Scribes & Archers

This list does not include rereads such as the last two books of the Wingfeather Saga (having started rereading the series in 2023) or the Truth series by Dawn Cook, which were also highlights among last year’s reading–or Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland, which I reread when outlining Thunder early this year.

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The Story Raider and The Story Hunter by Lindsay A. Franklin

I read The Story Peddler all the way back in 2022, but unfortunately didn’t get around to finishing the series until early this year. Fortunately, that didn’t impede my enjoyment any! It was pretty easy for me to get re-situated in the story, and the strengths I had noted in the first book–namely, the way that the two female MCs are written and how they handle their differing strengths and weaknesses–carried through the rest of the series. Plus, we got to see more of the worldbuilding and more of the characters’ backstories in these two books, which was quite fun!

The Story Hunter was an excellent conclusion to the Weaver trilogy! It deftly wrapped up all of the loose story strands, character arcs, etc. and offered a very satisfying ending to everything.

TW: The Story Hunter does contain a scene of attempted SA. It is not sexually explicit, but sensitive readers may prefer to skip it.

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

This book sat unread on my shelf for years, despite having been one of my most anticipated releases the year it came out and having gotten a leftover ARC copy from the publisher; I was swamped with reads that year and most of the mainstream books on the list ended up disappointing, so A River Enchanted* got set aside.

I was quite happy when I finally picked it up to enjoy it so much! I enjoyed the Celtic-inspired worldbuilding, the promised magic music, the community dynamics, and the main character’s inner conflict. The world was integral to the story, and the character relationships were definitely a highlight. The way that marriage and family are handled in this book is especially refreshing, especially from the general market.

Content warning: There are 2-3 (brief, easy to skip) instances of sex between married characters.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan* had also been on my shelf for years (are you sensing a theme?) and I finally picked it up when it was referenced in a worldbuilding book I was reading and sounded interesting. (When it was referenced I didn’t realize it was this book and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a book I already owned.)

I loved the characters, they were written with such vivid voices, the worldbuilding of the alternate historical setting is really interesting, and it left me wanting to unravel the mysteries left for the rest of the series.

The Nightmare Virus by Nadine Brandes

I read The Nightmare Virus* in two days. I couldn’t put it down. Such a fascinating world, compelling characters, fun fandom references throughout… and of course it’s Nadine Brandes.

The themes were, overall, really strong as well! There were some places where the worldbuilding was a little odd and affected minor thematic points in a way I wasn’t sure was quite intended, so I do think that was probably the weakest point of the book. But again, it was minor, so “weakest point” isn’t saying that much.

Overall, another excellent Brandes book!

Sailing Magic by Order of the Pen Press

This was a really fun anthology! I was already familiar with Order of the Pen Press and the authors behind it (Helena George and Sarah Rodecker), but the other authors were new to me and many of them I look forward to reading more from in the future!

If you enjoy pirates, mermaids, sailing, etc. and you’re looking for new fantasy authors to watch out for, Sailing Magic* is a great anthology to check out!

You can find my full review of the anthology here.

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

This book* sucked me right in, and I found it every bit as enjoyable as I’d hoped it would be. (No, I had never read it before. Yes, I know I was overdue to do so, lol.) It’s so much fun–and much longer than one expects when one is familiar with the story but hasn’t actually read the book yet. After reading it I dove right into comparing adaptations, and so far the ’95 is my favorite (which seems to be the general consensus among readers), but I’ve yet to watch the ’05 version. (I don’t have high hopes.)

Theseus vols. 1-2 by Jordan Holt

I picked these up along with the author’s new card game, Panomachea, and they’re so much fun! If you love Greek mythology, great artwork, and humor, you should definitely check out this series.

Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup

I’ve followed Jill Bearup’s YouTube channel for a while now, and I always quite enjoy her humor and approach to both combat acting (her professional expertise) and storytelling tropes–especially those found in fantasy and romance stories–so I was really excited to read this book that she fleshed out from a series of YouTube shorts she made which poked fun at common tropes. I was especially excited to get my hands on it when I found out she’s a Christian, which put to bed some of my fears about what the content might be like given the bent of some romance tropes. I am happy to report that Just Stab Me Now* was even better than I’d expected! It’s humorous, well-written and well-constructed, does an excellent job of turning romance tropes on their heads, and reflects a refreshingly healthy view of love, marriage, and motherhood! If you enjoy stories in which the author talks to their characters, romance tropes go… almost? as intended?, and the protagonists are adults with their heads screwed on straight, I definitely recommend Just Stab Me Now.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol* was another classic on my “overdue to read” list, and I’m quite glad my husband grabbed it from my parents’ shelf to borrow and started reading it aloud, because I never would have guessed that it’s written with such humor and wit in the prose!

While I already had some familiarity with the overarching story (who doesn’t?), it was quite enjoyable to actually hear read for the first time, and I look forward to reading it to our kids for future Christmases.

World-Building for Writers by H.C. Harrington

I wrote a full review of this book back when I read it, but the short of it is that I was very excited to discover a strong worldbuilding resource in book form; worldbuilding books seem to be fairly tricky to find, and not always as solid or comprehensive as one might like in a worldbuilding resource. Despite some complaints I had with it (which I outlined in my review), this is possibly the best worldbuilding book I’ve read so far in terms of covering foundational elements accurately, drawing in relevant examples, and discussing worldbuilding from a clear love for and understanding of the craft.

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What were your favorite books in 2024? I’d love to hear about them!

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