Hey bookworms, I hope reading has been treating you well in 2024 so far. I’ve been listening to the Monsters and Manners audiobooks lately and I recently started a buddy read of Perfume by Patrick Süskind which is using up all my focus. Therefore today’s post is the “reading firsts” book tag, something fun and easy! I came across this tag on BookWyrm Knits‘s blog and thought I’d jump in even though I was not tagged directly😜. I’ll do my best not to repeat answers.
The “reading firsts” book tag was created by Tanya at girlxoxo.
1. First Book Read in 2024
I started 2024 strong by finishing off a series with Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig. I read the ARC for One Dark Window in 2022 and loved it but it took me a little while to pick up the end of the duology. Turns out I loved the second book more than the first; the romance is much better and I was so happy with how it wraps everything up!
2. First Review of 2024
The first review I ever put up on my blog when I started it earlier this year was for The Deep by Rivers Solomon. This novella was my favourite book of February.
My first review on bookstagram in 2024 was for Two Twisted Crowns, which makes sense. Check out my booksta post below.
3. First Debut Read of 2024
My first debut of 2024 was for C. L. Miller’s cozy mystery The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder. It was fun if not very memorable. Sadly, I didn’t love it but there are elements of it I enjoyed. Read my full review here if you want to know more.
4. First “New to Me” Author of 2024
The first new to me author of 2024 is Seanan McGuire. Her Wayward Children series has been on my radar for years and I started listening to these audiobooks and inhaled them all just in time for Mislaid in Parts Half-Known which came out this year. I now want to read through her entire backlist because I love her writing style!
5. First Book of 2024 that Slayed Me
Many of the answers I’ve given already are ones I loved and rated highly. To avoid giving the same answers, I’ll pick the first book that surprised me with how much I loved it. Weirdly, this goes to a short story which is so unlike me but I have not been able to stop thinking about The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow. Check out my post dedicated to it here.
6. First Book of 2024 that I Wish I Could Get Back the Time I Spent Reading it
This is an easy answer for me but it’s also where I might make some enemies (sorry-not-sorry) 🤐 I was forcing myself to read The Atlas Six because it was for a buddy read with my husband and best friend but it put me in SUCH a reading slump! I ended up eventually DNF-ing it and spoiling the ending for myself and I regret the 2 weeks I spent chugging along furiously. 😆
5. First 5-Star Book of 2024
The real answer to this is Two Twisted Crowns and I also gave 5⭐ to a few of the other books mentioned thus far. However, if you want a fresh answer, the next book I rated 5 stars on Goodreads is Moon Soul by Nathaniel Luscombe. It just wrapped me in coziness and it was exactly what I needed to read at the time. See my review if you want to learn more about it!
Let’s chat in the comments!
I’m not tagging anyone but I’d love to see your answers if you do this tag; feel free to share your links in the comments. Otherwise, what was your first 5-star read of the year?
Great answers! I’m so happy that you enjoyed Every Heart a Doorway — I love that series! And thank you for the recommendation of Moon Soul. That one sounds really neat and I hope to read it soon!
Yes, I really love that series and my pleasure, I hope you enjoy it if you read it 🙂 !
Welcome to the book-blogging community! I’ve been doing it since 2007, starting on…MySpace…… Always glad to run into someone else who does SF. I don’t think I’d encountered the phrase ‘historical fantasy’ before today (on finding your blog) despite having read a little bit of it….Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and then His Majesty’s Dragon.
Oh my gosh I miss the MySpace days, haha! Thank you, and I do enjoy SF a lot. I don’t know if ‘historical fantasy’ is official per se but I find it a helpful description for those books that are clearly both genres in equal measure. I need to read both of the ones you listed. I love the P&P and Zombies movie!