My 5⭐️ Reads of 2024

2024 was a great reading year, despite the slump that overtook me in the latter half. Getting the hang of audiobooks has been such a godsend! Anyway, I thought I'd do a roundup of my favorite reads last year, and I'm pretty surprised by the variety I ended up with. I even have a non-fiction book that I really enjoyed, how's that? 🥰

For more recommendations, check out my book reviews masterlist!

In alphabetical order by title:

---

Adiel and the Führer by Elyse Hoffman

A chance to prevent the rise of Hitler… but at what cost?

Adiel Goldstein has a good life. Despite the anti-Semitism he faces as a German Jew, he has everything he wants. A dream job as an art professor, good friends, a loving father, and a precious nine-year-old daughter, Kaia. But his life is about to be upended. An old comrade from his time fighting in the Great War is gaining power: a man named Hitler. Adiel’s father insists that they need to leave the country before Hitler becomes the leader of Germany.

Adiel and his family plan to move to America, but before they can even pack their bags, he and Kaia make a shocking discovery. Adiel’s father, Natan Goldstein, is from the future. A Holocaust survivor who lost his family to unspeakable tragedy, Natan was given the chance to go back in time and take the life of Adolf Hitler. But when he failed to kill the future Führer, he devoted himself to his new family and awaited the inevitable.

Natan can’t face the Holocaust again, but Adiel’s unique connection to Hitler means he might be able to succeed where his father failed. Adiel now has a choice: escape as planned and let history repeat itself, or sacrifice everything to stop the Holocaust before it can begin.

GENRE: Alternate History / Historical Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Blood of Midgard by Baptiste Pinson Wu

The end is near. The war is just beginning.

Ragnarök’s shadow looms over Asgard. The gods grow fearful, and Odin, in a desperate attempt to fill the benches of Valhöll with more slain heroes, sends his elite warriors to Midgard to spark conflicts. Drake, their leader, would rather fight to prevent the end of the world before it began, for Muninn, Odin’s daughter, is fated to die during the last great battle.

But as Drake and his brothers strive to accomplish Odin’s will on Midgard, a plan born in the darkness of Loki’s cell—and acted upon by someone close to Drake—is set in motion. The snare tightens around Drake, and every step the warrior takes toward the woman he loves in secret brings Ragnarök closer.

GENRE: Norse Epic Fantasy

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Feathers of Snow by Alice Ivinya

In Brianna’s new world of ice and snow, the coldest things by far are the eyes of her betrothed...

Brianna bears a deadly secret: she’s not the princess she is pretending to be. If the prince finds out, her life will be forfeit and her country plunged into war.

But there is more to the icy prince than meets the eye, and Brianna slowly unravels the secrets of his dark past while surviving in a strange culture.

However her goodness and wit will only get her so far. Terrifying beasts stalk the border and a murderer is at work in the town. They know the truth of Brianna’s identity and will stop at nothing to destroy all she has fought for.

GENRE: Young Adult Romantic Fantasy / Fairytale Retelling

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Heretical by Emma Whitehall

Ignatia Heretical isn’t shaping up to be much of a Hero.

The daughter of the most famous Villain in the country, Ig is finding that no matter how hard she tries, no one at her illustrious Hero academy seems to trust her. Or, you know. Like her. At all. Her only friend is Pisces – the beautiful, popular girl she’s been hopelessly in love with since she started school at the Lunalist Academy For The Gifted and Talented.

However, Ig’s chance to prove herself comes when she’s signed up for a secret reconnaissance mission; infiltrate Shackleton School for Villains and work out their nefarious plans.

1. Pretend to be a Villain.
2. Make friends with an unhinged botanist, a mad scientist, and his insufferable clone/lab assistant.
3. Find out their secrets.
4. Go home a Hero.

What could possibly go wrong?

GENRE: Young Adult Superhero Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: Northodox Press | Amazon

---

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

GENRE: Queer Science Fiction Retelling

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Lest They Leave by Simone Skov Petersen

Finally on my way somewhere, she thought to herself, looking out the windows of the Marseille – Paris train that was taking her home for the first time in fifteen years, and not merely for the sizzling heat of summer or the snowy chill of Christmas, not merely to visit. No, to stay.

