Happy December, ghouls!

Every year I read around 100 books - or at least I have since 2022. This year, I read significantly less but that doesn't mean I wasn't reading well! Aside from the horrible books that I read for rants, I read some truly great things and some of those are new all time faves. I am planning a wrap up video for this but I wanted to let y'all peep the list early.

In no particular order, here are my top 10 favorite reads of this year. (no spoilers)

**1. Bloom by Delilah S Dawson - sapphic horror novella **The way I loved this book can't really be put into words but I will try. This is about a recently divorced woman and her first girlfriend...who is a little odd. But that's part of her charm, right? Maybe. Even though I kind of knew where we were headed the whole time, Dawson made the journey fun regardless and it was dark. The cover is gorgeous, the writing flowed and the gore was there.

**2. A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson - dark, why choose vampire romance **I picked this up and read it with friends and we all had such a good time with it. This is a Dracula retelling from the POV of one of his brides. It's queer, it's poly, it's bloody, smutty, dark and beautiful. There were a few things that I would've changed or wish had gone differently but overall, it was still a great reading experience and even if it wasn't... vampires.

**3. The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali - historical, literary fiction **The way I WEPT. This is a love story that spans a lifetime with all the ups and downs that come with it. It's set in 1950's Iran where amidst political unrest, a young girl seeks sanctuary in a stationery shop and meets a young boy who she falls for quickly. Again, I W E P T it was so beautiful and tragic and enveloping.

**4. Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle - queer religious horror **If I was on the fence about Chuck Tingle when I read Space Raptor Butt Invasion, this knocked me right over. This tells the story of a conversion camp that will scare you straight. How do they do it? Well, you will have to read and find out. It is spooky and gripping with tender moments throughout. I got chills a few times and I just loved it so much.

**5. The Honey Witch by Sydney J Shields - witchy, queer fiction **I had so much fun reading this. Was it a tad predictable? Sure. Did it kinda lag in the middle? Maybe. Did it matter in the end? N O P E. This follows a young girl who hasn't quite found her place. All of a sudden, it's revealed she is a witch and she is swept off to a flower covered island to keep bees, tackle curses and save her friends! The spice was an unexpected bonus. Did I scream? I'll never tell...

6. A Taste of Poison by Tessonja Odette - romantic fantasy This is a Snow White retelling with fae and before you click off this page thinking you must be in the wrong place, please know... I am as shocked as you are. I'm not a big fantasy girlie but this was just so damn enjoyable. I liked the world, I liked the characters. The plot was interesting and I liked the slowburn of the relationship. It read a little slow in general but in the end, I didn't mind it and I plan to read more books from the series!

7. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C Gibson - nonfiction, psychology Reading this book felt very validating in a way that both hurt and healed me. I didn't expect it to go so well because I don't usually like self help but I was wrong. It read less like self help and more like just objective viewing and acknowleding and I can't wait to read it again.

**8. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe - LGBTQIA+ memoir ** This was a short but heartfelt little read about the author's experience with navigating eir gender identity. It just felt very honest, earnest insight and it felt really special to read.

**9. One of Our Own by Lucinda Berry - mystery, thriller **This was my first book by this author but it won't be my last. I loved this audiobook and the narrator being AJ Cook from Criminal Minds just elevated the experience. This follows a mother who works at a mental health hotline and receives a very concerning call from a girl that goes to the same school that her son goes to and it was just so tense and gripping the entire time.

**10. The Dead Cat Tail Assassin by P Djeli Clark - scifi fantasy **Another book from outside my preferred genre, who is she?! A fan of anything written by P Djeli Clark, that's who. This follows an undead assassin as she goes about her duties upholding the rules of the Matron of Assassins. It was dark, it was twisty. It was great.

Honorable mention aka the best of the dark romances that I read this year: Queen Takes Knights by Joely Sue Burkhart - why choose vampire dark romance If you've been here a while, you know that I read a lot of dark romance stinkers. I do it for the Vine (aka the YouTube) but every now and then... one of them isn't the worst thing to touch my eyeballs since I first got contacts at 14 and the doctor had to hold me down and put them in. It's vampires, no one is shocked. This follows a young vampires queen and the two knights sworn to love, serve and protect her. It was a polyamourous, bloody good time!