Find Your Next Read – Reviews Archive
Welcome to Armed With A Book‘s Book Reviews archive page! Here you will find all the books that have been reviewed on the blog, whether by me or Ariel, organized by genre. I am a frequent reader of non-fiction, rotating between science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical and contemporary fiction. I started book reviewing in May 2019 and it is a pleasure to write about books on my blog! I bet I have read something that would be of interest to you.
I grew up in India and moved to Canada in 2014. I have a teaching and computing science background. I love reading stories set in my home country, retellings of epics, AI and much more.
Have a favorite genre? Use Ctrl/Cmd + F to highlight relevant reviews! Check out the tags in the blog posts for sub-genres and unique aspects of the books. You know how much I love chatting with authors! For books where author name is a hyperlink text, click to read the interview. 🙂
If you are looking for a particular book review, submit the book name(s) here.
Reviews on Armed with A Book by Kriti and Ariel as well as book discussions with SK, Erynn, Stephen, Varun, Lauren, Charlie, and Meisha. Sorted by genre, author and series. For all books that I have read and reviewed, take a look at my Goodreads page.
Updated: April 6, 2024
| Book Title | Author | Genres | Series | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse | Charlie Mackesy | Children | Year 27 favorite; Minimalist breath-taking art | |
| The Bookish Life of Nina Hill | Abbi Waxman | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Within: Short Stories for the Evolving Multicultural Woman | Aditi Wardhan Singh | Contemporary Fiction | Short stories; Indian culture | |
| Freshwater | Akwaeke Emezi | Contemporary Fiction | Multiple personalities | |
| Forget Me Not | Alyson Derrick | Contemporary Fiction | YA, Small-town setting | |
| When No One is Watching | Alyssa Cole | Contemporary Fiction | On gentrificaiton of neighbourhoods; Mystery | |
| The Way I Used to Be | Amber Smith | Contemporary Fiction | The Way I Used to Be # 1 | YA |
| The Way I Am Now | Amber Smith | Contemporary Fiction | The Way I Used to Be # 2 | YA |
| A Death at the Party | Amy Stuart | Contemporary Fiction | One-day plot | |
| Mother of Pearl | Angela Savage | Contemporary Fiction | Setting: Australia, Thailad. Themes include surgogacy. | |
| Firekeeper’s Daughter | Angeline Boulley | Contemporary Fiction | YA | |
| Miracle Creek | Angie Kim | Contemporary Fiction | Small town setting; Mystery | |
| I thought you said this would work | Ann Garvin | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Dear Edward | Ann Napolitano | Contemporary Fiction | Plane crash; YA | |
| Where I Can’t Follow | Ashley Blooms | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Queen of the Owls | Barbara Linn Probst | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| The Sound Between The Notes | Barbara Linn Probst | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe | Benjamin Alire Sáenz | Contemporary Fiction | Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe | YA; Favorite LGBTQAI+ representation |
| Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World | Benjamin Alire Sáenz | Contemporary Fiction | Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe | YA; Favorite LGBTQAI+ representation |
| The Relatives | Camilla Gibb | Contemporary Fiction | Favorite LGBTQAI+ representation | |
| The Authenticity Project | Clare Pooley | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| The Arctic Curry Club | Dani Redd | Contemporary Fiction | A book that made my hungry for Indian food | |
| Brighter Than the Sun | Daniel Aleman | Contemporary Fiction | Setting: Mexico-USA Border, YA | |
| All That’s Bright and Gone | Eliza Nellums | Contemporary Fiction | Mystery | |
| What Happened on Box Hill | Elizabeth Gilliland | Contemporary Fiction | Austen University Mysteries | Inspired by Jane Austen’s books |
| The Perks of Loving a Wallflower | Erica Ridley | Contemporary Fiction | Romance | |
| Six Days in Rome | Francesca Giacco | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Satellite Love | Genki Ferguson | Contemporary Fiction | Setting: Japan | |
| How Do You Live? | Genzaburo Yoshino | Contemporary Fiction | Translated; Setting: Japan; Middle Grade, Classic | |
| Impersonation | Heidi Pitlor | Contemporary Fiction | Ghostwriting | |
| Gingerbread | Helen Oyeyemi | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| The Christmas Walk Caper | J B Michaels | Contemporary Fiction | Christmas time read | |
| The Farm | Joanne Ramos | Contemporary Fiction | Dystopia | |
| Legends of the North Cascades | Jonathan Evison | Contemporary Fiction | Father-daughter relationship | |
| What we carry | Kalyn Fogarty | Contemporary Fiction | Motherhood and miscarriage, Year 27 favorite | |
| The Girls of Summer | Katie Bishop | Contemporary Fiction | Setting: England, Greece; #MeToo movement | |
| The Cloisters | Katy Hays | Contemporary Fiction | Setting: New York, Tarot, Museums | |
| When Life Gives you Mangos | Kereen Getten | Contemporary Fiction | Middle Grade | |
| All Are Welcome | Liz Parker | Contemporary Fiction | LGBTQ+ Main character | |
