5 faves from each of the last 5 years

I loved A Day of Fallen Night as well. I can't remember if I had a preference between the two of them. I think I might have liked them for slightly different reasons, but they were both top tier for me. Top tier fantasy.

I was so sucked into the writing of this book. I love how it was told. It's an epistolary novel in second person.

And this one was another book that just really took me by surprise. I went in thinking I'd enjoy it, but didn't quite expect to love it as much as I did. I was just hooked and really needed to know what happened, and this is one that I just could not stop listening to.

I love Song for Ricky Wild, another romance by Tia Williams that I absolutely loved. This one is a bit of a time slip romance.

My first ever Becky Chambers book, and it wowed me. It astonished me. It was so beautifully written and crafted.

I love these two so much. The tension. Both initially like grating tension, but then developing into something more exciting and spicy. Loved it so much.

I loved it. I remember underlining and highlighting so much in this book as I was reading it. I was just completely sucked into these characters and seeing their chemistry and dynamic.

I thought this was a fantastic book and I think this is my first introduction to R.F. Kuang, so a very, very strong introduction.

I'm not going to talk about the plot any further, but this was, like I said, it's a very slow book, particularly at the start, though it does ramp up in pace drastically at the end. That was my only kind of critique is that I think the ending was quite rushed.

But this was a brilliant series. I also watched the TV show and loved it.

I really loved all of the characters in this and all of the different relationship dynamics that we explored.

I ended up loving this. So much so, it's always such a good feeling going into something not expecting it to be a favorite, and then it just kind of blows you away.

I just loved the two of them together, and the fact that they found their happy ending with each other just brought me so much joy, but I also really loved the kind of reader library event storyline, too.

I loved reading this and getting to know all of the characters, unraveling their backstories and their secrets. I just loved following along with these characters as they embark on this quest and along the way facing various struggles, coming to terms with things that had happened in the past in a world once filled with gods that have now been kind of pushed into the shadows.

Oh, I adore this series so, so much.

I really, really enjoyed reading something that was so low stakes and just felt really warm and cozy.

The rich and in-depth world-building and history, all of the characters who are very fascinating and flawed, their development and story arcs. yeah, it's just a really grand scale story, and I have been devouring it.

I also immediately read the sequel, A Prayer for the Crown Shy, which was also absolutely wonderful.

It was just such an entertaining and engaging and emotional story. Read it. And then watch the movie because they did a really good job adapting the story.

Oh my god, this was so good. This is just one of those stories that completely swept me up in it and I couldn't put this down.

This book makes you feel a lot of things, but it was just so raw and wonderfully written and, like I said, I'm so beyond proud of Momo and it was such an honor to be able to read this book.

I, first of all, reread The Book Thief, which just waxed me out. Oh my god, emotions. So many emotions, but it's a reread, so I'm not counting it here.

I finally got to it and like I knew that it was going to be a favorite. And I proved myself right.

I loved Priory of the Orange Tree so much and I loved A Day of Fallen Night as well.

I just couldn't put this book down. It sunk its teeth into me very, very quickly. I was so invested in the goings-on of this tournament and our character's survival because she is definitely the underdog here, but she's a very strong-willed, stubborn woman and I loved seeing her show her strength and her smarts and resourcefulness.

For the sake of precious spots on my list, also just shouting out the sequel, The Strength of the Few, which was also fantastic.

It's a really sweet story following Greta, who is a blacksmith apprentice, and kind of is introduced to the world of tea dragons, which are little dragons that sprout tea leaves.

I just had so many visceral reactions while reading this book. It shocked me, it surprised me, it entertained me, it had me gasping, it had me crying, and then at the very end I had a bit of an existential crisis.

I love the magic and the atmosphere, the 1920s inspired setting, and kind of like this underbelly to the city with magic and demons. There's a wonderful and intriguing cast of characters, and I adored all of them.