2023 Top Shelf Reads

:: 00:09

And happy new year. Jenn and I decided that we were going to do our top shelf reads of 2023. We're going to have six top picks and then some honorary mentions. And then we have decided that book slash series count, because we just couldn't pick.

:: 00:26

Right, yeah, there's no way.

:: 00:28

Yeah, we read way too much for to be able to pick a one book out of a series, like I don't even know. If I can do that On anything, well, that's a lie. I could totally do that, I just don't want to.

:: 00:43

So I actually did pick For my top six book in a series and I'm going to probably like really upset some people, but it's totally fine.

:: 00:58

Those are the best kinds of conversations to have, though, yeah.

:: 01:00

Oh, absolutely.

:: 01:01

OK, so should we do our to our honorary mentions first, yeah, you want to work backwards. Yeah, ok, honoraries, and then six, five, four, three, two, one.

:: 01:12

Yep, I like it.

:: 01:13

Not that I have them in any order, but I mean they are kind of in order.

:: 01:18

I totally put them in order.

:: 01:21

Oh, ok, I did not see, I was just like let me just draw them down. So my first honorary mention is actually an author. I'm not sure if I'm going to pronounce her name right, but Shabon Davis S I, o, b, h A N. She has three series. Two of them are interconnected One to spin off the St Hood series and then one of their friends is the dirty, crazy, bad Duet. That I really liked. I liked new adults, bully romance with some criminal organization tied in. There was just something about these two female characters and even the, the harem you know, their, their harem, like I don't know. There's just something about her writing that just is like, not Not like that's obviously not hallmarky, but like Because you know they're like killing people and there's a secret, maybe a hallmark. I don't have a dark romance.

I just feel.

:: 02:31

I don't know.

:: 02:33

So maybe like lifetime, but romance OK there we go, yeah, like the story flows really well, there's action, there's comedy, there's drama, like it's got like all the little pieces and you just read as these characters develop and grow. And then she also has this for those who don't know besides the dark romance, I love alien romances, monster romances. She has one, the Athelion series I don't even know if I'm saying that right Al I N T H I A, I don't know. It's an alien romance, new adult, and it was great. So that's my first honorary mention. She like hit like a lot of checkboxes For me.

:: 03:17

I like it. So are we going to go back and forth? We probably, we did.

:: 03:21

Yeah, I figured we could just go back and forth.

:: 03:25

OK, so are you sorry? Are you finished?

:: 03:27

Yes, I'm finished.

:: 03:32

This is what like one full day without caffeine has done to me. I stole your idea as you were talking, so I didn't honor a mention of Lucy score. So if you all, if, for whatever reason, like, this is your first episode of our podcast, first of all, welcome. Second of all, I am a light and fluffy reader, like contemporary romance reader most the time and Mistie has slowly drugged me to the dark side over the last like 18 months, so just keep that in mind as we go through my list.

So, my honorary, mention is Lucy score. I've read so many of her books this year and one of the most recent year, and one of the things that I love about what she does is these are long contemporary romance books. They're typically topping at like 400 to 500 pages, which normally in contemporary romance like that's too damn long, it's too much, like what. But for whatever reason it works for her and I get to like stay in this super fun world for extra time and like feel all the good things. And the other thing that she does really well is typically it's a slow burn, but it's like a slow burn. And then it's like in it in burn out, where I feel like so many slow burns are just like oh. And then it's like you know, okay, spice, but she's like no, I'm gonna make up for making you read 300 pages of no spice by giving you tons of fantastic spice in the last, like 150 and 200 pages. It's so good. And then, just to point out a specific book, I read Rock Bottom Girl this year and it was like kind of inspirational for me, which was odd, but it was very like I don't know. I just I really was inspired by the character to like do some different things, different in my own life and like go after my own things. So that was really cool. I hadn't really had that happen in a contemporary romance. Oh, I love that.

:: 05:43

So if you had to recommend one Lucy's score book, what would it be?

:: 05:47

Okay, so a good intro to her. Where you not dedicated like 400 pages is Maggie Moves On. It's so freaking funny, the spice starts a little earlier and and it's still like a really good lovey-dovey story with good spice and you're not spending, you know, 400 or 500 pages on on one couple.

:: 06:09

Okay, I think that's one that you've been asking me to read.

:: 06:12

Yeah, only for a year. That was my very first Lucy score book and it's it's just, it's funny. It has a great dog, he's hot. She's like this bad ass woman. Like it's just, it's just great.

:: 06:34

For the earth news listeners. If you're just reading this to hear what our top shelf reads are, I am the dark romance reader, I'm a mood reader, I'm an emotional reader, so you can tell me to read it and it'll sound fantastic and I'll put it on my shelf and it'll be like three years before I pick it up.

:: 06:49

Yeah, I sent her an entire series in hardback like almost two years ago and she still hasn't read it.

:: 06:57

Yeah, it's sitting on my shelf. I look at it all the time. I'm like you know, Jenn hasn't said anything about this, so it's okay, I'll just move on to the next one. That's fine, okay. So my second honor I mentioned is out of my wheelhouse. So while I like dark and paranormal romances, I normally do not like vampires.

But K A Knight started a new series and I read a court of nightmares and for those who don't know, k A Knight is the author of Den of Vipers which was really good. Then she did the book Guns and Gangs or whatever, which is kind of set in the same world, which was it wasn't bad. I enjoyed it. I read it a couple of times but I just wanted to see like how her evolution of writing and you know what new avenues of storytelling she was taking, and so I jumped into a court of nightmares without really realizing that it was vampires at first. But once I realized it was vampires I was like, ah, I'm already invested and so I read it and it was actually really good. I was really surprised she's turning it into a series. I think book two and three have dropped, or at least book two is in, book three is coming soon and it's actually a really interesting take on a supernatural paranormal. So I'm definitely going to be finishing the rest of the series, because each court is a different set of monsters, creatures.

So, nightmares is vampires. Then she's, then there's a beast which I'm assuming is shape shifters, and then I can't remember what the other one is. So each one, and so you have these courts in this world for paranormals, and so it's pretty cool. That sounds good. Oh yeah, and you would probably really like this one because they wear masks.