| The Family Compound | Liz Parker | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| When It All Syncs Up | Maya Ameyaw | Contemporary Fiction | YA; Black teen protagonist, Ballet; Setting: Canada | |
| Followers | Megan Angelo | Contemporary Fiction | Commentary on Social Media | |
| The Collected Regrets Of Clover | Mikki Brammer | Contemporary Fiction | Commentary on death and living | |
| Revival Season | Monica West | Contemporary Fiction | YA; Commentary on religion | |
| How to Become a Planet | Nicole Melleby | Contemporary Fiction | Middle Grade | |
| The Boy in the Photo | Nicole Trope | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| The Meeting Point | Olivia Lara | Contemporary Fiction | Romance | |
| What Strange Paradise | Omar El Akkad | Contemporary Fiction | Commentary on refugees | |
| The Bandit Queens | Parini Shroff | Contemporary Fiction | Setting: Rural India; Mystery | |
| The Library of Lost and Found | Phaedra Patrick | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Saturdays At Noon | Rachel Marks | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Bewilderment | Richard Powers | Contemporary Fiction | Year 27 favorite | |
| The Swap | Robyn Harding | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Blue Skinned Gods | S. J. Sidhu | Contemporary Fiction | Setting: India, Reincarnation; Year 27 favorite | |
| Tides | Sara Freeman | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| Sudden Traveler | Sarah Hall | Contemporary Fiction | Short stories | |
| A Whole Song and Dance | Sarvenaz Tash | Contemporary Fiction | YA, First year university setting, MC’s family immigrated from Iran to the US. | |
| Well-Behaved Indian Women | Saumya Dave | Contemporary Fiction | Multigenerational Indian women | |
| Crushing | Sophie Burrows | Contemporary Fiction | Graphic Novel | |
| Daughters of the Bride | Susan Mallery | Contemporary Fiction | Romance | |
| What the Dog Knows | Sylvia McNicoll | Contemporary Fiction | About a dog | |
| Malibu Rising | Taylor Jenkins Reid | Contemporary Fiction | ||
| The Museum of Failures | Thrity Umrigar | Contemporary Fiction | beautiful and authentic depiction of a first generation immigrant family drama where the single child moves abroad. | |
| Are You Listening? | Tillie Walden | Contemporary Fiction | Graphic Novel; LGBTQ+ Main character | |
| Before the Coffee Gets Cold | Toshikazu Kawaguchi | Contemporary Fiction | Before the Coffee Gets Cold # 1 | Connected short stories; Translated; Time Travel; Year 27 favorite |
| Tales from the Café | Toshikazu Kawaguchi | Contemporary Fiction | Before the Coffee Gets Cold # 2 | Connected short stories; Translated; Time Travel; |
| Blood Sisters | Vanessa Lillie | Indigenous; Contemporary Fiction | Crime | |
| The Archive of the Forgotten | A. J. Hackwith | Fantasy | Hell’s Library | |
| The Hollow Gods | A. J. Vrana | Fantasy | ||
| Sofi and the Bone Song | Adrienne Tooley | Fantasy | YA; LGBTQ+ main character; Winter fantasy | |
| The Sound of Stars | Alechia Dow | Fantasy | ||
| Stealing Thunder | Alina Boyden | Fantasy | Historical Fantasy; Setting: India | |
| The Raven Tower | Ann Leckie | Fantasy | Narrated by a God | |
| Anbatar: Legacy of the Blood Guard | Anne Dölleri | Fantasy | ||
| Rising Ember | Arleta Rae | Fantasy | Paranormal, Vampires | |
| Litany of Dreams | Ari Marmell | Fantasy | Arkham Horror | Horror |
| The Eye of Ra | Ben Gartner | Fantasy | Historical Fantasy; Middle Grade | |
| A Song Below Water | Bethany C Morrow | Fantasy | Urban Fantasy | |
| The Unbroken | C. L. Clark | Fantasy | Magic of the Lost | |
| The Faithless | C. L. Clark | Fantasy | Magic of the Lost | |
| The Ancient Ones | Cassandra L. Thompson | Fantasy | The Ancient Ones Trilogy | Vampires; Paranormal |
| The Goddess of Nothing At All | Cat Rector | Fantasy | Unwritten Runes | Norse mythology retelling; Year 27 favorite |
| The Stardust Thief | Chelsea Abdullah | Fantasy | The Sandsea Trilogy | High Fantasy |
| The Forest of Enchantments | Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni | Fantasy | Hindu Mythology, Retelling of Ramayana; Year 28 favorite | |
| The Palace of Illusions | Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni | Fantasy | Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Year 28 favorite; Retelling of Mahabharata | |
| Eragon | Christopher Paolini | Fantasy | Inheritance Cycle # 1 | |
| Eldest | Christopher Paolini | Fantasy | Inheritance Cycle # 2 | |
| Brisingr | Christopher Paolini | Fantasy | Inheritance Cycle # 3 | |
| Inheritance | Christopher Paolini | Fantasy | Inheritance Cycle # 4 | |
| The Fork, the Witch and the Worm: Eragon | Christopher Paolini | Fantasy | Inheritance Cycle # 4.5; Tales from Alagaësia #1 | |
| Murtagh | Christopher Paolini | Fantasy | Inheritance Cycle # 5 | |
| A Witch in Time | Constance Sayers | Fantasy | Historical Fantasy; Reincarnation, Paranormal | |
| The Star and the Strange Moon | Constance Sayers | Fantasy | Paranormal; Tribute to movies. | |
| Ever Cursed | Corey Ann Haydu | Fantasy | YA | |
| The Living Waters | Dan Fitzgerald | Fantasy | Weirdwater Confluence | A book that has my art; Romance, Sword-free Fantasy |
| Midnight at the Houdini | Delilah S. Dawson | Fantasy | Setting: Magical hotel | |
| The Councillor | E.J. Beaton | Fantasy | The Councillor | Year 27 favorite |
