Favorite Books of 2024! (Part 1)

Hey, friends! It’s time for my favorite post of the year – all the best books from 2024!

I’ve really branched out with my “reading” the past few months, incorporating not only actual books and books on my kindle, but also…wait for it… AUDIOBOOKS!

I know – shocking, right? No one is more surprised than I am! Don’t get me wrong – I still love to hold and read an actual book, smelling the pages and making notes in the margins, but I have to say – audiobooks are very convenient. So if you’re looking for a way to incorporate more reading into your life, give audiobooks a try!

Okay, now for the most important part of this post – the books! I’ve divided them into categories so if you’re looking for something in particular, you can sort by category. I’ve also divided them into two different posts because there were so many great books this year! Stay tuned later this week for Part 2.

Favorite Fiction:

• The Exchange – a “sequel” to The Firm by John Grisham involving a lawyer kidnapping. I liked this one more than I thought I would! Also, you don’t need to have read the original to understand this one.
• The Rooster Bar – another John Grisham book following a few law school dropouts and the trouble they cause. This would be a fun read for spring break.
• Just for the Summer – Abby Jiminez really found her audience in 2024 with this book and series. I was really sick of rom-coms by the time I picked this one up, but it had more depth and seriousness than any romance novel I’d read before. I really liked this one!
• Duma Key – Well, you just can’t beat a good Stephen King novel. This one takes place on an island off the Florida Keys. There’s just a bit of magic/suspense and dare I say, horror. I got just a tiny bit scared in one part but otherwise, it was an amazing story! I would recommend reading it on your kindle because it’s pretty long, as most King novels are. But it’s so worth the time it takes to read it!
• The Solace of Water – this was an excellent book touching on race relations in the 1950’s, particularly between a black family and an Amish family. There is heartbreak, forgiveness, and friendship all wound up into one beautiful story.
• Hello Beautiful: This book is an homage to Little Women, which was one of my very favorite books as a child. Hello Beautiful is a family drama following four sisters and a rift that threatens to tear them apart. I thought the story was intriguing and lovely.
• Peace Like a River: In this story, tragedy strikes a family who is already suffering. This book contains  illnesses, miracles, and reminds us of the beauty of family and friendship.

Favorite Mystery/Thriller:

• The God of the Woods: Our book club read this and we all loved it. The story is set at a summer camp in the 1970’s. The wealthy owners of the camp, who live nearby, have a daughter attending camp and she goes missing. Mysteriously, their son had gone missing 10 years earlier. So many characters seemed suspicious and I couldn’t wait to find out exactly what happened.
• Local Woman Missing: This one was also really good. A local mom and daughter go missing and years later, the daughter returns. What happened in the middle years will leave you guessing!
• The Homecoming: I love Kate Morton’s writing so any book you pick up by her is going to be amazing. This one alternates between present day and 1959 and follows the story of Jess, who travels back home to be with her dying grandmother and uncovers a deep dark family secret. So good, y’all!
• All the Colors of the Dark: I’ve just realized I read a lot of sweeping family sagas this year. This one is set in the 1970’s and is, in its most basic form, a missing persons book. But you’ll also encounter an unlikely hero and lifelong friendship all wrapped up in a beautifully harrowing story.

Favorite Historical Fiction:

• The Little Liar: I love a good World War II novel and this one didn’t disappoint. It’s short and easy to read but it was fascinating. Told from the perspective of Truth, this story follows a young boy who thought he was protecting his Jewish family when in actuality, he sent them on the train to Auschwitz.
• The Woman in the Photo: This book is set in the 1880’s and is the story of the Johnstown flood. I had never heard of this event before and it was fascinating to read about, even in a fictional account. If you even remotely like history, this is a great one to pick up!
• The Four Winds: Another time period I knew next to nothing about is the Dust Bowl. This book is set in the early 1900’s, and as the Amazon review states, is “a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it.”

Stay tuned later this week for my Favorite Nonfiction, Favorite Religious books, and my TOP EIGHT BOOKS OF THE YEAR!

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