As someone who routinely reads a couple of hundred books a year, it’s no surprise that, although I love a book while I read it, I often forget most of them not too long after. But some have stuck with me long after I put them down, and consistently call me back to their well-worn pages. It was tough whittling this list down to only ten — I cheated by making most of the entries a series — but I can’t wait to share with you 10 of my favorite reads of all time. From historical thrillers to literary fiction to romance and fantasy, here are books I can’t help but recommend.
Historical Thrillers
The Cotton Malone Series by Steve Berry (19 Books and 3 Novellas)
I grew up living with my Papa, a man who loved history and trivia. Naturally, I, too, am obsessed with these things. Add them to my passion for reading, throw in some action, and a fantastic plot, and I am hooked. I own every book Steve Berry has ever published. He is one of the few authors for whom I don’t even read the synopsis before buying their book. He. Is. That. Good.
He has several standalones (I highly recommend The Third Secret — Oops, there I go sneaking in another rec). However, it is his Cotton Malone series that truly has my heart. It follows the protagonist, Cotton Malone, a retired Justice Department operative turned book seller in Copenhagen, in a series of action-packed, high-stakes thrillers, combined with earth-shattering historical revelations. Think The Da Vinci Code, but 1000 times better.
Book one, The Templar Legacy, finds Cotton in an unexpected hunt to find the truth behind his ex-boss Stephanie Nelle’s husband’s death. What was once an apparent suicide turns out to be much more than it seemed. When confronted with secret societies armed and ready to dispatch anyone who gets their way, as each team races across Europe for a 2000-year-old secret, the world may not be prepared to hear.
The Magdalene Line Trilogy by Kathleen McGowan
I went through a bit of a religious fiction phase, most of us did in the 2000s, there were a lot to choose from. This trilogy, however, has stayed with me since I picked it up fresh from Borders (remember them?) in 2005. What I love most about this isn’t just the idea of humanizing the man Jesus, but a version that I can live with, empathize with, and feel a connection to. McGowan’s creativity, her weaving of duality between past and present, is a beautiful achievement. Secondly, her feminist approach to this series and her defense of historical women who history’s writers have wronged are astoundingly wonderful.
The trilogy opens with The Expected One, a shepherdess foretold in prophecy who is led by divine intervention to find firsthand accounts of Jesus’ time. The novel is both emotionally charged and deeply spiritual. A fair bit of historical fact is woven within the fictional plot, but enough to make you question just how much. With the clock ticking, secret societies thousands of years old, and a family secret to unveil, this novel has it all. Step into the world of author Maureen Paschal as she discovers things about herself she never expected and reevaluates her spirituality as she comes face-to-face with Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the ghosts of her past.
Historical Fiction
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
There are few books I wish I could read for the first time again. I love rereading beloved books. I find a few threads I either forgot or didn’t catch from the previous read, or my perspective changes as I add new life experiences. But this novel is one I wish I could read again, as if I had never picked it up before. The Thirteenth Tale is the perfect combination of literary fiction, mystery, and psychological thriller.
When the eccentric and reclusive aging writer Vita Winter falls ill, she decides to write her biography for the world to read. Rather than writing it herself, she recruits an introverted biographer, Margaret Lea, into her mysterious manor to write it for her. Both live with the ghosts of their pasts haunting them and come to bring the skeletons out of the closet as Winter unveils the tales of her life.
Romantic Fantasy
The Lost Continent Series by Catherine Asaro (5 books, 1 Novella)
Clearly, I love a series. But there is nothing I love more than a series with interconnected stories and overarching plots, add in romance, intrigue, and unique magic systems, and I’m a goner. The Charmed Sphere, book one of The Lost Continent series, was my first romantasy novel, received in a 2004 book subscription box from Luna, an imprint of Harlequin. The entire series covers the continent from one book to the next, featuring six different romantic relationships that span the gamut of tropes. Book two, The Misted Cliffs, is my favorite of the series, but they’re all truly beautifully written.
