It’s that time of year again — the midpoint check-in. Here’s how it’s going so far. Just like 2023, I finished 43 books in the first half of this year – here are my current favorites in descending order. (Full reviews are linked through both the titles and pictures).
Honorable Mention: Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Order of Being in Love
This was my second full-length fanfiction after Manacled last year, and it was so fun and fluffy. Truly a delight to read. I did not realize how much I needed a sassy Draco POV in my life — this fic had me giggling and kicking my feet. (It’s an honorable mention because it’s a fanfiction and not a book, but it will be turned into an original book next year!)
Premise: Hermione straddles the Muggle and Magical worlds as a medical researcher and Healer about to make a big discovery. Draco is an Auror assigned to protect her from forces unknown – to both of their displeasure.
Click here for fic on AO3.
8. My Lady Jane
This is alternative history at its finest. It’s a silly good time, and I loved it for that. (The show is very different, mind you — if you love one, you’ll probably hate the other).
Premise: In an alternate history where some humans can shift into animals, Lady Jane Grey’s history is completely rewritten. In this version of events, King Edward, her cousin and dearest friend, marries her off to Gifford – who’s a horse. Not only that, but in the process, she’s unwittingly swept up in a plot to steal the throne.
7. Tress of the Emerald Sea
If you liked The Princess Bride but also love wholesome adventure / seafaring tales on fantasy planets, check this one out.
Premise: When the boy she loves disappears, Tress sets sail to find him – except on her planet, the seas are made of deadly spores.
6. A Winter’s Promise
This is the only one I haven’t officially reviewed yet, because I’m going to post a full series review when I finish. To put it simply, I love this unapologetically weird steampunk tale.
Premise: Ophelia, a young woman who can travel through mirrors and see the past of objects through touch, is forced into an engagement and made to move to her fiancé’s homeland, where court politics and cruelty reign supreme. Ophelia is just a pawn in their game, and she must keep her wits about her if she’s going to survive.
5. The Familiar
Immersive and intriguing is the best way to describe this reading experience for me. I really enjoyed it.
Premise: In Inquisition-era Spain, servant Luzia Cotado fights for a position at the King’s side for her ability to perform “small miracles” – but first she has to prove it’s not devil’s magic, all while hiding her Jewish lineage.
4. Lessons in Chemistry
If you like quirky literary fiction or STEMinist stories, you’ll love this one. I enjoyed the audiobook.
Premise: Set in the 1960s, this story follows scientist Elizabeth Zott through the trials and tribulations that eventually push her – reluctantly – into a role as the host of a cooking show.
3. What Moves the Dead
I love some spooky reads now and then, and this was a great one. It’s a Poe retelling that’s reminiscent of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
Premise: Alex Easton arrives at the House of Usher to visit a pair of sickly friends, only to discover something sinister lurking on the property.
2. The Poisonwood Bible
I know I’m a heavy fantasy reader, but I’m often blown away by some great literary and historical fiction. This is one of those important books that everyone should read once.
Premise: In the 1950s, the Price family moves to the Congo as Baptist missionaries, but they’re unprepared for the reality of life in the remote village of Kilanga. Told from the perspectives of the mother and four daughters, we follow the Prices through the year of their mission and the aftermath in the decades to come.
1. The Six Deaths of the Saint
I know, I’m surprised too, but my favorite read so far is this 30-page short story. In my opinion, it’s a must read.
Premise: The Saint of War spares the life of a servant girl so she can fulfill her destiny as the kingdom’s greatest warrior.
