My top favorite books of 2004

 I read 601 books this year, which was my goal. When I read that many books in one year, it is difficult to pick a favorite, or even a handful of favorite books. Very difficult. I spent a lot of time on this post, looking over the books I read this past year, and this is what I came up with. There are tons of great books that I didn't list, but were 5-star reviews that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Last year, I did my top 20 favorite books, and my top 13 favorite series I read. I counted any series that I read at least three books in, and if that series had books I would consider a favorite, I only counted them as part of the series. Not all books are Christian, but the ones that are not specifically Christian are clean and curse word free. 

Some stats:

First book of the year: Paramedic Killer by Pat Patterson. (I wouldn't recommend...had some bad language).

Last book of the year: Death the Halls by Adam Blumer

Longest book of the year: Silent Night (Multiple authors): 981 pages

Shortest book of the year: Dane's Dream by Lynne Landes: 62 pages. (I really don't consider that a book at that page count, and rarely read anything that short, but I did read it and Goodreads counted it).

Total pages read: 157,937

Average book length: 262 pages

Book I read that was shelved by the most people: Double Take by Lynette Eason: 17,790 other people.

Book that I read that was shelved by the least amount of people: The Sheriff's Christmas Angel by Chole Carley: 0 People besides me.

Highest amount of books by the same author:

1) Mandi Blake: 23 books

2) Cynthia Hickey: 20 books

3) Jo Grafford: 19 books

4) Christy Barritt: 16 books

5) Laura Scott: 15 books

6) Lori Copeland: 14 books

7) Susan May Warren: 12 books

8) Lisa Phillips: 9 books

9) Lacy Williams: 9 books

10) Creston Mapes: 9 books

Onto my top 20 favorite books, in no particular order:

1) 8 Down by Kimberley Woodhouse. This was the second book in a trilogy. All three books were awesome, but the author outdid herself on this one. The plot was diabolical, and it blew me away. Woodhouse normally writes historical fiction/romance, but she hit it out of the park with this suspense series, and especially with 8 Down.

2) Fragile Design by Colleen Coble

3) One Wrong Move by Dani Pettrey

4) Vanishing Legacy by Kate Angelo. #1 in the Elite Guardians: Savannah. I have enjoyed all of the Elite Guardians books, and loved all 3 books in this trilogy. This one was my favorite. Awesome plot, characters....including a heroic diabetic 11 year old boy. This is definitely a favorite.

There was an original series by Lynette Eason, then a couple of series by multiple authors.

  

5) The Glory of Light by Hannah Hood Lucero. This author is one of the most amazing authors to new to Christian fiction. And this book......it was an amazing read. Probably her best yet, which is saying a lot. The two main characters were so different....there is just so much to unpack in this story, it is a must read. 

6) Hazardous Holiday by Liz Johnson. This is a Love Inspired Suspense novel that I have read a few times, the 5th in the Men of Valor Series. 

7) If the Boot Fits by Karen Witemeyer. Second in Western version of fairy tales. This one is based on Cinderella, but it is the guy who loses his boot. 😀

8) Out of Time by Lisa Phillips. This is the tenth book in this series, and is due out January 22. I didn't think I would like this series at first, but now I am addicted to what happens next. The series is  a bit different from the average Christian fiction. It has little romance in most of it so far, and has the same main character. This may be the best book yet in the series. 

9) Terminal  Danger by Jerusha Agen. The fifth and final book in the Guardians Unleashed Series. 

10) Grave Consequences by Elle E. Kay. The third and last book in the Pennsylvania Parks Series.

11) With Each Tomorrow by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse. #2 in the Jewels of Kalispell trilogy.

12) What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. The first collaboration by these two authors.

13) Target Acquired by Lynette Eason. Second in the Lake City Heroes trilogy. 

14) Facing the Enemy by DiAnn Mills

15) Escape From the Everglades by Tim Shoemaker. Juvenile fiction, but his books are awesome enough for adults to enjoy. The first in a series that has 5 books so far. 

16) Unexpected Witness by Penny Zeller. This author usually writes historical romances, but I loved her first suspense novel.

17) The Blooming of Delphinium. The second book in a hilarious series.

18) Cloaked In Beauty by Karen Witemeyer. Third in the Westernized version of fairy tales. This one is Red Riding Hood. 

