This is the order in which they were read.
| 1. Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott. My first foray into Elliott’s works is book one of the Crossroads trilogy—high fantasy with strong characterization and world building. She had me at the opening, which focuses on the world of Reeves and their eagles. These eagles are huge and bonded psychically to their Reeve, who rides them. It’s an intricate relationship, an intricate world. And that world opens up to a large cast of characters. First of three books, and they’re all strong. (All read in 2011.) |  |
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| 2. Come Unto These Yellow Sands by Josh Lanyon. I’m a big fan of this author’s work, and for me this was his standout read in 2011. Contemporary romance, with a side dish of mystery. Told in third person, all from the point of view of one of the heroes, Swift, a poet and reformed drug addict. His relationship with the sheriff, Max, is threatened when he gets involved in a case. Emotional, intense and extremely well written. |  |
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| 3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson. I was a bit behind the times but eventually succumbed. A little slow to begin, this quickly became a page-turning read. Lizbeth (the girl with the dragon tattoo) was the star, but the heart of the mystery also captured my attention and she was well-matched by Blomkvist, the disgraced journalist who is asked to discover what happened to the niece of a rich old man. |  |
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| 4. On the Edge by Ilona Andrews. My first Andrews, I adored the world’s setup. Most of the action takes place in the Edge, which lies between the Broken (basically our world) and the Weird (a kind of high-fantasy world). Rose lives in the Edge and believes Declan from the Weird has come to claim her because of her powers. She resists, he doesn’t leave, and they begin to learn a lot more about each other. Also, Rose’s two young brothers are fantastic, even, I believe, for those who don’t like children in their books. |  |
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| 5. The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan. I became besotted by this book. I turned around and reread it, which I hardly ever do. This is YA, which I hardly ever read. It focuses on two orphaned, on-the-run brothers who live in a world of demons and magic. The story is told entirely from the point of view of the younger, more violent brother who clearly has trouble understanding people. The author uses this point of view to great effect as the story unfolds, and the climactic ending is absolutely stellar. |  |
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| 6. Mystery of the Tempest by Sam Cameron. YA mystery, a kind of Hardy boys for teens, though in this case the brothers are twins, one gay, one straight, both keeping secrets. When a yacht blows up in Fisher Key harbor, Stephen and Denny try to solve the mystery while simultaneously trying to figure out their love lives. A sweet romance develops between Brian (who’s out) and Denny (who’s in the closet). Very smartly written, engaging characters, hard to put down. (Full disclosure: I am a friend of the author’s.) |  |
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| 7. The Charioteer by Mary Renault. Reviewed here. Affecting, haunting, set in WWII. Classic gay fiction. |  |
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| 8. Regeneration by Pat Barker. Set in a WWI hospital where a Dr. Rivers treats patients such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfrid Owen—in order to send them back to the front. Those three people were real, but there are also fictional characters, eg. Billy Prior whose story continues in the sequels. I actually thought I might bounce off this book, given the material, but the writing pulled me right in. Watching these young men struggle with shell-shock and its attendant problems is heartrending. Watching Rivers work to make them well enough to return to France is difficult, but I couldn’t look away. I found the second book, The Eye in the Door, as engrossing and will be reading the third, The Ghost Road. |  |
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| 9. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. I have this giddy new-to-me-author feeling upon finishing Fingersmith. Historical crime fiction—this was an immersive read. Fantastic setting (seamier side of Victorian England), strong characterization (and pretty flawed characters at that), twists galore. Twists take a careful hand, but these were incredibly satisfying. There’s a light romance, emphasis on the light, but it is critical. |  |
I’m able to think of 5 of these 9 books as romance, at least in terms of having a romantic throughline. Same with all of the HMs below.
Honorable Mentions:
Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy
Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn
Cold Magic by Kate Elliot
Winter Knights by Harper Fox
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