The Great Escapes, Vol. 2

Another year of great escapes! I read 30 books in 2024, which is probably the most I’ve read … ever? I’m grateful for all the time I was able to devote to reading this year, diving into other worlds and meeting new characters whose stories continue to stay with me as I go about my days. I hope this list helps you find a great escape to enjoy yourself.

Until next year,

RMH

Fantasy

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

After I read SJM’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series last year and became obsessed with it, I had to read her other series and catch up on the Maasverse. In this eight(!) book series, Celaena Sardothian is a cunning assassin in a land where magic has long since disappeared. When the evil king in his throne of glass decides to host a competition to crown the best assassin in the land, Celaena is chosen to compete against thieves, killers, and warriors for her freedom. But over the course of the king’s competition, Celaena discovers a far greater and darker threat lurking around the glass castle…

SJM started writing this series when she was sixteen, so the first couple of books are honestly pretty basic. I didn’t really get into this series until Heir of Fire, so the series is definitely more of a slow burn at first BUT from Heir of Fire onward it is absolutely jam-packed fast-paced insanity. I couldn’t put the rest of the books down! It’s really cool to see how SJM’s writing skills improved throughout the series. While I didn’t love this series or the characters as much as ACOTAR, it’s definitely a close second!

Pro-tip: The Assassin’s Blade is a collection of novellas about the Throne of Glass characters which you can read anytime before Queen of Shadows. Read it first for maximum emotional impact (trust me, you’ll thank me later!). ★★★★★

Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas

In the sprawling city of Lunathion, half-human half-Fae Bryce Quinlan is living the life. She loves to party, hang out with her friends, and has a pretty chill job at a high-end art gallery. But when a brutal murder changes everything, Bryce finds herself thrust into a complex mystery that threatens to unravel everything she knows — and literally the entire world.

The first book in this series, House of Earth and Blood, is one of my favorite SJM books! It’s a good old-fashioned murder mystery set in a modern-day fantasy world, so the characters have smartphones and go to the club but they also, like, fly and shapeshift into wolves. Fair warning: the world-building here is super complicated, to the point that I’m truly in awe of how SJM came up with the idea for this series in the first place. God bless whoever made this reader guide on Reddit, I would have been lost without it.

Like SJM’s other series, there’s a fantastic cast of characters led by a badass woman, complete with love stories, political intrigue, and quests for revenge. The third book in this series is where the Maasverse really starts coming together and there is major, I repeat MAJOR, crossover with the A Court of Thorns and Roses series! Nothing better than seeing the pieces of a puzzle finally start coming together. If you’re an ACOTAR fan, Crescent City is required reading. ★★★★★

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

I gotta be honest, I was not excited about this book club pick. Sometimes you just know by looking at a book that you’re not gonna like it, and this was one of those books for me. It’s the Spanish Golden Age, and housemaid Luzia Cortado is hiding a secret: she has magical powers. When her employer finds out, Luzia’s life completely changes. She’s suddenly thrust into a world of politics, intrigue, secrets, and scandal as she hones her powers with a handsome and mysterious mentor assigned to help her win a competition to work as the King’s magical miracle worker.

The storyline was somewhat promising, but it was unfortunately all surface-level. I wasn’t given enough information about the main characters to really care about them at all, the love-story aspect is completely forced and feels unnatural, the pace was somehow too fast and too slow at the same time? This could’ve been a great book if the author had more time and space to flesh out the details. I also wasn’t a fan of the fantasy + history mashup. ★★

Fiction

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

Justice for Medusa!

A modern retelling of the classic myth of Perseus and Medusa!? Sign me up. I was so pumped when book club chose this novel for January — I loved Greek mythology when I was younger, and I haven’t gone back to those stories in ages. I mean, what’s not to love? The gods are oh so pompous and petty (looking at you Hermes), and so many of the myths are absolutely ridiculous and wildly entertaining (the goddess Athene was born out of Zeus’s head). It was so fun to dive back into the world of Olympus for this one. And finally, after millennia, this book provides some long-overdue justice for our girl Medusa.