19) Queen of Hearts by Heather Gilbert Day. This author's books aren't what I would call Christian fiction, but they are clean and have a Christian world view. This was an awesome book. She also has a series I love Barks and Bean Cafe, even though I don't like dogs or coffee. 😊

20) Headwater Holiday by Hannah Hood Lucero. This is a shorter book, but as good as her others. I absolutely loved it. Can't wait to see what she comes up with in 2025.

Top Favorite series:
This might seem like a lot to list, but I read a ton of series this year. I count a series read in 2024 at least three books that I read in that series. Of course some series only have three books. If I counted all of them, I read 62 series, or at least 3 books in that many series. 

So I am going for my top 16 favorite series. This was even harder to narrow down than the top 20 books. 

1) Coastal Hope Series by Jessica Ashley. Ashley is a new author to the Christian fiction market, and published all 5 of the books in this series this year. I have been impressed with her books, and she is an author I have been recommending. She has a new series starting soon about brothers that do search and rescue that I am looking forward to. 

2) Sons of Vigilance Series by Hannah Hood Lucerno. The first book in this series, her second book published, came out in November of 2023. Thanks to her books being suggested on social media, I discovered her books in April, and devoured this 4-book series. This is an awesome series about brothers, all of them having some kind of military background.

3) Chasing Fire: Montana. This was a great series put together by two of my favorite authors: Lisa Phillips and Susan May Warren. Warren wrote two of the six books, Phillips wrote one, and the other three were written by Megan Besing, Michelle Sass Aleckson, and Kate Angelo. The series brings characters from some of Warren's and Phllips' books, and is a series I would call epic.

4) Acts of Valor by Rebecca Hartt. I discovered this author last year, and read the first three books in her Acts of Valor Series. I read the other three this year, including #6 which has three stories in it. These books are about military guys and are all great reads.

5) Benson First Responders by Lisa Phillips. This series was one of my favorites last year. She finished it off with three books this year. This author writes an amazing amount of books, and though I enjoy anything she writes, this series is my favorite. And Duplicity, #8 in the series, is my favorite book in the series.

6) Joe O'Shannick Series by John Galt Robinson. I did a blog post at the end of last year listing as many male Christian fiction authors that I could come up with. A few days later, I was contacted by email by an author I had never heard of, offering to send me his 4 book series autographed. John is an ER doctor, and an amazing author. The first book is a little slow going - but still interesting, and definitely picks up. The two main characters are a  Navy SEAL. Joe O'Shannick, and an ER doctor, Christy Tabrizi. The books are amazing fast paced reads with very likable characters. There are 4 books out so far, with two more coming.....I think both this year.

7) Tactical Response Team by Cindy Bonds. This was a new author to me, and I have enjoyed all of her books, but especially this series. 

8) Shining Knight Protectors by Madison Love. I am not crazy about the covers on these books, but it is a really great series, especially if you enjoy books about security guards/protection. 

9) The Wright Heroes of Maine by Robin Patchen. This was an author I almost didn't read, and am glad I did. Her best series so far is The Wright Heroes of Maine series....totally awesome. There is a prequel out plus four other books out so far, with at least two more coming. The first book came out last year, so pictured are the prequel and books 2-4. 

10) Redemption Creek Series by Edie James. Another author I was dubious to try, but am glad I did. This is her third series, and best so far in my opinion.

11) Men of the Saddle by Lori Copeland. An older series, but I really enjoyed it. These are newer covers. Mine don't look like these. 

12) Secrets of Whispering Pines by Holly Bowne. This author isn't specially Christian, but is clean and curse free. Her books popped up as a suggestion on Amazon, so I checked them out. Great suspense series about three brothers. 

13) Alaska Air One Rescue by Susan May Warren. Her name has become synonymous with quality Christian fiction, and she excels at rescue scenes. Awesome series. 

14) Mountain Country K-9 Unit.  Great multiple author search and rescue suspense series from Love Inspired. I loved it. 

15) A Breed Apart: Legacy: Ronie Kendig did a three book series about military working dogs, A Breed Apart back around 2017. She wrote one book in this new series, and the other four books were written by other authors working with her. Awesome series.

16) Signs of Life Series by Creston Mapes. This series starts out with a mass shooting, and most of the series has something to do with that, though each book is a separate story. I really enjoyed this series. 

