ranking 37 books i read in january to april 2024

Ranking Every Book I Read in the First Quarter(ish) of 2024 (37 Books!)

I would say 2024 is my official year of rebirth into the reading community, and I read a whopping 37 books in the first quarter of the year. πŸ₯³πŸ’–

This is the year where I ventured more into the realm of adult romance reads, as well as the year where I re-discovered my love of historical fantasies. Of course, while I found a few new gems to gush over, I also read a few… not-so-great books. Books I might remember for the wrong reasons.

Anyway! I’m going to rank every single book I’ve read so far in 2024… tier style. And with an actual difinitive ranking. I know, who am I?!

Also a quick disclaimer: the rankings are not based off my ratings of the books, but more of how I feel after comparing them to one another. I could have some 3-star books in a higher tier than a 4-star read. πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ I tried to explain my thought process in this post.

Enough chit-chat, and let’s get into it!

Owners of my heart

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

I’m placing my two 5-star reads of the year in this tier as they, clearly, own my heart. I loved these books for different reasons — A Far Wilder Magic for its lovable characters, amazing character growth, and gorgeous vibes; A Crane Among Wolves for its power, honesty, and perfect ending. It’s tough to rank them, but I think A Crane Among Wolves was more impactful (maybe because I read it while I was actually in Korea? 😭)… so I’ll leave that at #1 for now. Come back to me at the end of the year to see if my ranking’s still the same. πŸ˜‚

#1. A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur
#2. A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

Why I love rereading

Kiss the Sky by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie
Fuel the Fire by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie

I reread the Addicted books by Krista and Becca Ritchie just this April, because I suddenly wanted to be hit in the feels with angst. I was a Coballoway stan when I first read the books, and I’m happy to say that I still am! πŸ’– Neither of these books are particularly amazing or well-written, but the attachment I have to these characters made me keep my 5-star rating way back from 2015. I did love Kiss the Sky more, and it has a lot more memorable scenes.

#3. Kiss the Sky by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie
#4. Fuel the Fire by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie

I believe in love again

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
To a Darker Shore by Leanne Schwartz
I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang

These books are the ones that made my heart want nothing but the best for the main couples (both as individuals and as a couple)! Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows are the stars of this tier, mixing in a touch of fantasy to add to the angst and vibes of the book. ✨ I Hope This Doesn’t Find You was not the most unique read ever, but I related to Sadie so much and loved the cute scenes with the ML. πŸ₯Ί To a Darker Shore was a surprise for me! I loved how dark this book was, and yet the ML was such a light to the whole story. I was definitely rooting for him (and, fine, the FL) the entire time.

Where these books stand in the rankings:

#5. Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
#6. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
#7. I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang
#8. To a Darker Shore by Leanne Schwartz

Expectations were met (and were kind of exceeded?)

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft
The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan
Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek
 People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Here are the books that met my expectations, and exceeded them juuust a bit.

We have one lone romcom in this list, People We Meet on Vacation, which was charming and gorgeously angsty. Where the Dark Stands Still and Down Comes the Night are some darker fantasies, with the former winning over the latter with its intricate setting and deep lore. Down Comes the Night is still a good read with a lovable ML. πŸ˜‰ Of course, the 6th Percy Jackson book sits on this tier. It was a light, low-stakes read with the perfect hint of nostalgia and wit to be an enjoyable read. 😊

#9. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
#10. Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek
#11. The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan
#12. Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

Toxic, but I like toxic

Addicted to You
Ricochet
Addicted for Now
Thrive
Addicted After All

Like I said, I reread the Addicted books (minus the Raisy books), which I realized were incredibly toxic… but I really do love these characters. Not a series I would recommend personally, but this is definitely one of my guilty pleasure reads.

I’m lumping these books together, so the’re all in the same rank essentially.

#13 – #17. Addicted to You, Ricochet, Addicted for Now, Thrive, Addicted After All by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie

Good, could have been great

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross
This Time It's Real by Ann Liang
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
 One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

Unfortunately, I have a bunch of books on this tier… books I thought were good or okay, but definitely could have been better!