The magic system, though, is one I haven’t seen in another fantasy novel. A science fiction writer dipping her toe into fantasy, and Asaro nailed it on the first try. Magical abilities are dictated by the six colors of the rainbow, with power levels determined by 2D and 3D geometric shapes; the more complex a shape, the greater the spell-casting the mage can do. Ingenious!
Readers are introduced to the continent in book one, The Charmed Sphere, in the country of Aronsdale, where mages are most plentiful. The most powerful female mage of each generation is to wed the next king. Chime has no intention of marrying into the royal family; she loves her family and life tending their orchard. However, she unexpectedly runs into the wayward prince, the king’s nephew, unknowingly, as she tries to escape home during the trek to the capital. As they get to know one another, they both become smitten, a war is being waged from the border kingdom, and the once thought to be dead heir is found blind and deaf by Chimes’ “rival”. Book two picks up 18 years later, and the ensuing books cover approximately five countries, five relationships, and three years.
The One Rose Trilogy by Gail Dayton
I received book one of this trilogy from the same subscription box service that The Lost Continent came from. It opened my 18-year-old mind to polyamorous relationships, and I have never looked back. I haven’t found another romance like this, but I have found other polyamory and why-choose novels that have helped feed the hunger this book created.
Unique magic system? Check. Gorgeous world-building? Check. Intriguing plot? Check. The magic system in this book is based on the compass rose, with each direction — North, South, East, and West — representing a distinct form of magical ability. Family units, Ilians, typically consist of four adults or more, with women as heads of household, business owners, military leaders, and, of course, rulers.
Book one, The Compass Rose, introduces the matriarchal country of Adara through Captain Kallista Varyl, who is Godstruck during battle against the patriarchal Tibre in the opening chapter when she calls upon the One Goddess to help save her people. Being Godstruck is rare, so rare that it happens only when a great need arises. To complete the mission needed to remove the realm from the demons possessing Tibre, Kallista must find her godstruck Iliani (partners) and solidify their magics.
The Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh (17 Books)
Remember when I said I love a series with interconnected stories and overarching plots? This. Is. The. GOAT. Singh is a master of interconnected series. But this one is her finest. Contemporary Urban Alternate Reality Fantasy with a unique perspective on angels and vampires, which covers 10+ romantic relationships and has one of the most badass, relatable FMCs ever created. I know what you’re thinking. Seventeen books, that’s a lot. Yes, however, the story never grows stagnant, because while our main couple, Raphael and Elena, are featured throughout in some capacity, as the plot is a long game, every few books are from different characters’ perspectives. Those characters are closely connected to Elena and Raphael’s inner circle, further building the world and plot as they find their perfect match.
Who doesn’t love a good vampire story? I know I do, but their third tier in this series hierarchy of power. Immortal archangels rule the world; there are ten, each ruling a territory around the globe, maintaining order among angels, vampires, shifters, and humans. Vampires are humans who have been fed angel poison, a build up of toxicity from long lives, which turn them into blood suck immortals. Not all humans are compatible, though, and would go mad and die from exposure. The Hunters Guild exists to hunt down rogue vampires who are a detriment to society.
The series opens with Angels’ Blood, with guild hunter Elena Devereaux being summoned by North American Archangel Raphael for a top-secret job only her unique skills can complete. Tension escalates as the two are drawn to each other, despite their trust being tenuous. Close proximity as they try to capture a volatile serial killer forces the two to confront their desire for one another. However, one is mortal while the other will live forever. By the end, mortality rears its inevitable head sooner than expected.
Fantasy
The Lochlann Feuds Series by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison (6 Books)
If you haven’t been able to assess yet, I love a strong female main character. Rowan, in The Lochlann Feuds, is strong, sassy, and determined. I just found this series in January of this year as a box set on Audible. 10/10, the narrators were perfection, absolutely everything you could have dreamed of, accents and all. Initially, this story reads as historical fiction, with the barest hint of fantasy elements in Rowan’s ability to predict the weather. And that continues throughout the series, with the ability manifesting itself and a glimpse into her family’s abilities in the fourth book.
Rowan’s character development in this series is something to behold. From wild, reckless, third-in-line princess whose mouth gets her into trouble and can sometimes annoy you, to relatable, witty warrior who would stand alongside her people for her beliefs, this series is a roller coaster of a read.
