Four favourite books of 2024
If you’ve been around here long enough you’ll know I love to read, and I also love to talk all things books. Give me all your recommendations, I want them!
2024 brought along a few reading slumps, and times where I just did not have time to read, so while I did read less than previous years I still have a number of five star reads that I wanted to share with you.
You possibly may have heard of all of these and know they’re great, as they’ve been raved about throughout the internet, but I needed to add to the raving and state they live up to the hype.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. He spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
I’m a wee bit late to the party with this one as it’s been out for a fair few years but I finally got around it it after choosing it for my book club pick. A couple of my book club members were not a fan but myself and others absolutely adored it. Just the fantastical whimsy, great world building and the uniqueness of some of the characters. I mean the antichrist is an orphan! Sorry we’re not meant to call him that… The perfect getaway from a busy life, I swear this book is a wee holiday for your brain.
I’ve now also read the sequel, and while it wasn’t as good it still was a good four stars. Just a little bit more political and repetitive, but still with that whimsical nature we all love.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Which is how Daphne begins her new story.
Scruffy and chaotic - with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads - Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan.
If you’ve been around here a while you’ll know I’m a big fan of Emily Henry. I will say I was a little worried about this latest release as I wasn’t the biggest fan of her previous release after loving the first two Emily Henry books I’d read. But worry no more, this brought me back to the Emily Henry I know and love and I absolutely devoured this book. Still not my favourite of hers, I think Book Lovers is still my fave, but I think that is just because it was my first. Even while the stories are all different there’s always a bit of similarities for a romance book from the same author if you catch my drift, so nothing can top your first.
Her books are rather popular across the internet so it’s probably not a surprise I enjoyed this one, but there’s just something in her writing that makes the stories so easy to digest without much thought. Small twists that hit you with ‘I knew it’ energy and make you want to keep reading. They’re not for everyone, but they are for me. I enjoyed the characters relatability and their interactions were hilarious at points.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Kiela, a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, has always had trouble dealing with people. When a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home.
In need of income, Kiela identifies something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries. But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela risks the consequences of using unsanctioned spells and opens the island’s first-ever and much needed secret spellshop.
I went into this book without too many expectations as there wasn’t too much hype surrounding it. I didn’t think I’d love it as much as I did, however looking back magic and books and a sentient plant? What’s not to love? It’s just a great cozy fantasy that doesn’t have too much complexity and darkness.
I didn’t super love the romance subplot but it wasn’t bad enough to knock down my stars, I just felt like it didn’t really need to be there and the epilogue just felt a little rushed. But again totally enjoyed it enough to give it five stars, so don’t worry at all.
If you need something to read after Legends and Lattes this is a bit less action and more fantasy but similar vibes I’d say.
Daydream by Hannah Grace
The third in the New York Times bestselling Maple Hills series follows fan-favorite Henry and a bookish fellow student who come up with a plan to help them both overcome their respective challenges in a difficult year.
When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.
Interestingly enough I only rated the second book in this series 4 stars so I didn’t think the third book would rate any higher than that. But I guess I was wrong. I think this book just hit me at the right time when I needed an easy romance YA book full of cuteness and a bit of cheesiness.
I won’t lie and say these are the best books, that they’re great writing or anything, because they’re not. They may all follow the similar storytelling flow with a similar twist but I devour them everytime because I’m a sucker for a miscommunication plot for some reason.
Fair warning they are a tiny bit spicy so if you’re not into that sort of romance book then I’d give them a pass, but if you are I’d totally recommend the series for light easy reading.
My reading goal is fewer books this year while I juggle a baby and my old hobby so I need to make these fewer books count! Again I must reiterate, give me your recommendations!
I already have a few anticipated 2025 releases on my list like Onyx Storm, Lore Olympus Vol 8, the new Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood books, and of course the new Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping. But what else should I be reading in 2025? Let me know!
