Best and Worst Reads of 2024
Jan. 1st, 2025 01:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kpopwinemom2024 was an intense rollercoaster of a year! A LOT happened, but we can talk about that later. What we're talking about TODAY is The Year In Books. I read so many flippin' books this year. I would like to say it was my job, but actually I spent a significant amount of time misbehaving and reading whatever the heck I wanted to, and I have no regrets and no remorse and I would do it again.
I am absolutely cheating on this round-up, and I am giving series their own headings, so what is actually a five or fifteen book series is being lumped into one section. This list is not an in order ranking because I simply do not want to live my life like that. I am also going to talk about the books I read this year that really didn't work for me. Everything is subjective, these are all opinions...you know the drill. (If you liked one of the books I didn't, I do wanna know what worked for you, and the same goes for if you disliked one of my favorites!)
Books (and series) that haunted me this year
This is a list of my very favorites from this year, books, authors and series!
1. The Felix Castor Series by Mike Carey
Oh my God did this lurk. Truly Kmac Bait. Felix is a DISASTER. I started tracking the number of severe injuries he got per book. I don't know how he survives each novel, I really do not.
I ADORED this series. I have so many half-written fics for this series. The magic and worldbuilding are deeply compelling, the voice and the narrative are so clear, and Felix's narration is so fascinating because the way he thinks about himself and his actions are just not completely inline. Really great usage of first person POV, because we're in Felix's head seeing why he thinks he's doing things, but able to see past him at the same time. I greatly enjoyed these books, and did end up with the full set. Yes, including the novella I whined about. It seems like the originally planned book six will be split into three novellas and I will get. Each. One.
Thank you, Pop, for your recommendation. 10/10 stars.
2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
This is where we really see me cheating, because under this heading I am counting the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Heroes of Olympus series, The Trials of Apollo series, the three short story collections, and the standalone novel The Sun and the Star, which I read first.
This was also a friend recommendation! I saw merryofsoul talking about The Sun and the Star and decided to read that, and then another IRL friend monologued at me about how much she LOVED Percy Jackson. I ended up devouring them. I actually still have one left (Wrath of the Triple Goddess, which came out this year) but I had a lot of fun reading these books, and then watching the TV show and movies. They're just really delightful, fun, light and well-written, and Riordan seems to be making an honest effort to be a good and kind person. They hold up really well when you read them for the first time as an adult, and I highly recommend them.
3. Medusa Myth of Monsters by Katherine Marsh
So this was my year of Greek Myths. I picked this up because it was on my audiobook app! It's another middle grade descendants novel, which is definitely a trend the PJO books started but this follows a little girl who finds out she is descended from Medusa. This is a great novel about feminism, about truth in storytelling, and about how stories can keep - and destroy - power. A solid introduction to a lot of important concepts for young girls. I am so excited for the sequel.
4. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
This is solidly the best written book I have read this year. Magical realism fused with historic fiction, Katherine Arden uses a tale about a pair of separated siblings to tell a story about changing times and love and sacrifice. This is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story and I really think the fact it was published as fantasy is to its detriment. It's far more literary, for one, and there just isn't that much magic. Arden's writing is subtle and deft and her storytelling is beautiful. It comes out in paperback soon, so if you haven't read this I cannot recommend it more.
5. The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic
So this is the exact opposite of The Warm Hands of Ghosts. This is a stupid book. Once I finished it, I re-read the entire Foxhole Court series and then immediately read The Sunshine Court again. The Sunshine Court is book 4 in the All For the Game Series, a self-published series by Nora Sakavic that really and honestly defies class. It's best described as "college sports mafia" and it is deeply, deeply unhinged. The first three books follow college freshman and mob heir Neil Josten who just really, really wants to play some sports before he is inevitably killed. The Sunshine Court follows a minor character from those books, Jean Moreau, who, having escaped his previous college team that tortured him (literally) since he was a young teenager, now has to adjust to playing college sports for a team that doesn't torture their players.
These books are bugfuck bananacrackers. There is no way around it. They are deeply insane. They are like literary crack cocaine to me: terrible for you and also addictive. I do not recommend them and yet I am obsessed.
