I took a long break from the blog, but I’ve kept track the books I read so I could do this post. Per tradition, I’m reviewing books that were published this year. I’ll also do something different and talk about some of the other books I’ve been reading, too. Share some of your favorite from 2024 in the comments below!
My 2024 Books:
- Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
- Spy x Family, Vol. 11 & 12 by Tatsuya Endo
- The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
- The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
- A Whisper in the Walls by Scott Reintgen
- Dragonfruit By Makiia Lucier
- Snowglobe by Soyoung Park
- The Harrowing by Kristen Kiesling and Rye Hickman
- Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
- The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
- Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona
- A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
- The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
- The Have Not by Beth Crowley
- The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson – 4/5
Review: This was the second book in a series. Both this and the first one, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, are solid comedy-mysteries with clever writing. They revolve around an author, Ernest Cunningham, who narrates the stories with the premise of fair play. Essentially, he gives his audience a lot of information up front and throughout the course of the book. He doesn’t lie to his audience, either, but the books manage to deliver some surprises despite that. The first book had a few more good twists, but I liked both and mean to keep going with the series.
Reader Advisories: I only had one frustrating moment in this series, and it came from the format not the story, since I listened to the audiobooks. Overall, the editors did well adapting it. For instance, the beginning of the first book has a list of all the page numbers where people will die, while the audiobook gives the minute mark instead. However, there was one visual clue that I wish I’d seen on the page instead of hearing. For that reason, I’d suggest that people read a physical copy of the first book if possible. Also, the second book contains spoilers for the first, so unlike many mystery series, they should be read in order.
Related Thoughts: This is the second Australian mystery author I’ve gotten into recently. After enjoying these books plus Sulari Gentill’s recent novel The Woman in the Library (if not her novel from this year). I’m going to start looking for more Australian mysteries, so any recommendations are appreciated.
Spy x Family, Vol. 11 & 12 by Tatsuya Endo – 4/5
This series is probably published earlier in Japan, but I’m going by the American release date. I forgot to include it in last year’s book reviews, since I started reading it then, but that’s okay, because the volumes are all similar, and that’s a good thing. They’re admittedly contrived and predictable, but they’re funny, they have heart, and they sprinkle in enough action to keep things moving. It’s a fluff series, but it’s wholesome, quality fluff, and I’d highly recommend both the manga series and the anime adaptation.
The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill – 2/5
The Mystery Writer opens with the main character, Theo, leaving home and dropping out of law school to become a writer. That’s a fine way to open the novel, but Theo doesn’t decide much else for herself until about halfway through. Until then, she waits for things to happen to her or around her. That’s true when it comes to solving the mystery or living her everyday life. She comes across as a blank slate, and she’s not very interesting to read about. Maybe the novel would’ve been better from someone else’s perspective all the way through.
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown – 3/5
The book was okay, but it didn’t ever draw me in. The premise – people fighting over magical books – was okay. The pacing was strange, and solutions to most of the problems were either too obvious or too quickly-resolved, so it didn’t build much tension. The best emotional moments were scenes where the main character was with her grandfather (dead before the start of the novel) or with a friend of hers (that dies at the start). There was a real sense of loss here. There were some other character deaths, but those didn’t hit as hard, because the other characters weren’t well developed. Most character development lacked nuance, and characters came right out and explained everything they were feeling and why. This book would make a fine beach read, but it didn’t leave enough of an impact to make me want to revisit this world.
A Whisper in the Walls by Scott Reintgen – 3/5
As is the case in many sequels, this one was a bit of a letdown. This book didn’t have the same feel that I liked in the first one (A Door in the Dark). In the first book, the characters had a clear goal in getting home and clear obstacles in resource management and the danger hunting them. There were surprises along the way and a few things hidden from the audience, but the focus kept the story fast-paced and engaging. In A Whisper in the Walls, the audience knows the general goal, but characters obscure all their plans along the way. They go to a new place, meet some new people, and do some seemingly-random things. As a result, I was much less invested in any of the things that were happening. The rotating environments meant it wasn’t quite as tight as the first story, either. I suppose I’m glad I found out what happened after the first book, but I expected more and probably won’t be continuing on with this series.
Dragonfruit By Makiia Lucier – 4/5
I read and loved another book by this author earlier this year (Year of the Reaper), and I’m a fan of dragons, so I hurried out for this one as soon as I heard about it. As I’d hoped, I instantly got sucked into another of Lucier’s worlds, and it offered a refreshing palate cleanser after some other books that were much less fun (not listed here).
