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I finally got back on the reading train, y’all. In 2023, I made an intentional effort to read up to my old standard again, shooting for over 35 total books. I dusted off my Goodreads account, set a goal, and went for it.
In the end, I read 46 books! Some I totally adored, and some not so much. After letting my reading wrapped digest for about a month now, I feel confident in compiling my favorite reads of the year for you to add to your TBR in 2024. Don’t worry, I also have some books you can shy away from without shame. (Trust me, I wasted my time for you.) So, without further ado, here are my reading highs and lows!
**Also, all the books will be linked to Amazon for the sake of ease, but I recommend purchasing your books from a local bookstore or checking them out from your library! Shop independent bookstores and support your libraries when you can!**
Best Fantasies
The Serpent And The Wings Of Night by Carissa Broadbent
I picked up Carissa Broadbent’s books upon hearing several recommendations claiming that she was the next Sarah J. Maas. While I entirely disagree with that statement, I did thoroughly enjoy both of her fantasy series last year. The Serpent and the Wings of Night is, at its core, vampires participating in the Hunger Games plus the added perk of an enemies-to-lovers romance plot. I ate up this duology and was on the edge of my seat at every turn. The plot twists were immaculate, the main character was memorable, and I had a great time. I felt the books lacked some world-building, but I tend to care more about the characters anyway, so it didn’t bother me. If you’re looking for an easy-to-read fantasy series this year, try it out! (Side note: I’m actually anti-vampire, so it’s a feat to convince me to care about them at all, let alone for two books.)
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
I fell victim to the hype around Fourth Wing. I’m not ashamed of it either. This book was by far some of the most fun I had reading all year. Was it basic? Yes. Did the book have some technical issues and plot holes? Sure. But did any of these flaws prevent me from enjoying the story? No. Maybe I didn’t judge this harshly enough, but Fourth Wing was my action-packed guilty pleasure of 2023. We’re here for a good time, not a long time, so hop on the hype train if dragons and shadow-wielding love interests are up your alley.
Best Romances
Enemies With Benefits by Roxie Noir
I participated in my first ever Stuff Your Kindle Day in 2023, and Enemies with Benefits was the best book from my haul. Roxie Noir knows her stuff. Small-town romance? A competition for best employee? Academic rivals to work rivals to lovers? Please, I was hooked! This book was unexpected, but it genuinely brought me so much joy that I can’t properly explain how much I loved it. The best part about this book is that it is part of a series following all of Eli Loveless’s (hot) brothers. So, if you liked this, there’s more.
Georgie All Along by Kate Clayborn
One way I found myself exposed to new books last year was through a Book of the Month subscription that my lovely friends gifted me for my birthday. This is not sponsored, but having the subscription pushed me out of my reading comfort zone and challenged me to try out new authors. While I received plenty of subpar books in my box, I also discovered some excellent stories. Georgie, All Along was one of these treasured discoveries. I think it’s best to go in not knowing too much, but at its heart, this story is about finding yourself, your passion, and your calling. It was a hilarious and painfully relatable small-town rom-com that I think everyone would enjoy.
Best Rereads
Percy Jackson and the olympians by Rick Riordan
In light of the release of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series on Disney+ (my thoughts on that will come in a future article), I felt obligated to return to my roots at the end of 2023 and into 2024. In the span of about a month, I reread every existing Percy Jackson book from The Lightning Thief all the way to The Blood of Olympus. Let me tell you, 12-year-old me had taste. These books are incredible! They withstand the test of time, and I loved them just as much at 21 as I did when I first read the series. I laughed and cried and was reminded of what quality storytelling is. You’re never too old to read Percy Jackson!
A Court of mist and fury by Sarah J. Maas
Call me basic, but I reread ACOMAF every year. It’s my comfort book and has been for years because it never disappoints. I know this series has exploded on the internet in recent years, but as the sound bite goes, “Do not recite the deep magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written.” I actually purchased and listened to the audiobook this year, one with a full cast of different voices and background sound effects. It was a surreal experience. I highly suggest getting an audiobook of your favorite stories to revisit them in a new light.
