2024 Year in Reading

This year I read 120 of 100 books, beating my goal. I've gone higher than 100, but I always remember the year my goal was 125 and I only read 92 - not even 100!! So now I just keep it at 100 now, and anything extra is just good reads, heh.

Let's be Goodreads friends if we're not already!

My Goodreads Reading Challenge History:

In addition to my Goodreads reading goal, one thing I really wanted to focus on this year was getting back into the habit of blogging. I did a good job and exceeded my goal of 48 posts this year, and next year I'm really going to try and have more fun with it. Instead of expanding my Goodreads reviews as I did this year, I want to write more commentary on books and maybe do round-up posts on a theme. I did a few early in the year but then slacked off, so I want to be more thoughtful about that.

Evenfall Witches Series

In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace

I heard a lot of buzz about In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace in the cozy mystery community and I love witchy things, so it seemed right up my alley. I had attempted to read Steeped to Death by Gretchen Rue recently and couldn’t get into it, and honestly… this book reminded me a lot of that. And Gilmore Girls. It didn’t really pull me in, but it was an easy read so I stuck with it. I felt like everything came together toward the end, and that’s enough to make me want to read the second book. But I don’t think I’d really call it a cozy mystery because I don’t think it was possible to solve with the info given, and that didn’t really seem the focus - it was more on family and getting her magic back.

When the Crow's Away by Auralee Wallace

Since the feeling I came away with after finishing the first book was, "Hmm, that wasn't too bad," and my library had the second book, I checked it out to give it a shot. I wanted to like this book but, according to my Kindle, I hit 50% exactly and I just can't anymore. This one didn't feel as cozy as the first, I think because the first one seemed like it was establishing the setting and vibe, and then the second one did the same. So instead of cozy, it was just repetitive. The murder also felt very "...okay?" I wasn't sure why I should care. Usually in cozy mysteries the protagonist must solve the murder. They're compelled for some personal reason, or to save themselves or a loved one. That might have ended up being the case here, but the stakes weren't high enough by the halfway point for me to care so I'll never know. I have no problem reading a book that is just okay as long as it's entertaining, well-written, or makes me want to find out the answer, but this one was a major miss for me.