The last 366 days were interesting ones when it came to my reading. Strangely, despite inputting the same information across two different reading platforms (Storygraph and Goodreads), the data from them is pretty different. Oh well, I know what I read; the numbers are there, and right now, I am going to talk about them and go through a few of my favourite (and least favourite) reads of the year!
As I write this, I am listening to P!nk singing “So What,” and that truly fits how I feel about the differences between the two platforms. Ultimately, the figures don’t count for much; it’s the stories and experiences they introduced me to that count!
Unless I want this to become an epic worthy of Homer, I’d better get started breaking down those numbers and taking a look at the books which made up 2024 for me.
At the beginning of the year, I set myself a target of 52 books on Goodreads, partly because who can predict what the year is going to bring, while in 2023 I finished a whopping 166 reads, I wanted to be realistic. Of course, I managed it and then some, but there were times when I was doubtful because, as you will see when I start to talk about the books I read, some of those books really dragged me close to a reading slump. When I set up an account on Storygraph (which I have started to realise is superior to Goodreads in pretty much every single way), I set myself a target of 90 books and 40,013 pages (I have a thing about numbers ending with 3).
In 2024 I finished a total of 132 books and consumed almost 53,000 pages. Some of the books I read were a bit on the chunky side, with the longest being 768 pages, though I think those pages were a little on the smaller side.
January was a bit of a mixed month. I started the year with the much-anticipated sequel (though being honest not by me) to Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. Sadly, Ruthless Vows was a bit of a dud, and I found it barely worth the 2-stars I gave it. As with the first book, it lacked world-building, and the characters continued to play out a rather dull love story that made little to no sense. So, why did I read it? I was hoping that the story would pick up and the explanations the original was lacking would be introduced in the final part of the duology.
If it weren’t for Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim and Nevernight by Jay Kristoff then January would have been a bit of a bust. While I enjoyed the first read of 2024’s Agatha Christie Readalong in the form of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, it wasn’t Christie’s best…that had yet to come!
February marked the start of my 6th decade on Earth and also introduced me to several new authors. I read my first 5-star book of the year, Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner, but this was balanced out by reading a whopping four 2-star books. By the end of February, I had consumed a total of 21 novels.
By the end of the month, I was hoping that March would bring me more variety and some more higher-rated reads.
I could be excused for thinking that the year was going to introduce me to more duds than winners, especially when I read two 2-star books in quick succession. But I did enjoy the treat of five 4-star reads and my second 5-star of the year in the form of the chunky Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff.
As I am looking back on my reads I can’t believe that I enjoyed some of these reads so early in the year, they feel so recent that it’s hard to believe they were read more than 9 months ago. Yes, they were that memorable.
April was not only the start of a new quarter but also brought me two 5-star reads in the form of City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (not surprised because I truly loved The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi in 2023) and the tearjerker Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Ericka Waller.
Ignoring the one 2-star read and a few other low-rated books, April was a pretty good month, overall.
May was an interesting month. While there were no 5-star reads in these 31 days, I did enjoy The Dragon’s Promise, the sequel to Elizabeth Lim’s wonderful Six Crimson Cranes, as well as Catherine Newman’s Sandwich, an interesting study in families and change. I also read some books that quickly ended up on my unhaul shelf, including Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven and Babel by R.F. Kuang.
It may be that the latter book on that list surprises many. Unfortunately, Babel was not a book I enjoyed, a fact I was disappointed in due to my enjoyment of other books by the author. Babel was a 2-star read for me, and I think that this may have a lot to do with the fact that the writing style she adopted for it just wasn’t for me.
May was also the month when I introduced a new challenge to my monthly reading, the 1-star review jar!
June made me sad for many reasons, the core one being the fact that I had TWO DNFs, Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood and The Trial by Rob Rinder. I am not so surprised by the Rob Rinder book as I’d heard many mixed reviews for it since its release. The new Ali Hazelwood being on my DNF list was a shock as while I don’t think she’s an incredible writer with many of her books being so similar, I think she’s an enjoyable one. Of course, this is also the year of Bride, a book I unhauled after reading because it wasn’t something I liked overmuch, but at least I finished it! I managed a total of 120 pages of Not in Love before I resisted the urge to throw it in the bin and placed it on my unhaul shelf instead!
Having DNFd two books in June, July was another surprise, with my first 1-star read of the year. And yes, the fact that I finished it was a massive shock given how little I enjoyed Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons.
