Here’s the books I’ve read in 2024, and what I’ve thought of them. I set a goal of 30 books for 2024… and managed to blow past it!
There were some really good books in the list this year! For next year, though, I’m going to try really hard to leave a review for each book as I get done reading it…. (Kindle makes it really easy to leave a star review on Goodreads, but I’d like to leave at least some basic thoughts on Amazon for each book.)
- The Martian – Andy Weir
I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, and wasn’t disappointed. If you liked Apollo 13, you’ll like this.
My Rating: 5 stars - Final Break (Shades of Starlight book 4) – B.L. Dean
This is the last book in a science-fiction series, and wraps everything up. This was a fun adventure, with pirates, smugglers, sports hereos, and intergalactic intrigue.
My Rating: 4 stars - The Heroine’s Journey – Gail Carriger
I try to read a least a few writing craft books a year, and this was a really good one. Are you tired of hearing that “The Hero’s Journey” is the ONLY story framework that exists? Do you write ensemble casts instead of loners? Then this is the book for you!
(The book does meander off-topic and get political on occasion, but despite that it does have some excellent information.)
My Rating: 4 stars - The Dark Ones (The Vixen War Bride, book 6) – Thomas J. Doscher
Do you like science-fiction fox girls? VERY slow burn romance B-plots? History-inspired plots?
Then this is the series for you!
Again, this is the last in the series (I read the rest in 2023.) The ending wraps everything up, and leaves open the possibility for more stories in the universe. Lots of great characters, and a fun story world.
My Rating: 5 stars - The Messy Lives of Book People – Phaedra Patrick
This was a fun novel about a woman that gets a job as a housekeeper for her favorite author. Adventure ensues.
My Rating: 5 stars - A Superhero for Christmas – H.L. Burke
Probably should have saved this one for Christmas… oh well. It’s a superhero story, it’s a Christmas story, it’s a romance.
My Rating: 5 stars - Sea and Soul – Shari Branning
Fun story about a male empath and a selkie. This was especially nice because in most stories, the empath is really weak and emotional. In this book, the author found a way to weaponize empathy that really works, and still makes the character relatable.
My Rating: 5 stars - Piper Blackwell #1: The Dead of Winter – Jean Rabe
A police-procedural/mystery story. This was an enjoyable read (I seem to keep saying that… yet another reason why I want to review these closer to reading them instead of at the end of the year next year…)
If you like a nice who-dun-it set in a small town with good characters, you’ll love this book.
My Rating: 5 stars - The Flight Engineer #1: The Rising – S.M. Stirling, James Doohan
A book about space engineers written (at least in part…) by Scotty himself! Sign me up!
This was just a TAD more gritty that Star Trek, and a little more action/detective than engineering… but other than that, exactly what I expected.
My Rating: 5 stars - Dragon School #1:
- First Flight –
- Sarah K.L. Wilson
Yes, this book is entries 10 through 12, that’s not a mistake. Each book is a novella, essentially. I loved this one so much I bought the books 1-5, then 6-10 collections right after reading the first book.
This book (series) is exactly what it says on the tin: a girl goes to schook to become a dragon rider, and has various adventures.
My Rating: 5 stars - Nobody’s Hero – Janeen Ippolito
Superhero story about a guy who gets branded as a villain, and his quest to save an old friend, and take down the real villains.
Fun adventure, some romantic sub-plots, lots of fun.
My Rating: 5 stars - Blade and Staff for Hire – K.M. Carroll
This was a fun fantasy about a warrior who roams the world searching for a bride… and his adventures with his best friend along the way. One of the things I liked about it is that it breaks the usual formula in that the he meets up with the girl fairly early, and they adventure toghether for most of the book.
My Rating: 5 stars - Assassinated King, Volume 1 – Michael Plymel
This is a light novel (for those who don’t know, ‘light novel’ is basically a term for an anime-inspired short~er novel.)
Fairly typical Isekai where the protagonist dies and goes to another world. These types of stories aren’t about the plot, but about the characters. I really enjoyed this.
My Rating: 4 stars - Even a Hero Needs a Vacation Every Now and Then (a light novel): Tipsy Pelican Tavern Vol 1 – August
Pretty much what it says on the tin… What happens when a hero gets of it all, gives up his power, and retires? Is a hero allowed to just take it easy after all that heroing, or will various people keep bothering him?
This was a lot of fun, but I do wish that they’d have leveled the main character back up at least a little by the end of the book. Will they in the next book in the series? We’ll have to find out…
My Rating: 5 stars - Dewey the Library Cat: A True Story – Vicki Myron, Bret Witter
Yup, a true story about a stray cat that was adopted by a library.