The Emily Wilde books had a gorgeous premise and amazing setting, but the writing wasn’t for me. The first half of One Dark Window made the book feel so 2010s YA paranormal romance, but the second half picked up pretty well.πŸ™†β€β™€οΈ Book Lovers was not that special, and I thought the characters were a bit caricature-ish. The story was cute, though. Dreams Lie Beneath had such a unique concept behind it, but the characters were unremarkable. The Familiar was written so smartly, but the characters felt detached. This Time It’s Real was cute, but I couldn’t remember much about it past a scene or two.

#18. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
#19. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
#20. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
#21. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
#22. Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross
#23. The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
#24. This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang

The bar was low

Skyhunter by Marie Lu
Steelstriker by Marie Lu
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

This tier breaks my heart, because I have TWO authors I consider to be favorites of mine, but these books of theirs were not what I expected… in a bad way. Marie Lu usually writes awesome characters and interesting politics, but Skyhunter and Steelstriker were dreadfully boring. It read like a 2015 dystopia with no unique elements to it. 😭 I LOVED a few of the romantasies Danielle L. Jensen has written before, but A Fate Inked in Blood felt like it had no story beyond the MCs lusting after each other 24/7. 😬

We also have some new-to-me authors on this tier. Bride was my introduction to Ali Hazelwood, and I get why people like her writing, but this definitely wasn’t my style. I’ve heard her YA romances are good, though, so maybe I’ll try those. The Friend Zone was my first Abby Jimenez, and I kind of regret starting with this one. It was… a lot. I don’t really know how to describe it.

Here’s my ranking of this tier:

#25. Skyhunter by Marie Lu
#26. Bride by Ali Hazelwood
#27. The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
#28. Steelstriker by Marie Lu
#29. A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Lowkey forgot I read these

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin
 A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker

I wasn’t sure if I was going to rank this tier above or below the bar was low, but I feel like it’s worse to be forgetful than to be oddly dissatisfying. I know, that sounds weird! But that’s how I feel for now. πŸ˜‚ I don’t even have a lot to say about these books because I can’t remember too much about them so… here’s the ranking!

#30. Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin
#31. A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
#32. The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
#33. Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker

Destroyed my brain cells

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

Yep. This trilogy gets its own tier. πŸ˜‚ I read Once Upon a Broken Heart thinking that I was completely going to love it. It started off like I wanted it to… but the heroine really was not it for me. I couldn’t stand her. Jacks was also (SORRY OUABH FANS!) the most boring ML I’ve read about in a while, which is saying something. MLs usually make me either swoon or rage, but Jacks did none of that! He had zero personality. πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ Anyway, I finished the series out of spite. The Ballad of Never After was almost seond place for my ranking of this tier, but the ending saved it. It was the only good part of the series.

#34. The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
#35. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
#36. A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

I wish I read this with my eyes closed

Twisted Love by Ana Huang

And let’s give a hand to the absolute worst book I’ve read so far this year… Twisted Love. This book made me so angry… I’m getting worked up just thinking about it. The hero stalked the heroine and continued to do so even when she rejected him. My full thoughts are on my GR review. I still want to give Ana Huang’s other books a chance though. I’ve heard her other heroes don’t necessarily belong in jail. We’ll see. Let me know in the comments if you think her other books are better and are not rage-inducing.

#37. Twisted Love by Ana Huang

And here’s the final tier list and ranking:

Owners of my heart

Why I love rereading

I believe in love again

Expectations were met (and were kind of exceeded?)

Toxic, but I like toxic

Good, could have been great

The bar was low

Lowkey forgot I read these

I wish I read this with my eyes closed

Let’s chat!

Which of these books have you read? Do you agree with my tiers? Are there any books on this list that you want to read? What’s your favorite read so far this year?

Feel free to tweet about this post if you liked it!

@aimeecanread ranks all 37 books she's read from January to April 2024! Check it out! Share on X

30 responses to “Ranking Every Book I Read in the First Quarter(ish) of 2024 (37 Books!)”