Dragonfruit had a vibrant, colorful world that felt lived-in. I’ve recently read a lot of books where the side characters and everything else in the world were set up to serve the main characters, but here, they all had their own motives for helping or interfering. The best part of the book was the cast of animals, though. If you like dragons but are tired of stories where dragons are all the same, this book offers its own mythos for them. Plus, the magic system allows for some other animal companions.
One point about the book that might be a pro or con for different readers was that it wasn’t a dark or intense fantasy book. While there were some bittersweet or even unpleasant ends, the book had a positive tone overall. Some of the conflicts were easily resolved – I’d say too easily for my tastes, but not enough to turn me off to the story as a whole. I was in the mood for a good adventure story, and this fit the bill.
Any other criticisms I have for the book are minor. The main characters didn’t get much development. Some few aspects of the world were overly complicated, and a few scenes seemed dumbed-down, so I would’ve liked some balance. There was also one background character that seemed like she was setting up an important plot point, but she was only in one scene and never seen again. That’s very nitpicky of me, but it was frustrating in a book that otherwise did very well at setting up ideas and paying them off later.
I highly recommend this book as a summer read for fantasy fans, and I plan to watch for future releases from this author.
Snowglobe by Soyoung Park – 3/5
I went straight from tropical fantasy to snowy scifi. Snowglobe is a dystopian novel set in a future where most of the world lives in sub-zero temperatures but an elite group of actors make reality tv shows for the masses from a climate controlled Snowglobe. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed the world and the characters, but there were a couple drawbacks for me. One was that the book was a bit of a soap opera, with predictable twists and a large cast of characters that it was hard to keep track of. The other issue was that the premise of the book was that a girl infiltrates the tv world, but the audience doesn’t get to see much of her adjusting to her new role, thanks to time skips and other plot points. Maybe we’ll get more of the original premise in the second book in the duology. I’m not sure whether or not I’ll keep reading. I’d like to, but it depends on how well I remember who’s who by the time it comes out.
Unrelated note: The book’s presentation was pretty – both the cover and the endsheets.
The Harrowing by Kristen Kiesling and Rye Hickman – 3/5
This graphic novel is essentially The Minority Report with teenagers. (The kids can predict future crimes, and everyone debates about what to do with people who haven’t committed crimes yet.) It was predictable, but it was also short and fast. I liked the character design; the people were all very distinct.
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – 4/5
I ended up reading both Emily Wilde books this year, with plans to read #3 when it comes out. (The first one was Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.)
One thing I appreciate about these books as part of a series was that each can stand alone while still driving forward the overall narrative. Each had a clearly-defined adventure and a satisfying ending while advancing character goals and teasing the next problem.
Also, in a lot of ways, the Emily Wilde series reminded me of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which is one of my all-time favorite novels. I feel like the author must’ve at least read it. Both are about an English bookworm in an alternate history where magic is more prominent, and the heroes have misadventures with faeries. Book footnotes give bonus faerie stories and cite in-universe academic works. However, the characters, stories, and tone are different enough from each other that I wouldn’t consider this book a rip off of the first. Jonathan Strange goes darker. Emily Wilde is quicker and cozier, and there’s more emphasis on the romance. Both were well written, and I enjoyed both, though I still prefer Jonathan Strange.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst – 3/5
This book is what you would get if you put a Hallmark movie in a fantasy setting – specifically the type of Hallmark movie where a city girl returns to her small town after a disaster and falls for her nice, down-to-earth neighbor. I picked up this book on someone’s recommendation without knowing the plot. If I’d heard a description like that, I probably would’ve avoided the book, since that trope isn’t one I gravitate towards. Also, the writing was inconsistent, sometimes going for a timeless feel and sometimes modern. It also had more descriptions of outfits and rooms than I would’ve wanted, but maybe fans of this genre would feel differently.
I don’t regret reading the book, though. The fantasy setting was pleasant, and while the storyline and character arcs hit most of the beats you’d expect, it avoided any of the really annoying ones. It also had more stakes and more of a plot than many similar books.
For me, these factors even out to a very average book. However, a lot of that comes down to personal preference. This isn’t the book for me, but it would be a solid recommendation for people who like cozy romance fantasies.
Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona – 2/5
This book tries for a nostalgic feel by setting it back a few decades and giving it a retro cover, but it doesn’t go farther to feel “of” any particular time. It tries to take the meta-horror angle by making the main character a fan of horror movies and frequently referencing them, but it doesn’t go deeper than that or say anything new about the subject.
