Best 2024 Fiction Books to read

INSIDE : Read along with me this year! Check out the Best 2024 Fiction Books to Read and see my quick reviews of each of them. From mystery to thriller and romance, I love reading a wide variety of books and I’d love hearing which are your favorite!

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This post will be updated throughout 2024.

Reading has become such a beautiful escape to me over the last few years. I have found when life feels too busy and overwhelming, being able to sit down and find myself lost in a good fiction book is such a gift.

I also dove deeply into audio books last year. Being a mom to two middle school kiddos means I am in the car more than ever before, so having a good book to listen to on Libby or Audible has been such fun.

My Best Fiction books to read in 2023 went viral for a good part of last year. It was fun to see my post rank right under Barnes and Noble, Vogue, The New Yorker and THEN ME (Delineate Your Dwelling)!!!!

I’m in two bookclubs and think it’s such a fun way to encourage a vary of reading!

Want to check my favorite books from previous years? 

• Best Fiction Books to read in 2021 (read 23 books)
• Best Fiction Books to read in 2022 (read 35 books)
• Best Fiction Books to read in 2023 (read 65 books)

If you want to see all my recent books in one place, you can check out my Amazon Book page.

Here are all the books I’ve been reading so far in 2024 and I’d love you to comment below with your favorite reads, too!

Shop my 2024 fiction reads…

Reviews of the Best Fiction Books in 2024

1. Go as a River by Shelley Read

Tori is a 17 year old girl who had to learn at a young age how to run the home after her mother dies. She’s the lone girl on her family’s peach farm in rural Colorado. All around her are troubled men, her father, uncle and brother – until she meets a young man named Wilson Moon.

Wilson is all alone, wondering displaced from his tribal lands and meeting Tori alters both of their lives forever. When heartbreak strikes, Tori becomes Victoria and digs deeper than she ever has for strength to do the unthinkable… she strikes out on her own, leaving all she’s ever known.

This story has love, heartbreak, strength building, living on the land, moving as a river, finding a way forward even when you simply can’t face the future.

I felt like there were sections that felt slow and long, but overall really liked this book. 3.75/4 out of 5 for me. Go as a River by Shelley Read

2. Where the Forest meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

I read this book with my online bookclub for January. It sounded like an unusual premise, but I tell you what if you stick with the book… it all comes together and is really a fun read.

One day while in Jo’s Illinois backyard, a disheveled little girl shows up from the forest claiming to be from another planet. The girl calls herself Ursa and says she was sent to witness five miracles before she can return.

Jo tries to reason with her to explain where she came from and even tries calling the police to report a missing child… but the girl runs away immediately. Reluctantly Jo agrees to let her stay, just until she learns more about Ursa’s past.

Slowly Ursa works her way into Jo and Jo’s neighbor (Gabe’s) heart – however there are many difficult decisions to be made as Ursa’s mysterious past can’t go completely unanswered.

I actually really enjoyed this book. 4 out of 5 for me. I love a good twist in a book and this one does it perfectly. Where the Forest meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

3. Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

I love Kristin Hannah’s writing. This is my fifth book of hers to read. I’ve read The Four Winds, The Nightingale, The Great Alone, Firefly Lane and now Magic Hour.

This is the story of Julia Cates, a child psychiatrist and “Alice” the little 6 year old girl who wild wonders into a small town from deep in the Pacific Northwest’s, Olympic National Forest. And she’s no ordinary little girl, she acts more animal like than human and doesn’t speak.

Julia is willing to do whatever it takes to get “Alice” to communicate and free her from her silent past. This is a hard, but great read.

4 out of 5 for me. I really enjoyed this book! Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

4. Sugaring Off by Gillian French

I was gifted this book a few years ago and just got around to reading it. It was an interesting read about a girl named Owl who lives in a remote Maple tree farm in the mountains with her Uncle and Aunt after an abuse incident with her father.

After a boy named Cody is hired to help with the season’s sugaring off, Owl can’t decide to who trust until she finds out her father is being released from prison and she turns to Cody. She later finds out he has quite a checkered past himself and finds herself in the middle of his trouble.

