So back in the day when I made Booktube videos (yes, that is my claim to internet fame, welcome) it was a regular occurrence around this time to do the Mid-Year Book Freak-Out Tag. Still not really sure why it got that title (the freak-out, not the mid-year), but I really wanted to share some insight into my reading for the first half of 2024, and this seemed like a great starting point.
If you were here when the year started, I did make a post about my reading goals, and even though I haven’t followed through on all of them yet, I have accomplished quite a few things in the last six months. The biggest success for me thus far is that 1/3 of the books I’ve read this year have been non-fiction in some form. I’m trying to diversify my reading (less to check boxes and more because it’s just fun), and while I can always be better at doing so, my genres stats on Storygraph are looking great! I’ve found quite a few new favorite authors, some stand-out romances, and I’ve even read a few advanced copies (I know, I’m shocked too, my Netgalley has been gathering dust for three years).
Ultimately this is just a fun little list of recommendations mixed with a mini TBR, and I can safely say that this reading year has been so much fun. I’m back to frantically scrolling my Kindle at midnight, desperately trying to keep my eyes open so I can keep reading, and that’s something I haven’t done in a very long time. For me, the one-hundred book challenge is always the best way to jump-start my serotonin and get me back on the reading bandwagon, and I could cry I’m so happy about it. Taking bets on when we think I’ll hit number 100 since I’m still about fifteen books ahead of schedule…
For the most chaotic live-posting experience of your life, follow me on Goodreads - and for those who want to see my stats, I’m also on Storygraph! I’m not kidding when I say I update my reading apps like the navy…tread with caution.
And if you’re reading this and you’ve read some good books this year, I challenge you to do this tag too!! I can’t remember where it originated because it’s been around for like a decade, but thanks whoever you are, you’re my hero.
Best book you’ve read so far in 2024
The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic
Overview: College athlete heals from trauma by transferring to USC
Okay listen, I read this book once and then the very next day I picked it up to read again. And I fully believe I’ll read it a third time later this year. It is my absolute favorite read of the year and the only thing I can see topping this is…well, its sequel. This is a feel good (read: heart-wrenching, make-you-wanna-throw-up tragedy) queer romp that’s the next part of the All for the Game story, and even though it makes my tummy hurt thinking about all the torture within these pages, I cannot stress how much I adore this story and these characters. GIVE ME BOOK TWO! NOW!!!!
Best sequel you’ve read in 2024
The Memory of Souls by Jenn Lyons
(Book One) Overview: Sixteen year old orphan finds out he’s royalty and that he’s destined to destroy the world
I would have put TSC here, but I’m trying to go for variety and objectively I think this book is more of a true sequel anyway. This is book three in the Chorus of Dragons series, and even though it’s been two years since I last read this series (and I can feel it), I had such a blast reading this. It’s a queer (very very queer) high fantasy series that includes a lot of body-swapping and reincarnation and past lives, and honestly it’s one of the funniest series I’ve ever read. This installment is chaotic as hell and it’s given me so much whiplash and even more confusion, but I adore these characters and I cannot wait to see the story develop in the second half of this series. Perfect for anyone who wants to see gay people make bad choices and use magic! (Yes, the main romance is a true love triangle polycule of three people who are deeply in love with each other with no competition.)
New release you haven’t read yet but want to
Fallen Thorns by Harvey Oliver Baxter
I’ll be honest, I have no idea what this is about, but I think it’s ace vampire(s) in a campus setting and frankly, who doesn’t wanna read that?
Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
TSC2 by Nora Sakavic
Look, Nora can write anything her little heart desires for book two and I’ll devour it. But I trust her enough to know that whatever she writes in this second book will chew me up and spit me out and make me want to scream. I’m looking for some specific things, but mostly I just want Jean and Jeremy to be happy with their friends!!
Monstress Vol 9 by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
I reread this whole series a few months back to catch up in advance of this new volume and honestly, I may need to do some more rereading when it comes out because I’ve already forgotten everything. But I think we were stuck in a cliffhanger? Maybe?
