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During the year of 2024, I read 49 books, 11 of them being 5-star reads.
Everyone has their own scale on which to judge books. For me, a 5-star read doesn’t have to be a perfect book, but a book I enjoyed with every fiber of my being. A 5-star book is a book that I couldn’t put down, and once I did, it was one I couldn’t stop thinking about until I picked it back up again. A 5-star book is a book that drives me into a mild obsession until I have consumed every ounce of it and its echoes linger in my brain for days after. Books like these can be hard to come by, and that’s what makes them 5-stars worthy to me.
So, as 2024 comes to a close, I wanted to share my little reading year in review with you and hope that maybe you can find a little joy to bring with you into the new year, one book at a time.
Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians #3) by Kevin Kwan
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
Kevin Kwan does it again in the third book in his Crazy Rich Asians series.
Crazy family shenanigans continue when news of Nick’s grandmother, Su Yi, being on her deathbed reaches all corners of the world. Everyone races to her bedside, each with their own motivations (some more selfish than others) to speak with Su Yi before she passes. No one knows who will inherit Tyersall Park after her death and rich people will do some pretty crazy things to get what they want.
The perfect balance of comedy, romance, and loss, Rich People Problems was the perfect, most satisfying ending to an already amazing series. Astrid Leong, the queen that you are, you deserve absolutely everything you got in the end.
The Call of the Sea (The Grail Cycle #1) by Kate Schumacher
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Mythology
If Holly Black is the queen of fae, then Kate Schumacher is absolutely the queen of ocean fae and Arthurian legends.
The Call of the Sea is a queer, reimagined tale of the quest for the Holy Grail with pirates, fae, and outlawed magic. We follow three characters. Jenyfer, a woman who has spent her entire life hiding her magic from everyone around her, lest she be tied to a stake and drowned in the tides. Ordez, the half-fae son of the feared pirate captain Tymin and the fairy queen of Avalon. And Arthur, son of the Chif, who holds a secret that could see him dead at the hands of his own father. When the Holy Grail awakens and begins calling to the king that is destined, all three find themselves propelled forth on a journey none of them were prepared for.
If you like pirates, fae, and fantastical adventures interwoven with magic, ancient gods, and religious cults, then I would urge you to try The Call of the Sea.
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Contemporary
Food critic Dorothy Daniels has already been convicted of murder.
Writing from prison, Dorothy looks back on her life. Dorothy has always been a psychopath, but things get so much more interesting when she starts to embrace the forbidden parts of her that make her terrifyingly herself. A Certain Hunger is a kind of adult coming of age book about a woman discovering she has a taste for flesh. Literally. And metaphorically. But it is the literal sense that makes her life all that more morbidly fun to read.
If you like supporting women’s wrongs, then I recommend you check out this book.
Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragon #1) by Amber Chen
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
Of Jade and Dragons is a Young Adult Mulan retelling about a girl who goes against her father’s dying wish in order to avenge his death. After her father was murdered, Aihui Ying disguises herself as a boy and enters a high-stakes competition to join the renown Engineer’s Guild, her only chance to track down her father’s killer and fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming an engineer.
This book is the perfect blend of plot, politics, romance, and technology. Chen did an amazing job balancing all the aspects of her story (the assassin, the murder mystery, the competition, the romance…) and created an extremely well-paced story, perfect for fans of both historical fantasy and sci-fi.
For a more in-depth look at Of Jade and Dragons, check out my goodreads review.
The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1) by S.A. Chakraborty
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
If you like morally grey characters, please read this book!!!
The City of Brass tells the story of Nahri, a con-woman living on the streets of 18th century Cairo as she discovers a power she never realized she had when she accidentally summons a dark and mysterious djinn warrior who whisks her off to Daevabad, the legendary city of brass.
This story centers itself around three characters, Nahri, Dara, and Alizayd, three people who have every reason to hate each other and everything each of them stand for. The morally grey nature of all of the characters was so well executed. It is hard to tell who the real hero and villain of this story is, which makes it all that more exciting when things fall into chaos.
My goodreads review should say everything you need to know about what it would be like to read The City of Brass:
“To quote Ron Weasley: ‘you’re gonna suffer, but you’re gonna be happy about it.'”
Ocean’s Echo (Winter’s Orbit #2) by Everina Maxwell
Genres: Science Fiction, Romance, Queer
Ocean’s Echo follows Tennalhin, a neuromodified “reader,” and Surit, an architect, who can control minds, as they are forced into a dubious partnership. After Tennal pisses off the military one too many times, they conscript him and force their only architect strong enough to merge their minds, rendering him useless and completely under Surit’s control. But Surit cannot bring himself to sync with an unconsenting Tennal and they must fake a bond they do not understand if they are to survive the mission ahead of them.