:: 08:50

Wow.

:: 08:51

I didn't know if you want me to call you out on that or not.

:: 08:55

Just call me out like this. I mean, we're doing a kink episode, so like I guess it'll probably be out eventually.

:: 09:02

Okay, so that is my second honorary mention, okay.

:: 09:07

Okay. So my next honorary mention is okay, we're gonna do, we're gonna do this one. So I loved the kiss quotient by Helen Hong. I almost put it in my top six for the year, but when I was kind of looking at my list I went ahead and made it an honorary mention First of all the spice was so good and I was shocked.

Now, not not because of the type of characters, and, if you all aren't familiar, the main female character is autistic and one of my best friends in the whole world is also autistic and she was telling me like these books are a really good representation of like how I feel or like how I navigate the world, that kind of thing. And her and I have been best friends since we were 14 and 15, I think. So to kind of get that insight for her was really cool and to know at least from her perspective that it was accurate was really cool. But then, like I remember messaging her, I was like, girl, the spice in this is like phenomenal and I was like I'm so shocked and she's like why. And I was like I don't, I just I didn't realize that Helen Hong was like a spicy reader.

I thought she was more like an Abby Geminez, where it's not quite fade to black, but like not detailed, pleasantly surprised, and the story was so sweet, so sweet, like just my heartstrings were pulled all over the place. It was so good. The entire series, like all three books, were really good, but that one was my favorite by far.

:: 11:02

I second that. I love the kiss question and that's saying something.

:: 11:05

Yeah, that is temporary.

:: 11:07

It is so I own the physical book and I own the audio, because audio is great.

:: 11:11

It is, it's so good, so good.

:: 11:15

My next honorary mention is a book recommended by Jenn the lovely and amazing cohost Ranger, by Dr Rebecca Sharp. I put it as an honorary mention.

:: 11:26

Oh my god, that's my honorary mention. I love this so much.

:: 11:33

So for those who don't know, we love criminal minds and Dr Spencer Reed. They did him wrong. We love him, oh super. Let's just something about the nerdy dudes that are just so cute, and so somehow we had both stumbled across this book. But you read it long before I did. And then you're like Mistie, you have to read it. And I'm like Jenn, I have to read books in order, and I don't really want to read the first three, so she convinced me to just read book four and I did and it was great Sorry.

:: 12:04

No, go ahead. This is your honorary mention.

:: 12:07

Oh, I feel like we can tag team. I'll tag team him with you. I thought it was super cute. I felt like the spice was really good. You know, it's not, it's not obviously Spencer Reed, but I feel like he did a really great representation of a character like him and finally getting this happily ever after.

:: 12:28

It was just super cute.

:: 12:29

I enjoyed it.

:: 12:31

It really was. I loved, I feel like, for because it's not a very long book I want to say it's a little over 300 pages or maybe right under 300 pages, but I feel like he himself had a ton of character development in that book. Now, granted, I think I read the first one. I couldn't get through the previous three and that's why I really pushed you to like just skip them, like just go read book four and you see him a bit. But like, really all of his character development is in book, is in his book, and I feel like she did a really good job of him like standing up for himself, like coming into his own while he's played a certain role in his family for so many years. And it was just I don't know.

I feel like she navigated the trauma really well in that book with him. I feel like, you know, he got to, he got to like physically be a hero even though he had emotionally and mentally been the hero in his family for so many years. But then he got to show it to his family and I just thought that was. She just navigated that whole situation so well. And and then what did she call it fact? Fucking, was that what it was in that book where he was?

I don't remember, but that sounds about clothes okay, because, like, how in the hell do you read a book where someone is spitting like facts to you and it's a turn-on? But it was.

:: 14:13

I'm sitting here like this is so good, and if he's just any facts I think, yeah, I mean just, I think it's one of those things of like mind over matter and like sensory, so like if you were to like grab my arm, you know it wouldn't necessarily trigger those feelings, but like if some guy you know did the same thing as like whoo-hoo, right, all tingly, you know, yep. So I think, I think, I think it's that, I think it's also environment, but yeah, I know it was super cute, okay. So my last honorary mention is the Haiti series by Tate James we read the Madison K and then I went down a rabbit hole

and I read the Hades. I don't even think it's called the Haiti series. I don't know. It's the seventh circle, what it's Hades. And then I read the Kit Davenport series. I mean, kit Davenport series would have been on here if it wasn't so damn long. It did not need to be like eight books and could have been like anyways. So I picked the Haiti series because I really enjoyed it. I was mildly shocked by a couple of things, and I don't get mildly shocked very often, yeah, when it comes to reading books. So the fact that it did do that a couple of times, even though I called some things out, I really like that. The main female character we have. One of these issues with books is when the female characters give in too quickly for forgiveness and she does not like. She's like, I acknowledge it. I understand, but you're not easily forgiven, and so that is always a plus for me yeah same it was four books.

It was really great. I think maybe it could have been three books, but I still feel like she did the storyline really great over four. I don't think it needed to be longer than four. Yeah, but yeah, I really, I really, out of all the Kate Davenport, the Tate James books that I read, that one really stuck out to me more. If I had to, if I had to rank them, I would do the Haiti series than the kid Davenport, then the Madison Kate. I don't know if I helped you or not, but yeah, that's my last honorary mention oh, okay, wait, I thought you had like six honorary mentions yeah, but she bond Davis was three of those oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, okay okay that's okay.

If you have more I can throw, we can do all of yours. Who knows, maybe it'll trigger something in mine okay, so let's see.

:: 16:48

All right, so we already talked about this one. I should have put them in order. Oh, I've already done this one, okay, so my next honorary mention is the Center's duet by Sophie Lark. I was kind of surprised that this ended up being on my list, but as I was reviewing all the books I read this year, which I think your numbers probably about double-mind, but mine's like sitting at 110 currently, oh shut up.

:: 17:20

I tried not to say nothing. I'm like a face. I'm sorry, that was really rude. That was so rude, I'm sorry listen.

