The Books I Read So Far in 2024

Updated on January 24th, 2025

It has officially been 8 years since I started my blog! My first blog post was a book review for Dream House by Marzia Bisognin. To continue the bookish theme, I wanted to share reviews of the books I have read so far in 2024.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through my links, but there is no extra cost to you.

Bunny by Mona Awad

I decided to read Bunny after seeing several other bloggers read it. Bunny follows Samantha who feels like an outsider, and she is in a MFA program at a prestigious university. The rest of her cohort is made up of a clique of 4 rich girls who refer to each other as Bunny. One day, the Bunnies invite Samantha to join them, and she plunges into their world.

The book was a bizarre trip. The plot is seemingly normal at first, but as the story progresses, it gets weirder and weirder. There are graphic scenes, so the book is best for mature readers. In the end, I was left questioning what was actually real. It also makes me question what I think about the book and if I liked it. I think I liked it to an extent. However, because it was so strange and out there, it is not one of the best books I have read.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 6/10

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

I have previously read a few books by Fredrik Backman including Beartown and the sequel Us Against You, so I was looking forward to reading A Man Called Ove. The story follows Ove, who is a grumpy man. A young family moves in next door and accidentally runs over his mailbox. The story alternates between the present of Ove who is struggling with the loss of his wife and the past where you learn about Ove, his relationship with his father, and how he met his wife. Ove is a likable character because even though he is grumpy and set in his routines, he genuinely cares about others. It was also sweet seeing the relationships with his neighbors and the people he meets grow. The epilogue wraps up the story well and is emotional. A Man Called Ove is another fantastic book by Backman.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 9/10

Bring Her Home by David Bell

Bring Her Home follows Bill, whose daughter Summer is found badly beaten in the park, and her best friend Haley is dead. I cannot say much more as it will give away the plot. However, the story mostly follows figuring out what exactly happened to the girls and uncovering the secrets they hid. The story is slow, and not much happens. I felt like a lot of the story was spent at the hospital or Bill’s house. Furthermore, I found the plot and culprit predictable and the twists not that impactful.

As far as Bill, he is somewhat likable, but he makes rash decisions. I understand he is going through a lot with his wife dying a year and a half early and his daughter injured, but he has some serious anger issues. The book does end with an epilogue, which I thought wrapped up the story well. However, the predictability and the unlikable qualities of Bill brought the book down.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 6/10

Death Valley by Melissa Broder

I read Death Valley on a whim, and it follows a woman who travels to the desert in California to escape her life. Her father is in the ICU, her husband’s illness is getting worse, and she is trying to finish her novel in the process. During her stay at the Best Western, an employee recommends going on a hike. During the hike, she encounters a cactus that is so big that it should not exist in the desert and she enters it. Death Valley is a strange book and not all of it made sense. I did like how it dealt with grief and love though. The book is definitely not for everyone but it would probably be interesting to some.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 7/10

Pretty Boys Are Poisonous by Megan Fox

Pretty Boys Are Poisonous is a collection of poems by Megan Fox. The topics she covers in her poems are important to discuss. However, I do not believe poetry was the right route for her as the topics are not handled sensitively. Also, I first listened to the audiobook as it was narrated by Megan Fox. However, I quickly became lost because I did not realize the titles were at the end of the poems. I can see that she was trying to pack a punch by having the titles at the end, but I do not think it was necessary. I then read the ebook, which was a better experience, but the poems themselves were not the best. That said, I did like the illustrations by Audrey Kawasaki.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 3/10

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Beach Read is the second book I have read by Emily Henry with the first being Book Lovers, which I enjoyed. The book is about January who is a romance author. She has writer’s block after her father’s death, finding out he had an affair, and her boyfriend breaking up with her. Her father left January a beach house in his hometown, and she decided to visit. However, the neighbor turns out to be an author named Gus who is her rival from university. January and Gus make a bet to switch genres and see who sells their book first. January is tasked with writing the next Great American Novel and Gus has to write a romance.