6. The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
This is the OTHER book that I read twice this year. I do not normally reread books in their entirety. This year I did that twice.
I adored this book? I've spoken about it here before but this book just really scratched my brain real good. It's actually better written than I've previously given it credit for, the romance is charming, the magic system is fun and functional, the plot is strong. I also read the sequel - my coworker hand delivered it to me because I was too ill to come to the store and we didn't know if we would have work the next day due to a tropical storm. The sequel, Go Luck Yourself, is also just so fun and wonderful. I really enjoyed both of these and if you like lighthearted queer romances with a solid emotional core, these are for you.
7. The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
They are just such a talented writer. The Pairing is their most sensuous novel by far, and gleefully titillates the senses with passages about food, drink and sex. This was a delightful romp of a novel and I really enjoyed it. Kit and Theo are MESSY and fun, the sort of people I love to read about. I love everything McQuiston has written, and I did finally read their middlegrade novel, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and adored that too.
8. The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin
This is what a romantasy SHOULD BE: dark and painful and sexy! The magic has COSTS, the villains are cruel, and this book will HURT YOU GOOD. I read this not knowing any of the subgenres, just that it was queer and fantasy and there was REAL FEAR when I read this book. So so good, I cannot wait for book 2 this June.
9. Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
Really excellent standalone fantasy! The magic tied into the novel's themes very well, it tied up nicely, and the characters were very strong. I need to check out more by this author.
10. You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
I was sleeping on Cat Sebastian! Her books are just really really excellent, and I adore reading them. This is a historic MM romance novel, and it got me to read a bunch of her other books - Hither, Page, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, and We Could Be So Good. I really liked all of them, but I think I like her midcentury work the best. Older period pieces don't really resonate for me.
11. Game Changers by Rachel Reid
I read the last four books in this series this year, and they really resonated for me! I love a good hockey romance, and Reid's books explore different facets of being a queer pro sports player. I love how NONE of her romances have players on the same team, a pet peeve of mine. My favorite was Role Model. Troy has been posturing as a straight asshole to cover the fact he's queer. But when it gets out his best friend is a serial rapist, he loses his shit and ends up being traded. Now on a less toxic team, Troy has to learn what it means to be a decent person - and himself. I just really loved reading about someone who has been steeped in toxicity his whole life find out that there are other ways to live.
Game Changers is the rare romance series where it actually pays off to read in order. Book one follows a closeted hockey player as he falls in love and chooses to come out, and then books two through six follow various other queer hockey players. I freaking adore everything Rachel Reid has written. I might buy all these books and reread them.
12. Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
Graveyard Shift is a haunting novella from the author who wrote If We Were Villains, which I also read this year and adored. This follows a group of five smokers who meet every night in a university cemetery. When they discover a strange, recently dug grave during an evening meeting, the five begin to unravel a mystery that could effect their whole town. A quick and delicious read.
What didn't work for me
This is kind of a mixed bag. I am including books I loved but that had strange endings alongside books I really did not like. Let's go.
1. The Dissonance by Shaun Hamill
This is number one on my "I loved this but the ending was "meh"" list. It was good. The ending was whatever. Might be setting up for a sequel, might just have not stuck the landing.
2. Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
Great! Compelling! Fascinating! The 3/4 twist was stupid, and the ending was unhinged. The author WANTED to be unhinged, and is very pleased with themself, but the ending didn't actually address any of the issues any of the characters had. It felt completely out of left field and didn't actually resolve the emotional arc. Incredibly irritating.
3. This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinka
Great book! Marketed as a poly romance, ends with only part of the triad together, so unless this is setting up for a sequel, which I feel like it was...it is not a poly romance, it's a love triangle. If there is a book two I will devour it.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
1. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
This book was rushed. It might have been a fine fantasy novel but the popularity of book one meant book 2 went to print far before it was ready. It was sloppy and lazy and poorly written. I am sure the series will get increasingly worse.
2. Evocation by S.T. Gibson
This had abominable pacing and horrible handling of the romance. I liked the plot but it wasn't paced well at all and not enough time was spent on the romantic relationship. I really wanted to like this book. I thought it needed a total rewrite.
3. Medusa by Nataly Gruender
Very MEH. Just had nothing to say. Went nowhere. Least impressive of the books.