:: 17:34

You need the shirt that my sister gave me that says if my mouth doesn't say it, my face definitely will oh my gosh, yes not all of us can be little mis-speed readers okay.

:: 17:51

I love you, Jenn. I'm sorry, that was really not appropriate, oh no, you're fine and I love you too.

:: 17:58

Um, so I just, I really like this, don't do it. But I think it's because, like the second book was so much of their story and their romance and, like you, still had the dark elements but it wasn't the focus. I guess I feel like their relationship progressed really well and I don't know. I just I've thought about it a lot and it's probably one of the couple of duets series whatever you want to call them that I would reread from season one okay, I could be down with that.

:: 18:30

Do you have any more honorary mention?

:: 18:32

I have two more, all right. So the other one is love light farm series by BK Borson. These I read after the addicted to pain and addicted to ruin and I needed that like Christmas-y hallmark, feel good, like let's refresh the palette, because I have been in a very dark place for so many days and love light farms was perfect, like it was everything I wanted in just that really like almost hurt your teeth sweet, you know, like series books, whatever. All three books were great. The first, the first one and the third one are currently my favorites and then the fourth one comes out, I think sometime in the spring. But it was a really, really sweet series and I really loved the characters and one of the characters his name's Bennett and he keeps rescuing animals and like pushing them off on the friends that all run the farm and it's the cutest thing ever, like this 6263 bulky lumberjack guy like lumberjack look, I found a puppy, like he adopts an orphan duck.

Listen, you need to go read it if you like contemporary romance. And then my last honorary mention is actually let me double check. Okay, so this is the Lachlan feuds by L Madison and Robin D Mall mail. It was for sale on Audible. It was all four books for one credit. It was under Rowan.

If you decide to read it, I don't know if that's still going on, but it was a really good fantasy series and the thing that I loved about this more than anything out of the entire series was he does something to really piss her off and like, not quite portray her, but we'll just stick with really pissed her off and instead of, like you said, where they just like it's fine, you know we're supposed to be together, so we'll all just jump back in your bed, she shows up spoiler alert, slaps him across the face and then ignores him for like two or three days and I'm like, yes, please, it was so, it was so good, everything he deserved.

I love that okay and that wraps up my.

:: 21:11

I know you guys have been talking about that. You guys have been talking about that series, like all year, and I haven't it was really really good.

I really enjoyed it add it to the list of things I need to look, I had to stop with the with bridge last night and all I dreamed about that was those fucking papers last night, like. So that's probably good. Let me add that as my honorary mention, even though I haven't finished it. Okay, cuz I was dreaming about it last night. The bridge kingdom I don't even know who the others, I don't even know what these books are about.

They're Jenn's favorite series, like yeah and our other book club is reading it, and she mentioned them like two years ago, to me too.

:: 22:00

So I'm finally breathing in like oh, my like, yeah, I'm gonna and the crazy thing is, like y'all know, I am a spicy reader. Like I like my spice, I enjoy my spice, all ranges of spice, and there's very, very little to no spice in those books and it's still in my top five reads of all time.

:: 22:27

I can see why. I can see why, but yeah, it was a little too much. I cannot wait it's coming so many spoilers in this episode for future episodes, okay so our top six reads of 2023. We're going from six to up. Right, I might have to change my order, so coming in at number six for me is gonna be fourth ring by Rebecca Yars Yars.

:: 23:12

Wow, wow yeah.

:: 23:20

Wow okay, you know what, hold on, I might wait. You do your six and let me like reorganize my cut. I don't know, I feel like that's pretty accurate. If I'm looking, I know I lied. I'm gonna stick with it. That's gonna be my. That's my number six. My number six is gonna be the fourth wing and I'm gonna say that preference that there are only three books on here that aren't series and the other three are series, and the fact that I devoured the other books in the series and I still have not read iron flame, even though it's like sitting on my shelf right here. I'm gonna keep it a six. Obviously, dragons, hello, I mean I should.

:: 24:13

Enough said right yeah, and those are the best written dragons I've ever read for me okay, I'd have to think I haven't.

:: 24:25

As dragons is not as shapeshifters. I agree 100%.

:: 24:31

Yeah, I will.

:: 24:32

I will agree with that statement.

:: 24:34

Okay.

:: 24:35

So that's my number six, your number six.

:: 24:40

Okay, Uh, my number six and I think it will probably surprise you, is the Invisible Life of Adi LaRue by VE Schwab.

:: 24:49

I love that bug.

:: 24:52

I uh.

:: 24:53

I am surprised that's in your topic.

:: 24:55

And I thought you would be. I struggled with how I felt after this book, but I feel like that's what makes this book so great. I enjoy books that surprise me and make me, you know, think. And not only do you have like this really sweet love story that is also very sad, but you get, like this really cool glimpse at like different historical periods, like through a woman's perspective, and you get to see how her character develops and even like death's character develops, like I don't know it was. It was everything I didn't know I would want in a book and really, really enjoyed, even if it took me, like took me a minute to get into it and it made me like question everything at the end, but like I just I couldn't, I couldn't put it down. So, yeah, number six for me. I'm so glad.

:: 25:57

Okay, so my number five is the Still Demons MC series by Crystal Ash. It's an MC for those who don't know is Motorcycle Club. It's kind of a dystopian doomsday. It's the end of the world, but they end up and there's some mythology mix in there because there are some Greek gods. Is it Greek gods? It's some gods that bestow powers upon them to beat the evil God who is the reason why it's doomsday apocalyptic? It was actually really good Reverse harem. Like I got sucked into that series super quick and like I was a minst in this world for like a week reading all these books and it was just great. And then I was like wait that's it.

There's no more, and it's like 10 books, I think, and it was so great.

I loved how they they wove this world of the MC with it being, you know, post apocalyptic and they don't have to follow, you know, the standard rules because of this.

