The Reading Spoonbill

Trying to narrow down the books I’ve read in 2024 to just my favorites? At first, it seemed easy. But, the more I thought about it, the more I really struggled pinning it down. There are some books in which I really enjoyed the romance but the plot fell a little flat, or some books where the world was beautifully built but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. So, for the sake of my own sanity, here is my round-up of the year, featuring books that made it to the top of my self-created categories:

FOR THE SETTING

Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Kerri Maniscalco

I actually haven’t read the Kingdom of the Wicked series yet, so I don’t have a complete understanding of this world as a whole. And while I did struggle a bit with the pacing of this book (I sometimes lost sight of what was happening), the setting of this book captured me right away. I mean… Listen. This is basically Bridgerton, but if the Duke was a Prince of Hell. And you know I 👏 ate 👏 it 👏 up👏. You’ve got satire-sheet scandals, rivalry of royal courts, hexed objects, magic-binding mysteries, an artist with a secret, and the hellish reign of the seven (sexy 😏) deadly sins. From fae to vampires and shifters to demons, there’s an interesting world presented in this book that has left me curious to know — and read — more about how the world really works, and how everything truly fits. 

FOR THE LAUGHS

Zodiac Academy series by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

I don’t think I’ve ever, in my entire life, laughed as loud or as hard as I did during all nine of these books. The first, I’ll admit, was a struggle to power through, but once you really start to get a feel for the characters, you just can’t pull yourself away from the ridiculous, teenage soap opera that is Solaria. It’s an absolute mess, but a mess in all the best ways. 😌 Years from now, I’ll still be laughing about nearly every moment in this series — whether it’s being “horny for the horn” or the pranks pulled and then uploaded on “FaeBook” with the most off-the-wall hashtags anyone’s ever seen. 

FOR THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

Years ago, when only the first two books of this series were out, I read them. Loved them. But never got back around to them. And so, in this year’s group read, I really enjoyed getting to re-read, revisit, and finally finish this series. While I struggled to form an emotional connection to the characters in some of her other books (*cough* Crescent City *cough*), Sarah J Maas really brought the characters in this series to life. You see a continual growth of each character, and in time, fall in love with them one by one — even those you couldn’t care less about in the beginning. Shout out to my man Chaol — we loved to hate you. 😩 And then we hated to finally love you. 🥰 This series also presented incredibly strong female leads, from Aelin to Manon and from Lyssandra to Elide. Through their journeys, you not only see the many ways in which strength can be exhibited, but kick-ass women taking charge of the narrative to chart their own destinies. 🔥💪😎

FOR THE ROMANCE

Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series by Caroline Peckham & Susanne ValentiListen… I know these authors are already taking home the award for the most laughs. I know, alright? But hear me out… This series caught me by surprise in more ways than one. If you asked me to choose between any of the men in this series, I’d have a hell of a time (even though Ryder Draconis is definitely on the verge of jumping up to my #1 😉). And so, I suppose, that’s what makes this romance complete — why choose, when you can have them all? 😍  Sure, we lost the plot a little… once… twice… maybe even three times… but the story itself centralizes around the characters and the relationship that they are building against all odds. You see not only how they each grow over time, but how they grow together — leading to some really steamy scenes 😌 and forming a family that just works, despite it all. 👏🥰