For this year’s Top Fiction books, I introduced a few rules to attempt to help me narrow down from the 100+ fiction books I read this year to a list of just 24. Namely, sequels or other books later in a series were out. Also, one book per author. And, since it *did* come up… one book per release day. Just as a National Champion in a sport should at minimum be its League/ Conference champion as well, so too should a “best book of the year” be the best book that released on its release day. Oh, and the book had to be both released and 2024 and I had to read it in 2024.
Even with these rules in place, I still had over 60 candidate books, and y’all, the decisions to arrive at just these 24 were *tough*. In all honesty, that entire 60+ book “short list” probably deserved to be listed here. But that would be *too* much, and I really wanted to get this list to a “manageable” 24. So I made the tough calls, and the following books are the ones that made the cut this time. 🙂
Principles Of (E)motion by Sara Read (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Yes, it is messy. Yes, it can be convoluted at times. Yes, it may or may not feel particularly “swoon worthy” romantic at times. Hell, there are times when it feels like our lead exists for little more than sex. (That is rare, btw, but yes, “clean”/ “sweet” crowd… you’ve now been warned that this may be a bit racy for your tastes.) But all of this, to me, makes it feel all the more “real”. Because let’s face it, our lives rarely feel any of those things all the time (thank God, really).
The Resort by Sara Ochs (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
The scenery is both beautiful and visceral in this tale – you’re going to feel like you’re there as much as you want to be there. Indeed, the scenery is used so well in the tale that at times it actively overshadows the overall plot… but that is actually a great thing in the early stages of a tale such as this, because I in particular almost *want* that to happen in a book such as this. Ground me in the lush tropical setting. Give me some hints of some trouble, but have it overall be about just how amazing this place is. *Then* hit me with the “well… paradise for some may be hell for others” bit. Which Ochs does spectacularly, then proceeds to ratchet up the tension and ultimately action sublimely.
The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Tense Yet All Too Real. “Book 0” of this series, The Paris Orphans, does a much better job of setting up the overall series than this particular book does – and yet this particular book actually does a far better job of showing what we’re in for with the rest of the series. Here, we get an all too real world in both WWII era Paris and 2010s era England. Yes, this is a dual timeline, and yes there are the usual linkages there. There are also multiple character perspectives, but both timelines and perspectives are switched well. The tension throughout both timelines, though wildly divergent (and appropriate for the given timeline) is done quite well, with brief moments of reprieve sprinkled throughout the story before the tension is ratcheted up even higher. The setup for Book 2 is sprinkled in later in the text here, but the Epilogue is essentially a stinger to make you want to pre-order Book 2 immediately. (Which I don’t even think is possible as I write this review on release day.)
The Day Tripper by James Goodhand (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Interesting Spin On Time Travel. Straight up, this book won’t be for everyone. It is *highly* disjointed and takes a *lot* of mental effort to follow… and that is kind of the point, with this particular bent on time travel. We experience the tale in the same way that Alex experiences his life – as singular days completely out of order, beginning on the day that starts it all. The particular reset mechanism, of waking up to a different day every time Alex falls asleep, brings to mind how Ted Dekker used the same concept to have his hero switch between the “real” world and Dekker’s very blatantly allegorical world in his Circle Series. While that tale was far more linear – er, circular – this one actually works well for how it chooses to use the concept – but again, this particular storytelling style won’t be for everyone, and honestly I’m genuinely surprised the ratings for this book in the ARC realm just days before publication is as high as it is, *because* it is such a tough storytelling mechanic.
Safe And Sound by Laura McHugh (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
This was a remarkable tale of generations of women trying to leave a dying small rural town… and failing miserably, only for the cycle to repeat with their own daughters ad nauseum. It is a slow burn missing woman tale where we do get both the current timeline of one of the women being missing and the older timeline of what her life was up to the very moment she became missing. Both parts of the tale carry the same dull, dismal, depressing stylings throughout, even as both sets of women actively rebel against their situations and try their damnedest to be the women that break the cycle.
Hera’s Curse by Shaun Griffin (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Fascinating Blend Of Rare/ Unique Spin On Vampire Lore With Action. This is one of those debut books you don’t get very often at all, one where very nearly everything within it works to perfection to make you want that next book… ummm… now please. We get an almost Without Remorse by Tom Clancy storyline going on… that quickly transitions to include vampires. Except when we get into the vampire lore of this particular tale… it isn’t the usual stuff. Griffin has taken some usual concepts and worked them his own way, adding his own touches along the way, and produced a very different and very intriguing take on the idea.
In The Hour Of Crows by Dana Elmendorf (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Atmospheric Southern Gothic Perfect For Fans Of Emily Carpenter Or Robert Gwaltney. This is one of those trippy atmospheric southern gothic tales where folklore plays a central role. Set in the 1980s in Appalachia, it is perhaps *too* reliant on folklore in reality, but the story works within itself. As someone who grew up in the 1980s in the foothills of the Appalachians in the borderlands between Appalachia and Atlanta, the tale perhaps makes my people seem a bit backward and mystical than most of us really were, though there were (and are) absolutely pockets of people who were in fact very similar to the characters portrayed here.