My Rating: 5 stars - Accidentally a Dragon Shifter 1 – Janeen Ippolito
- Accidentally a Dragon Shifter 2 – Janeen Ippolito
Fun fantasy dualology about a girl that gets accidentally turned into a dragon shifter. It’s a fun little story, and about my only issue is that each book is so short that this could (and, in my opinion, should have) been written and sold as one single story.
My Rating: 4 stars - FoxTales: Behind the Scenes at Fox Software – Kerry Nietz
A history/biography about the Fox Software. Honestly, if you’re not a nerd who’s into computers, and like reading accounts of the early days of computer stuff, you’ll probably be bored by this one.
On the other hand, if you ARE a nerd like me and DO like reading about this stuff, this is a facinating and personal account of one of the early database programs.
My Rating: 5 stars - Library System Reset #1: Overdue – K.T. Hanna
Ooo, a book about libraries, sign me up! And this one is a magical library… that’s damaged, and missing it’s librarian. Quinn gets kidnapped/recruited to be the new librarian… but can she save the library before it’s too late?
This book has fun characters, adventure, magic, lots of books, and a unique and fun story world.
Goodreads says this the longest book I’ve read, at 591 pages.
My Rating: 5 stars - Elven Alliance #1: Fierce Heart – Tara Grayce
I was complaining to some of my writer friends that I wanted a fantasy (or SF) book where someone DOESN”T get kidnapped and/or captured, and had a nice romance sub-plot… no, not “romance” that’s just smut, but romance where the characters meet early, and get to know each other.
They recommended this book, and it really delivers. The characters meet early, and while there is some fantasy action, most of the book is the characters getting to know each other, and exploring another culture.
This is a nice, cozy read, and one that I’d like to read over again (well, after I read more of the series… 🙂 )
My Rating: 5 stars - DOSA Files: Tales from the SVR Universe, Volume 1 – H.L. Burke, et al.
This a fun collection of superhero short stories.
My Rating: 5 stars - The Harvest of Moondew Valley #1: Well of Shadows – D.R.R. Hatch
Lit-RPG story about a plant man who inherits an ancestors mansion and farm…. only, it’s really run down, and he’s got to fix it up before the whole valley is overrun.
Fun, complicated characters, neat story, I enjoyed it.
My Rating: 5 stars - The Trope Thesaurus : An Author Resource Guide – Jennifer Hilt
This is a really helpful reference book, but I was hoping for something more like ‘The Emotion Thesaurus’.
It’s still useful and helpful, but not quite as easy to look stuff up in.
My Rating: 4 stars - Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife (Manga) Vol. 5 – Jupiter Studio, Kaltoma (artist)
This is a fun story where a married couple goes hunting together and gets in adventures. Oh, and the protagonist can buy guns from his previous world via his magic bag.
And yes, guns in a fantasy world does break things, and it’s glorious fun.
My Rating: 5 stars - Song of the Stars – Alexandra Gilchrist
Alien symbiot superhero. What more can I say 🙂
Well, I can say it would have gotten five stars had it not contained one of my least favorite tropes:
Villain: “Give me the world-destroying device, or I’ll kill your loved ones!”
Hero: “Okay, here… just don’t kill her!”
Villain: “HA! You idiot! You’re wife/girlfriend/child LIVES on the planet that I’m going to destroy! What a moron!”
(That said, LOTS of books/movies/tv shows sadly use that trope, and it was done well in this book.)
My Rating: 4 stars - Holding Out for a Healer – Alexandra Gilchrist, K.M. Carroll, Shari Branning, et al.
One of the people in the writer’s group I’m part of was lamenting that there are no stories about male healers… they’re all girls.
So we fixed that. This is an anthlology of short stories all about male healers.
And they’re all awesome.
… why yes, I do have a story in this book, why? 😉
My Rating: 5 stars - Ithria #1: Taroniah at School – Peter Rhodan
Okay, I’ll admit it, I mostly bought this book for the cover…
… and boy am I glad I did. This series was one of my favorite reads of the year. Do you love OP heros? Do you love characters that you’d want to hang out with, in a world you’d also like to hang out in? Then read this.
Normal books: “Oh no! The bad guys are attacking our heroine, will she be okay?”
This book: “Oh, those poor bad guys… they have NO IDEA the world of hurt that’s about to rain down on them.” 🙂
You: “But Aaron, if you loved it so much, why only 4 stars?”