Honorable mention: The Crittendon Series (3 books) by this author. I read them some years ago when they came out, but I re-read them and had forgotten how good they are. 

Does Science Disprove God? Part III The Code. Guest post by author John Galt Robinson

Third guest blog post by author and doctor John Galt Robinson: 

Does Science Disprove God? Part III

The Code

By John Galt Robinson

Imagine you are strolling barefoot down a sandy beach on a lush tropical island. A warm breeze blows through your hair while waves roll across the turquoise water, musically washing ashore. You come across five letters scrawled in the sand that spell ALOHA. How did those letters come to be in the sand? Would a reasonable person conclude that the letters were a random result of the sand being moved about by the wind and the waves? Did a crab scrawl these letters? A bird? Of course not. A reasonable person would look at these five letters, see they are clearly letters from a written language that are precisely arranged in an order and sequence that communicates a message. In other words, a reasonable person would conclude that someone intentionally scrawled these five letters into the sand in order to communicate a message. To say it differently, we would sea this word, or this code and reason back to its source being an intelligent mind.

Now, if we can reach that conclusion from just five arranged letters, what if we were to stumble upon and entire sentence written in the sand, say; EAT AT JOE’S. Would the presence of additional letters arranged into specific words that form a sentence be more or less likely to have come from an intelligent mind? Of course, we would reason that these nine letters came from an intelligent mind. What if we were to discover a paperback book laying on a beach towel? Would we flip through the pages, each containing thousands of letters arranged into hundreds of words all arranged to communicate a cleverly written story and conclude this was the result of a random event where some type of ink spilled across hundreds of sheets of paper (where did the paper come from?) and a story resulted? I write thriller novels and not one contains less than 100,000 words. Are my novels the products of blind natural processes? I think you can see where I’m going with this. The higher number of letters involved, the less likely we are to conclude that such a finding would be the product of natural events. 

So how is it that one can look at a simple life form and conclude it just came to be as a result of a freak natural events? Let’s look at the simplest life form, a single celled organism called an amoeba. Even the simplest life form such as an amoeba has to have its own unique genetic code in order to exist and function. This genetic code is made up of strands of DNA consisting of precise arrangement of nitrogenous bases, letters if you will, that form each cell’s genetic code. Remember, we concluded that a simple five letter word had an intelligent source, more so for a sentence and exponentially more so for a book made up of several hundred thousand letters. Can you guess the amount of genetic code in an amoeba? Well, it’s enough code to fill volumes of books. In fact, it would fill enough books to stock a small library! And that’s just in an amoeba! By comparison, the human genome contains 3.2 Billion letters of code. It is also crucial to point out that these billions of letters of code MUST be precisely arranged in order  for the organism to exist and function.  If just one of these letters of code is out of sequence, the organism may have severe mutations or even be incompatible with life.

This begs the question; if we can look at five letters scrawled into the sand and reasonably conclude they came from and intelligent mind, how can we look at a complex organism with 3.2 Billion letters of precisely arranged code and NOT conclude it is the product of an intelligent mind. 

Author’s note: nearly all of this information was obtained from the book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek. If you would like to much more detailed and comprehensive study of this topic and much more, I highly recommend this book or visit Frank Turek’s website www.crossexamined.org

John Galt Robinson is a board certified emergency medicine physician practicing in South Carolina. He is also a published fiction author writing the Joe O’Shanick/Christy Tabrizi series as well as his soon to be published Nate Kelsey series in the suspense/thriller genre. His website is www.johngaltrobinson.com.

Cloaked In Beauty, Texas Ever After #3 by Karen Witemeyer

Book description: 

Trust no one in the shadows of the piney woods . . .

Letty Hood has spent the last fifteen years of her life hidden away with her grandmother in the backwoods of east Texas to escape the deadly schemes of an uncle who wants her dead. Now, with her twenty-first birthday on the horizon, she is forced to accept the escort of a stranger and return to Houston in secret so she can claim a birthright that will make her one of the wealthiest women in Texas. If she lives long enough to inherit.

Pinkerton agent Philip Carmichael has one duty: get the Radcliffe heiress home alive. Expecting a spoiled girl, Philip is surprised to encounter a woman of rare strength with a kind soul and keen wit. As they journey together, Letty's resilience wins his admiration, breaking through his hardened cynicism. Yet the threat to her survival grows more menacing with every mile, and Philip fears that keeping Letty out of harm's way may be just as impossible as keeping her out of his heart.