Find Me In California by Kerry Lonsdale (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Cathartic Trippiness. Imagine a Stanley Kubric type acid trip – and now imagine it in full virtual reality 8K. That is what reading one particular pivotal scene of this book is like, and it is in this sequence in particular that Lonsdale pulls out storytelling elements that even after having read literally every book she’s written to date, I didn’t know she had. Which is one of the reasons I love checking in every year for her annual release and seeing what she has come up with now – she is a master of evolving and expanding her skillset while still remaining true to the emotional depth and complexities of characters that she has crafted in every book, no matter the particulars or particular mechanics of the book at hand.
The Wild Road Home by Melissa Payne (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
All The Feels – Including A Few Very Dusty Rooms. Payne is very much making a career out of intricate character stories that pack a lot of emotional depth and complexity in with a fair amount of drama and action, and this book is exactly in that vein. Here, we get truly visceral looks at the emotions surrounding death and abandonment, emotions which will be difficult for some and will cause the aforementioned dusty rooms for more. The way Payne can bring these things to life via her words is truly remarkable, and that she can do so in such a story without ever appearing preachy – if anything, pretty much the exact opposite – is even more remarkable.
Death Pact by Matt Hilton (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
The rest of the tale then flashes forward a bit and crosses the “pond”, becoming a UK based police/ crime tale featuring some particularly horrific murders that fans of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter trilogy or Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s Pendergast series will absolutely enjoy. The pacing of the investigation is solid, and the way the various characters meld together is done quite well.
Ladykiller by Katherine Wood (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Slow Start Leads To Rollercoaster Twists. This is one of those books that starts out almost disaster movie slow. Other than the prologue that reveals an intriguing setup, a lot of the front of the book is solid enough in slowly building tension in an idyllic setting. But it really is more the back half, or maybe even the last third, of the book where it seems to become more of a cat and mouse, what the hell is going on, who can the reader actually trust kind of tale, one that ends with a deliciously ambiguous ending that would be intriguing to see a follow up to – IF Ms. Wood can manage to replicate the almost lightning in a bottle feel she has going on here, particularly through the last bit of the book.
Only One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Shotgun Beginning Focuses Into Laser Ending. This is one of those stories that opens up with a lot of moving parts, even as we only really get a single perspective of them, so it can be a bit difficult of a read to get into at first. Compelling, to be sure, particularly the accident during the blizzard, but through these intro sections the tale doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be yet… and thus the reader may find it difficult to follow.
This noted, as the story progresses, things become ever more clear and pointed and the book finally decides what it wants to be… and oh, boy. Absolutely several interesting twists here, both within the story and in how the story itself subverts expectations of the reader.
Polite Calamities by Jennifer Gold (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Atmospheric But Long. This book almost feels like a Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but an East Coast variant. It has the same 60s era setting, the same type of fire-based setup and ending, but then tells a more “East Coast” feeling tale of the era, in some ways dealing with some of the same kinds of relational topics… but from that “Old Money” / “High Society” kind of East Coast / New England vibe.
That noted, this is far from a clone of the other, and it does what it does in showing the various relationship dynamics of its ladies – each in different societal strata – remarkably well. Gold clearly put in a lot of effort to make each of these women as real and relatable as possible, and she truly did a good job there – we begin to sympathize to a degree even with our ostensible villain of the tale… even as she continues to show *why* she is the villain. Along the way, we encounter so much of that admittedly lily white social scene and period the tale is set in, in interesting ways that show both the warts and the beauty of each of our characters.
The Body Next Door by Maia Chance (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
I thought this book was done particularly well and told a not-overly-typical (because it dealt so intrinsically with cults/ life after cults) tale in new and interesting ways (re: magical realism elements). All of the various elements work well to create a story with an admittedly slow start that absolutely heats up later in the text, particularly during a somewhat detailed account of the night everything came crashing down in the earlier timeline. The overall mystery ties both timelines together well, and while the front of the book can seem a bit disjointed at times with its POV switches, it *does* all come together quite beautifully and dramatically down the stretch.
Worst Case Scenario by T. J. Newman (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Perhaps Newman’s greatest strength in this particular tale though is in *not* making any “superheroes” but instead showing everyday people in every day situations (yes, including nuclear power generation and nuclear waste management) doing their best with what is in front of them and trying to avert catastrophes big and small. Newman even manages to “humanize” her (fictional) President of the United States in ways not often done well, yet here is.
