My Favorite Books of 2024

Introduction

I read 31 fiction books and 6 non-fiction books in 2024, which was higher than I expected as I had several reading slumps throughout the year. I've increased my list of authors whose books I will always read without even reading a summary of the book:

Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carley Fortune
Renee Carlino
Ashley Elston
Sally Rooney
Annabel Monaghan

I use GoodReads to track the books that I read throughout the year, but I wanted to create a list of my favorite books of the year to document some of the amazing books that I discovered this year. All the books on this list are fiction; I read some non-fiction books (finance, self-help, and software) this year, but I only included them in the Awards section.

Honorable Mentions

Here are some books I really enjoyed, but didn't make it into my top 10 this year...

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

This book is my favorite book by Rebecca Serle (I also read "The Dinner List" and "In Five Years" by her this year). This story is about Daphne, who receives a slip of paper when she meets a new man with their name and the amount of time that the relationship will last. It's an interesting concept for a story, but Rebecca Serle turns it into something way more. One of Daphne's ex-boyfriends, Hugo, is now her best friend, and their friendship is enjoyable to read about. Then on the night of a blind date, she receives a slip of paper with simply the guy's name, Jake, written on it without an expiration date.

The book unfolds in such an unexpected way with a lot of surprises and twists that make this book so great. I liked all the characters in the book and I thought the story was so well thought-out. I definitely recommend this book, even if it just fell outside my top 10 for the year.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

This book is about Patrick O’Hara, an actor who took a break from his successful television career to escape to Palm Springs. While he’s been isolating himself from his life in Hollywood, he’s asked to take care of his niece (Maisie) and nephew (Grant) for the summer after his sister-in-law (and former best friend) dies and his brother needs to go to rehab for a pill addiction. I thought the setting of Palm Springs was so well described that it felt like I was there watching the story unfold as Patrick becomes a very responsible and compassionate parental figure to his niece and nephew. I loved the adventures that the three of them had and how Patrick’s approach to helping his niece and nephew cope with the death of their mother was unconventional at first glance but then sweet and caring.

This story was so enjoyable to read and wasn’t very heavy even though it dealt with some heavy topics. I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to reading other books by Steven Rowley, including the sequel to this book, "Guncle Abroad".

Float Plan by Trish Doller

As soon as I started reading this book, I just loved the adventure that the main character, Anna, was embarking on through the Caribbean. After her fiancée's death, Anna decides to sail through the Caribbean to complete the voyage that they had intended to go on. Anna meets a professional sailor, Keane, on her journey and they set sail together. I enjoyed all the adventures they had on the different islands that they stopped at. Their romance was an OK part of the story, but I enjoyed the sailing adventure more.

The Christmas Inn by Pamela M. Kelley

This book is a Hallmark Christmas movie in a book, but in a great way. While a lot of Christmas books take place around Christmas time, this book embraces the Christmas season in the storylines. This story centers around Riley, who has been laid off from her job in New York City and moves back to Cape Cod for the Christmas season to help her mom run her inn. Guess who is staying at the inn? Riley's boyfriend from high school, Aidan, and his son, as their house is being renovated. There is another guest at the inn, Franny, who plays a big part in the book as she re-experiences the memories from Cape Cod based on a set of four letters from her recently deceased sister.

Of course, the story is very predictable and everything works out way too well for everyone, but it's an enjoyable read and is perfect to read in December to get into the Christmas spirit. I'm a bit biased about this book, as it is set in the town of Chatham in Cape Cod, which is where I went on vacation several times when I was growing up. As a child, I never realized (or appreciated) how beautiful of a town Chatham was, but this book reminds me what a picturesque town Chatham is.

Top 10 Books of 2024

Number 10 - This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

I will read any book by Carley Fortune ("Every Summer After" is one of my favorite books ever). This book is about Lucy, who visits Prince Edward Island (PEI) during most summers and falls for one of the locals, Felix, who just happens to be her best friend's younger brother. While they know they shouldn't be together, they still have such a strong chemistry that they are always drawn to one another.