You know, like, apparently, like women couldn't be doctors now, you know, because there's such a low number, but she's like, no, I went to medical school, so she's like running around the new America I don't remember what they call it Trying to help people and heal people, and then they're bestowed this and there's really good battles and, like, I love when mythology is mixed into things and, you like, there's just, I've always loved any kind of mythology, and so I wasn't expecting that, I was expecting them to be like shape shifters or, like you know, druids or witches or whatever, but no, they have this thing.

That's what's helping them and obviously, once the war's over, I think they, the gods, take back their powers or whatever. So it's not, like some, though, that they live with forever. It's just during this war, before you know, the world is destroyed completely. But yeah, I really, and that it has just stuck with me ever since I read it. I read it, I think, earlier this year and I just I always come back oh, wasn't that really great how they did that. You know, and honestly I think that is the only MC I read this year.

I'd have to double check, but it was so good and so, like every time, I not that I don't have a whole bunch- on my list, but every time I think about picking up when I was like I just don't know if it would be as good as this, even though it's not the same parameters.

:: 28:36

Right.

:: 28:37

I'm pretty sure that's the only MC fully series MC that I read from start to finish. But yeah, so that would be my number five.

:: 28:44

I like it. Okay, so my my number five is going to be controversial and that's totally okay.

So my number five is Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Ma. I know you're going to hate this pic and I am totally fine with that. I read the, so I I started throwing a glass at the tail end of 22,. Finished it at the top of 23.

And it's not a series I find my I would probably ever find myself rereading. I probably reread Tower of Dawn, though, but again it goes back like you have two incredible love stories that are happening in this book and like I love to kale from book one, like there was never a point in his development that I didn't like him. I don't care what anybody says, you can say whatever you want about him. He is a sweet little baby and I love him so much.

So I know there were so many people that hate this book and I do feel like SJM really did this series her readers and like Kale's story dirty by putting this book where it was, because I feel like when you end Empire of Storms in this awful cliffhanger and then you have an entire book that doesn't even touch on your main person. So I completely empathize with those people that read it in real time and didn't get the instant gratification or like relief of figuring out where you know your main female character was at an entire book. But when I read it I was doing the tandem read and I did a different version of the tandem read. I did a shorter version but it worked beautifully and I just I loved everything about Tower of Dawn. I know you have nothing nice to say.

:: 30:49

I'm so happy you enjoyed that book. I'm glad that it made your list.

:: 30:54

That was so sweet of you.

:: 30:58

I'm trying. So my number four is I can't even read my own handwriting. I want to say it's deals with Demon series by Stacia Stark. This was the series that I yeah it's really pretty. This was the series. Remember when I was in the book funk and I couldn't find anything and I was just reading garbage after garbage? This is the series that pulled me out.

It's an urban fantasy. It's demons I can't remember if there's angels or not Supernatural hunters, which is like shapeshifters, fey, like all of the things. It was phenomenal. I loved it. She's a bounty hunter. She gets pulled in to do this deal with the main demon of their area or city or the United States or whatever, but she's also secretly trying to do an undercover mission for herself and she gets caught. So she's bound and it was just great. I loved everything about this. I loved all the characters, the war, the outcome. This pulled me out of a funk and I enjoyed it and it has stayed with me ever since. I would reread the series, I would own them too, but I don't really like people on my cover. The covers aren't too bad, but maybe one day.

:: 32:23

Yeah, not a people cover person either it just depends.

:: 32:27

Jbreeze books, totally off topic. The people on her cover I'm am I okay with?

:: 32:32

Yeah, I'd agree with that.

:: 32:36

I just love that the deals with demons series pulled in all of these supernatural elements and that it was urban fantasy and so humans knew about it and again the mythology of what the fey and the sealy it was. Just she wrote it really well for having all of these characters and different species, creatures, whatever you want to call them, and have them come together and rally. It was really great. I enjoyed it. So, yeah, that's my number four.

:: 33:12

I love it. So my number four is the Fey Isles series by Lisette Marshall. So this was a book chose. The first book, a Court of Blood and Bindings, was the book from one of our book clubs this year and I, just to set the scene, I read book one and two. One of the gals in our book club said that book three ended on ended on a crazy cliffhanger, so I didn't want to go into that, knowing book four wasn't ready. So I had like two weeks between book two and three and I couldn't stop thinking about it, like what you were saying about Bridge King, like I dreamed about these books. I thought about the characters all the time and so I went back and read book three and the fourth book comes out in April and it's.

It is the first fantasy series that has a guitar vibes and actually measures up, and that's like a guitar is my favorite series period and I know that's very basic of me, but that's fine. This series is is it's it's different. The main male character is mute and I really loved that aspect of it. Like you get, she writes it so well, like she just I can't explain it it is. I have been looking on her Instagram page for an update for the fourth book every single day ever since I finished with three. And it's just, it's, it's so good.

:: 35:02

That one doesn't surprise me that it's on your list.

:: 35:05

Yeah, I know I can't stop talking about it, so you've had a listen to me talk about it for, like that's okay.

:: 35:12

One day I'll finish book one, probably when book four comes out, and then I'll read the series Probably. I'm still, I still haven't. Every once in a while I pick up a coin and I read like a couple of chapters and then I put it back down. I'll finish it one day, okay. So my number three is the throne of glass. That's why I didn't say anything mean, because that was your space to shine.

So we read this for our book club and so I read all of these books in a week. My brain was completely. I was like listening to them at work during the day and then reading the physical books that I got from the library at home. So, like my, I was in this world and she was amazing. I loved the main female character. I absolutely hate book six because I could have been a novella. We did not need like 700 million pages of that bullshit. So I'm the complete opposite of Jenn. She just loves that book and I love the rest of the series. This is why we yeah, book six is Tower of Dawn, yay, we like fit, we're like missing puzzle pieces. We are so. But yeah, I just I loved the assassin, especially if it's a female assassin, and like her being strong and independent.

the first time in the fall of: 2022

:: 37:06

I told you I was writing a letter.

:: 37:08

It's like little things like that throughout the whole series it was. That's what makes me loved it so much. You know, obviously I have issues with like some of the ending and like other little things. We're just going to completely pretend like book six doesn't exist. But yeah, so thrown of glass is, for this year is my my number three read, because it was just a great world to be in with the fucking phenomenal main female character.

