QBR: Quarterly Book Review

A look back at Q1 2024

Inspired by my QBR (quarterly business review) at work, let’s take a look back at the books I read in Q1 and set our sights on the upcoming quarter.

Stats

2024 Goals:

• 75 books

• 35,000 pages

Books read this quarter: 26

Pages read this quarter: 11,685

5 star reads

Manacled by SenLiYu

This book is a masterpiece to me. It is a 900 page Harry Potter fan fiction that was finished in 2018. It has received so much buzz over the past couple of years - and for good reason. It is a Draco/Hermione story that takes place in a world where Harry Potter died and lost the war against Voldemort. It also pulls a lot from The Handmaid’s Tale, which adds to the intensity of the story. I was gripped from page one and loved every minute of this. The author now has a publisher and is reworking the book to remove the Harry Potter elements so the book can be commercially released. I’m not sure if that will affect the availability of the original story, but I wouldn’t wait to read this one if you’re interested.

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

I heard about this book from one of my favorite book creators, Newly Nova. I implicitly trust her recommendations and so I was not surprised to find that this book was incredible. It is a coming-of-age story of a young Cherokee girl living in the Appalachian mountains. Everyone in Betty’s family has faced unimaginable trauma and this book puts Betty at the center. Despite everything she endures, Betty has a sense of resiliency and perspective. This book is so deeply devastating and it made a huge impact on me. If you read and liked Demon Copperhead, then I’d recommend you pick this up.

Other recommendations

If you like pop culture and nostalgia, read Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History by Alan Sepinwall.

If you’re in your romantasy era and have already finished the MaaSverse, read the Artefacts of Ouranos series by Nisha J. Tuli. Books one and two (Trial of the Sun Queen and Rule of the Aurora King) are out now and three and four will be published later this year.

If you can tolerate a little bit of fantasy for the sake of a love story, read The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young.

If you like historical fiction but are tired of WWII stories, read The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay.

If you’re in the mood for a thriller with twists and turns, read Look Closer by David Ellis.

Q2 TBR

Overall, Q1 fell a little short with quality reads. So I’m hopeful to turn things around in Q2. Here’s what’s on my TBR:

• The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins: This is another Newly Nova recommendation. I’ve heard it is weird and crazy and unique - so I’m intrigued.

• The Grace Year by Kim Liggett: Kris & Mads (another favorite BookTok account) have been raving about this book. Truthfully I don’t know what it’s about, but I just downloaded it to my Kindle.

• The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins: This is my book club’s pick for April. I like that Rachel Hawkin’s books are short, but twisty. I’m hoping this leads to some lively discussion.

• Legendborn by Tracy Deonn: I decided to make this my next fantasy series, so I’ll likely check off books 1 and 2 this quarter.

• Attached at the Hip by Christine Riccio: I received an ARC from NetGalley for this book that comes out May 21. It was described as ‘The Bachelor’ meets ‘Survivor.’ Say no more.

I’m always taking recommendations, so let me know what books you’ve been loving lately!