I read 83 books in 2024, and these are the ones you should read!
My 24 Favorite Books of 2024
My Year in Books
I read 83 books,
which was 25,490 pages,
written by 51 different authors.
There were 70 fiction & 13 non-fiction books,
broken down into genres, it was 50 romance, 7 fantasy, 7 young adult, 6 literary, 4 christian, 5 health, 2 self help, 1 devotional, and 1 memoir.
My 24 Favorite Books of 2024
1-12
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez - The perfect summer but also emotional romance. I love Justin and Emma! Skip pages 299-300 if you are sensitive to spice. Watch me read it here!
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross - This book will forever be the book that got me into fantasy. I love this love story and this world. It is perfect to read in the fall and winter! It is young adult historical fantasy, so no spice.
Funny Story by Emily Henry - I read this book and then also listened to the audiobook. Miles and Daphne are some of my favorite characters of the year! This is my favorite Emily Henry book - watch me tier rank them here! (Pages to skip for spice: 139-143, 211-212, 291-296)
Powerless by Lauren Roberts - My second fantasy series this year, and I fell in love! This book is a young adult fantasy with a high stakes competition and a forbidden romance. The banter in this book is so good! Young adult so no spice!
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter - This is the best young adult romance ever. Liz and Wes are one of the best couples, and this books includes so many fun music and movie references. It is also young adult so no spice!
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center - Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, and I would say this is one of her most romance heavy books. The setting and the romance in this book are so sweet - also no spice!
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross - This is the sequel to Divine Rivals, and it includes more politics and plot in the fantasy world. The stakes are so high, and I think about this duology all the time!
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams - This is the sweetest no spice football romance. Nathan and Bree are some of my favorite characters, and I love a friends to lovers story.
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - This book follows two friends throughout decades of their lives, and in doing so explores so many different facets of womanhood - female friendships, romance, mother-daughter relationships, working vs staying home. It will make you cry, but I think it’s worth it.
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez - I love an Abby Jimenez romance. There is social anxiety representation in this book that is done so well, and you only need to skip pages 320-322 to avoid spice.
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter - Lynn Painter puts something special in her young adult romances. This one is a groundhog day time loop that occurs on Valentine’s Day. It felt perfectly nostalgic and sweet.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - This book is about a bank robbery, but it also is not about a bank robbery at all. His writing is incredible, and I think about this book often. There are so many good quotes!
13-24
What You Wish For by Katherine Center - This book might be my favorite Katherine Center book of all time. This book has deeper themes of choosing joy in the face of hard things, and I absolutely love these characters and this story. I would love to re-read this one! No spice.
Happy Place by Emily Henry - This is such a fun story that follows a friend group on a trip to Maine, but Harriet and Wyn have broken up and didn’t tell their friends. I found myself relating to different characters throughout the story, and I really loved the then and now timeline! If you want to skip spice, skip pages 290-294, 320-322.
Reckless by Lauren Roberts - This book comes after Powerless, and it feels like one big fantasy road trip with lots of banter (no spice)! The plot twist at the end will get you…
Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan - A second chance romance set at the beach, and he plays the guitar? Say less. Annabel Monghan knows how to write summer romances, and this is it! No spice.
Home Run Heart by Hailey Gardiner - This is a no spice, second chance baseball romance. I don’t know exactly what it was about Brooks and Nora, but I loved this book. It has the coziest Pacific Northwest setting and some scenes that take place around Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I feel like it would be perfect in the late fall!
Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter - This book follows the characters from Better Than the Movies after they have gone to college. I loved seeing more from Wes’s point of view, and I thought it was a realistic and redemptive depiction of a relationship changing over time. Young adult, so no spice!
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan - A romance between a Hallmark screenwriter and a movie star! This was such a sweet romance, and the whole time I could really picture the house and the yard and the writing shed in the back. I feel like it was written like a movie! No spice.
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren - This is an emotional second chance romance with a then and now timeline. It was more spicy than I like, but I was captivated by the story. (Skip pages 263-264, 309, 323-328, 350-355, 436-end of epilogue to avoid spice.)
The Rule Book by Sarah Adams - I went into this book blind, and I had so much fun watching this story unfold. It has so many fun tropes and includes the same found family I loved from The Cheat Sheet. Closed door except for chapter 34 but she made it easily skippable! Watch me read it here!
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry - I really enjoyed both Poppy and Alex’s characters and this friends to lovers story! This is also probably the least spicy of Emily Henry’s books - skip 253-258 to avoid spice.
How to Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan - I think about this book a lot more than I thought I would. It is a sweet no spice romance with a fun found family and the perfect dash of renovation and HGTV vibes!
The Rom Commers by Katherine Center - This is my third Katherine Center book on this list? Sign me up for anything she writes. This was so fun, and I loved having a window into the screenwriting world through Emma and Charlie. No spice!
What was your favorite book you read in 2024??
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you had the happiest new year.
Take care,
Caroline
83 books in a year is crazy