Best Books I Read For School
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry PratcheTt & Neil Gaiman
Ever wonder just how weird the apocalypse could really be? Yeah, me neither. But Terry and Neil did. AND they imagined exactly how involved a devilish angel and a not-so-bad demon might be in the events preceding the end of the world. This strange and hilarious book took me by surprise. I loved the uniqueness of the story and the relationships between the characters. If you’re looking to switch things up, start with Good Omens. It has the added bonus of a TV adaptation, too; the show has two seasons streaming on Amazon Prime. (In my personal opinion, it’s a fairly faithful and fun adaptation.)
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
This is by far the heaviest book on this list. As part of a course requirement, I read Five Little Indians and was struck by the harsh realities presented in the well-crafted tale. This book dives into the horrible, lasting impacts of the boarding school system on Native and Indigenous children across the United States and Canada through the lives of five kids who suffered under the abuse of the schools. It’s a beautiful story of found family and resilience and a great way to explore this very serious, very real history that is still impacting native communities today.
Best Book Overall
Happy Place by Emily Henry
It should come as no surprise that the romance queen herself wrote my favorite new book of 2023. Emily Henry is a master at writing rom-coms that feel real, with fully fleshed-out plots and characters, potent problems, and compelling relationships. I was enthralled by Happy Place, and the characters’ struggles hit hard and deep. I totally related to the fear of never finding your true happy place, and I shed many tears reading this book. Don’t let the emotions scare you off, though. This is Emily Henry’s best work!
Books You Can Skip
Unfortunately, a few books fell flat for me last year. If you enjoyed these, that’s great! But this is my fair warning…
Iron Flame by Rebecca yarros
“But Colleen,” you may be thinking, “you said Fourth Wing was amazing!” Yeah, it was. Iron Flame was NOT. This was one of the most highly anticipated sequels of the year, and it fell so flat. The main character got extremely annoying, and the romance fell apart for no reason and stayed damaged for the same lack of reasoning. The plot made almost no sense, the world-building barely existed, and it’s never taken me so long to read a book I tried to enjoy. Parts of it were still fun, but don’t expect this book to live up to Fourth Wing.
Sword catcher by cassandra clare
As a lifelong Cassandra Clare fan, I’m upset, too. I’ve been looking forward to this adult fantasy debut for ages and even waited in line for over three hours to get my copy signed. The concept of this book intrigued me, and I was excited to read a book by Cassandra Clare that wasn’t set in the Shadowhunter world. Unfortunately, I just did not enjoy Sword Catcher as much as I wanted to. While the fantasy components were great, I found the novel lacking in plot and character relationships, two places CC usually thrives in! This book was frankly 600 pages of political “intrigue” (don’t worry, though; you’ll figure just about everything out) and set up for what I feel will be an epic series. My advice? Wait until the sequel comes out and read them back-to-back. I’m hoping the second book is better.
A Curse For True Love by stephanie garber
How did I get here? Once upon a time, I read Caraval by the same author and gave up on it after a hundred pages or so. Flash forwards a few years, and a new series by the same author is taking the internet by storm, so I purchase the duology for Christmas. It’s barely more than tolerable, and the cherry on top is that the duology is actually a trilogy; I’ve been bamboozled not only into buying the next book, but into completing what turned out to be a spin-off series from the original book I couldn’t finish years ago. Somehow, I got to the end of A Curse for True Love, but this series is not what everyone has hyped it up to be. I just don’t think I enjoy Stephanie Garber’s writing style at the end of the day. I know it’s harsh, but this is a hard pass.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
This was the biggest failure of my BOTM subscription. The concept is great in theory. A comedy show writer falls for a celebrity guest. Great. Except it was painfully not great. This book rubbed me in all the wrong ways to the point where I was genuinely convinced it was written by a man (which in the rom-com world is, at the very least, a misdemeanor-level crime). Turns out it wasn’t, but for a book centered around comedy, the humor was mainly the female character spewing self-deprecating, “relatable” jokes that really just made her seem like she hated herself. I almost did not finish (DNF) this book. Consider yourself warned.
Happy reading! I hope you reach your 2024 goal!