We’re later than normal with our favorite posts of the year, but we still want to talk about the books that we loved in 2024! So today we’re both going to share ten books that we loved last year. Keep on reading to see what books hit the top of our lists!
Candyce
I have to say making up a list of favorite reads of 2024 is hard! I read 351 books last year and as I said in my romance post earlier this week (I think), 126 of those were 5 star reads. This top ten isn’t in order and could probably change if I had to write this tomorrow, haha. Let’s take a look at some of my favorites!
Metal Slinger – Rachel Schneider
Metal Slinger wasn’t a book on my radar, but when one of the booktubers I watch loved this one, I got curious. I flew through the first book in this duology and I wasn’t expecting the twist at the end at all! I’m anxiously awaiting more information about the sequel.
The Poppy War – R.F. Kuang
I read this whole trilogy last year and it was a wild ride! I will say that R.F. Kuang doesn’t hold back. The Poppy War is dark and the consequences of war aren’t hidden. All of these books were five star reads for me. Even though I was upset with the main character for most of the last book, that ending made it a five star book, no questions asked!
The Scarlet Alchemist – Kylie Lee Baker
The Scarlet Alchemist had everything I want/need in a fantasy book: an interesting world, interesting magic system, politics, and some plot twists. Some of the reveals in this book had me shocked, and the ending left me wanting more. The sequel did release at the end of 2024, so I need to read The Blood Orchid soon.
A Sign of Affection Vol. 1-10 – Suu Morishita
I’ve started reading more manga, and in 2024 I found my favorite series so far. A Sign of Affection is one I discovered when I saw someone talking about the anime on bookstagram. So I watched that with my boyfriend and decided I wanted the manga. I’ve read all 10 volumes that have been translated and published so far. Our main character is deaf and I love how Suu Morishita incorporates sign language and how Yuki experiences the world.
The Serpent King – Jeff Zentner
So I had three books by this author on my shelves at the beginning of 2024, and I decided I really needed to give him a go. I’ve heard great things about Jeff Zentner and now I understand why. The Serpent King was a book I flew through and in the back of my mind I knew it was going to get emotional, but I just wasn’t sure how. And boy, does it hit you in the feels! I’ll be reading the other two books on my shelves by Jeff this year.
Pack Up the Moon – Kristan Higgins
When I read the synopsis of Pack Up the Moon, it reminded me a lot of P.S. I Love You. In many ways it was similar, but also unique. Josh loses his wife and while she’s sick she makes sure he has a letter every month for the year after she passes away. Not only do we experience those months with Josh, we also get Lauren’s POV in flashback chapters to when she finds out she’s sick up until she’s gone. I knew this book would hurt, but it was also so beautiful.
Warbreaker – Brandon Sanderson
Warbreaker is a book I read together with my boyfriend when it didn’t win our book club’s vote. Once again, Brandon Sanderson made me fascinated by the world he built and characters he created. I loved that magic was based on breath and color. Also, the twists and turns kept me on my toes. I’ll be reading more Sanderson books in 2025.
Spells for Forgetting – Adrienne Young
If you’re looking for a dark, atmospheric book with a touch of magical realism, I highly suggest Spells for Forgetting. We get secrets, lies, betrayal, and love. It all takes place on an island where grudges aren’t easily solved. Every time I had a theory of what happened, the author told me I was wrong, haha.
Incidents Around the House – Josh Malerman
I’m as shocked as anyone that I have a horror book on my 2024 favorites list. My Discord book club voted to read it during spooky season. Incidents Around the House is told from a child’s POV. That made this book so different and intriguing, because how reliable is she? Also, this was another book where I definitely didn’t see the ending coming.
How to Make Friends with the Dark – Kathleen Glasgow
Kathleen Glasgow is another author that knows how to really hit you in all the feels. In How to Make Friends with a Dark our main character loses her mother suddenly. Guilt, grief, fear, anger, and so many more emotions are seen in this book. I appreciated that even at the ending of the book, not everything was perfect.
Isabelle
I had the opposite problem from Candyce haha. Most of the 5 star reads I read are rereads and it seems like I have gotten more critical when handing out those stars haha. However, I did read 10 5 or 4,5 star reads, actually more but when they were part of the same series I only allowed them one slot ;).
A Master of Djinn – P. Djeli Clark
This was my first read of 2024 and I enjoyed it a lot! I love this world P. Djeli Clark created and after enjoying the short stories I was excited to dive into a full length novel. To be honest, I still hope for another story in this world, I wish more people read and talked about this series. It’s so good! I do plan on reading more P. Djeli Clark this year.
The Sunshine Court – Nora Sakavic
I adore the All for the Game series, so much that I have reread it twice last year. And I was so excited to learn we were getting more books in this world. I was pleasantly surprised by this one! While the original trilogy wasn’t ‘good’, it was addictive and I loved it. I think this newest book was probably better written and I can’t wait for the next one.
Assistant to the Villain – Hannah Nicole Maehrer
This one was so much fun! I laughed out loud all the time while reading this. My friends were getting actually annoyed by my laughing haha. I just enjoyed it a lot! Once again not the best written book and some plot twists were predictable, but not all of them and overall it was just a lot of fun.
When the Moon Hatched – Sarah A. Parker
Everyone was raving about this book and I couldn’t wait to pick it up. It is such a big book! I decided to go the audiobook route and I’m still not sure that was the best choice. I think I didn’t fully love this one as much as I could have but I still did enjoy it a lot! This was an interesting world and I enjoyed the plot. I want to read the next one for sure!
Fence vol. 6 – C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad
This is such a wonderful graphic novel series and I wish we wouldn’t have to wait so long in between volumes haha. At this point I’m not even sure there will be a volume 7 but I truly hope there will be. I love the sports aspect of this and I love all the slow burn relationships.
Diary of a Romantica – Celia Martinez
I don’t read a lot of poetry books, but this is one of my favourites I have ever read. After finding Celia on TikTok and loving her poetry, I had to get a physical copy of her work. I tabbed so many poems in this book and I’m so grateful for reading them. Celia is such an inspiration!
Fourth Wing/Iron Flame – Rebecca Yarros
I was a bit late jumping on the bandwagon for this series but oh wow did I love it! After flying through the series and getting some of my colleagues to read the books I have been patiently waiting for the third book. Just a couple more days and we know how this story continues!
This is Why We Lied – Karin Slaughter
Karin Slaughter is one of my favorite writers ever, I adore this series so much and I’m happy we’re still getting new books each year. I try to read these as soon as they are released and I’m already looking forward to the next Karin Slaughter book.
Haikyu – Haruichi Furudate
I read vol. 13 through 45 this year and I loved each and every one of those volumes! At first I tried to pace myself but at some point I just kept going until I reached the end haha. I love the characters and I love the sports in this. We get multiple arcs I adore and I especially love all the side characters we got to know along the way.
House of Flame and Shadow – Sarah J. Maas
As you probably know by now, I adore Sarah J. Maas’ writing and I was looking forward to the third book in the Crescent City series. It was a great ending to the story we got so far. I am so curious to see what book we will get next in this universe and how it all ties together!
So these were some of our favorite 2024 reads! Do we have any in common? What are some of your 2024 favorites? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!