This is my 8th (maybe 9th?) year doing this tag and it's always a fun one. I like pausing mid-year to take a look back at what I've read in the last six months. Which books have been real stand-outs, which authors have knocked my socks off, and what books I'm looking forward to in the coming months. So let me pull up my Goodreads shelves for reference and we'll get started.
I don't get too wrapped up in my Goodreads challenge. I set a reasonable-for-me number and then don't think much about it. So here's where I stand halfway through the year.
At this point last year I had read 63/100 books so I'm either reading less or reading slower... or both. 😏
BEST BOOK YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2024
This was easy. The Women was the first book I read this year and remains the best of the year. Talk about starting the year strong! And it's no surprise to me that it's Kristin Hannah who provided it. She never fails to deliver a powerful and insightful story that also carries an emotional punch. Her novels are well researched and it shows. The Women shined a light on the mostly overlooked combat nurses that served in the Vietnam War and it left a lasting impression.
BEST SEQUEL YOU'VE READ SO FAR IN 2024
Yes, Iron Flame (and previously Fourth Wing) is overhyped. And sure, it may be lacking in top-notch world-building. But that doesn't change the fact that I was 100% invested and devoured every page. Fantasy readers (which I am not) can likely find fault with nearly every aspect, but I've loved Yarros's writing for years and she gave me what I love: characters that I cared about, plenty of tricky machinations, a who-can-be-trusted plot, and plenty of swoony moments. For sheer unputdownability, this series takes the cake.
A NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN'T READ YET BUT WANT TO
I've been reading Maupin's Tales of the City series for more than twenty years and I love returning to the beloved residents of Barbary Lane with every release. While those new releases have come further and further apart over the last several years, Maupin did gift us with Mona of the Manor in March of this year. I haven't managed to work it into my reading yet, but I love knowing I have it to look forward to.
MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2024
I love the story telling style of both Rebecca Yarros and Mia Sheridan so Variation and The Broken Places are two that I'm excited about.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Blitz was not a book I disliked, nor a book I rated low (I gave it 3.5★). But it did fall far below my expectations. I typically love Devney Perry's contemporary romances, and while this one was definitely a contemporary it was severely lacking in romance.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
I picked up Last Call at the Local on a whim. I was looking for an audiobook to listen to on my commute and figured it would be something light and easy. While it was a fairly light read, I was surprised at the topics it covered. There was a strong focus on mental health (one character had OCD, one had ADHD) and it was handled with such care. I found myself fully invested in the main characters and their struggles. Maybe it was a case of the right book at the right time, but this one surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. It didn't hurt that the narration was perfection.
FAVORITE DEBUT OR NEW-TO-ME AUTHOR
This would be a toss-up between Sarah Grunder Ruiz and Cara Bastone. Both were new-to-me authors this year and both Last Call at the Local and Ready or Not were a delight.
NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH
I don't know about "fictional crush", but I will say that Carson "Crew" Knight from Corinne Michaels' Forgotten Desires is one of the sweetest, swooniest heroes I've come across in a quite a while.
NEWEST FAVORITE CHARACTER
So many wonderful characters that I have met and spent time with this year! But I will narrow it down to two: Ivan Lukov (From Lukov with Love) and Soledad Barnes (This Could Be Us).
BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY
Have you met me? I cry over half the books I read. 😉 But these were the top offenders: Pucking Ever After: Volume II, Boone, Ravensong, and No Tomorrow.
BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY
Happy, you say? Um, I don't read a lot of happy books. I read books that are angsty and emotional and make me cry. But okay, sure, I can come up with one that made me happy. 😉 The cinnamon roll characters in Heartstopper (Volume 5, in this case) never fail to put a smile on my face.
FAVORITE BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATION THAT YOU SAW THIS YEAR
Stop the presses! I actually have an answer for this prompt this year! I am not a tv/movie watcher so I usually skip this one, but I did just start watching Daisy Jones and The Six last week. I'm about four episodes in and so far it's been a fantastic adaptation.
FAVORITE REVIEW/POST YOU'VE WRITTEN THIS YEAR
This always seems like a weird/impossible to answer question. But I'll go with my review of The Women from back in January.
MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU'VE BOUGHT THIS YEAR
This alternate cover edition of Fragile Sanctuary gives me heart eyes. 😍
BOOKS YOU WANT TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR
How much time do we have? Obviously, I want to read All The Books, but for the sake of brevity, I'll leave it at these: June First, Mile High, Hills of Shivers and Shadows, and Heartsong.
HOW MANY 5-STAR READS THIS YEAR?
I am very, very stingy with my five-star ratings. Those don't get handed out to just every book I liked. Not even the really good ones. Nope, five-stars ratings are saved for those unicorn reads. The books that I fall into and don't want to climb back out. The ones that move me, make me feel, and cannot stop thinking about long after I've turned the last page. So I've had only one five-star read so far this year and that was The Women by Kristin Hannah.
BOOK YOU WANT TO RE-READ THIS YEAR?
I very rarely re-read and when I do it's usually because I'm in the mood for a comfort read. It's most often a favorite audiobook, something easy that I enjoy returning to time and time again, comfy like an old sweater. A prime example is Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. But there are a couple books that I would like to re-read in order to refresh my memory, and relive the experience. A couple of these would be: Still Beating, Pucking Around, and Cake.
5-STAR PREDICTIONS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR
Well, this is a tough one. As I mentioned above, five-star ratings are not common for me. I hand those out sooo sparingly. So I may not even have another 5-star read this year. But, just for fun, I'll look into my crystal ball and say that both Catch the Sun and Pucking Sweet will get those elusive five stars from me.
Have you read any of these books?
What's the best book you've read so far in 2024?