She was very excited.

When Sylvie Gallard is called home to Paris by her brother, Charles, for the first time in more than a decade, she sees it as an opportunity to finally reestablish a bond to her last remaining family, but when she realises that he is purposefully planning to get her hitched with his business partner, Armand Dubois, her dream of an idyllic home life in her old childhood home begins crumbling. A process of ruination that is only worsened when she meets Eloisa Paolo, famed stage actress and furthermore, Charles’ squeeze.

Set in 1920s Paris, this is a story of love, loss and self-discovery. For lovers of The Great Gatsby.

GENRE: Queer Historical Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: READ HERE FOR FREE

---

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain Paperback by Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks’ compassionate tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own minds. In Musicophilia, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians and everyday people – those struck by affliction, unusual talent and even, in one case, by lightning – to show not only that music occupies more areas of our brain than language does, but also that it can torment, calm, organize and heal.

Always wise and compellingly readable, these stories alter our conception of who we are and how we function, and show us an essential part of what it is to be human.

GENRE: Non-Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Red Runs the Witch's Thread by Victoria Williamson

Paisley, Scotland, 1697. Thirty-five people accused of witchcraft. Seven condemned to death. Six strangled and burned at the stake. All accused by eleven-year-old Christian Shaw.

Bargarran House, 1722. Christian Shaw returns home, spending every waking hour perfecting the thread bleaching process that will revive her family’s fortune. If only she can make it white enough, perhaps her past sins will be purified too.

But dark forces are at work. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the witch burnings approaches, ravens circle Bargarran House, their wild cries stirring memories and triggering visions.

As Christian’s mind begins to unravel, her states of delusion threaten the safety of all those who cross her path. In the end she must make a terrible choice: her mind or her soul? Poverty and madness, or a devil’s bargain for the bleaching process that will make her the most successful businesswoman Paisley has ever seen?

Her fate hangs by a thread. Which will she choose?

GENRE: Historical Fiction / Horror

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Skylark in the Fog by Helyna L. Clove

So when the universe falls to pieces, it doesn’t mean your life has to, right? That comes later.

Jeane Blake, captain of the spaceship Skylark, makes her living by looting dead worlds, planets fallen prey to naturally occurring wormhole-like rifts plaguing the cosmos. She survives the only way she knows avoiding commitment and arguing with her dead foster father's ghost. But when her crew stumbles upon an alien device that could collapse the wormhole network and wipe out all sentient life, they catch the hungry eyes of the Union, a tyrannical empire hunting the sinister tech.

As she flees the Union’s brainwashed agents, Jeane is forced to take on a shady mission and gets stuck assisting the runaway monarch of a technocrat planet. Queen Maura Tholis is seeking the aid of an interstellar resistance to reclaim her war-torn world, with another trouble-magnet device as her bargaining a glove that allows her to command AI systems. Jeane couldn’t care less about the whole deal, but things become personal when the Union annexes the place she calls home. And it might be her fault.

Reluctant to become weapons in the hands of power-hungry militants and desperate rebels, smuggler and queen join forces. But to save their homes, they must redefine themselves, work with the enemy, and face personal traumas they’d buried long ago—and only stars know which challenge might break them in the end.

GENRE: Space Opera / Sci-fi Adventure

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green

Takeout Sushi is a collection of 17 illustrated short stories set mostly in contemporary Japan that explore feelings of belonging, displacement, and the strangeness of everyday human interaction.

In an innovative, fast-paced company, a man’s job comes under threat when a team of robots are brought in to replace the HR department. A husband’s search for shortcuts to his domestic tasks goes painfully wrong. Overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, a foreigner takes a weekend break and discovers something other than solitude in the mountains.

