The Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag: 2024

The best book of 2024 so far is The Women by Kristin Hannah. The book follows Frankie as she enlists to serve as an Army Nurse in Vietnam during the war and the difficult process of reintegrating back home post-enlistment. Kristin Hannah realistically portrayed the struggle in Vietnam – the lack of resources and training, and the fear – and the alienation those who served in Vietnam felt when they returned to the USA. I particularly appreciated how the erasure of the women who served as Army Nurses was challenged. Overall, I found the book incredibly moving.

It’s funny that my favourite read six months into this year is historical fiction since this was the case last year, too (see The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester). In my 2023 Mid-Year Freakout Book Tag, I wrote that I was shocked my favourite read was historical fiction—yet here we are again! Obviously, this new genre (for me) is resonating.

I haven’t really been a series reader this year (by this, I mean that I haven’t been reading series that follow the same protagonists in each book). Most series I’ve read have been romance companion novels (so they’re all part of the same world, and previous protagonists show up as supporting characters in later books).

However, I’m currently reading Blood Feast by Vela Roth, the 8th book in the Blood Grace series. This book was released on June 3rd, and I’ve finally decided to tackle this 700+ page tome. All eight books follow Cassia and Lio and their forbidden romance. I’m just over 50% into the book, and I can already tell it’ll be the best sequel I’ve read in 2024. I am so impressed with Vela Roth’s imagination and how there is so much of this fantasy world — in terms of politics and magic — to build upon and explore despite every book being over 600 pages.

Last year, I had 23 anticipated releases (for 2023), and I purchased most of them but failed to read even half. So, in 2024, I created a distilled list of 12 new releases I want to read before the year ends. As of mid-year, I’ve purchased/borrowed ten of them, eight of which I’ve read (or am currently reading).

I have two books I’ve purchased and haven’t yet read, including Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez. Not only is this book the perfect summer romance (look at that cover!), but I also finally finished the first two books in the Part of Your World companion romance novel series. So, Just for the Summer is definitely my priority.

The only book on my 12 New Releases for 2024 list that comes out in the latter half of the year is A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. The book follows Sera, a witch who lost her magic after a difficult (and taboo) spell. To get her magic back, she reconnects with a past one-night stand (an icy historian) and teams up with a villainous talking fox. Also, Sera’s supposed to be a grumpy main character, which will be a hoot! It comes out on December 24th.

My biggest disappointment in 2024 was, by far, The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan. It sounded like such a cool premise. We follow Helena, the apprentice to Sir Konrad, an Emperor’s Justice. The epic fantasy explores a colonialist state that uses the rule of law to consolidate its power. However, an extremist religious faction rises to power and threatens the stability of the continent.

There’s a big however. The story is told through Helena’s perspective, and her characterization is incongruent with her backstory. Worse, she came across as a caricature of what the author thought a young woman would think and feel. You can read my full review here.

Karla Sorensen’s books have been very hit-and-miss for me recently. I gave the first book in her Wilder Family series a 2-star rating, so I was shocked by how much I loved Head Over Heels. The book is a small-town, opposites-attract romance with an ice queen for a Heroine and a golden retriever for a Hero. I loved how gone the Hero was for the Heroine!

Important note: this book covers serious topics, including the on-page decline and death of a loved one.

In 2024, I’ve only read one book from all the new-to-me authors whose books I rated highly. So, I have to go with Sara Rose Etter as my favourite new author because I was so impressed by her writing. Her book Ripe was my favourite book in May! You can read my full review here. I’m definitely going to be checking out her backlist.

To be honest, I’m not really one to have fictional crushes. But if I had to pick one, I would repeat a book by choosing Cameron from Head Over Heels by Karla Sorensen. He’s the definition of “if he wanted to, he would.”

My newest favourite character is Lucy from Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera. The book follows Lucy as she returns to her hometown for her grandmother’s birthday after a true crime podcaster reignites interest in the murder of her best friend… and Lucy was the primary suspect! But Lucy has no memory of the night in question and no idea whether everyone is right about their suspicions.

I loved how Lucy owned who she was — she was very much an asshole and wasn’t afraid of confrontation or calling a spade a spade. Lucy felt real; she was complicated and challenged the true crime narratives of perfect victims and one-dimensional villains.

A book that made me cry was The Last Love Note by Emma Grey, which follows single parent Kate, who’s still grieving the loss of her husband but is working towards healing and moving on. While there is a romantic subplot, this book is heavily focused on Kate’s grief journey. It includes detailed flashbacks of her husband’s diagnosis and the progression of his illness. Readers beware!

The first book that popped into my mind relevant to this question was Fragile Sanctuary by Catherine Cowles. I was so happy to finally read this book! I had been counting down the months after Cowles’ previous release in February — her books are my comfort reads right now (I’ve read every book in her backlist that isn’t a second chance romance — my least favourite trope).

Fragile Sanctuary is a romantic suspense novel, so it does not have all happy-go-lucky vibes, but I love the small towns Cowles creates and the emotional romance!

I haven’t purchased any special editions this year, so I’ll choose the book with my favourite cover: How to Think Like a Woman by Regan Penaluna. I love how the cover plays on the historical sitting portrait, which was used to capture wealthy women (or women who were muses of artists). The added touch of warping her face perfectly encapsulates an important theme in this book: the erasure of women in history, particularly the philosophy canon, in this case.