I feel the overwhelming need to apologize for being here again. Oh god, not this Her Campus at UPR writer yapping about books again. When will it end? Well, folks, maybe when there are no books left in the world. So, tough luck.
Looking back, it hasn’t been that bad. I’ve written about reading one book a day for a week and about reading a bit too many books this year, that’s only two articles (I’d have two nickels, which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it happened twice, huh?). I think this feeling of being kind of repetitive when talking about books comes more from the fact that anytime I get the chance to talk about them, it’s pretty hard to shut up. And, well, yapper indeed.
Doing a little bit of a recap, I read quite a few books last year, as you can see. I had fun, laughs, tears, angry moments. It was quite the ride and I don’t regret it for a bit. Undoubtedly, I’ll do my very best to keep reading to my heart’s content this year. In 2024, I read a total of 140 books, yup, one hundred and forty books. In those 140, I had only nine five star reads (or ten if you split the series I’m about to mention). I will mention all of them, but will go into detail for only a few in hopes of keeping this short. Here we go:
The Serpent and The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
“And then I realized. I realized that fear, when embraced, hardens and sharpens. That it becomes rage. That it becomes power.”
This book was pure female rage. I loved every second of it. I have very few words, but: a masterpiece fantasy. Just when I was afraid about the FMC getting a bit too soft, a grand plot twist is revealed and we get our fierce hater back. I loved her. The Serpent and The Wings of Night is a book about the adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king. As the synopsis states: Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.
I had two full pages of highlights on my Goodreads. That’s how much I liked this. This is the first book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series and it truly did not disappoint. The books that follow are just as good.
God of Fury by Rina Kent
Anyone who has had the privilege of talking to me about books knows I have mentioned this one at least once or twice. This book was my first five star read of 2024. It was also my first M/M romance book (you’ll see the rabbit hole it sent me down soon enough). From this book, I learned one particular thing about me as a reader: If I find one single thing to relate to, I will keep that character and book close to my heart. That’s precisely what happened here.
This is the fifth book in a dark and steamy college romance series (but it can be read as a standalone). It’s about mafia heir Nikolai Sokolov, a notorious playboy and as violent as they come, who sets his sights on golden boy Brandon, and well, all hell might just break loose. I would love to share my quotes for this book but it would be an impossible task (there’s too many to choose from). I could make an entire article just about this one. And well, if you don’t like it, it’s okay, I’ll love it enough for the both of us (wink).
The Endgame by Riley Hart
The Endgame is a great romance book that I loved with all my heart. Enough so that I don’t really need to find its synopsis somewhere else. Anston is an NFL player who cares for everyone in his family and well—is basically the epitome of a good guy. Enter Weston—a senator from California who’s cheeky, funny, and sassy—whom he meets at a bar one night and basically changes his life. Anston had a hard time from then on hiding his true feelings towards men—BUT MOST OF ALL, towards West. I picked up this book because I’m an easy reader to please, and when I saw it featured a gay Senator, well, I was there (I’m a political science student, so).
With this book, I kept yelling: “Where’s the trophy, he just comes running over to me!” I absolutely loved them. They managed to always show up for each other even though it was hard in theory and in practice.
In this Iron Ground by Marina Vivancos
Some books are carefully crafted to tear you apart. The authors weave a series of words together that leave you almost breathless. That’s how this book feels. The first book in a beautifully, tragically emotional duology, In this Iron Ground tells the story of Damien, who has only known pain and loneliness since his parents died when he was only nine. Four years later, the onslaught of pain in his life propels him to run away, an attempt that leads him to the Salgado Pack, and of course, to Hakan.
The prose in this book is one of the things that makes it so beautifully painful. It describes so much pain in such a carefully laid out way filled with metaphors. It was truly an experience. I was so overcome by the lines I was reading that I’m certain I wrote the sentence “I need someone to hit me with a car,” at least once or twice in my notes. It has heavy themes, so I suggest you read those warnings before going in, but despite everything, it is a story filled with love and hope. I completely recommend.
Bromantic Puckboy by Eden Finley & Saxon James
Now…before you gawk at the title (which is questionable, I KNOW), listen to what I have to say. If it’s not your first time reading one of my articles, you’ll know that I love to say that sometimes we just need a little enjoyment, vibes, and fluffiness. Well, this book has the right amount of it and yes, it’s a Hockey romance! In this book, we get Bilson, a guy who’s been married one too many times and ends up running away to another state and team. There, he encounters Miles, the goalie that’s a bit weird, who thinks he should help Bilson have some fun without falling in love—or getting married (and what better way to do that than forgoing women altogether and going for men?). Attached at the hip, they swear they’re only straight buddies helping each other. You’re in for a ride of dumb and dumber with this one!
They were achingly sweet, fun, and clueless. It’s a good read to pass time and one you will completely enjoy as you see how the main couple gets comfortable with each other and falls cluelessly in love. If you’re anything like me, you’ll fall in love with Miles, a character that offers genuine love, care, and pureness to those around him. I loved all his little weird quirks and comments, even the rocks! This book is part of the Puckboy Series, some I didn’t love, but this one definitely did its job putting itself beside the light-hearted fun reads in the series, I definitely recommend it.
The Right Move by Liz Tomforde
God created men and then sent Ryan Shay as an apology. I started The Right Move and I had no expectations whatsoever. I didn’t finish the first book in the series, so I was more than surprised when this second one hit it out of the park. It features Ryan Shay, a recluse and serious Captain of an NBA team, and Indy, his sister’s best friend, who’s a romantic and a bit of a disaster.
Sports, fake dating, best friend’s brother, and housemates, what more could a girl ask for? I feel like I had the best time reading this. From giggling to gasping in anger at some ex-appearances. I’ll say it here just like I said it in my review, the book felt a bit too long at one point, but by then you’re too in love with Ryan Shay to seriously care. It’s worth it.
Well, this is my completely biased opinion about these books, and the spotlight picks of my five star reads of 2024. I wish I had the space to yap a bit more about these and mention all of them. I loved the Big Bad Wolf Series by Charlie Adhara, The Long Game by Rachel Reid, and To Catch a Firefly by Emmy Sanders. These were all five star reads that I keep very, very close to my heart. I also had a number of four star reads that I cherish; one of the reasons some of them don’t have five stars is because I wanted to be more objective, but hell, if I’d gone with vibes? This article would probably be reported as the next constitution.
As you can see, I’ve been in an M/M romance spiral, but I think it’s part of never touching a genre and then suddenly being exposed to all of its possibilities and books. It’s been a good and wild ride. Just like my status in Goodreads says: I’m not even in the trenches, I’m building them!
In the end though, I loved what 2024 brought me in terms of reading. Even if I had some books that made me want to bang my head against a wall, I’m incredibly lucky to have found these masterpieces and incredibly lucky to be able to talk about them.
Have fun reading!