Luckily, for every other read in that month, the 1-star read was balanced out by MY FAVOURITE READ OF THE ENTIRE YEAR, Babylonia by Costanza Casati was incredible, superb, exquisite! An intricate plot so well-written that it had me crying on several occasions and, for me, Casati is on par with Madeline Miller (if not a bit better). Her 2023 offering, Clytemnestra, is one of my favourite books of all time, and she has become an auto-buy whose Instagram I check to find out news of her next book every couple of weeks…who knows what amazing creation she will present us with next!
If July had a 1-star and the best read of 2024 then August suffered when I read a book that I ended up rating 0.25!
Every once in a while a book comes along that is painful to read but you continue in the hope it will get better. The fact that it was also one of my challenge reads is likely the only reason I finished it. But believe me, if I hadn’t pulled The Kingdom is a Golden Cage by Lilly Inkwood from my jar it would have been on the unhaul DNF shelf quicker than I could read the first two chapters.
To balance out this travesty, I enjoyed Costanza by Rachel Blackmore, a beautiful and tragic read based in Rome in the 1600s, it’s the story of Costanza, a young woman who is the adored mistress of talented sculptor Bernini. The story was eye-opening and, as with many novels based on historical fact, had me on a research journey for several days afterwards. I am unsurprised that it wasn’t in the many biographies of Bernini I purchased while visiting his statues in Rome. There’s no denying he’s talented, but this particular time in his life truly opens your eyes to the sort of person he was…because Costanza suffered for his anger, jealousy and pride.
September brought with it six new authors and a further two 5-star rated novels. One of these high-rated reads was a reread in the form of A Room with a View by E.M Forster, which I was inspired to pick up again following the sad passing of Dame Maggie Smith – who played cousin Charlotte in the wonderful film adaptation. The other 5-star read was An Almost Perfect Summer by Jill Mansell (a book I am going to write a detailed review for). Jill Mansell has been on my favourites list for a considerable number of years, and while there is a certain formula to her books, there is something charming, endearing and comforting about the characters and situations she puts on the page and they are the perfect read if you are in need of reassurance.
Welcome to the start of the last quarter of the year. October was a very mixed month! I read a total of 10 books, some were good, others were average and there were a few disappointments. Unfortunately for me, the biggest disappointment was TJ Klune’s Somewhere Beyond the Sea. I had been waiting for that particular book for over a year, having ordered it the moment it was announced back at the tail-end of 2023. I absolutely adored The House in the Cerulean Sea, but on reading this sequel I felt that it was written for the sake of it and offered nothing to the story that had ended beautifully in the first book of the series. While I enjoyed revisiting Marsyas to a degree, I just came away thinking ‘Well, okay that was it?’.
November was a somewhat average month. The highest rating I gave any of the 9 books I read was 3.75, while the lowest rating was 1.5. I entered into the world of Caraval with the first book in Stephanie Garber’s series, and also started The Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. If I tell you that I have read four books in the latter series, you’ll know which books I preferred! My experience reading this month was sadly coloured by events that took over my life halfway through when I was made redundant and lost a very close friend to a sudden death in the space of 6 days. However, I doubt this changed my feelings towards any of the books I consumed.
And now we have reached the last month of the year…so, what did December bring with it? As with November, I read 9 books, with the last being finished a mere 20 minutes before the clock struck midnight. To a degree, I ended the year on a bit of a high with my final 5-star read of the year in the form of The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, the first in the Library Trilogy by Mark Lawrence. A great high fantasy read that I sank into happily.
The month wasn’t all wine and roses, with a single 1.5-star read, but for the most part, it was more than average and given how the majority of the year was simply average, I think I did pretty well.
At the beginning of the year, I also set myself a goal of reading 24 books, a combination of books from my existing TBR and some newer releases. I have to admit, towards the end of the year when some of the books I was less sure about reading were still left to tick off, I wasn’t sure I was going to finish the challenge. However, as the months of November and December progressed I slowly worked my way through the five remaining books and in Christmas week I turned the final page on the last book, The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper. The books weren’t all great, and a couple ended up on the unhaul shelf as the year progressed, but I also found a few marvels, including The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow and The Maiden by Kate Foster, both of which had been sitting on the shelf for a while.
As I am writing this I am contemplating whether or not I should commit to 25 books for 2025…but then what should I pick, there are so many books to choose from, both those already in my collection and ones that have yet to find their home on my shelves.
Whatever I decide, this is my year in review…