Marking Christopher Green’s debut adult fiction and inspired by his own experiences, these whimsical slice-of-life tales are full of heart and humour—perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

GENRE: Contemporary Short Story Collection

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Tales of Lunis Aquaria by Tessa Hastjarjanto

The sun is setting. The bright blue of the sky changes in a warm orange before it turns navy blue. Twilight slowly turns into night and the voices of the birds fade away.

To the West, a moon shows itself, chasing away the clouds that block its light. The tree casts a shadow in the moonlight. On the other side of the tree another shadow appears. To the East, a second moon appears from behind the mountains.

The reflection of light reveals the surface of the moons moves. It’s hypnotizing, how the moons seem to glitter.

A meow comes from the bushes and a moment later a large feline with fur as dark as night sky jumps out. The silver spots on his fur have the same patterns as the stars above.

The air behind the feline moves and changes color. The ethereal image of a woman appears without becoming solid. Her lips move as if she wants to say something.

“Welcome to Lunis Aquaria.”

GENRE: Fantasy Short Story Collection

PURCHASE LINK: Universal Link

---

The Djinn's Apple by Djamila Morani

Historical fiction meets crime fiction in The Djinn’s Apple, an award-winning YA murder mystery set in the Abbasid period—the golden age of Baghdad.

A ruthless murder. A magical herb. A mysterious manuscript.

When Nardeen’s home is stormed by angry men frantically in search of something—or someone—she is the only one who manages to escape. And after the rest of her family is left behind and murdered, Nardeen sets out on an unyielding mission to bring her family’s killers to justice, regardless of the cost…

Full of mystery and mayhem, The Djinn’s Apple is perfect for fans of Arabian Nights, City of Brass, and The Wrath and the Dawn.

GENRE: Young Adult Historical / Crime Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

The Garden of Delights by Amal Singh

A world where petals are currency and flowers are magic.

A man battling a curse of eternal old age. A girl who can be his boon. But it's not all tulips and roses. There are also nettles and thorns.

Where Delights persist, Sorrow must follow.

In the city of Sirvassa, where petals are currency and flowers are magic, the Caretaker tends to the Garden of Delights. He imparts temporary magical abilities to the citizens of Sirvassa, while battling a curse of eternal old age. No Delight could uplift his curse, and so he must seek out a mythical figure. A god.

When a Delight allows a young girl an ability to change reality, the Caretaker believes he’s at the end of his search. But soon a magical rot takes root in his Garden, and the Caretaker must join forces with the girl and stop it from spreading.

GENRE: Fantasy / Mythology / Magical Realism

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

The Heart of Winter by Shona Kinsella

Brigit is a young woman living in a Scotland still ruled by tribes and largely Pagan.

As Christianity is beginning to find a foothold, Brigit pays lip service to the church, but truly venerates the old gods. She does not support the changing position of women through the teachings of the church.

A cool, damp summer and an early winter threaten the harvest. A harsh winter means starvation, so the elders of Brigit’s village panic. They petition Aengus, the god of summer, to protect them. He agrees on the condition that they provide him with a bride. He chooses Brigit and the deal is made without her knowledge or consent.

When Brigit learns of this arrangement, she flees into the Highlands to seek out the Cailleach, the goddess of winter. The Cailleach is uninterested in Brigit’s plight; humans have hated and feared her for generations, and she is tired of their complaining.

Brigit is not discouraged. She sets up camp outside the Cailleach’s cave and makes offerings to the Winter Queen every day. Aengus comes looking for his bride but cannot approach the cave because he and the Cailleach are opposites.

Caught between two gods and finding an unlikely ally in the Fae witch, Nicnevin, Brigit will be tested to her limits and beyond.

GENRE: Fantasy / Scottish Folklore

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

The Light Between Us by Elaine Chiew

The Time Traveler's Wife meets Crazy Rich Asians in this speculative romance set against Singapore's tumultuous past. Immersed in Southeast Asian history, time-travel, and an impossible love story, The Light Between Us is perfect for readers of literary historical fiction and modern romantasy fans alike.