There were a few suspenseful moments, but they were too broken up. There wasn’t much sustained tension, which made the book kind of boring. The two main characters were better than the usual blank-slate horror characters, as they dealt with anxiety and family issues. However, they were given some annoying people to work off of, and they deserved a better story.
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher – 4/5
One of the best books I’ve read this year was a cozy YA fantasy called A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (a penname of Ursula Vernon). It had a cool magic system and a fun narrative voice, and it made me want to read more of this author’s work, so I picked up one that was released this year. (Both books are standalone fantasy novels, not connected to each other.)
In A Sorceress Comes to Call, a girl is trapped by her mother, a sorceress. She tries to save herself and the people around her, getting some help from others along the way. It’s a good cast of characters with solid storytelling, even if it didn’t feel as distinct as the other novel.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden – 3/5
I recently found myself reading Arden’s middle grade horror series Small Spaces, which had enjoyable characters and settings, even if the books had too many ideas that didn’t mesh. This adult horror novel turned out to have the same strengths as the kids’ book, without that crowded feel.
The book is set during WWI, and it starts out like a war novel, with a nurse searching for her missing brother. It gradually steers more and more into horror, though the realistic war details are stronger than the horror elements. The main characters are easy to root for. There’s a lot of tension as they make some (understandable) bad decisions and face the consequences for them. The point-of-view shift between the two characters effectively builds up the dramatic irony for the audience.
The only letdown was the villain. He was boring, following some common tropes and relying on heavy-handed symbology. This was unfortunate, but it didn’t ruin the story for me, since it was mostly about the journey of the two leads.
The Have Not by Beth Crowley – 4/5
I’ve been listening to Beth Crowley’s music for a while now. She does original work, with many songs inspired by YA novels (usually fantasy or scifi).
This year, she published her own YA novel (a romance) and wrote an album to go with it. You read the book until you come to a qr code, which brings you to the next song. It’s a cool idea, and I was completely on board with the multimedia art experiment. (There’s also an art zine, though I didn’t get that.)
This is the second book this year where I have to say that this wasn’t the right book for me but it will probably strike the right chord (pun intended) for plenty of others. I don’t like characters with extensive relationship drama, romantically or otherwise, and relationship drama happened to be the core of this book. If you’re here for the drama, then you’ll probably enjoy the lead bantering her way through her ups and downs.
The biggest upside for me was the theming beneath the story. Instead of being just another girl-meets-guy story it had some good things to say about coping with loss and navigating relationships. I’m guessing that comes from the author’s previous experiences writing about story themes, and it makes the book stand out in a positive way.
I enjoyed the experience as a whole and look forward to Crowley’s future projects.
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke – 4/5
This is a short fairy tale to tide us readers over between Clarke’s other novels. As usual, atmosphere is her strength, and this chilly tale is great to read while cuddled under a blanket with some tea. It ended abruptly
What I've Been Reading
This is the first time I’ve kept track of all the books I’ve read in a year. I might keep doing it, if nothing else, to remind myself to diversify my reading a little bit more.
This year, I read 51 books total, which I broke down by genre. Fantasy: 26, Horror: 7, Mystery: 7, Action/Adventure: 3, Nonfiction: 3, Literary: 2, Science Fiction: 2, Romance: 1. Also sorting the 51, 5 were kids’ books, 16 were YA, and 30 were adult.
My first book of the year was Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock, and my last was The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke.
I enjoyed a good number of them, and I’ll share some of my favorites. Of the ones I already talked about, the books by Benjamin Stevenson, Tatsuya Endo, Makiia Lucier, Heather Fawcett, T. Kingfisher, and Susanna Clarke. Some others were The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater, Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor, and Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz.
The Witchwood Knot is a gothic fantasy novel about a Victorian governess rescuing her bratty charge from faeries. It’s well-written and has a lot of atmosphere. The romantic aspect was odd, but that was the only downside.
Address Unknown is an older epistolary novel that a friend recommended to me. It’s about a Jewish man who moved to American from Germany, and it goes through his correspondence with his old partner in the 1930’s (around when the book itself was published). The German partner’s views change over time, leading to a lot of conflict and a gripping ending.
Magpie Murders is a double mystery. One mystery involves the death of an author, which his editor is trying to solve as she looks for his last manuscript. The other mystery is in that fictional book, which holds clues to real-life events. It was clever, and I enjoyed both settings.
There were lots of good ones this year, and I look forward to seeing what 2025 brings!