The book is slow to start as January is trying to process everything that happened. She believed in love and happy endings, but her father’s affair changed her perspective. Gus, on the other hand, is closed off and will not open up to January. As the story progresses, you learn more about Gus, and I like the growing connection between him and January. My favorite part of the book is where January and Gus take each other on dates for their book-writing process. January takes Gus on rom-com dates while Gus takes January to interview surviving members of a death cult. The cult part of the book is interesting and unexpected. I enjoyed the ending, and Beach Read is another great book by Emily Henry.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 9/10

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

I have been wanting to read more poetry, and I decided to check out Milk and Honey. However, I did not enjoy the poems. A lot of the poems did not seem like poems, and they reminded me more of Instagram captions and just random thoughts Rupi Kaur wrote down. Furthermore, I felt like the poems had no depth or deeper meaning and could be read at face value. Others may enjoy the poems, but they are not for me.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 2/10

Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka

In Girl in Snow, Lucinda is a high school student who is found dead on the playground by the janitor. The plot revolves around figuring out who murdered Lucinda, and there are multiple suspects who have their own secrets. The story follows three perspectives – Cameron, Jade, and Russ. I did not like Cameron because he went to high school with Lucinda and is known by everyone as her stalker. As the story went on, I found him more and more creepy and unlikable. As far as Jade, she also went to school with Lucinda. Furthermore, Jade’s younger sister and Lucinda’s younger sister were friends. However, Jade hated Lucinda and wanted her dead because she felt that Lucinda took everything from her, so she was also unlikable.

Russ is one of the officers assigned to Lucinda’s case. He worked with Cameron’s father and his wife’s brother is the janitor who found Lucinda. He also believes the janitor is the prime suspect. You learn more about Russ’ wife and her brother, and I did not like Russ’ character either. For Lucinda herself the story starts out with Lucinda dead, so I did not feel any connection to her. Since the book was filled with unlikable characters, it was difficult to connect to them. I also felt like the story dragged on, and I just wanted to finish the book to find out who killed Lucinda. I did not expect the ending, so at least there is that.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 4/10

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

The Invited follows Helen and Nate who move to Vermont to build their dream home. Both Helen and Nate are former teachers with Helen being a history teacher and Nate being a science teacher. Helen becomes interested in the history of their land and especially that of the legend of Hattie Breckenridge who lived and died there a century ago. Slowly, Helen becomes drawn to certain items to incorporate into their home that have a connection to Hattie and her descendants.

The book follows the perspectives of Helen and Olive and has occasional flashbacks to events that happened in the past with Hattie and her descendants. Olive is a 14-year-old girl whose mother recently disappeared and lives in the same town as Helen and Nate. I thought her perspective was out of place at first, however, her connection to the plot becomes clear. I also liked Helen as a protagonist because she is interested in the history of the land, and she is also open to the paranormal. Whereas Nate is more science-based, and he needs physical proof in the paranormal. I found myself not liking Nate as much, but I did like him by the end of the story.

As far as the plot itself, I enjoyed following Helen as she found the items for their home and learned about the history of those items. There were also a few creepy scenes, such as when Helen would wake up in the middle of the night, but I would not classify this book as a horror story but as a paranormal ghost story. I also enjoyed Olive’s perspective as she tried to figure out what happened to her mother. Furthermore, I did figure out a few of the plot points before they were revealed, which was a bit disappointing, but there was one big plot twist that I did not expect. I did like the ending of the book, and it wrapped up the story well. With all that said, I recommend this book if you are interested in ghost stories.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 7/10

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Convenience Store Woman is about Keiko who is 36 years old and does not fit in. She has worked at a convenience store in Tokyo for 18 years, and it gave her purpose. She also understands the store and what tasks she has to do. However, her family and friends pressure her to find a husband and get a normal career. Keiko then meets Shiraha who starts working at the convenience store.

Convenience Store Woman is weird. Keiko is peculiar, and I felt like she should just do what she wants and not have to conform to the wishes of her family and friends. I did not like Shiraha at all, and I found him creepy and off-putting. Keiko tries to fit in and let Shiraha come live with her, but Shiraha is just horrible. However, I did like the ending, and it was an interesting book.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 6/10

Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman

Heartstopper Volume 5 is the fifth book in the Heartstopper series. Nick is in his final year of high school and planning for college. However, he is concerned about moving away from Charlie for college as Charlie still has another year of high school left. Charlie has received help for his eating disorder and is doing better, but he still struggles at times. In Volume 5, Nick and Charlie experience growth as individuals and as a couple.