At work one night, photography archivist Charlie Sze-Toh receives a misdirected letter from Wang Tian Wei, a 1920s colonial era Chinese photographer. Through a mysterious digital folder and photographic plates, a conversation is sparked, leading to a romance that spans lifetimes.

In his time, Tian Wei scours a turbulent Singapore for his missing friend, Aiko, leading him to the perfumed chambers of a Japanese brothel. Meanwhile, in the modern day, Charlie struggles against a family dynamic dominated by her stepmother, a manipulative matriarch who uses family secrets as bargaining chips. Communication starts to become difficult and Tian Wei’s letters are tinged by the increasing threat of Japanese Occupation. Will one last fate-defying letter from Charlie allow Tian Wei to keep their love alive?

GENRE: Historical Fiction / Literary Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury (Mystwick Book 1)

Humor and heart shine in this middle grade fantasy about a girl who attends a boarding school to learn how to use music to create magic, perfect for fans of Nevermoor and The School for Good and Evil series.

Amelia Jones always dreamed of attending the Mystwick School of Musicraft, where the world’s most promising musicians learn to create magic.

So when Amelia botches her audition, she thinks her dream has met an abrupt and humiliating end—until the school agrees to give her a trial period. Amelia is determined to prove herself, vowing to do whatever it takes to become the perfect musician. Even if it means pretending to be someone she isn’t.

Meanwhile, a mysterious storm is brewing that no one, not even the maestros at Mystwick, is prepared to contain. Can Amelia find the courage to be true to herself in time to save her beloved school from certain destruction?

GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy

PURCHASE LINK: Audible

---

The Midnight Orchestra by Jessica Khoury (Mystwick Book 2)

Things are finally looking up for Amelia Jones: she's officially a Mystwick student, and she even has a teacher to help her learn how to use her rare Composing magic. When Mystwick enters an international magic competition, it’s Amelia's chance to Compose something that will help them win the day.

The only problem is that she still doesn’t understand how her powers work. But then she hears about a super exclusive Midnight Orchestra—half performance, half magical black market—and Amelia is sure that’s where she’ll find the answer to her Composing problem.

But the Midnight Orchestra is far more sinister than it initially appears and if Amelia can’t unlock her Composing powers, not only will Mystwick lose the musicraft competition, she won’t be able to rescue her friends from the danger unleashed in this thrilling adventure.

GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy

PURCHASE LINK: Audible

----

The Dark Refrain by Jessica Khoury (Mystwick Book 3)

After defeating the terrifying Necromuse and his mysterious orchestra, all Amelia Jones hopes for is a return to normal. But to her surprise, her class is sent to Europe for a month of study abroad. This seems like the perfect escape from all her problems, but not long after they land in Salzburg, Austria, danger haunts their steps. A street musician claims there is something wrong with Amelia’s magic, odd visions of the past appear around the city, and Amelia finds a strange message preserved in a museum—a message she fears was left by the Necromuse.

He’s still out there, and he’s still after Amelia.

When a storm of time magic traps Amelia, Jai, and Darby in the year 1765, they join forces with the most powerful musicians of the 18th century in an attempt to restore the timeline before it rips apart entirely. But it’s not enough. With time literally breaking down around her, Amelia will have to call on music far more powerful and forbidden than anything she has attempted before . . . magic only the Necromuse can teach her.

With original music throughout, this orchestral fantasy is an adventure the whole family will enjoy.

GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy

PURCHASE LINK: Audible

---

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean

Set in a magical zoo teeming with mythical beasts from dragons and unicorns to kelpies and krakens, The Phoenix Keeper is a fierce joy of a cozy fantasy novel with a soul-restoring queer romance at its heart, for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea and Legends and Lattes.

As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila's childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There's just one glaring caveat: her zoo's breeding program hasn't functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighboring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins.

But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons... Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. But mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo's most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.

Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the face of a goddess who's convinced that Aila's beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit. With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila's success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job...

She is the keeper of the phoenix, and the future of a species – and her love life – now rests on her shoulders.