I enjoyed so many things about this book: the characters, how the story took place over multiple summers, how PEI became one of the characters in the story, and how the characters grew over the years. This book is a great summer book, but it is much deeper than a quick beach read.

Number 9 - The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros

I discovered Rebecca Yarros after hearing all the hype about "Fourth Wing" and then discovering that she had written so many books already before venturing into the fantasy romance genre. I read two books by Rebecca Yarros this year (the other is coming up as #4) and she is an incredible author.

This book contains two stories: (1) the modern story is about Georgia having to start over after a bad divorce and being forced to work with Noah, a best-selling author, and (2) the story during World War II of Georgia's great-grandmother falling in love with a pilot in England. The modern story is just OK, as it's a predictable enemies-to-lovers story. The love story during WWII is excellent. The intertwining of the two stories is done really well. I thought the modern story was a bit slow at times, but the ending... it's just incredible!

Number 8 - Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

I was nervous to read this book, as the 1st book by Annabel Monaghan ("Nora Goes Off Script") was amazing; it was my #2 book in 2023). While "Same Time Next Summer" does live up to the incredible level of "Nora Goes Off Script", it’s still a great book that I read in only 3 days.

This book is about Sam and how she deals with being engaged to Jack (a dermatologist with a lot of different views on life from Sam) and reuniting with her childhood boyfriend, Wyatt. I loved the characters in this book including all the secondary characters like Sam’s parents and siblings. The setting of the beach house out on Long Island (reminds me of Montauk) with the endless summer sun, the dunes leading to the ocean, and the cute town make for such an enjoyable read. I thought the struggles that Sam goes through with her career, family, and relationships with Jack and Wyatt were so interesting and I just thought she was such a well-developed character. My only knock on this book is that the ending is predictable. I would definitely recommend this book, both as a fun summer read and just as a great book. I think Annabel Monaghan’s writing style is excellent and I just can’t put her books down (in the best possible way!).

Number 7 - Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

I'm not sure how I discovered Sally Rooney this year (probably a recommendation on BookTube), but I ended up reading four of her books this year! Her books are very different from the other books that I read this year. The writing style by Sally Rooney feels like a flow of consciousness, especially without any quotation marks to identify what are the actual conversations between the characters. Her books also contain an undercurrent of depression, as her characters are flawed and struggling to deal with their place in life.

Here's the weird part about this book... I did not like the characters in this book, as they are annoying, obnoxious, and pretentious. I know it sounds like I should have hated this book, but I was still drawn to the characters and the story. The main character, Alice, is a successful young author who falls for Felix while she is settling into a small town as an escape. Alice's best friend, Eileen, lives in Dublin and starts back into a relationship with her long-time friend, Simon. I enjoyed the conversations between the characters as they explored their friendships, romances, and careers.

I would recommend reading this book to see if you like Sally Rooney's style, as I really enjoy her books.

Number 6 - Swear On This Life by Renee Carlino

This book is the second book that I read by Renee Carlino ("Before We Were Strangers" was my #5 book in 2023) and she is now one of my favorite authors. The main character in this book, Emiline, is an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego. She has a stalled writing career and a long-term boyfriend from college who doesn't seem like a great fit for her. Her roommate gives her a bestselling book, which turns out to be the story of her childhood in rural Ohio. She discovers that the author is her best friend (and first love), Jackson, from childhood. She's enthralled by the book, but she is also furious that Jackson became a best-selling author using her life story.

I loved the flashbacks to Emiline's childhood and how she and Jackson formed such a strong bond through the hardships of their early lives. The current-day story of Emiline discovering the book about herself was good, but the flashbacks make this book so great.

Number 5 - Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

An amazing book from my favorite author, Taylor Jenkins Reid! Every book that I have read by Taylor Jenkins Reid has made it into my top 10 list of that year.