My review:
  This is the third book in a series of Western stories based on fairy tales. And it is my favorite series by this masterful wordsmith so far. The first book had the most parallels, and the second one not as many, but still some obvious ones. 

 Cloaked In Beauty does not have as many obvious parallels to the story of Red Riding Hood, but it was still an amazing read, and the parallels are there. 

 The book was full of likable and awesome characters. Letty, the young girl hidden with her grandma for fifteen years from her evil uncle. Phillip, the honorable Pinkerton agent hired by Letty's mother to find her and bring her home for her 21st birthday. Leah Radcliffe, willing to be apart from her daughter for so many years to protect her. Grandma Iris Hood, willing to hide to protect her granddaughter. Rusty, the wolf, Letty's faithful companion. 

 These made the story an awesome read. I love the author's writing style. She weaves humor, adventure, suspense, romance, and Christianity all together and makes a story hard to put down.

 And this book had all that in spades. Letty and Phillip made such an unlikely, yet perfect pair as they wound their way the 270 miles or so from Cass County to Houston. (I Googled it.) :) He was determined to protect her no matter what, and she was not at all what he expected, and proved she could pull her own weight, even taking care of him when the need arose.

 Though one would not call this a suspense novel, it had its share of suspense as Phillip did his best to protect her from her evil uncle and his minions, and as her uncle proved just how evil he was. A guillotine even comes into the picture. (Shudder!)

 Good and love of course triumphs over evil, and the book had a great ending. I kind of saw it coming, but still enjoyed the surprise Letty had for Phillip. 

This is another great addition to this great series that can be read in any order. 

Special thanks to the author for an advance copy of this novel. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

About the author:

Voted #1 Reader's Favorite Christian Historical Author of 2023 by Family Fiction magazine, bestselling and Carol and Christy Award-winning author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. She and her husband make their home in Abilene, Texas. Learn more about Karen and her books at KarenWitemeyer.com.

                                                  Book #1 (Snow White)

Book #2 (Cinderella)

Love In Store, Hollow Creek Series #2 by Penny Zeller

Book description:

 Can two sworn enemies find true love?

When a prominent resident suggests opening a boutique in Hollow Creek, Montana, little does she know the distress it will cause. Distress for the owner’s spoiled niece, McKenna, who will assist with the shop, and distress for the new sheriff, Clayton Beringer, who finds sparring with McKenna more taxing than apprehending criminals.

McKenna Chapman would prefer to be anywhere but the backward and uncivilized town of Hollow Creek, Montana. She especially could do without that obnoxious, but handsome, Sheriff Beringer. For what type of lawman insists on traipsing into the boutique in search of criminals? Does he not know the first thing about proper etiquette?

As newly-elected sheriff of Hollow Creek, Clayton Beringer has two goals—to make his late father proud and to effectively serve the townsfolk. He knew he might have to capture dangerous criminals on the lam, but he never figured he would have to contend with an uppity, and unfortunately, beautiful, clerk at the boutique.

While unexpected circumstances draw McKenna and Clayton together and force them to realize their growing attraction to each other, evil threatens Hollow Creek. Will they come to terms with the fact that they love each other—while catching an outlaw in the process?

My review:
  The last book I reviewed was also by this author, but in a different series. This is the second in a series, but can definitely be read as a stand alone.

 Love In Store is a very entertaining - and at times humorous - read. Things start out on  the wrong foot between the hero and heroine with the sheriff arresting McKenna for stealing from the new boutique in town, a big understanding on the sheriff's part. And things go downhill from there for a while, until McKenna admits to herself at one point that the sheriff wasn't quite as vexing as she had thought. 

 I liked both characters. A lot. Clayton was determined to be as good of a sheriff as his dad had been, and did his best to protect the town and keep order. McKenna moved away from her family to help better support her family who was in dire straits because of her father embezzling and going to prison.

  I know it is fiction, but it was cool that Clayton asked McKenna's prisoner father for permission to court her, and than asked another question later. 

 There was more of a suspense element in this book than in some of Zeller's. There was a criminal up to no good in the town, and there were a few tense moments due to that.

 Our heroine had to learn some lessons throughout the book, and change how she saw people she would have once considered beneath her, and change how she saw God. 

