Twenty-sixteen. What a year you were. I'm not going to dwell on the bad, though. Right now, I would like to talk about some of the books I read last year.

“The Standing Stone: Home for Christmas” by Wendy Steele is a wonderful scifi/fantasy story about three women living in three separate time periods, linked by a common bond. It is very well written, with great characters and settings.

“The Doorway – and Other Poems” by R.K. Pavia is an excellent collection of poetry, spanning the range from dark and ominous to bright and hopeful. Rebecca was a very talented poet and novelist, and a good friend. Sadly, we lost her to cancer. She was kind and caring, and a dear friend. I miss you, Bex. My favorite work of hers, which I read in 2015, was “The Sanctum of Souls”. If you enjoy good fantasy, with elves and dwarves, and mages and dragons, this is for you.

“Protector of Thristas: A Lisen of Solsta Novel” by D. Hart St Martin is an excellent fantasy novel. It carries on the story of Lisen beyond the end of the original trilogy. It can be read stand-alone, but in my opinion, you will want to read all four books, so start at the beginning with “Fractured (Lisen of Solsta #1)” and read them all. These are not to be missed.

“Burden of Sysyphus (Brink of Distinction #1) and “Fall of Icarus (Brink of Distinction #2)” by Jon Messenger are outstanding science fiction novels. These are stories spanning the galaxy, full of incredibly varied species, imaginative settings, original technologies, all combined with great characters and great storytelling. SciFi lovers, don't miss these. Read the entire series.

“Wolves of the Northern Rift (Magic and Machinery #1)” and “The Blood Thief of Whitten Hall (Magic and Machinery #2) by Jon Messenger are outstanding paranormal mystery thrillers. Take Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, add demons, werewolves, vampires, and more, and put them into a steampunk setting, and you get pure brilliance. I read book 1 in 2015 and book 2 in 2016.

“Prayer for the Dead (Revenants in Purgatory #1), “Despite Serendipity” (Revenants in Purgatory #1.5), and “Aeonian Kiss (Revenants in Purgatory #2)” by Nicki Scalise. I read Book 1 in 2013, and read book 1.5 and book 2 in 2016. These are amazing paranormal stories, with romance, suspense, mystery, and anything else you could want in a great story. The imagination that went into this series is incredible. Great writing, great characters. Lovers of all things paranormal, I'll make it easy for you: Read everything Nicki has written.

“No Place Like Home” by Julie E. Czerneda is a thoroughly enjoyable science fiction short story. If you like science fiction and fantasy, you need to read Czerneda. Read them all. Julie is my favorite author.

“Reflections” by Cassandra Riley is a heart-warming story told in a series of reminiscences as an elderly couple sit on their porch drinking lemonade and recalling the great events of their shared life. I'm looking forward to reading more of Cassandra's work.

“Dreams Really Do Come True” by Kameron Brooke is a departure from my usual reads. I mainly read science fiction and fantasy. This is a steamy, explicit, lesbian romance short story. The writing is very good. It should have been longer (I mean that in a good way.)

“Fatal Retribution (Raina Kirkland #1)” and “Mortal Sentry (Raina Kirkland #2)” by Diana Graves are outstanding paranormal urban fantasy novels. These are spectacular reads, full of great characters, imaginative plots, great dialog, and all very well written. There are currently five books in the series, and I look forward to reading the rest.

Well, that about wraps up my most memorable reads of 2016. Check out these authors. They are all amazing.