:: 37:36

after everything that you've gone through, yeah, yeah, I don't disagree with any of that. I I enjoyed thrown a glass, but it was too. It was too much emotional damage for me to like want to reread it again at this point.

:: 37:54

Okay, you're three.

:: 37:57

Yeah three, You're going to love this one. You want to guess what it is? It's a series. I'll give you a hint. Have we both read it? We have both read it. This was my first time reading it this year. I can't think of anything that we've read. I'm just kidding. Okay, no, it's self. This thing sucks at pop quizzes.

:: 38:27

I'm just trying to think how many books are in the series Six Bons that tie.

:: 38:35

Five. No, I read it. I read that in twenty-two. Oh damn I got super excited.

:: 38:41

Five or six books in a series that we read together this year.

:: 38:47

Well, we didn't read it. Well, we read it together, but it was not your first time reading it. I cannot believe you're not getting that. Is it Emerald Lakes?

:: 38:57

Yes, Yay, okay, I had to go through it. It's the end of the year. It's been a long year I had to like that's true.

:: 39:07

That's why I asked how, what's the number of books I could.

:: 39:11

What is it Eliminate?

:: 39:16

In the series. Yeah. Eliminate in my brain Because we could have been here all day trying to name all of them. That's true. That's true. I loved the series. I loved the character. I loved the plus size representation. I loved all of the men, all of them. I loved the magic system. I just All the twists, just absolutely the way the world developed. There's not a single aspect of this book that I didn't absolutely just love and I definitely want to own them and I will absolutely reread them at some point.

:: 40:00

I agree. Yes, I wish I could put that on my list, but I already read it. Yeah, that's a good one.

:: 40:10

Alright, we're at the top.

:: 40:13

Two books of the year. So my number two. It's probably going to be a shocker Completely random Standalone. Never read anything by this author before it's Midnight by April Jade. So I went through this phase where I was reading Okay, this episode is going to have a lot of spoilers.

I do not like the Daddy Kink, it is not my thing, same, especially for male-female. But I was going through this phase where I was reading like Mafia, criminal Organizations, whatever, like MM Little Kink, and I found this book called Midnight by April Jade and it's an MM Daddy Kink, daddy Little Kink, what? For some reason, the Daddy Kink does not bother me if it's two males, it only bothers me if it's a male and a female Because I read Interesting, yeah. So I only wanted to read this book. It was like Book Five in this shared universe Well, not shared universe this shared series title from all of these authors called like Rootless Daddies, mm-hmm.

And so I read like the first five or the four to get to this one. And then I was like, well, some of these were trash, like two out of the three were trash, and I was like, oh, but I got to my book and it was great. And then I read, like two others, but I didn't read them in order and they were actually really good. He, so the I don't know the term the Little I guess you have the Little and the Daddy Is a cyber person for like the Mafia or Mob or I don't know.

And one of the Mob Mafia dude, his main like killer, the Little like stalks him and is like he's my daddy, he just doesn't know it. Okay, Cut in five and then you know, he makes, you know he makes sure everything's okay, Cause he's like watching over him and it's obsessive stalking and so no wonder you love it so much.

Yes, it was greatness, absolutely love it. I would have totally bought the book but the cover has a male guy on it, which I just hate. I need them to give a different cover and I would have that book on my shelf right now. But yeah, it was great. And then they meet and then the guy, the assassin dude, doesn't realize that this little is like in love with him and like you know, it's just super cute. I mean totally dark, like whatever, but I, I loved it and it was great and it's been like my favorite read of the year. That's why I was at my number two, cause I've read it like three times.

:: 42:56

It's just I remember you telling me about it. I missed that it was MM, though I'm not that I. I mean, I've read some very good MM books, but I didn't realize that that one wasn't an MM.

:: 43:07

Uh-huh, it's MM, it's just, I don't know. It's funny. I love this. The stock like he's, like a true. What a true stalker supposed to do and feel and respond Okay. And it's and I like the dynamic that it's not the dominant personality that's the stalker, it's the submissive personality that's the stalker, and it's just. I loved it, I absolutely loved it. It was great. That's my number two.

:: 43:32

Awesome. So I don't have a number two, I have two number ones, because there's no way I can choose. So do you want to say your number one, or how do you want to do it?

:: 43:42

I'm pretty sure we have the same number one, okay.

:: 43:46

I'm pretty sure we have the same number one.

:: 43:50

Okay, let's keep the same number one number one and you you name the other one as your number two placeholder with my quotation.

:: 44:00

Okay. So then, my number two placeholder is a fourth wing by Rebecca Yaros. I loved it. I will reread this book multiple times. I just absolutely everything in it. The dragons are the best written like dragons I've ever read. Her Like the fact that she's one of the things that I feel like this book did so well with their female main character. I feel like, like you have this string of fantasy series, books, whatever, where, like, we all wanted the stabby, strong female character like stab first, ask questions later, and we have so many of those and it's not bad. But I feel like with this, she went for someone who is intellectual, who is insanely smart, who had to use her wit and cunning to win, versus being a stabby person, and I feel like that's what set her. I feel like that's what set her apart from all of the other like main fantasy, female main characters and what I loved most about her as a character. So I just and like the snarky, grumpy old dragon, like he is one of my favorite characters and it's all fucking dragon.

The way she wrote him Do you want it?

:: 45:32

I said because dragons are awesome.

:: 45:34

Yes, well, yeah, the way she wrote him is just perfection. Like perfection, I agree.

:: 45:43

Fourth wing was really great and I loved. I know this was my number six and I'm like telling off you. I loved how she started the book. It was because most fantasy they they try to build the world or give you as much world as like possibly can at the beginning of the book and that could deter readers. It definitely deters me because I get bored very easily. But with this, the way that she wrote it, we learned about the world through little ticks and trips and like her intellectual knowledge of things as the story progressed. And she did it so phenomenally well, but in a way that it was relevant to whatever was happening in the plot at the time or a little foreshadowing for a future. So, yeah, it was. It was great. I agree, not my number two, but, which is really sad considering it has dragons. But I don't know, I'm weird. Okay, so our number one pick of the year. Shall we say that the same time? Yes, okay, I'm the. Count it one, two, three and then speak, or one, two and then speak.