On a mission to obtain a case of vodka from her rival neighboring country, Rowan and her cousin are detained and held prisoner. Not someone to want love, she was the last to think she’d find it in her captor. Taken to the ruling council to determine whether to execute the princess or ransom her, she must find a way to stow her recklessness and save herself.
The Bone Witch Trilogy by Rin Chupeco
Full disclosure, this is a slow read. It is heavy. It borders on an epic high fantasy level. BUT, it is worth the slow build. There is a romance element, but it is not the main plot. This is fantasy with a bit of romance. If you’re looking for spice, this isn’t the one. What this does have, though, is a unique magic system, fantasy based on a mix of Middle Eastern and East Asian cultures, specifically incorporating elements from the Ayyubid dynasty and Filipino folklore, and dual narrators with dual timelines. It is a stunning read.
We’re introduced to Tea through the eyes of one of our narrators, the unnamed Bard, who wishes for Tea, an exiled witch, to recount her story so that he might tell it. The chapters alternate between the present, where Tea and the Bard are, and what happened to lead her to her current situation. In book three, these timelines merge, and the Bard becomes part of the completion of the epic.
The witches, asha, in this tale have many powers, only manifesting with distinct abilities per witch. Tea, our protagonist, accidentally resurrects her brother at his funeral, awakening her necromancy powers and forever separating herself from society due to their fear of Bone Witches. Taken under the wing of an older Bone Witch, Tea and her brother are swept across the country to train her, along with others, as asha. Danger lurks, and Tea must make a decision that will change the course of her life forever.
Contemporary Romance
By a Thread by Lucy Score
I love a good Rom-Com. Make me laugh and cry, and cry because I laughed. Is there anything better than an enemy-to-lovers romance with witty banter, plenty of snark, and a cinnamon roll MMC who’s a grump? No, I don’t think so either. What I love about this particular gem is that the characters are 39 and 44, and both are relatable AF! Yes, I went there. But honestly, Dom and Ally deserve that praise. Lucy Score rarely misses when she sets her pen to paper, and this one was perfection.
She’s a down-on-her-luck, working four jobs graphic designer who happens to piss off a grumpy anxiety ridden executive at a small pizzeria she’s working at which causes her to lose her job — courtsey of Dom — only to be hired by his dinner companion, his mother, behind his back. Lucy is known for her small-town romances, but we’re in the Big City for this one. Their nicknames, by the way, Maleficent and Charming (that’s not a compliment). Call Score the Queen of Interesting Side Characters, because not only do I love the couple, but Buddy, the out-of-work man given a job by chance when Ally was offered one, her new work besties, and a cute as hell dog, and this thing has no chance but to make you happy. Dom is the cutest, absolutely most adorable drunk BTW, so keep an eye out there.
Boss Man Bridegroom by Meghan Quinn
Meghan Quinn is the Queen of Quirky Characters. Handsdown, no one does it better. This was the book that introduced me to Quinn, and I don’t regret a minute of it. I met her at Indies Invade Philly in 2022, and she was a delight! I now have signed editions of Boss Man Bridegroom and The Modern Gentleman (yep, threw in another rec, thank me later).
Charlee Cox is the epitome of sunshine. She is fun, easily pleased with a good piece of stationery, and her grandma is one of my favorite characters! Rath is a grumpy man looking for an assistant who can do the job well and not be a burden. He fires her within ten minutes of the first day, but don’t worry, she comes back the next day, filling his dreary life with chaotic technicolor organization that he can’t help but become addicted to. A marriage of convenience trope is thrown in when Charlee’s beloved granny gets sick, and Rath conveniently needs to clean up his public rep.
I laughed so hard during a few scenes that I got stitches in my side and had tears running down my face. My husband thought I had lost my mind when I went from hysterically laughing to sobbing like a fool and back again. Worth every moment, every time I read it. The audiobook version is also spectacular.
There you have it, folks, my “ten” favorite reads. Let me know if you’ve read these or are planning to!
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