I love how this book challenges what we’ve always been told about Perseus and Medusa — that Perseus, the mighty son of Zeus, sets out on his noble quest to fetch the head of a monstrous Gorgon to save his dear mother from marrying the sniveling King Polydectes of Seriphos. Oh how brave, how heroic is he! But wait a second, this book says, as it encourages us to pause and consider. Who decided Perseus is a hero in the first place? And who decided Medusa is a monster?

Thankfully, this book gives Medusa her long-awaited due and provides another side of the story to this classic myth. This novel dives into her world and her experiences as she becomes an unwitting plaything of Olympus and is assaulted, abused, and vilified by the gods and mortals alike. “And yet, as the story is always told,” author Haynes writes on page 1, “she is the one you should fear. She is the monster. We’ll see about that.” INDEED. ★★★★★

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

While the story of this book is quite boring, the message of it is oh-so-good (I can’t say I’ve read very many books like that). This story centers around Clover, a death doula in New York City who guides people gently and gracefully into the next life. When she starts working with a new client, one who’s lived a life full of adventure and unrequited love, Clover embarks on a journey to help her client find closure — and in the process, Clover realizes that she, too, needs to start living her life to the fullest lest she look back and regret her time here.

The story here was underwhelming; the characters aren’t fleshed out enough to be engaging, and by the end of the book I didn’t feel like I really knew any of them. It’s a predictable story, one where you pretty much know how it ends just by reading the description of it. But the message? A cliche, but much-needed reminder that we do need to evaluate our lives and how we’re living during the short time we’re here. The book points out that most of us are so afraid to talk about death even though we all know it’s coming for us eventually. But instead of engaging with this difficult conversation topic and the emotions we feel about it, we avoid it altogether. Talking about death more would do us all good.

Overall, The Collected Regrets of Clover is quite a cliche book about living your life to the fullest (very Midnight Library-esque), but nonetheless, it’s a cliche message that we all need to be reminded of every now and then. Do we all admit that we need to live our lives to the fullest? Of course. But do we actually do that? is the question. ★★★

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

I am so grateful for my book club because they choose fantastic books to read that I probably wouldn’t have ever known about/read otherwise. In the not-too-distant future, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a brutal, bloody private prison-run program where prisoners — known as Links — fight to the death against each other to regain their freedom. Of course, for America, this is nothing but pure entertainment. Sports networks offer 24/7 coverage of these death matches, hosted by cities across the nation in packed arenas where obnoxious and obsessive fans cheer and scream as prisoners-turned-gladiators are brutally killed right before their eyes. The story follows two legends, lovers, and teammates of the Chain-Gang All-Stars circuit, Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker, as they rise through the ever more difficult ranks of the program on their quest for freedom.

I couldn’t put this book down — the writing is so magnificent that you forget you’re even reading. It all feels far too real, in a horrifying way. If Chain-Gang All-Stars actually existed, America would freaking love it and that is a truly terrifying thought. This book is a scathing look at America’s insanely vast private prison system that treats its prisoners as less than human and a society that’s far too easily entertained by the horrific. ★★★★★

A favorite page in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. 

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

I picked this up at a used book store in Paris, immediately noticed how pleasant the font is, and knew I had to get it for the flight home (there are some fonts I really hate that will make me think twice about reading a book!). The story follows a precocious nine-year-old boy named Oskar who’s coping with the loss of his dad in the 9/11 attacks. When he finds a mysterious key in his dad’s belongings, Oskar sets out on a quest to find which of New York’s 162 million locks the key opens. Along the way, he makes unlikely friends and discovers new things about the world around him and his own family.

I really enjoyed Jonathan Safran Foer’s writing style here. Sometimes books are bit difficult to get into at the start, but this one felt like jumping into a pool on a hot summer day. It was so easy to read and refreshing right from the very first page. I don’t often read books where the main character is a little kid, but it was downright inspiring to see how curious Oskar is about the world and his unwavering commitment to learn new things and meet new people. ★★★★

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

I’ve been wanting to read Zadie Smith for a while, and the floral spine of this book called out to me like none other. The story focuses on the Belseys, an interracial family living in a quintessential Massachusetts college town, and the antics that ensue when their long-standing rivals, the Kippses, move to town from across the pond.

