Favourite Books of 2024 (so far)
At the time of writing this post, I have already read eight books this year. Unfortunately, I am cursed with forgetting what happens in a book as soon as I turn the last page, especially if I didn’t enjoy it. However, if I love a book, it will be ingrained in my brain and I will recommend it to anyone who will listen. Of the eight books I have read so far, five have become firm favourites (well, technically four, as one was a reread, but I wanted to include it here). Clearly, I have a good ratio going this year, which I hope I don’t jinx with this post.
The Name Drop by Susan Lee
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
This was my first buddy read this year and it was an excellent start. A good thing to know is that I love K-dramas and K-pop, as does the friend I read this with. As a result, much of what we read together could realistically be the plot of a K-drama. Well, this certainly fits the bill. The Name Drop is a young adult contemporary romance set in New York City and follows two students at their summer internship at a huge tech company. Sounds simple enough, except they swap places after a case of mistaken identity, resulting in Elijah Ri working with a group of underpaid interns, and Jessica Lee spending the summer as an executive-in-training (specifically the future company CEO). Tension, comedy, and romance ensue as the two try to avoid discovery.
This was a great little book (and I mean little; it’s only 299 pages) that was easy to read due to its fast pace. I did think it was sometimes too fast, skipping over bits which could have been developed further, but the plot was still engaging enough to offset this. The romance between the two main characters was cute and easy to root for, and it was great to see how they changed in response to their new circumstances. I appreciated the commentary on misogyny in the workplace, especially towards women in high-ranking positions (which many of them were in this book), and the poor treatment of the interns because they were ‘at the bottom of the ladder’. I do think both of these aspects could have been explored further, as there were times when they were just mentioned but not delved into, but I realise this is a romance book so the romance takes precedence. As the second book written by this author (I have not yet read her debut novel Seoulmates), I thought this was excellent and one I will be returning to. If I ever need to get out of a reading slump, this will be one of my go-tos.
Favourite quote:
‘“[…] Don’t ask for forgiveness based on someone else’s reaction to your knowledge,” she says. “Be very stingy with your apologies. We women too often say ‘I’m sorry’ for things that are entirely not our fault […]”’
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This was the first e-book I ever read and, initially, I was only reading it whilst travelling. However, I became so invested in the book around late December that I would read it whenever I had the chance. Eating breakfast, breaks at work, before bed, there was nothing that would prevent me from devouring this book. As you can probably tell, I am obsessed with it. Set in a fantasy Regency England, the book follows Theodora Ettings (known mainly as Dora) as she navigates the London Season with her cousin in the hope of finding a husband. The problem? It can be difficult to survive social conventions when you only have half a soul, and Dora is no stranger to social faux pas. Whilst there, she encounters Elias Wilder, the rude and grumpy Lord Sorcier who discovers half her soul was stolen by a faerie lord when she was a child and works with Dora to return it to her.
I absolutely adored this book. It was sweet, funny, and heart-wrenching. It is marketed as a mix between Howl’s Moving Castle and Pride & Prejudice, which I think is the perfect description. Anyone who has watched or read Howl’s Moving Castle will instantly recognise Howl in Elias’s character (and sarcasm). Dora was a wonderful main character who you can’t help but love. She has also been confirmed to be neurodivergent, which I think Olivia Atwater represented incredibly well. The romance between the two was adorable, and this book has definitely become a comfort read for me. I highlighted so many lines because of how beautiful the writing was, and once I get my hands on a physical copy I will be unstoppable with my annotations. I will mention this is the first in the Regency Faerie Tales series, however, the book wraps up well and doesn’t leave on a cliffhanger. So, if you aren’t ready to commit to a full series, you can simply leave it at the first book. I hope you’ll love it just as much as I do.
Favourite quotes:
‘She had little effort to spare for making unpleasant men more comfortable.’
‘“[…] Decent people become properly angry when presented with miserable injustice, but pleasant-mannered people never do.”’
‘“I have known many human beings with a full soul to their name who do not have half so much compassion or practicality as you.”’
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Speaking of Howl’s Moving Castle! This was a reread for me, so you can already tell how much I love this book. It was also the first book my mum and I read together this year. Originally, I had to pick it up after falling in love with the Studio Ghibli film adaptation. I was nervous after discovering it was a middle-grade book as I thought it would read too young for my preferences. Well, I was wrong. It is an incredibly well-written novel which doesn’t oversimplify its language for the audience, making it a perfect read for all ages. Had I read it as a child, I would have loved it just as much as I do now. In fact, I have gradually acquired a collection of different editions of the book because of how much I love it as an adult.
We follow Sophie, the eldest of three sisters, who experiences misfortune at the hands of the Witch of the Waste, who transforms Sophie into an old lady. Sophie takes it upon herself to try to fix this, trekking her way to Howl’s moving castle in the hope he will be able to break the curse on her. What follows is a beautiful story of found family, humour, and self-belief.
This is one of my favourite cosy fantasy books. I love how different fairy tale references are woven throughout, which helps to create a well-developed fantasy setting that is easy to follow and understand. The plot is very loose, but you still have to pay attention (especially to names) to grasp what is happening later on. The characters are just as fun as they are in the film; they are all hilarious and their interactions feel so genuine. There are some big differences between the book and the film, but they are both excellent and I recommend reading the book to see what inspired a film which takes up such a big space in popular culture.