| Ramshackled | Erynn Lehtonen | Fantasy | Setting: Japan | |
| Sleep Demons | Erynn Lehtonen | Fantasy | Setting: Japan | |
| Jade Legacy | Fonda Lee | Fantasy | The Green Bone Saga | Urban Fantasy |
| Untethered Sky | Fonda Lee | Fantasy | Desert Fantasy | |
| The City of Stardust | Georgia Summers | Fantasy | ||
| Queen of Coin and Whispers | Helen Corcoran | Fantasy | ||
| Woven in Moonlight | Isabel Ibañez | Fantasy | Historical Fantasy; YA | |
| Into the Underwood: Maiden | J.L. Robertson | Fantasy | Historical Fantasy | |
| The Beast and the Bethany | Jack Meggitt-Phillips | Fantasy | Middle Grade | |
| The Wrack | John Bierce | Fantasy | Depicts a pandemic | |
| Ink | Jonathan Maberry | Fantasy | Paranormal; Tattoos | |
| The Gatewatch | Joshua Gillingham | Fantasy | The Gatewatch series | Historical Fantasy |
| The Hexologists | Josiah Bancroft | Fantasy | The Hexologists | My favorite married couple |
| The Gilded King | Josie Jaffrey | Fantasy | ||
| Wishtree | Katherine Applegate | Fantasy | Middle Grade | |
| The Warm Hands of Ghosts | Katherine Arden | Fantasy | Historical Fantasy | |
| Shielded | KayLynn Flanders | Fantasy | Shielded | YA; Romance; High Fantasy |
| Rise of Gaia | Kristin Ward | Fantasy | YA | |
| The Keeper of Night | Kylie Lee Baker | Fantasy | The Keeper of Night # 1 | An amazing duology. Historical Fantasy. Setting: England, Japan |
| The Empress of Time | Kylie Lee Baker | Fantasy | The Keeper of Night # 2 | An amazing duology. Historical Fantasy. Setting: England, Japan |
| The Scarlet Alchemist | Kylie Lee Baker | Fantasy | The Scarlet Alchemist #1 | Setting: China |
| The Iron Crown | L.L. MacRae | Fantasy | Dragon Spirits | |
| Strange the Dreamer | Laini Taylor | Fantasy | Strange the Dreamer Duology | Time Travel; Kept me Awake Till Midnight |
| Muse of Nightmares | Laini Taylor | Fantasy | Strange the Dreamer Duology | High Fantasy; One of my favorite books |
| The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice | Lisa DeSelm | Fantasy | ||
| Lakesedge | Lyndall Clipstone | Fantasy | World at the Lake’s Edge | Romance |
| The Mask of Mirrors | M. A. Carrick | Fantasy | Rook & Rose | High Fantasy |
| The Ship of Shadows | Maria Kuzniar | Fantasy | Setting: Sea | |
| Renegades | Marissa Meyer | Fantasy | Renegades | YA; Dystopia; Superheroes |
| Archenemies | Marissa Meyer | Fantasy | Renegades | YA; Dystopia; Superheroes |
| Supernova | Marissa Meyer | Fantasy | Renegades | YA; Dystopia; Superheroes |
| Cinder | Marissa Meyer | Fantasy | The Lunar Chronicles | Retelling |
| Scarlet | Marissa Meyer | Fantasy | The Lunar Chronicles | Retelling |
| A Deadly Education | Naomi Novik | Fantasy | The Scholomance | |
| Cress | Marissa Meyer | Fantasy | The Lunar Chronicles | Retelling |
| Winter | Marissa Meyer | Fantasy | The Lunar Chronicles | Retelling |
| Small Places | Mathew Samuels | Fantasy | Urban Fantasy | |
| Viper’s Daughter | Michelle Paver | Fantasy | Chronicles of Ancient Darkness | Middle Grade; A series I started as a kid and still love as an adult |
| Second Star to the Left | Megan Van Dyke | Fantasy | Reimagined Fairy Tales Collection | Peter Pan/Tinker Bell retelling |
| To Shape a Dragon’s Breath | Moniquill Blackgoose | Fantasy | ||
| The Script Rebellion | Morgan Quaid | Fantasy | Graphic Novel | |
| The Lies of the Ajungo | Moses Ose Utomi | Fantasy | Desert Fantasy, Afrian inspired. | |
| Althingi: The Crescent and the Northern Star | Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad and Josh Gillingham (co-editors) | Fantasy | Short stories; Historical Fantasy; Anthology | |
| The City We Became | N.K. Jemisin | Fantasy | Great Cities | Year 27 favorite; Urban Fantasy |
| The Conductors | Nicole Glover | Fantasy | Murder and Magic | Historical Fantasy |
| Watch Over Me | Nina LaCour | Fantasy | Paranormal; Ghost story | |
| The Wolf we Feed | Paul Sheppard | Fantasy | The Wolves of Amelth | |
| Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons | Quenby Olson | Fantasy | Miss Percy Guide | Historical Fantasy |
| Babel: An Arcane History | R.F. Kuang | Fantasy | Alternate History; Historical Fantasy | |
| Black Sun | Rebecca Roanhorse | Fantasy | Between Earth and Sky | |
| Fevered Star | Rebecca Roanhorse | Fantasy | Between Earth and Sky | |
| The Coming Storm | Regina M. Hansen | Fantasy | Middle Grade; YA; Setting: Canada | |
| The Chaos Circus | Renee Dugan | Fantasy | Romance; Setting: Circus | |
| Shadows | RJ Furness | Fantasy | Sapphire Smyth & The Shadow Five | |
| The Last Tale of the Flower Bride | Roshani Chokshi | Fantasy | A meditation on fairy tales | |
| Desa Kincaid | RS Penney | Fantasy | Desa Kincaid | |
| The City of Brass | S. A. Chakraborty | Fantasy | The Daevabad Trilogy # 1 | Fantasy start to a Middle Eastern Fantasy. |
| The Empire of Gold | S. A. Chakraborty | Fantasy | The Daevabad Trilogy # 3 | |
| Between Starfalls | S. Kaeth | Fantasy | Children of the Nexus | Epic Fantasy; Kept me Awake Till Midnight |
| Let Loose the Fallen | S. Kaeth | Fantasy | Children of the Nexus | Epic Fantasy |
| Bright Ruined Things | Samantha Cohoe | Fantasy | Historical Fantasy, YA | |
| Knightmare Anarchist | Shami Stovall | Fantasy | Frith Chronicles | |
| He Who Drowned the World | Shelly Parker-Chan | Fantasy | Radiant Emperor Duology # 2 | Historical Fantasy |