I had no idea what to expect from this book and let me tell you, it was a delight. Each character was so detailed and real that I felt like I actually knew them. This is the kind of book where you really see yourself in the characters and their actions, for better or worse, as they deal with jealousy, ambition, belonging, frustration, anger, joy. Zadie Smith is an absolutely stunning writer. I loved how her dialogue is written how people actually speak, with awkward pauses and stumbles and fumbling for word choices (sometimes the dialogue in books is way too polished!). It felt like reading a script at times. Given how the dads of the two rival families are both professors, some of the conversations were way over my head. In fact, to be honest, sometimes I didn’t feel smart enough for this book. The characters are all so smart and have such deep conversations that I didn’t always follow completely. Regardless! The writing is phenomenal and I will definitely be adding more Zadie Smith books to my list. ★★★★

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

I was not prepared for how much this book emotionally wrecked me. Cue the existential Did I finish this book or did this book finish me? question. Demon Copperhead, a young boy born to a teen single mom, narrates his own story as he grows up and navigates foster care, child labor, first loves, addiction, and loss in rural southern Appalachia.

This is another absolutely beautifully written book, so much so that you really feel like you’re there with Demon through every step of the way, rooting him on. I’m not gonna lie, this is a super sad book. It’s hard to read at times, and you’ll want to yell at the pages for something different to happen, but that’s the point. Barbara Kingsolver has a message for her readers and boy you do not miss it. Rural American communities are far too often left behind and forgotten about, kicked aside and ridiculed by the rest of the nation. It’s a sobering reminder of the powers at play in our country and that things like the opioid crisis don’t just happen — as Barbara points out again and again, this was done to these places on purpose and kids like Demon are paying the price. ★★★★★

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Another beautifully written but really sad book. Set in England in the 1580s, this novel dives into the potential origin story of the Shakespeare play Hamlet. It imagines the day-to-day life of Shakespeare’s wife and children as they grieve the loss of their son, Hamnet, while their father is away in London. The prose is so detailed, so lush — you really feel like you are right there in their English village with them. ★★★★

The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr

Without a doubt, this is the best book I read in 2024. Glamorous Hollywood actress Lena Browning is hiding a secret: she’s actually Bina Blonski, a Jewish actress-turned-assassin who survived the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. After the Nazis kill everyone she knows and loves, she’s out for revenge.

This story is so badass, I absolutely loved it! There is truly never a dull moment; I couldn’t put this book down because I just couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Action, romance, espionage, heartbreak — this book has it all. I laughed, I cried, I remain enthralled. My new go-to when people ask me for a book recommendation! ★★★★★

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

Each year, the book club I’m in chooses a light, holiday-themed read for December. I wasn’t super excited to read this year’s pick, but I have to say, it ended up being highly entertaining. The picturesque lil coastal town of Pine Cove, California, has been visited by an angel: Archangel Raziel (who sounds like an absolute badass) is in town for the sole purpose of making one child’s Christmas wish come true. But a misunderstanding leads to an absolutely hilarious and horrific conclusion. There’s Christmas celebrations, zombies, a fruit bat who wears sunglasses, and a badass warrior — I mean, what more could you ask for? It’s rare for me to say this about a book but this would make a fantastic movie. ★★★

Normal People by Sally Rooney

2024 — the year I finally read my first Sally Rooney book! People rave about Sally Rooney’s books, so I was really excited to see what all the fuss is about. Normal People follows Connell and Marianne, two high school classmates/friends/lovers who continually remain in each other’s orbits as they finish high school and begin their time in college.