Yeah.

:: 46:53

Now one, two, three, then speak.

:: 46:54

Okay, so one, two, three, butcher and Blackbird.

:: 47:00

By Brandon Weaver 100% top rate of their year.

:: 47:05

Yes.

:: 47:06

We have a whole episode about it. Yes, go check it out. It is the best legitimately dark romance book I've ever read, and, granted, I have a very small library of that, but it's so phenomenally well done.

:: 47:24

No, I agree with you 100%. It's the best ones that I have read this year. It is it's number one. That's why it was just everything about it. There were, I think we like had to be in our episode, like we had to find things that we didn't like just so we could say that they were yes, and it wasn't even it was, it was nothing like. I don't. Yeah, it was greatness the humor. I think I think what made it so great is that it was so dark but we laughed so much because it's a rom-com, serial serial killer, rom-com Is that what we're calling it?

:: 48:01

It's the first dark rom-com. Yeah, she made her own genre. Truly, she made her own genre.

:: 48:07

Yeah, and that's not to say that we haven't read dark romances where we like snicker or like something happens, but like this is legit, a comedy, serial killer romance novel Like you know what I want?

:: 48:23

to see this turn into A TV show. No, no, I want this to be a Broadway play. I think it would be like. I think you could turn this into like a musical, true, like, honestly, like something like Tim Burton would do, but that's actually funny.

:: 48:45

That would be interesting, it would be perfect, totally outside the norm. I feel like it would be such a great Broadway musical it would. Who do we need to conduct Like? Read this book, Make it a bit more.

:: 48:56

I don't know, brad, if you ever listen to this.

:: 48:59

What is the? What's the Mandel person who did Hamilton?

:: 49:07

Oh, Lynn Lynn, something Mandel, or I mean Sarah Bareilles is, I feel like, one of the most underrated singer-songwriters of our generation.

:: 49:17

Oh no, I love her. I'm well. I say I have her first CD. I listened to her when she first came out Like I've listened to every single CD she's ever.

:: 49:30

She's. That's really and I couldn't be totally wrong here but like that's really where her career ended up going. Like she wrote the music for Waitress that was recently on Broadway. A couple of years ago she did an Apple TV series called Little Voice I've heard of that and then she's done some other things on on Broadway here in the last couple two years I think but she's so incredibly talented and her lyrical writing is just I like that. That was a. I don't know that she could be dark enough for it, though. So there's that we would need to find somebody that can, like do the dark elements really really well along with the comedy. I think that would be the hardest part.

:: 50:19

Yeah, because the female is the grumpy and he's the sunshine.

:: 50:23

Yeah, yeah. I think it could be like you have to, let's man let's manifest this for Bryn Weaver.

:: 50:30

I mean it's selfishly for us, but I mean we can manifest for her.

:: 50:35

I like that. Listen, I will make that trip to New York happen.

:: 50:38

I would probably be the only reason why I would go to New York or go with you. We'll make it a trip.

:: 50:43

Yes, please.

:: 50:45

So those are our top shelf reads of 2023. Do we want to maybe casually talk about some books we're looking forward to for next year, for 2024?

:: 50:54

Yeah, I didn't prepare for that.

:: 50:58

So maybe you should go first. So, gosh, I'm trying to think what's coming out next year that I'm super excited. Oh, I know, okay.

:: 51:11

Okay, hold on. I can make a really quick list, because there are several books that I'm yeah, so okay.

:: 51:18

So my first one is the amazing and wonderful Ammo Jones is releasing the second generation to the elite kings Warren. His queen drops January 3rd. I've already hinted to my supervisor that I might need to take the day off because, I don't know, I could probably wait till I get off work. But I'm going to like devour this book and I either need to take the day to read and then like recuperate, or I need to take the day off after so I can recuperate after reading it. Because she says that they are way worse than the first generation and so much angst and darkness and I just best friend, little sister, like is going to be so good, I can't wait.

Have fun. That's my first one.

:: 52:12

So my I'm going to try to go in order of release, but I don't have all the release dates, but I know for a fact that the first one that I'm looking forward to is House of Flame and Shadow by SJM Sarah J Moss. It's a third Crescent City book. I'm getting ready to do my Crescent City reread and I'm terrifyingly excited for book number three. I have taken the day off. I'm petrified of what is about to happen and it's also her biggest book. I think it's. Am I making this up? Is it 12 or 13?

:: 52:49

I don't know enough about her, it's something ridiculous.

:: 52:52

But yeah, that's the first one that I am looking forward to. Oh, and just a little extra fun fact for y'all. So my husband, one of my Christmas gifts was the hardback of Crescent City one, and when I took my paperback off the shelf and put my hardback in this, he's like you already had this book. I'm like, yes, but now I can annotate this one and this one's my trophy. And he's like you are very weird, Thanks.

:: 53:22

I appreciate that. I love that so much, yep.

:: 53:27

I'm so excited. Oh, I was totally wrong. Book three is 848 pages, so not her biggest book.

:: 53:34

Which is her biggest book.

:: 53:37

Think Kingdom of Ash. It's over 900.

:: 53:39

Okay, so my next one is and she'll be no surprise to anybody Pirate Girls by Penelope Douglas. It is the second book in the Hellbent series, which is the second generation from the Follow Way series. I'm super excited. Okay, I'm going to be completely honest. I have not read Thaw Boys and I won't read Pirate Girls. I will buy it and it'll go on my shelf and set right here next to its other book in the series, right there. But I'm waiting until all of them are released before I read them, because I'm not. Pen is the one person.

I feel, like that should not count why I'm super excited that it's coming out because it means I'm one step closer to getting all the books I'm like. No Pen is the one author who I love that she takes her time to write the book because she's about quality and not quantity and I respect and appreciate that. But I also don't want to wait two years in between reading the book. So I will still support her by buying the book and it will go on my shelf, but I probably will not read it until we're at least halfway through, because she doesn't give release dates until she knows when it's going to be released, because she doesn't like to give her readers false hopes. So if I had all the release dates, maybe, but I'm just super excited for it because it means it's one step closer to the other books and the book that I want.