| The Lost Queen | Signe Pike | Fantasy | The Lost Queen | Historical Fantasy |
| The Forgotten Kingdom | Signe Pike | Fantasy | The Lost Queen | Historical Fantasy |
| Certain Dark Things | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Fantasy | Vampires; Urban Fantasy | |
| Prowling the Darkness | Stephen Zimmer | Fantasy | ||
| Darkness Enthroned | Stephen Zimmer | Fantasy | ||
| The Awakening | Stephen Zimmer | Fantasy | ||
| Daughter of the Moon Goddess | Sue Lynn Tan | Fantasy | YA | |
| The Book Eaters | Sunyi Dean | Fantasy | ||
| When Bell met Bowie | Tara East | Fantasy | Time Travel | |
| The City of Dusk | Tara Sim | Fantasy | The Dark Gods | |
| Timekeeper | Tara Sim | Fantasy | Timekeeper | Historical Fantasy; Setting: England |
| Chainbreaker | Tara Sim | Fantasy | Timekeeper | Historical Fantasy; Setting: India & England |
| Sword of Truth | Terry Goodkind | Fantasy | Sword of Truth | Epic Fantasy; One of my favorite Fantasy series |
| The Devil Makes Three | Tori Bovalino | Fantasy | Horror; YA, Paranormal | |
| Legends & Lattes | Travis Baldree | Fantasy | Legends & Lattes # 1 | Cozy fantasy |
| Bookshops & Bonedust | Travis Baldree | Fantasy | Legends & Lattes # 0 | Cozy fantasy |
| The Thirteenth Hour | Trudie Skies | Fantasy | The Cruel Gods | Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Year 28 favorite |
| Kaikeyi | Vaishnavi Patel | Fantasy | Setting: India, Retelling of Ramayana from a different POV; Year 28 favorite | |
| The First Stain | Various authors | Fantasy | Anthology; Short stories | |
| A Midnight Clear | Various authors | Fantasy | Anthology, Horror | |
| The Liberation of Sita | Volga | Fantasy | Retelling; Translated | |
| The Art of Prophecy | Wesley Chu | Fantasy | ||
| The Night Tiger | Yangsze Choo | Fantasy | Historical Fantasy; Setting: colonized Malaysia | |
| Black Water Sister | Zen Cho | Fantasy | Urban Fantasy | |
| The Certainties | Aislinn Hunter | Historical Fiction | ||
| Grandma and the Great Gourd | Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni | Folklore | Indian folktale from Bengal | |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | Alexandre Dumas | Historical Fiction | Must read; Setting: France, Italy; Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Year 28 favorite | |
| The Oracle of Avaris | Alisha Sevigny | Historical Fiction | Setting: Egypt | |
| The Lost Ones | Anita Frank | Historical Fiction | Ghost story; Gothic | |
| The Dolphin House | Audrey Schulman | Historical Fiction | Based on true experiments that were done with dolphins; Year 28 favorite | |
| Lessons in Chemistry | Bonnie Garmus | Historical Fiction | Romance; One of my favorite protagonists and casts; Year 28 favorite | |
| A Clash of Steel | C.B. Lee | Historical Fiction | Retelling | |
| The Death of Jane Lawrence | Caitlin Starling | Historical Fiction | Horror | |
| The Glass Woman | Caroline Lea | Historical Fiction | ||
| Independence | Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni | Historical Fiction | Setting: 1940s Indian subcontinent | |
| The African Samurai | Craig Shreve | Historical Fiction | Setting: Japan primarily, Africa | |
| The Good German | Dennis Bock | Historical Fiction | Alternate Hsitory; Setting: Canada | |
| Girl | Edna O’Brien | Historical Fiction | Based on true events. | |
| Wuthering Heights | Emily Brontë | Historical Fiction | Classic | |
| The Lamplighters | Emma Stonex | Historical Fiction | Setting: Light house | |
| The Forgotten Home Child | Genevieve Graham | Historical Fiction | Year 27 favorite | |
| Letters Across the Sea | Genevieve Graham | Historical Fiction | Setting: Canada | |
| Frederica | Georgette Heyer | Historical Fiction | Romance | |
| Friday’s Child | Georgette Heyer | Historical Fiction | Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Romance | |
| The Arsonists’ City | Hala Alyan | Historical Fiction | ||
| Siddhartha | Hermann Hesse | Historical Fiction | Story of Buddha; Year 27 favorite | |
| Dangerous Women | Hope Adams | Historical Fiction | Setting: Sea | |
| The Paris Library | Janet Skeslien Charles | Historical Fiction | One of my favorite books | |
| The Porcelain Moon | Janie Chang | Historical Fiction | Setting: France; Chinese POV | |
| A History of Burning | Janika Oza | Historical Fiction | ||
| The Winter People | Jennifer McMahon | Historical Fiction | Paranormal; Horror | |
| The Forgotten Daughter | Joanna Goodman | Historical Fiction | Setting: Canada | |
| A Hundred Suns | Karin Tanabe | Historical Fiction | Setting: Vietnam | |
| Em | Kim ThĂşy | Historical Fiction | Translated | |
| The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah | Historical Fiction | ||
| Lady Tan’s Circle of Women | Lisa See | Historical Fiction | Setting: 1400s China | |
| The London Bookshop Affair | Louise Fein | Historical Fiction | Setting: Cold War London | |
| Eight Strings | Margaret DeRosia | Historical Fiction | 1800s in Italy | |
| Our Share of Night | Mariana EnrĂquez | Historical Fiction | Horror elements; Translated; Setting: Argentina | |
| The Mystery of Mrs Christie | Marie Benedict | Historical Fiction | ||
| Her Hidden Genius | Marie Benedict | Historical Fiction | About a scientist; Year 28 favorite | |
| Dark Matter | Michelle Paver | Historical Fiction | Horror | |
