As I went again and regarded on the book-related weblog posts and e-book opinions I shared 2024, I discovered myself remembering superb plot strains, artistic twists, lovely writing, fantastic escape novels and thrilling excerpts that saved me studying late into the night time. Beneath you’ll discover the highest 10 books I learn final 12 months they usually fall throughout a myriad of genres — every little thing from suspenseful thrillers and fantasy novels to breezy reads and historic fiction. I hope a couple of of the books I’ve highlighted beneath discover their method into your fingers in 2025 and that you just love them as a lot as I did final 12 months!
Observe: Two of the books beneath I listened to as audiobooks and I’ve famous this beneath, as I do suppose listening to a e-book versus studying it might probably change the reader/listener’s expertise.
Prime 10 Books I Learn in 2024
Style: Thriller/Drama
My score: A
All of the Colours of the Darkish is just not solely among the best books I learn in 2024, it’s simply among the best books I’ve learn ever. The writing is so gorgeous and it’s the sort of e-book that makes you wish to write down sure passages as a result of they’re so fantastically poignant. It’s a thriller not like every other thriller I’ve learn with a lot depth. It’s additionally very uniquely unpredictable and when you end up approaching the ultimate third of the e-book, simply go forward and clear your schedule or count on to be up waaay previous midnight studying as a result of a lot is revealed and also you won’t be able to place it down. It’s an extended novel however I completely adored this e-book from begin to end and located it so immensely artistic. Additionally, you understand these books you learn the place you end up pondering the writer could also be some sort of genius? I believe that’s the case with Chris Whitaker. The best way he so expertly wove the story collectively over the course of many years blew me away and I liked it when a little bit snippet he talked about earlier within the e-book resurfaced on the finish in essentially the most transferring method. That is a type of lengthy haul learn that’s price each single minute you spend curled up with this novel in your fingers.
Style: Historic Fiction
My score: A
There’s a motive everyone seems to be recommending this novel proper now. It’s fantastically written, tragic and informative and, truthfully, it felt like an vital learn. Whereas I’m somebody who admittedly loves historic fiction novels, I hadn’t learn one which came about throughout the Vietnam Struggle earlier than The Ladies.
I used to be utterly captivated by Frankie’s story from begin to end. I fiercely rooted for her and was heartbroken repeatedly each by the horrors of Vietnam and by all Frankie was pressured to endure (time and again… significantly, the lady simply couldn’t catch a break). And I additionally liked the best way the writer wove twists into the story… some I noticed coming however one I positively didn’t and it was the sort of twist that made me wish to throw my e-book throughout the room.
I additionally can’t say sufficient good issues in regards to the writer’s writing. She clearly pours immense effort and time into her analysis and paints essentially the most vivid footage along with her phrases. She always references music everyone knows from the time interval, in addition to hair kinds, fashionable style decisions, automobile fashions and extra to assist transport the reader to the late Sixties and ’70s.
Synopsis
This novel begins within the mid Sixties when nursing pupil Frankie McGrath attends the send-off occasion for her brother earlier than he leaves to struggle in Vietnam. Having grown up in Coronado Island, California, Frankie is used to a rustic membership life-style the place the main focus of most younger ladies is on marrying effectively and having kids. It isn’t till her brother’s greatest buddy tells her “ladies will be heroes, too,” at her brother’s goodbye occasion that Frankie realizes she will be able to additionally play an element within the conflict. Intrigued and impressed to make a distinction, Frankie indicators as much as be part of the Military Nurse Corps.
She arrives in Vietnam overwhelmed and undertrained however she is dedicated and decided and shortly turns into one of the crucial expert surgical nurses alongside her roommates-turned-friends, Ethel and Barb. The three ladies see tragedy after tragedy and Frankie experiences love, heartbreak, trauma, grief, shock and hope as she continues to study and supply the very best care to everybody in her path.
As her time in Vietnam involves an in depth, her emotions about leaving the conflict behind are combined. Regardless of letters from house telling her how about anti-war protests, Frankie is unprepared by simply how unwelcome she feels when she returns to California. Nobody desires to listen to about her time in Vietnam and he or she struggles with feeling each happy with her service and, by some means, ashamed. Whereas the conflict wages on, Frankie realizes she has her personal battle to face at house as she tries to seek out her method in her previous life when she’s anybody however the girl she was earlier than the conflict.
Style: Thriller, Suspense
My score: A
WOW. This e-book. Phew. What a learn. I’m undecided why however a lot of These Silent Woods made me consider The place the Crawdad’s Sing. Maybe the best way the e-book emphasizes nature? Should you appreciated Crawdads, I’d positively give this one a strive! These Silent Woods follows a father and his 8-year-old daughter residing in isolation within the woods within the Appalachian Mountains. The writing is crammed with essentially the most lovely prose about nature coupled with heart-pounding suspense. It’s totally different than your typical thriller novel because it’s crammed with coronary heart and depth, love and tough choices. It’s additionally written in a method that made me wish to spotlight or write down sure passages as a result of they felt so uncooked and pure and human. I cared deeply for the characters. And the ending was sudden in a method that ripped my coronary heart open however felt extremely satisfying, too.