3 out of 5. I enjoyed this read, but wouldn’t say I was wildly in love with it. It held my attention and I loved the cover imagery, being a tree lover myself. Sugaring Off by Gillian French

5. Take my Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

I am reading this book with my local bookclub for January and can’t stop. It gripped me immediately. I am only halfway through it, but I could tell almost instantly this was going to be a powerful book. I think I held my breath during the entire chapter 5.

It takes place in 1973 in Montgomery, Alabama with two young Black girls, Erica and India who are loving far out in the country on a sharecropping shack in squaller. Civil Townsend’s first job, a nurse at a local family planning clinic is full of compassion to help young women have safe options – that is until she realizes two of her patients are mere children (11 and 13).

This book is historical fiction but touches on numerous topics I should know more about. I have since been researching Depo-Provera shots, Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and other similar topics. This is the type of book that puts me to shame. Humans need to do better. Humans are all humans. Compassion for all is so wildly important. I can’t wait to finish this book, but I also don’t want it to end.

Pretty sure this is going to be my first 5 out of 5 for me. YUP, 5 out 5! Hard read, but a good one. Take my Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

6. How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

This is a darker read… dark as in YIKES at the darkness of people, but not scary. It’s written in a “light hearted” manner, but the main character a “sweet” librarian (Margo) is ANYTHING but light hearted. I’m about 50% done reading it and I have to say it’s a page turner! I have absolutely no idea how this book is going to end, but I am thrilled to find out.

I really liked this book, it was dark but also I couldn’t stop reading. The introduction of Patricia as a supporting character was perfect. I would have given this book a 5 star rating, but I never found out what made Margo/Jane and Patricia REALLY tick and I was waiting for that. Regardless, a great book.

4 out of 5 stars for me, fun read. How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

7. Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Sometimes you just need a light easy read and that’s what this book was. I have enjoyed many of TJR’s books. I think they are well written, about love… but not a typical romance book type of love.

This book starts off in chapter 1 with Elise and Ben being married just 9 nine days and while Ben is out riding his bike, he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. The rest of the book is flashbacks to their whirlwind love affair and her coming to terms with how she will deal with the rest of her life without him… let alone the fact that her mother-in-law doesn’t even know Ben was married to her!

It was light and quick to read. 3 out of 5 for me. Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

8. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

This book was excellent. It follows the story of a 4 year old Mi’kmaq girl who goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine in 1962. Her family is distraught trying to find her, but because of the color of their skin – no one comes to help.

In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of a family of many quiet secrets. Her father is very emotionally distant and her mother is wildly overprotective, getting headaches over seemingly everything.

Norma often wakes from recurring dreams of a completely different life, but is told they are only dreams. However, as she grows older she realizes clearly things are not as she was told.

This book touches on love, race, brutality and forgiveness. I really enjoyed it. 4.5 out of 5 The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

9. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste NG

What to say about this book… if you would have asked me like 2 or 3 chapters before it ended, I would have given it almost a 5/5! I loved the story line and just knew there was going to be a great ending. However, when I finished the book I thought wait – did I miss the chapter where things resolved, there were consequences for actions taken (HELLO SETTING FIRE TO A HOUSE) and the characters had any type of truth realization or understanding of themselves and the people around them???! I ended it really loving the book, but feeling irritated and that’s not how you typically want to leave a book.

I think the message of the book was rich white people get to do what they want and goodness, I think that’s more true than I would like to believe.

3 out 5 because it felt like unfinished business and I can’t stand books without justice… but I suppose it did make me think Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste NG

10. Honor by Thrity Umrigar

This is my local bookclub’s February read. It wasn’t an easy read and felt very heavy for most of the story. This book looks at the tension between Muslims and Hindus – which I admit I knew nothing about. It also delves into the huge sexism that women deal with in India.

Honestly, this book was good but I was not in the head space to really savor it. It felt a bit like a chore to read because it was so intense and I think you need to be ready for that. I never have had to skip sections of a book, but the scene with the children in the street (no spoilers) was so difficult for me to read, that I simply skipped pages. I could not read it.