So, that's your turn.

:: 55:11

Okay, so Queens of Mist and Madness by Lisette Marshall. This is the fourth book in the Fay Isle series. It comes out in April and she's confirmed that there are going to be, I think, three more books in the same world in the series, but the main couple of their story will wrap up in book four, and I'm just so I honestly this is going to sound terrible. I think I'm most excited about this book, even more than House of Lament, shadow.

:: 55:47

That is phenomenal. I love that so, but that also does not make me want to read Crescent City now.

:: 55:57

I mean, I still love Crescent City, I just. But here's the thing you love Throne of Glass, I prefer Akatar, like I love Fay Isles, because of their story, not necessarily because of like war political entry, like it has all of that. And I think in the magic you're going to die over the magic. I feel like you are going to die over the magic. So I just you know, take it with a grain of salt. Like there's a lot of plot, I feel like, with Crescent City and Fay Isles is more about. Like yeah.

Okay.

:: 56:35

So my next one is Princes of Legacy. It is part of the fourth university series by Angel Lawson and Samantha Rue, and so the first three are the Lords, and then the second three are the Dukes, and then these are the Princes, and then we have two other trilogies that are coming out. So this is the final one in the Princes trilogy that I'm super excited to read. I love this bully new adults, criminal organization, reverse harem stuff. They got going on this kind of like secret society not I mean they are secret society, but like not. It's got secret society vibes, but like everybody knows who the Lords are. Everybody knows who the Dukes are. You know the courts and the print and all the things. It's just this world is really great. My favorite are the Dukes so far, not to say that they can't change, but I love me some Dukes like Remy, yeah. So the final book is scheduled to come out in May for the Princes trilogy.

:: 57:41

Okay, so here I can't remember the exact release of the other ones I have, but the next one that I'm looking forward to and these are in no particular order either, but I know this one comes out in June and it's Leather and Lark, that's my next one too, yay. So what's the next book in this? What does she call it? I can't remember the name of the series, right?

:: 58:09

now the Ravanus trilogy Ruanus Ravanus, ravenus, ruanus R-U-I-N-O-U-S. The Ruanus Love Trilogy Okay.

:: 58:21

But yeah, I'm so, so excited for this series, this book, like to get more of Lark's story and I feel like I'm really hoping we get oh my gosh, ruan and what's her name?

:: 58:40

Sloan.

:: 58:42

Sloan. Thank you, I'm really hoping we get some of Sloan's backstory. I hope we get like a flashback scene of how everything came to be for Sloan. I know you don't like flashbacks, but I feel like that's going to set the scene for like how Lark starts, how Sloan starts, and then we can move forward with, hopefully, lark and Leathers. I just hope.

:: 59:05

I just hope that it's as written, as well as the first one, that's always my biggest thing.

:: 59:12

I feel like it will be.

:: 59:15

Fingers crossed. I hope so. Yeah, you know we'll have to go in with low expectations and then come out very ecstatic that it was greatness like the first one. Yeah, that's fair. So since that was our same one, I'm going to go on to my next one after that, which is Winter Lost the new Mercedes Thompson books by Patricia Briggs. My whole shelf up here is dedicated to her. That is the newest book that is coming out I'm super excited about. I will devour it. I'm hoping so. For those who don't know that, you have the Mercedes Thompson series and then you have the Alpha and Omega series, but they are in the same universe and there is a timeline to where you could read the books. So the last one that we got in the Mercyverse universe was an Alpha and Omega book.

No that's a lie. That's a lie. I lied. The last book we got was Soul Taken, but there are still things from the last Alpha and Omega book that we need answered and I'm hoping that we get some kind of hints, because sometimes she does throw hints in there about it.

So we shall see. I love that world. It is a urban fantasy. It's a completely different take on shapeshifters. It follows the more traditional rules for fey in their folklore and mythology. But being a werewolf in this series is not what's the word. So you have to be like bitten or scratched to be out. So it's almost close to the lichen throat. They can shift anytime they want, right, they don't have to wait for the full moon, but shifting is very painful. It can take them from like 15 to 20 minutes to shift form Like it's not this high, it's not glossed over in like sunshine and rainbows, Like they're like no, this is not good. They are, you know, have tempers. They still have the pack mentality. You know they have the hierarchy. But it was a different take on shape shifters and werewolves that I really, really loved.

And then, of course, Mercy is a coyote shape shifter. So well, actually, that's a lie. She's a coyote avatar spoiler. We should probably put a disclaimer on spoilers in this, because you don't figure that out until like like book four or five, that's a lie, oh my gosh. Like six or seven, Cause she calls herself a skinwalker, cause she's Native American and she can shape shift into a coyote and she doesn't have the same restrictions as the werewolves do. She can have an instant change. But when she meets some other, some other Native Americans who are possibly part of the same tribe as her dad, they're like skinwalker is not the right word, You're an avatar.

:: 01:56

So it's pretty cool I love.

:: 02:00

If you have not read it, I'll give you the reading order. It is greatness. I own all the books and paperback. I'm trying to collect all the hardcover and I own them all on audio.

:: 02:09

Sounds good to me.

:: 02:10

It's phenomenal.

:: 02:11

So the next Love Light Farms book in the series I think it comes out in April as well. I'm really excited about that, mostly just because, like, I've loved all the other series Nope, all the other books in the series and they're just a really really good palette cleanser. And I really love one of the things. I was when I was talking to my friend about this book, cause she's spoken very highly about the series, but I sent her a message and I was like one of the things I love most about BK Borson as an author is how she strings words together and it's I don't know, it's just, it's artistic is the best way I can put it. Like it's just like I never would have put that sentence together myself and she describes things really well.