  1. […] Ranking Every Book I Read inthe First Quarter(ish) of 2024 (37 books!) by Aimee @ Aimee can read […]

  2. […] Aimee @ Aimee Can Read did a tier-style ranking of the 37 books she read in the first few months of 2024πŸ‹ Caro @ The Bookcheshire Cat tried the first volumes of 5 […]

  3. Annemieke Avatar

    I read a few pages of Bride and then just had to return it to the library. Which was sad because I did really like her YA romances.

  4. Samantha @WLABB Avatar

    I love the idea of this and am surprised to see such a different reception for the same author (Emily Henry – Vacation is probably still my favorite). I listened to Twisted Love for a reading challenge. I just didn’t get the hype but thought it was because I am not a big romantic suspense fan. I hope you read a ton of amazing books in this quarter.

  5. Rebecca Avatar

    I love this idea + your categories are so fun! I am also very impressed at your ability to rank them all πŸ˜‚

  6. calypte Avatar

    Oh yes – sometimes 1-5 stars just isn’t enough at all! πŸ™‚

  7. Kat @ Bookish Blades Avatar

    That’s such a cool post! It’s also interesting that one of Allison Saft’s books is in the highest tier while you forgot about the other πŸ˜€ I’ve only read Down Comes the Night by her but I’m quite excited to read the others as well! πŸ™‚
    Will you be doing a post like that at the end of the year as well?

  8. Meezan Avatar
    Meezan

    I agree about the Emily Wilde book. So far I’ve only listened to the first one. I love fairies, so I thought I’d love this book. Like you said, it was good, but could have been better. I’m going to give it another listen before I move on to the second one. Have a great rest of the week. πŸ™‚

  9. Jen Ryland Avatar

    Love the categories!! I am laughing. Sorry you didn’t like The Familiar as much as I did. Historical fiction is always a little hard to relate to, I think!

  10. Nadene Avatar

    First of all thanks for visiting my blog and welcome back to the community. I haven’t read any these books. The Bride is on my list though.

  11. Astilbe Avatar

    Welcome back to the reading community. Thank you for stopping by our Top Ten Tuesday post earlier.

  12. Melina Elisa Avatar

    I can’t believe you found a way to rank all of these book in a particular order, not only are they so different, but I can imagine it may be hard to keep certain books fresh on your mind after a whole quarter of reading! I completely understood your thought process though, and loved to see your thoughts on books on my TBR and books that i’ve read before.

    I’ve been wanting to read the Addicted series, but I’ve seen so many mixed reviews, I’m not sure if it’s going to be something for me. And it’s a lottt of books. What do you think?

    I’m so glad you found my blog, because now I’ve also found your blog as well! And I can chat book all the time πŸ™‚ xx

  13. Sophie @BewareOfTheReader Avatar
    Sophie @BewareOfTheReader

    37 books already is impressive! And I don’t like a book when characters lust after each other 24/7 either!

  14. Anne Bennett Avatar

    Cute ranking system! I am glad the books you reread are still favorites.

  15. Rissi JC Avatar

    This was really fun and lots of work, too! If I had read more perhaps this would be something I would do too, but as it happens I haven’t been reading much the past couple of years, so when I finally do pick it up again, it may be fun to look at categories like this and see which books I would put where. πŸ˜‰

  16. Caro @ bookcheshirecat Avatar

    Welcome back!! I’m so happy to read from you again πŸ’• I love these tier-list posts! I really enjoyed I Hope This Doesn’t Find You as well, Sadie was just painfully relatable πŸ₯Ί

  17. Charlotte Avatar

    Well done on reading 37 books so far this year, that’s incredible. I haven’t read anything by Allison Saft yet (although I do have all of her books in my TBR). I loved A Crane Among Wolves though and can’t wait to check out more of the authors books. It was definitely eye opening to learn about such a horrific part of history.

    I really hope to pick up Divine Rivals soon too. And books do tend to hold a special place in your heart when you relate to a character strongly so I understand your comments on I Hope This Doesn’t Find You.

