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.