Here’s a game that will be easy to win for anyone who has a passing familiarity with the bestseller lists: which author took three of the five top spots in the most read books on Goodreads in February? Here’s a hint, though I doubt you need it: they’re all in the same series.
Yes, you guessed it: Rebecca Yarros and her Empyrean series continues its reign. Onyx Storm came out near the end of January, so it’s no surprise that it was the most read book by far in February. Here’s something a little trickier, though: how many Goodreads users marked it as read in February? I was not expecting how high that number was, though considering Fourth Wing is closing in on three million total ratings, I think it’s a safe bet that it will keep racking up new readers.
Two New Books Out in February You Should Know About
Unfortunately, the most read books on Goodreads tend not to be diverse by any definition of the word. So, here are a couple of new books that came out in February that deserve wider readership.
Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su
Yes, this is literally a story about an amorphous blob, and yes the main character falls in love with it. Or, at least tries to. Kinda. I think it goes without saying that finding a blob with black, beady eyes in the dark alley of a drag show bar one night and taking it home and teaching it to be your perfect boyfriend once it gains sentience is the definition of delulu. In her defense, it’s a result of growing up the daughter of a Taiwanese father and a white mother in a Midwestern college town, never fitting in, and an ex-boyfriend unfriending her. Which is why our girl Vi has a glimmer of hope once all the sugary cereal and pop culture she’s been feeding the blob turns it into a Hollywood handsome white man. But, like, it’s a blob deep down, sis. —Erica Ezeifedi
Alligator Tears: A Memoir in Essays by Edgar Gomez
You might remember Edgar Gomez as the author of High-Risk Homosexual. Now he’s back with another memoir, this time about how he survived as a poor young queer man in Florida, including working at a Flip Flop Shop for tourists, “committing a little bankruptcy fraud” to get the money for veneers, giving massages to closeted men on vacation to pay his phone bills, and sending the same emergency $20 back and forth between his friends. As the publisher description says, in these essays, Gomez is “exposing the archetype of the humble poor person for what it is: a scam that insists we remain quiet and servile while we wait for a prize that will always be out of reach.” —Danika Ellis
The Most Read Books On Goodreads This Week
#5:
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Ali Hazelwood is one of the most popular authors in the romance genre at the moment—you might recognize her from The Love Hypothesis and the paranormal romance Bride. Her newest is a college romance between a competitive diver and star swimmer. It was read by more than 107,000 Goodreads users in February and has a 4.1 average rating.
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#4:
Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) by Rebecca Yarros
Whether it’s people rereading the second book to prepare for book three or those new to the series scrambling to catch up, Iron Flame has seen a bump in readers alongside Fourth Wing and Onyx Storm. 157,000 people read it in February, and it has a 4.4 average rating.
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#3:
Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros
Unsurprisingly, book one in the Empyrean series also appears in the top five. Somehow, there are still readers discovering this series even now. Almost 159,000 users marked this dragon riding academy romantasy book as read last month. It has a 4.6 average rating.
#2:
The Crash by Freida McFadden
Freida McFadden has quickly become a heavy hitter on the Most Read Books On Goodreads This Week chart, with many titles in the top 50. Her newest thriller is about a pregnant woman who crashes her car during a storm and is taken in by a couple in a remote cabin. It was read by over 180,000 users in February and has a 3.8 average rating.
#1:
Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3) by Rebecca Yarros
Finally, to no one’s surprise, the #1 goes to the newest Empyrean book, which came out January 21st. The question now is whether we’re at peak Empyrean or if the hype will stay alive until the next volume—Yarros has said she hasn’t started book four yet. Onyx Storm was read by an eye-popping 466,000 Goodreads users in February and has a 4.3 average rating.
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