Melody Writes

Another year of reading complete. Another end of year top book list. This year, I focused more on short stories and have also posted a list of top short stories that I read this year. My total number of books stayed relatively constant - 70 in 2023 vs. 65ish* in 2024, but that includes short story magazines. 2024 was a complicated year for me, personally. A lot of good things happened - trips with family, and some sad things - had to put down my old doggie. I left Twitter and embraced Bluesky. I also started an author newsletter and put together my first story collection. But this space is for the books I read this year, so here are the ones that stayed with me. As usual, in no particular order.   The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning I said it upfront in my review and I'll say it again here: I loved this book. Witches. Supernatural thriller. Locked-room murder. Love it. This book was a fast-paced thriller that was a joy to read from start to finish. Full Review on Horror Tree ...

Photo by Courtney Baucom on Unsplash     This year, I tried to shift my focus from novels to short stories and journal about them, with mixed results. I read more short stories, but fell off of the journaling. I found it was slowing me down, and if my journal wasn’t handy, I would put off reading the stories. Eventually, I decided to just enjoy the short stories as they came and not worry so much about journaling. That said, I do want to highlight ten of my favourite stories this year. I am limiting this selection to magazines, newsletters, and free online, not anthologies. This is also by no means an exhaustive list of my favourites, just ten that stayed with me. Listed roughly in the order I read them, I think. 1.  The Grit Born by Frances Ogamba - January 2024 - The Dark A lonely woman, Egoabia, learns about a company called Rebirth which will send special powder that can be moulded into a child. This story was unsettling the whole way through with a brillian...

Original Review written September 11, 2016 on Goodreads (slightly edited here) Heroines starts off with an intriguing premise. Ann-Marie and her daughter, Penelope, maintain a boarding house in the 1970s, and from time to time Heroines from various novels/plays/stories will come and visit them. There is only one rule: you must never interfere with a Heroine's fate. Little Penelope is 13 and on the cusp of womanhood as a daring Hero (or Villain?) arrives chasing down his lost heroine. She is drawn to this dashing stranger and resents the heroines for monopolizing her mother. Sounds pretty sweet, right? Well, in actuality, it's not bad. It's pretty awesome to see the Heroines outside of their story. Some of them include Catherine Earshaw of Wuthering Heights (annoying as ever), Madame Bovary (Which I have yet to read), and Scarlett O'Hara (whom I adore despite her spoiled nature). That part, where the Heroines come is strong and has actually made me want to ...

Original review written April 2, 2014 on Goodreads 2024 comments: I actually don't really remember this book. I feel this review is a bit harsh and doesn't reflect my current style, but I'm moving it here as part of my consolidation of reviews. I want you to picture me shrugging and saying "eh", because that's really the best way to capture this book of non-events. The book is really just ok. The writing is fine. I found it light, easy, and simple to read. I'd read another book by this author if presented with one. Sure. But what's wrong with it? Let's start with the premise of the book. The author promises a story about two women renegotiating their complicated friendship in the wake of a brain injury. We have Julia, the "alpha" friend and Marissa, her sidekick who have been the best of friends since they were 14. Julia is always the driving (controlling) force behind everything and then one day she gets into a car accident and is never ...