Ok, I am wrapping up writing this now because my nephew is here and I want to hold him. And maybe talk to my brother. And pet my dog nephew. Happy New Year! Here's to a great year ahead.
I am absolutely cheating on this round-up, and I am giving series their own headings, so what is actually a five or fifteen book series is being lumped into one section. This list is not an in order ranking because I simply do not want to live my life like that. I am also going to talk about the books I read this year that really didn't work for me. Everything is subjective, these are all opinions...you know the drill. (If you liked one of the books I didn't, I do wanna know what worked for you, and the same goes for if you disliked one of my favorites!)
Books (and series) that haunted me this year
This is a list of my very favorites from this year, books, authors and series!
1. The Felix Castor Series by Mike Carey
Oh my God did this lurk. Truly Kmac Bait. Felix is a DISASTER. I started tracking the number of severe injuries he got per book. I don't know how he survives each novel, I really do not.
I ADORED this series. I have so many half-written fics for this series. The magic and worldbuilding are deeply compelling, the voice and the narrative are so clear, and Felix's narration is so fascinating because the way he thinks about himself and his actions are just not completely inline. Really great usage of first person POV, because we're in Felix's head seeing why he thinks he's doing things, but able to see past him at the same time. I greatly enjoyed these books, and did end up with the full set. Yes, including the novella I whined about. It seems like the originally planned book six will be split into three novellas and I will get. Each. One.
Thank you, Pop, for your recommendation. 10/10 stars.
2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
This is where we really see me cheating, because under this heading I am counting the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Heroes of Olympus series, The Trials of Apollo series, the three short story collections, and the standalone novel The Sun and the Star, which I read first.
This was also a friend recommendation! I saw merryofsoul talking about The Sun and the Star and decided to read that, and then another IRL friend monologued at me about how much she LOVED Percy Jackson. I ended up devouring them. I actually still have one left (Wrath of the Triple Goddess, which came out this year) but I had a lot of fun reading these books, and then watching the TV show and movies. They're just really delightful, fun, light and well-written, and Riordan seems to be making an honest effort to be a good and kind person. They hold up really well when you read them for the first time as an adult, and I highly recommend them.
3. Medusa Myth of Monsters by Katherine Marsh
So this was my year of Greek Myths. I picked this up because it was on my audiobook app! It's another middle grade descendants novel, which is definitely a trend the PJO books started but this follows a little girl who finds out she is descended from Medusa. This is a great novel about feminism, about truth in storytelling, and about how stories can keep - and destroy - power. A solid introduction to a lot of important concepts for young girls. I am so excited for the sequel.
4. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
This is solidly the best written book I have read this year. Magical realism fused with historic fiction, Katherine Arden uses a tale about a pair of separated siblings to tell a story about changing times and love and sacrifice. This is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story and I really think the fact it was published as fantasy is to its detriment. It's far more literary, for one, and there just isn't that much magic. Arden's writing is subtle and deft and her storytelling is beautiful. It comes out in paperback soon, so if you haven't read this I cannot recommend it more.
5. The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic
So this is the exact opposite of The Warm Hands of Ghosts. This is a stupid book. Once I finished it, I re-read the entire Foxhole Court series and then immediately read The Sunshine Court again. The Sunshine Court is book 4 in the All For the Game Series, a self-published series by Nora Sakavic that really and honestly defies class. It's best described as "college sports mafia" and it is deeply, deeply unhinged. The first three books follow college freshman and mob heir Neil Josten who just really, really wants to play some sports before he is inevitably killed. The Sunshine Court follows a minor character from those books, Jean Moreau, who, having escaped his previous college team that tortured him (literally) since he was a young teenager, now has to adjust to playing college sports for a team that doesn't torture their players.
These books are bugfuck bananacrackers. There is no way around it. They are deeply insane. They are like literary crack cocaine to me: terrible for you and also addictive. I do not recommend them and yet I am obsessed.
6. The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
This is the OTHER book that I read twice this year. I do not normally reread books in their entirety. This year I did that twice.
