Best Books of 2024
Welcome to my personal list of the best books of 2024. I’ve collected the best romance novels, general fiction, and nonfiction that I read this past year. But first, here are some of my reading stats for the year.
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My Reading Stats for 2024
After reading 100 in a year for the first time in 2023, I was ready for a laid back reading year. I set my goal at 50 books for the year, and felt very confident I would hit that.
Despite wanting a year with no pressure on my reading, I did end up feeling some significant pressure when I was asked to be part of the Currently Reading podcast team. I am thrilled to be making patreon exclusive content with them. Our monthly podcast, Love & Chili Peppers, is all about romance novels. I LOVE IT, but I can clearly see moments in my reading year where I hit some slumps that I associate with the stress of taking on and launching this new project.
Although I read less books this year compared to the last few years, I allowed myself to indulge in other forms of escapism by watching new-to-me television shows and unwinding with games on my phone.
2024 Reading Stats:
- Goal was 50 books.
- 53 total books read
- 42 romance novels
- 3 general fiction
- 8 nonfiction, 15% of my reading – all of them read on audio, which is the only way I read nonfiction
- 20 audiobooks – about half as many as last year
- 62.3% was digital/kindle
- I read zero books in print! I really do love reading on my kindle.
- 6 DNFs – but it should have been more!
Best Books of 2024: Romance Novels
Romance is my most favorite genre, and I am excited to share my favorites of the year with you, but first we need to address the spice scale.
Rebekah’s Spice Scale
- Closed Door – no foreplay
- Closed Door – spicy foreplay
- Open Door – low spice
- Open Door – high spice
- Open Door – extremely high spice
Click here for a refresher on closed door vs open door. Also, it should be noted that when I say “spice/spicy” here, what I really mean is explicit details of intimate moments. Low vs high spice is the difference in how many pages and details are being used for intimate moments.

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
Tropes: Touch of Epistolary, One Night Stand, Mistaken Identity, Workplace
Spice Level: 3
Thank You For Listening is about an audiobook narrator named Sewanee, who is dipping her toe back into the world of traditional acting – as well as enjoying a budding relationship with the male narrator of her latest audiobook project.
Sewanee and her follow co-narrator befriend each other over email and text, and the emails they send each other really were my favorite part of the book. Their banter is so fun, that I literally laughed out loud at moments. But there are more serious moments in the book, as both characters grapple with heavier issues as well.
But the best part of this book about audiobook narrators is that it was written by a real life audiobook narrator. The author, Julia Whelan, also narrates the audiobook version and does an awesome job. I highly recommend the audio version.

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Tropes: Fake Dating, Hurt/Comfort, He Falls First
Spice Level: 3
In Just For The Summer, Justin and Emma have a curse that each person they date breaks up and then finds their soulmate right after dating them. They decide to come up with a plan to fake date each other just for the summer so that when they break up the curse should be broken, and the next person they date should be the person that they marry.
There is so much that I really loved about this book. First, I loved the beginning of the book where they got to know each other by communicating over long distance before she moves to his town.
Justin was another standout for me. Abby always does the best job of writing men consumed by their love for their woman. From the moment when Justin first meets Emma and is flustered because of how much he likes her to the surveys he creates to get feedback on their dates, Justin raises the bar again and again. It is adorable.
Of course Abby is also known for adding some heavier elements to her books. Just for the Summer deals with childhood trauma and toxic parents along with the fun love story.

Make It Sweet by Kristen Callihan
Tropes: Celebrity, Sports, Food, Grumpy/Sunshine, Insta-lust
Spice Level: 4
Available on Kindle Unlimited – audio included.
In Make It Sweet, Emma, an actress, and Lucian, a professional hockey player, both experienced a loss of careers that they loved. They meet while they are both in a period of unknown as they are contemplating what to do with their futures, and the scariness of letting go of who they were before.
On one hand, this book is very thoughtful as they navigate their unexpected career losses. On the other hand, these are two of the most “into each other” characters I have ever read. From the moment they saw each other, they were infatuated and as readers, we get full access to every. single. dirty thought they have about each other.
Plus, this is a foodie book because Lucian is an extremely talented baker that takes great delight in feeding Emma.