Two reasons:
– Each book has a chapter about some random dude that’s not connected to the story at all, as far as I can tell…
– Each book also has one, and precisely one, paragraph where the character ponders something mildly inappropriate. Call me a prude if you want, but if that was cut, these would be a clean fantasy read.
… that still didn’t stop me from buying the rest of the Taroniah books as soon as I finished this one, and imminently devouring them.
My Rating: 4 stars - Ithria #3: Taroniah at War – Peter Rhodan
- Snowed In at the Cat Café – Rachel Rowlands
… It said “cat” in the title…
And it’s a cute, cozy Christmas romance, and it is indeed set in a cat cafe, and there are lots of cats.
My Rating: 4 stars - Ithria #5: Taroniah at Peace – Peter Rhodan
- Ithria #7: Taroniah at Large – Peter Rhodan
- Ithria #9: Taroniah at Work – Peter Rhodan
Links to the whole series are above. You’ll notice some gaps in the series numbers. Apparently the Ithria books alternate between Taroniah and Kyron. I’m sure Kyron is nice, but I wanted to read about Taroniah, darn it! 😉
… and the last book leaves off in a perfect place for more Taroniah books, and I can’t wait for them. - Rescuing a Supervillain – H.L. Burke
More cats! Lots of cats! A whole shelter full of cats!
Oh, and some superheros and romance, too.
Read this, it’s really good.
My Rating: 5 stars - Starship’s Mage – Glynn Stewart
Ooo, magic in space!
My Rating: 5 stars - The Editor in your Pocket: Fix your fiction with style – Grace Bridges
Handy reference guide to the common issues you’ll have writting a novel.
My Rating: 5 stars - The Wolf of Brooklyn Heights – J. C. Joiner
Historical fiction about the revolutionary war.
Ooo, I almost DNF’ed this one… the main character is a loyalist, and kind of a scuz.
But the story is about his character growth. About the second or third chapter (I don’t remember exactly) the story really kicks off and our hero starts to grow into someone we can root for.
My rating: 4 stars - Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average In The Next Life?! Light Novel Vol. 4 – FUNA, Itsuki Akata (Illustrator)
First of all, yes, I have read the prior books in this series in previous years.
If you’ve seen the anime, this is basically this, only in more detail, and just SLIGHTLY less funny.
My Rating: 5 stars - I’m No Angel: From Victoria’s Secret Model to Role Model – Kylie Bisutti
Inspiring biography. Also: the fashion industry is evil…
My Rating: 5 stars - How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety: And Abstinence, Drugs, Satanism, and Other Dangers That Threaten Their Nine Lives – Zachary Auburn
So, I bought this mainly for the cover image and title… at a used book sale for less than a dollar. The book is funny, and full of puns, and oddly does have some good gun safety tips… but I do think they took the joke just a bit too far.
That said, still five stars just for the cover image. - My Cottage Was Transferred to Another World, Volume 1 – Sebastian Guzman
This was a fun isekai story, with fun characters… then BAM! Sex scene out of nowhere 🙁
Delete that, and it’s a good story.
My Rating: 4 stars - The Curious Quest – E. Phillips Oppenheim
Can a rich person survive for a year on only five pounds? Ernest bets that he can…
This is a fun adventure, with a nice romance sub-plot.
My Rating: 5 stars - Harry Potter #2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
What? Aaron’s never read the whole HP series?
Nope. Didn’t see that the books could ever live up to the hype (“It’s the best book EVER!!” … um, no…) and I read the first one and though it was okay.
Then I saw some ads for the Hogwarts: Legacy game, and thought it looked like fun (there IS a LOT of great world-building in HP.) The game IS fun, and made me want to finish reading the books.
Goodreads says 6,124,421 people also shelved this book in 2024… and here I thought the Harry Potter hype was mostly over…
My Rating: 4 stars - Assassinated King, Volume 2 – Michael Plymel
Yup, liked the first one so much, I came back for the second. And this one is even better.
My Rating: 5 stars - Wolf’s Trail – Mel Dunay
Part adventure, part mystery, part monster hunter, this was a fun read.
My Rating: 5 stars - A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Well, December hit, and I haven’t read this classic in a while.
… What’s my favorite film version, you ask? Mickey’s Christmas Carol, of course… and it’s shockingly accurate to the book, for a cartoon.
My Rating: 5 stars, of course - Nyssa Glass’s Clockwork Christmas – H.L. Burke
So there’s a whole Nyssa Glass steampunk series. I’ve read the first book, but since it’s December, I skipped to book 3.5 for the Christmas story. And it’s cozy fun.
My Rating: 5 stars - The Christmas Bride – Grace Livingston Hill
A nice, cozy, slow-burn clean romance, and yes, they do get married at Christmas.