On a side note, in Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han, there is a lot of drama around where Lara Jean will go to college because she was rejected from the college Peter would be attending. She visits another university, falls in love with the campus, and decides to go there. However, she is not open to Peter about anything, not even being rejected, which shows the immaturity of the characters.

In comparison, Nick, Tara, and Elle go on a road trip to visit various universities. Charlie knows where Nick is visiting and Nick and Charlie call each other during the trip. Nick falls in love with one of the universities, and the next day, he talks to Charlie in person about wanting to go there instead of a college closer to home. This is just one example of how Nick and Charlie are more mature and have grown since the beginning of the series. Lastly, as always, I enjoy the illustrations. If you have read the previous Heartstopper books, Volume 5 is a great continuation of the series.

Available at Bookshop

Rating: 10/10

The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs

The Conference of the Birds is the 5th book in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series. I read the 4th book A Map of Days back in 2019 and I figured it was about time I finished the series. The Conference of the Birds picks up right where the 4th book ended. Jacob escapes with Noor who is being hunted and they meet up with the rest of the peculiar children from previous books in the Devil’s Acre loop. There is a lot going on in this book. There is a war brewing between the American peculiars. The ymbrynes (peculiar women who turn into birds) are holding a conference to try and stop the Americans from going to war, hence the name of the book.

At the same time, the Wights are trying to resurrect Caul, Miss Peregrine’s brother who was trapped in a collapsed loop in the 3rd book Library of Souls. The peculiars in Devil’s Acre are trying to stop that from happening. Furthermore, Jacob and Noor are trying to track down V who worked with Jacob’s grandfather and raised Noor until it was no longer safe for her to do so. Since there is always something new happening, the book does not feel slow. At the same time, I feel like not a whole lot happened because it is all just setting up for the final book. It is a fine continuation, but it is just a bridge to reach the final book of the series.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 7/10

The Desolations of Devil’s Acre by Ransom Riggs

The Desolations of Devil’s Acre is the final book in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series. The book picks up where The Conference of the Birds book ended. Caul has been brought back, and Jacob and Noor meet back up with Miss Peregrine and the peculiar children in Devil’s Acre after finding V. In Devil’s Acre, there are desolations including raining ash and bone occurring, which this book is named after. Caul is more powerful than ever, and Noor has to meet with the prophesied seven to stop him.

There is a lot of action in this book and you do feel like the clock is ticking before Caul wreaks havoc on Devil’s Acre. The story is predictable because you know what is going to happen and Caul is going to attack the peculiars. The ending is nice, but I was left wondering about the fate of several important characters who are not Miss Peregrine’s wards. However, The Desolations of Devil’s Acre is a good conclusion to the series.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 8/10

Final Girls by Riley Sager

The last book I read is Final Girls, which follows Quincy Carpenter, who is the sole survivor of the massacre that happened at Pine Cottage and claimed the lives of her five friends. Quincy is now a final girl along with Lisa, who lost 9 sorority sisters, and Sam, who survived her shift at the Nightlight Inn. 10 years later, Quincy appears to be doing well and has a caring boyfriend and a popular baking blog. However, Lisa is found dead, and Sam appears on Quincy’s doorstep. From there, her life starts spiraling.

Quincy is a flawed character. She went through a traumatic experience and is trying to put the past behind her, but she does questionable things throughout the book. You also do not get to know Lisa, and I found Sam unlikable. As the story progresses, you learn about what happened to Lisa, what Sam is hiding, and what really happened at Pine Cottage. The story is told in the present, with Quincy meeting Sam after Lisa’s death, as well as flashbacks to events that happened at Pine Cottage. Quincy does not remember everything that happened at Pine Cottage due to the trauma, but you do learn the truth at the end. The book kept me guessing, and I did not expect the twist at the end, which is great. I thought Final Girls was a good thriller, and I would recommend it.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 8/10

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What books have you read recently?