An Echo In Time by Boo Walker (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Regardless of which part of which storyline’s traumas hit you, the reader of this review, harder… Walker, as always, shows superb skill in bringing the characters *back from it* – which isn’t really a spoiler, given this is very much Walker’s style in every book I’ve read from him. Indeed, it is a particular strength of his that sets his tales apart from many in whichever genre you may place his books. Thus, no matter your own traumas in your “real” life and no matter how much you may identify with a particular trauma found in this tale… you’re also going to find a degree of catharsis within these pages that is Walker’s particular brand of real-world “magic” with his words.
Magical Meet Cute by Jean Meltzer (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
And that actually gets into the lots to love here. Meltzer is unapologetic in seeking to make Jewish lives more “normal” to an outside audience, usually by taking quirky characters and showing them loving, laughing, making mistakes, learning from them… you know, doing the stuff we pretty well all do. But also including quite a bit of Jewish specific elements, here mostly focusing on magic and in particular the concept of the golem – which is more often, in my reading experience, used in science fiction to varying degrees. (Both Jeremy Robinson and Kent Holloway have used them quite effectively, among others.) Meltzer even provides some in-story exposition on the history of golems in Judaic philosophy, which was a particularly nice touch – especially given that a romcom audience is probably less familiar with the overall concept than the aforementioned scifi crowd.
The Summer Reunion by Leah Mercer (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Their Secrets Have Secrets. Easily a great line in The Avengers (the Marvel version, you Imperialists) is when Tony Stark is speaking of Nick Fury and says “his secrets have secrets” – which is absolutely true, both in The Avengers and this book. If you enjoy semi-slow burn (to start) almost disaster movie type suspense, where everything starts off a touch slow and normal ish before completely fucking unravelling… this is exactly the kind of book you’re going to enjoy.
Ruthie Deschutes O’Hara Has Ulterior Motives (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Freaking Hilarious. With Several Dusty Rooms. And Old People Sex. This is ultimately a romance novel, so it is no spoiler to note that the couple winds up together. But as the couple are both 70 yrs old… yep, old people sex. Though to be clear, “damn near erotica” isn’t exactly Lamb’s style, so we see them nude in bed together… and then we move on. For some, even this will be too much. For others, it won’t be “spicy” enough. And yet for others, specifically those clamoring for more “elder tales” in romance… hey, here ya go. 😀
Every Moment Since by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Dark. Dreary. Dismal. Oppressive. And Then The Candle Flickers To Life. This is one of those books that takes the hyper-dark and hyper-oppressive feel of the singular worst book I’ve *EVER* read – The Road by Cormac McCarthy – and does what McCarthy never could: Provide just that flicker of a spark of a candle lighting. *Just* enough to provide *some* level of hope. Even when most everyone in this book is so broken by the central issue – a child going missing decades ago – and their secrets about that night that none of them *really* *want* that hope, the reader *needs* that smallest flicker… and Whalen provides it in particularly dramatic form.
Two Good Men by S. E. Redfearn (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
This is one of those books that could have gotten quite preachy rather quickly in any number of ways in a less deft hand – as Rand was known to do, despite her own great storytelling abilities – and yet never actually does. It questions and it shows pros and cons of both sides, with quite a bit of real (enough) logically paced and logically executed action. While it can be read as a straight up thriller, and many might, it is one of those texts that really deserves and demands to be more deeply considered and examined. Perhaps particularly in the weeks leading into an Election Day, though that has nothing at all to do with the book and is nowhere present in the text.
Wish I Were Here by Melissa Wiesner (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
RomCom In A Nightmare Setting. Seriously, the title of the review here is pretty much exactly what you’re getting. I don’t know how common it is, but I know I’ve had the nightmare that is a version of the basic premise of this book – that you suddenly find out all of your “government” “approved” “identification” is suddenly found to be fraudulent and/ or non-existent… anywhere. How would you survive in modern America? Particularly if you were just starting a new job? And now you have the basic narrative here.
The Cruise by Christina Delay (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
Here we get a psychological, almost supernatural, thriller that becomes all too human indeed. The tension ratchets up as weird things start happening on this sailing of this cruise ship, and there are quite a few even horror elements to be had here.
There are twists a plenty, so much so that it sometimes feels like you’re on Velocicoaster – they’re coming so hard and so fast, and yet you’re enjoying every freaking second of it. And, like Velocicoaster, as fun and intense as this read is… it is also fairly shortish, at just around 250 pages. Meaning it is yet again great for those with limited amounts of reading time.
The Greatest Lie Of All by Jillian Cantor (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
From my review on Hardcover.app:
This is one of those women’s fiction/ romance genre benders that actually has the *cajones* to walk right up to the RWA/ RNA gatekeepers and say “Really? You’re going to try to tell me that *this* isn’t a romance for the ages?”. There is even at least one element of this book that will certainly, if the book reaches enough people, prove quite controversial indeed, and while I know *exactly* what those arguments will be and who (in general) will be making them, revealing even the specific nature of that particular debate pretty well spoils what this element is, so this is about as close as I can get to noting its presence without spoiling it.