Synopsis
Cooper and his daughter Finch ran off to the woods of the Appalachian Mountains when Finch was a child the place they’ve lived off the grid for eight years. With a lot to cover, Cooper is set to maintain them unseen, one thing that’s turning into more and more exhausting as Finch will get older, extra curious, and extra impartial. Aside from Cooper, within the eight years Finch has lived in a distant cabin along with her father, she’s solely met two individuals: Her mysterious neighbor Scotland and Jake, her father’s greatest buddy and the person chargeable for outfitting them with mandatory provides yearly. When the same old date of Jake’s go to comes and goes and he doesn’t present, every little thing begins to alter, placing the straightforward life Cooper has labored so exhausting to create for his daughter into jeopardy.
Style: Dystopian Fiction, Younger Grownup Thriller
My score: A
The Grace Yr got here extremely really helpful to me by my buddy Macie who claimed the e-book was her favourite learn 0f 2023. Macie is an avid reader like myself. So when she mentioned it was the very best e-book she learn final 12 months, I knew I needed to dive in. When it grew to become out there by my native library, I started studying it. And I just about didn’t cease till I used to be completed.
It’s a darkish dystopian novel that roped me in instantly and saved me studying late into the night time. I learn it in two sittings, staying up hours previous my typical bedtime. As a result of I couldn’t put it down. It’s thought-provoking, immensely artistic and utterly enthralling. It’s additionally horrifying and maddening. And The Grace Yr takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of hope and hopelessness, heartbreak and love. I discovered myself fiercely rooting for the primary character within the novel.
Synopsis
The Grace Yr is a time frame when the younger ladies of Garner County are banished from the city throughout their sixteenth 12 months of life. It’s believed this time of their lives that they arrive into their magic and have the flexibility emit an influence that lures the boys of their city into their beds. It is just by the time they spend banished within the woods throughout the grace 12 months that they’re able to rid themselves of their magical powers and return purified and prepared for marriage. Solely not everybody returns. What occurs throughout the grace 12 months is rarely talked about once more.
Because the grace 12 months approaches for 16-year-old Tierney James, she has her personal plans for her life. Decided to by no means marry and dwell her life on her personal phrases, Tierney is shocked when her grace 12 months begins with an sudden reveal. As she heads into the woods with the opposite grace 12 months women, Tierney shortly realizes the risks they face alone within the woods might not come solely from the poachers decided to hunt the women for his or her youthful powers. It could come from the very ladies she should lean on to make it to the opposite aspect of the grace 12 months alive.
Style: Ladies’s Fiction, Humor
My score: A
What a gem of a e-book! I majorly lucked into this one. After I was searching for a brand new novel to learn and sorted my Libby app by “out there reads,” this one caught my eye. So I downloaded it to my Kindle understanding nothing about it and dove in. Don’t Overlook to Write immediately charmed me and made me snigger. I’d file it underneath the “enjoyable seaside reads” class and liked it from begin to end. The e-book is a lighthearted novel set within the Sixties that facilities round two likable characters.
Synopsis
Don’t Overlook to Write begins when Marilyn Kleinman sneaks off and is caught kissing a rabbi’s son in the course of service. Her mother and father are mortified and, not understanding what to do with their rebellious daughter, ship her to her nice aunt Ada’s home in Philadelphia for the summer time. When Marilyn arrives, she isn’t positive what to make of the strict girl recognized to most because the premier matchmaker within the space. Ada is wise and assured and doesn’t appear to overlook a factor. She has an consideration to element that makes Marilyn marvel if she’ll be capable to get away with something throughout their time collectively.
Ada quickly informs Marilyn they are going to be spending most of their summer time on the Jersey Shore. And Marilyn will assist Ada in her work as a matchmaker. Although Marilyn may also help discover matches for Ava’s shoppers, discovering a match for herself is strictly off limits. Will Marilyn have the ability to withstand the temptation round her and fall consistent with her mother and father’ and society’s expectations? How will she deal with Ada and her many guidelines? Is there extra to Ada than meets the attention?
Style: Sci-Fi Thriller, Thriller
My score: A
Darkish Matter is a type of books you need everybody round you to learn so you’ll be able to speak about it continuous. It’s immensely artistic and twisty with depth and sufficient intrigue hold you totally gripped to the pages the whole time. It’s a sci-fi thriller so there’s a hearty dose of science sprinkled in. And also you’ll be suspending your perception loads however not in an eye-roll inducing method. It’s darkish and thought upsetting and one of the crucial distinctive novels I’ve learn.