It was written well and a storyline that really pulls on your heart of the issues of the world. 3.5 out of 5 for me because although well written and beautiful characters, I just struggled reading this one. Honor by Thrity Umrigar

11. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

This is my online bookclub’s February read. A friend of mine RAVED about it… can’t wait to get started on it! Also can we talk about the graphic on the cover of Fire Keeper’s Daughter – it’s by acclaimed artist Moses Lunham and absolutely gorgeous.

This book was beautiful and full of meaningful symbolism, but also I did have some issues with it.

Things I didn’t love about it first – numerous character’s dialogue felt long winded and too drawn out. The author wove such detail into Daunis and her feeling behind things, but it felt like it could have still be explained in a more succinct way. I think in general, I am not a huge fan of young adult books and although this one hit on some more mature topics (drug use, murder/suicide, rape) things like repeated saying, “hells no” felt juvenile to me.

Things I did love – I listened to this book and loved hearing the narrator speak Ojibwe words from the Anishinaabe language. It was beautiful how connected Daunis was to not only her culture, but the Earth and I loved how each day and many circumstances in life had specific prayers or rituals connected to them. I also liked how they are tied so closely to their heritage and is such a huge part of who they are.

I need to let it sit a while, I can’t decided if this book was a 3 or 4 for me… some parts were excellent, but it felt like it dragged on too long for me. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

12. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

I can’t remember where I heard about this book, but I am so glad I did!!

I happen to be in therapy currently and found Lori’s behind the scene insights, thoughts and stories about being a therapist and her personal experience being in therapy with Wendell so endearing. I loved it all. It was a funny read, but also very thoughtful and maybe sections I highlighted to come back to.

Therapy has been such a beautiful and challenging experience for me and loved reading about people having similar experiences. I really enjoyed reading this book. 5 out of 5 for me! Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

13. Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

If you are looking for a fun light murder mystery then this is the book for you! It felt like there were a lot of characters to keep track of, but once you get them squared away in your mind – this book is a fun one. I loved the three generations of women coming together and working out this light “who dun it” book.

4 out of 5 Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

14. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

I’m reading this book with my local bookclub. I was immediately intrigued by the first few chapters. I kept finding myself wanting to read just a little more and that’s always a good sign with a crime fiction/mystery book.

The story follows Lucca Marino, Evie Porter and all her other aliases as professional con woman. She is both deceptive and charming making her very good at her job. While on an assignment in Louisiana, her job becomes more personal as she begins to fall for her mark – Ryan Sumner. There are so many twists and turns that make you question everything. It’s the first psychological thriller I’ve read of 2024 and it was a great one!

4.75 out of 5 for me. I would definitely recommend this one. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

15. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

I’m reading this book with my online bookclub and at first it felt a little slow, but the more I get into the more I am liking it. It reminds me of The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. It tells the story of a summer in a slow innocent Bible-belt town in Minnesota in 1961.

Frank Drum, 13 years old is touched by death four times that summer, one by accident, one by nature, one by suicide and one by murder.

The story is told from a 40 year old Frank recalling that summer and how he and everyone in his family changed and grew during it all. It was slow and beautiful, I enjoyed it. This book felt very Andy Griffith Show vibe with 4 deaths mixed in.

I loved the tension and grace between Ruth and the minister dad, a very interesting dynamic to me. This book felt very Andy Griffith Show vibe with lots of broken people mixed in. If you are looking for high drama or intense character depth, this read isn’t for you. Probably the first 1/3 of the book could have been removed and it would have been better, but I still enjoyed it and think listening to this one probably helped it keep moving along.

4/5 Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

16. Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Hm… what to say about this book? Trigger warning for many intense topics of incest and rape.

What started off as a lighter high school book turned into quite a few heavy topics and lots of sexy time. It felt like the characters were more college aged than high school. REGARDLESS of all the sexy time stuff, it was an interesting read. Still quite tragic and pretty heartbreaking. I don’t know, I liked this book, but also reading as a 43 year old… yeesh.