The spices is good and they're just really really sweet love stories. So and she has this one character. He's a very, very minor character. He's like a 16 year old high school white kid and he's just a pompous idiot and he shows up in like a couple of minor scenes in every book and he's it's so funny Like oh, that's totally the kid I went to high school with. It's just, it's so great.

:: 03:30

That's cute, okay. So my next one again should come as no surprise to anybody. Penelope Douglas Five Brothers is releasing. I was hoping it was gonna be your reverse harem. I'm very sad that it's not, but I'm still excited to read it. It kinda has credence vibes. Ooh, it comes from the Trice Venom Six universe, so oh, that's where FF book right.

:: 04:04

I have not read that yet.

:: 04:06

Neither have I. Maybe we should read it together.

:: 04:09

Well, I've got an idea.

:: 04:10

But yeah, so I'm super excited I look anything Penelope Douglas. Let's be honest.

:: 04:16

Yeah, okay, so I'm gonna preface my last two by saying both of these authors said that the book that came out this year in the series I'm gonna talk about, for both of them were supposed to be the last books and they weren't. These are supposed to be the last books, so I'm really irritated by that and I haven't read the book for this year because I'm just gonna wait until the final book comes out, because I'm just that irritated with it. So, that said, I am really excited about these books because I've loved the series as a whole. The first one is the fourth and final book, hopefully, in the Fire and Flesh series.

This is the prequel series of the From Blood and Ash universe and it's by Jennifer L Armentrout. And if you do not like Blood and Ash or From Blood and Ash, read the Fire and Flesh series or the Flesh and Fire series. It's so much better than From Blood and Ash and everything about it. The plot's better, the characters are better, just absolutely everything is better in the series and I'm really excited to see how their story wraps.

:: 05:34

That's exciting. Okay, so my next one is book number 16 in the Guild Hunter series by Nalene Singh, dark Angels.

:: 05:46

Lineage that comes out.

:: 05:49

I'm super excited. I wanna see where it's gonna go. I have been reading this series from its inception, so I've been reading it. What, how do you live reading it? Reading live lifetime, whatever. So as each book comes out, I have read it. I was not happy with the last book, so I'm hoping I don't even think I finished the last book. That's how unsatisfied I was with it.

:: 06:15

So I'm hoping that we can that was sorry go ahead.

:: 06:18

No, it's okay. It was the Resurrection with the Archangel Alexander, I think. Pretty sure, Archangel's Resurrection, yeah, the Archangel Alexander and Zaina, Queen of the Nile. It's not that I don't love Archangel Alexander I do. I just didn't care for his story at the time and I just felt like it was a stop gap between Archangel's Light and now Archangel's Lineage, and also probably because I was really sad with the cliffhanger of Bluebell and Sparkle.

:: 06:58

Yeah.

:: 06:58

A lot of mixed feelings.

:: 07:00

Yeah.

:: 07:00

I can this normally-.

:: 07:02

That's the book I thought was the last one Cause and that's probably why too Cause that was really disappointed by where that book ended.

:: 07:10

Yeah. So again, I've followed this book from Inception. This is like my reread series. I reread this series at least once a year in preparation for the new book that came out. I have not read this series at all this year. That's how upset I've been about it, cause, again, I'm a mood and emotional reader. So, yeah, I did not reread it at all this year. So hopefully, when this book comes out I mean, there's like 20 bucks, yeah. So hopefully, when this book comes out it's supposed to be, I think, in the spring I might reread it. I might not reread the series. I might need to read this book and then maybe reread the series after the fact. I don't know. I'm excited for it to come out because we're going back to Elena and Raphael, which I feel is like very important.

:: 07:55

Yeah, this one's Elena, and Raphael. Okay, well, I'm excited about that book now, yeah.

:: 08:02

I'm excited to get back to them and possibly the seven, and while I don't-.

:: 08:07

Oh, that's seven, I love I hope we get some answers, while Bluebell and Sparkle in a different person. Me too.

:: 08:13

Like I'm glad that she's doing the Ark Angels, but I feel like the Ark Angels could be like a subseries, that you know, a spin-off series. I don't feel like it needs to be part of the Guild Hunter, because I don't again, I didn't finish. I think I got half. I don't even think I got halfway through. I don't think Elena and Raphael are in that book at all.

:: 08:31

At least with the seven.

:: 08:33

When it's one of the sevens. You get glimpses of them here and there, but if you're not going to have the main character arc in the book, it needs to be a spin-off series. That's just my personal opinion.

:: 08:42

I don't disagree with that.

:: 08:43

I'll still read it because I love her. I love everything that she puts out. She's a phenomenal urban fantasy writer, like. But that's my thing, my spiel, okay.

:: 08:56

My final one. Again, it's the same preface that I had with the Fire and Flush series, but this is Gold Finch by Raven Kennedy. It's the final book in the Plated Prisoner series and I the Plated Prisoner series was one of my favorite series for a couple of years, so I'm excited to see how the series pans out. I love I just I love the two main characters, so I don't want to spoil anything, because Mistie has not read these books and I want her to read these books. So that's all I'm going to say right now, but really excited to see how Raven finishes the series, Yay.

:: 09:42

Okay, listeners, thanks for hanging out with us as we talked about our Top Shelf Reads of 2023 and some of the books that we're looking forward to in 2024. We hope you had a phenomenal holiday and a happy new year, and we'll catch you on the next episode. Okay, readers, and where does the darkness rate with you? Thank you for joining us on the journey into the shadows of love, where dark romance stories come to light.

:: 10:06

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Bones of the Story as much as we did. If you did, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. Your feedback means the world to us.

:: 10:15

And to stay updated on all things dark romance, follow us on social media. You can find us on Instagram, tiktok and YouTube.

:: 10:21

We'd also love to hear from you, share your thoughts, ideas or even your own dark romance stories with us. Drop us a line at Bones of the Story at gmailcom.

:: 10:30

Remember our next tantalizing episode is just around the corner, so keep your hearts open and your senses sharp.

:: 10:35

Until then, embrace the darkness and let the stories continue to stir your deepest desires.

:: 10:40

This is Mistie and Jenn signing off from Bones of the Story.

Transcribed by https://podium.page