Mal's 2024 Book Review

I'm a slut for books, what can I say?

As I begin reflecting on 2024, I keep coming back to the enormous role that books played in my year. More than any year before, reading has become my biggest self-care activity. Reading is often the highlight of my day. So I wanted to write this week’s piece on what I’ve read this year. If you aren’t a reader, I hear you. I’m married to someone who would not categorize himself as a “reader.” But maybe one of this books will stand out and inspire you to read it, or maybe not, and that’s fine too!

Here are the 32 books I’ve read this year (more critical analysis will follow):

1. “On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good” by Elise Loehnen

2. “Intimacies” by Katie Kitamura

3. “Iron Flame” by Rebecca Yarros

4. “Yellowface” by R.F. Kuang

5. “A Court of Wings and Ruin” by Sarah J. Maas

6. “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett

7. “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins

8. “A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sarah J. Maas

9. “Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano

10. “Fangirl Down” by Tessa Bailey

11. “The House on the Cerulean Sea” by TJ Klune

12. “A Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J. Maas

13. “Girl Abroad” by Elle Kennedy

14. “Loathe to Love You” by Ali Hazelwood

15. “Good Material” by Dolly Alderton

16. “Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange

17. “Love, Theoretically” by Ali Hazelwood

18. “The Book of Love” by Kelly Link

19. “The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the Climbing Life” by Mark Synnott

20. “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt

21. “Romantic Comedy” by Curtis Sittenfeld

22. “Funny Story” by Emily Henry

23. “A Deadly Education” by Naomi Novik

24. “House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City)” by Sarah J. Maas

25. “Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center

26. “Come & Get it” by Kiley Reid

27. “The Women” by Kristin Hannah

28. “House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City)” by Sarah J. Maas

29. “Summer Romance” by Annabel Monaghan

30. “Not in Love” by Ali Hazelwood

31. “The Safekeep” by Yael Van Der Wouden

32. “All Rhodes Lead Here” by Mariana Zapata

Looking back at this list, some of these books were wonderful, life-changing books. Others were… not great. Let’s start with my favorites:

My favorite all-around book of the year: “Good Material” by Dolly Alderton

My favorite romance book of the year: “Funny Story” by Emily Henry

My favorite romance/fantasy book of the year: “A Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J. Maas

My favorite general fiction book of the year: “The House on the Cerulean Sea” by TJ Klune

My favorite non-fiction book of the year: “The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the Climbing Life” by Mark Synnott

Other honorable mentions:

1. “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt

2. “Romantic Comedy” by Curtis Sittenfeld

3. “Come & Get it” by Kiley Reid

4. “The Women” by Kristin Hannah

5. “Not in Love” by Ali Hazelwood

6. “The Safekeep” by Yael Van Der Wouden

And now for the books that I wouldn’t recommend…

1. “Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange

2. “A Deadly Education” by Naomi Novik

3. “Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center

4. “The Book of Love” by Kelly Link (people loved this book, but I thought it was weird)

5. “All Rhodes Lead Here” by Mariana Zapata (I didn’t hate it or anything, just not my favorite romance!)

In summary, this was a great year of books! Mostly fiction and romance, but it was so worth it. I use The Story Graph to record my books, and I find it a useful tool for recapping my year. Here are some fun stats:

Cheers to many more books in 2025, maybe even one published by me!