| An I-Novel | Minae Mizumura | Historical Fiction | Translated; Setting: Japan, US; Year 27 favorite | |
| Dust Child | Nguyá»…n Phan Quáşż Mai | Historical Fiction | Setting: Vietnam in present time and during the war | |
| The Mountains Sing | Nguyá»…n Phan Quáşż Mai | Historical Fiction | Setting: Vietnam; Year 27 favorite | |
| The Christie Affair | Nina de Gramont | Historical Fiction | Speculative Fiction | |
| When the Stars Go Dark | Paula McLain | Historical Fiction | Investigation around missing girls | |
| Closer by Sea | Perry Chafe | Historical Fiction | Setting: Newfoundland, Canada | |
| Picture in the Sand | Peter Blauner | Historical Fiction | Setting: Egypt | |
| A Ballad of Love and Glory | Reyna Grande | Historical Fiction | Setting: Mexico | |
| A Sign of Her Own | Sarah Marsh | Historical Fiction | Disability representation | |
| The Lost Apothecary | Sarah Penner | Historical Fiction | Loved this book | |
| Mexican Gothic | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Historical Fiction | Horror | |
| The Beautiful Ones | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Historical Fiction | Romance | |
| Velvet Was the Night | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Historical Fiction | Noir | |
| The Murmur of Bees | SofĂa Segovia | Historical Fiction | Translated | |
| Tears of Amber (Part 1 of 2) | SofĂa Segovia | Historical Fiction | Translated | |
| The Invention of Wings | Sue Monk Kidd | Historical Fiction | ||
| Lost Souls of Leningrad | Suzanne Parry | Historical Fiction | ||
| The Sleeping Car Porter | Suzette Mayr | Historical Fiction | Setting: 1920s Canada; POV is a Black queer man; Scotiabank Giller Prize 2022 Finalist & Winner | |
| What Passes as Love | Trisha R. Thomas | Historical Fiction | ||
| We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies | Tsering Yangzom Lama | Historical Fiction | Setting: Tibet, Nepal, Canada; Scotiabank Giller Prize 2022 Finalist | |
| The Taster | V. S. Alexander | Historical Fiction | Setting: Germany | |
| The Children’s Train | Viola Ardone | Historical Fiction | Translated; Setting: Italy; Year 27 favorite | |
| The Unbreakable Heart of Oliva Denaro | Viola Ardone | Historical Fiction | Translated; Setting: Italy | |
| The Watchers | A. M. Shine | Horror | ||
| The Beauty | Aliya Whiteley | Horror | ||
| Owl Eyes Motel | Barbara Avon | Horror | Interconnected short stories | |
| The Lost Village | Camilla Sten | Horror | Translated | |
| The Low, Low Woods | Carmen Maria Machado | Horror | Graphic Novel | |
| Her Body and Other Parties | Carmen Maria Machado | Horror | Graphic Novel | |
| The September House | Carissa Orlando | Horror | Haunted House | |
| The Ghost Tree | Christina Henry | Horror | Paranormal | |
| Episode Thirteen | Craig DiLouie | Horror | Investigative TV show, episodary storytelling | |
| Monstrilio | Gerardo Sámano Córdova | Horror | Translated | |
| Horrorstör | Grady Hendrix | Horror | ||
| Carmilla | J. Sheridan Le Fanu | Horror | Classics | |
| Pride and Prejudice and Zombies | Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith | Horror | Retelling | |
| Hidden Pictures | Jason Rekulak | Horror | Ghosts and art | |
| Dread Wood | Jennifer Killick | Horror | Middle Grade | |
| The Children on the Hill | Jennifer McMahon | Horror | ||
| Welcome to Night Vale | Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor | Horror | ||
| Our Wives Under the Sea | Julia Armfield | Horror | ||
| Harrow Lake | Kat Ellis | Horror | Small town setting; YA | |
| The Furies | Katie Lowe | Horror | Paranormal | |
| When the Reckoning Comes | LaTanya McQueen | Horror | ||
| Into the Drowning Deep | Mira Grant | Horror | ||
| Ring Shout | P. Djèlà Clark | Horror | ||
| Survivor Song | Paul Tremblay | Horror | ||
| Foxfire | Rowan Hill | Horror | Cold setting | |
| The Haunting of Hill House | Shirley Jackson | Horror | ||
| Pet Sematary | Stephen King | Horror | Year 27 favorite | |
| HEX | Thomas Olde Heuvelt | Horror | Best horror I have read; Translated; Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Year 28 favorite | |
| Taaqtumi | Various authors | Horror | ||
| The Changeling | Victor LaValle | Horror | ||
| The Theory of Crows | David Alexander Robertson | Indigenous | Father-daughter relationship; Contemporary Fiction | |
| Bad Cree | Jessica Johns | Indigenous | Horror | |
| Crow Winter | Karen McBride | Indigenous | ||
| The Only Good Indians | Stephen Graham Jones | Indigenous | Horror | |
| Moon of the Crusted Snow | Waubgeshig Rice | Indigenous | Dystopia, Pandemic, Horror; Year 28 favorite | |
| In My Own Moccasins | Helen Knott | Indigenous, Non-Fiction | Memoir | |
| Becoming a Matriarch | Helen Knott | Indigenous, Non-Fiction | Memoir | |
| Valley of the Birdtail | Andrew Stobo Sniderman, Douglas Sanderson | Indigenous, Non-Fiction | Must read for anyone who calls Canada home | |
| The Bear | Andrew Krivak | Literary Fiction | Father-daughter relationship; Setting: Wilderness | |
| Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow | Gabrielle Zevin | Literary Fiction | A beautiful book about friendships as we get older | |
| Interpreter of Maladies | Jhumpa Lahiri | Literary Fiction | Short stories; Year 28 favorite | |
| The Braid | Laetitia Colombani | Literary Fiction | One of my all-time favorite books. Setting: India, Canada. | |