My Rating: 5 stars - The History of Christmas – Wyatt North
Non-fiction of the history of Christmas. My only complaint is that this is really short, and doesn’t go into enough detail for my liking. Still, I got it on sale for free, so…
My Rating: 4 stars - Lights for Christmas – C.O. Bonham
Fun little holiday short. Annalee just wants to get Christmas lights for the children’s home, and stumbles into intrigue. I do wish it was longer.
Goodreads says this is the shortest book I read in 2024, at 34 pages.
My Rating: 4 stars - Lord Edgington Investigates #8: The Snows of Weston Moor – Benedict Brown
So I got this because it was on sale, and a Christmas story. Turns out I accidentally found a really good detective mystery series. If you like Sherlock Holmes, you’ll like this. I definitely plan on buying more books in this series.
My Rating: 5 stars - The Sixth Christmas – Mollie E. Reeder
Basically a modern-day Christmas Carol retelling. It’s pretty good.
My Rating: 4 stars - The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding – Agatha Christie
Okay, somehow I’ve gone this long without reading anything by Agatha Christie… and I wish I’d started a lot sooner.
This was a really good story, and, it’s a mystery where nobody dies, which is sadly rare. (I enjoy a good mystery, but I’m not huge into the genre, because I get really tired of EVERY book being about murder…)
After Christmas, I’ll be reading a lot more of these…
My Rating: 5 stars - The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – Barbara Robinson
My nieces church put on the play version of this last year, so I knew I was in for a good time when this went on sale.
My Rating: 5 stars - Miss Penny Celebrates Christmas – Cathy Quintilla
A Christmas story with a detective that can talk to ghosts and her cat? Yes, please!
This was a fun story, with quirky characters, and a nice mystery. I’ll probably be reading more in this series, too. (Sounds like next year is going to be the year of the sequel… 😉 )
Goodreads says 0 other people shelved this book in 2024 🙁
Poor lonely book. Go read it and make the book happy.
My Rating: 5 stars - Hercule Poirot #10: Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
So, the plan was to read a bunch of Christmas books in December, but I loved The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding so much that I wanted to read another Poirot book (I was going to read ‘Hercule Poirot’s Christmas’, but I was out of Amazon points, and the Kindle version is $15 🙁 ) and hey, everyone’s heard of Murder on the Orient Express, but I hadn’t read it yet.
It’s SO good!
My Rating: 5 stars - The Christmas Book Hunt – Jenny Colgan
When Mirren’s ninety-year-old great aunt is sick and just wants to read her favorite childhood book, Mirren sets out to find it… but it turns out the book is not only rare, it’s near mythical…
This was a good book, family, friends, adventurer, and lots of books.
My rating: 5 stars - Desserts & Dragons: A Humorous Cozy Fantasy – Bo Huffman
Imagine if Donita K Paul and Graham Elliot had a book baby…
I enjoyed this book a lot. Dragons, baking competitions, and fun adventure without the extreme stress.
My Rating: 5 stars - Twisted Traditions: A Festive Collection of Holiday Antics – Adam Marky, Susan Cork
This is a fun, informative short book about Christmas traditions around the world. Personally, I’d like if it went into a bit more detail, but it is aimed for kids, so…
(P.S. If you do have kids, spring for the paperback version. Each chapter has a coloring page… and it’s nice to look at, but hard to color on the Kindle version 🙂 )
My Rating: 4 stars
That was a lot of books to read in one year! (Well, lately… it’s hard to read as many books in a year as I did back in high school, what with a job and all…)
What were my favorites out of all those?
- The Dark Ones (The Vixen War Bride, book 6) – Thomas J. Doscher
- Dragon School – Sarah K Wilson
- The Taroniah books – Peter Rhodan
- Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
Gee, Aaron, did you read anything you didn’t like this year?
Well, not really, I (mostly randomly) picked a bunch of good books this year. I did start and not finish two books. One, there wasn’t really anything wrong with it, but it wasn’t what it said on the tin, and it just wasn’t my cup of tea. The other, was well-written, but I didn’t really like any of the characters, and I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t want to name them, ’cause they didn’t suck… they just weren’t for me.
How about you? Did you read any of the same books as I did?
What was your favorite read this year?
Aaron is the author of the Psygens and Space Cats series, and the Etherno series. Aaron is a certified Linux nerd who’s been a fan of both Star Trek and Star Wars as long as he can remember. Naturally he writes space-opera. He lives in rural Michigan with his wife, four kids, and at least two cats.
You can learn more about Aaron and his books at aarondemott.com
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