I read some really great books last year. Despite a busy year, I’m proud of myself for keeping my reading habit going!
I love reading, so you wouldn’t think I’d have to work at doing it. But it turns out that our fast, digital and always-on life doesn’t always leave time or space for simple, basic pleasures like reading. I have to work to reach for a book instead of my phone or the TV remote!
Anyway – want some good book recommendations?
I read four great books in 2024 that share something unique in common: they were each written by a pair of co-authors.
I’ve never quite understood how authors team up to write a book together. Like, literally, how do they divide it up? So much goes into writing a book, from research and writing to proofreading and editing. How on earth do they figure out who does what?
My first recommendation is the Burn for Burn trilogy by Jenny Han, whom I’ve written about before as I adore her, and a new-to-me author named Siobhan Vivian.
Although this is a young adult series, I think it will appeal to anyone. When I first started the series, I thought it would be another light-hearted teen romance trilogy like Jenny Han’s others. Boy, was I wrong!
Burn for Burn and the subsequent titles in the trilogy are actually quite dark and edgy compared to Han’s other works, dealing with the impact of friendships, frenemies, date rape, bullying and revenge. The last one and a half books also delve into the realm of the supernatural! I did not see that coming.
I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling a key surprise. I’ll just say that in the second book, Fire with Fire, there is a chilling twist that comes out of nowhere and rivals the jump scares in any dark, scary Stephen King book. Kudos to the authors for pulling this off!
It honestly was one of the most creepily impactful moments of any book I’ve read – it literally raised goosebumps on my arms. And, because the twist changes everything, it makes me want to go back to the beginning of the trilogy and read them all over again to see what clues I may have missed. Now, that’s good writing!
My only nitpick with these books is that the perspective changes constantly from one character’s POV to the next. Three girls are the main characters, plus there are several other friends and a few guys. For a while, I had a hard time keeping them all straight – I almost wonder if a key to all the characters would be good to have at the start of each book.
Another dual-author read of mine this year was Mad Honey from prolific author Jodi Picoult and co-author Jennifer Finney Boylan. I absolutely loved this book, and it tickles me to know how the collaboration came about: Jennifer had a dream that she co-wrote a book with Jodi. She tweeted about it and Jodi saw it and said, “Okay, let’s do it!” How cool is that?
Mad Honey is about parenting, domestic violence, relationships, bee keeping and courtroom drama. It also has a plot twist that is unexpected and dramatic. And it, too, contains multiple perspective or points of view – each author took on writing from one particular character’s POV.
Consider these or others in my past book recommendation posts if you’re looking for a good read in 2025. And if you’ve read a really great book lately, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or over on Facebook or Instagram!