| The Lost Archive | Lynn C. Miller | Literary Fiction | ||
| Trajan’s Arch | Michael Williams | Literary Fiction | ||
| The Memories at the end of the Lane | Neil Gaiman | Literary Fiction | ||
| If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English | Noor Naga | Literary Fiction | Setting: present day Egypt; Scotiabank Giller Prize 2022 Finalist | |
| Yellowface | R. F. Kuang | Literary Fiction | Dark side of publishing | |
| Stray Dogs: Stories | Rawi Hage | Literary Fiction | Short stories; Scotiabank Giller Prize 2022 Finalist | |
| Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord | Celeste Connally | Mystery | Regency | |
| Death by Bubble Tea | Jennifer J. Chow | Mystery | ||
| Midnight Dunes | Laura Griffin | Mystery, Romance | The Texas Murder Files | |
| Tuesdays with Morrie | Mitch Albom | Non-Fiction | Great book on living and dying with illness; teacher & student | |
| Super Sick : Making Peace with Chronic Illness | Allison Alexander | Non-Fiction | ||
| High Conflict – Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out | Amanda Ripley | Non-Fiction | Year 27 favorite | |
| Beyond the Known: How Exploration Created the Modern World and Will Take Us to the Stars | Andrew Rader | Non-Fiction | World history | |
| Workday Warrior: A Proven Path to Reclaiming Your Time | Ann Gomez | Non-Fiction | Work-life balance | |
| I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life | Anne Bogel | Non-Fiction | For those who love reading; Year 27 favorite | |
| Steal Like An Artist | Austin Kleon | Non-Fiction | Featured in: The Transformative Power of 5 Creativity Books | |
| Braving the Wilderness | Brené Brown | Non-Fiction | ||
| Creative Careers: Making a Living with Your Ideas | B. Jeffrey Madoff | Non-Fiction | For creatives | |
| Resilience Road: Exploring your authentic life path | Beth Koritz | Non-Fiction | Self-Help | |
| Digital Minimalism | Cal Newport | Non-Fiction | Commentary of technology and building a relationship with it | |
| Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout | Cal Newport | Non-Fiction | ||
| How to Draw Adorable | Carlianne Tipsey | Non-Fiction | For the artists | |
| Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men | Caroline Criado-PĂ©rez | Non-Fiction | Must read. Kept me Awake Till Midnight | |
| Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways to be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are | Danny Gregory | Non-Fiction | Art books | |
| Secrets to Being Amazing | Denise Wijayaratne | Non-Fiction | ||
| Trust Yourself First | Doris Sew Hoy | Non-Fiction | ||
| Shock Value : a Cam Girl’s Sexy and Hilarious Stories of Capitalizing on Sexual Desire | Eliza Wilde | Non-Fiction | ||
| Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear | Elizabeth Gilbert | Non-Fiction | For the creatives; Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Year 28 favorite; Featured in: The Transformative Power of 5 Creativity Books | |
| The 5 Love Languages | Gary Chapman | Non-Fiction | ||
| A Monk’s Guide to Happiness | Gelong Thubten | Non-Fiction | Mindfulness | |
| When a toy dog became a wolf and the moon broke curfew | Hendrika de Vries | Non-Fiction | Memoir | |
| Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life | Hector Garcia Puigcerver and Francesc Miralles | Non-Fiction | Longevity | |
| Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day | Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky | Non-Fiction | Work-life balance | |
| Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art | James Nestor | Non-Fiction | ||
| A Paris Year – A Travel Journal | Janice Macleod | Non-Fiction | Artsy journal | |
| The Future of Us | Jay Ingram | Non-Fiction | Also find here speculative fiction that explores concepts in this book | |
| The Glass Castle | Jeannette Walls | Non-Fiction | Autobiography | |
| From Chaos to Creativity | Jessie L. Kwak | Non-Fiction | Featured in: The Transformative Power of 5 Creativity Books | |
| Never Sit If You Can Dance: Lessons from my Mother | Jo Giese | Non-Fiction | ||
| What Makes Love Last? | John M. Gottman & Nan Silver | Non-Fiction | Relationships; Year 28 favorite | |
| 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos | Jordan B. Peterson | Non-Fiction | ||
| How to Keep House While Drowning | K.C. Davis | Non-Fiction | Housekeeping | |
| Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times | Katherine May | Non-Fiction | Year 28 favorite | |
| Your Writing Matters | Keiko O’Leary | Non-Fiction | For writers; Featured in: The Transformative Power of 5 Creativity Books | |
| Ghost in the Wires | Kevin Mitnick | Non-Fiction | Autobiography | |
| For the Love of Learning: A Year in the Life of a School Principal | Kristin Phillips | Non-Fiction | Memoir | |
| Made for More | Lindsay Sealey | Non-Fiction | Read it for a boost of positivity; Year 28 favorite | |
| The Newlyweds | Mansi Choksi | Non-Fiction | Setting: India | |
| When You Kant Figure It Out… Ask a Philosopher | Marie Robert | Non-Fiction | ||
| Grief is Love | Marisa Renee Lee | Non-Fiction | ||
| Learn to Paint in Acrylics | Mark Daniel Nelson | Non-Fiction | Art books | |
| The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life | Mark Manson | Non-Fiction | ||