Synopsis
Darkish Matter begins when Jason Dessen is knocked unconscious and kidnapped. He awakes to seek out himself in a world he doesn’t know, talking with a smiling scientist welcoming him again and speaking to Jason as if he’s recognized him for years. On this new world, Jason’s life is just not his life and every little thing he’s ever recognized and liked — his spouse, his son, even his job as a university professor — stop to exist. On this new life, he’s a world-renowned scientist and a genius who achieved every little thing he ever probably might’ve imagined attaining. However is it actual? Is is a dream? And if it’s not actual, how will Jason ever discover his method again to actuality?
Style: Thriller
Mistaken Place Mistaken Time was an audiobook pay attention for me and you understand an audiobook is nice when you end up wanting ahead to end-of-the-day family chores so you’ll be able to pop in an earbud and get misplaced within the story. You instantly must droop your sense of disbelief because the premise of the novel includes a principal character who finds herself waking up the day after she witnesses a horrible crime. She’s confused and overwhelmed and likewise relieved. Did the crime probably not occur? Is that this some sort of a do-over? When Jen continues to get up additional and additional again in time, she’s undecided what to do however slowly begins to uncover details about the sufferer of the crime and the involvement of these closest to her.
It’s so uncommon for me to discover a e-book that features a twist I didn’t see coming, however on this case, I used to be shocked and stunned in one of the simplest ways. It’s a twisty novel and immensely artistic and one I needed to hearken to continuous, particularly as I discovered myself additional and additional invested in determining the whos and the whys behind the thriller.
Style: Fantasy, Romance
My score: A
This e-book! The ending! What a experience. I waited months for Iron Flame to turn out to be out there at my native library (I at all times have one million books on maintain and usually simply learn no matter turns into out there first) and dove in when the audiobook model grew to become out there first. I listened like loopy throughout any out there second. And was all-in for all 28+ hours of this audiobook. Iron Flame is a rollercoaster of a novel and simply as intense and gripping as Fourth Wing, the primary e-book within the sequence.
Synopsis
Rebecca Yarros has a expertise for writing novels with no downtime or boring pages, that’s for positive. I additionally adore her secondary characters (truthfully, I like them greater than her principal character) and the best way she throws in sudden twists all through the novel. (The most important one got here on the very finish for me!) I don’t wish to share an excessive amount of by way of a plot abstract about this novel since it’s the second in a sequence. And something I write right here would spoil the primary e-book. However should you’re in any respect intrigued by a fantasy novel that may have you ever speed-reading like loopy, Fourth Wing and Iron Flame must make it in your must-read record.
Style: Fantasy
My score: A
After loving the ACOTAR sequence by Sarah J. Mass, I had a few the extra sequence written by the writer on my radar. I used to be instantly hooked by Throne of Glass and completely flew by the primary e-book. (I truthfully appreciated the primary e-book on this sequence greater than the primary e-book in ACOTAR, although books 2 and three in ACOTAR the place the place I actually fell in love with that sequence.) The e-book is crammed with motion, relationship intrigue, twists, assassins, warriors, secrets and techniques and a contest to turn out to be the King’s Champion that saved me flying by the pages.
Synopsis:
The e-book follows murderer Celaena Sardothien after she’s captured and spends a 12 months in a jail demise camp. She’s launched upon the orders of the Crown Prince who wishes her to compete as his champion in a contest organized by his father, an evil king who wishes a “King’s Champion” to serve him and kill anybody he needs. Celaena agrees to compete, understanding it’s her solely probability at ever leaving jail and regaining freedom, and embarks on a sequence of challenges meant to check her and the opposite 23 champions to their limits. As a few of her rivals are discovered useless earlier than the varied competitions, Celaena begins to marvel if the true hazard she faces may be lurking contained in the fortress.
With the Crown Prince insisting she win and rooting fiercely for her and the Captain of the Guard assigned to guard her, Celaena ought to really feel secure, however her work as the highest murderer has taught her to by no means let her guard down, one thing that turns into more and more difficult as she grows nearer to the 2 males and the princess she befriends who’s as intriguing as she is mysterious.
Style: Fiction / Science Fiction
My score: A-
One in every of you extremely really helpful The Measure, touting it as among the best books you learn in 2024, so my hopes have been excessive after I started studying. After I inform you this e-book consumed my ideas, I imply it. I learn it in two nights as a result of I used to be so invested within the characters, the plot and the result.
The Measure begins when containers are delivered all around the world to each single individual. Everybody awakes to discover a string inside their field, a string they shortly notice is meant to inform them the size of their life. The e-book follows a handful of characters with totally different string lengths and totally different approaches to their strings and the best way they select to dwell their lives. The Measure wasn’t suspenseful or mysterious or something like that but it surely was gripping in the best way it made me take into consideration how I’d deal with the state of affairs the characters discovered themselves in all through the novel. It was the sort of e-book I discovered myself wanting to speak about continuous!
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Query of the Day
What was the very best e-book (or a couple of of your favourite books) you learn in 2024?
