I love reading and my TBR (to be read) list is never-ending. I love diving into a good book. I am a sucker for classic murder mystery, love story, a new novel, a debut novel... basically, any kind of novel.
I have recently been addicted to the fantasy genre so I am compiling this Ultimate Reading List so I can expand my horizons for 2024.
I tried to set a 'reasonable' reading goal this year of 50 books. I say reasonable, because I just had my third child at the end of January (just in time for the third installment of the Crescent City series).
Do you need to create a TBR list?
The short answer is, no, but without it you may not accomplish your reading goals.
Without an active list, you may experience what some like to call a book hangover.
It also saves you time from having to look/search for new books to read. I tend to get sucked into Booktok and Bookstagram--which takes away from my actual reading time.
How can you read more throughout the year?
If you ask my husband or my sisters they will say I am a little over the top when it comes to my reading resources.
I read multiple books a month because I am actively reading a book on every platform.
I am an obsessive reader. I have a physical book, a Kindle book, and an audiobook that I am reading at any given moment.
The beauty of Audio books and Kindle.
You can read my post on my book blog about why I love audible and the secret power of audiobooks here.
In short, with an audiobook you can read while you are in the car, doing laundry, cooking dinner, walking the dog, etc. Audio books allow you to fit reading into your daily life routines without causing any disruptions.
Audible is my favorite audio book platform. You can get started with a free trial today.
Try out different reading mediums. I enjoy all the different forms of reading for different reasons. I would suggest that you try out all the different forms of reading until you find one that works the best for you.
Pro tip: You can also get a free membership to your local library and gain access to free audiobooks and ebooks.
There are so many good books out there to read. If you have been wanting to start reading, now is the perfect time to create your TBR list and immerse yourself in the worlds these authors have created. I complied this list of the best books to read in 2024 and even added some of my favorites all time favorites.
2024 Ultimate Reading List
Chick Lit
Happy Place by Emily Henry: A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
Don't Let Me Go by Kelsie Rae: Welp. It's official. The entire hockey team knows I'm a virgin. And who do I have to thank for telling them about my v-card? Theodore Taylor, a.k.a. my brother's best friend and the pain in my butt since third grade.
Sylvia's Second Act by Hillary Yablon: Her husband’s cheating on her. She hates Boca. Sylvia is mad and she isn’t going to take it anymore. She’s moving back north, to the city of her dreams—with her best friend, Evie, in tow. Think a screwball comedy featuring a sophisticated Thelma and Louise with martinis in hand...
Bridesmaid For Hire by Meghan Quinn: Sometimes the wedding of the century calls for desperate measures.And sometimes those desperate measures are to pretend the person you hate most is actually your boyfriend.
The Campus Diaries by Elle Kennedy: The first novel in the delicious, icy-hot Campus Diaries series, a spinoff of BookTok sensations Off-Campus and Briar U, by New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy. The second book is set to release May 14, 2024.
Fantasy
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas: The stunning third book in the sexy, action-packed Crescent City series, following the global bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath.
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli: Enemies-to-lovers doesn't get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling in love in bestselling author Kristen Ciccarelli's latest romantic fantasy. Check out my full review here.
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle Jensen:A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in the first book of a Norse-inspired fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.
A Cursed Son by Day Leitao: Romantic & sexy dreams link a false princess to a dangerous, disgraced fae prince in this fun, steamy enemies-to-lovers romantasy.
Fiction
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty comes a novel that looks at marriage, siblings, and how the people we love the most can hurt us the deepest in Apples Never Fall.
The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan: When the Blitz imperils the heart of a London neighborhood, three young women must use their fighting spirit to save the community’s beloved library in this novel based on true events from the author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown: A debut novel full of magic, adventure, and romance, The Book of Doors opens up a thrilling world of contemporary fantasy for readers of The Midnight Library, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, The Night Circus, and any modern story that mixes the wonder of the unknown with just a tinge of darkness.
Ellipses by Vanessa Lawrence: Set in the glossy world of New York City media, this sharp and witty debut novel follows a young woman caught in a toxic mentorship with an older, powerful executive as she grapples with career, belonging, and the complexity of modern relationships in the digital age.
Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan: Bride-to-be Lulu is about to marry Shanghai’s most eligible bachelor. She just has one secret: she isn't in love with him and is only marrying him to fix her family’s financial issues. But for Lulu and her two best friends, her upcoming nuptials may offer a different opportunity entirely…
Historical Fiction
Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus: Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
The Women by Kristen Hannah: From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate: Lisa Wingate’s powerful new historical novel, The Book of Lost Friends, available now! Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth.
Mystery
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James: A journalist uncovers the dark secrets of an abandoned boarding school in this chilling suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.
The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian: One of Elle’s Best and Most Anticipated Mysteries of 2024 • THE PRINCESS IS FAKE. THE MURDERS ARE REAL • From the New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness, a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in this twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List comes a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide…
Romance
Happily Never After by Lynn Painter: Their name? The objectors.Their job? To break off weddings as hired.Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone: A surprise pregnancy leads to even more life-changing revelations in this “absolutely buoyant read”.
Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes: A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances, this is the new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You and The Giver of Stars
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars and the forthcoming Someone Else's Shoes, discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Before You, After You, and Still Me.
Thriller
Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera: What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston: Evie Porter has everything a nice, Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence and a garden, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.
The Hunter by Tana French: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher and “one of the greatest crime novelists writing today” (Vox), a spellbinding new novel set in the Irish countryside.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides: A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder — from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient. Read my full review here.
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins: When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Verity by Colleen Hoover: Whose truth is the lie? Stay up all night reading the sensational psychological thriller that has readers obsessed, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Too Late and It Ends With Us.
Divine Rivals By Rebecca Ross: When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.
The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue.
What Monstrous Gods by Rosamund Hodge: A rich and romantic new stand-alone fantasy loosely inspired by the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, from the New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Beauty!Perfect for fans of These Violent Delights and The Shadow Queen.
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Still, if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Additional Reading ~ My Recent Favorites
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.
Weyward by Emilia Hart: "A brave and original debut, Weyward is a spellbinding story about what may transpire when the natural world collides with a legacy of witchcraft." ––Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The London Séance Society
ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas. The gateway into the Maas verse starts with TOG or ACOTAR. Find my full reading guide here.
Final thoughts...
Hopefully you use this ultimate reading list as inspiration to start your reading list for the year. Remember to switch up your reading platforms to help hold your attention. Short stories are another great way to help build your reading foundation.
You don't have to choose a difficult read as your gateway novel. Start small. Maybe start your reading journey when a new book releases (Maas verse is great for this).
We, as humans, have a natural curiosity about the stories we are reading. Finding a good story where the human spirit is so beautifully written that you feel as though the main characters are your closest friends is where the magic happens.