| The Book of Soul: 52 Paths to Living What Matters | Mark Nepo | Non-Fiction | Mindfulness | |
| The Productive Life: The 7 Keys to Living a Productive Life | Mark Tittley | Non-Fiction | Self-Help | |
| What We Carry: A Memoir | Maya Shanbhag Lang | Non-Fiction | Memoir, Year 27 favorite | |
| The Book of Boundaries | Melissa Urban | Non-Fiction | Read it to prioritize yourself | |
| Quest for Eternal Sunshine | Mendek Rubin & Myra Goodman | Non-Fiction | Holocaust, Memoir | |
| New Ways to Think and Grow Rich | Michelle Nasser | Non-Fiction | Money mindset | |
| Rookie Mistakes : Advice from Top Executives on Five Critical Leadership Errors | Mike McHargue | Non-Fiction | Leadership | |
| SOLO : Survival Guide for Creative Freelancers | Palle Schmidt | Non-Fiction | For creatives | |
| Wedded Wife: A Feminist History of Marriage | Rachael Lennon | Non-Fiction | Feminist, Western history, Women & LGBTQ+ | |
| The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | Rebecca Skloot | Non-Fiction | A critical review | |
| The Creative Act: A Way of Being | Rick Rubin | Non-Fiction | Featured in: The Transformative Power of 5 Creativity Books | |
| The Lost Art of Good Conversation | Sakyong Mipham | Non-Fiction | ||
| The Smallest Lights in the Universe | Sara Seager | Non-Fiction | Memoir | |
| Silver Spoons: One’s Journey Through Addiction | Sarah Dickinson | Non-Fiction | ||
| This Is One Way to Dance: Essays | Sejal Shah | Non-Fiction | Indian culture | |
| The Last Nomad | Shugri Said Salh | Non-Fiction | Memoir; Setting: Somalia | |
| Educated | Tara Westover | Non-Fiction | Memoir | |
| World Class: The Search for the Best Education | Teru Clavel | Non-Fiction | Memoir | |
| Being Peace | Thich Nhat Hanh | Non-Fiction | Buddhism | |
| Aimlessness | Tom Lutz | Non-Fiction | One of my favorite reads of 2020 | |
| Born A Crime | Trevor Noah | Non-Fiction | Memoir | |
| People Change | Vivek Shraya | Non-Fiction | Memoir, Essays | |
| Steve Jobs | Walter Issacson | Non-Fiction | Biography | |
| What Now?: Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond | Yael Shy | Non-Fiction | Mindfulness | |
| The Rose That Blooms in the Night | Allie Michelle | Poetry | ||
| The Truth about Magic | Atticus | Poetry | ||
| Walks: A Collection of Haiku | Cendrine Marrouat | Poetry | ||
| See A Dream Within – A Found “Poe”try Collection | David Ellis | Poetry | ||
| Devil in the Wind | Frank Prem | Poetry | Wild fires | |
| Alice and Antius | Kit Ingram | Poetry | ||
| Resistencia: Poems of Protest and Revolution | Mark Eisner (Editor) | Poetry | Translated | |
| The Girl and the Goddess | Nikita Gill | Poetry | A book that changed my life; Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Year 28 Favorite | |
| Home is Not A Country | Safia Elhillo | Poetry | YA | |
| I Asked the Wind: A Collection of Romantic Poetry | Valerie Nifora | Poetry | ||
| Life is Yours | Abi Yardimci | Romance | ||
| This Time It’s Real | Ann Liang | Romance | YA | |
| Letters to the Lost | Brigid Kemmerer | Romance | Letters to the Lost | YA |
| Red, White and Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston | Romance | ||
| A Surplus of Light | Chase Connor | Romance | MM | |
| Unpainted | Dan Fitzgerald | Romance | Fantasy | |
| The Forty Rules of Love | Elif Shafak | Romance | Philosophical; Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Year 28 favorite | |
| Accidentally Engaged | Farah Heron | Romance | A book that made my hungry for Indian food | |
| The Wedding of the Year | Jill Mansell | Romance | ||
| A Stitch in Time | Kelley Armstrong | Romance | A Stitch in Time | Time-Travel |
| Time After Time | Lisa Grunwald | Romance | Time-Travel; Year 28 favorite | |
| A Different Time | Michael Hill | Romance | Time-Travel | |
| Instructions for Dancing | Nicola Yoon | Romance | YA | |
| The Wedding Dress Christmas | Rachel Hauck | Romance | ||
| The Little Bookshop on the Seine | Rebecca Raisin | Romance | ||
| Counting Down with You | Tashie Bhuiyan | Romance | ||
| Midnight’s Children | Salman Rushdie | Historical Fiction | Setting: India | |
| At the Trough | Adam Knight | Science Fiction | Commentary on Education | |
| Firewalkers | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Science Fiction | Climate change fiction | |
| This is How You Lose the Time War | Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone | Science Fiction | Favorites; Time-Travel | |
| Wish List | Amanda Pampuro | Science Fiction | ||
| Illuminae | Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Science Fiction | The Illuminae Files | Young Adult, Thriller, Unique format |
| Gemina | Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Science Fiction | The Illuminae Files | Young Adult, Thriller, Unique format |
| Obsidio | Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Science Fiction | The Illuminae Files | Young Adult, Thriller, Unique format |
| Kingdom: Tiber City Blues | Anderson O’Donnell | Science Fiction | Dystopia | |
| A Desolation Called Peace | Arkady Martine | Science Fiction | ||
| A Psalm for the Wild-Built | Becky Chambers | Science Fiction | Monk and Robot | Favorite LGBTQAI+ representations |
| A Prayer for the Crown-Shy | Becky Chambers | Science Fiction | Monk and Robot | Favorite LGBTQAI+ representations |
