Hi!
I’ve read 120+ books in the past 2 years and have only given three 5 stars. I seriously don’t know what’s wrong with me or what I’m reaching to read that’s making this happen, but I feel incredibly lucky when I give a book even a 4.25 on storygraph. The last 5 stars I gave were to Making It and Wild Things both by Laura Kay, and Perks of Being a Wallflower.
A few days ago I did essentially an audit on all of the books I’ve read and enjoyed (given a 4.25 or higher) and I’ve found some patterns that I think I essentially NEED to love a book.
- Lovable flawed characters
- Strong friendships or found family
- A self discovery or coming of age arc
- A diverse cast of characters/prominent bipoc and/or queer characters
I prefer contemporary to anything else but it can be hard to find what I’m looking for outside of a romance plot and I feel meh about tropey romance. I find a lot of literary fiction to have characters I find annoying or don’t care about. If books are marketed as a romance but really end up being a lot more of a self discovery arc, that works well for me! Wild Things and my all time favorite book Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers fall into this.
Recentish things I’ve liked enough to give a 4.5 are the very secret society of irregular witches, sorcery and small magics, Skye Falling, and Bunny. They’re just missing a special something that would make me truly love them.
I’ve recently disliked Is this a cry for help By Emily Austin and Anxious People.
If it helps my favorite series of all time is the All For the Game series by Nora Sakavic, I’ve read the original trilogy 22 times. Not particularly looking for anything that wild plot wise, but I do love a “persistence in spite of it all” narrative. A Deadly Education gave me similar brain worms.
Seriously any recommendations you have would be extremely helpful. I’m literally studying to be a librarian but can’t seem to find books I love! I just want to find a new book to be obsessed with! Rarely giving high ratings is starting to take some of the joy out of reading.
by plsthisisadisaster