I adored this book? I've spoken about it here before but this book just really scratched my brain real good. It's actually better written than I've previously given it credit for, the romance is charming, the magic system is fun and functional, the plot is strong. I also read the sequel - my coworker hand delivered it to me because I was too ill to come to the store and we didn't know if we would have work the next day due to a tropical storm. The sequel, Go Luck Yourself, is also just so fun and wonderful. I really enjoyed both of these and if you like lighthearted queer romances with a solid emotional core, these are for you.
7. The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
They are just such a talented writer. The Pairing is their most sensuous novel by far, and gleefully titillates the senses with passages about food, drink and sex. This was a delightful romp of a novel and I really enjoyed it. Kit and Theo are MESSY and fun, the sort of people I love to read about. I love everything McQuiston has written, and I did finally read their middlegrade novel, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and adored that too.
8. The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin
This is what a romantasy SHOULD BE: dark and painful and sexy! The magic has COSTS, the villains are cruel, and this book will HURT YOU GOOD. I read this not knowing any of the subgenres, just that it was queer and fantasy and there was REAL FEAR when I read this book. So so good, I cannot wait for book 2 this June.
9. Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
Really excellent standalone fantasy! The magic tied into the novel's themes very well, it tied up nicely, and the characters were very strong. I need to check out more by this author.
10. You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
I was sleeping on Cat Sebastian! Her books are just really really excellent, and I adore reading them. This is a historic MM romance novel, and it got me to read a bunch of her other books - Hither, Page, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, and We Could Be So Good. I really liked all of them, but I think I like her midcentury work the best. Older period pieces don't really resonate for me.
11. Game Changers by Rachel Reid
I read the last four books in this series this year, and they really resonated for me! I love a good hockey romance, and Reid's books explore different facets of being a queer pro sports player. I love how NONE of her romances have players on the same team, a pet peeve of mine. My favorite was Role Model. Troy has been posturing as a straight asshole to cover the fact he's queer. But when it gets out his best friend is a serial rapist, he loses his shit and ends up being traded. Now on a less toxic team, Troy has to learn what it means to be a decent person - and himself. I just really loved reading about someone who has been steeped in toxicity his whole life find out that there are other ways to live.
Game Changers is the rare romance series where it actually pays off to read in order. Book one follows a closeted hockey player as he falls in love and chooses to come out, and then books two through six follow various other queer hockey players. I freaking adore everything Rachel Reid has written. I might buy all these books and reread them.
12. Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
Graveyard Shift is a haunting novella from the author who wrote If We Were Villains, which I also read this year and adored. This follows a group of five smokers who meet every night in a university cemetery. When they discover a strange, recently dug grave during an evening meeting, the five begin to unravel a mystery that could effect their whole town. A quick and delicious read.
What didn't work for me
This is kind of a mixed bag. I am including books I loved but that had strange endings alongside books I really did not like. Let's go.
1. The Dissonance by Shaun Hamill
This is number one on my "I loved this but the ending was "meh"" list. It was good. The ending was whatever. Might be setting up for a sequel, might just have not stuck the landing.
2. Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
Great! Compelling! Fascinating! The 3/4 twist was stupid, and the ending was unhinged. The author WANTED to be unhinged, and is very pleased with themself, but the ending didn't actually address any of the issues any of the characters had. It felt completely out of left field and didn't actually resolve the emotional arc. Incredibly irritating.
3. This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinka
Great book! Marketed as a poly romance, ends with only part of the triad together, so unless this is setting up for a sequel, which I feel like it was...it is not a poly romance, it's a love triangle. If there is a book two I will devour it.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
1. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
This book was rushed. It might have been a fine fantasy novel but the popularity of book one meant book 2 went to print far before it was ready. It was sloppy and lazy and poorly written. I am sure the series will get increasingly worse.
2. Evocation by S.T. Gibson
This had abominable pacing and horrible handling of the romance. I liked the plot but it wasn't paced well at all and not enough time was spent on the romantic relationship. I really wanted to like this book. I thought it needed a total rewrite.
3. Medusa by Nataly Gruender
Very MEH. Just had nothing to say. Went nowhere. Least impressive of the books.
Ok, I am wrapping up writing this now because my nephew is here and I want to hold him. And maybe talk to my brother. And pet my dog nephew. Happy New Year! Here's to a great year ahead.
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