It’s the start of a new year which means it’s time to look at my reading plans and goals for the year ahead!
2024 Reading Goal – 20 Books
In 2023 I set my goal to 18 books and read 22! This year, I’m setting my goal at 20 books. I’m hoping I can read a few more than that, but I wanted to make sure I set an achievable target.
2024 Reading Challenge – Beat the Backlist
I don’t usually participate in reading challenges and I’m a mood reader so don’t generally set any kind of TBR. However, I do sometimes struggle with indecision about what to read and thought it would be fun to give a reading challenge a go this year. I picked Beat the Backlist as it’s fairly flexible with no specific requirement for the number of books you read.
Beat the Backlist is hosted by Austine Decker and involves reading backlist books published in 2023 or earlier.
There are a selection of optional prompts to help you pick your backlist reads. There are way more than I’d be able to read in a year, so I’ve decided to pick a few of the prompts to focus on for the challenge so I have a smaller list to work from.
You can find out more about Beat the Backlist here.
Fae or aliens
4-word title
Travel by ship
Retelling of a classic
Walk through history
Door on the cover
2023 debut novel
Between 300 and 400 pages
Neon coloured cover
Hotel, mansion, or castle
Have you set yourself any reading goals or challenges this year? Chat with me in the comments!
2024 is looking to be a great year for new books! There are so many I’m excited for, here are 10 of them.
Top 10 Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish, but has now moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. If you’re interested in taking part click here.
Release dates are subject to change and these are based on the ones I could find for UK retailers so may differ for other countries.
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft – 4 January 2024
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole – 16 January 2024
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi – 18 January 2024
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White – 18 January 2024
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown – 15 February 2024
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal – 22 February 2024
The Crimson Moth by Kristen Cicarelli – 29 February 2024
The Temptation of Magic by Megan Scott – 23 May 2024
The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond – 28 May 2024
Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova – 25 June 2024
Did any of these make your list? Are there any I should add to mine? Chat with me in the comments!
Publishing Info: Audiobook by Bloomsbury Publishing, narrated by Alana Kerr Collins
Star Rating: 4/5
Back Cover Summary:
It is a dark time for clairvoyants. Scion is in league with the Rephaim, an extraordinarily powerful, otherworldly race that intends to make humans its slaves.
In an unprecedented feat of bravery, Paige Mahoney has succeeded in leading a mass break-out from the brutal camp, Sheol I, where she and other clairvoyants were systematically imprisoned.
Paige is desperate to reach the safety of the London underworld, but the ruthless leader of the Rephaim, Nashira Sargas, is not likely to let her escape so easily….
The Mime Order is the sequel to Samantha Shannon’s imaginative dystopian novel The Bone Season, a novel which took me by surprise with its detailed and unique worldbuilding and magic system. The sequel picks up right where The Bone Season ended, throwing the reader right into the midst of the action. This was a little jarring and felt more like I was reading the end of The Bone Season, than the beginning of its sequel.
I found a large part of The Mime Order to be a little slow paced, with too many similar scenes that made it feel stretched out. However, the pace picks up in the last third of the book. All the pieces begin to fall into place and I found myself eager to continue reading. This novel builds slowly to an action-packed ending that left me on the edge of my seat.
Once again, the detailed worldbuilding stands out. Although I found the pacing slow at times, the intriguing world of this series always manages to hold my attention. Having said that, the amount of unfamiliar words and phrases and terms for different kinds of clairvoyants was a little overwhelming to keep track of.
Happy New Year! I can’t believe another year has finished and gone. 2023 had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve not been as active here as I would have liked. Things have been pretty bumpy with my health, but hopefully things will improve as I now have a new diagnosis which will help me manage it better. I read quite a few books in November and December and ended the year by exceeding my 2023 goal of 18 books by reading 22!
Every Duke Has His Day by Susanne Enoch ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This book was absolutely charming and completely fun to read. I was thoroughly entertained the whole way through and laughed on more than one occasion. I adored the romance and was so happy with the ending I didn’t care whether it was predictable or not. Having been feeling a bit down, this was just the book I needed. If you’re looking for something light-hearted and fun, I would highly recommend this book.
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This is a great YA fantasy with a touching romance and an interesting setting. It kept me reading from start to finish and had a heartbreaking ending. It’s not one of my favourite reads of the year, but I think that’s more down to personal taste than the quality of the book. This is an excellently crafted book and I would definitely recommend it.
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – The final book in the Grishaverse series! I can’t believe I’ve finally reached the end and won’t be returning to this world again. Unless Leigh Bardugo decides to go back to this world at some point, and I would be perfectly happy if she did. Rule of Wolves is a great conclusion to the series. Some old, favourite characters return which made it feel like a homage to the series as a whole and a bit of a farewell tour.
The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – As I enjoyed The Bone Houses, I was looking forward to returning to the same world, with new characters and a new story. This was a fun heist story and there were some great twists towards the end.
Whisked Away at Christmas by Mahi Chesire ⭐⭐⭐ – I was looking for a fun, Christmassy read and came across this on Audible. The story centres around a prestigious baking competition and a second chance romance. While I enjoyed the story, I think I would have enjoyed it more with different narrators, as the ones chosen for this audiobook were a little flat and didn’t bring the story to life.
Sisters of Sword and Shadow by Laura Bates ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I love Arthurian stories and tales of knights, so I just had to pick this one up when I saw it. The audiobook narration is great and works really well for this one as the writing has the feel of being told a classic tale of brave knights. The ending leaves things open for a sequel and I’d be interested in returning to this world and characters if the author does write another.
I ended the year pretty well, reaching the midpoint of my novel which is really exciting. I’ve been working on it a long time now, so to reach this milestone feels like a great achievement.
What books have you enjoyed this month? Chat with me in the comments!
It’s time to pick my favourite books of 2023! I read so many good ones last year, but there are definitely some that stood out as my favourites.
Top 10 Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish, but has now moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. If you’re interested in taking part click here.
Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch
Legendborn by Tracey Deonn
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Sisters of Sword and Shadow by Laura Bates
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin
City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
Have you read any of these? What were your favourite books of 2023? Chat with me in the comments!
The Last Book On The Left 