GENRE: Cozy Contemporary Sapphic Romantasy

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

The Sisterhood by Katherine Bradley

In Oceania, whoever you are, Big Brother is always watching you. Trust is a luxury that no one has. Julia is the seemingly perfect example of what women in Oceania should be: dutiful, useful, subservient, meek. But Julia hides a secret. A secret that would lead to her death if discovered. For Julia is part of the underground movement called The Sisterhood, whose main goal is to find members of The Brotherhood, the anti-Party vigilante group, and help them to overthrow Big Brother. Only then can everyone be truly free.

When Julia thinks she’s found a potential member of The Brotherhood, it seems like their goal might finally be in their grasp. But as she gets closer to Winston Smith, Julia’s past starts to catch up with her and we soon realise that she has many more secrets than we’d first imagined – and that overthrowing Big Brother might cost her everything – but if you have nothing left to lose then you don’t mind playing the game . . .

GENRE: Dystopian / Classic Retelling / Women's Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

War of the Wind by Victoria Williamson

On a remote Scottish island, fourteen-year-old Max’s life changes forever when he loses his hearing in a boating accident. Struggling to make sense of his new life and finding it hard to adapt in school, he begins to notice other — even stranger — changes taking place when a new wind farm appears off the island’s coast.

With the help of three school friends with additional support needs, Max discovers that a sinister scientist, Doctor Ashwood, is using wind turbines to experiment on the islanders. They must find a way to shut down the government’s secret test before it spins out of control.

GENRE: Young Adult Eco-Thriller

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon | Neem Tree Press

---

What If. . . Loki Was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux

Thor - Son of Odin, God of Thunder, wielder of the hammer Mjolnir - is dead. And Loki is responsible.

It was only meant to be a joke - tampering with the Destroyer, changing Thor's course to Midgard - a bit of mischief with a chance of maiming. But Loki's harmless prank spiraled out of control, unleashing death and destruction on New York City and the heroes sworn to protect it. The city was saved, but at the cost of Thor's life.

Furious and heartbroken, the All-Father banishes Loki to Earth for his crime. Loki finds himself in a realm of boxed wine, instant noodles, and some sort of regional performance troupe known as the "Buffalo Bills." It's a meager existence, far from Asgard's grand courts, but he finds his new friend, Brian the Gecko, a much more engaging companion than the sycophants back home. A true meeting of the minds. Loki is the God of Mischief - but he knows, deep down, that he never truly deserved to stand next to their father's golden child Thor, as two true sons of Odin.

Yet, he cannot even endure his exile in peaceful isolation. A Valkyrie - Hel-bent on carrying out her oath to Thor - barges into his trailer-home with his brother's final words from the beyond: a plea to find a certain Dr. Jane Foster and pass on Mjolnir to its rightful heir.

While Loki struggles to fulfil his brother's last request, the far-reaching consequences of his fatal prank return to haunt him. Blinded by grief from those he lost in the chaos wrought by Asgard, Iron Man vows revenge on those who consider themselves gods. Determined to protect the Earth from the might of this unpredictable alien power, he forges Asgard's own weaponry into a lethal suit of armor, set on eradicating any tether between their worlds. Consequences be damned. When Asgard looks to Loki for salvation, he must answer the question: Am I truly worthy?

GENRE: Superhero Fiction

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

---

Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino SFFH author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

You can find more info about me and my books, and also subscribe to my newsletter for more content, here. And if you like what I do, please also consider supporting me on Ko-fi! 🩷 https://ko-fi.com/mariesinadjan

If you fancy a short read, I have a cozy reimagining of the Norse myths about Hel, but it's just under 70 pages and can be read in one sitting. ✨

All things end, and all must die.

But death is not always the end.

When Geiravor Lokisdottir was stripped of her name and cast out of Asgard, torn from her family and the life she had known, she thought she’d lost it all. But in the shadows of Niflheim she discovers the path to her destiny, and what it truly means to be queen.

This is a prequel short story to THE PROPHECIES OF RAGNAROK trilogy by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan, and a retelling of the myths involving Hel, the Norse goddess of death and the queen of the underworld.