As with previous years at the start of each year I take a look back over the past twelve months and choose my top ten books.  This year, without dwelling too much upon things, was  something of a shocker for me due to family matters and my reading and blogging was forced to take a back seat. I didn’t read for probably about three months and my blogging came to a complete stop.  Fortunately, later in the year I got myself back on board.  This past year I’ve read just shy of 80 books – which is probably the least amount of books I’ve read for years – but, I’ve had some fantastic reads and so choosing ten books was still difficult.  But here goes:

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The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell

I love Laura Purcell’s writing, she is the queen of all things gothic and The Whispering Muse is another great novel in which she comes into her own.

Set in the theatre this is a dark and atmospheric read. It revolves around five key plays that reflect the story as it progresses. It’s a tale involving plenty of drama, unholy deals that come at a price, jealousy, ambition and tragedy.

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A House With Good Bones by T Kingfisher

T Kingfisher is a relatively new to me author but I’m enjoying her work very much.  In fact Nettle and Bone was on my ‘best of’ list last year.

This is a Southern Gothic horror that manages to temper the creepy horror elements with a good dose of humour and brings us a wonderful central character who has a great outlook on life.

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The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan

This is the second book in the Empire of the Wolf series.  The Justice of the Kings is the first book in the series and is a fantastic start.  Fortunately, this second in series doesn’t suffer from middle book syndrome.  This is a rollercoaster of a ride emotionally, the characters continue to impress and the story is packed with treachery and surprise.  I highly recommend this series and can’t wait to jump into the third instalment.

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The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

Mark Lawrence is one of my favourite authors.  I’ve read all of his series and it’s absolutely astonishing to me that he keeps on producing such amazing books.  To be honest I’d be hard pressed to pick a favourite book or series but I would say that The Book that Wouldn’t Burn is a serious contender for the crown.

This first in series is without doubt a masterpiece. It blew me away. The whole story is so overwhelmingly clever and gripping. The tension is off the charts and the long story in play is just brilliant.

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Delicate Condition  by Danielle Valentine

Delicate Condition is a psychological thriller with a surprise twist.  I was a little bit hesitant about picking this one up initially and so I’m really happy that I made the right choice – it would have been such a shame to miss out on this one.

This really was a very absorbing read. The main protagonist seems to suffer a constant string of ‘things’ or mishaps that for the most part seem coincidental or imaginary.  The author throws in plenty of red herrings along the way and the tension is really cranked up as the conclusion goes into complete overdrive.  A compelling read with a twisted ending.

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The Hexologist by Josiah Bancroft

My first book by this author – and definitely the kick in the pants I need to go back and pick up his Babel series!

The Hexologists is a Victorian inspired world bursting with invention but at the same time still playing host to some wonderfully fantastical creatures. The imagination at play is superb and the writing – I am speechless. This is a book for lovers of intricate and exquisite writing. The detail is almost decadent and the style has clever flourishes and little snippets that make you want to wallow around and reread the page you’ve just read. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. It’s heartwarmingly cosy in parts, fiendishly clever in others and full of wonderful concepts that lovers of fantasy will be able to soak themselves in.

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Once a Monster by Robert Dinsdale

I absolutely loved this book – of course I did (doh), otherwise it wouldn’t be on my list!

The story is exquisite, the writing is mesmerising, the characters are amazing. It gave me the goosebumps (good goosebumps these!), it filled my eyes with tears and the ending was magical.

Seriously, when I read the description for Once a Monster I was a little unsure, I do like a good period story, especially anything Victorian, on top of that I am loving my greek mythology retellings – but, you know, the two seemed to make unlikely playmates. How wrong I was. Put simply I requested this because I’ve read and enjoyed two books already by the author and so I just thought ‘what’s the worst that can happen, really? Maybe I won’t like it, it’s not the end of the world.’ As it happens, not only was it not the end of the world but I adored this book. Dickens meets the Minotaur. A story filled with good and evil, bravery and villainy sitting cheek by jowl with the impossible search for answers and finding oneself all whilst holding such fragile hopes alive and kicking. This is a story where actual monsters might not necessarily be the real monsters of the piece.

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Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper

Temple of Fortuna is the stunning conclusion to the Wolf Den series.  I absolutely loved this series and I have my fingers and toes crossed that this is a world that the author will return to (perhaps from a different pov).  One can but hope.

What a journey Elodie Harper has taken us on here, every book has contained different aspects from the tense start in the infamous Wolf’s Den where we first met Amara to her precarious rise in fortune that eventually sees her escape the Den to this final episode where she has become established as a courtesan in Rome with an influential patron.

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The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

The Reformatory is without doubt one of the most powerful stories that I’ve read so far this year. An absolute tempest of shock, horror, unbridled emotions and abject terror. And then, there’s also the ghostly elements of the story to take into account. Yes, for me, the most horrifying aspect to this particular story was not the haints of tortured boys but the historical facts that this tale is grounded upon. What a story. I mean, literally this story made me want to cry, it made me feel outraged and the final chapters had my pulse racing imagining all the many disasters that felt inevitable.  A difficult but totally absorbing read.

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The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird by Louisa Morgan

The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird is a beautifully told mystery circulating around the lives of two women who are both trying to escape something.  An unusual ghost story that took me in a direction that I didn’t expect and was emotionally incredibly satisfying.  I thoroughly enjoyed this story.