A standalone sci-fi romance set in the same universe as Maxwell’s other novel, Winter’s Orbit, Ocean’s Echo is a high-stakes, political, slow burn romance that will have you devouring each page and kicking your feet in glee at each small brush of a hand.
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult
Sciona Freynan, the first woman to be admitted into the High Magistry, has not only made history, but will change its course forever.
Sciona has only faced challenge after challenge in her pursuit of knowledge and magic, a woman in a man’s world, climbing a man’s ladder, and fighting her way to the top. Things should have been easier when she was accepted into the High Magistry, but her colleagues will stop at nothing to prove a woman is not fit for the job and the harsh truths that come along with it. They give her a janitor as an assistant, Thomil, who was once a nomadic hunter from outside Tiran’s magical barrier. Thomil is supposed to set her back, another challenge to overcome. But it is precisely through Thomil’s unique lens of the world that Sciona is able to discover the darkest and bloodiest secret that the High Magistry is hiding from Tiran.
Want to see what happens when a woman learns all the secrets the men in power have been keeping from her city? Read this book. You will feel entranced, disgusted, and enraged. And then so deeply satisfied when things start getting set on fire.
For a more in-depth look at Blood Over Bright Haven, check out my goodreads review.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao (published January 14, 2025)
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Magical Realism
A story that starts in the backstreets of Tokyo, in a magical pawnshop hidden behind a door to a ramen restaurant, takes you on a magical adventure, traveling through puddles, on the breath of rumors, and in the folds of origami.
Water Moon follows Hana and Keishin as they seek to solve the murder of Hana’s father on the day Hana was supposed to inherit the pawnshop from him. But this is not an ordinary pawnshop. Here, you pawn off memories of life choices, relieving yourself of your deepest regrets. So, when Hana awakens to not only find her father dead, but also one of their memories missing, she knows she must set things right. Hana and Keishin travel to Hana’s home, the Other World, and go on an adventure that neither of them will ever forget.
This is for all of the adults who watched Spirited Away as a kid and have been looking for something that brings the same sense of magic and wonder into their lives.
For a more in-depth look at Water Moon, check out my goodreads review.
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
Hazel and Ben live in the town of Fairfold, where the lines between fae and human blur. In Fairfold, they have grown up with tales and warnings of the fae, but none of them are more memorable than the boy in the glass coffin. A boy who has been asleep for as long as anyone can remember. Until one day, he isn’t.
Although she cannot remember the night the boy from the coffin disappeared, Hazel knows she was involved. If she is to discover what happened that night and find the boy, then she must remember years of playing knight and hunting monsters with Ben. Her life and safety of everyone in Fairfold depends on it.
Set before The Cruel Prince, it was such a pleasure to return to Black’s familiar world of fae in The Darkest Part of the Forest. And whoever said that this wasn’t as good as The Cruel Prince is a liar.
A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab (and it’s sequel, A Gathering of Shadows)
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Historical Fiction
In a world where there are three Londons, Kell is one of the last Antari who can travel between them.
Kell is from Red London, where magic is alive and thriving. As an ambassador to his king, he must often travel to the other Londons. Grey London, where magic has shriveled up and died, leaving the world feeling as bleak as it looks. And White London, a cold and savage place where magicians have become cruel as magic slips through their desperate fingers. When Kell accidentally smuggles something dangerous from White London into Grey London, the fate of all three Londons suddenly falls into his hands.
And then there’s Delilah Bard. A thief who is at the right place, at the right time, and might finally get the escape from her dull life that she so desperately craves.
A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows (as well as the third book, A Conjuring of Light, which I am currently reading), are an incredible set of books that have finally filled the void left by finishing the Throne of Glass series.
Heaven Official’s Blessing: Yian Guan Ci Fu Vol. 6 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Queer
As this is the sixth volume in a series, I don’t want to say much without giving anything away, but this has been by far my favorite volume in the Heaven Official’s Blessing series. Volume 6 explores Xie Lian’s tragic backstory after falling from godhood for the first time and his dreadful encounters with White No-Face, the ghost who’s memory has haunted Xie Lian for centuries.
Hopefully my goodreads review will give you a good idea of what I thought about this book without spoiling anything:
“me: i love watching characters get pushed to their limits and see who they become when they break. fascinating.
also me: xie lian is not okay, hua cheng is not okay, i am not okay. no one is okay.”
Heaven Official’s Blessing is not for the weak, as it has taken six whole books for these two grown-ass men to confess their feelings to each other and share a real, genuine kiss. But, if you like slow burn, if you like yearning and pining and immortal men who wait HUNDREDS of years to be with the one they love, then I definitely recommend you read this.
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had an amazing 2024, that you’ve read some good books and added a few (or a lot) of new books to read to your TBRs. I wish you all a very happy new year with lots of reading and lots of 5-star books.