Sky has just started her first year in a public school as a high school senior when she meets Dean, who both scares and completely captivates her. Even though she tries to stay away from Dean, something keeps drawing them back together. Their attraction is (QUITE) high, but it’s clear that Dean is keeping secrets.

Eventually those secrets are found out and my OH MY, it’s surprising in not a great way. By the time, Sky starts putting the puzzle pieces of her life together, I had already pretty much guessed it all – however it’s still quite a story and quite a unique one at that.

2.5 out 5… I don’t know, 3 out of 5. This was a weird read to me… it felt too intense for high schoolers and not one of my favorites of Colleen Hoover’s. Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

17. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

This book is equally heartbreaking, tragic and so beautiful. It is the story of two ordinary people, living through a VERY unordinary event… living at the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Holocaust.

In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to Auschwitz and after realizing he can speak multiple languages, he’s given the job of tattooing his fellow prisoner’s with their assigned number.

He witnesses horrific conditions, actions and behaviors, but somehow through it all he becomes more compassionate to those around him and starts exchanging jewels and money for food to help keep his fellow prisoners alive. Then one day he tattoos prisoner 32407 and immediately knows that someday he will survive camp and marry this women.

These are the type of reads that all people should read. The story of endurance, clarity of mind, strength and humanity while under the darkest possible conditions. 5 out of 5 The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

18. The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren

After reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz, I need some lighter reading and my library had The Honeymoon Crashers available on Libby to borrow. I don’t typically like light fluffy romance type reads, but this one felt fun to me.

It follows Ami who is determined to break her family’s wedding curse. When she got married, the guests got food poisoning and her husband was found to be cheating shortly afterwards. So, Ami decides to do everything she can to make her twin sister’s Hawaii destination wedding a wonderful day!

With less than two weeks to plan this impromptu wedding, Ami brings her binder and plans to get lost in the details until Brody, the best man, crashes in to help her with planning it all.

It’s a light humored short read. I read the whole book in a day. If these types of book are your thing, you should add it to your TBR list. 3 out of 5 for me. The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren

19. Upside Down by Danielle Steel

I was looking for a quick easy Libby read that my library had available and this one popped up. I really enjoyed The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and felt like this had a similar iconic Hollywood actress main character vibe, so I checked it out.

Not only is this a story of a strong older woman (62) owning her passions and choices, but also a middle aged woman (38) doing the same and then on top of that working out the strained relationship between the two of them.

It wasn’t like the best book out there, but it was an enjoyable read and one that I’d recommend if you are looking for clean and light. A good second chances type read. 3 out of 5. Upside Down by Danielle Steel

20. Death Valley by Melissa Border

This book confused the heck out of me. I read the entire thing thinking this experience happened to the author. Was she on a multiple day drug trip? Did she really crawl into a cactus and chat with her father as a child? Why did she talk to so many rocks? I was confused, but I suppose also mildly entertained.

At the end of the book I read the reviews and realized it is in fact a novel that she made up… not her experience… but still, it’s an odd read – ha. Some of it felt profoundly deep as she worked through an ailing husband, a dying father and clearly her own depression, but I still felt overall it was just an odd book.

2 out of 5 for me. Not that I wouldn’t recommend it… but just know what you are getting into before you start it. Death Valley by Melissa Border

21. Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

I love a good thriller and this one was great to the end.

The book goes back and forth each chapter between Adam and his wife, Amelia… until about halfway through when a new character is introduced. Things have been rocky in their marriage and they decide to take a weekend away to help sort things out in a remote church turned weekend home in the mountains of Scotland.

We learn about their marriage through the letters his wife has written to him each year, but he’s never been allowed to read them until this year. Each letter shares ups and downs and many secrets. The weekend away proves to be full of nonstop surprises and they come to find out, someone never wants them to leave.

4.5 out of 5 I love a good twist and turn read and couldn’t stop reading Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

22. The Women by Kristin Hannah

Gosh I love Kristin Hannah’s writing. I’ve read so many of her books and there is something about them that I just love. The Women so far has been an excellent read, as well! This follows Frankie as she courageously follows her brother into the Veitnam War. She trains to be a nurse and quickly realizes this war is like no other before or possibly after it. She falls in love, is wildly heartbroken, learns a strength she never knew she had and comes to terms with returning to “normal” life after the war.

