I love to read, books are probably the #1 thing (next to good food & travel) that makes me happy. And although between 3 kids and work, I don’t have as much time for reading as I would like to, I still manage to go through a decent number of books each year.
My reading tastes are quite eclectic. I thought I loved fantasy, but I read so much of it at some point that I needed a (long) break. I thought I was not too fond of biographies, but then I came across Michelle Obama’s & Tom Felton’s and changed my mind. Basically, there are only two things that really put me off in a book:
- If it’s badly written to the point that I cringe while reading.
- If it’s very badly translated from the original (this is why I don’t really read in Polish, unless the book was written by a Polish author).
But let’s get back to business. Inspired by the yearly Goodreads list, I decided to pick some books I liked too. Below I present to you the 3 novels which I read this year and would recommend to absolutely everyone. And if you manage to go through that, you will also learn which book was a disappointment so severe that I still can’t get over it, 5 months later!
Note: all listed books are available in QNL!
Books I loved
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
This is possibly the best book I’ve read in my adult life. Yes, it’s that good. And the funny thing is that everyone I speak to who read it says the same thing: “I assumed I wouldn’t like it, but was blown away!”. Why would they (and me, for that matter) assume that? Because the book is sci-fi, and this is objectively a difficult genre for many to enjoy, mostly due to the complicated language and concepts that are hard to wrap your head around. And yet… Project Hail Mary delivered, big time. Interestingly, I can’t pinpoint one specific thing that made it so good. I think it’s the perfect execution of an extraordinary idea. And yes, the science lingo is there, but Google is your friend, you will manage. 🙂
It’s hard to write what the book is about without giving away too much. The story follows Ryland Grace, who is on a mission. You will learn details of the mission throughout the book (Ryland wakes up from a coma-like state with temporary memory loss and as he regains bits and pieces of it, you will start to understand the big picture). All I can tell you now is that his mission is an important one – humanity’s survival depends on it. Go read it now
The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
This is the only one of my picks that I fully expected to like and it didn’t disappoint. 🙂 I also cheated a bit because it’s 3 books, not 1, but I just couldn’t pick my favorite. So, the Daevabad Trilogy is your typical fantasy. And now pay attention: it’s fantasy, NOT romantasy, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
The trilogy follows Nahri, an orphaned girl who grew up in a fantasy version of 18th-century Cairo. She’s what we would sometimes call a “street rat” – a skillful young thief and con artist. But, apparently, she’s also something else, which she only realizes after accidentally summoning a very intimidating (and very ancient) djinn warrior. She’s then forced to accept that magic (which she never believed in) does exist, and that somewhere out there lies a magical city of Daevabad, to which Nahri is bound in ways she never expected. Enter: excellent world-building, multi-layered plots, and heaps of juicy political drama. Oh, and there might or might not be a love story hiding somewhere in there, too. 😉 Overall, a delight to read, highly recommended!
The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza
I grabbed this book because I was looking for a short and light beach read, after finishing Yellowface, which was good but quite heavy to digest for me. What I did not expect was how addictive it would be! I’d say this book is part historical fiction and part murder mystery, all in a beautiful setting of Sicily.
A bit about the plot. Sara is a woman who’s not in the best place in life, dealing with a failed business and a failed marriage. And this is exactly when she learns about her great-aunt Rosie passing away and leaving her a deed to a plot of land in Sicily. Now, this would usually be a perfect entry point to a typical romance novel, right? That’s (luckily) not the case with this book. Upon arriving in Sicily, Sara discovers that nothing is really as it seems and that she unintentionally got herself entangled in a multigenerational mystery. The book, despite being a murder mystery, is still quite a light read, which will keep you guessing until the very last chapters. A great alternative to summer romances.
My biggest disappointment
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
Let me start by saying that ever since I was a small girl, I had a thing for Greek mythology. I used to know the most important myths by heart, had my favorite gods and heroes, and so on. Fast forward 20 years, and I stumbled upon A Touch of Darkness – a book that promised to combine two of the things I love: Greek mythology and romantasy, in the form of a modern retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth. I was super happy when I found an e-book in QNL and dove right in! My oh my, was I in for a ride, and not in a good way.
I finished it because my point of pride is not DNFing any book I start, but man was it a close one! Basically, EVERYTHING was wrong with this book. Characters were stereotypical and highly unlikeable, and the main plotlines didn’t make much sense. Mythology in the world that the author built didn’t make sense either. The whole thing was highly predictable AND the author seemed to have forgotten to send the book for editing before she published it. One of the reviews I read after I was finally done with the book, summarized it perfectly as “unedited, underdeveloped Greek mythology smut”. And I’ll leave you with that. 🙂
What were your favorite reads of 2024? Send over your picks to
joanna@mamaintransit.com!