Favourite quote:
‘“I think we ought to live happily ever after.”’
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
This was an excellent first book in the Fallen Gods trilogy, and I am very excited to continue. Godkiller is a debut high fantasy novel set in a queer normative world and has excellent disability representation. In a world where gods are hunted down after a war between them and humans tore the country apart, we follow four main characters. Kissen is a godkiller who hunts down gods on behalf of the King after one tore her family apart. Inara is the young daughter of a noble who knows little of the world but is determined to help free the god mysteriously attached to her. Skediceth, or Skedi, is the little god bound to Inara. Their lives have been intertwined for many years, and Skedi has no recollection of his life before the night he found Inara, and, whilst he loves her, he yearns for a shrine and worshippers of his own. Elogast (known mainly as Elo) is an ex-knight on a secret quest for his best friend. All four meet as they undertake the perilous journey towards the destroyed city of gods, Blenraden.
All 300 pages of this book are filled to the brim with rich world-building and character development. I am quite new to the high fantasy genre, especially adult high fantasy, but I feel this is a great starting place if you have previously read some fantasy, young adult or adult. It felt very accessible as a new genre reader, requiring a lot of concentration to understand the lore of the world but not so much that I couldn’t read it casually before bed when I was tired. The world-building was excellent; it was easy to immerse myself in this dark and dingy world which reminded me of the Skyrim game environments. It has also been compared to The Witcher, however, I am yet to read that series, but if you like it, definitely give Godkiller a go.
As I said previously, there was great disability representation within the book. Both Kissen and Elogast have disabilities: Kissen has a leg amputation and Elogast has PTSD, both of which are handled respectfully and realistically. We see Kissen struggle with discomfort from her prosthetic leg, especially when she has had to walk on it for long periods without time to remove it and rest, or after she has fought (which she does excellently). Elogast’s PTSD affects him throughout the book, the symptoms of his panic attacks described in heart-breaking detail. I think Kaner did a great job with her representation and it was refreshing to see disabled adults as main characters in the fantasy genre.
Godkiller is a brutal, grim, yet heart-warming novel which I highly recommend, provided you look up the trigger warnings first. But be warned: it ends on a great cliffhanger and you will be itching to get your hands on the sequel as soon as possible.
Favourite quotes:
‘Perhaps, then, he could find reasons to go on past the pain, the memories. He could find the strength to come back and fight for a country that seemed to be falling apart.’
‘“Funerals are for the living,” said Kissen as she noticed Inara looking. “The dead don’t mind what the world does to them.”’
‘“No one who loves you would ask you to throw your life away.”’
ASAP by Axie Oh
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Following the pattern set by The Name Drop, ASAP was another buddy read with my friend who shares my love for K-pop. Thus, this book was the perfect choice for us and we were guaranteed to love it. ASAP is the second book in the XOXO duology by Axie Oh. We originally read XOXO in 2021 when it was first published and really enjoyed it. It followed Jenny, a music student, who moved to South Korea with her mother to look after her grandmother. She ends up attending an elite art academy, where the members of one of the top K-pop groups, XOXO, also attend. Except, she’s already met one of them, Jaewoo, back home in Los Angeles. Their tentative connection develops into a romance fraught with danger as they try to avoid the press and fans who could destroy the group’s career.
When we found out Axie Oh was writing a sequel, my friend and I were happy. When we found out which characters it followed and that it was a second chance romance, we were ecstatic. Instead of being set in high school, ASAP is set after most of the original characters have graduated and are moving into the adult world. We follow Sori, Jenny’s roommate in high school and best friend, who decides to no longer pursue a career as an idol despite training her whole life to be one. She’s also trying to navigate the tense relationship between her parents, desperately trying to keep up appearances as their potential divorce looms under the surface. But when the opportunity to help out Nathaniel (another member of XOXO and her ex-boyfriend) amidst a scandal arises, she offers him refuge from the public eye for a while.
It was great to follow Sori in this book as she was one of my favourite characters in the first one. I related to a lot of the struggles she was going through and I couldn’t help but feel proud of her when she took her future into her own hands. During the first book, I could see the connection between Sori and Nathaniel and I wanted to explore it more, so this book was everything I could have wished for. Both Sori and Nathaniel are lovable characters who are kind and fun in their own ways. You won’t be able to stop yourself from rooting for them!
I think you would be able to read this book as a standalone without having to read XOXO, but I would recommend reading both so you understand the full story, and because they are just so good I see no reason not to! If, like me, you are a fan of K-pop and K-dramas, you will adore these books and will want to read them again and again.
Favourite quote:
‘“I didn't want to chase you," he says, and I wince. Did he finally realize I'm not worth chasing? "I wanted to run with you.”’
Hopefully, you found a book to pick up from my little list of new favourites, and it will bring you as much joy as they have for me. This should be my only blog post like this as I want to dedicate one book per review to give you my full thoughts in the future.
Remember to hydrate, read a book, and take a nap if you need one. I’ll see you again next time.