 McKenna and Clayton did get their happy ending, and this was a very enjoyable read. 

Special thanks to the author for an advance copy of this novel. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

About the author: 

Penny Zeller is known for her heartfelt stories of faith-filled happily ever afters and her passion to impact lives for Christ through fiction. Her books feature tender romance, steady doses of humor, and memorable characters that stay with you long after the last page.

While she has had a love for writing since childhood, Penny began her adult writing career penning articles for national and regional publications on a wide variety of topics.

Today Penny is a multi-published author of over two dozen books and is also a fitness instructor, loves the outdoors, and is a flower gardening addict. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, hiking, kayaking, biking, birdwatching, reading, running, and playing volleyball.

Penny resides with her husband and two daughters in small-town America and loves to connect with her readers at her website at www.pennyzeller.com, her blog, www.pennyzeller.wordpress.com, and her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennyzellerbooks where she posts faith, funnies, writing updates, and encouragement.

                                                                

                                                               Book #1 

Book #3, coming December 2025

Beyond the Horizon, Horizon Series #3 by Penny Zeller

 

Book description:

She's desperate to keep her job.

He's desperate for solitude.

What is God's plan in this complicated situation?

Ruby Shepherdson has worked hard to secure her job as a reporter for The Horizon Herald. After a costly mistake, Ruby’s unforgiving boss gives her an ultimatum to either interview the handsome and reclusive Jake Lynton—or lose her job. But each time Ruby has attempted to obtain an interview, Mr. Lynton has refused. Why would anyone who has saved the lives of four people deny recognition? And why does she find herself drawn to the man?

Jake Lynton just wants to be left alone. Haunted by the past, he runs from both guilt and God by leaving home and somehow finding himself in Horizon, Idaho. His hopes of living as a recluse are foiled when a pesky, but beautiful reporter insists he allow her to interview him about a good deed gone awry. Despite Jake’s efforts, Ruby Shepherdson persists, soon endearing herself to him while somehow remaining endlessly annoying.

Jake’s story isn’t the only one Ruby seeks to publish. When rumors of ill dealings come to her attention, she sets forth to uncover the truth—truth someone does not want revealed. As danger emerges and an unanticipated enemy determines to keep Ruby silent, will Jake fit the pieces together in time to rescue her? Or will he lose the woman who has found a place in his heart?

My review:
  I have come to really enjoy this author's books, and am always happy to read one. And this one did not disappoint in the least.

  Ruby and Jake were both great and likable characters, but especially Jake. He blamed himself for his brother's death, and his father also blamed him. On the run from his family and filled with guilt and self loathing, he was an unkempt hermit....pointed out a couple times by Ruby. I won't give spoilers away, but there is a very emotional and poignant scene in the book that was a highlight of the book.

 The plot was really good, and enjoyable...but what truly made the book for me was Jake's journey back to God and his family from a pit of guilt and despair that had turned him into a very miserable guy. Not all Christian fiction must have truths and lessons like that in them, but I enjoy it when an author weaves things like that throughout a story.

 To me, Zeller's books are a bit reminiscent of  Janette Oke's earlier books, but not as sedate and slow moving. Most of her books have some element of suspense with bad guys in, which always makes a story more interesting to me, and this one had that. In fact, our hero and heroine get into a tight spot at one point.

 I loved the conclusion to the story...including Gus, and am looking forward to the next and final book in the series.

Special thanks to the author for an advance copy of this novel. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

About the author:

Penny Zeller is known for her heartfelt stories of faith-filled happily ever afters and her passion to impact lives for Christ through fiction. Her books feature tender romance, steady doses of humor, and memorable characters that stay with you long after the last page.

While she has had a love for writing since childhood, Penny began her adult writing career penning articles for national and regional publications on a wide variety of topics.

Today Penny is a multi-published author of over two dozen books and is also a fitness instructor, loves the outdoors, and is a flower gardening addict. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, hiking, kayaking, biking, birdwatching, reading, running, and playing volleyball.

Penny resides with her husband and two daughters in small-town America and loves to connect with her readers at her website at www.pennyzeller.com, her blog, www.pennyzeller.wordpress.com, and her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennyzellerbooks where she posts faith, funnies, writing updates, and encouragement.

                                                                 Book #1

                                                                 Book #2

Book #4, coming October 2025