In 2024, I had begun to find my joy in reading and getting lost in a lost in another world, again. The last time I had been anything resembling active here on Literary Weaponry was the spring of 2022. If I am being honest with myself, the last time it had brought me joy was a considerable time before that. My life had spiraled into a dark place that I didn’t think there was an escape from. It took a long time to pull myself out and I truly have my wonderful therapist to thank.

All that being said, while I was not as enthusiastic a reader in 2024 as I had been in the previous decade, I did read a few books that truly gave me joy. These are the books that turned that reading spark back into a flame

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros – I cannot begin to explain my love of this book! Several of the people I worked with early last year recommended this book to me with such enthusiasm that I finally caved and gave it a try. If I am completely honest with myself, this is the story that drop kicked back into the glorious world of fantasy and I owe it a great deal. High stakes, violence, forbidden romance, morally grey hottie, and dragons…it is everything I look for in a story (outside of the annoying miscommunication trope) and I could reread this story forever.

Throne of the Fallen (Prince of Sin #1) by Kerri Maniscalco – So I have a thing for romantasy. These days, who doesn’t? Admittedly, this book sat on my shelf for a considerable amount of time before I finally picked it up. As I said, I just didn’t have that reading mojo. Once I did dig into this story, I fell head over heels for the delightful Prince Envy. I’ve always had a thing for the story of the deadly sins and Maniscalco’s personification of them has been fabulous. Envy, however, is my favorite (at least so far). His devotion to his people while still maintaining his sin had me hooked from page one. Not to mention the female lead in this book was fierce and fiery. It is also worth mentioning that if you like audiobooks, this title has one of my favorite voice actors, Shane East.

Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain #1) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer – This is a bit of a different pick for me but I also credit it with restoring my reading joy. I would be first and loudest in line to tell you that adding an unhealthy dose of toxic relationships and an off the charts spice level draws me to a story like a kid to their Halloween haul. However, this book has neither of those aspects. Instead we have a mystery, a loyal and fiercely independent woman, sibling bonds, and threads of magic running through it all. It was a thrill to get caught up in Evie’s story and all the twists and turns it took.

I am so glad to be here to share these stories with you. Did any of them make your top reads for 2024?

Happy reading 🖤