| What we see in the Smoke | Ben Berman Ghan | Science Fiction | Short stories. Setting: Canada, 2016-3036 | |
| The Mother Code | Carole Stivers | Science Fiction | Motherhood; Kept me Awake Till Midnight | |
| Notes from The Burning Age | Claire North | Science Fiction | ||
| Moon Rising | Daniel Weisbeck | Science Fiction | ||
| Entriss Online | David J. Pedersen | Science Fiction | Video games | |
| Aurora | David Koepp | Science Fiction | Post-Apocalyptic | |
| Sea of Tranquility | Emily St. John Mandel | Science Fiction | Time Travel; Kept me Awake Till Midnight; Year 28 favorite | |
| Contagion | Erin Bowman | Science Fiction | Horror | |
| Wool | Hugh Howey | Science Fiction | Wool | Dystopia |
| These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart | Izzy Wasserstein | Science Fiction | Dystopia; LGBTQAI+ representation | |
| The Weight of a Thousand Oceans | Jillian Webster | Science Fiction | The Forgotten Ones | Post-Apocalyptic |
| Tell Me an Ending | Jo Harkin | Science Fiction | Year 28 favorite | |
| Goodbye to the Sun | Jonathan Nevair | Science Fiction | Wind Tide | |
| The Psychology of Time Travel | Kate Mascarenhas | Science Fiction | Alternate History; Time Travel | |
| Infinite Universe | Lyndon Radchenka, Steven Kaul (illustrator) | Science Fiction | Graphic Novel | |
| Salvaged | Madeleine Roux | Science Fiction | Setting: Space ship; Horror; Parasite | |
| Fugitive Telemetry | Martha Wells | Science Fiction | The Murderbot Dairies # 6 | POV: Sentient android |
| Artificial Condition | Martha Wells | Science Fiction | The Murderbot Dairies # 2 | POV: Sentient android |
| All Systems Red | Martha Wells | Science Fiction | The Murderbot Dairies # 1 | POV: Sentient android |
| Rogue Protocol | Martha Wells | Science Fiction | The Murderbot Dairies # 3 | POV: Sentient android |
| Exit Strategy | Martha Wells | Science Fiction | The Murderbot Dairies # 4 | POV: Sentient android |
| Parasites | Matthew Samuels | Science Fiction | The Navigator | |
| Overlap: The Lives of a Former Time Jumper | N Joseph Glass | Science Fiction | ||
| Firebreak | Nicole Kornher-Stace | Science Fiction | ||
| Remote Control | Nnedi Okorafor | Science Fiction | ||
| Parable of the Sower (Graphic Novel) | Octavia Butler | Science Fiction | Earthseed | |
| The Book of M | Peng Shepherd | Science Fiction | Post-Apocalyptic. Review in 2 parts. | |
| The Warehouse | Rob Hart | Science Fiction | Dystopia | |
| The Affinities | Robert Charles Wilson | Science Fiction | Dystopia | |
| The Last Gifts of the Universe | Rory August | Science Fiction | Archeologists in space | |
| Blades of the Fallen | Ross Harrison | Science Fiction | NEXUS | |
| A Sorrow Named Joy | Sarah Chorn | Science Fiction | ||
| A Song for A New Day | Sarah Pinsker | Science Fiction | Post-Apocalyptic | |
| We Are Satellites | Sarah Pinsker | Science Fiction | Dystopia; Year 27 favorite | |
| The Other Valley | Scott Alexander Howard | Science Fiction | Time-Travel | |
| A Mirage in the Memory | Simon Tull | Science Fiction | The Slip Saga #0.5 | |
| Blackcoat | Steve McHugh | Science Fiction | ||
| THE INSTITUTE Stolen Case Files | T.S. Galindo | Science Fiction | Short stories | |
| Do You Dream of Terra-Two? | Temi Oh | Science Fiction | ||
| Loved Mars Hated the Food | Willie Handler | Science Fiction | Humour | |
| The Memory Police | YĹŤko Ogawa | Science Fiction | Translated; Setting: Japan | |
| The Deep Sky | Yume Kitasei | Science Fiction | ||
| La Entrada: Season One – Episode One | Andrew D. Daily, Alex Vede (Illustrator) | Speculative Fiction | Graphic Novel | |
| Elsewhere | Alexis Schaitkin | Speculative Fiction | Mother and daughter relationships | |
| Station Eleven | Emily St. John Mandel | Speculative Fiction | Post-Apocalyptic | |
| Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century | Kim Fu | Speculative Fiction | Short stories; Scotiabank Giller Prize 2022 Finalist | |
| The Light Pirate | Lily Brooks-Dalton | Speculative Fiction | Climate change; Setting: Florida | |
| Blind Spots | Thomas Mullen | Speculative Fiction | Commentary on reliance on technology for survival | |
| The Whisper Man | Alex North | Thriller | Horror | |
| The Witch House | Ann Rawson | Thriller | ||
| Return to Hiroshima | Bob Van Laerhoven | Thriller | Setting: Japan | |
| Lost Immunity | Daniel Kalla | Thriller | Medical; Pandemic setting | |
| Cold Storage | David Koepp | Thriller | Terrifying Parasites | |
| Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line | Deepa Anappara | Thriller | Thriller; Setting: India | |
| Thirteen Reasons Why | Jay Asher | Thriller | YA | |
| The Inheritance Games | Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Thriller | ||
| Waiting for the Night Song | Julie Carrick Dalton | Thriller | ||
| Dark August | Katie Tallo | Thriller | Setting: Canada | |
| The Last Thing He Told Me | Laura Dave | Thriller | ||
| The Mentor #BlackthornTours | Lee Matthew Goldberg | Thriller | ||
| Final Term | Leigh Russell | Thriller | DI Geraldine Steel Series | |
| Big Little Lies | Liane Moriarty | Thriller | ||
| A Madness of Sunshine | Nalini Singh | Thriller | Setting: New Zealand | |
| Are you Sara? | S.C. Lalli | Thriller | ||
| Sins of the Father | Sharon Bairden | Thriller |
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