I thought about calling this ‘Books IIII’ but I need to do better with these titles. One thing I did do better with in 2024 was reading. In 2024, I tried to read a book a month so let’s get into it:

The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly – intriguing and compelling story, including the story within the story. Good twists and turns but the ending fell very flat for me.

The List by Yomi Adegoke – thought provoking but I thought the pace was a little slow and the style of writing wasn’t to my personal taste. 

One Day by David Nicholls – I haven’t watched the Netflix show and I almost don’t want to as I loved everything about this book. The storyline, the story telling, the characters – 10/10. 

Butter by Asako Yuzuki – another compelling story but this book is HEFTY. If you’re au fait with Japan/Japanese culture then you might get on better with this book. I struggled with the context, cultural nuances in the story and I think some of the content was lost in translation. 

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez – I’ve had this book on my list for years and I was SO excited to read it. I know this is meant to be the one of the greatest Hispanic literary works of all time, but I deadass could not get past the incest and noncery throughout. 

1984 by George Orwell – a classic, thought provoking, low key disturbing, super well written – 8/10

Book Lovers by Emily Henry – this might be the first proper romance book I’ve ever read. Loved the characters and their development, low key loved the cheesy storyline, loved the smut.

King of Sloth by Ana Huang – this is the first properly filthy book I’ve ever read and I will tell you now, I am hooked. The story itself is pretty cliché but I’m not mad about that – it’s a fun holiday read.

In Memoriam by Alice Winn – if you can get past the pretty gory WWI descriptions, this is a really good read. It’s essentially a forbidden love story but also a story of losing oneself and how that shows up in relationships – 9/10.

Cleopatra & Frankenstein by Coco Mellors – all the characters were insufferable and there wasn’t a distinct storyline yet I couldn’t stop reading it so, meh I guess. 

Twisted Hate by Ana Huang – if the ‘enemies to lovers’ trope has no fans, then I am deceased. This book is a perfect example of it. Same author as ‘King of Sloth’ above and my views are the same – cliche but good story, filthy in the best way, easy read. 

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang – again, thought provoking about who has the ‘right’ to produce content and about what. The first half was very compelling, the second half became a bit frenzied and lost me slightly, but there was a good twist at the end. I’d recommend it as read for sure.

In 2025, my resolution for reading is to read more non-fiction so, see you in a year with more book recommendations and hopefully more wisdom!