    Where The Dark Stands Still will hopefully be one of my next reads. And I hate having to admit this but I haven’t read any of the Percy Jackson books yet πŸ™ˆ

    The Familiars is my favourite read of the year so far, so I’m sorry that you had mixed feelings about it. Emily Wilde is another on my immediate TBR too.

    😲 no!! Seeing A Fate Inked In Blood on such a low tier is definitely worrying. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet but it’s one of my most anticipated books of the year.

    I’ve read Song Of The Six Realms too and expected more from it. The characters just didn’t feel Celestial to me. But I did love the authors debut series.

    We’ll have to agree to disagree on OUABH πŸ˜‚ although I have to admit that I expected more from the first book then fell in love with the second. The third was kind of a let down but I love Jacks too much to rate it too lowly. So yes definitely agree to disagree about this πŸ˜‚

  18. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books Avatar

    What a fun post! It’s so coincidental to see the Addicted books because I was just drafting my Top Ten Tuesday post for tomorrow and used two of the Addicted books for the prompt. That whole series is so nostalgic for me. I was completely hooked when I read them years ago and have reread a couple of them. Those characters felt so real that I was positive if I went to Philadelphia I would find them there. LOL

  19. themoonphoenix Avatar

    Connor and Rose are my OTP, I reread it last year and still a favorite

  20. Susan Avatar

    Wow, I’m impressed that you ranked all these! I’m not much for fantasy, so I haven’t read most of these. I did read BOOK LOVERS, which was…okay. I expected a lot more from it after all the rave reviews it was getting. I doubt I’ll read more Henry.

    Welcome back to the world of book blogging, by the way!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

  21. Haze Avatar

    I cannot believe you were able to rank them! I recently wrote my April Wrap-Up post and had to choose one favorite book of the month and I could not do it! I doubt I can do it for all the books I’ve read this year! I love that you did though, and I’m definitely bookmarking and coming back to this list for book recs. I already added Ann Liang’s I hope this doesn’t find you to my TBR because of your previous post!

    Haze
    https://thebookhaze.com/

  22. Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) Avatar

    I love this for you and that you read 37 books!

    Once Upon a Broken Heart destroyed my brain cells too I swear. I think I actually LIKED Jacks but god, the protagonist though? I don’t even remember her name but I remember her boring the hell out of me and I only finished the book because I was reading it with two other friends (who also didn’t like the book) so it became a spontaneous hate read of sorts. 😭 I never picked up the second book, though.

    I truly don’t remember People We Meet on Vacation or Book Lovers – I vaguely remember hating People We Meet on Vacation and thinking the same for Book Lovers but I think I was reading that one at the right time so I enjoyed it a lot vs if I picked it up at another time.

  23. Ellie Warren Avatar

    You had a great reading month! I don’t think Bride is Ali Hazelwood’s best, I thought it was fun but also a bit silly. I just finished The Familiar and it took me forever, so I agree the characters were a bit detached.

  24. Greg Avatar

    Crane sounds fabulous! And ooh Encyclopedia of Faeries and the sequel are high on my list to read. I need to get to those soon. Sorry t hear they weren’t quite great.

  25. Tammy Avatar

    Very cool. I’m also ranking my books this year, and I started a spreadsheet which I’m trying to update every time I finish something. It’s getting harder and harder though!

  26. Lux G. Avatar
    Lux G.

    OMG. There are so many books here I want to add to my list. Though we have opposing views on Twisted Love. Lol! I like a lot of groveling.

  27. Jodie | That Happy Reader Avatar

    That’s an interesting way to rate and recap your books read YTD!

  28. Mary Kirkland Avatar

    I haven’t read any of these books but you’ve read a good number of books so far this year.

  29. Julie S. Avatar

    Grab all the books you read in April and fill out our Bingo card πŸ™‚

  30. Julie S. Avatar

    I LURVE your categories. Just hilarious and awesome. Giirl that’s a lot of books ! Woo you ate it!

Let's chat! πŸ™‚

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