Sally Rooney captures the emotions of this life phase really well — the uncertainty, the insecurities, but also the fun of it all. I was really invested in the first half of the book but halfway through I found it to be quite repetitive and dare I say … a bit boring? This is one of those rare books that I’d actually prefer as a movie/tv show — I think actually seeing this story would make it more intriguing. Thankfully Hulu already made a Normal People tv show and I’m looking forward to watching it. ★★★

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

One of my most anticipated reads for the year. Martyr! is so artfully beautiful — I don’t know how else to describe it. I’ve tried and failed to write an adequate summary here, so please consult this Goodreads summary for an overview. This book is such a unique and heartfelt look at the ways in which we seek meaning in our lives. I feel like I need to read it again to truly grasp it. I will say it definitely could’ve been edited a bit better — more than a few chapters felt redundant and too long, and for that I give it four stars. But overall, I can already tell it’s one of those books that will stick with me for some time (maybe all time), that I’ll think back to again and again, ruminating on. ★★★★

Thriller

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that my sister always has A+ book recommendations. I don’t typically read thrillers (not sure why?) so this wasn’t even on my radar, but when Kara told me how good it was, I knew I had to check it out. The story follows Millie, who’s hired as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Winchester family. The mom of the family, Nina, seems to have the perfect life — fancy clothes, handsome husband, huge house — but as Millie settles into her new role, all is not as it seems. Tensions come to a boil, secrets come to light, and utter chaos ensues! I can’t even do the summary justice, just read the Goodreads description. I was not expecting what happened. If you’re looking for a quick and easy page-turner, this is it! ★★★★★

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

I saw a lot of hype online about this book so I was super excited to read it for book club. It’s the summer of 1975 at Camp Emerson, a sprawling preserve in upstate New York where rich parents send their kids for the summer. Camp is in full swing until 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar, the daughter of the camp’s owners, goes missing. Barbara’s younger brother, Bear, vanished from the same campgrounds years before, never to be found. Is something sinister lurking in the dark woods?

There’s a lot of character POVs and jumping around in time between Barbara’s case in 1975 and her brother’s in 1961. I don’t mind a multiple POV book, but this felt like whiplash. Every time something big was about to happen in a character’s storyline, you’re left with a cliffhanger while the next chapter focuses on a completely different character — often in a completely different timeline! After a while, this got really annoying and it was hard to keep all the details straight. I would’ve given up on this book if not for book club. ★★★

Non-Fiction

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

A good friend of mine got this book for me as a gift and to be honest, I had no idea what to expect. I barely knew anything about Matthew McConaughey but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! He seems like an incredibly introspective guy, and the book features a lot of his handwritten notes and journal entries over the years. He’s made a habit of writing about his thoughts, reflections, and feelings about life, which makes me wish I had started doing the same earlier. ★★★★

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

They say bookshelves are like wine collections; some books are meant for a certain time and place. Before I went to Paris for the Olympics this past summer, I knew I had to read up on some of the Lost Generation in the City of Lights. This collection of short stories recounts Hemingway’s time in Paris in the 1920’s, a time when he struggled to succeed as a writer, drafted some of his most famous novels, and spent countless hours at cafes around the city. I particularly enjoyed the stories that involved F. Scott Fitzgerald. ★★★★

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter

Another book I read to prepare for my trip to Paris! John Baxter is walking tour guide and knows a lot of Parisian history, but this book was a little too all over the place for my taste. While he did share some fun facts and stories about the city, most of the book felt so random. He’d jump from a personal story to unrelated ramblings about obscure people and topics of Paris’s storied history and back again. How did we end up here!? I kept asking myself. I think his Parisian expertise is better suited for a walking tour. ★★★

Consent by Jill Ciment

“Does a story’s ending excuse its beginning?” In this memoir, Jill Ciment revisits the beginnings of her own love story with her husband — a relationship that began as a love affair in the 1970’s between teenage Jill and her 45-year-old art teacher who was married with two kids — through the lens of today. It was refreshing to see someone question their own memories, and I liked the questions Jill posed to herself — and to us as the reader. An interesting enough read. ★★★

The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush

This book is awesome — I didn’t know anything about the first women astronauts at NASA so it was really fun to learn about them, the trials they went through, and the trips they each took to space. Another book club win. ★★★★★