This book tells two stories in parallel (think of them as parallel universes) based on a decision that Hannah makes after moving back to Los Angeles. On her first night back in Los Angeles, Hannah’s best friend Gabby organizes a get-together at a bar for all their old friends, including Hannah’s boyfriend from high school, Ethan (they still have strong feelings for each other). The book splits into two stories based on Hannah deciding to either go back home with Gabby (and take it slow with Ethan) or go home with Ethan (to re-kindle their romance). The two stories are so completely different, but somehow intertwined in such a great way.

As with all Taylor Jenkins Reid books, this story is so engrossing and you feel so strongly for Hannah and Gabby and all the different situations that they have to deal with. I read this book in three days and it was fantastic, especially the ending was great.

Number 4 - In The Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros

The second book by Rebecca Yarros in my top 10 this year! I thought this book combined romance, adventure, current events, and flashbacks into an incredible story.

This story is about Izzy and Nate, who meet by chance on an airplane flight that crashes into the Missouri River. This crash changes their lives forever, as they already had a connection sitting next to each other on the airplane, but surviving an airplane crash connects them so strongly. They come from different worlds, as Nate is beginning a successful career in the Army and Izzy is beginning a successful career in politics. They meet again in Afghanistan, where Nate is assigned to be Izzy's bodyguard. Surprisingly, they are very angry with each other and the book contains excellent flashbacks to explain the chance encounters that they have had over the years to get to this point in their tumultuous relationship. With the backdrop of the pullout from Afghanistan, their story evolves.

This book is excellent! The characters, the adventure, and the unfolding of how Izzy and Nate's relationship grew over the years make for such a great story.

Number 3 - Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

I thought this book was going to be a light summer read and it turned out to be sooooo much more, in the best possible way! This book deals with so many family issues for both main characters that make for an incredible story that I was thinking about for weeks after reading it.

The main characters, Emma and Justin, have the same relationship problem, where the person that they break up with always finds their soul mate the second that they break up. They meet over a Reddit thread about this crazy coincidence and Emma decides that she and her best friend should move to Minnesota to be close to Justin as their next assignment as traveling nurses. The relationship seems like it should be a quick summer romance, but they are just perfect for each other, even though their lives are pushing them apart. From this point in the story, their relationship gets extremely complex as they deal with serious family issues.

I loved the relationship between Emma and Justin. I loved how they dealt with the struggles of their families. I loved this book!

Number 2 - Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Another book by my favorite author, Taylor Jenkins Reid! I often say that her books are so immersive and this book fits that description perfectly.

This story takes place in the late 1960s and early 1970s and it describes how the band Daisy Jones and the Six came to be so popular and then suddenly split up. Daisy grew up in Hollywood and was discovered for her incredible singing voice. Billy Dunne is the lead for The Six, an up-and-coming rock band. They end up crossing paths while collaborating on a song and then being pressured to unite into a new band, Daisy Jones and The Six.

This book tells an incredible story and it is written as a series of interviews of the band members, producers, and family members. This is the brilliance of Taylor Jenkins Reid... creating an incredible story by using interviews to tell the story from so many different points of view.

This is my second favorite book by Taylor Jenkins Reid (the first is "Malibu Rising") and I cannot recommend this book enough!

But there is one book that just stood out this year as the best...

Number 1 - First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

INCREDIBLE!

The best book I read this year.

This book is a thriller with a bit of romance. I still cannot get over the complex story that the author created and then she created the best ending ever to a book. Even weeks after reading this book, I was still thinking about all the different plot twists and crazy events that unraveled.

This story is about Evie Porter, who works for a mysterious boss named Mr. Smith. Her current mark is Ryan Sumner, who she is meant to fall in love with... under the mission is over. Evie has a mysterious past that is unraveled through a series of flashbacks. Ryan has a mysterious past as well, including some shady business dealings started by his family. I don't want to give away any surprises in the book, as I wish I could read this book again for the first time.

What makes this book incredible? The characters are excellent. The story that Ashley Elston created is phenomenal. The way that such a complex story could unfold into the most incredible ending makes this book #1 this year.