Most anticipated releases for the second half of the year that I’ve already read (ARCs)
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
Overview: Trans boy in West Virginia is trapped in a multi-generational feud between his family and the Sheriff’s family
I need to mention AJW because I picked up his second book The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and my entire life changed. When I got this ARC from NetGalley I was so excited because it’s about queerness in Appalachia and I wanted to see him do a more contemporary real-world (ish) story, and he did not disappoint. This book speaks so well on transness and autism and class, and it’s definitely my favorite of his so far. And the dog lives, by the way, so fear not!
Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
Overview: Asexual boy is in love with his best friend who’s keeping secrets from him
You need to put this on your radar for the fall. It’s a campus novel that feels a little like if Heartstopper and Stranger Things and Annihilation had a kid, and I’m so obsessed with it. The characters are fantastic and our main guy Andrew is ASEXUAL ON THE PAGE! (everybody cheer) If you’re a fan of If We Were Villains, you absolutely have to read this because it feels a lot like James/Oliver’s dynamic. But wait, it’s horror!!
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
Overview: Two exes end up on the same food tour in Europe
Okay, obviously I have to put the new CMQ on here. It’s not my favorite of theirs but I wasn’t expecting it to be. But! If you’re looking for classic Casey, this it. It’s the perfect read for summer or a European vacation (or being sick in the winter wishing it was summer and you were on a European vacation) and I had so much fun reading it. Fair warning, it’s all about food and sex so be careful or you might end up hungry. Or thirsty. Or the other thing. What’s great about this book is that it really explores gender identity in ways that contemporary romance shys away from, and I love all of its commentary on transness.
Biggest disappointment
Smile, and be a Villain by Yves Donlon
Overview: Queer fantasy prequel retelling of Hamlet
I so wanted to like this book but it just never quite clicked for me. It’s part of a duology (I think?) and the second book is the actual plot of Hamlet (I think?) so this book is the set up for the events of the play. While there are some really wonderful things about this - the author did a fantastic job writing the characters in a way that both enhances the original material and uniquely transforms them into something new - I just felt like a lot of the craft was lacking for me. I didn’t love the magic system and I thought the plot was a little all over the place for this first book. I haven’t decided if I want to continue with the series going forward, but hey, at least Ophelia is aspec and Hamlet is queer as hell! That’s a win!
Biggest Surprises
Ali Hazelwood
Contemporary romance author
Okay listen!!!! I have avoided Ali’s books for years if only because so many people have such polarizing opinions on them and I wasn’t sure I wanted to wade into that stream…but then I spontaneously picked up Love, Theoretically on a flight to California and read it in one sitting and now I’m happily seated on the Hazelwood Express. Even though her books do feel a little millenial cringe (IN THE BEST WAY!), I just love that she writes aspec guys and neurodivergent-coded demisexual girls, and she really is just having fun writing her STEM shit. I loved her YA release too which is so unlike me (I haven’t been in a YA mood these past few years), and I honestly will read anything she writes. I don’t care if it was Reylo fanfic!!! I don’t care if it’s cringey or silly or smutty! She’s having fun and so am I!!
It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful by Jack Lowry
Overview: Non-fiction book that tells the story of the artist group Gran Fury (an extension of ACT UP) during the peak of the AIDS crisis
This year I wanted to focus more on reading non-fiction, and there were quite a few topics that I was hoping to explore, one of them being the AIDS crisis. As someone born in the heat of it (1995 babies rise), I was never really taught much about the epidemic. I learned about the disease, but never about the people who were most affected by it. What I loved about this book specifically is that it isn’t really about the history of the crisis or the disease, but rather the people who were fighting it. It focuses on the artists who really shaped change and turned this epidemic around just by creating posters and protests. I sobbed while listening to it. It should be required reading for queer people and especially for artists.
