of my favorites for the year in no particular order.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White is a fantasy murder mystery set on a ship with a bunch of powerful, entitled children and young adults narrated by a truly unique main character who’s both charming and deeply insecure. I adored this book.
Slewfoot by Brom is a dark tale set in 1600’s Massachusetts where our main female character struggles to survive in a puritanical society. The first half of the book is difficult to read at times as the frustration for Abitha grows but this book offers one of the most satisfying endings I’ve read in a long time.
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim is an urban fantasy romance between two morally grey characters who start out despising each other and offers some fantastic banter between a nine-tailed fox and a trickster god. This is a fun read and I’m really looking forward to Book II.
Phatasma by Kaylie Smith was an intriguing romantasy read set the early 1900’s New Orleans that follows our main character into a dangerous game while she searches for her sister and tries to save her home. The gothic atmosphere of this book kept me reading until the end.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell truly shows the author has been nominated so often for his work. John crafts a story that has the reader rooting for monsters and love. A truly delightful read.
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is a fantastic mystery with an unreliable narrator who finds herself in a tone of trouble when she returns to her home town after fleeing years earlier when her best friend is murdered. This book keeps you guessing until the end.
Blood Jade, the second book of The Phoenix Hoard series by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle came out this past summer and I have to say I enjoyed this story immensely. When Emiko goes home, her interactions with her family, the fantastic world building, and the internal and external tension gives this story an extra edge.
I don’t know why it took me so long to read the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells but I really wished that I had started them sooner. Murderbot’s awkwardness, sarcastic quips, resentment, and reluctant do-gooder with questionable insight offers a fresh, engaging, and relatable perspective. I read the first four books (novellas) in three days. https://www.marthawells.com/murderbot1.htm
The Story of Kunning Palace is a 38 episode historical C-drama that has the slowest burn enemies to romance ever. I love a story that has a complicated political climate with martial arts and intelligent characters. Plus neither of our two leads are good people and that makes for great tension. I wasn’t a huge fan of either of these two actors prior to this series but their chemistry was incredible and the acting superb. https://www.iq.com/album/story-of-kunning-palace-2023-yg33cwbzwl?lang=en_us
I absolutely loved the voice of the main character in Starling House. She was not a good person but she struggled to do the right thing as she learned and the descriptive elements that Alix E. Harrow uses throughout the story set in eastern Kentucky really struck true. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/starling-house-alix-e-harrow/1142827202
I just finished The Drowning Empire series by Andrea Stewart and it did not disappoint. The world building and characters are rich and the stakes are high. One thing the author does that I ended up really enjoying is the switch from first person POV to third person depending on the characters. Anyway, check it out!
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu is one of my favorite recent reads. With a nontraditional main character, great world building and rising pace, this spin on wuxia encompasses elements I crave in novels.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652712/the-art-of-prophecy-by-wesley-chu/
The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah is a fun read incorporating djinn, a strong female main character, and vivid worldbuilding.
Alchemy of Souls (2 seasons) on Netflix is an epic Korean fantasy that puts an amazing amount of story telling into 30 episodes. What happens when the souls of the dead or powerful can take over the bodies of those they want? This show is visually stunning and the acting and chemistry of the main leads is engaging.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20859920/
The First Binding by R.R. Virdi is an epic fantasy worth checking out if you are into magic and engaging characters. ‘I am legend. And I am a monster.’ So says the main character. This story pulls you in and doesn’t let go.
Sinopticon 2021: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction translated and edited by Xueting Christine Ni is a collection of remarkable stories. I highly recommend this for those who need to remember why they love Sci-Fi.
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow is a great book about the collective history of humankind that seeks to reimagine who we are and what we are capable of.
Love Between Fairy and Demon (no image) is a Chinese Dark Fantasy Romance (36 episodes) that I went in to simply for the visuals but was carried away by the fantastic story. Before I knew what was happening, I was mildly obsessed. I might still be. I’ll admit that the elements I struggled with in the first episode resolved with the character growth, and the chemistry between Dylan Wang and Esther Yu is charming. Worth the investment. There is also an anime which I haven’t been able to find a subtitled version of yet and it is based on the work The Devil and the Orchid by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang the web novelist, only available in the Chinese Edition.
Watch it here: https://www.viki.com/tv/38664c-love-between-fairy-and-devil
A Creation of Birds by Teagan Moore is a short story that drew me right in. I found the imagery and sensory beats beautiful. It is available in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction January/February 2023 issue.