2024 Wrapped: Best Books I Read Each Month
In 2024 I read 77 books... here are my top reads of each month
As a new year begins I have taken the time to look back on the books I read over the last year. I have watched countless yearly wrap up YouTube videos and Instagram/TikTok videos and this prompted this blog post.
In 2024 I read more books in a year than ever before, even during such a busy year for me, so I hope that in 2025 I continue to commit to making reading part of my daily routine while also prioritising new releases, new authors but also books that have been sat on my TBR for way longer than they should be.
In 2024 I read some great books each month and I have compiled the best ones for each month and my brief spoiler free review to accompany the title. Happy reading, and let me know if you have read any of these books or plan to anytime soon 😊.
Also, always remember to check trigger warnings before reading
January
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
Format: E-book
This book was on my TBR for 2024 and I was able to complete it straight away, and I’m glad I did. I started January reading it’s predecessor When In Rome and that book was enjoyable and I rated it 3 stars overall, but this sequel in my opinion was much more entertaining. The book is just a sweet, quick and easy read. I have just bought the next book in the series Beg, Borrow, or Steal and that will be a priority for me this year and hopefully lives up this book.
February
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Format: Paperback
After seeing this book everywhere I decided to pick it up. I had never read a thriller before and to say I was obsessed was an understatement. The story was so easy to read and follow and the plot twists seemed predictable then completely surprised me. After this I went straight to read the sequel. I am yet to read the third installment but it is on my bookshelf ready to be read soon. And I will be ready to purchase a ticket when the movie adaptation is released.
March
Format: Paperback
This was another series that I saw all over my social media pages. I also had purchased the entire series before even reading the first novel as the 3 for £6 deal at the Works always seems to tempt me to buy more books than I need. So when I read the first installment in the Chestnut Spring series, Flawless, I was concerned that this was a bad decision as I was not the biggest fan. However, many people online claimed that the second book, Heartless, was so much better. And they were right. I had never read a book before with these tropes and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but this book was just fun and quick to read and just an overall enjoyable book and it made me more enthusiastic about continuing the series.
And that takes us onto the next month…
April
Format: Paperback
Heartless and Reckless in my opinion were the best books in the Chestnut Springs series. Similarly, this book had tropes that I hadn’t really read before, also the main characters were not as likeable in the previous books so I had my concerns. But I should not have been worried as this book explores their characters and relationship so well that you forget you ever disliked them a few books ago. Elsie Silver is now a instant-buy author and I will be reading more from her in 2025.
May
Format: E-book
Emily Henry was another author I had heard lots about but I hadn’t got around to reading some of her novels. I had read People We Meet On Vacation (You and Me on Vacation) in 2021 and I did not enjoy it as I thought it was a bit too predictable. But I decided to pick up Beach Read as I had heard it was her best novel. And this was so much better for me, I would say I did not expect the plot to go the way it did but I guess that was up to me not reading the blurb as I thought this would be just a simple rom-com book like I found People We Meet on Vacation to be, but it had many different factors that complemented the romantic relationship that was forming in the novel. I was very glad I read this.
June
Format: E-book/Paperback
The length of this book scared me, not only because it was 500 pages long but also the font was so small in the paperback and I am not much of a fantasy reader but I was determined to read this. And as you can see from my rating I am so glad I did. I read this in tandem with the novella Powerful and I think this was such a good choice as I was able to explore two different storylines at the same time but they intertwined so well. This book was just full of banter and was so quick in its action and the story moved on very well. I had never rated a book 5 stars before, but I felt it appropriate for this book as it was that good. I have not moved onto the sequel yet but I plan to do so before the final book in the trilogy is released in the next coming months.
July
Format: E-book/Paperback
After loving Beach Read I read Happy Place and somehow Emily Henry wrote a better novel. This book just had such a cosy feeling although following a turbulent relationship. I think this was because the way Emily Henry wrote it showed how much love the characters still had towards another and it just felt so realistic, it felt like a movie playing out in my head. Sometimes I wish I could forget this book just to read it again for the first time. And now Emily Henry is another of my must-buy authors, I am yet to read Funny Story but I already know I’m going to love it, and I hope it lives up to my expectations.
August
The Fake Out by Stephanie Archer
Format: Paperback
I read the first book in the Vancouver Storm series Behind the Net as I had seen recommendations for it online but it did not meet my expectations and I thought it was an okay book, but I had already purchased the sequel so I decided to pick it up. I wasn’t really sure what the book was about but it was a very entertaining and fun book. I much preferred it in comparison to Behind the Net and thought the storyline was well executed as the characters had already been introduced in the first book so that created a good foundation for this book to build from, and also fake-dating in a book just always seems to be such a good trope so I think that worked in favour of this book as it made a lot of sense for these particular characters. And I have purchased the next installment, The Wingman.
September
Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks
Format: Paperback
This was a different choice for me. I usually don’t like to pick up books that can be quite sad but I still picked up this book. I was in the Halloween spirit and this cover sold this book to me. However, when I started this book I was a bit slow to getting into it and when you start to understand the characters this book was so engaging. I also never thought I would read a rom-com about a guy who works in his family undertaking business, but somehow I enjoyed it. You were rooting for these two to get together throughout the whole book even though they were fighting it. This is one of those books that when I was reading time just flew by, and that is what I love from a book.
October
From Here To The Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough
Format: Audiobook
This was my first ever autobiography and audiobook. I didn’t really know much about the Presley family until the release of the Elvis movie. But then I was obsessed with the Prime Video show Daisy Jones & The Six and followed Riley Keough as I loved her performance in the show. This book was so emotional and so open that made it so interesting to listen to. I could see what they were describing and Riley’s perspectives intertwined added so much to the book. It was so real and honest, it is a book that will stay with me forever.
November
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
Format: E-book
This was just a sweet book. Very predictable as it follows two best friends that fake date but it was still so entertaining to read. The cast of characters were also so well defined in their introductions and features within the novel that I can’t wait to read their books. This was just the perfect book to start off the Holiday season.
I have a full review of this book on my blog
December
All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard
Format: E-book
I had not heard anything about this book but I bought it on a whim as it was reduced to 99p on Amazon, and I’m so glad I did! Christmas, second chance romance, trapped in a lodge, it was just a great set up for a cosy romantic holiday book. I have had Falon Ballard books on both my Kindle and my bookshelf but I have never picked them up. I loved her writing style and how she wrote the characters and the build up in their relationship. I now want to read all her books so that is how I started 2025 by reading another of her books Right on Cue, it was not as good as All I Want Is You was but I will still be reading more of her books in the future.
Happy New Year! And hopefully this year will be full of great reads and great releases! Let me know what you plan on reading in 2025. 🥳