Favorite New Author
Brandon Taylor (The Late Americans / Real Life)
Queer Black lit fic author
I have been meaning to read Brandon Taylor since his debut in 2020, and I really should have picked his work up sooner because shit. It’s insane. His writing style is so distinct, so tragic and gritty and queer, and he is writing the campus novels we deserve in this modern age. Not only does he write compelling characters but it feels like the settings of his books are characters in their own right. TLA is in my top five books of the year right now (I know, that’s saying something) and I will definitely pick up anything this man writes going forward. He writes so poignantly about race and class and sexuality, and I think he should be required reading for all queer people.
Book that made you cry
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Overview: A group of thirty-something friends get together for their annual summer trip in Maine for the last time
Objectively this category and the next one are interchangeable but I deserve to talk about both Emily Henry books I read this year so you just have to deal with it! Which is to say, HP made me cry more, but I definitely cried while reading Funny Story. But after reading HP, I think I’ve decided it might be my new favorite Emily Henry book…? Can’t speak too soon because there are some amazing Emily Henry books out there, but this book was so special because it’s about friendship in your thirties and the importance of communication and not making assumptions about/for the ones you love. I related so hard to Harriett and I loved the vibes of this book (even more than usual). A near perfect romcom!
Book that made you happy
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Overview: Librarian’s fiancé unexpectedly calls off the wedding so the librarian moves in with her fiancé’s new girlfriend’s ex boyfriend
Everyone has been gushing about this new release and for good reason! I devoured it in like two days, and it’s exactly what the doctor ordered. For as much as I laughed during Happy Place, FS is really just happiness in three hundred pages. I couldn’t help but smile the entire time, and even though it’s in the bottom half of my EH rankings, it’s still miles above most other romcoms and I cannot wait to reread this in the future. Pure joy!!
Most beautiful book you’ve bought this year so far
Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
Overview: A vampire tries to remove a ghost from the mansion she’s trying to sell and she enlists the help of Death’s godson and his acquaintances
The real reason I picked this up (other than it being on my TBR for a very long time and being a huge Olivie Blake fangirl) is because the physical copy has some of the most beautiful end-pages I’ve ever seen (above). I do think the cover is lovely and fun, but those END-PAGES…it’s portraits of all the main characters and those portraits are what convinced me I needed to pick this up. Of course the book itself is just up my alley, and it’s gay as hell…but those end-pages though…
What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
I’ve read a handful of books on Palestine this year but I’ve only dipped my toes in the water. I need to pick this up because I’ve heard nothing but great things and I do really need some more backstory on the history of the war rather than commentary on where the war is at right now.
War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy
For those who may have forgotten, yes I am still hoping to read this monster before the end of the year. Admittedly, I’m not ready to commit to it yet, but I’m optimistic that when the weather turns cold in November I can spend the holidays working through this as one of my last reads of the year. I’ve seen a number of other people reading and enjoying this, so I’m not abandoning hope just yet! I believe in myself!!
A Chorus of Dragons (Books 4&5) by Jenn Lyons
I have been meaning to finish this series since I started it in late 2022 (oops) and now that I’ve worked through the third book, I’m pushing myself to keep going so I can boost my page average. (Kidding. But not really.) I haven’t read a high fantasy series in such a long time and I forgot how fulfilling it is to see everything come together so I’m optimistic that these final two books in the series will knock my socks off. Mainly I just want some resolution to the polycule romance, let’s be real.
Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith
I stumbled on this book while clicking through Goodreads and even though I’m usually not a middle-grade reader, something about this series just sounds so exquisite that I want to challenge myself to read it asap. It’s about a nonbinary knight (?) and I’ve never read any middle-grade about gender identity, so I really want to see what all the hype is about this series!
your newfound love for ali hazelwood literally has me like 🤭 she’s so silly and fun and a good time!!! keeping up with your storygraph is a main hobby of mine
So glad to find another lover of the Sunshine Court ☀️ I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Jean and Jeremy. Some good looking ARCS on here too I’ll have to check out!