More wonderful historical fiction like this, please! 5 out of 5 The Women by Kristin Hannah

23. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows + Mary Ann Shaffer

This was a darling read. Set in London right after WWII ended, it tells the story of Juliet who is working on writing her second book. In a very serendipitous way, she begins letter correspondence with a literary society living in Guernsey. The entire book is told through letters they all write each other.

It reminds me a bit of if Pride and Prejudice, WWII and one of those PBS Great Brittan drama series all were combined – ha. I enjoyed the book for sure… but also sort of wanted to wrap it up so I could start something else. SO – although it was a lovely read, I didn’t feel wildly connected to the characters.

3.75 out of 5 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows + Mary Ann Shaffer

24. When Breathe becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

I LOVE THIS MEMOIR. I love learning about the intricacies of professions and learning behind the scenes of young neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi was fascinating. However, the book also follows his journey with stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis just as he is finishing residency at the age of 36.

One day he’s a doctor on the VERY top of his profession and the next day he’s a patent struggling to live. He asks many important life questions like, What makes a life worth living? How much life do you want to live when you are dying? What is the purpose of having children… is it to carry on your name, to give your significant other something to remember you by or the joy of seeing a new life emerge? What happens when you can’t go on any longer? You keep going on.

Ah, it’s beautiful and heart wrenching. I loved it. 5 out of 5 When Breathe becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

25. The Ferrymen by Justin Cronin

26. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

Ready to check out these books a bit closer? Check them out here…

Other genres of books I’m reading…

• Present over Perfect by Shauna Niequest – I read this book a few years ago, but felt like the subject matter would be good for me to read again. Shauna is a high feels person, but I love everything she writes.
• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown – Brene always shares such truths… the ones that sometimes are hard to hear, but so good. Great book.
• The Spare by Prince Harry – I don’t know what to say about this memoir. I didn’t really want to read it, but it came highly suggested by a few friends. I hate feeling bad for people of royalty, but it does appear like the Royal family in general is pretty dysfunctional and have very closed off thinking. It was an interesting read, but I would have been fine without reading it also – to be honest, ha.
• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey – Let me start by saying I’m not a wildly huge fan of Matthew, but had heard there were quite a few bits of wisdom sprinkled in his book… so I gave it a try. I actually enjoyed it, ha. It was very entertaining, I listened to it and goodness he is a good narrator. Don’t know if I think more or less of him after this book, still pretty indifferent. But I do appreciate someone who has worked hard to get where they are. I shockingly liked this memoir better than Prince Harry’s – ha.
• The Whole and Healthy Family : Helping your kids thrive in mind, body and spirit by Jodi Mockabee – So this was an interesting book. Honestly some parts were wonderful and great concepts to think on, but it was pretty intense in regards of no chemicals in foods, only spending your time meditating on the scriptures, etc… If you can filter out some of the very intense Christian themes and hear the over arching goodness and truths, then this is a decent book.
• The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben – I’m a self proclaimed tree lover, so this was a natural fit for me. This book dives into very interesting topics like do trees talk? Are they social? Do they live in communities? It felt a little long in the middle, but I still enjoyed it.
• Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson – Oh geeeeeez. This book was great, but also hard. It applies to all relationships, not just parent/child. I loved how many worksheets and quizzes were included to help you as you read.
• What happened to you? by Dr Perry and Oprah Winfrey – I’m clearly on a journey of digging into mental health and wellbeing. This was a wonderful read and a great way to reframe the question of why did you do that???! to what happened to you? I think it brings more compassion to the conversation.
• Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry – This book was wildly sad. I felt horrible for the hiding Matthew Perry did his whole life, so alone feeling, so broken, so addicted to alcohol + drugs, so needing of fame and notoriety… only to realized he STILL felt alone. And now that he’s passed, it all feels even more heartbreaking.

I’d love to hear what you are reading these days! Let me know below in the comments.