How The Heart Breaks by S. Marie
Tropes: Reverse Age Gap, Forbidden Romance, Grief, Widow
Spice Scale: 3
Available on Kindle Unlimited.
Author also goes by Stacey Marie Brow.
Everything is going right for Emery, until the tragic moment her husband dies. Fast forward 3 years, and at 30 years old she decides to move to a new town as she tries to get a fresh start on life and move past her grief.
Emery invites her niece to move in with her. That is how she meets her niece’s crush, 19 year old Mason. Due to trauma in his own life, Mason is light years ahead of his fellow high school classmates in maturity. Emery and Mason are undeniably drawn to each other in ways that neither of them understand.
How The Heart Breaks was my number one read of the year for several reasons. I love the external conflict of an age gap romance. I also love the heavier topics of grief and trauma that are woven in throughout the story. Plus, there was a plot twist that I didn’t see coming.
Best Books of 2024: General Fiction
I only read 3 fiction novels that I consider general fiction rather than romance novels, and only one of them I rated 5 stars. That 5 star read was Mayluna.

Mayluna by Kelley McNeil
Tropes: Celebrity, Secret Pregnancy
Spice Level: 1
Available on Kindle Unlimited – audio included.
Mayluna is a love story, but I wouldn’t consider it a traditional romance novel. It is the story of two people, Evie and Carter, looking back on their love story and time they spent together traveling the world with the band Mayluna.
Evie is telling her children about the wild ride she went on as a reporter and documentary filmmaker who traveled Mayluna and ultimately fell in love with the band’s lead singer, Carter.
There isn’t much I can say about this book without spoiling key plot points. However, I can say that this was a very moving story with a big focus on sacrifice.
I will give an honorable mention to Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge, which I rated 4 stars. It was an excellent novel about 2 survivors of a plane crash, trying to survive on island.
Best Books of 2024: Nonfiction
I read 8 nonfiction books in 2024. Nonfiction is not my favorite type of reading (clearly), but I especially enjoy nonfiction that features social commentary and sharing people’s stories. In no particular order, here are the 3 I enjoyed the most in 2024 – each of them I rated 4 stars.

The Plan: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius by Kendra Adachi
The Plan is a time management, self-help book written by a woman and for women. Kendra addresses some of the common things that prevent women from feeling like they have control of their time, and how those things can be unique to the female experience.
In general, I am a fan of Kendra Adachi and her Lazy Genius brand. I find her advice to be practical. She is down to earth and relatable.

How to Piss Off Men: 109 Things to Say to Shatter the Male Ego by Kyle Prue
I discovered Kyle and his deadpan humor on TikTok. He went viral there for his series on things to say to piss off men.
An example from the book:
“Oh. So it’s like Kohl’s cash?”
Say this when a man tries to explain crypto to you.
How to Piss Off Men won’t be for everyone, but I found it funny while also being an interesting commentary on gender expectations and misogyny. It was an extremely fast audiobook listen that made me laugh, which is why it made it on my list of best books of 2024.

One in a Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In by Kate Kennedy
Kate is known for her pop culture commentary and for unapologetically being a fangirl. She brought all of that, plus a huge dose of nostalgia, to One in a Millennial.
When I think back on my reading experience, the thing that stands out to me the most is the feeling of nostalgia. Her life experience didn’t quite mirror mine (there was quite a bit that we don’t align on) but, hearing someone describe the early days of internet exploration as a teen was very, very fun.
More Reading Inspiration:
- Join Currently Reading’s patreon to listen to Love & Chili Peppers every month. Once you join you’ll be able to listen to Kaytee and I break down our top 10 romance novels of the year, which includes some books I didn’t mention here.
- Listen to the first episode of Love & Chili Peppers here for free!
- 15 Things I Learned from Reading 100 Books in a Year
- What Is Kindle Unlimited? – The Ultimate Guide & What To Read
What were your best books of 2024? I would love to hear what made your list and if you loved any of the books that made my list.
Disclosure: This post contains commissionable Amazon affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, I may receive a commission based on your purchase. Top image is by fotografierende via Pixabay.